Mind Matters — Broadening Vision

Posted by Dr. Kayta Gajdos on April 23, 2009

Ever had a Simpson Duh (or is it a “Doh”?) moment? I had one recently. Not yet on the Master’s Mountaintop, it occurred when I was apparently not practicing what I preach about being calm and centered in the face of a crisis. I deluded myself into thinking I was evaluating the minor mishap (that I had precipitated myself) with equanimity.

As I hurried to my car to get to an appointment promptly so I could return to my office in time for another scheduled appointment, I noticed the car door slightly ajar. “Uh-oh, the seat belt buckle caught again”, I sighed. I get in (when you’re past sixty, there are no active verbs for this maneuver). I turn the key. No sound, no go. I presume that I am assessing the situation carefully: battery needs a charge; call Triple A; call regarding the status of being late for the first appointment; check about any possible wiggle room for the second appointment.

I consider I am acting reasonably even though I am aware of a rippling anxiety. Alas, it is here where I go astray. I did not heed the anxious buzz in my head. And so, I did not simply sit awhile and let myself settle enough to examine more options. Instead, I took one track as the sole possibility: “My car is the only way.” This was the assumption upon which all my decision-making was based. I didn’t make room to think out of the box—or out of the garage.

Across the street, however, sat another car—my husband’s. He hadn’t taken it to work that day. In some unlit corner of my brain, I had known this. No matter. This factoid didn’t enter the realm of possibilities. I didn’t even “see” the car: the obvious was invisible. I was suffering the tunnel vision that can occur in an anxious state.

Fortunately, in the basically trivial crisis of my day, all worked out. Triple A arrived quickly; I managed to keep both appointments, albeit with some tweaking.

However minor this event was, I think the message it delivers is major. While being singly focused may often be virtuous, narrowness or myopic vision becomes its vice. Many times, such constriction of thought is the result of stress and anxiety.

Neuroscientists are now able to pinpoint where the brain “gets stuck” when anxiety rises. Stress in our environment can create brain locks that in turn precipitate the skinny vision I experienced. And such vision, or lack thereof, is not limited to individuals. When anxiety is collectively shared, a family, a society, a corporation, a country can also exhibit such tunnel vision.

So, what is the antidote? What gets the brain unstuck? Simplicity, actually. The simple acts of:

   1. Breathing—Pay attention to your “inspiration”—notice your breath!
   2. Finding your feet—notice where you are, where your feet are, to get balanced and centered.
   3. Feel your body—honor your integrity by noticing what parts of your body are tensing. This is a way to get back into yourself instead of “being beside myself!”

Ah! We do indeed teach what we need to learn.

A few books that may be of interest on this topic:

    * “The Courage To Feel,” Andrew Seubert.
    * “Radical Acceptance,” Tara Brach.
    * “Wherever You Go, There You Are, “Jon Kabat-Zinn

• Kayta Curzie Gajdos holds a doctorate in counseling psychology and is in private practice in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. She welcomes comments at MindMatters@DrGajdos.com or (610)388-2888. Past columns are posted to http://www.DrGajdos.com/Articles.

About Kayta Gajdos

Dr. Kathleen Curzie Gajdos ("Kayta") is a licensed psychologist (Pennsylvania and Delaware) who has worked with individuals, couples, and families with a spectrum of problems. She has experience and training in the fields of alcohol and drug addictions, hypnosis, family therapy, Jungian theory, Gestalt therapy, EMDR, and bereavement. Dr. Gajdos developed a private practice in the Pittsburgh area, and was affiliated with the Family Therapy Institute of Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, having written numerous articles for the Family Therapy Newsletter there. She has published in the American Psychological Association Bulletin, the Family Psychologist, and in the Swedenborgian publications, Chrysalis and The Messenger. Dr. Gajdos has taught at the college level, most recently for West Chester University and Wilmington College, and has served as field faculty for Vermont College of Norwich University the Union Institute's Center for Distance Learning, Cincinnati, Ohio. She has also served as consulting psychologist to the Irene Stacy Community MH/MR Center in Western Pennsylvania where she supervised psychologists in training. Currently active in disaster relief, Dr. Gajdos serves with the American Red Cross and participated in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts as a member of teams from the Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.Now living in Chadds Ford, in the Brandywine Valley of eastern Pennsylvania, Dr. Gajdos combines her private practice working with individuals, couples and families, with leading workshops on such topics as grief and healing, the impact of multigenerational grief and trauma shame, the shadow and self, Women Who Run with the Wolves, motherless daughters, and mediation and relaxation. Each year at Temenos Retreat Center in West Chester, PA she leads a griefs of birthing ritual for those who have suffered losses of procreation (abortions, miscarriages, infertility, etc.); she also holds yearly A Day of Re-Collection at Temenos.Dr. Gajdos holds Master's degrees in both philosophy and clinical psychology and received her Ph.D. in counseling at the University of Pittsburgh. Among her professional affiliations, she includes having been a founding member and board member of the C.G. Jung Educational Center of Pittsburgh, as well as being listed in Who's Who of American Women. Currently, she is a member of the American Psychological Association, The Pennsylvania Psychological Association, the Delaware Psychological Association, the American Family Therapy Academy, The Association for Death Education and Counseling, and the Delaware County Mental Health and Mental Retardation Board. Woven into her professional career are Dr. Gajdos' pursuits of dancing, singing, and writing poetry.