标题:Overthinkingcouldbedrivingcreativityinpeoplewithneuroticdisorders source:thenextweb丨bySTEVENLYON 翻译请保留原文链接哦 欲翻译的小伙伴,可评论领稿,并把已完成的译文发在自己的心理圈or个人主页的日志内。请领稿的小伙伴,尽量在一个星期内完成翻译,谢谢!! Peoplewhosufferfromneuroticismaconditioncharacterisedbyanxiety,fearandnegativethoughtsareextremelytunedintolookingforthreats。Forthatreason,youmayexpectthemtoperformwellinjobsrequiringvigilance:stuntpilots,aviatorsandbombdefusement。Yet,theevidencesuggeststheyareactuallymoresuitedtocreativejobs。 Exactlywhatdrivesneuroticismandthecreativityitisassociatedwithisnotknown。Butresearchershavenowcomeupwithatheorywhichsuggeststhatitcouldbedowntothefactthatpeoplewhoscorehighlyonneuroticismtests,meaningtheyarepronetoanxietyordepression,tendtodoalotofthinkingoftenattheexpenseofconcentratingatthetaskathand。 Past,presentandfuture Thehypothesis,whichisyettobeexperimentallyverified,isanextensionofwhatwealreadyknow。Peoplewhohaveneurotictraitstypicallylookforthingstoworryabout(amechanismdubbedselfgeneratedthinking)。Forexample,peoplewhogetdepressedareconsumedbysuchselfgeneratednegativethoughtsthattheyforgetwhattheyaresupposedtobedoing。Inotherwords,theyarenotverytunedintothehereandnow,whichisprettyimportantifyouneedsomebodytoconcentrateondefusingabomb。 Whatthenewresearchhelpstodoisexplaintheunderlyingbrainmechanismsthatinterferewithonthejobthinking。Acertainamountofbrainarousalisgreatforconcentrationbuttoomuchinterfereswithclearthinkingandthat’swhatyouwantwhenperformingstunts,flyingplanes,anddisposingofbombs。 Sowheredoesthecreativitycomein?Theauthorsarguethatpeoplewhoengageinselfgeneratedthinkingarecreativebecausetheyarenotrootedinrealitytheyareawaywiththefairies。Indeed,theymayresistattemptstogetthemtoconcentrateonrealitywhilsttheyfocusontheirownthoughts。Itishardlyasurprise,then,thattheirideascanbenew,whackyandoriginal。 Sowhilepeoplescoringhighonneuroticismmaystrugglewithalotofstress,theycanstillhaveasuccessfulworkinglife。Theymayactuallybeabletofindcreativesolutionstoproblemsthatdidn’texistinthefirstplace,andintheprocesscomewithsomeprettyusefulandimaginativestuff。RatherlikeBillyLiar,inhisescapefromhistediousexistenceconjuringupsomefairlyexcitingdaydreams。 Remainingquestions Weknowthatpeoplewhoareclinicallydepressedspendanextraordinaryamountoftimelivinginthepast。Weknowthatpeoplediagnosedwithchronicworry(GeneralisedAnxietyDisorder)spendanextraordinaryamountoftimelivinginthefuture。Thestrengthofthestudyisthatitpullstogetherwhatisalreadyknownaboutpeoplewhospendalotoftimeengagedindistortedthinking,someofwhichcanbelabelledascreative。 Theauthorsarguethatthiscreativeflairappliesspecificallytoproblemsolving,astheybelieveruminationandworryimprovesuchskills。However,thisisquestionableasthereisactuallyevidencethatpeoplewhoaredepressedorworryarenotverygoodatproblemsolvingatall。Indeed,oneoftheinterventionsrecommendedforbothconditionsisProblemSolvingTherapy。Toadequatelysolveproblemsyouneedtobeapproachingrealityanditsproblems,notavoidingthemthroughaimlessthinking。Thenewstudyfallsshortbynotdiscussingthis。 Theauthorsalsoarguethatpsychologicalinterventionssuchasmeditationandmindfulnesswhicharethoughttodampensomeoftheseheightenedresponsesbygroundingpeopleinthehereandnowmaydomoreharmthangood。Thejuryisstillout,butthereisenoughevidenceavailablesuggestingthebenefitsofmindfulnessforpeoplewhoaredepressedandanxiouswithlimitedsideeffects。 Neuroticism,byitsverynature,alertsyoutopastandfuturedangerandsomeindividualscanmakegooduseofthat。Andthatcanbegood。Ourcavemanancestorscameequippedwithprimitivebrainpartsallowingthemtoengageinpredictingthreat。Butevenifanxiousordepressedpeopleareabletocomeupwithsomegreatideas,theyaresurelyfarmorelikelytocontributetosocietyinthelongruniftheycanfindrelieffromtheirsuffering。