Basing everyday decisions on risk of pain or loss linked to increased anxiety
May 9, 2018, eLife
Scientists have shone new light on how the human brain uses past experiences and generalizes them to future events, helping us safely navigate the world around us, a study in eLife reveals.
Our ability to 'generalize' is an important survival technique, but over-generalizing from bad events could explain why some people fear and then avoid scenarios that are not actually dangerous. This over-avoidance has been identified as a significant factor in anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, chronic pain and depression.
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-05-basing-everyday-decisions-pain-loss.html
