The Chimp Paradox??

[Noggin]

Has anyone read this Chimp Paradox?

A friend recommended it to me but I'm reluctant to spend a load of cash on something that might be snake oil!!


The reason she suggested it was because I have an issue when stressed that my understanding of spoken French is zero - slightly annoying when I'm usually solo in stressful situations (hospital, med centre etc). It's very weird - literally the moment I get stressed I lose all ability to understand. I can still speak French, but lose the comprehension.

It happened the other day at home.

I was having a bit of a bad/stressy day with the injury/mental side of injury and asked the nurse a question. This is someone I've had conversations with in french most days since I have been home. But, that day, I asked the question and just could not understand what she was saying. The next day - back to having a conversation with her. Properly weird

The friend that suggested the book understands that it's stress that causes this and thought that it might help - apparently there is a lot about managing stress responses in there. But as it's almost 20€ (english version!), I don't want to chuck money at something that is a bit rubbish.

So wondered if anyone here had read it and found it useful - or maybe has other suggestions



[Whilst I have issues reading some stuff, I can read things like this if it's in book form. Don't think it would 'go in' if I tried to read it on a screen (I have to print proper documents to give myself a chance of understanding them!!)]

[hawker]

FWIW..., I have read it and found it quite interesting if you like that sot of thing. A few years ago now so I've foergotten much/most bt I rebember enjoying it in any case!

HTH?

[MrLongbeard]

[Whilst I have issues reading some stuff, I can read things like this if it's in book form. Don't think it would 'go in' if I tried to read it on a screen (I have to print proper documents to give myself a chance of understanding them!!)]

What you like with listening to stuff?
It's on Audible, and a free 30 day trial account will cost you nowt (if you remember to cancel it)

[Slenver]

May or may not be relevant but it's a well-known phenomenon that when under severe stress the brain prioritises external stimuli to process, and hearing is the first to go - things like sight are considered worthy of focussing all brainpower on. You learn this as part of pilot training and can watch videos of people crashing planes who completely ignore warning alarms and the like. You hear, but you just don't listen.

I noticed this in a real-world situation a while back when under stress for lame reasons (running late to get to the post office in time to post something important) and reversed my car into a wall. It was only afterwards I recalled hearing the loud reverse sensor bleeps but my brain chose to not inform me at the time.

Might just be as simple as that. The answer would therefore likely be just about managing stress levels rather than anything to do with language or anything else.

Full disclosure, I'm not a neurologist/scientist/psychologist/linguist or any other kind of -ist (apart from often pissed), so I'd ignore all this.

[Noggin]

FWIW..., I have read it and found it quite interesting if you like that sot of thing. A few years ago now so I've foergotten much/most bt I rebember enjoying it in any case!

HTH?

It's positive!!

[Whilst I have issues reading some stuff, I can read things like this if it's in book form. Don't think it would 'go in' if I tried to read it on a screen (I have to print proper documents to give myself a chance of understanding them!!)]

What you like with listening to stuff?
It's on Audible, and a free 30 day trial account will cost you nowt (if you remember to cancel it)

Like a squirrel - easily distracted Might have a go, but in general I struggle to focus!!

May or may not be relevant but it's a well-known phenomenon that when under severe stress the brain prioritises external stimuli to process, and hearing is the first to go - things like sight are considered worthy of focussing all brainpower on. You learn this as part of pilot training and can watch videos of people crashing planes who completely ignore warning alarms and the like. You hear, but you just don't listen.

I noticed this in a real-world situation a while back when under stress for lame reasons (running late to get to the post office in time to post something important) and reversed my car into a wall. It was only afterwards I recalled hearing the loud reverse sensor bleeps but my brain chose to not inform me at the time.

Might just be as simple as that. The answer would therefore likely be just about managing stress levels rather than anything to do with language or anything else.

Full disclosure, I'm not a neurologist/scientist/psychologist/linguist or any other kind of -ist (apart from often pissed), so I'd ignore all this.

