Have you ever heard of flight, fight, or freeze? During times of crisis and traumatic experiences we enter survival mode, which means there’s no long-term or medium-term plan. Trauma drives your mind and body to stay focused – getting through the next 24 hours. If this happens day-in, day-out then some of the effects are:
Fatigue: You may feel more tired, in body and mind.
Emotionally reactive: If you find yourself being more upset about things that you wouldn’t normally react to, this can be a sign of survival brain. Perhaps you’re snippier or grumpier or cry more easily.
Lack of focus: Things might seem foggy or hard to concentrate. You might have trouble finishing one activity in a focused manner or in the way you “usually” can.
Changes in memory: You may have a hard time remembering situations or things that happen throughout the day. If a partner asks how your day was, you may honestly not really know.
Forgetting to care for basic needs: Having trouble brushing your teeth? Exercising? Washing your face? Changing your sheets? These can all be signs.
More impulsive: You might spend excessively, eat more, or engage in activities you might not normally.
Trauma drive is something we have learned to go through the motions in life and do what we need to do. This might be an effective way to complete tasks and navigate our hectic schedules, yet what are the consequences of going through life in survival mode? When we are “surviving” too long, we can feel the effects it has on us. In fact, research shows that chronic stress and chronic exposure to stress hormones can even be harmful (Hormone Health Network, 2018). A frequent stress response and overexposure to stress-response hormones can take a toll on the body, take a toll on our emotional health, impact our relationships, lead to a number of medical issues, and increase risk for anxiety and depression (Harvard, 2018; Hormone Health Network, 2018). As with all things, too much of this good thing, or our body working to protect us and help us survive, can actually become a bad thing.
How can you decrease the motivation to be productive or going through motions to get through another day? There are a few things that may help us on our journeys:
Self empathy: Self-empathy is the acknowledgment that, like all human beings, you deserve understanding and compassion. To truly practice self-empathy to its fullest, you must be willing to use it even when you trip over your own feet and make mistakes that leave you feeling embarrassed or wishing you had stayed home.
Self compassion: Self-compassion entails being warm and understanding toward ourselves when we suffer, fail, or feel inadequate, rather than ignoring our pain or flagellating ourselves with self-criticism.
Find support: Identify friends or family members for support. If you feel ready to discuss the traumatic event, you might talk to them about your experience and your feelings. You can also ask loved ones to help you with household tasks or other obligations to relieve some of your daily stress.
Prioritize self-care. Do your best to eat nutritious meals, get regular physical activity, and get a good night’s sleep. And seek out other healthy coping strategies such as art, music, meditation, relaxation, and spending time in nature.
Go on a walk: Exercise helps your nervous system restore balance by burning off adrenaline and releasing endorphins through movement. Endorphins help combat situational depression that may develop as a result of the traumatic event. In other words, lowering your adrenaline levels helps balance and clarify communications to your body and endorphins boost energy, stamina, and a “feel good” mood so that you’re no longer feeling and acting like you are in a life-threatening situation.
Two days ago, we caught a baby mouse roaming about in our food pantry, being the god of destruction, chewing through aluminum and plastic bags of nettle tea leaves, sesame seeds, and comfrey leaves. I make an effort t capture these rodents so they could be released into the outer world safely. I didn’t have time to release it immediately giving me time to observe its behavior which was different than any other mouse I had caught and released. This one was feisty and tenacious in finding any opening in it’s metal cage to cut through or squeeze out.
When I was afraid it would suffer broken spirit due to long-term imprisonment, I put the cage gently into a plastic bag, walked to the edge of our woods. I looked down and another different behavior was shown as the little mouse had clawed to the top of the cage so it could peer out the opening to see where I was taking it.
I put down the cage and opening it’s gate. It immediately shot out and found refuge in rotting leaves.
Another different behavior, it pushed its little head out to peek at me one last time before hiding in the dark pile of leaves.
“Bye, bye Jumpy,” I said to honor the bonding feeling I had sensed. This prompted me to ask, Why is curiosity important in psychology?
Curiosity — a state of active interest or genuinely wanting to know more about something — allows you to embrace unfamiliar circumstances, giving you a greater opportunity to experience discovery and joy. Indeed, studies show that life is better when you’re curious.
Is curiosity a psychological trait?
Curious people are psychologically flexible in that they are adept at committing effort toward interesting and deeply cherished goals despite the presence of pain/distress/tension (Kashdan & Rottenberg, 2010; Silvia, 2008).
What is the hero’s journey? The hero’s journey is a common narrative archetype, or story template, that involves a hero who goes on an adventure, learns a lesson, wins a victory with that newfound knowledge, and then returns home transformed.
What are the archetypal characters in a hero’s journey?
The seven most common archetypes are:
Hero
A hero willingly sacrifices their needs for others. They are actively learning and doing, and undergo transformation. They are flawed beings that have universal qualities.
Mentor
A teacher or trainer who aids the hero by teaching and protecting them. The mentor motivates the hero to overcome their fears and also prepares them for the journey.
Threshold Guardian
A character who serves to keep the unworthy from entering. They cluster around thresholds, and can be overcome by being passed or made into an ally. These guardians serve to test the hero’s character and commitment to the journey.
Herald
A character (or item) that issues challenges and announces coming change. Heralds serve to motivate the hero into action.
Shadow
This aspect represents the “dark side;” villains, antagonists, and enemies. These characters often do not think of themselves as villains and serve to challenge the hero. By being a worthy opponent they create conflict to bring out the hero’s best.
Trickster
The embodiment of mischief, this character desires to create change. They serve to ground the hero by pointing out their follies and serve as comic relief. Tricksters are frequently a catalyst who causes healthy transformations.
Shapeshifter
A shifting or unstable character, often of the opposite sex. They mislead the hero and act as a catalyst of change by bringing in doubt and suspense.
What is the hero’s journey in psychology?
Overall, the hero’s outer journey is a representation of an inner, psychological journey that involves “leaving one condition and finding the source of life to bring you forth into a richer or mature condition” (Campbell, 1988, p. 152).
The reason I wish to begin with emotions is that they are great storehouses of energy; they can lead you to great opportunities as well as block you from making progress in life, career or spiritual endeavors. Once you have left behind the low-vibration emotions, you will find that it is easier to break through obstacles and achieving your goals.
The laws of physics teach us that energy cannot be destroyed; it can only change form. That is what happens when we experience emotions. Emotions are a form of energy and can display themselves across a wide range from low vibrations such as shame to the highest vibrations such as peace.
This transmuting is best seen and explained through Dr. David Hawkins’ work. He developed a scale, or a ladder, of human consciousness using kinesiology as a way to quantify the calibrations. All living organisms stand somewhere on this scale, and they can ascend or descend. There are 18 levels assigned to the ladder, and a brief description of each level follows. As you read, assess intuitively where you think you stand on this ladder.
0. Death (0): Death could be naturally occurring (sickness, old age), accidental, or even a deliberate choice (suicide or failure to make the necessary arrangements to preserve life).
1. Shame (1-20):
Shame leads to neurosis. Someone vibrating at this level considers their body “dirty.” This might be especially true if they are victims of rape. Long-term domestic violence and child abuse victims vibrate at this level. Associated feelings: Humiliation, low self-esteem, and paranoia. When one vibrates at this level, they may feel that they have “lost face”; they may wish to be invisible and may feel worthless. Process: Vibrating at this level for prolonged periods leads to elimination of self and/or others (e.g., serial killings, rape) and moral extremism where self-righteous judgment is directed towards others. View of life: Misery. Persons at this level will see mostly misery in their life and the lives of others. Life is deemed not worth living as it doesn’t offer anything of value. Opposite traits: Healthy self-esteem, confidence.
2) Guilt (30):
Having vindictive hatred. One will feel bad, even about healthy, licit sexual activity and consider it sinful. Associated feelings: Persons at this level burden themselves with the feeling of being a sinner. This preoccupation with “sin” is commonly exploited by religious leaders to control others. Process: Leads to destructive activities (e.g. acts of ritual killing to “appease” higher entities). View of life: Condemnation of self and others. The world is seen as an evil place full of sinful people. Opposite traits: Discernment of extremes and considering “sin” as merely “missing the target” and making the decision to do better next time.
3) Apathy (50):
One experiences neglect of self, business, health, and dependents. This may be taken to the extremes of making the body unhealthy and malnourished, and becoming financially poor until they lack not just resources, but also the energy required to bring themselves out of this level. Associated feelings: Indifference, despair, hopelessness. Feeling their life is out of their control. Considering themselves victim of circumstances. Process: Failure to fulfill their responsibilities as a parent, guardian, or leader. Feeling helpless and “stuck.” View of life: The world and future appear bleak. Opposite traits: Hopefulness, optimism, seeing the opportunities inherent in every adversity.
