Why the Brain Pushes Back | Lab Notes

Jamey Maniscalco (00:01.41)
Welcome back to Next Door Neuro Lab Notes. So a few years ago, I had this realization that I am addicted to caffeine. And I know that might sound overdramatic because caffeine is so normal in our culture. You most of us barely think about it as a drug anymore. It's just coffee. It's what you do in the morning, right? But the more I thought about it, the more I realized caffeine is actually a really clear example of one of the most important principles in neuroscience and addiction, which is

The brain creates the opposite of what you repeatedly use or do to change your emotional or physiological state. And honestly, once you understand this principle, modern life starts making a lot more sense. So today I wanna talk about why the brain pushes back, why the things we use to reduce boredom or anxiety or discomfort so often end up creating more of those exact same feelings over time. And really most importantly, what can we actually do about

But before we jump in, if you find this content helpful, please, please, please like, subscribe, hit the alert button. It is a no cost way to support me and to support the channel. Thank you. Okay, so I still remember the first time I had coffee. I was 16 or 17 years old and one of my friends worked at Caribou coffee and he made me this giant mocha drink and I had

absolutely no tolerance to caffeine at the time. And so after drinking it, I was completely wired. I mean, I was totally off the wall. I couldn't sleep. My mind was racing and I felt unbelievably energized and stimulated. And at the time that felt amazing because that's exactly what caffeine was doing. It was artificially shifting my state. It was pushing me towards this energy and alertness and stimulation.

But what's fascinating is what happened over time. The more consistently I used caffeine following that, the less energizing it became. And eventually I noticed that if I didn't have caffeine, I felt terrible. And I'm sure a lot of you are nodding your heads along out there, right? We get headachy, irritable, foggy, we have low energy, a little bit antisocial. And so what's interesting is the thing that I originally used to create energy.

Jamey Maniscalco (02:25.762)
had slowly become something I needed just to feel normal. And importantly, caffeine's not some sort of evil drug. I still drink coffee. I love coffee. But it's a really clear example of how the brain adapts over time. Because the brain isn't trying to make us feel amazing all the time. The brain is constantly trying to maintain balance and stability. And in neuroscience, we refer to this as homeostasis, which is the tendency of biological systems to

regulate themselves around a relatively stable kind of baseline. And because of that, when we repeatedly push the brain strongly in one direction or the other, the brain starts pushing back to get back to homeostasis. So if we repeatedly overstimulate ourselves, the brain adapts. If we repeatedly create artificial energy, the brain adapts. If we repeatedly escape discomfort,

the brain adapts. And over time, that adaptation can slowly shift to becoming our new normal. And that's why things that we use to reduce anxiety or boredom or discomfort can sometimes end up increasing our sensitivity to those exact feelings over time. And importantly, this isn't some sort of punishment. This is the brain's normal adaptation. And that distinction really does matter because

This isn't about weakness or moral failure. The brain learns from repetition. And honestly, this is the one of the most important lenses for understanding modern life right now. Because increasingly, we live in environments that allow us to instantly modify how we feel at almost any moment. And for humans evolutionarily and in the recent past, this wasn't possible. Bored? We can now grab our phones. Anxious?

We can scroll. Lonely, we can open social media. Mentally exhausted, we have endless entertainment streams. If we're slightly uncomfortable ever, we have an immediate distraction that we can pull out and look at. Increasingly, we are outsourcing our emotional regulation to stimulation. And the problem is that when relief becomes immediate and effortless and frictionless and constantly there and available,

Jamey Maniscalco (04:53.218)
The brain can slowly lose tolerance for normal discomfort. That's part of why stillness can suddenly feel uncomfortable. Why standing in line at the grocery store for 30 seconds without stimulation can feel strangely difficult. It's why silence sometimes feels stressful or boredom feels painful. And it's not because we are broken or we're failing, but it's because the brain is adapting to what we repeatedly train it to expect.

And the goal is not to eliminate pleasurable experiences from life. The goal really should be to become more intentional about what we repeatedly use to regulate ourselves emotionally. Because some forms of reward can actually strengthen us over time, while others will slowly deplete us. And the good news in all of this is that the brain can adapt in the positive direction as well. And that's one of the most hopeful parts of neuroscience in my perspective.

is that the brain can learn from repetition, both in kind of that negative direction towards addiction-like behaviors or addiction itself, but also it can learn in the positive way, which means stillness can become easier for us over time. Exercise can become rewarding. Deep focus can strengthen our attention. Mindfulness can strengthen awareness. Effort can become more satisfying, and we can develop a tolerance for discomfort.

an ability to be uncomfortable and live with it. So the same neuroplasticity, the plasticness and adjustability of the brain that's involved in addiction is also involved in healing and resilience and growth. So what do we actually do with this information? I think there's a few really practical things that we can start doing today. The first is create small moments of interruption before

relief from stress, anxiety, boredom, et cetera. And importantly, I'm not talking about some sort of perfection rule or something that you always have to do. I'm not saying never check your phone again when you're bored or feeling worried or anxious or need an escape. All I'm saying is when you have that urge and you're going to grab for it, pause for a moment first. Take one breath, take 10 seconds and create a tiny moment of awareness of what you're doing.

Jamey Maniscalco (07:20.994)
because awareness can interrupt that automatic behavior of I'm uncomfortable, grab the phone. I'm stressed, grab my phone. I'm anxious, make a drink. And over time, those tiny interruptions actually make a big difference. The second thing we can do is start to rebuild more earned forms of reward in our lives. So things like movement, exercise, getting out into nature, having a deep conversation,

where nobody brings out a phone. Getting into creative work or learning something new, building something or helping somebody else. Because your brain responds differently to rewards that are connected to effort or meaning or growth, as well as things like uncertainty, as well as engagement. And these experiences tend to unfold more slowly and naturally than a quick dopamine hit of checking your phone or making a drink.

They involve challenge as well as recovery and social connection, as well as active participation and not just a passive consumption. And really importantly, they don't just temporarily change how we feel. Over time, they help strengthen our resilience. We have to work towards something before we achieve it. They can help focus our attention because we're training ourselves to be attentive for prolonged periods of time. And they can help with emotional regulation as well as our tolerance for normal discontent.

These are skills that need to be built. And for those of us who haven't used the skills for a long time, they need to be rebuilt. And that takes time and effort and importantly, discomfort. And the third thing that we can start working on today is practicing stillness again. And you don't need to meditate for an hour. You don't need to be perfectly quiet or silent, but find small moments where you can introduce stillness back into your life.

Drive without the radio on or a podcast on. Try standing in line without grabbing for your phone immediately. Sit outside for just two minutes with nothing around you. Let your mind breathe occasionally. And honestly, at first, these moments will feel uncomfortable. But that discomfort isn't failure. It's your recalibration. It's your brain relearning how to exist without constant stimulation. And importantly,

Jamey Maniscalco (09:46.914)
Meaningful change, it's not gonna happen overnight. Instead, you need small repeated behaviors to shape the brain over time. And this is true for addiction, but it's also true for healing and growing. So honestly, understanding this principle may be one of the most important frameworks for navigating the modern world and our modern lives, because the things we repeatedly turn to don't just change how we feel temporarily.

They start to slowly shape what feels normal, what feels rewarding, what captures our attention, and how we respond to our lives themselves. And the more awareness we build around that process, the more agency we regain. So I hope this was helpful today, and I look forward to seeing you next time on Next Door Neuro.