Mind Control and Distraction: Mind Control Techniques for a Lifetime

Chapter 23 Distraction Techniques for Drawing Circles with the Left Hand and Squares with the Right Hand (5)
The so-called treatment must keep the advantages of distraction while controlling the disadvantages of distraction.This cannot rely solely on the willpower of the distracted.Treatment requires a complete plan to be effective and lead to a marked improvement in the life of the distracted person.Our mind is like a vault with a locked door.We use our brains all the time without knowing much about the use of our minds.Because of ignorance, we have been using vulgar and one-sided words to describe our thinking process and our feelings and actions.For example, these three pairs of opposite adjectives: we use smart and stupid to describe the thinking ability of a person's brain; use good and bad to describe a person's behavior; use strong and vulnerable to describe a person's ability to deal with his emotions.We have other words for those who behave a little too extreme.We call people who are particularly unintelligent idiots, retards, and fools.These words have all been used in medical diagnoses before, as have words like "hyperthyroidism" and "hypothyroidism."We describe severely destructive behavior as insane, obsessed, and evil.Words like madness and evil are often defined in people's minds in association.People who are severely emotionally out of balance are called trash, worthless, and wimpy, but those words are not neuroscientific terms at all.We use these words to describe someone who is suddenly and temporarily unable to cope with the pressures of life, as if we knew him all.This is actually unfair.For those so-called less symptomatic people, whether they are stupid, bad, or fragile, the method and means we use to treat them is to tell them to "work hard", "come on", "work hard".And when that encouragement doesn't work, we punish them, giving them pain and humiliation, trying to motivate them in the opposite direction.If it still doesn't work, we think there's something wrong with them.

For those with more severe symptoms, our penalties will be harsher.If people think you're an idiot, you're a lunatic, you're evil, you're a very cowardly jerk, then you're likely to be abused and abused, and people will bully you or hurt you.This society is not tolerant of people with more serious mental problems. We don't know how to deal with people with more serious mental problems, so we have to punish those people.

No wonder people have been smearing or stigmatizing people with "abnormal" minds for thousands of years.No one wants to be labeled stupid, bad, or weak, not just because the labels are often misplaced, but because the "treatment" process is horrific.

In today's society, although scientific common sense allows us to dispel any moral judgments, the problem of stigma still exists, which is why in contemporary medicine, the field of psychiatric medicine has the greatest gap between theory and clinical application.If you look at the basic symptoms of attention deficit disorder -- distraction, restlessness, you will understand that distracters have been around since ancient times, but until the last century, we were still looking at them with a moral lens People, use moral standards to measure these people, label them badly, and cause them great trouble. Since the 20th century, physicians have gradually begun to see distracted people and their symptoms with fresh eyes.From a scientific point of view, medical diagnosis is a good substitute for moral criticism to treat the problem of distracted people, but even so, some people are reluctant to see them in this light.

In the 20s, Dr. Charles made a startling discovery.He established a nursing hospital for children whose behavior was out of control.At that time, some children who behaved out of control were sent to the reformatory forcibly, where they were scolded and beaten every day.Charles tried to study these so-called "out of control" children and explain their behavior from a scientific point of view.One day, Charles decided to try doping.Medical literature told him that some adults have changed their behavior and mood because of taking stimulants to lose weight.Charles thought the stimulant might have some effect on his patients, too.When he gave these distracted children amphetamines, he found that the stimulant drugs did not stimulate these children, but made them pay more attention, like installing brakes on their Mercedes-Benz brains.The mechanism of action of stimulants is that they can stimulate the inhibitory part of the brain, so that patients can better control their behavior.This discovery was indeed a major breakthrough, but at the time many people were disturbed by this discovery.Drugs can actually control people's spirit and enhance people's willpower to improve behavioral self-control.As a result, many people's world views have been challenged, just like when Copernicus' heliocentric theory was first proposed.

In any case, the stimulants worked so well that other doctors began to follow Charles's approach to treating behavioral problems.So they started what we now know as ADD treatment, and more medical science research.As a result of the research, doctors found that most patients not only had hyperactive behavior, but also easily distracted, so the researchers called this case attention deficit disorder.

