111 replies to this topic

[Esoparagon]

Confidence is psychological, not chemical. You can only trick your chemistry short term, but eventually your psychology catches up.

[Area-1255]

Confidence is psychological, not chemical. You can only trick your chemistry short term, but eventually your psychology catches up.

Exactly, chemical changes don't replace a lack of long-term goals, and accomplishments in life  - the best thing for confidence is finding your life-purpose and maintaining a good exercise routine.

[tintinet]

 

Confidence is psychological, not chemical. You can only trick your chemistry short term, but eventually your psychology catches up.

Exactly, chemical changes don't replace a lack of long-term goals, and accomplishments in life  - the best thing for confidence is finding your life-purpose and maintaining a good exercise routine.

 

I don't agree it's all psychological (no matter; never mind!). Psychology is chemical, and the aspects are linked, just like mind-brain-body. 

Edited by tintinet, 26 August 2014 - 11:24 PM.

[Area-1255]

 

 

Confidence is psychological, not chemical. You can only trick your chemistry short term, but eventually your psychology catches up.

Exactly, chemical changes don't replace a lack of long-term goals, and accomplishments in life  - the best thing for confidence is finding your life-purpose and maintaining a good exercise routine.

 

I don't agree it's all psychological (no matter; never mind!). Psychology is chemical, and the aspects are linked, just like mind-brain-body. 

 

I'm not disagreeing with chemicals being involved, but either way you have to achieve homeostasis (balance). If you use chemical enhancements, you just have to know it doesn't replace psychology, but they are rather to be in synergism.

Yes, there are disorders where changing psychology / mindset would be *minimally* helpful, such as in hormone imbalance and estrogen dominance in particular. Or where there is a severe vitamin D deficiency, or polymorphisms in serotonin receptors - I could go on and on about chemical dispositions, what remains is you have to know yourself, consider the whole collage of factors involved, and just make sure you aren't missing anything.

The best we can do is be ourselves or change ourselves for the better. Always keep improving, on every angle.

[Esoparagon]

For a healthy brain, it's 100% psychological. If you have some kind of actual brain chemical deficiency or brain problem, then your confidence may be hindered by that despite your psychology. But that's a specific case. Most people have healthy brains and are not confident due to their bad psychology.

[vtrader]

The magic pill would be something that can erase memories and increase curiosity.

[kache]

Testosterone enanthate 125mg every 3 days, coupled with power posing will skyrocket your confidence very fast.

[Area-1255]

For a healthy brain, it's 100% psychological. If you have some kind of actual brain chemical deficiency or brain problem, then your confidence may be hindered by that despite your psychology. But that's a specific case. Most people have healthy brains and are not confident due to their bad psychology.

Very true, but hormones play a big role as well, specifically, at least for men, the ratio of testosterone:estrogen, and not necessarily the amount of test in itself. Assuming it's in the normal range. Additionally , having an overactive sympathetic nervous system can cause one to lose a sense of self - especially where copper dominance and serotonin induced delirium is present.

[Raptor87]

For a healthy brain, it's 100% psychological. If you have some kind of actual brain chemical deficiency or brain problem, then your confidence may be hindered by that despite your psychology. But that's a specific case. Most people have healthy brains and are not confident due to their bad psychology.

 

You keep stating this but the truth is that current science is actually starting to tell us that confidence may in fact be determined by genes. I understand that you think it's 100% psychological because all academic focus has been put on the introspective fields. There has actually not been almost any studies done which concludes our genes linked to certain psychological traits. That being said, there has been studies on academic performance and confidence linked to our genes.

 

http://www.telegraph...scientists.html

http://www.businessi...ent-2014-4?IR=T

 

I think that confidence and self esteem are made up words and the whole definition needs to be rearranged. From what I know, levels of neuroticism predetermines our "confidence and self esteem".

 

Just look at criminals, they have too much self esteem and criminals are not known to be neurotic types.

