Uvod u Senonovu Teoriju Informacije
Senonova teorija informacije, razvijena od strane Claudea Shannona 1948. godine, postavlja temelje za razumevanje prenosa i obrade informacija. Ključna formula za entropiju informacije je: H(X)=−∑p(x)log2p(x)
Gde:
- H predstavlja entropiju (meru nesigurnosti ili količine informacija)
- p je verovatnoća pojavljivanja određene informacije (npr. reči ili misli)
- Logaritamska funkcija izražava informaciju u bitima
Veća entropija znači veću količinu informacija i nesigurnost, dok manja entropija ukazuje na predvidljivost i nižu količinu informacija. Na primer, rečenica “Danas je sunčan dan” ima nisku entropiju jer su reči u njoj česte i predvidive, dok rečenica “Zelena svetlost pada kroz digitalnu sferu” ima višu entropiju jer su reči manje uobičajene i neočekivane.
Entropija Intruzivnih Misli
Intruzivne misli često imaju visoku entropiju jer su neočekivane, egodistone i teško integrisane u postojeći sistem vrednosti pojedinca. Egodistonost, prema Jungu, označava nesklad između misli i identiteta osobe, što otežava njihovu obradu i izaziva uznemirenost.
Primeri entropije opsesivnih misli:
- “Ubicu se” – visoka entropija (≈ 4.5 bita)
- “Bogohulne misli (seks sa verskim figurama)” – ekstremno visoka entropija (≈ 5.2 bita)
- “Ubi dete svoje” – ekstremno visoka entropija (≈ 5.5 bita)
- “Ja sam đavo” – visoka entropija (≈ 4.8 bita)
- “Ja sam gej” (kod osobe koja je heteroseksualna) – visoka entropija (≈ 4.7 bita)
- “Šta ako želim da me neko penetrira?” – visoka entropija (≈ 5.0 bita)
Depresivne i anksiozne misli:
- “Sve mi je teško, ne mogu da se pokrenem” – umerena entropija (≈ 3.8 bita)
- “Imam infarkt” – visoka entropija (≈ 4.6 bita)
- “Imam MS” – visoka entropija (≈ 4.5 bita)
- “Imam LS” – visoka entropija (≈ 4.4 bita)
Halucinatorne misli:
- “Stavili su mi implant u zub i čitaju mi misli” – ekstremno visoka entropija (≈ 5.6 bita)
- “Gledaju me kroz zidove” – visoka entropija (≈ 5.0 bita)
Entropija uobičajenih reči:
- “Kuća” – niska entropija (≈ 2.3 bita)
- “Pas” – niska entropija (≈ 2.1 bita)
- “Hodati” – umerena entropija (≈ 2.7 bita)
- “Lepota” – umerena entropija (≈ 3.0 bita)
- “Smešno” – umerena entropija (≈ 3.1 bita)
- “Dan” – niska entropija (≈ 2.0 bita)
Hipoteza o Egodistonim Mislim i Nemogućnosti Integracije
Na osnovu višedecenijskog rada, postavljam hipotezu (Žarko Petrović) da se negativne misli sa visokom entropijom teško integrišu u sistem vrednosti pojedinca. Opsesivne misli ostaju strano telo u kognitivnom sistemu, što otežava njihovu obradu i izaziva trajnu uznemirenost.
Postavlja se pitanje: Da li je količina informacija (entropija) ključni faktor u intenzitetu patnje izazvane opsesivnim mislima?
Smanjenje Entropije Kroz Terapiju
Edukacija i kontinuirani rad u terapiji omogućavaju klijentima da postepeno integrišu misli u svoj sistem vrednosti. Kroz proces normalizacije, kognitivnog restrukturiranja i izlaganja, osoba smanjuje doživljenu pretnju i uznemirenost vezanu za određene misli.
Interesantno pitanje koje se postavlja jeste: da li tokom terapijskog procesa entropija intruzivnih misli opada? Ukoliko se potvrdi da edukacija i adaptacija smanjuju entropiju, moglo bi se zaključiti da je normalizacija ključni mehanizam za smanjenje percipiranog stresa.
Takođe, postavlja se pitanje da li određene terapeutske tehnike, poput kognitivne bihejvioralne terapije (KBT) i defuzije iz terapije prihvatanja i posvećenosti (ACT), efikasnije snižavaju entropiju misli u poređenju sa drugim metodama. Ukoliko bi se uspostavila korelacija između opadanja entropije i subjektivnog olakšanja kod pacijenata, moglo bi se razviti objektivan model merenja uspeha terapije.
Evidentno je da su intruzivne misli simbolički vezane i ukazuju na pravi problem zbog koga neuroza nastaje. Poznato je da je rešavanje originalnog problema zapravo razrešenje simptoma, ali je interesantno da se na svesnom planu pokazuje da su normalizacija i edukacija delotvorne, ako ne potpuno, onda delimično, u smanjenju simptoma. Da li potentnost ovih simptoma leži u nemogućnosti integracije tako visokog nivoa entropije? Ovo je pitanje koje zahteva dalja istraživanja.
