Feeling “I can’t do this anymore” Is a Judgment Made by the Brain — What Johns Hopkins University Reveals About the “Giving Up Brain,” and the Key Self-Help Insight for Getting Yourself Back on Track
4月 25, 2026菅原隆志25 min read
記事を共有するアクション
有料100円税込
When a “meaningful reward” is found, the mind no longer gives up.
When the mind is hurting, that is precisely the time to look for your own unique form of reward.
The power to “create” meaningful rewards supports a fresh start for the mind.
When you feel like giving up, it may be a chance to rethink what reward means.
The moment you find something that makes you think, “I can work hard for this,” suffering is no longer just a dead end.
Giving meaning awakens the mind’s self-healing power.
The reward you discover awakens your ability to recover.
A fMRI study has revealed that when the brain feels fatigued, two regions work together to decide whether to keep going or give up. Research from Johns Hopkins University confirmed by fMRI that when people feel mentally exhausted, the right insular cortex and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex coordinate to determine whether to stop or continue. The study also showed that if the reward is sufficient, people can keep exerting effort. In other words, feeling “I can’t do this anymore” is not a sign of weak will—it is because the brain has judged that it is not worth the cost.
What is happening inside your brain when you feel you’ve reached your limit?
Have you ever felt that your head just won’t work, or that you have no motivation after long hours of work or study, or because of trauma? This is not simply a matter of mood,There may be a mechanism in the brain that regulates whether to keep trying or give uphas now been revealed by the latest neuroscience research.
In July 2025,the research team at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Kennedy Krieger Instituteused **functional MRI (fMRI)**to focus on two brain regions that become active when mental fatigue is felt. Their findings werepublished in the **Journal of Neuroscience** (online on June 11, 2025),and were also covered byScienceDaily .
Conversation
Be the First Voice
読んだだけで終わらせないでください。
感じたことを、コメント・発信・メモなど、何かの形で外に出してみてください。
反応した瞬間から、変化は始まります。
この場所に、最初の感想や気づきをそっと残せます。