Attentional Blindness

            Many of us multi-task.  If the digital age facilitated any particular habit, I would say this is doing several things at the same time.  So, who among us don’t listen to music while updating our status on some social networking site and answering a text message on our cell phone simultaneously?  When I ask my students how they work on their computers, I often get a unanimous admission that they always have several windows open at the same time, and they typically switch from one window to another. 

            One potentially dangerous habit that many of us have generalized with this multi-tasking habit is doing a few things while driving or crossing the street.  Many accidents actually happen due to such multi-tasking. 

            The fact is that our attentional resources are very limited.  We are only able to pay attention on one thing at any given moment.  When we multi-task, what we are actually doing is shifting our attention to various things very quickly.  In the moment that we are paying attention to something, we cannot pay attention on any other thing.  This is a fact about our attention span. 

            I have attached a video below featuring a TED talk of a cognitive psychologist named Levin Simon, who has been studying the phenomenon of attention.  You may have seen similar videos from other websites, but I find his 20 minute talk rather enlightening on the idea of change blindness and attentional blindness.  Essentially, what he is saying is that a majority of people tend to overlook and neglect objects and details that we do not expect to see to be in that particular context.  It is an interesting video that I hope you can spend some time viewing. 

            Many of us believe that knowledge is power.  Roughly, this might mean that when we know something, it can shape the way we behave and deal with our environments.  In this instance, some of us might be misled into thinking that knowing about attentional and change blindness can bring about an awareness that will help us avoid such phenomena from happening.  Unfortunately, the fact remains that knowing about these phenomena will not make them go away.  They are simply realities of our limited nature that we need to accept and manage. 

            And so, when there is a possibility that you might lose your life or limb on multi-tasking, remember that our attentional resources are very limited.  We need to focus only on one thing and one thing only.  If we are driving, let’s focus on driving.  We can wait to switch channels on our radios or answer the text message on our cell phone when we are stalled in traffic or when we have already reached our destination.  If we do any of these while driving, we increase the probabilities of an accident happening.  Similarly, when we find ourselves talking with someone on the cell phone or answering text messages while walking on the street, we also put ourselves at risk for a pedestrian accident. 

            There are certainly benefits in multi-tasking, and I am guilty of this habit as well.  However, let’s put a limit when we are doing something that might be potentially dangerous to us and those around us. 

Relaxation through Imagination

The second post I wrote for this blog more than a year ago was about breathing right (see post dated 13 March 2010).  Doing diaphragmatic breathing is certainly a way that we can enhance relaxation and wellbeing of anybody in any given situation.  Some people like to do this exercise using relaxing music or even with direct voice instructions.  What I would like to highlight in this week’s entry is how images in our mind can also enhance our sense of wellbeing and feelings of relaxation. 

 

Mental images are very powerful in evoking particular feelings.  Invoking images is a way of connecting the present to the past or the future.  And so, purposively recalling specific images and experiences can bring about feelings attached to these internal experiences.  In this entry, I wish to link relaxation exercises with our active imagination. 

A common experience for many of is to find ourselves feeling a certain way whenever we think about something.  Sometimes, the thoughts might come as a specific word.  In other occasions, we might recall a sensory experience, such as a visual scene, a sound, or even a scent.  Any of these experiences can be referred to as mental images. 

For many people, recalling a happy moment in their lives can be very rewarding.  This can be anything, such as, a previous birthday, meeting close friends and catching up with them, a relaxing vacation at the beach, going home to the province, or simply curling up in the couch with a favorite book.  Staying with this image and just being in that moment will most likely bring about the feelings associated with these experiences. 

Another way of using one’s imagination to elicit feelings is through a more active use of fantasy.  This is when imagination is engaged to conjure stories and scenarios that can help bring about positive feelings.  For instance, one can think about an activity that one is planning to do or hope that will happen.  Some examples of this include the following:  imagining an interaction with a liked person, thinking of doing a desired activity, fantasizing about a vacation to a very exotic location, and so on. 

As I describe the use of imagination, a few of us might think that this is nothing more than day dreaming.  I must concede that there are many similarities.  However, I should also say that daydreaming can be rather transient and spontaneous, whereas my proposal is more purposive in terms of images and consequent desired feelings. 

This technique of relaxation can certainly be used anytime and anywhere.  It is particularly useful when one is feeling stressed out or disturbed by negative feelings.  Its results can be brief and transient that can be used in helping oneself deal with difficult situations.  As negative feelings tend to lessen (but sometimes not really disappear) with such exercises, it allows us to use our rationality to deal with our situations more effectively.  This method is certainly not indicated as a permanent method of coping with difficult situations. 

So, what images do you think you would like to use to help yourself feel more relaxed?     

Managing Anger

            Anger is often a difficult emotion.  Since young, many of us were disciplined for expressing our anger, particularly towards our authority figures.  And so, many of us learned to keep our anger inside, even denying its existence in more than some instances.  Even as we deprive ourselves the experience of this emotion, we occasionally still see its ugly head pop out in our consciousness.  We might even lose our cool once in a while, and let out a mouthful or fistful of bile.   