By the 20s, research further found that attention deficit disorder does not necessarily disappear with the end of childhood.Some children's symptoms disappear on their own as they grow older, but most distracted children don't, and some even get worse.The study also found that attention deficit disorder is not just a monopoly of boys, girls and female adults can also be distracted.Because female distracters are less destructive and less likely to attract the attention of others, they are less frequently diagnosed.The male to female ratio of distracted people is usually 70:3.

Although distracted women were less impulsive and less active than distracted men, they found it harder to focus and were more likely to fantasize and daydream.As people's understanding of distraction has improved, more and more distracted people have been treated.The stigma is slowly starting to wear off.But there are still those who believe that distraction is a moral defect, not a true biological condition of the human body.By the 20s, medical research had completely dismantled the morality of distraction, establishing that attention deficit disorder is a physiological phenomenon.

Through the observation of electron microscope and the calculation of electronic computer, scientists found that the metabolism of sugar in the brain of distracted people is different from that of other normal people.Although the results of this scan measurement are not stable enough to be conclusively used as a diagnostic tool or research result, it undoubtedly encourages follow-up researchers.Later MRI techniques revealed even more differences between distracted people and others.The brain volume of distracted people is slightly lower than that of normal people, and many central parts of the brain, such as the frontal lobe and caudate nucleus, are related to the symptoms of attention deficit disorder.

Precisely because ADD has biological causes, we should stop thinking about it as a moral problem.If distraction is determined by the state of the brain and has its physiological structure, genetics, and biochemical basis, then what is the significance of discipline and self-effort to improve distraction?Of course, discipline and effort are always valuable, but they are not enough when it comes to treating distraction.

"Oh, forget it, if he is serious about doing it, then he can do it. If you put a gun to his head, see if he can do it." In fact, he really couldn't do it.Even if you hold a gun to his head and tell him that if he doesn't pay attention and shoot, after a while he'll forget about the gun at all, he just won't pay attention unless the person holding the gun Remind him every few seconds.This shows that fear is not enough to make people concentrate, but constant reminders can help people concentrate.In the face of distracters, constant reminders are more effective than scaring him.

A distracted boy said, "My thoughts are like a butterfly. Although they are beautiful, they always fly away and disappear without a trace." The son caught the butterfly!"
the fire inside the distracted
"I don't know why, I'm always setting myself back. I can't help but do stupid things, things I regret, like hangovers, talking nonsense, forgetting important meetings, etc. Why do I always Do these stupid things?" This is the confusion expressed by a patient of mine many years ago when he consulted me.He always felt a restless feeling in his heart, and his heart was always itchy.In fact, this is a common phenomenon of distracted people, and distracted people sometimes use the most dangerous way to "kill the itch" when the restlessness is at its most intense.

