Who would study psychology unless they had some issues?!-Chapter 114 - 113 Cognition Issues

"It sounds like you tend to hide your thoughts and even ’problems’ from them in your daily life, is that correct?"

Nan Zhubin captured a piece of information and provided an [explanation] based on the expression of the visitor.

The visitor was startled for a moment.

"I, um... I don’t think I’ve deliberately hidden anything usually. But now that you mention it, it seems there is such a tendency."

"Do you find it easier to hide your feelings than to explain them to others?"

"...Yes!"

[Increased sense of agreement.]

Turning the things that the visitor feels but doesn’t know how to express into concrete language is a technique in counseling called [explanation].

This technique can verify the consultant’s understanding of the visitor’s problem, as well as the level of the visitor’s self-awareness.

It can quickly close the distance between the visitor and the consultant.

—The premise is that the description is accurate, otherwise, it may backfire.

Nan Zhubin glanced at the clock on the wall; time wasn’t ample, and the information-gathering phase was about to end.

He had one last question.

"Have you talked to your parents about these feelings of yours?"

The visitor opened their mouth, seemingly about to blurt something out, but swallowed it back, and after thinking for a while, said: "I don’t talk to them much... especially not about study-related stuff. I don’t think they can help me handle it well, and then, they’ll probably be more worried than I am, so I didn’t say anything."

Nan Zhubin nodded knowingly.

Then, he took over the conversation.

"I believe you have expressed more of your feelings this time than the last."

Nan Zhubin started with a little joke to ease the atmosphere.

"According to your previous descriptions, there seems to be a lack of [venting] in your life, and [venting] itself has soothing and even healing effects—I believe you are feeling it now."

"Indeed." The visitor nodded, "I actually do feel a bit better than when I first entered the consulting room."

Nan Zhubin smiled: "You came for counseling to solve academic problems; from what you’ve just told me, it seems that study pressure is the cause of a series of problems you’ve been having recently."

"Academics are indeed important, and from what you’ve said, I can tell you’re someone who has high standards for yourself, which is why grades are certainly not something insignificant to you, not just ’as long as it’s a pass’, or ’just enough to get by’." Nan Zhubin first provided a wave of [Support] and [Positive Attention].

The visitor continued to nod, gaze lowered.

"But more than grades, I care about the emotions and feelings that you have because of them, and why you feel the way you do because of your grades."

"I’m more focused on ’you’."

Nan Zhubin spoke these words with unabashed confidence.

The visitor’s gaze suddenly lifted.

"Similarly, I need you to redirect your focus back on yourself, to put yourself first—not your studies."

Nan Zhubin chuckled: "As it happens, ’Educational Psychology’ in psychology also studies ’how students learn’. What the teacher explained to you in the last consultation is part of it. Today, I’ll talk about another section—the [Yerkes Dodson Law of Motivation]."

"The Motivation Law?"

"Yes. This law examines the relationship between [motivation] and [work efficiency]—of course, in our current situation, we can replace [work efficiency] with [learning efficiency]."

"In short, through research, it was found that the relationship between [motivation] and [learning efficiency] forms an ’inverted U-shaped curve’. When the student’s learning motivation is low, learning efficiency will be low; as motivation increases, learning efficiency also increases. However, when the learning motivation exceeds a certain [threshold], learning efficiency will decrease again as motivation continues to increase."

Nan Zhubin looked into the visitor’s eyes: "Even lower than when motivation is low."

The visitor blinked, saying nothing.

Nan Zhubin waited for the visitor to think.

"Teacher, do you mean that my situation is due to my learning motivation... being too strong?"

The visitor’s tone was slightly dry as they spoke this sentence.

[Feelings of low mood, unease.]

Nan Zhubin keenly sensed the visitor’s negative emotions, promptly provided support, and offered a positive explanation: "This isn’t your fault, having high learning motivation isn’t necessarily a bad thing; it might be a habit carried over from high school that is incompatible with the college learning environment—just like you said, it’s the inability to adapt to university life."

This external attribution swiftly brought the visitor’s emotions back.

Nan Zhubin glanced at the clock again.

"And this motivation is essentially a form of [cognition]."

The visitor paused for a moment, as if pondering the word: "cog...nition?"

Nan Zhubin nodded: "Yes. We have a school in psychology called the [Cognitive Sect]. In our eyes, events that happen in reality—such as your [academic issues]—are very ’important’, but not ’primary’, not even ’principal’."

Though in some respects, they might not even qualify as ’important’, Nan Zhubin emphasized them appropriately to prevent the visitor from feeling their problem was trivialized.

"What’s ’primary’ is your emotions and feelings. Calming them down to return your current life to a comfort zone is our first task right now."

"And when your current feelings improve a bit, stepping out from ’the forest for the trees’ thinking, we’ll explore ’why you have these emotions’—that is, your cognitive method."

Nan Zhubin looked at the visitor, who appeared eager to learn, curiosity piqued.

"An individual’s [emotions] about something stem from their [cognition] of it."

"And [cognition] is our most significant core issue. If you still feel uncomfortable next week, or have any questions you want to understand, we can continue the counseling to delve deeper into your issues."

"As for this week, I’ll assign you some tasks, and I need you to complete them seriously to ease your current emotions."

The visitor nodded, pressing their lips together with a serious expression.

Then Nan Zhubin began to speak slowly.

"..."

The visitor showed a stunned expression at first, then grew perplexed, seeming somewhat hesitant.

But then Nan Zhubin gave a few more hands of [Support], eventually leading the visitor to accept the assignments.

During this process, Nan Zhubin multitasked, sketching out the process and assignments of the consultation for documentation.

The consultation ended.

And when he turned and left the consulting room, returning to the office area, making sure he was out of the visitor’s sight.

He finally frowned and wrote down his diagnosis conclusion under [Conceptualizing the Case].

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