Where There's a Glimmer, There's a Glummer
The Ever Evolving Language
Currently, on planet Earth, there are 7,139 languages in existence. These languages have evolved over thousands of years. They were created and established long before the dawn of printed media, digital media, social media, viral videos, and of course the Oxford Dictionary’s most popular word of the year. If whole languages could be spread alongside farming practices, surely in these modern digital days it would be easy enough to coin a new word and help popularize it. Right?
New Word Challenge
So this is my challenge. I am going to coin a new word, a brand new ‘opposite’ word. Words often come with opposites- ‘Up/Down’, ‘Hot /Cold, ‘Happy/Sad, ‘Sweet/Sour’, ‘Loud/Quiet’, ‘Ying,/Yang’. Opposites help make the world make sense. In the 2015 Pixar movie Inside Out we learned that without experiencing ‘sadness’ we could not experience ‘joy’. We needed both to fully appreciate human emotion and the ups and downs of the crazy human experience. For a full gastronomic experience, our tongue loves sweet and sour. Drinking an icy cold beverage on a stinking hot day (or the opposite) will bring great comfort and satisfaction. This is why, as a huge advocate of GLIMMERS I must now introduce their opposite - GLUMMERS.
What are Glimmers?
The modern meaning of glimmer is fast becoming familiar- especially on social media platforms online and for those interested in psychology and mental health - “Glimmers are micro-moments of joy that release feel-good chemicals and hormones in our bodies that help to regulate our overwhelmed nervous systems and make our survival brain feel safe.”
So what are the Opposite of Glimmers?
The opposite of a glimmer is currently called a ‘Trigger’. I don’t like this terminology as it reminds me of guns and their negative connotations. Therefore I have decided to create a new word that fits better aesthetically with glimmer …‘Glummer’. A glummer is something that causes feelings of fear, anxiety & sadness. It prompts the brain to go into fight-or-fight mode and overwhelms the nervous system. It is the exact opposite of a glimmer. Glummers are a part of life, they often come along when we are not expecting them to cause some havoc and drama. We need the occasional glummer to appreciate the glimmers in our lives.
How Do Glimmers and Glummers Differ?
Here are the main ways that glimmers and glummers differ. Unfortunately, we will never be able to exist on glimmers alone as our brains have evolved to protect and keep us alive and use glummers to make this happen.
Glimmers: Trigger positive emotions, regulate and calm our nervous system, give our survival brain a feeling of safety, boost our mental health, provide micro-moments of joy or calm.
Glummers: Trigger negative emotions, dysregulate our nervous system, induce fight flight, freeze or fawn response, release stress hormones, connect to past trauma.
Whether or not the word glummer catches on, I’m going to use it in my daily lexicon and if it does- you heard it here first!
Linda xx