The Big Idea 

“We can control our personal narratives and make good or bad situations. When we do so, we are happier and healthier” (Kleinknecht, 2023). Creating personal narratives is a key component of healing and creating a healthier life. We have the power to control the way in which we interpret and understand our stories, and these stories change our patterns of thinking. When we create narratives of positivity and self-confidence, these thinking patterns continue, and we start to believe them. We have created a wise intervention plan to help guide people through this process of changing their narrative. Our extended outline of activities consists of nature walks, a gratitude journal, and grounding exercises. Read more to learn about how nature can help you heal. 



Memory Systems


The memory system is complex and unique to every individual. A “good” memory is regarded differently for each person, based on their surrounding environment and which information is deemed relevant depending on their distinct circumstances. One aspect of the memory system that is universal, according to Shobe and Kihlstom reveals “research with both humans and animals indicates that high levels of stress enhance rather than impair memory” (Strobe & Kihlstrom, 1997). Particularly with memories that have negative associations, the brain tends to store information better when it judges the memory to be necessary for survival. Traumatic events tend to be well preserved in the implicit memory system, such as “images, sensations and feelings” which make the experiences more easily accessible and thus, more distinct (Strobe & Kihlstrom, 1997).

Wise Intervention 

In order to understand the connection between the memory system and Wise Intervention, it is necessary to understand the Wise Intervention model. Walton and Wilson’s article published in the APA, “Wise Interventions: Psychological Remedies for Social and Personal Problems” defines the model as a “mechanisms of lasting change in three basic approaches to social reform” as opposed to previous models such as the Situation-Centric Model or the Person-Centric Model that are less encompassing of the all the aspects included in the Wise Intervention Model (Walton & Wilson, 2018). This model begins with the self-defeating cycle in which people have a negative belief about themselves and use it to inform their sense of self. The intervention comes in to alter the situation and/or a person's interpretation of it, and redirects their beliefs to become more positive. This inspires altered behavior that over time results in a self-enhancing cycle, displaying the proficiency of the Wise Intervention approach. 

    Connecting the Dots

There are some similarities between the Wise Intervention framework and how memory systems might influence this approach. It has been established that we are prone to remembering negative, more traumatic information than we are to remember emotionally neutral events or even positive ones. The memory system is an adaptive structure that has evolved to best serve our survival needs, blocking out the information that is less important to make room for the adaptive memories that inform our decision-making. The Wise Intervention approach considers negative, self-defeating ways of thinking as something to be changed into a positive and enhancing narrative. By retaining the memories that are negatively associated rather than associating with more positive ones, the way we consolidate memories directly contradicts the concept of Wise Intervention. In this case, it is vital to incorporate Wise Intervention in order to change the concept of self and alter the negative ways of thinking that do not serve people. Our project works to do this by connecting to nature, the place from which we all came from but sometimes lose sight of when life becomes busy and stressful. 

Activity Worksheets 

Nature Walks and the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Method 

Journaling - Step By Step


You can journal to reflect on your experience during your nature walks. While processing, the good memories of being grounded and being outside will override the negative memories. The nature walk processing helps create positive cycles of thinking and rewire our existing schemas.


Gratitude Journal Guide: 

 

What are the intended outcomes? 

By disconnecting yourself from the stresses of everyday life and society, it creates a less polluted mind space for you to focus on what matters most, which is yourself. This strategy is aimed at reconnecting the experiencing self to the remembered self. By reflecting on our experiences in a journal, we are reminding ourselves of the positive, grounded moments in our life. The more present we are as we move throughout our day, the more of these grounded moments we will have that we can write about in our journal. Eventually, when a collection of nature experiences is made and written about, we can look back at our journal and read the entries in times of stress. This practice will remind us that we are capable of mindfulness, that we have recently experienced positive emotions, and that we are connected to nature. These reminders help shape our view of ourselves and our life – the more of these connections we make, the more positive our self-image will be.

Further Reading 

Essay 1

Essay 1 (PSY 314).pdf

Essay 2

Essay 2.pdf

Essay 3

Essay 3.pdf

About Us

Marissa Layosa

Marissa is from Kaua'i, Hawai'i. She is majoring in  Kinesiology and minoring in Psychology. This is her third year at Pacific University and will be graduating in 2024


Megan Zirelli

Megan is majoring in Cultural Anthropology major and minoring in Psychology. She is from Auburn, California and will be graduating from Pacific University in May, 2024. 

Anna Olson-Voss

Anna is majoring in Kinesiology and minoring in Psychology. She is from Beaverton, Oregon and she transferred to Pacific University from PCC. She will be graduating in winter 2023.

Katie Gillam

Katie is a Psychology and Dance major from Seattle, Washington. This is her second year at Pacific University and she will be graduating in 2024. 

References 

Andrew W. Bailey, Garrett Allen, Josh Herndon & Christian Demastus (2018) Cognitive benefits of walking in natural versus built environments, World Leisure Journal, 60:4, 293-305, DOI: 10.1080/16078055.2018.1445025\

Budson, A. E., Richman, K.A., & Kensinger, E. A. (2022). Consciousness as a memory system. Cognitive Behavioral Neurology, 35, 263 – 297.

Ditta, A. S., & Storm, B. C. (2018). A consideration of the seven sins of memory in the context of creative cognition. Creativity Research Journal, 30, 402 – 417. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2018.1530914

Imran, A. (2020) Combat against Stress, Anxiety and Panic Attacks: 5-4-3-2-1 Coping Technique. J Trauma Stress Disor Treat 9:4.

Kleinknecht, E. Lecture, (2023).

Mace, J. H. & Clevinger, A. M. (2019). The associative nature of episodic memories In John Mace (ed): The Organization and Structure of Autobiographical Memory. Oxford University Press. DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780198784845.003.0010

Manchia, M., Gathier, A. W., Yapici-Eser, H., Schmidt, M. V., de Quervain, D., van Amelsvoort, T., Bisson, J. I., Cryan, J. F., Howes, O. D., Pinto, L., van der Wee, N. J., Domschke, K., Branchi, I., & Vinkers, C. H. (2022). The impact of the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic on stress resilience and mental health: A critical review across waves. European neuropsychopharmacology : the journal of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 55, 22–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroneuro.2021.10.864

Shobe, K.K., & Kihlstrom, J. F. (1997). Is traumatic memory special? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 6, 70 – 74.

van Kesteren, M. T. R. & Meeter, M. (2020). How to optimize knowledge construction in the brain. NPJ Science of Learning, 5; doi: 10.1038/s41539-020-0064-y.

Walton, G. M., & Wilson, T. D. (2018). Wise interventions: Psychological remedies for social and personal problems. Psychological Review, 125(5), 617–655. https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000115 

Wang, X. (2019). Culture in the organization of autobiographical memory. John Mace (ed): The Organization and Structure of Autobiographical Memory. Oxford University Press. DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780198784845.003.0005

Wang, X. & Ross, M. (2007). Culture and Memory. In The Handbook of Cultural Psychology. S. Kitayama and D. Cohen, eds. The Guildford Press, New York & London.