If you knew how your neurology reacts to narrative, would you pick the same stories? 

I've always told my kids that when I was growing up I used books to teach me to be the person I wanted to be, not what was modeled at home. Great to learn that was actually true😊

This is why it’s so important to read stories about people who aren’t like you- I don’t just mean to learn about different cultures, but also to test out different ways of thinking and acting.

I'm beginning to understand the mess the world seems to have gotten into when I imagine the mental concepts our brains develop when we consume all the mini-stories in our social media feeds every day. Thank you for your video.

I am a former teacher. I used to read the Chicken Soup for the Soul animal stories, or those where children came through in a big way for peers. Our social skills program wasn’t great, but these stories became favorites for my third graders. Many got the books for themselves, and I can imagine that they, too, saw themselves as the protagonists in these stories, adopting altruistic behaviors.I will never forget one of my low readers, who seemed not interested in reading, coming back to my classroom door as a fourth grader proudly showing me his Chicken Soup for the Soul book. Those stories created many lightbulb moments for my students.

This applies to much more than just literary and genre stuff. Scrolling through brake checker instant karma dash cam videos and people being salty about dating dynamics also gently align your thinking in very negative ways. Finally the stories you tell yourself. Life has its ups and downs but where do you put your endings? You can stop in the troughs and say "see, everything turns to crap in the end" or you can refuse to end the narrative there, and end at a peak, with " see, things work out and now I'm stronger for the next challenge"

I see some people making the case for keeping things upbeat here, which is fine, but it’s darker media can also help us develop empathy for other viewpoints, other people’s struggles, or help us reprocess our own. There’s benefits to both diving into the darker stuff as well as seeing a model for who you want to be

I recently read Jennette McCurdy's book "I'm Glad My Mom Died" and it was so powerful and amazing. So grateful to have read it. It felt like I was learning a lot about myself, and my family members, and about life in general. It was so nuanced and beautiful. Taught me a lot about eating disorders, it humanized abusive people even further for me, and it made me reflect on my relationships in where there could be codependency. It made me feel strong, like I could recover and heal similar to how Jennette has. Very inspirational!!!

As a writer, I've been aware of this effect for some years, but it's good to hear the science behind it. It's interesting to note that all con men, dictators and case-winning lawyers are good story tellers.

I certainly notice that when I'm reading a sad book it can affect my mood negatively. I also don't follow news, too upsetting.

Cancelled Netflix this week. I watched 'baby reindeer' and it left such a toxic taste in my psyche that I thought enough is enough. Gave up watching the mainstream news 10 years ago [all they want to do is grab you by the amygdala] and gave away my TV. Curated credible news sources on YT and feed my mind with good information that helps me grow and learn. Thank you.

"Our brain can't differentiate between reality and something we vividly imagine." -Anthony Robbins. This is so fascinating. Because there was as well an experiment, where basketball players were divided in 2 groups. The first practiced thworing. The other group just imagined it. Both groups at the end got evenly better at throwing. The story we make up in our mind realy strongly shapes what we perceive.

Fascinating. As an autistic child, I often couldn't tell the difference between the ideas I dreamt and the reality I lived in. To my brain it often looked the same. Like the dreams were wilder, but they seemed as real as real life in the moment when I told myself stories.

I already know. Narrative is the basic unit of human cognition.

Gone With the Wind (the movie) taught me to remember what's important to me and to stick to my values and not let hardships turn me into someone without integrity. The last book I read was Cool Town which was about the alternative scene in Athens, Georgia, and that taught me to dance to the beat of my own drum. So I'm learning integrity and authenticity. I'd say I'm doing pretty well.

Stories are the essence of human beings. We are dream engines. Religion, money, cars, laptops... Anything we can imagine we can create. Even freedom from suffering - the highest goal.

After 23 year's of being a mom, I've picked up my pen again and started writing. This is so incredibly on point for the augmented tale I'm telling. The story is essentially a interesting way of introducing my travel packages and activities.

I try to be very careful with what I feed into myself (on every level). I have been a big believer in what you talk about for some time. Nourishment not only relates to what we eat. I try to keep my reading and viewing material up-beat and positive. It works ...

I am a teenager, and here's two things I wanna say: 1. I have heart and I know how hard is life. And I don't need any more proofs. I don't watch news, and I don't read sad or scary stories, watch movies about hardships and difficulties, because I am already aware about world situation and nothing have to make me more sad or scared. 2. I noticed that things I met in culture and media as a child are affecting my mind nowadays. That's why now I am trying to filter information to not to catch any more ill ideas.

I've known this forever but didn't know how to put this into words. There are also stories that can point out which issues you are dealing with at psychological/mystical/spiritual levels -where your inner wounds lie and how to deal with them but at the safe level of dealing with the challenges inside your imagination. Imagination is a powerful tool in understanding yourself and the world. I started writing a science fiction/fantasy novel back in my 30s, I am now 73. It shocks me how much of my life I mapped out.. and how my main characters dealt with their lives and what solutions they came up with. I've never published because the story is so revealing of my inner worlds. I'm very attracted to Superman, and all heroic characters right now. I'm a widow dealing with the challenges of not only old age, but with being truly alone for the first time in my life. I'm not reading a lot, nor writing a great deal. I think I'm trying to encourage heroism in myself and optimism. I need to believe in my own abilities. I've always known the power about story and story-telling. Myths are the same thing - Icarus, the legends of the Holy Grail and Arthur.

I’m a big receiver from the ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’ books. Short, uplifting real life stories that range topics and genres. My favourites are from Overcoming Obstacles. If it has been done by others, it may be possible to be done by you. The importance of good literature or media viewing should never be underestimated re providing better well-being in our minds and hearts.

Please continue to share this message so people can actually begin to progress in their lives and we can all move forward

This is why I feel so offended when books or movies/tv has a bad storyline, because it actually affects our brains. This makes so much sense.

I do this with everything not just books. I do this with video trailers I watch, documentaries, ads on Facebook. I form stories about my life with all of it and then even make movies out of them. It makes life very fascinating like I'm living this grand adventure

Stories are so powerful! They were my escape as a child: I would read about other kids having adventures, being loved despite making mistakes and being naughty, kids taking smart risks and being supported to be their best selves, kids saving the adults even! I have been an avid reader and explorer of myself for over 50yrs. When I committed to inner child work, (20yrs ago) I began to do several ‘childish’ things, including rereading some of my childhood books. Then to my great delight, I discovered how many fabulous stories are now available which feature girls doing those fun/risky/exciting/wise/powerful things. In my childhood era, it was boys who had the most fun, in day-to-day reality and in books. Thank goodness for Pippi Longstocking and Lucy of the Narnia books. My new favourite young adult author is Mercedes Lackey, in her Valdemar stories. They depict ordinary imperfect kids with good hearts, who make deep connections and act with kindness, courage and competence, and have/find/create a supportive community.oh and I’m loving the Betwixt game, thanks you so much!

Really enjoying how you deliver these messages… very easy to understand.

coming from a dysfunctional family, books were my shelter. and there was a time when my parents understood that I was escaping their domination with books. but, studies were a religion in my family, and they didn't dare taking it from me. books saved me. really. as long as I had one in my hands, I wasn't anymore that helpless little girl. and books taught me a lot about life, and how to survive. I was a good student, because I thought that classical books became classical for a good reason. so I read a lot of classical books in my teenage years. some of them I really wonder why they are taught to children, because they are so tough! "les liaisons dangereuses", for example. I loved all alexandre dumas' books. they are tough too, and describe bad people in royal courts. I am an easy reader, and read a lot of different things. but there are some stories I don't like to watch-read-hear: violence, suspense, thrillers, and so on. I stopped with stories about lies too. why? some give me nightmares, and others make me too permissive to lies. and it worked. when I stopped reading-watching stories full of lies, I began to notice when people were lying to me. I couldn’t do it before. So yes, I know that the stories you consume are the person you will become. thanks for sharing!

I’m reading bell hooks’ “Art on My Mind” which really helps me to understand the way artistic language impacts us personally, spiritually, and influences our society globally.