[Area-1255]

 

For a healthy brain, it's 100% psychological. If you have some kind of actual brain chemical deficiency or brain problem, then your confidence may be hindered by that despite your psychology. But that's a specific case. Most people have healthy brains and are not confident due to their bad psychology.

 

You keep stating this but the truth is that current science is actually starting to tell us that confidence may in fact be determined by genes. I understand that you think it's 100% psychological because all academic focus has been put on the introspective fields. There has actually not been almost any studies done which concludes our genes linked to certain psychological traits. That being said, there has been studies on academic performance and confidence linked to our genes.

 

http://www.telegraph...scientists.html

http://www.businessi...ent-2014-4?IR=T

 

I think that confidence and self esteem are made up words and the whole definition needs to be rearranged. From what I know, levels of neuroticism predetermines our "confidence and self esteem".

 

Just look at criminals, they have too much self esteem and criminals are not known to be neurotic types.

 

Creating stereotypes doesn't elude the fact that exceptions may pass through the image in people's mind created by such stereotypes. 

If you value the expansion of the human psyche then you should value the concept of embracing all possibilities. 

The same to criminals, many are intellectual types, and a vast majority aren't? But by who's set of statistics? Are they accurate? What is accurate in the minds of the people who defined them?

 

Again, now can we pre-define genetic outcomes to match something that isn't an exact science?

 

We would have better luck looking at one's ancestors than just the current science as hand, use the old to justify the new, is what I always say.

 

With all this being said, looking at ancestors can draw important conclusions, about a trait known as identifiable discipline or heriditary willpower.

 

Irish men, scotch-Irish, Italian men and women, native men and women, Icelandic men, black men; especially colombian and jamaican, and specific south african region descent, some puerto rican families , Russian, some german families, and more. There are confident, and aggressive genes in nearly every genetic background. We just merely hear about black, Italian, mexican and russian families more often. At least in America.

 

Yet there are violent types in british backgrounds, usually outlined by compulsive and methodical behavior when in organized crime, or anarchist groups.

 

Moreover, WHERE are the japanese in all of this? Shinobi's were certainly notable,. and should be remembered - these were the more  "original" bearings of confidence. Couple that with real skill, and meditated intellect, two traits despicably lacking in a large portion of people in all societies. Key word is " meditated ". It is a fast-paced world, though.

Edited by Area-1255, 20 January 2015 - 02:30 AM.

[Raptor87]

 

 

For a healthy brain, it's 100% psychological. If you have some kind of actual brain chemical deficiency or brain problem, then your confidence may be hindered by that despite your psychology. But that's a specific case. Most people have healthy brains and are not confident due to their bad psychology.

 

You keep stating this but the truth is that current science is actually starting to tell us that confidence may in fact be determined by genes. I understand that you think it's 100% psychological because all academic focus has been put on the introspective fields. There has actually not been almost any studies done which concludes our genes linked to certain psychological traits. That being said, there has been studies on academic performance and confidence linked to our genes.

 

http://www.telegraph...scientists.html

http://www.businessi...ent-2014-4?IR=T

 

I think that confidence and self esteem are made up words and the whole definition needs to be rearranged. From what I know, levels of neuroticism predetermines our "confidence and self esteem".

 

Just look at criminals, they have too much self esteem and criminals are not known to be neurotic types.

 

Creating stereotypes doesn't elude the fact that exceptions may pass through the image in people's mind created by such stereotypes. 

If you value the expansion of the human psyche then you should value the concept of embracing all possibilities. 

The same to criminals, many are intellectual types, and a vast majority aren't? But by who's set of statistics? Are they accurate? What is accurate in the minds of the people who defined them?

 

Again, now can we pre-define genetic outcomes to match something that isn't an exact science?

 

We would have better luck looking at one's ancestors than just the current science as hand, use the old to justify the new, is what I always say.

 

With all this being said, looking at ancestors can draw important conclusions, about a trait known as identifiable discipline or heriditary willpower.

 

Irish men, scotch-Irish, Italian men and women, native men and women, Icelandic men, black men; especially colombian and jamaican, and specific south african region descent, some puerto rican families , Russian, some german families, and more. There are confident, and aggressive genes in nearly every genetic background. We just merely hear about black, Italian, mexican and russian families more often. At least in America.

 

Yet there are violent types in british backgrounds, usually outlined by compulsive and methodical behavior when in organized crime, or anarchist groups.

 

Moreover, WHERE are the japanese in all of this? Shinobi's were certainly notable,. and should be remembered - these were the more  "original" bearings of confidence. Couple that with real skill, and meditated intellect, two traits despicably lacking in a large portion of people in all societies. Key word is " meditated ". It is a fast-paced world, though.

 

 

You are only mentioning groups as whole, even though you are right about stereotypes. I think that when we talk about confidence we are talking about it on a individualistic basis. I mentioned criminals because it's such an easy comparison to make. Of course we find these types of people everywhere in society, from businessmen to top performers. Criminals are the scum of the earth and are not anyone you should look up to, they lack good qualities to the extreme! I do believe that what we regard as esteem/confidence is just other words for social control. We like to pretend in this egalitarian mindset that anything is possible but to be honest our life is governed by our natural instincts and how we work on a primitive level is what has kept us surviving. Today's society allow for illusions to be made. And confidence and esteem can be built in that aspect, but it would not take long to brake such a person living under such illusions. The problem also lies in that there has not been any modern academic studies done on what confidence or esteem is. Most people don't even know what it means. They just use words like that when they feel incompetent in regards to other people without asking why they are incompetent. When I google the words I find all kinds of weird guru's, hypnotist's and NLP kvack's and not one single professional working in the field. There are really no direct answers. Question really is if we even should feel good about ourselves as we are? I really don't know? 

 

The biggest problem with having low esteem/confidence is that it hinders a person from his goals, it makes the person scattered, sunken inwards and he is easily brainwashed. A people with high esteem/confidence doesn't allow himself to fall under such "spells" and knows what's good for him, if he is not incredibly ignorant and stupid with low impulse control. When we talk about dopamine signaling we can find that some people break under pressure while some perform better. Some people feel anxiety while other people feel excitement under the same circumstances. If these trait's are not genetic then I don't know what is? But every coin has two sides! People with high esteem/confidence often have a shallow emotional life, they are not good at building deep relations and are sometimes hard to deal with because they need to constantly move themselves in different aspects. They are good at social masquerades and character building and extroverted people find them as pleasurable for short term.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[deeptrance]

When we talk about dopamine signaling we can find that some people break under pressure while some perform better. Some people feel anxiety while other people feel excitement under the same circumstances. If these trait's are not genetic then I don't know what is? But every coin has two sides! People with high esteem/confidence often have a shallow emotional life, they are not good at building deep relations and are sometimes hard to deal with because they need to constantly move themselves in different aspects. They are good at social masquerades and character building and extroverted people find them as pleasurable for short term.

 

 

The way we divide influence into "genetic," "developmental," and "environmental" etc., is arbitrary and doesn't have much of a basis in reality. The trend in research findings suggests that it is all an integrated fabric of causality.

 

For example, research on placebo effects has found that there is far more than some imaginary "psychological" effect of placebo treatments. Instead, what causes the effect is more often linked to a very real change in the brain and/or body. Parkinson's patients treated with placebo dopamine often respond by releasing more endogenous dopamine into synapses, thus generating the perceive effect of the non-drug. But what is causing what? Does the experience of relief from Parkinson's possibly cause the release of dopamine, rather than vice-versa?

 

I think we are too quick to put arrows from cause to effect, when we often don't really know this to be correct. We limit our thinking by always looking from the perspective of the flow of time. But if you take time out of the system and just think of cause and effect as being equal parts of a system rather than having a directional flow, it presents an entirely new perspective for studying how systems work.

 

So, do genetics cause people to be confident or shy? Or is it possible that the genetics are merely correlates? We know that we can affect the expression of our genes, we can turn genes on, turn them off, and change their level of expression. This strongly suggests that we are not the "victims" of our genetics. However, it's also just as possible that there is a deterministic aspect of gene expression itself, such that the turning on and off of genes may be less in our conscious control than we might hope or imagine. I don't know, maybe I'm genetically programmed just to marvel at the beauty of it all, and to let others try to figure out what I consider to be inscrutable. 

Edited by deeptrance, 21 January 2015 - 01:50 AM.

[GoingPrimal]

 

So, do genetics cause people to be confident or shy? Or is it possible that the genetics are merely correlates? We know that we can affect the expression of our genes, we can turn genes on, turn them off, and change their level of expression. This strongly suggests that we are not the "victims" of our genetics. However, it's also just as possible that there is a deterministic aspect of gene expression itself, such that the turning on and off of genes may be less in our conscious control than we might hope or imagine. I don't know, maybe I'm genetically programmed just to marvel at the beauty of it all, and to let others try to figure out what I consider to be inscrutable. 

 

 

I think genetics play an initial part - then environment kicks in and affects genetic expression.

 

As per a magic pill, fuck no. You could have something like MDMA, which is as close as I would presume possible to being utterly self-confident and positive, but obviously has its drawbacks and will down-regulate over time. 

 

The magic pill, in my eyes, is proper diet and exercise, combined with any one of a number of cognitive "therapies" or "disciplines" designed to balance and enhance the mind, along with proper goal-setting and comfort-zone expanding intentions. 

[perception is projection]

Live life as hard as possible.

 

or be a whinny sack of shit..

 

 

Tough love in this situation.

 

I hear where you are coming from. you and me are the same, but I can't pander your or mine useless thoughts of, "I need a magic pill, because I am to lazy/scared to put work into this."

 

 

Therapy is awsome btw.

 

A large part of what  you are dealing with is fear.

 

Spend 1 hour writing all the fears you have and everything that comes up in your mind/thinking on a daily basis. Try to do this totally without interruption.

 

 

you want to out grow this problem?

 

 

 

That list you made is the key to your future,

 

Go down the list and find all the things you have control over and can take care of/do.

 

 

Then go out a do them. NOW!. THIS MOMENT! Make those phone calls, take those actions. Do it with the desperation of a drowning man!

 

 

You do that and you will have more confidence than 99% of people(because you know 99.9999 of people will never have the balls to do that) and you will be much more happy with yourself. You will also have a lot of "weight off your shoulders." You'll have that glowing youthful energy radiating out of you. People will notice it.

 

BTW this obviously isn't for the faint of heart. It also helps to come from a place of having nothing to lose and desperate for change.

Edited by perception is projection, 27 January 2015 - 04:40 AM.

[deeptrance]

Live life as hard as possible.

 

or be a whinny sack of shit..

 

That's something one can do. The "sack of shit" part of it is pointlessly judgmental. You're imposing a value system which belongs to you and the culture from which you inherited it.

 

An equally valid approach is to do nothing and just enjoy whatever happens.

 

There are many other approaches. It's fine to do any of them, or to do nothing, or to do the opposite of what anyone suggests. It doesn't matter.

 

However, your approach does work! And in order for it to work then one must reject what I've just said about things not mattering. 

 

Ultimately we're all dead, these lives an infinitesimal blip in the cosmic limitlessness. Some people believe that this implies we must "make the most of our short lives, creating meaning for ourselves and contributing to the progress and well-being of humankind." But that's just a point of view one argues, and there is nothing absolute about it. 

 

When we do a lot with our lives, we make a lot of things happen. Most cultures praise this way of living. When we make a lot of things happen, we inadvertently cause a lot of problems. Great technological, industrial, and scientific progress is bringing about the destruction of the world's ecosystems and environments, for example. We solve old problems and create new ones. This is neither good nor bad. I'm only arguing this, that there is no compelling value judgment that one way of being is superior to another. 

