It's our perspective – how we personally view the world – that makes us who we are as individuals and also, it's our shared perspective that connects and disconnects us to communities.Perspectives, by their very nature, are one dimensional. They are the position of your lens from which you're viewing a multi-faceted three-dimensional object from: where you are standing.The judgements then passed, often subconsciously but also expressed as opinions, are simply what you see from where you happen to be standing.If judgements are the resulting fruits of our perspectives, then they ultimately shape our internal justifications for the decisions we make, like the...People we choose to socialise with,Places we choose to frequent,Foods we choose to eat,Hobbies we choose to play,Purchases we choose to buy,Subjects we choose to study,Content we choose to consume,Careers we choose to embark upon,Causes we choose to support.But what if our decision making capabilities are overridden?Let's take compulsive behaviour, for example. Without trying to oversimplify, addiction can be defined as:"A physical and psychological inability to stop consuming" – Dr. Vara Saripalli, Licensed Psychologist (Source).Be it consuming activities in excess like exercise, gambling, gaming, negative thinking, sexual, social media, shopping, surgery or substance abuse like drinking, smoking or getting high.Whilst we can all experience varying degrees of addictive behaviour. At its worst, a person suffers from uncontrollable compulsive habits that seek pleasure to suppress emotional discomfort leading to harmful consequences. It's the dependency that then intensifies.IntrospectionMy personal perspective isn't stood in the position of someone who's suffered from addiction – I don't know how it feels – but upon reflection, I'm now aware of some compulsive reactionary behaviours that I struggle to control, like these few for example:When I feel anxious, I tend to mindlessly scroll Instagram procrastinating to induce a feeling of wanderlust as a mini-escape from the present moment that's overwhelming me.When the pressure of a relentless working week gets too much, I tend to seek solace in socialising with friends and depressurise by drinking the build-up of stress away.When I'm reminded of a painful time in my life that's been difficult to resolve or if someone's been hurt as a result of my actions, I tend to detach and seek avoidance through aloneness. (typical bloke though, right?).So when these emotive tensions in the body are triggered by stress and pressure or guilt and shame or rejection and abandonment – addiction control is primed and ready to take over self control.Our vulnerability to suffering from addiction blends: Nature (genetic makeup passed down through DNA)Nurture (developmental influences from cultural upbringing to familial discipline (or lack thereof) and social relationships)Neurology (brain pain caused by traumatic life experiences like losing a loved one, losing your job, being in an accident, being abused or fighting in a war).It's important to note here that compulsive behaviours can also be stimulated without conscious awareness and don't always appear as harmful from the offset, masking as harmlessly pleasurable enjoyment at first.Those who've watched The Social Dilemma will know all about the algorithms in Facebook and Instagram etc. that exploit vulnerabilities in the human psyche for profit (the dopamine reward system); there's long been evidence that sugary, salty and fatty fast-food creates similar biological reactions in the body as drug addictions do; and western culture encourages binge-drinking and partying as an identity reinforcing past-time. Awareness of intentions (the why) and intensity (how much) is key.ExtrospectionThere are certain things that unless we have lived experience of standing in that position – with that perspective – we can't completely understand. So how can we encourage understanding?How can you see through another perspective?Going against human nature and leaning in to connect with whatever you're finding challenging to comprehend, asking the right questions to those with that different perspective, will enable you to at least see things from their viewpoint. Start here, in the person's familiarly comfortable environment, with: "If you don't mind me asking, I'm interested to understand..."How does it feel to {live with this illness} How does it feel to {go through addiction} How does it feel to {experience racial abuse} How does it feel to {lose your loved one}How does it feel to {live on the streets}How does it feel to {come home from a war}What are the kind of struggles you experience(d)? How was (or) is your recovery going to date?What can I do to make your life any easier?Only then can we start to appreciate the view from another angle, better understand multi-faceted dimensions from a perspective other than our own, connecting to those who need it most.