4) Grief (75):
A state of low spirits caused by loss of hope or courage. Commonly, chronic gamblers who habitually lose are at this level. Associated feelings: Regret, sadness, and feelings of loss are dominant. It is common to vibrate on this level when people experience death of loved ones, unemployment, loss of home, etc. Process: Mourning, bereavement and remorse about the past. Pining away. View of life: Tragic outlook. Life is a nightmare. Sorrow is seen as the price of life. Opposite traits: Able to detect joy in even the simplest things of life.
5) Fear (100):
Fear dictates one’s world(fear of death, sickness, enemies, etc.) Associated feelings: Anxiety, Paranoia. Process: Excessive worrying, fretting about the future, and being afraid of telling the truth. Everything uncertain causes fear which leads to withdrawal from normal, healthy activities. View of life: The world is a dangerous and frightening place. Opposite traits: Bravery, courage.
6) Desire (125):
This is an ongoing energy and has to do with acquisition and accumulation. At this level, addiction and desire become more important than life. Associated feelings: Insatiable craving. Lust. Process: Pursuit of money, beauty, power, fame, or reputation. An example of someone at this level would be lonely singles longing to be in a romantic relationship. Marketing is effective at conditioning “wants” in those vibrating at this level, as it issues enticing advertisements and promises happiness through consuming more goods. View of life: Life is disappointing when one cannot obtain what they desire. Opposite traits: Contentment, satiety, counting one’s blessings, and living life with gratitude.
7) Anger (150):
The emotion at this level is hatred. Anger expresses itself as resentment, frustration, and even revenge. One vibrating at this level might exhibit irritable and volatile behavior. A more beneficial manifestation of anger in society is activism toward important causes (environmental problems, animal rights, poverty and corruption in third-world countries, etc.) Anger turned in this direction has resulted in liberation and great movements in the society. The downside to anger is dangerous behavior and the intentional harm that might ensue from it. Associated feelings: Hate. Resentment. Aggression. Process: The process one undergoes is aggression. View of Life: The life-view here is antagonistic where one is hostile, unfriendly, and acts in opposition/rebellion against others. One may feel cheated, deceived, or that people are conspiring against you.
8) Pride (175):
An inflated feeling of self-worth. Associated feelings: Narcissism. Arrogance. Process: Boasting. Scornful attitude towards other who do not have the same qualities/possessions as you do. These qualities or possessions could be more money, membership to prestigious organizations, higher educational status, etc.
9) Courage (200):
Associated feelings: Bravery. Focusing “getting to the greener pastures”. Process: Planning to get oneself out of a challenging situation. Acknowledging that something needs to change and thinking about possible solutions. View of life: Anything is possible. Opposite traits: Cowardice. Fear.
10) Neutrality (250):
The emotion at this level is trust and safety. There is no attachment to possessions, situations, or outcomes. One at this level can roll with the punches in life. If they are not able to get a particular thing, they are equally happy with an alternative. Associated feelings: Contentment. Process: Being non-judgmental towards self and others.
View of life: Satisfactory; anything goes. Opposite traits: Being “anal-retentive”. Need to win at all costs.
11) Willingness (310):
Associated feelings: Optimism. Hope. Process: Having a “can do” attitude. View of life: If you can think it, you can achieve it. Opposite traits: Pessimism
12) Acceptance (350):
Here, one finally realizes that he/she is THE creator and source of his/her life, as opposed to having relegated that task to someone else or to another entity. Associated feelings: View of life: What I see before me, I created. Harmonious. Opposite traits: Blaming others for all the problems in one’s life.
13) Reason (400):
Associated feelings: understanding and rationality. Process: Effort to understand why events in one’s life happened the way they did. View of life: There IS meaning to my life.
14) Love (500):
Associated feelings: Unconditional love. View of life: Benign. There is no separation, fear, or negativity. Hawkins claims only 0.4% of the population (1 in every 250 people) ever reaches this level.
