Autonomy: Live the Life

20/10/2025

11/10/2025

25/09/2025

MIT recently completed the first brain-scan study on ChatGPT users—and the results are deeply revealing.
Rather than boosting brain function, prolonged AI use may be dulling it.
Over four months of cognitive data suggest we might be measuring productivity all wrong ⤵️
In MIT’s study, participants had their brains scanned while using ChatGPT.
→ 83.3% of users couldn’t recall a single sentence they’d written just minutes earlier.
→ In contrast, those writing without AI had no trouble remembering.
Brain connectivity dropped sharply—from 79 to 42 points.
→ That’s a 47% drop in neural engagement.
→ The lowest cognitive performance among all user groups.
Even after stopping ChatGPT use in later sessions, these users showed continued under-engagement.
→ Their performance remained lower than those who never used AI.
→ This suggests more than dependency—it’s cognitive weakening.
Beyond the scans, educators flagged the writing itself.
→ Essays were technically solid, but often called “robotic,” “soulless,” and “lacking depth.”
Here’s the paradox:
→ ChatGPT makes you 60% faster at completing tasks…
→ But it reduces the mental effort required for learning by 32%.
The top-performing group?
→ Those who began without AI and added it later.
→ They retained the best memory, brain activity, and overall scores.
Using ChatGPT can feel empowering—but it may quietly offload your thinking.
→ You gain speed, but lose engagement.
→ You get answers, but stop learning how to think.
The takeaway isn’t to avoid AI—but to use it intentionally.
→ Use it to assist, not replace your mind.
→ Build cognitive strength—not dependency.
MIT’s early study on AI and the brain lays out the stakes. The way we use these tools matters more than ever.

24/09/2025

এই সুযোগটা পেশাদার মনোবিজ্ঞানী হিসেবে যারা কাজ করছেন তাদের জন্য। আসন সংখ্যা সীমিত। আগে আসলে আগে পাবেন ভিত্তিতে রেজিস্ট্রেশন করা হবে।

10/08/2025

Why we shut down?
Why we explode?
And how we can feel more in control?

The Window of Tolerance is a concept that helps us understand our emotional and nervous system responses. Think of it as the zone where you feel safe, present, and able to cope with life. When you’re within this window, you can think clearly, manage emotions, and respond rather than react. But stress or trauma can shrink this window, pushing us into one of two states:

1. Hypoarousal (Below the Window): This is the “freeze” or “shut down” response. You may feel numb, disconnected, tired, or empty.

Example: Tanya receives negative feedback at work. She goes quiet, avoids everyone, and feels like she doesn’t exist. She wants to cry but can’t. She’s not lazy, she’s frozen.

2. Optimal Arousal (Within the Window): This is where we thrive. We feel safe, alert, and able to handle what’s happening.

Example: Later, after some deep breathing and a short walk, Tanya reflects on the feedback and plans how to improve, no self-blame, just awareness.

3. Hyperarousal (Above the Window): This is the “fight or flight” state. You may feel overwhelmed, anxious, angry, or out of control.

Example: On another day, the same feedback makes Tanya lash out, defend herself, and feel like she’s being attacked. Her heart races. She storms out of the meeting.

How to Expand Your Window of Tolerance?

1. Name the state you’re in: “I’m shutting down” or “I’m spiraling.”

2. Breathe slowly: Activates the parasympathetic nervous system.

3. Ground yourself: Use your senses: touch something cold, smell something calming, or name 5 things you see.

4. Practice daily regulation: Yoga, mindfulness, therapy, safe relationships.

5. Co-regulate with others: A calm person can help you return to your window.

6. Understand your trauma history: Your past shaped your window. Knowing how helps you widen it.

I used to think I was just too sensitive. Now I know my nervous system is protecting me the best way it knows how. Let’s be gentle with ourselves. Healing doesn’t mean never leaving the window. It means finding our way back more safely and quickly. 💛



Illustration credit: Jocelyn Fitzgerald
Writing: Mubarak Mansoor Ali

25/07/2025

The alarming rise in incidents of child abuse is a bellwether of deteriorating moral values and social degeneration