December 14, 2014

December 14, 2014

Written by Maximus Peperkamp, M.S. Verbal Engineer

Dear Reader, 

Due to the discovery of Sound Verbal Behavior (SVB) the author’s life has changed beyond recognition. The direction of the change has become more stable: confrontations with unwanted stimuli occurs less and less and exposure to stimuli which stabilize and secure his life has increased. Because the learning of effective behavior and the decrease of ineffective behavior is gradual and cumulative, the change occurs almost unnoticed. There are no big changes. The biggest change seems to be when things momentarily go wrong. Then negative stimuli, quite suddenly, cause the author to behave in ways, which are reactive. Such behaviors are met with social disqualification. When they occur, the author feels embarrassed they happen so quickly and that he was unable to do anything to prevent them from occurring. Usually this happens in work-related circumstances in which the author is incapable of moving away from stimuli and due to his job must remain in their proximity. He is learning to better handle noxious stimuli. 

Certain stimuli are predictably having an upsetting effect on this author. Such stimuli are best avoided. However, in his work this is often impossible. A manic person may be demanding a response, which has a startling effect. There is no way of escaping this except by looking back afterwards and by thinking about what could have been done differently. The strong feelings that were expressed by this author are always a reaction to the demanding habits that people have. Bad and unhealthy habits, such as smoking, are reinforced, so that the thought of not being able to smoke is already anxiety provoking. 

Under certain circumstances demanding stimuli are more likely to elicit an upsetting response. When the author was driving the van to transport seven mentally ill clients, some of whom, because they were so excited, were talking very loudly, he was in a stressful situation.

The transport took place in the evening, to an event in another town, an hour’s drive away. The laid-back reggae music, which the author appreciated, was suddenly changed into loud and negative noise. And, because the reception kept fading, the coworker, in an attempt to please the clients, kept trying to change the station. She also gave clients turns to listen to their favorite music, if they could find it. Then all of a sudden, one of the clients blurted out: “can we smoke?”

This author said “No” thinking that the client wanted to light a cigarette inside the van. The client responded with an intense voice of frustration “Why not?” Perceiving that this client was not listening and was going to have her way anyway, this author repeated “No, you can’t smoke.” Then the client then said in a loud voice “We are allowed to smoke.” This author reacted “No! You are not going to smoke in the van. I will stop the car if you do.” Only then the client said “I did not ask about smoking in the van, but about having a smoke break before the concert.” People were laughing at this author, who felt bad that he had misunderstood the situation and spoken so authoritatively. 

Another stressor of the situation, which could have been avoided, was that the author could have let his coworker drive on the way back. Because she let him know that she was not used to driving a big van, this author decided to drive it. He put himself in the stressful position for the time it took to get to our destination and back home again. Fact was, however, this author didn’t trust his coworker to let her do the driving and so he took the responsibility for this important job. 

Before the trip started, the author had also heard some alarming news regarding one of his clients. She had been seen crossing the street diagonally, ignoring traffic. This author was thinking that when this client endangers herself like that, an accident is waiting to happen. Also, this author briefly spoke with one of his colleagues, who in his opinion, was very stressed and reluctant to talk. He should have given him the instructions for the trip. It said so on a piece of paper.