15) Joy (540):
Near-death experiences have the effect of temporarily bumping people into this level. This is the level where saints, advanced spiritual students, and healers dwell. At this level, one is characterized by enormous patience and an unwavering positive attitude in the face of harsh adversities. The world is seen as one of perfection and beauty. Individuals are motivated to dedicate themselves to the benefit of life rather than for specific individuals. Associated feeling: Inner joy and bliss. Spiritual ecstasy. View of life: Completeness (of the world).
16) Peace (600):
At this level, there is no longer any distinction between the observer and the subject. People at this level become spiritual teachers, great geniuses in their field, and make tremendous contributions to mankind. Those at this level typically transcend formal religious structures and replace them with pure spirituality, from where religions originate. Perception becomes everything being in slow motion, suspended in time and space. Everything is perceived as interconnected by an infinite presence. The process one undergoes is illumination Hawkins claims this level is attained by only 1 out of 10 million people. View of life: Perfection. Associated feeling: Serenity and compassion.
17) Enlightenment (700-1000):
This is the apex of the evolution of the consciousness of mankind. The greatest people in history have attained this level. Those such as Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, and Mother Theresa reside here. Here, the body becomes recognized as a tool to project consciousness in. One’s existence becomes all-encompassing and transcends time and space. The process is described as pure consciousness. Associated feeling: ineffable, in other words — inexpressible. View of life: Simply “is”.
***
Exercise: Ladder of Consciousness Graph
For the next 7 days, document in your journal where you feel you are on the Ladder of Consciousness, by using your intuition, Kinesiology or a pendulum. The graph might look like the following example:
Take an intuitive guess of where you stand on the Ladder of Consciousness. The next step is to use your intention to transmute your level it to a higher level by acknowledging that you are able to ascend and experience positive emotions. The tricky part is maintaining your position on the higher (more positive emotions) “steps”. With practice comes consistency.
Exercise: Transmuting Emotional Energy
Think about an emotional upheaval in your life; write down your deepest feelings about it in your journal. Spend about 15 or 20 minutes daily for 4 consecutive days on this exercise. At the end of the 4th day, pose this question to yourself: What would it take for me to jump from ___________________ emotion to a higher vibration emotion (Love, Joy, or Peace)? In your journal, write the question with your answer filled in. Follow your instinct to transmute that energy to a higher level.
When you think of journaling, you might picture a tween girl, laying on her bed with her feet waving lazily through the air and writing about her crush in a diary. While it can certainly be helpful for those purposes, journaling is not exclusively for “girls,” teens, and tweens—it’s for anyone who can write! It is a form of self-expression that can lift and empower people to understand they’re complex feelings and find humor with it.
Simply putting words on a page will probably not get you all the benefits of journaling, but effective expressive journaling can result in many positive outcomes and improvements to your quality of life.
If self-care is a radical act of self-preservation, then expressive journaling is a radical act of subversion. Because as the practice of reevaluating sources of grief and trauma through written word, expressive journaling allows you to speak your truth, truth that might make others uncomfortable. The hardest part of expressive journaling, however, is knowing how to begin. This post is here to guide you.
Before we begin, let’s look briefly at the mechanics of memory. Ever wonder why you can clearly remember traumatic events, while everything between is just a blur?
This is because traumatic memories, and the negative emotions associated with them, stick around twice as long as positive memories. According to psychology professor, Laura Carstensen, the reasons for this have evolutionary roots, as for survival, it’s more beneficial for your brain to remember the metaphorical tiger in the grass instead of the tasty pastries you enjoyed for breakfast.
Thanks to the above mechanics, expressive journaling differs from creative writing.
Because whereas creative writing is like drawing a picture, where details are outlined, amended, or erased as you work, expressive journaling is like sculpting with marble. Like stone, your traumatic memories are inflexible. Also like stone, your traumatic memories must be approached with care, as the smallest misstep could injure you. And like a sculptor, you’re tasked with working with the marble, by pulling details, a coherent story, out from its face.
How to Recover Lost Memories
Upon starting my memoir, I realized I could recall every traumatic incident but none of the details between. The same predicament might apply to you as well.
Thanks to how the brain stores memories, know that it’s normal to have trouble recalling memories surrounding the traumatic event. Your memories, however, are still in your brain; they just need a little coxing to come out.
To recover lost memories, try experimenting with the following tools:
Music. Listen to old playlists or music from the same era as the traumatic event.
Pictures. Review old photo albums and social media posts.
