“I’m not interested in anything”: normal or not?
“Friends go to the cinema, stand in huge lines at the city skating rink, collect stickers in the supermarket to buy a frying pan on sale. I'm not interested in anything. I don’t feel the desire to learn something new, even if it’s a simple story in Daria Dontsova’s new detective story,” was the complaint I heard from a patient. However, she did not consider this a problem, rather she shared a fact about herself: they say, everyone is so active and active, but nothing interests me, that’s the kind of person I am.
Chimpanzees in the laboratory solve mechanical puzzles when they are bored, even though they do not receive any external reinforcement such as affection or treats. Experimental rats will begin to explore unfamiliar parts of the maze if left alone. Newborn children are actively interested in objects and images that combine black and white colors: they can only show passive curiosity, but they use it to the fullest. Why are there so many adults in the world who seem to have this default built-in function—curiosity—broken?
Curiosity is determined by heredity and a person's condition. We cannot influence genes. Everyone is born with certain characteristics of dopamine receptors: their number, sensitivity and other characteristic properties. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that provides anticipation of something interesting in any new situation and gives a feeling of joy if expectations were met and you managed to solve a problem, put together a puzzle or learn new information.
In 2007, researchers at the Max Planck Institute discovered the “curiosity gene” in birds, which is responsible for encoding dopamine receptors. The most common variation of this gene made the birds inquisitive: they more actively explored objects placed in their cage and more often visited new territories.
In humans, the brain is structured in a similar way. Some are more inquisitive: they are attracted by novelty, they do not like routine and are ready to sacrifice stability in order to get the next portion of thrills. Such people often become famous researchers, travelers, discoverers... But they also easily fall into various addictions. Others prefer stability and do not suffer from routine. However, they are also able to receive their portion of dopamine in response to new impressions or interesting information. It’s just important for such people to get all this in a familiar, calm environment.
There is no such thing as “naturally incurious.” And if you are not interested in anything other than regular cash receipts on your bank card and meeting basic needs like food or sleep, this cannot be called a personality trait. This is a symptom. And it requires careful study
Much depends on the person’s condition. It is unlikely that you will carefully study Wikipedia to find out the average life expectancy of a dragonfly if you have the flu and can barely open your eyes from severe intoxication. Just like a hungry laboratory rat will not idly sniff unfamiliar parts of the maze: its behavior will be aimed at searching for food, detecting alluring smells and connecting memories of where it was previously possible to find food.
Our behavior depends on our condition. This is where the solution to the “mystery of missing curiosity” lies.
Lack of curiosity, that is, interest in information on which your health and well-being does not depend, is most often a sign of chronic stress.
Dozens of popular self-development resources recommend: become more curious! Be open to new things! Try a new dish at a restaurant, sign up for a Spanish course, start the year by learning Ashtanga yoga!
The problem is that these cheerful recommendations will have no effect on a person who is in an extreme state of mental exhaustion or is sick with something. They will only give him a feeling of guilt, a feeling of his own mediocrity and insurmountable laziness. If you look at lack of curiosity as a symptom, instead of ignoring fatigue, anxiety, constant lack of sleep, lack of protein and important microelements in the diet, you can get an unexpected result - a transformation from an amorphous type into a curious person.
Where to begin?
The most reasonable thing is to make an appointment with a therapist. The complaint that “nothing is interesting, nothing pleases” is not Oblomovism, but a justified reason for examining the body. The results obtained may lead the doctor to think about the causes of the “amoebic” condition. This is a deficiency of vitamins D, B12, iron, heart and kidney disease, and thyroid disease. If the body is healthy, it is worth continuing the search in the mental sphere.
To do this you need to visit a psychiatrist. No matter how scary this word may sound, you should not replace this specialist with psychologists, art therapists, or, even worse, gurus of spiritual practices and personal growth coaches. Drawing pictures in the sand or practicing gratitude meditation is worth it after your doctor has ruled out serious mental problems that require constant medication.
Major depressive disorder cannot be cured by advice to “get out of your comfort zone,” and bipolar affective disorder cannot be overcome by creating paintings from buckwheat and millet. An experienced psychologist will be able to recognize the problem and refer it to a psychiatrist. However, the professionalism of psychologists often remains on their conscience. Chances are you'll be stuck in a relationship with a toxic mother at a time when it's time to put the ghosts of the past to rest and instead work with a cognitive behavioral therapist on a pre-planned plan and take medication.
