Stress: The Mind and Knowing
"What the mind does not know, the eye does not see," reads an Asian Indian expression. I was told that many years ago as I sat with a physician looking over a research proposal at a hospital. We'd read it over several times and still it didn't seem right; we were missing something.
Have you ever read and read something and felt that you either didn't really "get" what it meant or had problems seeing how it applied? It doesn't help if someone comes along, reads it over and says something like, "It's as plain as the hair on your head." You wonder; were they being sincere or making fun of me?
Stress has an ability to decrease your ability to "see" in all its aspects. You don't see the intent of a memo, the real focus of a piece of research or the holes in it and you suddenly realize that your mind is clouded by something.
We had read and re-read that research proposal over and over and it just kept feeling like we were walking in mud. Years before, I had used a very famous psychology experiment, The Stanford Prison Experiment, in my undergraduate classes to show students how even experienced researchers sometimes miss the problems in their research. Now, I was the one on the receiving end of not knowing what was wrong here.
The physician and I decided to call it a day, take the proposal home and get back together later in the week and when we did, we saw it through fresh eyes. I had put mine on top of a bookcase and just let it sit. I knew that too many re-readings wouldn't help. I needed some distance from it.
When we met again, the problems in the proposal shouted out to us and we had one of those "voila!" moments. There it was and it was sitting there all along for us to see, but we didn't because of the stress we were under.
Related Topics: Women More Sensitive to Stress Than Men?, Marital Support Eases Job's Blood Pressure Toll
Technorati Tags: stress, perception, comprehension
Have you ever read and read something and felt that you either didn't really "get" what it meant or had problems seeing how it applied? It doesn't help if someone comes along, reads it over and says something like, "It's as plain as the hair on your head." You wonder; were they being sincere or making fun of me?
Stress has an ability to decrease your ability to "see" in all its aspects. You don't see the intent of a memo, the real focus of a piece of research or the holes in it and you suddenly realize that your mind is clouded by something.
We had read and re-read that research proposal over and over and it just kept feeling like we were walking in mud. Years before, I had used a very famous psychology experiment, The Stanford Prison Experiment, in my undergraduate classes to show students how even experienced researchers sometimes miss the problems in their research. Now, I was the one on the receiving end of not knowing what was wrong here.
The physician and I decided to call it a day, take the proposal home and get back together later in the week and when we did, we saw it through fresh eyes. I had put mine on top of a bookcase and just let it sit. I knew that too many re-readings wouldn't help. I needed some distance from it.
When we met again, the problems in the proposal shouted out to us and we had one of those "voila!" moments. There it was and it was sitting there all along for us to see, but we didn't because of the stress we were under.
Related Topics: Women More Sensitive to Stress Than Men?, Marital Support Eases Job's Blood Pressure Toll
Technorati Tags: stress, perception, comprehension
3 Comments:
Dr. Farrell,
Is this also what affects those of us who are anxious and have difficulty understanding why we are so anxious? Does the stress hinder us from being able to see what we need to see in ourselves?
What do you think?
~Tasker
I think that stress and extreme anxiety do literally "blind" us to what is before us. It interferes with our ability to problem solve or to even see that there is a solution. As a result, it increases a sense of depression, hopelessness and helplessness and the downward spiral continues.
I learned an important lesson many years ago when I'd receive drafts of my dissertation from one of my committee members. This person always had a problem with what I'd done and always provided negative feedback. When I saw the package, I'd throw it on the floor, walk away and wait a day until I cooled off and then I'd read it with new eyes unfettered by the stress I knew I'd feel.
I am a 47 year old, I passed out while talking to my friends in the front yard, they called 911 and I was taken to the hospitial and had to stay over night they ran test everything came back negative but I still have tingling in my arms and hands and no streath at all in my elbow. What is wrong????
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