Unravel the intriguing concept of curiosity and its diverse manifestations. Discover how this innate human trait, often overlooked, can serve as a powerful tool in managing anxiety. Prepare to delve into the fascinating interplay between curiosity and mental health.
There are 2 main types of curiosity flavors:
D-curiosity: curiosity can induce aversive or pleasant state of mind
- Deprivation curiosity: driven by a lack of information, often a specific piece of information
- Interest curiosity: curiosity piqued when we’re interested in learning more about something, usually an internet search
- Each of these curiosity “flavors” has different “tastes” and they feel different in our bodies
Step 2: Recall your most recent run-in or incident with a habit loop
Any habit you find yourself returning to whenever you’re worried or anxious
Step 6: Follow them over the next 30 seconds – not trying to do anything to or about them – but simply observing them.
Use the mantra “Hmmmm”
- This helps people move from their thinking, fix-it mind state into a curious awareness of their direct sensations and emotions in their bodies and move out of their thinking heads and into their feeling bodies.
Step 3: Check in with your body
What sensation can you feel most strongly right now?
About the Author
Director of Research and Innovation at the Mindfulness Center and associate professor in psychiatry at the School of Medicine at Brown University, as well as a research affiliate at MIT
- Expert in mindfulness training for treating addictions
- Cofounded MindSciences, Inc. to create app-based versions of these programs for a wider audience
Step 4:
In terms of this feeling, is it more on the right side or the left?
- Where do you feel it most strongly? Feel it in the front, middle, or back of your body? Do you notice anything you noticed about being curious?
Step 5: Get curious
If the sensation is still there in your body, see if you can get curious and notice what else is there
