Telling someone that they are wrong can make them aware of their mistake, but that doesn't mean they will necessarily be happier. In fact, we have all felt bad when someone showed us our mistakes. And the pain can be even more intense if we have been scolded in front of an audience, in this case it is likely that we have felt humiliated and felt ashamed. However, it is curious to see how brutal and insensitive our closest friends and even family members can come to criticize our mistakes, especially when they resort to the famous phrase: "I told you so!".
Of course, we too can show an utter lack of tact when pointing out their mistakes to others.The point is that for many years we have thought that harshness is the most effective method and that when someone feels ashamed, they will immediately correct their behavior and not will repeat the same mistake over and over. It is true that the trauma represented by psychological humiliation leaves deep scars and teaches us the lesson, but there are also other methods of pointing out mistakes and correcting them.
Psychological humiliation: It lasts longer than happiness and is more intense than anger
We feel humiliated when we realize that our worth decreases in front of others. It is a very negative emotional state, but, unfortunately, also very common, even if it has not been studied much regarding emotional states such as anger, anxiety or fear.
In fact, until now it was thought that humiliation was just an unpleasant condition with no noticeable repercussions. However, now a study conducted at the University of Amsterdam has put its finger on the sore and revealed that the consequences of humiliation are far more serious than we think.
These neuroscientists decided to analyze some people's brains as they experienced different emotional states. The goal was to compare reactions to states such as anger, joy, shame and humiliation
To generate these states, they read short stories to them that referred to these emotions and asked them to imagine themselves in the protagonist's skin. For example, in the case of humiliation, people were asked to imagine arriving on a date and that the other person, as soon as he saw them, ran away.
The responses that occurred in the brain were analyzed taking into account their intensity and duration. By comparing the different conditions, the researchers found that the responses triggered by humiliation were more intense than those generated by cheerfulness and more negative than those triggered by anger.
These neuroscientists believe that psychological humiliation activates the brain areas connected with pain, for this reason the reaction could be more intense than that of anger and, at the same time, represents an important cognitive load to process, and therefore is more durable than anger. cheer.
moral: Those who believe that humiliating others and teaching them a lesson in front of everyone means teaching them something, in reality they are only causing pain and hurt that could remain for life. Always remember that there are several safer and more effective ways to help someone.
