CYBAH Ep 6: What is Negativity Bias? 

Did you know that our brains are wired to focus on the negative? It's called negativity bias, and it's a biological construct designed to help us focus on the negative for our survival. In this video we’re going to explore this bias and I’ll show you how you can upgrade your operating system to overcome your biology through hypnosis.

I’m Erika Flint. a board certified hypnotist, accredited master hypnotherapy instructor, and author of 4 best-selling books on hypnosis. I’ve helped hundreds to lose weight, stop smoking, and change their lives. 

Our brain has developed over thousands of years to discern that anything that is life-threatening is the most important thing to focus on. Scientists call this Negativity Bias, and it's a biological and natural response of our brain.

Imagine that it’s back in the Paleolithic (Caveman) Era, and you are running for your life. You are being chased by a saber tooth tiger (negative). As you’re running, you notice a beautiful red apple (positive) – something you haven’t seen in months. You’d love to stop and pick that apple, yet if you did, you’d likely be eaten by the tiger. That negativity bias just saved your caveman or cavewoman life.

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to remember something you did or said that was “wrong” or “bad?” The brain prioritizes that for us, for our survival. This is so important. I can’t stress how important this is. I wish I would have learned this—truly learned this—a long time ago. 

Your brain will focus on the negative for your survival. But we can do things on purpose - so that we are NOTICING what IS working.

So that we ARE SPEAKING KINDLY to ourselves 

So that we are IMAGINING WHAT WE WANT instead of want we don’t want out of our life. 

That’s truly what we are doing with hypnosis - seeking of the self and truth. 

Hypnosis helps us to understand how to calm the nervous system, so we can drop into an alpha brain wave state, and perhaps theta, and gamma intentionally - at times - to discover what information - what TRUTH resides in those levels of the mind that are contributing to the whole of us. 

One of the most important truths I’ve learned and adopted into the hypnosis center in the last few years, is the following phrase: “Infinite Grace Keeps the Heart’s Loving Pace” - and what it means, is to be patient with yourself along the process of self-development work. 

And I want to pause here because it’s important. 

Pausing for importance is just so cool. 

I really get excited about how cool this life is, and how amazing our brains are. 

So let’s do this, when I say PAUSE for IMPORTANCE, what I mean is, let’s slow down. 

Let’s slow everything down. That is in part what we are doing in hypnosis, we are slowing everything down to understand where did something go wrong.

And it’s an important model for living too - so anytime you’re unsure, PAUSE for importance and slow down. 

The intention is to stay present. Stay in the parasympathetic nervous system. Stay feeling good. 

Can you imagine, that every time we feel afraid, or nervous, and our nervous system switches to the parasympathetic nervous system, we are not thinking as clearly. 

And so many of us have been “Training for anxiety” for so many years living in one state of anxiety or stress or another, So let’s starve the brain of anxiety - if we can. 

Infinite Grace Keeps the Heart’s Loving Pace. 

The next time you catch yourself doing it the “wrong” or the “old” way - you say to yourself, oh hey, ha ha , that’s the OLD way! I’m so glad we caught it though! 

Instead of saying, “Oh, I did it again! I’m so mad at myself!” That doesn’t help us change and grow positively. 

So - live with what is called beginner’s mind, and allow yourself to see all of life as a beginner. When you do something the old way, enjoy noticing, and love yourself even more. 

Notice how much easier it is to transform when you LOVE the PROCESS of TRANSFORMATION. 

This goes a long way with our clients. 

They’re going to want to be perfectionists. They’re going to want to be hard on themselves. We get to tell them they have permission to go slow. They have permission to not be hard on themselves. They have permission to be loving. They have permission to do it “wrong” whatever that means.

And the last thing here - consider - when we are under duress - stress, the things we say to ourselves in that state - is the same things we would say to others. 

So one way to truly love others and communicate with them better, is to communicate with yourself better when you are at your most stressed out. 

Try this out and let me know how it goes in the comments.

In our next video, I’m going to share with you an experiential metaphor that will help you really see how hypnosis works—again at the experiential level. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to access all of our content. 

In our next video, we’re going to do a deep dive into the systematic approach to hypnosis. We’re going to roll up our sleeves and delve into all of the elements of a hypnotic session. You won’t want to miss it. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to access all of our content. 

As always, if you’re looking for more guides, resources, and helpful information on becoming a hypnotist, visit my website at CanYouBeaHypnotist.com. See you next time!