Inhibition — to not act upon every thought

In a nutshell, inhibition is the capacity to hold back responses to stimuli in order to select a more appropriate behavior that is consistent with completing goals. Low inhibition has been shown to be heavily linked with depression.

Every day there are numerous examples of inhibition presented. Should one insist on checking social media all the time? Should one ruminate on that negative feeling that has no basis in reality? Or perhaps inhibit that thought and stay with what one is meant to accomplish?

In today’s age of massive distraction and attention deficit disorders, one can easily see the importance of inhibition. If one has a goal in mind, there needs to be an awareness to inhibit thoughts and reactions to random stimuli all day long.

As with any change, the first step is understanding. With understanding comes the capacity to notice when this is happening. With the capacity to notice these reactions comes the sudden — but easy — realization, that one has the capacity to inhibit whatever reaction that pops into mind. It sounds obvious but nonetheless interesting, and above all, valuable.

A hypothesis could be that living in this constantly connected society has surprised our brains — requiring stronger inhibition to function well. The capacity to prioritize and follow up on these priorities (=inhibit low priority actions) is important. We have made it harder by allowing all these distractions into our lives.

The idea that we can learn inhibition by practicing is fascinating. It is like learning a shortcut on a route you travel every day. You suddenly realize there is a shorter way and of course you re-route and start using it instead. Simple. Hopefully one is able to better understand, notice, and act upon these chances for inhibition in everyday life after understanding this short text.

Thanks for reading.