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Alternative way of treating depression involves proactively savoring good events
What do you have planned for next weekend? What about six weeks from now? Did you know that, in many cases, waiting a set amount of time for something fun or pleasurable can improve your experience of that thing?
Here at The Focus, we love psychology. Whether it has to do with explaining why the truth doesnt always win debates, what your Halloween decorating style says about you, or what sort of cognitive shift you should make if you want to lose weight, it fascinates us. So, we turned our attention to the act of waiting, and how it can be utilized to benefit our mental health.
Anticipation of a positive event often outdoes the reward itself such as in the bedroom
Statistician and addiction researcher Nicole Prause told The Focus theres extensive evidence in the world of neuroscience that anticipation of positive events can be even more pleasurable than the reward. Better than the thing itself.
The best place to look for clear evidence of this is in the bedroom, Nicole adds.
Some of the best evidence, she says, comes from sexual response, where arousal and build-up create strong opioid and dopaminergic surges.
Dopamine actually plummets at orgasm, she goes on, despite the common assumption that it peaks.
Tufts Universitys Emotion, Brain, & Behavior Laboratory (EBBL) has published several blog posts on neural function during different stages of the sexual cycle.
After the rush of orgasm, dopamine levels drop below baseline, according to one, corroborating what Nicole had to say. This is similar to what happens during withdrawal from drugs of abuse.” Incidentally, Nicole’s work covers both addiction and sexuality. “Low dopamine levels are associated with depression, low energy, lack of ambition, social anxiety, among other [negative outcomes], the blog post reads.
Outside the bedroom, we can ride the wave of anticipation by actively thinking about the good event prior to its occurrence, Nicole says. This way, we allow the anticipation to enhance our mood, and maximize the overall enjoyment an event offers us.
How to prolong a pleasant experience afterward
Nicole explains that in the science world, efforts to extend the enjoyment of a good event after it has finished are called savoring.
Savoring often involves three essential strategies:
- Sharing with others, e.g., telling a friend about the positive aspects of the event.
- Counting blessings involves saying (or thinking) things like, I felt grateful for [insert event].
- Sensory-perceptual sharpening. This involves focusing mindfully on the event both during and afterward and reliving the sensations it produced.
Savoring is used as an intervention for depression, so it has a place in psychotherapy, too. Researchers at Southern Methodist University in Texas found that students receiving behavioral activation therapy augmented with savoring experienced improvements in positive and negative mood.
Savoring enabled them to pay attention to what is in these enjoyable activities that make them feel better. Good events then became salient in their memory they remembered them more clearly.
So, what do you have planned for this weekend? Anything exciting? Enjoy the wait!
Nicole Prause is a neuroscientist and statistician specializing in reward processes, particularly concerning addiction and sexuality.
