Altered abilities
Although less thought about when considering unusual experiences, where the focus is often on the content of the experience itself, it is also worth exploring some of the altered abilities people can have before, during or after them.
Speed of processing: How quickly a person can comprehend information. For example, a person may struggle to keep up with a conversation, or find it difficult to read long texts.
Attention or concentration: How well a person can keep focussed on a task. For example, a person may struggle to watch a film all the way through, or find it hard to concentrate on their studies or work for a long period of time.
Orientation: Whether a person knows when, where or who they are. For example, a person may struggle to know what time of day it is, they may be unsure of where they are or what day it is.
Judgement: How well a person can make informed, considered choices. For example, a person may struggle to manage their finances alone or they might struggle to make everyday decisions, however small.
Abstraction: How well a person can consider theoretical or hypothetical ideas. For example, the person may find socialising more difficult or find it hard to think about situations beyond the immediate moment.
Verbal or visual learning: How well the person can take on board new information or processes. For example, the person may struggle to learn a new skill or understand a new concept, such as learning an instrument or reading music.
Working memory: How well the person can recall and use recently learned information to reason or make decisions. For example, the person may struggle to play board or card games or follow a long set of instructions.
Examples
Lack of emotional expression: The person may not show their emotions and appear to have a neutral facial expression even in response to stimuli. This is also known as blunted or flat effect.
Lack of motivation: The person may not feel motivated to do anything. Their behaviour may not be goal-directed and they may not feel the need to look after their personal hygiene or carry out daily living tasks. This is also known as avolition.
Impoverished speech: The person is less likely to be communicative. They may use short answers to questions, not elaborate freely and not speak unless prompted to do so. This is also known as alogia.
Social withdrawal: The person may disengage from their current relationships, not seek new ones and tend to prefer being alone and doing solitary activities. This is also known as asociality.
Decreased ability to enjoy things: The person may no longer experience pleasure from the things they used to find pleasurable. This is also known as anhedonia.
Things that may help
It can be difficult if we feel like our abilities have changed for the worse, below are some examples of what might help if you’re struggling. It’s worth noting that these changes, for many people, can and do improve.
- Keeping a diary, to-do list and using alarms to remind us what needs to be done can be a good way to keep track of daily tasks or appointments.
- Having a planned routine or adding structure to your day can help when you feel like you don’t know what to do to fill your time.
- Take a break if a task you’re doing begins to feel overwhelming but then try to go back to it when you feel calmer. Building focus, especially on boring tasks, takes practice.
- Person holding umbrella over themselves and another person under a raining cloud.
- Try to be compassionate and kind to yourself if you can’t get something done on time or miss something important. Try to treat yourself how you would treat a close friend.
- Try to do the things you used to enjoy even if you don’t feel like it and even if you only do it for a short time. Or try new things and see if any sustain your attention.
- Think about what makes you have strong emotions (positive or negative) and why, is there something constructive you can do which utilises this passion?
Consider more:
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- Have you ever had times when the above abilities were causing you difficulty?
- If you were helping a friend what might you suggest they do?
- Do you think these changes in abilities make sense in the broader picture of unusual experiences?