Split-Second Unlearning: Developing a Theory of Psychophysiological Dis-ease

Abstract

Psychophysiological “stress” underpins many conditions including anxiety, depression, phobias, chronic fatigue syndrome and non-specific musculoskeletal pain such as fibromyalgia. In this article we develop an understanding of chronic psychophysiological stress from a psychological educational perspective, by drawing on supporting evidence that significant emotional events in early life (traumatic and benign) can influence health and well-being later in life. We suggest that traumatic events instigate psychophysiological “stress” responses and the formation of emotional memory images (EMIs) within very short time frames, i.e., “split-second learning.” Once formed these emotional memories are triggered in daily living “re-playing” psychophysiological stress responses, resulting in chronic psychophysiological “dis-ease.” We describe a novel therapeutic approach to scan clients for mannerisms signifying a subconscious “freeze-like” stress response that involves the client as a curious observer within their own experience, feeding back the non-verbal cues as they arrive in the moment. By breaking down the observable fragments of their split-second Pavlovian response to the trigger, clients can detach their EMI from the psychophysiology stress response, i.e., “split-second unlearning.” Our split-second unlearning model recognizes the EMI as a barrier to moving forward and needs to be unlearned before the client can become naturally adaptive again. We argue that this approach places the client at the center of the work without the need of getting bogged down in a life-long narrative.

A study of approach-avoidance patterns in children in response to emotional stimuli

“…Approach-avoidance patterns can be seen as facilitating to learning in some cases (e.g., the presence of a positive situation) or as deleterious in other cases (e.g., the presence of a negative situation). Split-second unlearning, the process whereby the learner (adult or child) is able to let go of their approach-avoidance behavior (Hudson & Johnson, 2021), could be a fruitful course to optimisate learning at school.…”

“…How can we refuse a second piece of cheesecake when we love it or ride a thrill ride with our child when it scares us? Some situations instigate psychophysiological responses and the formation of emotional memory images within very short time frames (Hudson & Johnson, 2021). That why, our ability to learn, unlearn, and relearn can be hindered by the images that feed these patterns.…”

Definition and attributes of the emotional memory images underlying psychophysiological dis-ease

“…Thus, the hypothesis of EMIs coupling traumatic events to psychophysiological dis-ease arose from clinical observations grounded in psychotherapeutic theory, ultimately resulting in the proposal of our Split-second Unlearning (SSU) model and our Split-second Unlearning therapeutic approach ( Hudson and Johnson, 2021 ).…”

“…Previously, we proposed a model describing the psychophysiological stress responses that occur whenever individuals encounter situations that trigger, within a very short time frame, an emotional memory associated with previous traumatic event(s), i.e., “ split-second learning ” ( Hudson and Johnson, 2021 ). We suggested that, once formed, these emotional memories can be frequently re-triggered in daily living, leading to the re-playing of psychophysiological stress responses and a state of persistent psychophysiological dis-ease.…”

“…Emotional memories are central to our Split-second Unlearning model. We suggested that these emotional memories were mental images stored inside the mind as ‘emotional memory images’ (EMIs) that were non-conscious and intrinsically linked to a set of physical reactions, including eye movement and/or fixation ( Hudson and Johnson, 2021 ).…”