Fear of failure can be born in childhood: scientists have found a way to weaken it

Painful childhood experiences, including criticism, neglect, or harsh adult reactions to a child's mistakes, can affect a person's emotional state years later. A study by scientists from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities and the Nenetsky Institute of Experimental Biology has shown that special psychotherapy techniques based on working with memories can reduce the fear of failure and the negative emotions associated with it. The effect persisted three and six months after therapy. All the details are in the Izvestia article.

When children's criticism continues to influence adulthood

Researchers have studied whether imaginative psychotherapy can reduce the impact of painful memories of childhood criticism. The randomized controlled trial involved 180 young people between the ages of 18 and 35 who were experiencing a fear of failure.

Over the course of two weeks, the participants completed four sessions devoted to difficult memories of children's criticism. One group was asked to recall situations that caused fear or anxiety. The second group used the image rescripting technique: The participants imagined a painful episode, after which a "defender" appeared in the scene, for example, a therapist who confronted the criticizing person and supported the child.

The third group underwent the same therapeutic approach, but with a ten-minute delay. The researchers developed this procedure to affect the memory trace associated with a critical experience and potentially enhance the effect of the intervention.

Researchers have studied the causes of memory loss from childhood

An unexpected ending helps to change an old reaction.

All the techniques used have led to a significant and sustained reduction in the fear of failure. Participants also reported less negative emotions, including sadness and guilt. At the same time, the body's physiological response to memories of criticism decreased: they no longer caused the same strong stress response as before.

The positive changes persisted during subsequent inspections after three and six months. This, according to the researchers, indicates the stability of the psychological effect over time.

Rewriting memories turned out to be especially effective when a new scenario became unexpected for a person. Scientists attributed this to the effect of prediction error, a situation in which the actual course of events does not match what a person expected.

In the new scenario, instead of the usual criticism, protection and support appear. According to the researchers, such a discrepancy between expectations can weaken already formed emotional reactions and facilitate the emergence of new ones.

Scientists have questioned one of the main theories of memory

Painful pasts don't have to be experienced in the same way.

The study does not speak about the literal erasure or change of the events of the past. Scientists have found that special techniques can change how a person experiences related memories, reducing the intensity of negative emotions and physiological arousal. According to the authors of the work, such therapy allows, in a certain sense, to "record" a new safe ending to a painful experience. As a result, the memory remains a part of the past, but the emotional reaction to it may become less severe.

Thus, the results of the study indicate that complex memories, including those related to failures and childish criticism, do not necessarily have to be perceived by a person in the same way all their lives. The results show that techniques based on working with the imagination can change how a person reacts to current difficulties, allowing them to create new, safe endings to painful past events.

In other words, a painful memory does not necessarily retain the same emotional coloring forever: with the help of such techniques, it can be "rewritten" in a certain sense, creating a new safe scenario.