I used to be a news junkie, partial to NPR, listening to all sorts of news, until 2016. And here I am scrolling RU-vid instead of working on my crafts. Thank you for the reminder.

I am fully aware that anecdotes are proof of nothing, but I will say that 2 or 3 decades ago, a relative I have a complicated relationship with recommended a book for me to read. This was not unusual, as we often recommended various sorts of media (film, books, music) for each other to consume. The name of the book is unimportant, but the premise of the book was that 2 friends had a bit of a falling out. One friend invited the other to go camping/hiking for the weekend under the the guise of working on their friendship. What it turned into was that the one person invited the other into the wilderness to basically make a game of hunting them down so that the other's death could be staged as an accident. If I remember correctly, the one was an outdoorsman/survivor kind of former military guy, and the other was an office worker and suburban dad. Needless to say, it turned into a nightmare for the person being hunted. I feel like I've been dealing with PTSD ever since reading that book. I trust people less, I stay at home more, and I have more of an unfavorable view of humanity in general. The person who recommended the book is still peripherally in my life. There has never been anything that I noticed to indicate any conscious meaning or symbolism behind the book recommendation. I truly believe the person would not even remember the book if it was mentioned, but it haunts me to this day. The only fiction I have read since then has been the Harry Potter series, and the only reason I ready that was because my kids wanted me to read it with them. I have only read non-fiction since. I honestly believe I would be a happier person living a slightly better life if I had never heard of that book.

Near 53 seconds to the end starting with 'language itself being a powerful form of virtual reality' is wonderfully profound. These insights would be a great addition to our education system.

This makes so much sense! I see so many lists like "The books that made me who I am" here on RU-vid, and it is quite literally true!

I thought of this a while ago, a while ago now when I read about other people stories and they say ‘I am going through this’ I read it as ‘you are going through this’. This just confirmed I’m doing the right thing

When you realise there isn't an 'actual' actual reality, you understand that what happens 'virtually' can be just as important. Also, it raises interesting questions about the narrative stories we tell ourselves about our own lives

Interesting video but I see this a lot where an essay or video starts with “did you know that x LITERALLY changes your brain?!??!?” For anyone interested, literally everything we do changes our brains. Your brain is constantly adapting to what you are doing (and not doing) with it, throughout the lifespan. To use a similar example as used in this study, of course when you read a sentence like “he kicked the ball” your brain regions that process “kicking a ball” are going to be recruited to process that, how else would you be able to create a mental image of that activity? What other brain region would be responsible for that? I’m glad people find this kind of study interesting and of course most people are not able or trying to keep up with neuroscience but be careful not to read too much into these kinds of sensational summaries. I’m seeing a lot of worrying comments here basically saying “this is why I bury my head in the sand and only expose MY brain to positive and uplifting material. Glad to be validated on this decision by science.” When reading, for example, sad or horrific narratives, you could actually be building your capacity for empathy and your willingness to make the changes you want to see in the world. One should be careful not to draw broad conclusions from one study. This particular study is from 2009 and did not make a huge new discovery, rather, it added to the many existing studies that suggest similar conclusions going all the way back to at least 1910. But of course, that’s not the entire story. There are many studies that suggest different views on what these kinds of results are actually suggesting. For a decent summary of a few studies in this area that are much more up to date, check out this article: www.quantamagazine.org/is-it-real-or-imagined-how-your-brain-tells-the-difference-20230524/ “New experiments show that the brain distinguishes between perceived and imagined mental images by checking whether they cross a “reality threshold.” We rarely mistake the images running through our imaginations as perceptions of reality, although the same areas of the brain process both.”

God, this makes so much sense. It explains why I exhibit so many traits from my favorite characters across a myriad of stories, both fictional and real, whether it be shows, books, movies, video games, real life, etc. They were my role models growing up. Paragons of virtues I still strive to emulate to this very day as an adult. I would even argue that these larger than life beings are more impactful to me now that I'm older simply because I'm far more emotionally mature, which makes it easier for me to understand the nuances behind the complexity that goes into these heroes and how to properly rise to the forefront myself. It's all so fascinating, psychology and how understanding it can literally change your whole life for the better. Thank you for this insightful video! I've made it my life's purpose to be the positive guiding light in my communities, to help wherever I have the power to, like the charismatic leaders and heroes I'm so enthralled by. This video just makes me so glad to know that there's a reason I'm so fascinated by these uplifting stories outside of simple escapism. Not only do they resonate deeply with me, but they have been actively and indirectly raising me as well! If my current life is any indication, they have succeeded. And the best part? This is just the beginning!

