I’ve been thinking a lot about the power of images this week.  The sight of George Floyd on the ground with a knee on his neck will forever haunt me, as it does a nation.  Nothing captured my heart regarding global warming like the image of a starving polar bear in an article posted on Earth Day.  While statistics and charts actually relay more information, they just can’t move us the way an image can.  As it is said, a picture is worth a thousand words.  But what is it that makes an image so effectively grab our hearts and our imagination?

We are very visual beings, in fact a large percentage of our brain is dedicated to visual processing.  Images draw our attention and we process images so quickly, we’re not even consciously aware of it most of the time.  When we see a picture we can recognize a familiar object within 100 milliseconds and we can recognize a face within 380 milliseconds.  Our brains are wired to react to images, as quick processing of visual information would have benefited our ancestors in gathering food and hunting or providing information about a threat or danger.  Images that evoke emotions are given high priority in our central nervous system as a way of avoiding danger or tending to loved ones, both critical for survival.

In studying our emotional responses to images, psychologists have discovered a phenomena that is particularly powerful in capturing our attention and our empathy.  It is called the “identifiable victim effect,” and refers to research showing that we humans respond most intensely to images of an individual victim.  It is explained that in order to feel the tragedy, we must identify with an individual person (or even animal) experiencing it.  In doing so, it becomes personal.  There is a saying that one death is a tragedy, one million deaths is a statistic.  According to psychologist Paul Slovic, “The mind is very much geared to respond to a single person in need – whether it’s ourselves or a single person in front of us.”  In one study, Slovic and his collaborators put volunteers in an MRI scanner and watched how they made decisions about donating money to orphans in need.  They found that subjects chose to donate much more when they saw a photograph of a particular child than if they were presented with names.  The researchers found the extra generosity was attributable to increased activity in the nucleus accumbens, a brain area associated with pleasure and reward.  They concluded that images have a special power to generate the identifiable victim effect by triggering arousal in the brain.

History shows many examples of this effect.  Certain photographs have made a difference in changing people’s attitudes and behaviors in historic ways.  An image of a nine year old Vietnamese girl running after being burned by a napalm attack is credited with changing public opinion that helped to end the Vietnam War.  Another example is the photo of a Syrian boy whose body had washed up on a beach that captured the world’s attention to focus on the Syrian refugee crisis.  The Obama Administration began to protect African lions under the American Endangered Species Act when images of the lion “Cecil” were posted after being killed by an American hunter. The commonality of these photographs and others like them are that they show an individual victim.  In some way, in viewing individuals, we are able to see them in their vulnerability and are moved.  We are more likely to experience emotions when we focus on a single tragedy than when we feel overwhelmed by a large mass of people.

As we view body camera images from police officers involved in shootings and cell phone images taken by bystanders, we can now be witnesses to what used to happen in private.  These images not only illicit emotional outcry but can serve to bring accountability if we use them for justice.  Images are a way of showing the world what happened and preserving the story in its rawness.  With that, images are powerful agents of change.  And with any tool of such great power, we need to use them carefully.  Images can mislead if not given the appropriate context or can exploit subjects by those who own the power of the image. So when our hearts are opened by an image, we need to also use our heads.  Images can provide emotional motivation, but it’s the thoughtful commitment to action in response to our emotional reaction that creates lasting substantial change.

As one of my client’s put it this week, “The good news is I got my vaccine and soon things will be back to normal.  But the bad news is I got my vaccine and soon things will go back to normal.”  What she talked about is exactly what I think a lot of people are feeling right now.  That after over a year of being isolated and in various forms of lock down, it’s kind of scary to go back to the hustle and bustle of life.  Even if there are things we couldn’t wait to do, longed to do, even dreamed of doing, it’s a bit awkward to come out of our cocoons again.  It’s a natural part of being human.  We adapted when things locked down, and now we must adapt to things opening up and re-enter the world of driving in traffic, eating at restaurants, going to gyms, and maybe even a movie theater.

I’ve been working at home for over a year now.  Since my co-workers are mostly all vaccinated, my boss asked me to come into the Health Center to give a training to front line staff members.  Although I’ve worked at my Center for over 6 years, I was nervous!  I couldn’t sleep the night before, I left the house super early so I wouldn’t be late, I worried I wouldn’t know where to park or where the office they wanted me to work from was, and worried about who I would know and how things had changed.  And as I pulled up and used my ID Badge (which took me time to find) it all felt so familiar and yet so strange.  

For many people, the slower more isolated life was actually more comfortable.  Especially people I know who have some anxiety or social phobia tendencies.  The longer they’ve been away from social interactions and venturing out of the house, the harder it feels to go back.  And things have changed, there are new rules and new protocols that make us nervous about going somewhere familiar that is now unfamiliar.  It’s been an extremely stressful year with a lot to be anxious about, so most of us have been anxious in some way for a long time.  We worked to cope by finding joys in small things, mostly more quiet and calm, that we found solace in.  It’s hard to think of suddenly letting go of our safety nets and rushing out to embrace the wide world again.  I have heard so many parents complain about their kids acting out and not wanting to go back to school.  Especially for children, the last year has been a big portion of their young lives!

In examining this re-entry phenomena (a term often used to describe soldiers coming back from war or explorers coming back from an expedition), Julia Samuel, author of This Too Shall Pass writes:  “Most of us have an uncomfortable relationship with change because familiarity gives us a false sense of security and control – its an evolutionary defense mechanism.”  It took a lot of effort to get ourselves used to a strange world of Zoom calls and social distancing, reading facial expressions behind masks and finding new things to do on Saturday nights.  It’s unreasonable to expect that we can just jump right back into the life of our old social selves again without discomfort.  For one thing, we aren’t the same people we were before the pandemic began.  According to one study by the UCL, only 9% of people surveyed planned to return to living exactly as we did before COVID hit.  Many have re-evaluated aspects of life and how we want to live it. There is no way that we can go through the experience of having life so suddenly shut down without forever being changed by this effect on our perceptions of predictability and vulnerability.

So be easy on yourself and take it slow.  It helps to acknowledge your anxiety as a first step to taking back some control.  Plan some small outings with people you tend to feel safe with or places you have enjoyed and felt comfortable.  Ease yourself back into life and note what felt good and what was uncomfortable for you.  Keep doing these small things until they become much less stressful before you move on to bigger outings or larger gatherings.  It will be much easier to get overstimulated as you are re-entering, so don’t expect yourself to make up for lost time by making too many plans or promises.

If I take a step back, it’s almost amusing at how many of the simplest skills I have to relearn!  I’ve had a lockdown wardrobe that is pretty much a comfort based selection and a routine that moves much more slowly.  I forgot what outfits I used to wear to go out, what jewelry was my go to, what route I took to get to the coffee shop and what to say to people even in the simplest of circumstances.  It just shows how our brains work that after so many years of my life, after just one year of doing it a different way, I have unlearned so much!  But the good news is generally how easily it will come back.  I did feel a great sense of relief after my day at work, knowing the next time will be easier.  In fact, I’m planning to ask if I can book office space (the medical staff are now using most of the offices to socially distance with patients) once a week, just to build up my professional muscle again.  This muscle has definitely gotten a bit soft in the past year, working from the comfort of home with my kitten sitting in my lap all day.  If only there was a way to take him with me as my re-entry emotional support animal!