fromSilicon Canals
1 week agoWhy some of us feel relief when plans get canceled, and it has nothing to do with being antisocial. It's the first time all week our nervous system isn't bracing for something. - Silicon Canals
Your autonomic nervous system has been running a background process all day (or all week), quietly allocating resources toward an upcoming social event. Planning the outfit. Rehearsing potential conversations. Calculating travel time. Managing the micro-anxiety of 'Will I be interesting enough? Will I say something weird? Will I be too tired to be fun?' This is what psychologist and neuroscience researcher Stephen Porges calls neuroception: the way your nervous system scans for safety and threat below the level of conscious awareness.
Mental health