Scent and taste. Sample old recipes and perfumes you wore in the past.
Text. Review old emails, text messages, or archived news articles.
Speech. Talk to old friends and family members.
James Pennebaker, in the 1980’s, discovered a link between “expressive writing” — writing for 15-20 minutes at a time, over several days, about a past traumatic event, or secret concerns — and measurable improvements in immune system function. Doctor visits also decreased. These results have been replicated in patients with a variety of conditions, including asthma, arthritis, breast cancer, and HIV.
Subsequent studies found that when people did similar short-term writing interventions, wounds on their skin healed significantly faster. Incredible. (For an autobiographical summary of his research over time, read this 2017 article from Pennebaker in Perspectives on Psychological Science.)
Some helpful facts have emerged from the research of Pennebaker and others, as the understanding of this phenomenon has grown:
1. Don’t suppress your thoughts and emotions related to traumatic experiences. Pushing down or denying what happened to you isn’t a helpful response. To support this fact, research has shown that suppressing related thoughts and feelings can compromise your immune function.
2. It’s not just about venting. People who focus exclusively on venting negative emotions might experience worsening health. (Ullrich and Lutgendorf discuss that effect in the 2002 Annals of Behavioral Medicine.) To experience the health benefits of expressive writing or journaling, you need another ingredient.
3. Seek to interpret your experience as you write about it. Pennebaker discovered a writing pattern that predicted improved health outcomes: Those who started out using a lot of “I” references, but then shifted to more words like “because,” “realize,” or “understand,” saw more benefits from the writing process. This indicated that the writer was actively interpreting what had happened to them.
As most clinicians are aware, it’s not helpful to repeat the same negative narrative, over and over. Processing a stressful experience, and incorporating it into the overarching narrative of your life, is key. This is thought to reduce stress, the key factor in producing health benefits.
4. Make lemonade out of life’s lemons. Lutgendorf notes that people who are able to find positive meaning in traumatic life events enjoy better health than those missing this perspective.
It doesn’t mean that what happened was good; it may have been truly awful. Still, it’s well established that those who experience trauma and adversity often become stronger and more resilient. If you train yourself to watch for the positive that emerges out of negative (or even devastating) events, it positively impacts your mind and body.
For the puspose of eventually converting your expressive jounaling into a memoir, it would be important to have a bit of chronological sequence to the events.
When you’re processing something particularly intense or traumatic, it’s wise to have qualified, therapeutic support on hand. This article isn’t meant to replace the advice of your doctor, psychologist, or counseling professional. Seek their advice first.
Many of us spend our days running from one thing to another, without taking time to reflect on or process what’s going on inside (or around) us. A regular journaling practice can be helpful and grounding, and It doesn’t have to take long: Even just a few minutes a day (or whenever you’re feeling stressed) can be helpful.
What is the root cause of trauma? Trauma, broadly defined, describes “an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or threatening and that has lasting adverse effects on the individual’s functioning and physical, social, emotional, or spiritual well-being.” Examples of experiences that can lead to trauma include exposure to violence, severe illness, natural disasters, and chronic poverty.
There are three main types of trauma: Acute, Chronic, or Complex
Acute trauma results from a single incident.
Chronic trauma is repeated and prolonged such as domestic violence or abuse.
Complex trauma is exposure to varied and multiple traumatic events, often of an invasive, interpersonal nature.
When trying to find Point of Origination for your trauma, it is important to classify the frequency of it:
One time: There is one intense experience that casts a shadow over your life and the quality of your life is adversely affected by it.
Multiple: If it is two or more incidences, whether connected or separate, they need to be reviewed individually as well as collectively for their aggregate affect.
Continuing: This could be a long-term illness and trauma is the normal way of life.
Generational: You might not have experienced trauma directly, but your grandparents or earlier ancestors have experienced. For example Holocaust.
Unknown: Usually there is a feeling that something happened during the childhood but you can’t remember any specific events that might have brought on sadness in your current life.
The purpose of identifying Point of Origination is helpful to navigate the strategies you can use while writing your memoir and understand their impact on your current life.
Can you think of an instance in your life where Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is demonstrated in textbook perfection? Four words sum that up – dinner and a movie.
Maslow tells us that once your physiological needs are met when you’re in a safe environment, surrounded by a loving family. Your confidence flourishes. Due to these factors, it’s likely your psyche will reach the next level. On this echelon, you can start an in-depth exploration of self. It may not be a personal development project but rather a journey through other people’s stories.
