Limbic Friction

Limbic Friction is a term coined by Andrew Huberman to describe the mental and emotional resistance people experience when trying to initiate or change behaviors. It represents the effort or activation energy required to overcome states driven by the autonomic nervous system, such as anxiety or lethargy, which can interfere with engaging in behaviors like forming new habits or breaking existing ones.

Limbic friction is fundamentally tied to the autonomic nervous system, which controls physiological states of alertness and calmness. Individuals may experience high limbic friction when they are too alert or too relaxed to perform a desired action. This concept is crucial for understanding challenges in habit formation and breaking, as well as in managing stress and accessing neuroplasticity 1 2.

2 also explains that limbic friction is not recognized in formal textbooks but encapsulates a lot of what is known in neurobiology and psychology concerning how our nervous system manages stress and fatigue.

In practical terms, limbic friction can be navigated by aligning efforts with natural rhythms, like tackling habits that incur high limbic friction first thing in the morning when alertness tends to be higher 3. Moreover, mindful practices and environmental manipulation can help in regulating this mental resistance to foster better habit formation and stress management 1 3.