Totally get that. The friend that suggested the book is a BA pilot!! She said similar. And yes, I suspect that if I could lip read French I would survive!!

I suspect that is how I've not noticed before - I mean, I know I don't always remember everything said in stressful situations, but I 'hear' enough to feel as if I was involved. I suspect that, in English, after years and years of working in bars and nightclubs I can lip read enough to not realise the hearing is shutting down

My issue for now is that I need to work out how to stop my brain shutting off as I have to do all the leg break appointments, not only in French, but solo, so I don't have any back up!! Pre Covid I could have, and did in the UK, taken a friend with me. I suspect that with the lifting of many restrictions here if I had a fluent (and slightly bolshy) friend available, I could take them for translation purposes.

But the person I hoped would be available for next week will be in Tignes (or Val) as her son is ski racing that day!!! (I say slightly bolshy because the surgeon was spectacularly unhelpful/uncommunicative in hospital, so I was hoping that C would be available cos she takes no shit from anyone, especially the French!! (She's been living here and married to a French for about 25 years or more - knows the system very well and has little time for unhelpful people of either nationality!!! )

It's really only been since the recent injury and the lack of empathy in the hospital that I've actually realised what is going on - I suspect also because I speak so much better, and usually manage conversations really well, that it is more noticeable when the ability fails!!!

[slowsider]

Interesting book for sure, but not sure how it will address your issue.

[Horse]

Interesting book for sure, but not sure how it will address your issue.

... Does the book suggest any strategies?

Keeping to the 'flying' theme, pilot training now covers surprise and startle. They might have implications.

For example: can you try and guess what sort of things will be said? If so, then you might have those words already in your head, so they're not [so much off] a surprise. You may be able to overcome the 'shock' aspect me quickly.

Also, have prepared phrases ready, for asking them to repeat things. Explain that, sometimes, you need time to think about 'new' things.

Then, if distraction and other 'things' cause problems, what can you put on pause, or ignore?

Similar caveat: not a psychbabblist etc. All the above are things I'd use when training.

[Noggin]

Interesting book for sure, but not sure how it will address your issue.

I don't know cos haven't read it My friend was saying it gives strategies to deal with the stress/panic times. Or ways (are they strategies?) to distract your brain in those times. ??

Interesting book for sure, but not sure how it will address your issue.

... Does the book suggest any strategies?

Keeping to the 'flying' theme, pilot training now covers surprise and startle. They might have implications.

For example: can you try and guess what sort of things will be said? If so, then you might have those words already in your head, so they're not [so much off] a surprise. You may be able to overcome the 'shock' aspect me quickly.

Also, have prepared phrases ready, for asking them to repeat things. Explain that, sometimes, you need time to think about 'new' things.

Then, if distraction and other 'things' cause problems, what can you put on pause, or ignore?

Similar caveat: not a psychbabblist etc. All the above are things I'd use when training.

It's not really a case of guessing. For instance. The time I really realised the issue, I was in hospital with an injury I've never had, being told some information I had never heard before. I suspect I'd have understood most of the words, but due to the stress factor, my brain switched off the understanding bit. I did ask repeatedly for people to speak slower etc, but a combination of me being massively stressed and them not having time/inclination to be kind and repeat slower, meant that I came out with virtually no understanding of what was going on or how I needed to proceed. Despite being able to have proper conversations with the physio in hospital and one of the orderlies (the first, three times in the six days, the second two or three times each day they were working).

I have all the words to ask people to slow down, repeat etc. But I don't often need that in 'normal' life as I can have full on conversations about a wide variety of topics. So it is stress that is the factor that affects my ability to understand/hear

I'm not sure about distraction and other things - in the situations I've experienced recently, I've been 100% focused on the situation - the only issue as been a complete lack of understanding. Which I am not aware of experiencing before.

It is probably/possibly combined with a lot of things stress related (long term recovery, life stresses, head injury (2.5 years ago now), hormone issues etc etc etc etc) but this problem only seems to have kicked in recently, so I am trying to work out a way to sort it