Making a Decision
Making a decision is a tough job sometimes. Particularly when emotions are involved. When emotions are high, our brain’s amygdala (the emotional animal) essentially highjacks the prefrontal cortex (the rational thinker). Our reason would optimise the best possible outcome. But our emotion optimises for the least amount of pain. The most difficult decision I had to make in my personal life was leaving Delhi in 2015. Amygdala massacred the prefrontal cortex brutally, dragging me down into a quagmire of depression. When in a state of depression, our brain gets stuck in a rigid, negative loop, loosing its flexibility to heal or see the bright side. I had struggled with a protracted and excruciating bout of depression before I quit Shillong in 2001. You’d say I am an experienced person when it comes to depression. Decision-making is the toughest part in that state. Psychologist Martin Seligman termed it “learned helplessness.” A series of painful situations ‘teach’ the brain a lesson ...
