Background tensions and traumas remotely connected with the learning process
When stressed, a person burdened with unsolved problems and worries finds it more difficult to absorb new information, just like a computer with old software and viruses tends to overheat. Those traumas and tensions, which are not related directly to the learning process, take a lion share of our efforts, steal our attention, and create obstacles on the way to learn something new.
Dumb-stricken because of fright
It sometimes happens that, at a moment of acute stress reaction, a person cannot think straight and feels lost and dumb-stricken. I just stood there mute with fright, and I couldnt say a word, says one of such victims having come to his senses. There are more serious speech impairments, which may manifest themselves in the freezing syndrome. These symptoms are called mutism and catalepsy. They can be explained by the fact, that in extreme situations our body switches to the old survival mode: one either runs or falls, or hides (freezes). In the case of catalepsy, we observe the latter variant: one stop moving because, this way, one pretends to appear invisible.
Speech, as an invention from the point of view of evolution, does not form right away, and that is why it is so sensitive to any disturbing influence. Like a delicate orchid that can be cultivated in a greenhouse, human speech is a very sensitive instrument. The state of calm and healthy, but not excessive revival, is the basis of good speech.
Nerve cells can regenerate!
Formation of new nerve cells during the learning process, travelling, or any other refreshing events is called neoneurogenesis. Stress prevents the process of formation: stress hormones affect the brain in such a way that new nerve cells necessary for memorizing new information and for the overall development of a person do not generate and, more than that, the existing mature nerve cells die10. This process was revealed in several various scientific researches.
It is very important to keep calm and remain stress-resistant, and if there are any tensions, they should be dealt with as soon as possible! A very easy but a very efficient test will help you figure out what state you are in and if you need to work on reducing your stress level.
Test A constructive drawing of a person
You will need a small piece of paper and a pen or pencil to do this test.
Fig. 4. Geometric figures used in A constructive drawing of a person.
Draw a person made of rectangles, circles, and triangles. The overall number of elements should be 10. Define the age of the person you have drawn. Shapes can be of any size. Rectangles, ovals, and triangles of prolate forms are also allowed. Within the total number of 10, each figure can be used as often as you choose, and you can also omit using some of the shapes. The only restriction is the overall number and the fact that there should be only one person in the drawing. You need to do this test right now without thinking it over. You will hardly need more than a minute to complete it11.
A brief way to interpret the drawing is the following: it is your self-portrait. Not exact, of course. The drawing you have is a projection of your emotional state, and it reflects how you feel and react to the factors active at the age of the person in the drawing12.
This drawing is a mirror where you can see your emotions, or you can call it a photo of your minds energy.
Sometimes, a person in the drawing can have a head that is too big for the body, and relatively short arms and legs made of triangles: this is a sign that the brain is overheated and hands and feet are cold, and that is a typical symptom pointing to the state of anxiety.
Fig. 5. A big head as a sign of anxiety in the constructive drawing of a person
A circular head and an oval body point to phobia.
Fig. 6. The reflection of fright and fear in the constructive drawing of a person. A round head and an oval body, big eyes, and a navel as a place affected by frightening information; periphery seems to be reduced and drawn with triangles.
A square head and a circular body are signs of conflict involving anger, outrage, or an insult.
Fig. 7. The outline of a protest and anger in a constructive drawing of a person: a square head, an inflated body, energy moved from the arms to the place of the trauma, the legs look like pillars and signify the decision to stand on ones ground.
The age of the person in the drawing sends us to the period when the given symptom appeared. As a rule, this is a period of certain life changes or significant events13.
When working through the neurotic tensions, we will return to this test, but for now, we will just use this information as a certain point for the future work with some references for interpretations.
Now, lets turn to another specific configuration of the drawing with a hat on the head.
Cerebral ischemia
A head with a hat on top of it can be a sign of the cerebral malnutrition. This can also be the cause of bad grades. The main source of the problems here is the impulsion from the intervertebral discs, which causes tension in the muscles of the back, neck, and can cause spasm of the blood vessels feeding the brain. Neurologists call this a vertebral artery syndrome, or a vertebrobasilar insufficiency. The zones of discomfort are usually shown, as a triangular neck, or as a triangular body with its vertex, touching the neck, or as a body composed of several shapes. Places, where shapes are narrowed, or two elements are connected, point to the level of the spasm.
Fig. 8. A big head and shortened limbs: this is how people feel when they experience anxiety or information overload; a narrow place, where the neck is a sign of the problems with the spinal cord. A combination of the heightened brain activity and its insufficient blood supply due to the vasoconstriction leads to energy deprivation of brain tissues, and this, in turn, creates the risk of hypertension and panic attacks to compensate for this syndrome. The hat on the head points to the fact that the brain is suffering from oxygen deficit due to its large consumption and lack of its supply. Tension in the temporal region compensates for the sensation that the head is swollen.
The conflict between big nutritional demands of the brain and its relatively small supply is rather dangerous.
Panic attacks
Lack of oxygen supply to the brain is a serious condition, which not only leads to the decrease of brain efficiency, but also increases the risk of high blood pressure and so-called sympathoadrenal episodes: that is when an adrenaline rush takes place in order to improve brain nutrition. Such states are also referred to as panic attacks. According to my hypothesis, hypertension and recurrent adrenaline rush simply execute the order of the starving brain tissues. Their signals are processed by the thalamic structures (which are also a conductor of all neurohormonal processes), and this subsequently triggers chain reactions leading to panic attacks or permanent high blood pressure. This is one of the many ways, how our body regulates its activity to save its starving tissues. The ischemized tissue dies and stops screaming for help. Some time ago, I described these phenomena in several publications, referring to them as a syndrome of unclear head, or cerebral energy deficiency syndrome (Ermoshin, A., 2002, 2008).