You may be wondering, how does this play out? Before we look into the significance of stories, it’s helpful to identify two impact pathways that storytelling can take:
The external impact: From storyteller to the audience. This could be a public speaker, a political, or nonprofit leader, looking for a specific reaction or action from the people they’re addressing
The internal impact: Here, the storyteller transforms from the inside out. Storytelling not only benefits the audience, but the speaker also reaps advantages. They learn from their narrative and pave a path for continuing transformative growth.
The External Impact
Dr. Paul Zak is known for his work with Oxytocin, a molecule our brains release when we engage in positive social interactions like creating trust and empathy. That is an example of an external impact of storytelling. According to his research, Oxytocin is incredibly important to storytelling because, as we know, stories change our behavior. When our brains encounter a good story, oxytocin is released, causing us to feel empathy. Empathy is what causes us to want to take action.
The process comes into play every time someone buys something, donates money to a charity, and even in non-commercial settings, like classrooms. In those situations, teachers use storytelling not only to create a strong connection with their students and as a learning tool. Paul Smith, author of Leader as Storyteller: 10 Reasons It Makes a Better Business Connection observed that:
40 percent of people are visual learners (videos, diagrams, or illustrations).
40 percent are auditory learners (lectures and discussions).
20 percent are kinesthetic learners, (practice, doing, experiencing, or feeling).
Storytelling has aspects that work for all three types. Visual learners appreciate the mental pictures storytelling evokes. Auditory learners focus on the words and the storyteller’s voice. Kinesthetic learners remember the emotional connections and feelings from the story.
Oxytocin is not the only chemical our body produces during the storytelling or listening process: In his essay ‘The Science of Storytelling: What Listening to a Story Does to Our Brains,’ entrepreneur and storyteller Leo Widrich identifies research that suggests that when we hear a story, “not only are the language processing parts in our brain activated, but any other area in our brain that we would use when experiencing the events of the story are, too.”
And Lisa Cron, in Wired for Story, speaks to the additional benefits of sharing stories in business settings. “Stories allow us to simulate intense experiences without having to actually live through them. Stories allow us to experience the world before we actually have to experience it.”
We feel stories with such intensity because they trigger chemical reactions in the brain. Chemicals like cortisol, dopamine, and oxytocin are released in the brain when you hear a story. Cortisol helps create memories. Dopamine keeps you engaged. And oxytocin-the feel-good chemical associated with empathy – helps you create, build and maintain deep connections and relationships.
Storytelling helps with learning because stories stick with us and they boost memory. Organizational consultant Peg Neuhauser found that learning, that stems from a well-told story is remembered more accurately, and for far longer than learning derived from facts and figures:
Many years ago with an MBA class. A case study was given to the class about the production of wine in a particular winery in California. The question was whether the company should maintain the traditional method of production or adopt a newer one. The class was divided into three sections. One section got a narrative of how the wine was produced in the traditional way, which ended with the owner holding up a glass of new wine and saying “My father would have been proud”. A second group was given all the numbers and statistics about the traditional way, and a new way which would reduce the costs and the time scale. The third group got the account of the traditional method and the statistics as in group two. Each group was then asked of their understanding of the situation. Did they believe that the company would maintain the old method of production or adopt the new method? And how much of the case did they remember?
The second group bombarded with numbers and statistics – ended their session in the argument. They couldn’t agree. Group three also had far too much information and never reached a decision. It was only Group one that could recall the message: The company would follow the traditional path. The students in Group one could remember the story but the others struggled with the facts. This was due, in large part, to the ‘belief factor’ – the first story was believable.
However, we should emphasize that the story has to be well told. Also, the right emotional environment must be created for the audience to receive the message, and the speaker must have credibility. If such credibility (ethos) doesn’t exist, then it is unlikely that the story will be well received.
Similarly, psychologist Jerome Bruner’s research suggests that facts are 20 times more likely to be remembered if they’re part of a story.
Some stories from childhood are linked to positive emotional experiences. These tales provide an insight into the patterning system where memories are stored. Your brain seeks and stores memories based on patterns (repeated relationships between ideas). This system facilitates how you interpret the world—and all the new information you discover throughout each day—based on prior experiences.
The four-step structure of narrative—beginning (Once upon a time…), problem, resolution, and ending (…and they all lived happily ever after)—forms a mental map where new information is laid.
When new information (whether from algebra or history) is presented in a familiar narrative form, the memory structure facilitates the brain’s retention of those ideas. As time goes on the map expands to include narratives where the ending is not “and they all lived happily ever after” but rather an opportunity for the student to explore and discover possible outcomes.
The Internal Impact
Let’s explore how the narratives you choose internally affect you.
Personal narratives are a way to understand others more holistically. . They’re also an opportunity to know and understand ourselves more completely. Telling your story is a process of self-reflection. In telling your story you articulate how you understand what has happened to you, why and how it has impacted you and how you see yourself and others. Actually voicing those understandings provides an opportunity to examine the thoughts, assumptions, and ideas undergirding our story.
According to APA Dictionary of Psychology, this is the area that the upcoming field of narrative psychology investigates: The value of stories and storytelling in giving meaning to individuals’ experiences—shaping their memory of past events, their understanding of the present, and their projections of future events—and in defining themselves and their lives.
Dan McAdams, Ph.D., a Northwestern University psychology professor who has spent the last decade systematically and quantitatively studying stories.
When people turn episodes from their lives into anecdotes, it’s not just to entertain friends, McAdams says. Stories allow us to make sense out of otherwise puzzling or random events.
“Stories help us smooth out some of the decisions we have made and create something that is meaningful and sensible out of the chaos of our lives,” says McAdams. The story in your head impacts your perception, sense of possibility, and eventually your hopes and dreams.
Dr. Celia Hunt founded the MA degree program at the University of Sussex called Creative Writing and Personal Development. In her book, Transformative Learning through Creative Life Writing: Exploring the self in the learning process, she shares several potential chain-reaction sequences as a set of benefits. For example, Loosening cognitive control → Blocks to self-expression → Expressing repressed emotion → Liberating lost parts of the personality → Reconceptualizing the self → Developing reflexivity.
The most striking feature of the material from her students is the experience of opening up to a less cognitively-driven, more spontaneous, and bodily-felt approach to learning or writing. One of her students noted a shift away from ‘a narrow attitude towards learning … as an intellectual and academic exercise’ towards a more ‘fragile process of exploring and finding one’s self/voice in writing … a subtle, quiet process at times [whose] rewards are not be found in grades or marks’.
Awareness about writing our life stories loosens cognitive control to another epiphany for Dr. Hunt – fear of honest self-expression and the ensuing criticism. It feels good to be told that you are a good storyteller, but storytellers who have a responsibility to their community to tell the whole truth with emotional honesty. For that matter, they need to be in tune with their authentic self to acknowledge that they might be censoring some part of themselves or block to self-expression.
If there is self-censorship, there is a possibility that the storyteller is shying away from certain emotions. Repressed emotions are feelings you unconsciously avoid and are different from feelings you actively push aside because they overwhelm you. Repressed emotions can lead to health problems over time.
The next chain reaction, freeing lost parts of the personality, is associated with repressed emotions. appears as subpersonality, a personality mode that activates on a temporary basis to allow a person to cope with certain types of psychosocial situations.
The Balancing Act
When you look at storytelling as a two-way street it can be used to inform the other side. For example, if the purpose of storytelling is to connect with potential clients (external impact), then paying attention to your Hero’s Journey (internal impact) may ensure that you’re going through positive transformations along with corporate growth. When using Hero’s journey for enhancing the internal impact, the writer can use the symbols and stages of the hero’s quest as a roadmap of personal growth. It’s a map that can guide you through times of change, rites of passage, and big turning points on your life journey. It charts the territory of personal transformation, and what I often describe as “bridging the gap between the story’s impacts”.
Vanessa Fiore, the founder of Village-Works, an art therapy program in New Jersey recently shared her story in her book Blending – the Adventures of Life and Art. As soon as her story was shared with her community, it immediately impacted her career in the form of being offered her own TV show. As Dr. Hunt noticed, it brought up scenarios where the storyteller would reflect on how to address emotionally-charged parts of her familial challenges, especially parental estrangement, if the need to address those ever arose. Eventually, like other chain reactions, the fear got resolved to allow Vanessa to handle this part of her life story with more authenticity so that she can continue to be “an open book” and be at peace with herself – a current state that is crucial to her as a storyteller.
