Don't Listen To Complainers - It Is Bad For Your Brain

If you are continuously exposed to negativity, chances are that sooner or later the functioning of your brain will be impaired. Listening to too much of complaining can actually be bad for your brain. Trevor Blake, a social entrepreneur and writer of the book Three Simple Steps: A Map To Success in Business and Life, has written that listening to too much of negativity by people around you can hamper your brain’s ability to think positively.

Negativity can impact your brain in multiple ways. Blake elaborates that neuroscientists have studied and evaluated how brain behaves when subjected to negative stimuli, typically characterized by a long complaining session. Neuroscientists can measure the impact of such stimuli on brain functioning. Blake claims that an exposure to 30 minutes or more of negativity, either with your friends, customers, colleagues, business partners, boss, or through TV can actually peel away neurons from the hippocampus region of the brain, which assists in decision making, thereby, in a way, rotting the brain.

In his book, Trevor Blake says that brain works like a muscle and so if it is pinned in a corner for an unusually long period of time and subjected to negativity, there is a strong likelihood that it will behave in a similar manner.

There are many situations when you cannot escape negativity. For instance, if you are running a company, you are bound to hear about things that have gone wrong. Trevor Blake says that there is a fine difference between listening to things that have gone wrong and listening to complaints. Typically, people who complain are often not looking for solutions. They, in all likelihood, want to get involved in the whole mess and wholeheartedly join the cribbing session.  

Reasons for avoiding constant complainers

There are certain scientific reasons why you should try to distance yourself from constant negativity. Some of these are listed below:

1.     Mirror neurons

There is strong evidence that suggests that human beings have mirror neurons, similar to monkeys. They get activated in a similar manner when you watch somebody doing a particular thing, as they would, when you do it yourself. This is the key reason why human beings have the capability to empathize. We have the capability to learn by watching others. These mirror neurons imitate others even without our own conscious decision. We have the inherent capability to imitate others who surround us in our day to day lives. Therefore, being surrounded by people who vent constant negativity is not advisable in the long run.

2.     Emotional Contagion

It is said that anger and resentment are the most contagious of all the human emotions. A simple exposure is considered to be a conducive environment for social transmission of these feelings. Mirror neurons, as discussed earlier, are one of the primary drivers for the spread of anger and resentment in the exposed population. Speaking to people who are depressed is likely to leave us depressed. Similarly, listening to people who are self confident and buoyant, will leave us feeling happy about ourselves. In a similar manner, being surrounded by negative people will inadvertently leave us with a feeling of negativity around us.

Science has proven that anger and resentment and the ability to think logically and rationally are mutually exclusive.

Defending Yourself From Constant Negativity

If you work closely with other people and have a supervisory role, you are bound to receive complaints on a regular basis. Venting sessions are normal in an office environment or in a situation where many people work together. But, as a manager, your focus must be to address the issue head on and nip the problem in the bud.

You must be careful enough to identify the stage when complaining starts to impediment your work. Some tactics that can be adopted to defend yourself from constant negativity are listed below:

1.     Distance yourself

It is best advised to distance yourself from the complainer, especially if the person has the habit of spreading constant negativity. You must consider the complainer as a chain smoker, and try to keep away from the person. You could either excuse yourself by walking away or get on the phone when you encounter a habitual complainer. Though it might not be easy in the beginning, but in the long run, making a conscious decision to filter out negativity from your life will do wonders for your brain.

2.     Try to fix the problem

You must encourage the complainer to go ahead and find a solution to the problem. You must talk your way to motivate the complainer to take responsibility for fixing the problem and finding a solution. You can also confront the complainers by asking them about what they have done to solve the issue. In most cases, habitual complainers will walk away as all they look for is a group of people around them who can empathize with their situation. Only the people you are actually looking for solutions will try to take onus for finding a solution to fix the problem.

3.     Hide behind an imaginary shield

If you are badly trapped in a complaining session and there is no way out, then you can shut your brain off by imagining about a protective shield around yourself in which you cannot let anyone in. You can mentally think about a place that you want to be in or cover yourself in an invisibility cloak. These are some simple mental tricks that you can play if you are stuck in an inescapable negative environment.

The main idea behind adopting all these strategies is not to encourage your team or colleagues to hide their negative developments. It could have an adverse effect on your business. Venting sessions should be encouraged but only till the point that they do not start affecting your work. If you consciously decide to adopt the right filters and propagate the idea of solving small problems, it will go a long way in creating a healthy and positive environment around you. Your team members too will focus their energy and efforts in getting their work done in a productive environment.