The Feedback Loop from Hell and the Backwards Law

Key Economic Insight

A pervasive psychological phenomenon, termed the 'Feedback Loop from Hell', describes the escalating distress caused by feeling anxious about one's anxiety, angry about one's anger, or guilty about one's guilt. Humans, uniquely capable of reflecting on their thoughts, can fall into this loop where initial negative emotions are compounded by self-judgment for experiencing them. This self-perpetuating cycle can lead to heightened stress, neurosis, and self-loathing, making individuals feel abnormal for having common human experiences.

Modern consumer culture and social media platforms exacerbate this loop by presenting an overwhelmingly positive and often unrealistic portrayal of others' lives. This constant bombardment of idealized happiness makes individuals who experience normal negative emotions feel inherently flawed or inadequate, contrasting sharply with past generations who more readily accepted discomfort as an ordinary part of life. The societal message often implies that negative experiences are 'not okay', further pushing individuals into the spiral of feeling bad about feeling bad.

This psychological distress is further illuminated by 'the backwards law', which states that the desire for more positive experience is inherently a negative experience, while the acceptance of negative experience is itself a positive one. Constantly striving for happiness or perfection reinforces the underlying belief that one is currently lacking these qualities. For instance, desperately wanting to be rich can make one feel poorer, regardless of actual wealth; pursuing sexiness can make one feel uglier; and seeking happiness can paradoxically lead to increased loneliness. This demonstrates that the pursuit of positive states often deepens the very feelings of inadequacy one seeks to escape.