 

I like your recommendations about the list and then tackling whatever is in one's power to control or change. It's bound to do wonders for anyone who makes a concerted effort at it. It causes problems but probably increases one's confidence and ability to face new challenges, so it's a net win for those who want to be more engaged in life, in making things happen.

Edited by deeptrance, 28 January 2015 - 07:27 PM.

[TheWorldAroundUs]

Is there a magic pill for self confidence? Yes, at least in the short term. Tranquilizers, Beta Blockers and even Amphetamines are very effective for relieving anxiety and enhancing self-confidence in the short term. But thats just it, a short term fix, using them long term is sure to cause Addiction, tolerance and health damage. So I believe the question we should be asking is, Is there a magic pill for self-confidence that will work 100% every time, everyday and cause zero health damage/consequences long term? 

 

To this question there is no definitive answer, but I believe the most effective "pill" would be exposure therapy. Take a social anxiety disorder sufferer for example. If that person experiences a positive social experience, they tend to be a lot less anxious in social situations in the future. Considering this, short term drug solutions(Amphetamines, Tranquilizers, Beta Blockers etc.) would go well with exposure therapy because if, say a Social anxiety sufferer takes Dexedrine, and has a positive social experience because of that drug that he would not be able to have sober, then that person would still be much calmer and less anxious in future social situations long after the amphetamine has left his body. Simply because he will always remember that experience and will be able to reference in the future to help himself. In this aspect short term drugs could help with long term improvements, but doing such would require A LOT of Self-discipline because people doing this can easily fall prey to addiction ie "I NEED the drug to function". So I think its a fine balance, but short term drug solutions can be very useful for anxiety sufferers both in the short and long term.

For a healthy brain, it's 100% psychological. If you have some kind of actual brain chemical deficiency or brain problem, then your confidence may be hindered by that despite your psychology. But that's a specific case. Most people have healthy brains and are not confident due to their bad psychology.

I think this is a very ignorant statement, because it's impossible to determine if a brain is healthy. To this very day, scientists still have no idea what a "healthy" or "normal" level of any one neurotransmitter is. They have some rough idea of what a healthy brain should look like physically in a brain scan, and they kinda sorta know what too much or too little of one neurotransmitter looks like, but thats about it. Hell we don't even have a way to reliably MEASURE neurotransmitter levels without killing a person and physically removing their brain. But even if we could, how would we tell what a brain deficiency looks like? I'm sure there are genetic variants out there where people just naturally have lower levels of dopamine, yet can focus just fine and are very happy and functional and have no psychiatric symptoms. Would that qualify as a "brain deficiency"? I mean their levels are lower than all other healthy people, so surely they must be sick and hindered some how, yet they're not. What about people that do have "brain problems", how would you know what a "healthy" level of a certain neurotransmitter looks like in term of their respective genes and respective brain structure.

 

There is literally no way to tell if any one brain is healthy or not with our current technology, all of it is subjective and based upon the doctor's judgement. A judgement that can pretty easily be swayed. So not only is your statement ignorant and downright stupid, it also is very hurtful to people who really are suffering, since you just told all undiagnosed anxiety sufferers that they have a "healthy brain" and that its all in their heads. Not a very good way to advance research into mental health.

[Just Kelly]

There's definitely pills that help with confidence. Xanax. That 100% gives self confidence. But obviously there are side effects, rebound effects, tolerance and addiction. Still, it works. Me personally, I have found holy basil to be effective against anxiety. It seems spirulina helps boost my confidence. Good luck!

[noos]

 

McGuire and Raleigh (1975) demonstrated that serotonin level covaries with changes of status in vervet monkeys. Moreover, artificially raising the serotonin levels in subordinate vervet monkeys with fluoxetine (Prozac) results in these individuals rising in status, in some cases to alpha rank (Raleigh, 1991).

...

