In Russia, they found out what people lack for happiness

A group of specialists representing Tomsk Polytechnic University, in collaboration with Dutch colleagues from the University of Groningen, found one of the causes of depression and, in general, a phenomenon that the researchers identified as a lack of happiness. According to scientists, the matter may be in the imbalance between two ancient patterns of behavior, one of which implies the desire for something, and the other – the desire to avoid something.

Experts note that, to some extent, human behavior is influenced not only by the cerebral cortex, but also by structures inherited by humans from the most ancient vertebrates. These structures allow for the formation of two main types of behavior – search-reward and stress-avoidance. The first implies the need to actively strive for something necessary for a comfortable existence, be it food, a convenient territory for living, or a worthy place in the social hierarchy. The second mechanism, on the contrary, helps to hide from everything that would be dangerous, cause discomfort or in some other way interfere with a person or an animal.

Experts suggest that in a normal situation, there should be some balance between the two mechanisms described above, and its violation can cause a deficit in happiness and, as a result, the appearance of serious mental disorders. In particular, the researchers drew attention to the fact that in people with clinical depression, the avoidance mechanism significantly “outweighs”.

Experts note that the conclusions they presented fit well and complement the existing ideas about the nature of depression. Experts hope that their conclusions will help to develop more effective methods of dealing with this and other psychological diseases in the future, and we can talk about both new methods of psychotherapy and methods of pharmacological effects on the structures responsible for the basic mechanisms o

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