Integrating a dissociative world

 

One of my heroes is Steve Jobs. After hearing his autobiography, I was convinced that this is one of the few who have changed the world for the better. Steve Jobs started small, but as most people know, it did not take long before his pursuit of perfection became a reality. Throughout his life he was convinced that the Internet would be able to influence the world.

The Web is not going to change the world, certainly not in the next 10 years. It’s going to augment the world. And once you’re in this Web-augmented space, you’re going to see that democratization takes place.

Steve Jobs, on a interview with business insider 

As a psychologist, I have worked a lot with the integration of traumatic memories. The method I have used most, is EMDR. Five years of practice has taught me how important it is to create unity. This often takes a long time and it is necessary to only take one step at a time to succeed. Steve Jobs knew this. He had to start with designing his MacBook before he could work with programming it. Step by step he walked forward, and the longer he came, the faster it went.  Steve Jobs was a good judge of character, which helped when we walked towards the future. By finding people that transported him from one point to another, he got to his goal faster.

The brain consists of nerve cells that are organized in networks. This network is so complex that we are still far away from recreating it. The brain is plastic and can reorganize itself, and if you transfer this to society you can see the same thing: By letting everybody work together to find a solution, we can adapt to challenging circumstances. The internet also makes it easier to transfer knowledge and help our brains to adapt by providing the information it needs.

Sometimes it feels like I can see lines that criss-crossing over the earth. We have telephone cables, internet lines, radio waves and planes. All have one thing in common: They are connecting people.There have been many articles lately that we stand on the edge of a melt-down. The  financial crisis and the Syrian war are examples of problems affecting us all in one way or another. But might this not be positive too? When everybody is affected, we can no longer close our eyes and pretend it does`t exist.

Trauma can shatter people into a thousand pieces. But for every traumatic event, there is a person who wants to help. Somebody who wants to pick up a bit to put it back in its place.

When I say I want to help as many as I can, people tell me to slow down. I agree. I know my enthusiasm must be contained, that I cannot do everything. But their worries will never stop me, because I do believe that we all can change the world. Countless times I`ve heard that I must take care of my own needs first, and I have listened. But when somebody tries to tell me that I should`t try to change the world, I protest. If you told the same thing to Steve Job, he would keep on walking. He would not just find allies, but also enemies. But he would not let it stop him, because he needed to be true to himself.

I know I need to watch my feet when I pick up broken pieces of glass, and let others help me when I fall apart. But in spite of the dangers, I will never let go of the person holding my hand.

When we all pick up our pieces and glue them back together, we will realize one thing: We are all the same. We can recognize ourselves in others, and learn from them. There are no bad, good or crazy people. There are just different points of views. We are not one person, we are one world. We don`t need borders, we need to stand together.

We need to integrate the world.

 

More:

Mass suggestion: A way to save the world? 

The sound of spinning around

Kindness to a stranger

Steve Jobs

EMDR

Brain scans have clearly demonstrated pre-post changes after EMDR therapy, including increases in hippocampal volume, which have implications for memory storage. The bottom line of EMDR outcome research is that clinical change can be both profound and efficient.