This sequence of anticipation-reactivity-recovery gives us a window on emotion regulation. For instance, intense worry about something like an upcoming painful medical procedure can in itself cause us anticipatory suffering, just imagining how bad we will feel. And after the real event we can continue to be upset by what we have gone through. In this sense our pain response can start well before and last long after the actual painful moment—exactly the pattern shown by those volunteers in the comparison group. The yogis, on the other hand, had a very different response in this sequence.
This sequence of anticipation-reactivity-recovery gives us a window on emotion regulation. For instance, intense worry about something like an upcoming painful medical procedure can in itself cause us anticipatory suffering, just imagining how bad we will feel. And after the real event we can continue to be upset by what we have gone through. In this sense our pain response can start well before and last long after the actual painful moment—exactly the pattern shown by those volunteers in the comparison group. The yogis, on the other hand, had a very different response to this sequence.