            If there is anything about feelings—anger included—there is a clear need to acknowledge these internal experiences in order for them to run their course.  Once we affirm that we do feel that way, and identify the external events and personal interpretation given to these events, they frequently proceed to run their course.  After all, anger is a very natural reaction, a feeling that everyone experiences.  Of course, we need to be willing to let go of this anger in order for them to run their course. 

            We can always choose to hang on to these feelings and dwell on them.  This is sometimes the experience of those who have been hurt and want to take revenge.  They believe that the only way they will feel better and finally let go of their hurt is when they have gotten even with the one who cause them pain.  Although this seems logical and revenge may sometimes bring about the satisfaction of overpowering our adversary, it may also beget more violence in the future.  This can happen when the other side wishes to settle matters in the same way, and the cycle takes longer to end (if it really does). 

            And so, dealing with one’s emotions and owning up to them is often a mature and healthy way of managing one’s internal experiences.  With anger, being aware of it and acknowledging its presence is a good first step.  We might even want to rate the level of our anger (say, from 1-10, with 1 being slightly irritated and 10 being furious).  As we take responsibility for our feelings, we might try to help ourselves lower our emotional reactions to a point that we would be able to think more rationally about the situation.  Until that time, we might just decide to disengage and to do some relaxation exercises.  This can be done through simple diaphragmatic breathing or through the visualization of happier times (see entry on this blog dated 13 March 2010).  At this time, we might choose to walk away and to be alone. 

            For some people, engaging in strenuous physical activity can help them release the energy that anger often brings.  Running, punching pillows or bags, shadow boxing, swimming and other such activities can be effective in accomplishing this goal. 

            When there is a need to express our feelings and sentiments, it is best to do so when we are able to think rationally about our own reactions, and how we would like the situation to change.  For this to happen, we might want to take on three steps, namely, express, ask, and negotiate.  First, we might want to say how we felt and what caused us to feel that way, stating both what the other party did and how we interpreted that action to mean.  Then, we ask for what we want, whether that be a change in behavior or an apology for the damage done.  When necessary, we might then take on the third step of negotiating.  When we are able to give as well as take, we find solutions that are amicable for both parties.  In taking on these steps, we need to carry ourselves in a manner that is firm, gentle, and always respectful.  Only then can we say that we are being rational and mature about managing our anger. 

Selective Mutism

            James is a boy who kept quiet in school.  It’s not that he cannot talk.  At home, he talks to his parents and siblings.  It’s just that he did not talk in school and in public places.  The first few years he attended school, his teachers tolerated his silence.  As he got a bit older, however, this became a bigger problem.  As his teachers graded students for recitation and other oral requirements, he remained quiet and consequently was not given a grade. 

            This is an example of a child who has Selective Mutism.  This is a condition where a child or adult remains silent even in situations that require them to speak.  For many children who have this condition, they typically do not speak in school but have regular speaking voices at home.  Oftentimes, these children are also quite shy and demonstrate behaviors related to fear and anxiety, such as, standing still and having a blank expression on their faces.  They have a hard time saying what they need to say. 

            Selective Mutism is currently understood as a form of anxiety disorder.  That means, children who cannot speak have anxious feelings that they cannot manage well enough, so their capacity to speak is hampered.  This seems to be related to a basically shy temperament that these children inherently possess.  Whereas science still does not fully understand the real cause of such behaviors, we do know that the children are not intentionally doing this as a form of resistance or rebellion, and that these behaviors do not appear to be linked to trauma or experience of abuse. 

            Some people wonder if these behaviors are self limiting, and would resolve on its own when the child gets older.  While there are instances when children who had Selective Mutism when they were younger eventually learned to speak in places and with people they did not speak before, there is no certainty that this will happen to all children with Selective Mutism.  In fact, there are times when Selective Mutism carries over until one’s adulthood, and the individual learns to cope with not speaking in many public situations. 

            The impact of Selective Mutism on the development of an individual is great, as children often learn to make friends as they start to go to school.  The socialization that happens in school provides important life experiences for children to learn how to interact with peers and other adults.  When children are too shy, even anxious, to speak and interact with others, they are also excluding themselves from opportunities to initiate and sustain friendships. 

            One of the first things that help these children is when parents recognize the situation early enough and seek professional help for it.  With at least one parent’s assistance and the family’s involvement, treatment can proceed using various techniques.  Many of these techniques often begin with helping the child become comfortable in the situation where he/she is not speaking.  In small, incremental steps that do not significantly heighten the child’s anxiety, the child is encouraged to make a sound, to whisper a word, to whisper some more, until such time that the child is comfortable enough to speak.  Sometimes, humor is used to get the child to feel comfortable.  They might be rewarded for doing these incremental steps, but never in a way that puts them in a spotlight, as that might further heighten anxiety.  They might also be taught techniques in helping themselves feel more relaxed.  Many times, this journey takes a long time, but it is often worth the time and effort. 

            As James received help from his family, school, and psychologist, he eventually started to whisper, and then to speak; at first, to one classmate, and then later to a few others.  He is now a teenager who enjoys sports and the company of his friends.