So I’ve been plagued by this most of my life
Getting defensive
Withdrawing from some people
Explaining to people how they’re wrong
Getting agree when people cancel on me
Basically being someone other than I wanted to be with others.
I was pretty relieved when I discovered everyone has their own version of this going on.
Although probably a far less sarcastic version.
The brain is always measuring our level of safety within the tribe
Via a part of the brain called the Anterior Cingulate Cortex (mostly) it constantly scans for risk of loss or opportunity to gain hierarchy and connection.