Thread by @garwboy

Here's a question that arose via a @distantpod group chat

If stood on a cliff edge/high building, why do otherwise 'normal' people experience the urge to jump off?

Here's one potential neurological explanation

[Yes, it's the first #BrainStuff thread of 2022]

/1

So, our brains understand the world by running a mental model of how it 'works'. It combines all available memories, attitudes, beliefs, assumptions, experiences etc, into one big mental simulation of how everything around us works, or *should* work, based on what we know.

/2

But, as humans have the hefty cognitive power required, we also constantly run simulations of events that *might* happen. We can predict the outcomes of the choices we make, the things we encounter, and so on. We use this to function and survive in the world.

/3

As a result, novel things and experiences are particularly stimulating. We love familiar stuff; it's safe and reassuring, but novel things (if safe) can be a lot more appealing; they add to our understanding of the world, and expand it, improve our models etc.

/4

On top of this, because this process is an important part of survival, our brains are reliably more activated by bad or dangerous things; things that may prove a hazard to our safety, our status, etc.

/5

So, overall, our brains are constantly running 'what if...' scenarios, moment to moment, to help us figure out what's going to happen in response to events/our actions regarding them.

As a rule of thumb, the more negative these scenarios, the more 'potent' they are

/6

This ties into the phenomenon of Intrusive thoughts; where we think of something we consider to be definitively bad, and are distressed by this

"What if I punted this kid into the road?"
"What if I nicked that handbag?"
"What if I just rammed that caravan?"
etc.

/7

Truth is, our brains are regularly throwing up such hypotheticals. It's how we work. And many involve exploring the boundaries of what's allowed/acceptable.

It's mentally approaching the wire fence of an enclosure and listening for a hum, to see if it's electrified. Sort of

/8

The darker, more alarming/taboo thoughts stand out more as a result, and provoke a stronger emotional reaction than the more mundane hypotheticals, hence we notice them more. They elicit an emotional reaction, meaning we become cognitively aware of them.

/9

In most cases, these thoughts fade quickly as the more sensible parts of our brain exert their dominance. It's like our minds have constant, rapid internal dialogues
"What if I did [unspeakable thing]?... Well, that'd be awful, so don't do that, you tool".

/10

Aside: The inability to dismiss these unsettling *intrusive* thoughts seems to be the most common and debilitating expression of OCD, not constant cleaning/flicking light switches. They become cognitively consuming, to a debilitating extent.

/11

So, back to the point; when you're stood on a cliff edge or somewhere high up, you'll likely have these thoughts about jumping off. It's just how your brain works. It likes to explore every available option, just to cover all bases.

/12

But your brain also likes novelty, and spending minimal effort on achieving it. So, your brain thinks "What if I jumped off?", but then parallel parts of the brain may go "You could! The edge is right there, it would be easy, and we'd definitely experience something new!"

/13

Because you're actually there, and doing it would be relatively straightforward, the idea of jumping off, even if burped up randomly by your subconscious, suddenly carries a lot more weight and impetus, so you feel more compelled to actually do it.

/14

But then, once that thought materialises, the self-preservation parts of your brain notice what's going on, and scream into action. This usually means diverting as many neurological resources as possible to the perceived threat.

/15

In this case, it's the urge to jump. So suddenly you become hyperaware of it, and you've got a huge emotional reaction to it, it's burned into your memory, and so on.

/16

In a nutshell, we're constantly thinking about doing something ridiculous/dangerous, but thanks to how the brain works, if we're in a situation where doing those things would be very easy (in the practical sense), such thoughts can have a much bigger effect on us.

/17

I did a podcast about this with @Rachel_England over on @cosmicshambles a while back

cosmicshambles.com/brainyapping/f…

But it's covered, to an extent, in my latest book Psycho-Logical

amazon.co.uk/Psycho-Logical…

/18

@Rachel_England @cosmicshambles In any case, I think the moral of the story is, don't jump off cliffs. Odds are, you don't really want to, even if your brain seems to be telling you otherwise.

#BrainStuff

/end