What else can you do?
Try to figure out for yourself what is causing your chronic stress. For a young mother, this is often a lack of time for herself, too large a list of household responsibilities in addition to caring for the baby, and the inability to set priorities, because everything seems equally important. You shouldn’t immediately make a revolution at home, file for divorce and leave the child with the father - the “small steps” method works more effectively.
Agreeing on three hours of free time a week, buying a gym membership at home, sharing with the father the responsibility of getting up to see the child at night - even small changes will help little by little replenish depleted mental resources.
A middle-aged working woman has other sources of chronic stress. This is often lack of money combined with an abundance of household responsibilities. I remember the story of one of my friends. She lived for many years in a traditional marriage, where the entire household - from buying groceries to washing the plumbing - was her responsibility. She and her husband worked equally, and each of them earned slightly less than the median salary in Russia. One day she was offered a highly paid job where she would have to spend most of the day. My husband greeted this event with great enthusiasm. Like, we’ll finally live: we’ll go to Crimea for a month, we’ll be able to help our mother, we’ll pay for college for our daughters! However, the man responded to the proposal to divide household responsibilities at least in half with sincere indignation.
This story of failed career growth is a typical illustration of the family structure in our country. Is it any wonder that such women lose their curiosity? They don’t have time to read the new bestseller, and instead of going to the movies with their family, they prefer to sit in the kitchen, looking at one point until their husband calls out with a request to heat up the borscht.
The C. Elegans worm has only 302 nerve cells. But even this primitive creature begins to actively explore a new environment as soon as it is placed in a Petri dish. And he even demonstrates certain strategies: first he studies the area around him, and then begins to “travel,” that is, explore the space as widely as possible, using special throwing movements. And if scientists have not found a single incurious worm in nature, what can we say about people?
Information is intangible; it cannot be touched, eaten or worn. Still, it is a great value that can provide various benefits, immediate or delayed. The most interesting thing is that negative experiences are still regarded by our brain as something useful. Researchers have found that reward circuits in the brain are activated in response to unexpected or unpleasant events. This means that the brain appreciates any information. It is in our nature to receive a wide variety of information and enjoy it.
Stress prevents us from being curious, but curiosity helps us respond to stress more easily - this is what modern research says. What does it mean?
Make sure your physical and mental health is in good health and that nothing stops you from being curious. And, if you are not sick, hungry or tired, enjoy new information: go to exhibitions, visit museums, travel, read fiction books and bestsellers in the non-fiction genre. Give free rein to your curiosity and it will definitely make you happier!
Come to the surface
And we, as a rule, live in the direction set by our parents and society, locking ourselves into false attitudes and other people’s desires. Life goes on as usual. You need to earn a living, go to work that does not bring satisfaction. In general, pretend to be a “decent citizen”, and your head lives its own life. The gaping hole of misunderstanding of one's place in this world is growing.
Trying to somehow dilute the boring flow of life, sound people get carried away by all sorts of esoteric trends and teachings. But this also does not bring any satisfaction, much less an answer to questions - only slight relief for a short period of time. And now the question about the meaning of life is knocking on the door again.
Knowledge of system-vector psychology can become a coordinate system for a person with a sound vector to find his place among other people. Systems thinking reveals the meanings that he is looking for, returning the sound artist to the world of people, only among whom he can find his realization.
When sound engineers get the very answer to their main question “why is all this for?” When they begin to understand the hidden motives of other people, understand their internal properties and desires, they have the ability to realize themselves in modern society, according to their mental properties. Therefore, after realizing these things, people for a sound artist become not an empty, faceless something, but the very thread that will connect him with reality. It is precisely the tool that will finally allow him to realize the essence of things hidden from him.
Thousands of people have already received their results. Read and watch reviews from people who have mastered systems thinking. Their loneliness is a thing of the past:
You can endlessly hide from people, feeling the meaninglessness of existence, or you can come out of inner pain and become able to realize yourself in this world. This is already possible in free online lectures on system-vector psychology by Yuri Burlan. Register using the link.
Author Yulia Ulzhaeva
The article was written using materials from online training on System-Vector Psychology by Yuri Burlan
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