Dear friend,
When you are physically hurting, the areas of the brain that activate (such as ACC) are the same areas that activate with the emotional pain such as of social rejection. Emotional pains have thus hijacked the brain areas that were meant to host physical pain. In one study, Acetaminophen (Tylenol) blunted the emotional pain associated with social rejection.
Dear friend,
In a recent study, one out of every two girls avoided activities such as swimming and other sports because of body-image issues, and one out of four girls was afraid to raise her hand in class. So many of us miss out on precious opportunities because we feel inadequate and afraid to speak up. Prevalence of low self-esteem is difficult to precisely measure in the population, but it is likely high. Estimates range from 20 to 80 percent.
May you sing the song of your heart each day, no matter your ability to sing.
Dear friend,
I had no idea how bad a singer I am until one day, while I was singing, my daughter started crying. She was crying because of how badly I was singing! (This is called the Dunning-Kruger effect — an illusion some unskilled people carry that they are very talented. I am sure you know a few of them!)