"For example, when I was talking with someone, I really wanted to pick up the water glass at hand and splash water on his face. I didn't mean anything malicious, but I was just curious about how he would react. Fortunately, I won't Really do that, but I really feel that way. Distracted people can live their lives with all sorts of weird inner urges, and that urge or feeling of restlessness can bring them success, creativity, but it can also be Embarrassing, dangerous, even disastrous consequences. Another patient said to me: "No matter how good life is, I'm always dissatisfied.It seems like I'm not doing something right, or something is missing that keeps me from being as happy as other people.I really have no reason to complain, because I am doing well, but I am not happy at all, and it seems that I have never been happy.My husband can't do anything about a situation like mine, and what's worse, sometimes I feel like it's all his fault.It wasn't his fault, it was indeed my own. "There is always some dissatisfaction in her heart, a little bit of unhappiness, sometimes even very unhappiness. But I don't know why she is unhappy, she can't find the external reason. Her sadness comes from her own nervous system .True depression is depression that lasts for a while, but the recovery period also lasts for a while. But this woman may just be sad for an hour, a day, or a week, and then recover very quickly. This is obviously not a symptom of depression , which are some symptoms of attention deficit disorder. Others say, "I find my daily life so boring that I always feel like I need to do something to improve.I would make a joke, say something ridiculous, or say something offensive.I know I shouldn't be doing this, and I try not to say it, but I just can't help it. "It's also a sign of ADHD. Another said: "I just can't say no to love, I just love men!"I love my family and my job, I don't think I can lose them, but at the same time I want to be close to people, especially men, I just can't help myself.I can't imagine life without flirting.I saw a counselor and he said I have a dramatic personality disorder.I looked it up in a medical book and I don't think I'm a person with a dramatic personality disorder, I'm not a shallow, ridiculous woman.I think maybe I'm hypersexual, but I don't think it's necessary to blame myself.I feel like I'm healthy, but at the same time I know it's dangerous. "
This patient always needed a high level of stimulation to satisfy her biological needs, she needed to feel physically alive.When she satisfies her need for heightened stimulation with sexual stimulation, she considers herself healthy and energetic.Otherwise, she will feel that something is wrong, something is wrong.Distracted people often loathe how they feel inside.They get bored, out of control, or out of tune.What might start out as a small discomfort can turn into a massive crisis after a few seconds.They feel they have to do something to change how they feel.It only takes a moment for their behavior to spiral out of control.And at this time, they may do impulsive things that hurt themselves or others.For example, they quarrel and fight with others; they lose their temper; they find trouble for nothing; they kill half a bottle of wine in one go;What they don't understand is that these restless behaviors come from their own biological needs.They live in misery and must be relieved immediately.In fact, what they really need is to find healthy and rational coping methods to change their inner feelings.

See what these people have in common:
·Type A personality, a workaholic who cannot relax.

·T-shaped personality, like to pursue excitement.

· Athletes engaged in extreme sports.

• Compulsive consumers of pornography.

· Sex addicts.

· Compulsive gamblers.

・People who use alcohol or drugs.

· Drug abusers.

· Compulsive eaters.

· A person with a particularly bad temper.

· People who feel that they have an addictive personality.

· Distracted adults.

I think the above-mentioned people have one thing in common, that is, they all have an itch in their hearts that cannot be scratched.Whenever they try to itch, the result is overwork, risk taking, alcoholism, sex addiction, overeating, drug use, or gambling, to name a few.Of course, there are good and bad ways to itch.According to the traditional view, people will use the yardstick of morality to measure these behaviors.These people themselves will be judged, not diagnosed, along with their behavior.Now, please look at these problems with the eyes of brain science.

Do all these people have some kind of special chemical reaction in their brains?Is it because of the innate abnormalities of neurotransmitters, receptors, or carrier molecules that make them different from ordinary people and unable to enjoy the fun of ordinary people?Is this why they need some extreme stimulation to feel alive?

More than a decade ago, Kenneth Blum and other researchers coined the term reward deficiency syndrome (RDS).People with underpayment syndrome are not as happy as the average person.This phenomenon is related to the A2 allele (A2allele) of the dopamine D1 receptor (dopamineD1receptor).These people don't get the pleasurable feelings of dopamine that normal people do.Dopamine is the main chemical in our brain that transmits pleasure, and anything that makes you release dopamine makes you feel good and happy.Sports, sex, and creative processes that require imagination can stimulate the secretion of dopamine. Drinking, gambling, exploring, eating ice cream, drug use, and smoking can also promote the secretion of dopamine in various ways.This shows that there are good and bad ways to stimulate dopamine secretion.For better or worse, people with underpayment syndrome overstimulate dopamine production because normal activities simply don't stimulate them enough to get enough dopamine.Kissing a loved one in the morning before leaving for work is not enough stimulation, and people with underpaid syndrome need stronger stimulation to be satisfied.As a result, they may exercise more, have more sex, or be more creative than the average person.They may also indulge in things like drinking too much, getting addicted to gambling, eating too much ice cream or greasy food, and so on.Because they have to do more exciting things to have the same fun as normal people.

(End of this chapter)