I am thrilled to hear this fascinating information on how our brains experience reading. I now understand why I have become so enchanted with the most excellent stories of Sarah J. Maas and others in the delightful genre affectionately called fairy smut. In truth, the strong women are so well-written, and the trauma responses of characters explored in such an informed and realistic manner, that their eventual ability to recover and heal and eventually thrive feels triumphant for readers as much as the characters. The smut is fun. The snark is laugh out loud funny. But characters that have overcome atrocious treatment and challenges make the Maas books treasures to enjoy more than once.

I have always used books as a way to cope with life. Complex PTSD means I've experienced a lot of trauma, but books are both an escape and an inspiration... Sometimes too much of an escape given I read 120+ books every year but to answer your question: the last three books I completed were Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, William's Treasure Trove and Journey to the River Sea. The last two are children's books, because I listen to children's books while I sleep. It helps. And now I'm writing my first novel, so that's a whole 'nother experience!

I used to read a lot when I was young. It brought me peace, raised my IQ, taught me critical thinking, and made me more aware of how situations may evolve. I was way in advance of my years.

I'm assuming this also involves news stories? Many stories that I'd rather avoid, but have difficulty doing so due to a family member constantly consuming them around me. Those stories make me incredibly sad and fearful of the world, and puts my already anxious nervous system on over-drive Would avoiding these stories as best I can be beneficial? Or are there ways to counteract this fear and find peace in the now? How can I remain grounded, with so many tragedies taking place? How do I stay informed without collapsing in fear? Are there alternative stories to lean on? I don't expect you to answer these questions, but this topic is very relevant for me currently, and I felt drawn to express I'm learning to navigate living with someone who wants to watch the news all the time, yet living with noise cancelling headphones on my head begins to feel an awfully small and constricting world after what seems endless days of consistent effort towards shutting the heavy news out

I'm learning this for myself. I have a very political person as my partner, also neurodivergent and intelligent. I find myself overwhelmed by the stories of corruption and the analysis of the future of my country just f-ing scary. I have to set boundaries around how much of this talk I can take. Now I understand a bit why. I have started editing my taste in music to add more calm, peaceful, instrumental music instead of my gloomy, minor key songs about codependent love and loss. I think curating what you watch and listen to can be important as you work on interpersonal growth.

Maybe this is why I’ve always been choosy about the kind of content I consumed, because even as a kid I was trying to imagine myself in the story, so if it wasn’t one I related to or cared about I didn’t want to read/watch it.

I believed that once, but not anymore. I watched for weeks only comedies and read funny stories, little funny web comics and so on and still had nightmares every night. I can have a glorious day followed with the worst night. It makes no difference at a certain point.

I find that reading a story, rather than having images linked to the narration, gives me a far more realistic sense of being part of it as it becomes my interpretation rather than that of the film maker.

In addition to providing a safe space to practice new skills, not feel isolated in our struggles, and strategize, I think the most profound pro to bibliotherapy is that it can give us hope. Hope as in, if this character that I'm watching or reading about can overcome this obstacle, then I can also overcome my own obstacle.

I'm pretty sure this applies to RU-vid videos and Shortform content as well, which is why it's probably so unbelievably important to pick what content to watch and what not.

“Language itself is a powerful form of virtual reality” is a statement that applies outside of story narratives too, though. It’s very basic to how we experience and navigate personhood itself.

This is so interesting! It makes sense but it surprises me in some ways. The main thing that surprises me is that we process the story as if we are living it. It makes sense because I know the stories we tell ourselves matter a great deal but I just never took the time to make this connection. I used to read a lot of horror and twisty psychological thrillers and they made me feel anxious and on edge. I guess now I know why. I've moved on to literary fiction, historical fiction, classic fiction, memoirs, cozy mysteries and poetry. I'm currently reading The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Burnette, and the last two books I read are Murder Most Royal by S.J. Bennett and The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai.

