Archive · 16 Dec 2025
Brain's Survival Instincts Trigger Self-Sabotage Behaviors
Our brains are super smart and help us predict and react to dangers.
Sometimes, they make us do things like bite our nails or put off important tasks.
This is because our brains want to control things and avoid big risks.
Even though these behaviors might seem weird, they are actually ways our brains try to protect us.
For example, procrastination can be a way to avoid feeling bad if we fail.
Perfectionism and self-criticism are also ways our brains try to stay in control.
In some cases, like with teenagers or people with autism, self-harm can be a way to cope with stress or anxiety.
Understanding these behaviors can help us find better ways to deal with them.
The brain's ability to process information allows us to predict and make decisions about our surroundings, which is essential for survival.
Self-sabotage behaviors like nail-biting, procrastination, perfectionism, and self-criticism originate from the brain's survival instinct to control and avoid greater harm.
Procrastination can be a defense mechanism against failure and rejection, while perfectionism and self-criticism expose us to stress and burnout.
The brain's alert system, triggered by neurotransmitters like norepinephrine and dopamine, helps us assess and respond to threats, but can also lead to self-fulfilling prophecies.
Self-harm in adolescents and individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) serves as a coping mechanism for stress, anxiety, and sensory overload.
- Who
- Rodrigo Quian Quiroga, Charlie Heriot-Maitland, Theodosius Dobzhansky, adolescents, individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
- What
- The brain's survival instincts leading to self-sabotage behaviors like nail-biting, procrastination, perfectionism, self-criticism, and self-harm
- When
- Ongoing, with a focus on evolutionary and current behaviors
- Where
- Discussed in the context of neurobiology and psychology, with specific mention of the Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA) in Barcelona
- Why
- The brain's need for a predictable, controllable world to ensure survival, and its evolutionary mechanisms to detect and respond to danger
- Scientist
- Rodrigo Quian Quiroga
- Institute
- Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA)
- Expert
- Charlie Heriot-Maitland
- Book
- Controlled Explosions in Mental Health
- Geneticist
- Theodosius Dobzhansky
- Neurotransmitters
- Norepinephrine, Dopamine, Glutamate
- Condition
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
- Behavior
- Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI)