Helping our patients to “zoom in” on the things that matter, and “zoom out” on the things that don’t

I’ve seen a couple of patients recently that made me think about the “zoom in” and “zoom out” function of our human mind.

If we represent thoughts and feelings on a piece of paper and really “zoom in” on it, AND this is all we can focus on, this may represent obsessiveness or passion, dependent on the content of those thoughts and feelings. It may even represent OCD if it becomes very dysfunctional.

If we “zoom out” a little bit more, it becomes more like “I want to act on this, but I am not too obsessed with it.”

Out a little more, and it’s more like “I just want to observe this.”

Out a little bit more, and it’s “Meh. I don’t really care too much”.

Out a little bit more, and it’s a bit “dissociative”.

Some folks are stuck in the “zoom in” mode, and suffer with stress, drama, and OCD features.

Some folks are stuck in the “zoom out” mode, and suffer from a bit of detachment, dissociation, lack of empathy or passion.

Some folks can do both well but just in the wrong way. They “zoom out” too much on the things that matter, and “zoom in” too much on the things that don’t quite matter.

Can you or your patients relate to any of these?

Learning how to “zoom out” and “zoom in” like an experienced cameraman is a critical life skill.

It’s simple. “Zoom in” on the things that matter. “Zoom out” on the things that don’t. Simple is not easy though, but we can certainly try.