With this, I hope to one day find the books that I truly would love to be.

Though we seldom think of it as one, language is the most important technology humanity has ever developed. The ability to pass ideas from mind to mind (however imperfectly) has done more to change the world than all the other discoveries and inventions in history -- indeed, language is the basic technology that enables all of them.

So I wasn't crazy when I felt like every piece of media I consumed as a teenager shaped my entire personality lol

Spiderman Across the Spiderverse taught me that being yourself can be seen at times as not okay to other people, but you just have to keep going

This makes sense, human crave experience and what better/safest way to get it is through books and movies.

Thank you for this amazing post! I love japanese anime and the 3 last I watched were: the Royal Tutor, about a teacher and 4 princes; Patriot Moriarty, an alternative story on Holmes' nemesis and a love story beteen a magician and an elf. And I found myself critically thinking about how we tell ourselves our own stories, as explanations for our actions.

This is my first of your videos and I'm now subscribed. While we can all be concerned about what we are consuming given your compelling discussion, we might also revel in how we might communicate to others to allow for seeing something or someone in a different way. It also informs any would be writer. Thank you!

Little Thieves and Painted Devils taught me that healing from trauma isn't always linear, and that "when life closes a door for us, it doesn’t always open a window. The good news is: That’s what bricks are for." Dungeon Meshi has made me consider the intricate nuance of food in human culture, and feel understood in my oft-times squeamishness around food whilst learning the different reasons others are squeamish. And it taught me about the potential of deeper character design, which I'm sure can come up again in my next art projects.

In an effort to improve as a writer, I've been revisiting old books instead of seeking out new ones, and I could see how impactful those stories were to my upbringing. Especially when a certain passage or character unlocks a hidden memory. I've taken to annotating my books now for that reason, to look back on it years later and reflect on what's changed since then.

I, effectively, watched Russel T. Davis put Doctor Who back onto the sort of course it was on when he had the show back in 2005 -- which is to say, it is kinda goofy, but also *exactly* what I needed right now.

When I was a very small kid I was shown Grandma Moses art and at about 4 I decided I would live life and then when I was a grandma I would be an artist. When I was 17 watching "Easy Rider" with my future husband I can remember thinking I'd rather live in New Mexico than be married to this guy in Indiana. Now I'm a Grandma living in Santa Fe, NM doing art. :)

I'm currently reading Paul McCartney's biography and recently finished reading Terry Pratchett's A Hat Full of Sky. I can very much recommend the later for folks of all ages. And I'm looking forward to rewatching The Bear soon. Can't recommend that one enough, either! Like Hatful of Sky, The Bear taught my brain that negative expectations of people can be reshaped and changed by recognizing how they are shaped by their desire to be respected and/or accepted.

I was raised in a home where I was emotionally traumatized, so, naturally as a kid, I began to daydream stories from my favorite video game universe. Through these stories I grew up. I didn't realize it then but I was expressing bottled up emotions, I was helping myself get through the day... They saved me from Suicidal thoughts as even if I hated my life I could always escape it in my mind. But the most interesting thing living these stories did and still does to me (I still daydream, just a lot lot lot less now) is that through playing out an arch of a fictional character I can also teach myself so much. When I played out the story of a woman that was turned into a monster and so she though she was unlovable and her brother showed her he cares for her anyways I taught myself that even though I felt self hatred for myself, I wasn't unlovable and did deserve better. When my wizard who made a deal with a demon realized that fighting the demon for complete control over his body will only end up consuming him eventually, and that the demon actually can be convinced to work with him as long as he's treated as an equal I taught myself how important it is to never ignore the parts of yourself that fight back against your will to work even though you need a break or loose weight by cutting everything that makes food fun out of your diet. Fighting with yourself will only end up in burnout but allowing that voice to be heard and making a conversation with it gives you strength you didn't even think you had! So pay attention to what stories you tell yourself. What words you use to speak to yourself and about your reality. Make it a story that will help you become who you want to be.

There’s quite a bit of subtextual assumption here about fantasy proneness, absorption, and raw ability to engage in quasi-social situations, which is understandable, but not everyone engages with stories in the same way on fundamental psychological levels. For example the rare times when I read black text on white page fiction books, I’m not pulled into the world at all. My chosen type of literature is the comic book, though I still get more out of the pretty pictures than the story going on. Even with role-playing or action/adventure video games my main interest and task mindset is collecting items.

I love this! What a great way for me to become more of who I really want to be. My last great story, two days ago, was the movie “Hidden Figures.” It was really good, and now I believe it made me a little better.

I just finished reading _Sorcerer's Apprentice: My Life with Carlos Castaneda_ by Amy Wallace and it packed a wallop! I wanted to see how she handles all that abuse, and what she did as she woke up to it, and how she worked on healing herself after it was over for her with them. She did really well in educating herself about being used and abused by others and she came seemed to come out strong, at least at the time she wrote the book.

I get into these moods in which all that appeals me is scary, sad or both. And then I avoid fiction all together and stick to non fiction

My son has learning disabilities. Everyday I read to him. I alternate between the classics and the books that he wants. He has discovered a passion for mythology and history. He loves stories about people overcoming incredible odds to complete a quest. Despite being disagnosed with two learning disabilities and suspected of two more he is on grade level for math and science. He rapidly catching up in reading and I suspect will be on grade level by the end of the next school year. His longtime tutor told me that he has overcome severe learning disabilites. She said most of the time these kids never fluently read, however the one thing that I am doing differenly then some of the other parents is that I am reading to him. Just this year he started reading graphic novels to himself. By the end of the summer he should be reading novels. Perhaps he might even go to college. Statiscially speaking he should have been a junior high drop out.

It works for anything that we entertain by giving it our attention. A sound bite, a headline, or even a tik tok 21 to 34 second video.

Thinking about all the hope-sucking stories on the news and online....🧐

Lisa Cron's "Wired for Story" gives a fascinating deep dive into this topic.

This points to a deeper question of ‘how do certain people, in spite of their particular circumstance-cultural or otherwise-find it in them to transcend the situation and display wisdom and/or equanimity? A great example is Victor Frankl. There are many others. The point being that awareness of “story” not only points to what story to focus on, but about how to altogether transcend story to a large extent. This all points to belief and, yes, some beliefs are more adaptive than others, but the larger lesson is to have full awareness of story and belief(s) so as to not be fully caught up in them. When we experience something (story or life directly) are we affected or are we informed? This video lesson is a great place to start

Just found you by youtube recommendation - and I am already on board due to your straight forward presentation style. I like it! :)

Would you say this applies to internal stories we tell ourselves about ourselves and others?

I suffer with uncontrollable epilepsy, PTSD, OCD, GAD, depression and heart issues and my life is very limited. I had a meltdown which was a result of aphasia and agnosia and my brain was frustratingly opaque. I couldn’t understand anything at all and stopped speaking, I couldn’t read as letters looked weird and written words looked like symbols. I developed social phobia. I was put on a different epilepsy tablet and my aphasia and agnosia are more transient. I don’t watch the news as it doesn’t help my mood, comedy is good and gritty dramas are depressing. Pride and Prejudice, although it’s been many years since I read that, has stuck with me as it was a good social commentary. It’s a good educational tome.

I feel this applies to reading comment's/loads of comments too. Sadness (underneath anger), rage, sometimes even block headed is how I feel Last series I watched was Bridgerton: it taught me it takes 3-4 business days to run away from a hot air balloon

This is a comforting fact in a way. Why, I don't know. The thought just popped up.

Simulations of what we value, give a frame of reference to establish ones core identity. A call from the depths of our intimate understanding and interpretation of the self in relation to everything else.

As someone acutely suffering from an understanding of the stupidity of way too much of any media output, this is alarming to me.

I just watched Taxi Driver. Very cool movie and I enjoy how you can't quite tell what the main character is going to do in any given moment. That made the ending especially exciting when you finally figure out what happens.

FASCINATING and CONFIRMATION of what I've always believed! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

It's crazy that people watch so many of these new shows with torture and stuff.