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SUNDAY NIGHT SLIDES
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It's our perspective – how we personally view the world – that makes us who we are as individuals and also, it's our shared perspective that connects and disconnects us to communities.Perspectives, by their very nature, are one dimensional. They are the position of your lens from which you're viewing a multi-faceted three-dimensional object from: where you are standing.The judgements then passed, often subconsciously but also expressed as opinions, are simply what you see from where you happen to be standing.If judgements are the resulting fruits of our perspectives, then they ultimately shape our internal justifications for the decisions we make, like the...People we choose to socialise with,Places we choose to frequent,Foods we choose to eat,Hobbies we choose to play,Purchases we choose to buy,Subjects we choose to study,Content we choose to consume,Careers we choose to embark upon,Causes we choose to support.But what if our decision making capabilities are overridden?Let's take compulsive behaviour, for example. Without trying to oversimplify, addiction can be defined as:"A physical and psychological inability to stop consuming" – Dr. Vara Saripalli, Licensed Psychologist (Source).Be it consuming activities in excess like exercise, gambling, gaming, negative thinking, sexual, social media, shopping, surgery or substance abuse like drinking, smoking or getting high.Whilst we can all experience varying degrees of addictive behaviour. At its worst, a person suffers from uncontrollable compulsive habits that seek pleasure to suppress emotional discomfort leading to harmful consequences. It's the dependency that then intensifies.IntrospectionMy personal perspective isn't stood in the position of someone who's suffered from addiction – I don't know how it feels – but upon reflection, I'm now aware of some compulsive reactionary behaviours that I struggle to control, like these few for example:When I feel anxious, I tend to mindlessly scroll Instagram procrastinating to induce a feeling of wanderlust as a mini-escape from the present moment that's overwhelming me.When the pressure of a relentless working week gets too much, I tend to seek solace in socialising with friends and depressurise by drinking the build-up of stress away.When I'm reminded of a painful time in my life that's been difficult to resolve or if someone's been hurt as a result of my actions, I tend to detach and seek avoidance through aloneness. (typical bloke though, right?).So when these emotive tensions in the body are triggered by stress and pressure or guilt and shame or rejection and abandonment – addiction control is primed and ready to take over self control.Our vulnerability to suffering from addiction blends: Nature (genetic makeup passed down through DNA)Nurture (developmental influences from cultural upbringing to familial discipline (or lack thereof) and social relationships)Neurology (brain pain caused by traumatic life experiences like losing a loved one, losing your job, being in an accident, being abused or fighting in a war).It's important to note here that compulsive behaviours can also be stimulated without conscious awareness and don't always appear as harmful from the offset, masking as harmlessly pleasurable enjoyment at first.Those who've watched The Social Dilemma will know all about the algorithms in Facebook and Instagram etc. that exploit vulnerabilities in the human psyche for profit (the dopamine reward system); there's long been evidence that sugary, salty and fatty fast-food creates similar biological reactions in the body as drug addictions do; and western culture encourages binge-drinking and partying as an identity reinforcing past-time. Awareness of intentions (the why) and intensity (how much) is key.ExtrospectionThere are certain things that unless we have lived experience of standing in that position – with that perspective – we can't completely understand. So how can we encourage understanding?How can you see through another perspective?Going against human nature and leaning in to connect with whatever you're finding challenging to comprehend, asking the right questions to those with that different perspective, will enable you to at least see things from their viewpoint. Start here, in the person's familiarly comfortable environment, with: "If you don't mind me asking, I'm interested to understand..."How does it feel to {live with this illness} How does it feel to {go through addiction} How does it feel to {experience racial abuse} How does it feel to {lose your loved one}How does it feel to {live on the streets}How does it feel to {come home from a war}What are the kind of struggles you experience(d)? How was (or) is your recovery going to date?What can I do to make your life any easier?Only then can we start to appreciate the view from another angle, better understand multi-faceted dimensions from a perspective other than our own, connecting to those who need it most.