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Philip Sturm

Lobsters, Neurochemicals, and Me

One of the books that has influenced my thinking is “12 Rules for Life-An Antidote to Chaos” by Dr. Jordan Peterson. While I don’t agree with everything that Dr. Peterson has said this book has provided me with some moments of insight which have proved to be beneficial. I would like to re-read this book with the goal of being able to highlight some portions that have sparked deeper thought and realizations within myself with the hope that they can be beneficial to others as well.


Dr. Peterson’s first rule for life is “Stand Up Straight with Your Shoulders Back”. The basic premise of this rule is that every individual has intrinsic value, and a vital component of success in life is that a person treats themselves in a manner which acknowledges their own worth. This is an idea that mirrors the Biblical assertion that God created man in His own image and due to my own upbringing was easy for me to understand.


By way of explaining the neurochemical functions of the human body, Dr. Peterson cites several studies that have examined the effects of neurochemicals on lobster anatomy. I want to give a disclaimer that I have not investigated the studies myself, but rather have accepted Dr. Peterson’s summary of them as listed in his book. The thought path that this summary led me down is still as relevant to my daily life if those studies later prove to be incorrect.


Dr. Peterson explained how these studies demonstrated the relationship between two chemicals that exist in lobster neurochemistry, serotonin and octopamine. A successful lobster normally has a higher level of serotonin when compared to an unsuccessful lobster. Successful lobsters tend to demonstrate a more confident posture and are less likely to back down from a fight which results in those lobsters rising through the ranks of the lobster hierarchy. Each successful lobster confrontation would result in that lobster having increased levels of serotonin, which, in turn, leads to even more confidence/status. An unsuccessful lobster experiences decreased levels of serotonin due to their defeat, and this results in an even further slide into the depths of despair. Dr. Peterson uses lobsters as one of several examples in which success breeds success and drives home the point that a person must start by recognizing their own worth before they should expect others to do the same.


An interesting point was that high serotonin levels can be artificially induced to give an individual (or lobster) a boost in their confidence. In a podcast covering this subject Dr. Peterson mentioned that when a low-status lobster was given a dose of serotonin, that lobster suddenly began to act as if they could take on the world. This lobster’s behavior would change from skulking behavior and fleeing from every confrontation due to fear of failure to standing its ground when confronted by challenging lobsters. This behavior could be reversed by exposing a high-status lobster to higher levels of octopamine which would lead to that lobster shrinking its posture and fleeing a confrontation much earlier than it did before its exposure to increased octopamine.


The last thing that I want to do is portray myself as a neurochemistry expert or act as if I have anything other than a rudimentary understanding of these concepts. This concept prompted a great deal of thought on my part, and I was interested in the idea that human beings could self-dose their way into a higher level of confidence.


An example that came to mind was one that I found myself doing on a constant basis. I often find myself criticizing others when they are not around to defend themselves. I realized that I was having a simulated battle with them in my mind and positioning myself as their superior. This allowed me to be critical of their mistakes and assure myself that I would never have done that if I were in those positions. After some reflection I realized that this allowed me to artificially inflate my own perception of my abilities and deal with my insecurities in a way that was easier for me to handle. Rather than take a concentrated effort to elevate myself I subconsciously decided to bring everyone else down.


Once I realized what was happening, I was astonished by how often it was happening. It seems as if my day is consumed with comparing myself to other people and usually, I estimate that I am more competent than they are. This is just a coping mechanism to avoid dealing with my shortcomings in a profitable manner and this mechanism often results in more harm than the original issue. It would be bad enough if I were to recognize my shortcomings but not do anything to improve myself. The negativity is magnified when I denigrate other people in my mind, and also sometimes out loud to others, which will definitely have an impact on how I relate to them.


While I am not always successful at avoiding this pitfall, the realization that it exists has been of tremendous value to me. As I was typing this, I realized that I have not done any exploration into the studies listed by Dr. Peterson. There is a distinct possibility that my understanding of the data is flawed, and please let me know if you discover something that indicates an error. Hopefully there will be more entries along this line of thought in which I expound on books that I am reading.

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