I would say that it can apply to song lyrics and lullabies , I don’t really read to my nieces and nephews but when I babysit them I always come up with a melody and a story for them , and I can see them acting upon these stories almost immediately 😂

I find that I can’t stop waving my right hand about when talking to people, even to the extent of breaking my wrist and having to wear it bandaged like forever. It just won’t shut up ! 😂😉

Last stories I consumed are Bergman's "The Rite" which was crazy, Blue Eye Samurai episode and ongoing Catch 22 read. Not sure about the first two, but catch 22 does change the outlook on the world a little bit, illuminating small inconsistencies we have in our perceptions and all these "catches" we find ourselves in.

I have been gradually building a story for myself, in my brain, but isn't written down anywhere else yet. I am trying to make the story as much self-referential and meta-cognitive about the property of the story itself as it can get, so seeing this video and the scientific study does make me feel a little surprised and delighted to know that I am hitting the right direction :)

My 3 last stories: Fallout (the tv show) Fallout 1 (the video game) The Road (the book) Next up: Furiosa - A Mad Max Saga I guess it’s no wonder I coped better during covid lockdowns than most other people I know. My brain is locked and ready for the apocalypse at any time 😂

The last 3 stories I watched were about aliens in trouble and how they were helped by humans. The background narative in all three was that government was the antagonist.

I’m sorry, but I don’t still have the links to hand. The study’s citation is in the show notes, though, so I’m sure you’ll find the publication if you copy that into Google :-)

This explains my voracious reading as a child ... sci fi, fairy tales, heroic tales (Robin Hood, King Arthur, Peter Pan, historical tales, Egyptology) mythology and pulp fiction (Tarzan et al) ) Last three books? The Drawing of the Dark for the umpteenth time, two books on writing, and the Necromouser ... a collection of feline short stories with a fantasy edge.

I think this app is a great thing you guys did and i feel like everyone should thank you and commend you just for your initiative, will and effort in creating something with this purpose, separately even from appraising the product itself.

The three that stick into me are opposite of combating stress and anxiety because they're impactful but trauma confronting fictional stories. They're visual novels and I greatly recommend them, even if they have a niche community: Undefeated: a story about an underground fight club that tackles concepts around harmful masculinity and mental health. Echo: a psychological horror story about 6 friends bonded by a traumatic childhood drowning reuniting before a final cross country departure. Arches: a standalone half-sequel to Echo, with heavy focus on hallucinations, schizophrenia, drug use and grieving lost loved ones. You would have to search thest stories using google but they will change you. Search visual novel and the title of the story and they will appear.

If run on stories it is important that we Belive the narrative that we are enough as we are to the world. There is way too much narrative going on in the world that we have to be this and that to be worth something.

Cool video! It’s been said that visualization is the first key to success, and that if you can’t imagine your preferred outcome then you are in trouble. I’m reminded of how animals, such as lion cubs, play. It is not merely entertainment, but a practice of skills they will need to survive. Likewise our ability to visualize and then actualize could be seen as the leap from practice to real world consequences.

Interesting. My fav stories when I was a teenager were people escaping or enduring imprisonment. After a divorce, I gravitated to movies in which the wife murders the husband.

thats some wild hand gesturing great video

Well explained! As an oral storyteller, this is so accurate of what stories do.

Amazing. I believe any quality story is good because it's mental gymnastics. Sci-fi, horror, sappy romantic comedy, documentary. We'll still have most of your own personality and ethics with only slight addition and great excercise.

The reference used for this is almost 20 years old. I wonder how much has been discovered and understood since then

Anyone who cites an MRI study as evidence of literally anything should be required to make a correlating citation of the dead salmon study.

Depends on the person, how well the story is conveyed, and other factors.

I was always attracted to The Heroes journey type of stories where it’s implied that hardships are an important part to future success and to become a better person. This point of view has so far been very useful since I have also had the tendency to create problems for myself. The bigger the problem the bigger my motivation becomes. The downside is that I get somewhat complacent when life is too good.

Last movie I watched was Cade: the tortured crossing by Neil Breen and I learned that corporations are corrupt and "Damn, we need to make this an even fight!"