27 Sep SEEKING and PLAY: Motivation, depression – lessons learned from researcher Jaak Panksepp
picture taken at Lubbuck Airport, Texas one night when my plane was diverted there because of high winds at another airport
Duldrums, despair, anxiety, loneliness, numbness. Emotions like this plague us when we’re healing.
There are times we have what feels like a “blip” of good feelings but often it’s more like we hate or want to control whatever emotions come up inside us.
Jaak Panksepp, a researcher of Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience at the Washington State University, has identified seven ancient instincts we all have which he calls our “primary-process affective systems.” These systems, in his view, are:
System Feeling
SEEKING enthusiasm
ANGER pissed off
FEAR anxious
PANIC-GRIEF lonely and sad
CARE tender and loving
PLEASURE/LUST call it what you will, Panksepp calls it “horny”
PLAY joyous
All about survival
Together these emotional systems allow animals to anticipate and prepare for survival concerns, automatically, below thought. He has these systems in all caps to underscore the fundamental nature they have in the nervous system.
SEEK!
Perhaps most intriguing of all is that the SEEKING-EXPECTANCY system might be at the core of healing, certainly Panksepp thinks it maybe the system at the core of shifting depression. It is the basis of motivation, propelling us, inviting curiosity, urging us to explore.
This SEEKING system is the urge, the instinct or the tendency to reach out, to look for information, support, help, nourishment to help us survive whether on the very basic (needing food/drink when we’re hungry or thirsty, or searching online for something we need or want.)
When the SEEKING system is active in our body we find ourselves exploring, investigating, interested and curious. We are aware of a certain expectancy to find what it is we’re looking for. Panksepp when this particular area of the brain is activated in animals they are moving around, exploring, sniffing.
On a higher level this SEEKING system is part of our need to make sense of the world, to understand, to make meaning of all that we struggle with. In fact, Panksepp suggests that our systems are wired for the search more than the end result.
Interesting?
That might mean that instead of getting somewhere we might want to explore the journey, perhaps becoming more interested in the baby steps that get us somewhere. Temple Grandin, the animal scientist, describes experiments in her book Animals Make Us Human where animals don’t want food delivered, they would rather search for it!
If you want to see Jaak Panksepp speak check out this video below
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65e2qScV_K8[/youtube]
Only a little bit of time to watch? Scroll forward to 14:00 and watch the rat tickler
Little side note here: Another researcher, Ken Berridge at the University of Michigan identifies two systems: Wanting and Liking. Wanting is like SEEKING – it’s the reaching, going after mode. It’s the enjoyment of the ride. Liking is the pleasure we get when we get the reward. Wanting gets us to go toward the goal, liking gets us completion. Oddly enough, our brains seem to be wired to be stimulated more than satisfied.
Make sense? If we didn’t have this need to search for something we never would have survived as human beings.
So, I’m curious (that’s my SEEKING system activated.) What is it you want? What motivates you? And what allows that seeking, that wanting to be completed, feel resolved?
The opposite of this SEEKING system is depression. When we’re depressed we’re not interested in reaching for something, trying out something new. The only thing that feels appealing at that moment is shutting down. Too much psychological pain is what Panksepp calls “the gateway to depression.”
What shuts down this natural SEEKING system? It’s the natural response when our hard wired need for attachment, which is violated or constricted. When we perceive love will be cut off, or we lose someone another instinctual system gets triggered: PANIC-GRIEF. When that happens our SEEKING system gets shut down.
Here’s an interesting idea.
Panksepp’s research tells us that developing and activating the PLAY system may be a powerful way to treat depression. We need PLAY to form friendships, find healthy ways to compete, and to explore where good boundaries are. Perhaps you’ve noticed that your pets, especially when playing aren’t depressed? That’s because PLAY ignites enthusiasm in the brain.
Leading me back to my SEEKING system: What kind of ways do you like to play? And what encourages you to play?
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May all our hearts be easy. Held in the gentle knowing that we’re not alone. Know that around you even though unknown to you are people who are walking the same path, looking for the same connections and healing. I pray that you will come to know that you are loved and cared about.
Want one of the Mindful Self-Compassion spaces that are left?
Three spots left. Is one for you? That’s not to put pressure on you but to offer you the chance to pause and feel if this is the right choice for you right now. I hope it is but it’s important to me that you do what’s good for you.
As always, I’m glad to be there to support you in nurturing your heart and your life,
Deirdre