Thinking Systems Blog

Family as Systems

October 27, 2022Uncategorized

Families act as a system for a reason. Our desire to be calm drives more behaviour than we realize. This is a significant factor in families acting as systems. This month’s previous post pointed out that emotions, like being anxious, are contagious

Emotional Contagion

October 15, 2022emotional system

Emotional contagion is real Emotional contagion is a field of study that validates much of what Dr. Bowen conceptualized in the 1960s. Dr. Bowen, who read widely across scientific disciplines, believed that we inherited the basis for the human emotio

Immune System’s Defining of Self

September 24, 2022Define self

The Immune System defines self Nature has a way of defining the physical self for all organisms via the immune system. Evolution built our immune system to recognize non-self from self. Accordingly, mechanisms like the immune system are the root of t

Personal Growth: Six Key Learnings

September 12, 2022Define self

Personal growth: Individual Effort in Social Systems Does an individual's anxiety level vary when embarking on a journey of personal and spiritual growth? How would the existing social system react to the change? Would the level of anxiety vary over

Systems view of problems

August 22, 2022Define self

Systems view of problems. A system view of a problem differs from how most people think of a problem. The common way of thinking stems from an individualistic cause-and-effect model. In our current culture, there is a quick-fix desire as well. Thus,

Elders and Interdependency

August 15, 2022Uncategorized

Elders and Interdependency To understand human nature, it's useful to think in terms of evolution. Why would a species need elders or have an interdependency with them? For example, what is the benefit to a species of having the females live a long t

3 Steps to Great Decisions

July 22, 2022Anxiety

Great decision-making always involves emotional processes and some level of value judgement. After all, decision-making is about choosing, and what we choose is based on subjective values of what’s better or worse for the situation. Decisions are b

Use Regrets to Grow

July 11, 2022Uncategorized

Use the power of regrets to grow. Regret, like other emotions, can be a useful source of information to help one grow. It is defined as a feeling of sadness or disappointment over some past event. We can use regrets to grow because it can foster refl

Distress signals others to help.

June 12, 2022Uncategorized

Distress behaviour is a signal for help Why would anyone like me more if they think I’m stressed? I certainly don’t have big puppy dog eyes. Recent research suggests that evolutionarily, signalling distress to others would be an adaptive trait. B

I feel your pain. Literally.

May 30, 2022Uncategorized

"I feel your pain" is rooted in biology Seeing an individual in emotional pain can activate our own emotional pain circuits. This provides an interesting link to what Dr. Bowen proposed as the togetherness force. We experience this when we recognize