Was, Carlee Russell, attention seeking behavior, going too far for attention? Seeking attention, is a natural human desire, but it is essential to strike a balance and consider healthy ways to, seek attention, without compromising personal values or the well-being of others. Going too far to, seek attention, can lead to negative consequences, such as alienating others, damaging relationships, or even risking one's own life.
In this blog post coach Myrna looks at, attention seeking behavior, in adults and offer some alternative behaviors.
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Carlee Russell Attention seeking behavior
The story this week getting national attention is the story of, Carlee Russell, a 25-year-old Black nursing student who decided suddenly or maybe she has been fascinated about this for years, to fake her abduction. Police says that, Carlee Russell, googled the movie Taken and other abduction tips before calling 911 and saying she saw a 4-year-old walking on the highway and she was going to go investigate.
Social media was in an uproar. Black activists, took to Instagram and Facebook to call for the same attention to finding, Carlee Russell, as they took to finding the rich White men who were lost in the submarine.
Then, Carlee Russell, showed up at her home 2 days later and tried to spin a story of how she was forced into an 18-wheeler truck and taken to a home where a man and a woman told her to get undressed and then took photos of her.
Carlee Russell Lied
After police started asking for details, she decided to come clean and confess that the story was a hoax and she lied about being kidnapped.
So today I want to look at, why adults seek attention. We know that kids love attention and if they don’t get, positive attention, they resort to getting, negative attention.
For adults, attention-seeking behavior, is a conscious or unconscious attempt to become the, center of attention, sometimes to gain validation or admiration.
In the, Carlee Russell update, In a news briefing on Monday, Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis said the department received a letter from Russell's attorney saying that she was never taken and that her report of a missing child on an interstate highway was false. No understanding of what was the purpose of this, attention seeking behavior.
What attention seeking behavior in adults may look like
Attention-seeking behavior, can include saying or doing something with the goal of getting the attention of a person or a group of people.
Examples of, attention seeking behavior include:
- Fishing for compliments by pointing out achievements and seeking validation
- Being controversial to provoke a reaction
- Exaggerating and embellishing stories to gain praise or sympathy
- Pretending to be unable to do something so someone will teach, help, or do it for you.
We know that saying something controversial gets you attention in the media and a lot of people seek attention this way, but for business reasons.
In the movie Barbie, there is a humorous section about women pretending not to know how to do things so as to get the attention from men who loves to show off that they could help. That is a tactic to make men feel strong and protective. I get that also.
Why did Carlee Russell Lied to seek attention
But why would Carlee want to pretend she was abducted? To me that sounds almost like a mass shooter filming himself killing people so he could get his picture in the news. If that was Carlee’s intent she succeeded. Her pictures are plastered all over the news.
Getting attention for something that is a lie never works out. We still live in a society with values and lying is something that is still not acceptable. This stupid act has ruined her life and shamed her family.
So, the next time you want to seek attention, try to get it by contributing to humanity or doing acts of kindness instead of engaging in, attention seeking behavior. That works out better for everyone.
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of 5 min Fridays with coach Myrna. Until next time Namaste
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