Blocking Out Experiences Because You’re Afraid of Suffering

  Putting up barriers and blocking out experiences is a common strategy you might use to avoid the discomfort they could cause you. In fact, your modern human mind has evolved to help you survive dangers. One hundred thousand years ago, our essential needs were food, shelter, and the ability to reproduce. Of course, none of this would’ve made much sense if we were dead. Therefore, the priority of our brains was to look out for what could harm us and avoid it. In psychology, this is called negative reinforcement. It’s a phenomenon that explains why avoiding unpleasant or dangerous…