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PROMOTING EMOTIONAL HEALTH AND CLEAR THINKING
Editorial: Volume 13, No. 3 — 2006
All change please...
THE STRAPLINE, “Change is much easier than you think” appears on the cover of the books in our popular series Essential Help in Troubled Times: the human givens approach (the first dealt with depression; the second addictions, and anxiety follows shortly). And changing behaviour is easier than we think. It is the not thinking things through, or misimagining, that most often causes the problems. All therapists know clients who 'think' they can't possibly do whatever it is they need to do most; or who indulge in magical think ing, expecting a therapist to do the work for them. And that has undesirable repercussions, particularly for the developing brain.
In The Big Book of Independent Thinking (see short report on page 46), which is a goldmine of innovative ideas for working with young people in schools and helping them want to learn, one contributor, a professional theatre director and teacher, tells how, early in rehearsals, actors inevitably wail, “What does that bit mean? What is supposed to be my motivation for doing this?” He could answer their questions but he doesn't. “If they know I answer all the time, they will turn off their own ability to answer. That sends pro found messages to their central nervous system that no change is necessary.” Elsewhere in the book, former headteacher John Abbott and researcher Terry Ryan are quoted: “With the state taking responsibility for schooling, the various pressures that had previously existed on young people to hold themselves responsible for their own learning diminished and learning became what the state defined, not necessarily what individuals undertook for their own purposes” (The Unfinished Revolution, Network Educational Press, 2000).
There was a time when the form education took was chosen by working class parents, enabling children to learn what it was useful and meaning ful for them to know and in a flexible way, that took account of the fact that, at certain times of day or year, children's help was needed at home or in the fields. The parents didn't feel patronised; they were the paymasters and called the tune, as James Bartholomew points out in his interview with Ivan Tyrrell (see page 24). He argues that the welfare state, through our education, healthcare, social housing and benefits system, all bound up in bureaucratic red tape, has had appalling effects on the health and behaviour of people in our society today. It was a brilliant idea but with a fatal built-in flaw — the removal of any real motivation to make things different and better, whether delivering or receiving services. The profound message to the central nervous system that no change is necessary (or, perhaps, possible) has, in many quarters, indeed been received loud and clear. But the result has been a breakdown in mental health and in civilisation.
Our brains, as we know, have evolved over millions of years Ð and the primitive bits are still with us, regardless of the sophistication of the layers on top. This can work against our getting a genuine take on reality. See Joe Griffin's groundbreaking article (page 9) on how an unrecognised, highly primitive form of conditioning may explain all sorts of aberrant behaviours. See also the extract from Professor Daniel Gilbert's book Stumbling on Happiness (page 41), which shows all too clearly the vagaries of the human brain.
Worst, perhaps, in terms of standing in the way of changing behaviour, is our tendency to think that circumstances in which some action is clearly required do not apply to us. We think that we can manage just fine, doing what we've always done. A recent study of over 13,000 drivers found that those who had driven while tired a few times over a year or up to once a month or more were significantly more likely to have a serious road traffic accident (BMJ, 2006, 333, 75—7). The authors concluded: “Self-assessed driving while sleepy was a powerful predictor of serious road traffic accidents, suggesting that drivers' awareness of their sleepiness while driving is not sufficient to prevent them from having road traffic accidents. Messages on prevention should therefore focus on convincing sleepy drivers to stop driving and sleep before resuming their journey.” (Presumably, that will take more than those illuminated signs on motorways, exhorting “Don't drive tired”, more remarked on for their ungrammatical construction than their positive impact.)
One way to get under the radar and help people develop the motivation to change is through stories. Rob Parkinson explains how to make the most of stories to engage and inspire, open eyes, and change minds and lives. See his article on page 20 for a taste of the treasures in store.
The Editors
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