The Descent The interactive game starts. Pleasure, nil. Pain, nil. He’s tired of procrastinating. He spends hours daydreaming about pursing his dream of being a creator, facing his demons, and mastering himself. He finally sits in front his computer, stares at a blank screen to begin planning and wonders why his mind…

There is an optimal ratio for interacting between others within personal and professional relationships. Coined by John Gottman, professor of psychology at the University of Washington, for everyone one negative interaction between two people during a conflict, there must be five positive interactions to maintain the balance between stability and…

Why is finding intrinsic meaning such a difficult feat when we have an abundance of resources available at our disposal? How is it that anxiety, depression, the wealth gap, loneliness and stress related diseases are all on the rise as science and technology continue to evolve? The call for meaning…

The Onset His palms began to sweat, his arms went numb, his legs began to tingle, and his heartbeat was pounding through his chest. The sense of dread and the fear of inevitable death stirred with nausea left a scar. Being tortured with panic attacks every day he left his house took…

The Descent Being naturally predisposed to anxiety growing up in a toxic household, his talent for avoidance awarded him with the role of a hermit lacking human interaction and a threat detection system running in overdrive. An avid sucker for knowledge he was. Scrolling apps endlessly for hours got him hooked wanting…

How is it that striking headlines, thumbnails of shocked faces, triggering words and stories of vicious crimes grab out attention? How is it that the most controversial tweets surface to the top of our feeds? …

When being chased by a lion in the savannah, our bodies stress response naturally kicks into gear. Releasing adrenaline, activating the parasympathetic nervous system, stopping digestion and concentrating all the blood flow to the muscles so that we can run for our lives. This acute level of stress is very…

Two fundamental principles of my design philosophy is that dopamine and status are the core components to realizing your legend. Too much or too little or too high or too low of either can hinder your behavior and throw you out of allostasis. Social status directly affects how your emotions…

We’re constantly being pulled apart by stimuli ranging from our nervous system to the environment. At the foundation of human nature lies our survival instincts. Being natural hunters requires bringing our attention to what’s important for maximizing the number of copies of our genes. A behavior has occurred — one…