A study was done by a doctor named Eneritz Gómez, a psychologist at the University of the Basque Country, who published her research on how some mice show active and passive personality traits when presented with stressful situations could lead to depression.
In this study it was found that the passive mice were more likely to fall ill versus the active mice because of the amount of stress induced in their passive state.
Gómez has compared this stressed state of the mice to depression in humans.
Are we like mice when we socialize? Do we take an active or a passive role, or even, both? People have long suffered from depression and the stress of the day-to-day.
In Gómez's study, the active rats sniffed out the dominant male, were more aware of their surroundings and resisted to a greater degree of being controlled than the passive mice.
This in turn generated a lesser amount of anxiety.
The passive mice stayed still.
When fought with, stayed even stiller.
How does this relate to humans? The concept of "Hunter and Gatherers" comes to mind when discussing this rodent showdown.
The active "Hunters" and the passive "Gatherers" is used today to describe people of classic personalities.
When back then the "Hunter" was seen as the strong provider, now the "Hunter" is someone who's alpha and doesn't take no for an answer.
He prowls the streets looking for his desires and after catching or not catching, comes home to sit and drink a beer.
He's the man's man.
Then we come to the "Gatherer", the peaceful forager looking for greens and seeds.
It can be imagined back then, the "Gatherer" would be the smaller male, going along with the females,hoping to not cause a ruckus when the "Hunters" came and swiped them across the head as they went to prepare the day's catch.
In modern society people who fit that kind of mold are indeed small, scrawny looking.
They don't do much.
They don't go out.
They stay at home, read and perhaps play video games.
They rarely play sports and keep a relatively "still" lifestyle.
Is that to say they'll suffer more stress than the more active "Hunters"? The difference between mice and humans is that people can choose (for the most part) their interactions.
Regardless of how passive or active they are, they can suffer relatively the same amount of stress.
Do you think the "Gatherers" playing video games are more stressed out than the "Hunter" football players? Is Justin Bieber less stressed than the guy you see watching TV in his living room? Picture a business tycoon who has two assistants.
One is a pushy go getter, while the other is a meek number cruncher.
The tycoon asks the two assistants to perform a task.
The task is tedious and requires patience, staying in one spot for several hours.
If the task isn't completed in that time frame the person who fails gets fired.
Guess who makes it and guess who doesn't? Isn't it very stressful when one has no job? Active and passive can have a lot of meanings.
When it comes to depression it can be related to activities or lack there of.
When it comes to the mice, it's about fighting back or staying still.
So in this context no, we're not like mice.
People, regardless of how they respond to a situation, can generate an equal amount of stress.
It is how we deal with that stress that needs to be figured out.
Our base instincts can be overwritten by our thoughts and actions.
So someone who may "stay still" might experience less stress than someone who "sniffs around".
Article by: Rosemary Jasmine Rivera
In this study it was found that the passive mice were more likely to fall ill versus the active mice because of the amount of stress induced in their passive state.
Gómez has compared this stressed state of the mice to depression in humans.
Are we like mice when we socialize? Do we take an active or a passive role, or even, both? People have long suffered from depression and the stress of the day-to-day.
In Gómez's study, the active rats sniffed out the dominant male, were more aware of their surroundings and resisted to a greater degree of being controlled than the passive mice.
This in turn generated a lesser amount of anxiety.
The passive mice stayed still.
When fought with, stayed even stiller.
How does this relate to humans? The concept of "Hunter and Gatherers" comes to mind when discussing this rodent showdown.
The active "Hunters" and the passive "Gatherers" is used today to describe people of classic personalities.
When back then the "Hunter" was seen as the strong provider, now the "Hunter" is someone who's alpha and doesn't take no for an answer.
He prowls the streets looking for his desires and after catching or not catching, comes home to sit and drink a beer.
He's the man's man.
Then we come to the "Gatherer", the peaceful forager looking for greens and seeds.
It can be imagined back then, the "Gatherer" would be the smaller male, going along with the females,hoping to not cause a ruckus when the "Hunters" came and swiped them across the head as they went to prepare the day's catch.
In modern society people who fit that kind of mold are indeed small, scrawny looking.
They don't do much.
They don't go out.
They stay at home, read and perhaps play video games.
They rarely play sports and keep a relatively "still" lifestyle.
Is that to say they'll suffer more stress than the more active "Hunters"? The difference between mice and humans is that people can choose (for the most part) their interactions.
Regardless of how passive or active they are, they can suffer relatively the same amount of stress.
Do you think the "Gatherers" playing video games are more stressed out than the "Hunter" football players? Is Justin Bieber less stressed than the guy you see watching TV in his living room? Picture a business tycoon who has two assistants.
One is a pushy go getter, while the other is a meek number cruncher.
The tycoon asks the two assistants to perform a task.
The task is tedious and requires patience, staying in one spot for several hours.
If the task isn't completed in that time frame the person who fails gets fired.
Guess who makes it and guess who doesn't? Isn't it very stressful when one has no job? Active and passive can have a lot of meanings.
When it comes to depression it can be related to activities or lack there of.
When it comes to the mice, it's about fighting back or staying still.
So in this context no, we're not like mice.
People, regardless of how they respond to a situation, can generate an equal amount of stress.
It is how we deal with that stress that needs to be figured out.
Our base instincts can be overwritten by our thoughts and actions.
So someone who may "stay still" might experience less stress than someone who "sniffs around".
Article by: Rosemary Jasmine Rivera