Words: Spoken and Unspoken Forces by @anitasaleem #Excerpt ~ Reviewing in Chaos

Words: Spoken and Unspoken Forces provides the key to understanding the secret power of words and traces how this power is activated by drawing references from various authors and experts in psychology, philosophy, medicine, and semiotics. The author presents a theoretical model to understand why words affect individuals by suggesting that words color emotions, shape behaviors, and influence physiological functioning to create an overall impact (whether positive or negative). Drawing upon several scientific studies, this book will help the reader understand why words are spoken and unspoken forces that have the potential to shape the future.

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Excerpt

Words for a Developing Child

In our entire lifetime we indulge in numerous discussions; some are an absolute delight while others are such a waste of time. The most important discussions, however, remain the one between us and our loved ones because wrapped within those words are several underlying emotions. The very first “act of hearing” begins when a child is still developing in the mother’s womb. Paul Madaule mentions in his paper titled “When Listening Comes Alive” that an unborn child hears a plethora of voices (heartbeat, respiration and visceral noises of the mother’s body), but the most important voice remains that of the mother. The child yearns to hear the mother’s voice and feels anxious/ abandoned in the absence of this voice.

Madaule calls this an unborn child’s “quest for dialogue” with the mother and he asserts that this becomes all the more important during the fifth month of pregnancy when the baby’s inner ear and its connection to the brain becomes functional. So even as a child is developing, it needs to hear warm and comforting voices from the environment (most importantly from the mother and the father). It is important to talk to the baby at this stage because the child needs it. It is at this point that the child will respond to what the parents say, whether it is positive or negative.

As the baby is born, communication still remains an important need. The very popular and controversial psychologist Sigmund Freud emphasizes the importance of the first five years of a child’s development.

Anita Saleem holds an MS/MPhil in Clinical and Counseling Psychology. She was born and raised in Pakistan where she currently teaches Psychology to undergraduates at Forman Christian College. At the age of 25, she is a lecturer, an author and a researcher who best expresses herself through her writing. She frequently pens articles for local newspapers on culture, arts, faith, tolerance and relationships.