How is the digital age transforming our response to stress?
Dr. Alexandra CrosswellHumans are information-seeking beings at heart. But while technology has given us unprecedented access to the data we crave, it has created a deluge of side effects. How are we adapting to information and stimulation overload?
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Humans are information-seeking beings at heart. But while technology has given us unprecedented access to the data we crave, it has created a deluge of side effects on our brains and bodies too. How are we adapting to information and stimulation overload?
Dr. Alexandra Crosswell has been interested in the mind-body connection since working at the Duke Cancer Center as an undergraduate, and meeting patients that were convinced that a stressful event in their life like a divorce had caused their cancer. Alexandra was, and continues to be, fascinated by the question of whether it's really possible that our minds have power over our cells. She has spent 15 years as a psychological scientist studying the effects of stress on biological health and well-being, and is now Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at UCSF in the US.
Alexandra joins us in The Garden to explore the effect of our always-on culture on our brains and bodies, and why so many people feel like they're on perpetual high-alert.
Talk outline
50 minutes
The Unconscious Mind
About the Fellow
Alexandra is fascinated by the mind-body connection, and if it's really possible that our minds have power over our cells. She is Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at UCSF in the US.
Thank you notes from Garden members
The Unconscious Mind Collection
The unconscious mind is a vast unmapped territory of feelings, thoughts, urges and memories that sit just outside our awareness. Luckily, our intrepid Garden Fellows are at the forefront of exploring it, and they're taking you with them on the journey.Stress starts in the mind, but it can take an enormous toll on the body too. Left unchecked, it can even prove fatal. What is stress, from a scientific perspective, and how does it wreak havoc on our bodies when we're in a state of burnout?
Humans are information-seeking beings at heart. But while technology has given us unprecedented access to the data we crave, it has created a deluge of side effects. How are we adapting to information and stimulation overload?
Meditation - training your attention and awareness to reach a calm and stable state - is an ancient practice found all over the world and used in the modern day to manage stress. What's going on in your brain when you achieve this level of focus?
We think of sleep as a period of relaxation and recuperation, but while we snooze, our brains remain incredibly busy, often with intriguing "side effects" like dreams and sleepwalking. What does the mind get up to when we're not paying attention?
Have you ever arrived at your destination with no memory of the journey that got you there? Your unconscious mind has been at work. Does that mean we don't always have free will over our actions and decisions? And what does that tell us about the brain?
The study of dreams is a fascinating journey through neuroscience, biochemistry, psychology, history and anthropology. How do dreams differ around the world, and what do they tell us about the world itself?
The body can create a shocking array of symptoms, from paralysis to seizures, seemingly without any medical explanation. Is the brain responsible, and if so, why does it do it?
How can someone on an acid trip see sounds or hear colours? And why do some people have this same experience all the time, drug-free?