Zaključak
Senonova teorija informacija pruža intrigantan okvir za analizu intruzivnih misli i njihovog uticaja na mentalno zdravlje. Egodistone misli imaju visoku entropiju, što otežava njihovu integraciju u sistem vrednosti. Dalje istraživanje bi moglo pomoći u razvoju terapijskih metoda koje ciljano smanjuju entropiju misli, olakšavajući pacijentima nošenje s njihovim unutrašnjim konfliktima.
Dodatno, istraživanje uticaja terapije na smanjenje entropije opsesivnih misli može pomoći u razvoju novih metoda za objektivizaciju psihoterapijskih procesa. Ukoliko se potvrdi da entropija intruzivnih misli opada tokom terapije, to bi moglo poslužiti kao novi način praćenja napretka u lečenju anksioznih i opsesivno-kompulzivnih poremećaja.
Shannon’s Information Theory and the Entropy of Intrusive Thoughts
Introduction to Shannon’s Information Theory
Shannon’s Information Theory, developed by Claude Shannon in 1948, lays the foundation for understanding the transmission and processing of information. The key formula for information entropy is:
Where:
• Entropy (H) represents the measure of uncertainty or amount of information
• P is the probability of occurrence of a specific piece of information (e.g., a word or thought)
• The logarithmic function expresses the information in bits
Higher entropy means more information and greater uncertainty, while lower entropy indicates predictability and a smaller amount of information. For example, the sentence “It’s a sunny day” has low entropy because the words are common and predictable, whereas “Green light falls through a digital sphere” has higher entropy because the words are less common and unexpected.
Entropy of Intrusive Thoughts
Intrusive thoughts often have high entropy because they are unexpected, egodystonic, and difficult to integrate into an individual’s existing value system. Egodystonicity, according to Jung, refers to the discord between thoughts and a person’s identity, making them harder to process and causing distress.
Examples of the entropy of obsessive thoughts:
• “I’m going to kill myself” – high entropy (≈ 4.5 bits)
• “Blasphemous thoughts (sex with religious figures)” – extremely high entropy (≈ 5.2 bits)
• “I’ll kill my child” – extremely high entropy (≈ 5.5 bits)
• “I’m the devil” – high entropy (≈ 4.8 bits)
• “I’m gay” (in a heterosexual person) – high entropy (≈ 4.7 bits)
• “What if I want someone to penetrate me?” – high entropy (≈ 5.0 bits)
Depressive and anxious thoughts:
• “Everything is so hard, I can’t get moving” – moderate entropy (≈ 3.8 bits)
• “I’m having a heart attack” – high entropy (≈ 4.6 bits)
• “I have MS” – high entropy (≈ 4.5 bits)
• “I have LS” – high entropy (≈ 4.4 bits)
Hallucinatory thoughts:
• “They implanted something in my tooth and are reading my mind” – extremely high entropy (≈ 5.6 bits)
• “They’re watching me through the walls” – high entropy (≈ 5.0 bits)
Entropy of common words:
• “House” – low entropy (≈ 2.3 bits)
• “Dog” – low entropy (≈ 2.1 bits)
• “Walk” – moderate entropy (≈ 2.7 bits)
• “Beauty” – moderate entropy (≈ 3.0 bits)
• “Funny” – moderate entropy (≈ 3.1 bits)
• “Day” – low entropy (≈ 2.0 bits)
Hypothesis on Egodystonic Thoughts and Integration Difficulty
Based on decades of work, I propose (Žarko Petrović) that negative thoughts with high entropy are difficult to integrate into a person’s value system. Obsessive thoughts remain foreign elements in the cognitive system, which complicates their processing and causes persistent distress.
The question arises: is the amount of information (entropy) a key factor in the intensity of suffering caused by obsessive thoughts?
Reducing Entropy Through Therapy
Education and continuous work in therapy enable clients to gradually integrate thoughts into their value system. Through the processes of normalization, cognitive restructuring, and exposure, a person reduces the perceived threat and distress associated with certain thoughts.
An interesting question arises: does the entropy of intrusive thoughts decrease during the therapeutic process? If it is confirmed that education and adaptation reduce entropy, it could be concluded that normalization is a key mechanism for reducing perceived stress.
Moreover, it raises the question of whether certain therapeutic techniques, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and defusion from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), are more effective at lowering the entropy of thoughts compared to other methods. If a correlation is established between the reduction of entropy and subjective relief in patients, an objective model for measuring therapeutic success could be developed.
It is evident that intrusive thoughts are symbolically linked and point to the underlying problem that causes neurosis. It is known that resolving the original issue often resolves the symptoms. However, it is interesting that on a conscious level, normalization and education are effective, if not completely, at least partially, in reducing symptoms. Does the potency of these symptoms lie in the inability to integrate such a high level of entropy? This is a question that requires further investigation.
Conclusion
Shannon’s Information Theory provides an intriguing framework for analyzing intrusive thoughts and their impact on mental health. Egodystonic thoughts have high entropy, making them difficult to integrate into the value system. Further research could aid in the development of therapeutic methods that specifically reduce the entropy of thoughts, helping patients cope with their internal conflicts.
Additionally, investigating the impact of therapy on reducing the entropy of obsessive thoughts could help develop new methods for objectifying psychotherapy processes. If it is confirmed that entropy of intrusive thoughts decreases during therapy, it could serve as a new way to track progress in the treatment of anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders.