The Darts We Throw Ourselves: Reaction Mechanism

In this chapter, the author explains that an inevitable physical or mental discomfort (e.g. when you hit your foot on the corner of a door, you feel a pain and unpleasant.) is the “first dart.” In addition to the first dart, we always add some reactions to the first dart. These reactions are called “second darts.” In my experience, I sometimes added negative emotions or feelings to the first dart, but I think that I can manage the second dart comparatively well. However, I know there are a lot of people who respond negatively to the first dart. So, I was thinking what I could offer a good solution or advice to them: “If my client suffers from the negative second dart, how can I help him or her?” The solution with which I came up is to change his or her response or interpretation to the first dart. I think this is the popular way in terms of cognitive or behavioral therapy, but I suppose that it is a little bit a “quick-fix” solution. In my view, unless we change the response-generating mechanism, we continue to suffer from the second darts forever. I have still some questions about this mechanism. Why do we tend to add suffering to the first dart? Where does the second dart come from in our brain? How do we prevent the second dart from showing up?

Reference

Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom