In our introductory peer support / crisis support training program, we play the video: The Monkey Business Illusion. Spoiler Alert: a decent number of participants miss the gorilla. A few even boldly admit that they miss the number of passes, the gorilla and the other (I won’t mention here) changes that occur during the clip.
I often ask those that miss one, two or all the changes what they think about the clip and/or themselves following. A number of our students are emergency responders, so you can imagine the negative “self-talk” that goes on when they discover they “missed” something important. One guy even spoke out and said, “After 10+ years in investigations, I’m starting to question myself.”
Of course, that’s not the point of the exercise – or the book. However, it is important to understand that our experience of the world is an illusion. According to authors, Chabris and Simons, we are only seeing (and experiencing) a small detail of the world around us. With great study, they argue that there is no way we can see, experience and process everything in detail.
I use this point – and others in the book – when I work with those questioning (and subsequently shaming and blaming) themselves for missing something. Read the book – and listen to the lectures – to discover the various ways a crisis supporter can “ground” someone to actual (reality) versus perceived (deceptions). Use the discoveries of science to help those in crisis understand our limitations.
The Invisible Gorilla helps us understand how we process and perceive information. Without this understanding, our population may be inclined to judge and criticize as inadequate, incapable or just plain stupid. These judgments would be a mistake and an unnecessary attack of the self. By understanding our limitations in memory, perception, attention, awareness, etc., we are able to live and work in the reality of our capability. Unlike the Investigator, we no longer question ourselves and hold ourselves unfairly accountable. Instead, we ground to the actual of our own reality and work within our limits to do great things.
This arch represents strength & support. - -
We teach teams how to provide effective mental, emotional, and spiritual support to those in need.