Why we need stories

[Barrett Dorko]

According to Brian Boyd’s astounding text On the Origin of Stories:

Fiction extends our imaginative reach (so that) we are not confined to the here and now (and) our capacity to think beyond the here and now has made our species distinctly different. Science has improved immensely on the fictive explanations of the past – although even scientists find they cannot help anthropomorphizing causal factors; but science could not have begun without our persistent inclination and ability to think beyond the here and now.

And there it is. We learn through story. We think by using story. We explain through story. But we cannot trust stories to be truthful beyond a certain point and the line of demarcation between accuracy and fantasy is difficult to sense. It may even move.

The patient appears with the story of their disability. We need somehow to give them the story of their recovery. Then we need to get them to start telling that second one – even if only to themselves.

I remember hearing Stan Lee say a few years ago, “I’ve told this story so many times it might actually be true.”

He wrote comic books.

[smikolic]

Nice progression from the other posts. Well orchestrated thinking progression.

And this is perfectly illustrated:

The patient appears with the story of their disability. We need somehow to give them the story of their recovery. Then we need to get them to start telling that second one – even if only to themselves.

So, recognize the weaknesses, recognize the strengths, and use it in a way that is scientific (when introducing to pt the new story), while ensuring they have an understanding of it in their mind so that the story is not simply provided by therapist, it is imagined and lived by the patient. It becomes their story...... Beautiful.

Steph

[smikolic]

I guess I could share this. I wrote it a while ago, seems pertinent to this thread:

The Greatest Gift?

What is our greatest gift?

We have hands

Able to manipulate objects with incredible dexterity

To gesture with astounding complexity

But monkeys can use tools

They can even be taught to sign

And with their complex and numerous appendages

Our own are truly rivaled by many in the animal kingdom

And our vocalizations

Complicated with the movement of air

Over our tongues and through our teeth

We can chitter like a chipmunk

And sing like a bird

Infused with pitch and remarkable resonance

Gifted with a complex set of vocalizations we call speech

Combining symbols and signs into stories

And paired with our appendages

The ability to express ourselves expands

Rivaling the most intricate of mating rituals

All to share our thoughts, to express

And our memory

When thoroughly peppered with the senses

Only rivaled by the elephants in its capacity

Creating complex mental maps

Representations of the world around us

Faculty to function in any environment known to us

It is even hard to change

So completely interconnected

So powerfully associative

In some it leads to psychosis

Representing a reality within

Not nearly enough mimicking that perceived by others

Our ability to emote is intriguing as well

We know that animals experience connections

Especially those of us with a pet or two

They demonstrate sadness, mourning, and anger

Affection, happiness and contentment

That is very akin to our own

Though their capacity to express it may be limited

So even love then, is not our greatest gift

Though it ensures the interconnection of our species

Certifying our survival

What about our faculty to understand, to think?

This may be the very reason for our ability to explore

Manipulating objects and environments

Creating things with our hands

It may be the reason for our voice

So that we may express to others our thoughts

So that we may empathize

It contributes to our memory

Powering our scope for amassing information

It allows for latitude of emotional range and depth

Enhancing our ability to sympathize

Pouring meaning into our expressions

But even this is limited by time

Confined to past experiences

To present circumstances

What allows us to break the barriers of time and history?

Allows us the potent potential so uniquely human?

The momentum that ever expands our power?

Pushing our creativity and curiosity?

Cultivating our passion and driving our desire?

I think it is our imagination, our ability to dream

Our dreams are what allow us to see the impossible

They allow us to hold onto expectation

They impel us to move forward

Coerce us to change

The vision that removes our constraints

Our imagination drives our organizations

From religion to politics

It feeds the appetite for war

And it nurtures the spirit of harmony

Uncovering universal connections beyond and between us all

Steph

[Jon Newman]

Someone to identify with at Sinfest.

[smikolic]

Jon,

Cartoon made me think that a balance is always good to try to achieve with patients between being too scientific and allowing too much of the story to continue. Have to speak their language a bit, or they are not going to learn (vs. be educated). That's why analogies are so helpful, I find. Plus, once they start to learn themselves again, I don't have to say much anyway. But then they ask questions like, "Why/How did I get like this in the first place?" ......that's when it's fun to talk neuroscience!

Steph