Mechanisms
Short descriptions of the mechanisms that show up around loss — how they work, how to recognise them, what to do with them. No essays here: plain and quick to look up.
Why unfinished things won't leave you alone. The Zeigarnik effect
The next mechanism I want to describe is the Zeigarnik effect. It was discovered and described by Bluma Zeigarnik in 1927. Let me start with a short anecdote about it.
Read more →Why you can't stop thinking about something. The white bear effect
Can you, just for a moment, not imagine a white bear? And honestly - didn’t it appear in your head for at least a fraction of a second, before you decided to get clever and swap it for something else?
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