How a rubber yellow duck can keep you mentally healthy. The yellow duck is a fantastic toy that has gone from a teether to a cult character. Today, two empirical methods like a yellow rubber duck can help us maintain fortitude, equanimity and clear thinking.
1. Duck and gaslighting. Duck test (reality check). This rule sounds like this: “if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.” This rule helps to establish the fact based on our observations and indirect evidence. Sometimes the rule sounds like “maybe he speaks like an idiot (abuser, fascist, manipulator, etc.) and looks like an idiot, behaves like an idiot. But you shouldn’t be fooled: he is an idiot.” The duck test helps us trust ourselves and make independent judgments despite verbal manipulation –an essential skill. After all, the weapon of propaganda, abusers and criminals is gaslighting.
The essence of gaslighting is an attack through denial of your vision, and manipulation to destroy a sense of reality and your adequacy. It includes an attack (are you out of your mind? You’re sick, what’s wrong with you? You are inadequate), denial (there was no such thing, I did not do this or did not say it, this is a joke and not an insult), accusation (you came up with everything yourself, twisting words, I wanted the best and you are offended), depreciation (your thoughts and feelings are false, you don’t see that), manipulation of feeling guilt (I wanted the best for you and you are ungrateful or pity me), self-justification (it’s not my fault, but I was provoked), inconsistency of words and actions. If you feel that you are being made insane, cannot trust yourself, are guilty, justify yourself, and constantly criticize, it seems that you inadequately understand reality — you are gaslighted. Look at the duck. The duck says — after all, to the observed actions, be disobedient, drive him away, doubt the attacker and trust yourself.
2. The duckling method (rubber duck debugging). When you have a lot of confusing thoughts in your head, turn to the rubber duckling, put it on the desktop and ask him as a mental assistant. Sherlock Holmes preferred to talk to the skull, however) Formulate a question and pause — this helps to clarify thoughts in clear language. After all, the duck is pretty and needs a very simple and straightforward presentation, as if to a child. Remembering Feiman, “if you are a scientist, a quantum physicist, and you can’t explain in a nutshell to a five — year–old child what you do, you are a charlatan.” So ask the duck, explain to the duck — it works.