āDonāt compare yourself to other people.ā
Great advice but is it possible?
It turns out itās actually impossible to not compare yourself especially from ages 7-25. Did you know? Thereās a part of your brain that specializes in guessing how others perceive you (serotonin) and where you rank on the social hierarchy of society.
Serotonin - An essential characteristic of organisms living in a social hierarchy is theĀ ability to control individual impulses. ... In the higher primate species the ability to assess the status of other individuals and to modify one's own behavior accordingly is in large part mediated by the developed frontal cortex.
Additionally, studies manipulating tryptophan levels support the idea that low serotonin can predispose subjects to mood and impulse control disorders.Ā Higher levels of serotonin may help to promote more constructive social interactionsĀ by decreasing aggression and increasing dominance.
When you're between the ages of 9-13 your brain is actively comparing you to your peers with or without social media. People compared themselves to each other well before social media hit mainstream adoption, despite popular belief.
People who have a perceived deficiency are especially hit hard with this notion and can be the beginning of social anxiety setting in...
Whether you're the only āpoor oneā or different skin color or race or have a disability or a late bloomer, anything that can cause discrimination is unfortunately what fertilizes social anxiety.
We literally have a part of our brain that specializes in detecting where it thinks we are in the social hierarchy of society and then controls our mood & digestion & sleep as a result. This is why social anxiety isn't just in your head. It's a feature or a virus built in your brain from early experiences in life and can lead to long-term results even when youāre an adult.
What to do instead?
Focus on rebuilding your brain, to make sure serotonin is functioning properly with or without social approval, as much as it is possible to do soā¦
PS. My online course walks you through exactly how to do this step by step in the easiest ways possible, check it out and learn more here - markmetry.com/program
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Over the last several years Iāve devoted my life to helping introverted, shy, socially anxious creators, entrepreneurs, CEOs, and professionals move these mental health obstacles out of their life so they can get busy being their real selves in front of anyone.
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