After reading this chapter, I'm starting to understand why people tend to think I'm stressed or angry when I don't actually feel that way. Many of the behavioral patterns indicated in this chapter manifest additionally when I'm bored. Then again, boredom is its own form of stress and discomfort.
When Navarro talks about the importance of the neck and the suprasternal notch (neck dimple) in indicating whether a person is nervous or not, I think of all the times I've been stuck in an uncomfortable conversation or have found myself face-to-face with someone I didn't plan on meeting and start to pick at the stubble on my neck. It really is a completely involuntary response, as befits the limbic system.
I also relate mightily to the leg cleanser, in which one slides one's palms down one's legs. I do this so frequently that I can't even say for sure whether I'm even nervous when I do it. However, I have noticed the behavior when I feel a conversation has gone on too long and I would like to be out of there.
On first reading this chapter, I thought "How can I not make these behaviors and thus be less readable or less easily confused?" It's difficult for me to avoid stress in social situations, because of the image I feel compelled to maintain, and I suppose the answer to the question is "You can't." The actions are involuntary, but perhaps, like Pavlov's dogs, the behavior can be trained away. Awareness first, behavioral change second.
When Navarro talks about the importance of the neck and the suprasternal notch (neck dimple) in indicating whether a person is nervous or not, I think of all the times I've been stuck in an uncomfortable conversation or have found myself face-to-face with someone I didn't plan on meeting and start to pick at the stubble on my neck. It really is a completely involuntary response, as befits the limbic system.
I also relate mightily to the leg cleanser, in which one slides one's palms down one's legs. I do this so frequently that I can't even say for sure whether I'm even nervous when I do it. However, I have noticed the behavior when I feel a conversation has gone on too long and I would like to be out of there.
On first reading this chapter, I thought "How can I not make these behaviors and thus be less readable or less easily confused?" It's difficult for me to avoid stress in social situations, because of the image I feel compelled to maintain, and I suppose the answer to the question is "You can't." The actions are involuntary, but perhaps, like Pavlov's dogs, the behavior can be trained away. Awareness first, behavioral change second.
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