Psychiatrist Russell Gardner described a patient of his who was able to advance her career presumably because of her treatment regimen of Prozac (1998). While this is the case with some individuals, Gardner pointed out that human beings as a whole do not rise in status automatically as a result of using SSRI’s.

 

http://www.ulm.edu/~...fMoodStates.htm

[caruga]

For a healthy brain, it's 100% psychological. If you have some kind of actual brain chemical deficiency or brain problem, then your confidence may be hindered by that despite your psychology. But that's a specific case. Most people have healthy brains and are not confident due to their bad psychology.

 

First part is right (although I'd say 'nervous system' rather than just 'brain'), second part is unproven and... nice dangling modifier.

Edited by caruga, 02 February 2015 - 11:15 AM.

[vtrader]

Let go, stop judging, release expectations, silence that inner voice, embrace uncertainty, stop being desperate, stop thinking you lack anything, be more curious and playful. Most of life is defined and acted upon from opinions and nothing else.

[GoingPrimal]

Confidence is psychological, not chemical. You can only trick your chemistry short term, but eventually your psychology catches up.

 

I think mainly it is, but of course we know that how we think and feel (our psychology) affects our hormones and neurochemistry, and vice versa. The problem is that it's much more difficult to change deep-rooted outlooks, thoughts and behaviors, but very easy to pop a pill to change our neurochemistry or hormones. I think the best bet is optimizing our neurochemistry and hormones while using cognitive therapy techniques to give her the ol' one-two punch.

 

I know for men that raising testosterone levels not only reduces stress and anxiety but increases confidence - my own experience in optimizing T levels correlates here. This, combined with optimal dopamine sensitivity and production, as well as healthy functioning of the reward circuitry in the brain, is as far as I've gotten. Others want to chime in here?

 

 

 

Live life as hard as possible.

 

 

Go down the list and find all the things you have control over and can take care of/do.

 

 

Then go out a do them. NOW!. THIS MOMENT! Make those phone calls, take those actions. Do it with the desperation of a drowning man!

 

 

You do that and you will have more confidence than 99% of people(because you know 99.9999 of people will never have the balls to do that) and you will be much more happy with yourself.

 

This is great advice, but may be difficult for some to implement. In fact, I'm trying to do something very similar currently, where instead of delaying on things I don't want to do, whether they're boring or make me uncomfortable, I just go do them the moment I think about them. Don't even let fear or anxiety or procrastination take hold. It's definitely getting easier.

 

 

Let go, stop judging, release expectations, silence that inner voice, embrace uncertainty, stop being desperate, stop thinking you lack anything, be more curious and playful. Most of life is defined and acted upon from opinions and nothing else.

 

More good advice in my eyes. But again, how do you go down deep to change your current outlooks on life? Visualization exercises? Self affirmations? Therapy? Extinction therapy? I think that's where it gets tricky and when people start looking for the "magic pill".

[deeptrance]

Let go, stop judging, release expectations, silence that inner voice, embrace uncertainty, stop being desperate, stop thinking you lack anything, be more curious and playful. Most of life is defined and acted upon from opinions and nothing else.

 

Beautiful! These instructions may look impossible to achieve for someone who is trapped in the illusion, but I think it's possible to look directly at these sorts of things and make a kind of leap of faith, especially into: not judging, releasing expectations, embracing uncertainty, and letting go of the idea that we lack anything. Take a flying leap into the welcoming arms of life. The mere fact of our birth ensures that we belong here and there is nothing lacking in us. There is nothing to earn, no place to be, nobody to become. This is it, the one true and ultimate reality, and it has no problems. What is needed in order to see this is to let go of the attachment to the concept of the little self with its stories, memories, ideas of right and wrong, its beliefs and cumulative wounds, accomplishments, titles, and imagined errors. Everything is actually perfectly OK from the perspective of the universe. everything is just happening, it isn't about us, and we're perfect expressions of all that is.

 

Of course there are magic pills that give one a nice glimpse into this way of seeing and being.