tug on

English translation: draw on, exploit

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

English term or phrase:	tug on
Selected answer:	draw on, exploit
Entered by:	Yvonne Gallagher

12:32 Mar 27, 2024

English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Social Sciences - General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters / treatment of dissociative disorders and PTSD

English term or phrase: tug on

Dear colleagues, I’m not sure about the meaning of “tug on” in the sentence “tugging on the associable aspects of otherwise blocked emotional experience “ taken from a text about the treatment of dissociative disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Might “tug on” mean something along the lines of: “use (associable aspects) as a way/a starting point to access (otherwise blocked emotional experience)? The phrase is right at the end of the following passage
Thank you so much for your help!
******************

If a therapist asked me what kinds of images were popping up, and I told them it was an image of my mother, then without asking me for any narrative content, I could be engaged on an imagistic level to create associative links to otherwise isolated (dissociatively organized) material. “Okay, Rich, you said you had an image of your mother, right? Yes, good. Can you focus on that image please? Can you imagine the image on a TV screen? Good. Can you put the TV into split image mode and put your mother over on one side, please? Which side is she on? Good. Right. Okay, now on the left side pull up any other image of your mother that comes to mind and tell me what you see when you are ready, please.” Treating the image as a sensory target, the patient stays oriented to the original image while pulling numerous other mother images from the past. Each pulled image has associative links, emotional and cognitive, even if they are consciously unknown to Rich. Within a day or so, this review of images will produce a raft of associations. (...) This is similar to a technique I call “interior decorating,” which is a review of a childhood home. The associations come quickly after an initial delay of a day or so. Knowing that emotional life is divided up into affective and embodied sensing dimensions allows me to focus my efforts on *** tugging on the associable aspects of otherwise blocked emotional experience ***..

haribert KudoZ activity Questions: 289 (none open) (1 without valid answers) (1 closed without grading) Answers: 524
Local time: 15:41

pull up/have recourse to make use of

Explanation:
basically means to make use of /pull up from memory/draw on the associable aspects of otherwise blocked emotional experience

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Note added at 22 mins (2024-03-27 12:54:13 GMT)
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oops a slash missing pull up/have recourse to/ make use of

Extract or Exploit could also be used

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Note added at 23 mins (2024-03-27 12:55:46 GMT)
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of course, in the context the -ing form of the verb would be used

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Note added at 7 days (2024-04-04 00:29:55 GMT) Post-grading
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Glad to have helped. And I believe this IS the meaning here

Selected response from:

Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Local time: 14:41

Grading comment

Thank you so much, Yvonne, for your help! Many many thanks also to all other colleagues: as I said in the Discussion, maybe "tug on" can have also other meanings in different contexts, but in this case, after reading some parts of a book by the same author, I think it means "draw on" or "exploit" in the sense of using associable aspects as a sort of "lever" or "gateway" to buried traumatic memories

4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED

5 +4

pull at/understand better/unravel

Diogo Garcia

4 +2

tease out

Jennifer Levey

4 +1

pull up/have recourse to make use of

Yvonne Gallagher

draw sg. (grab, avail, etc.)

Dr. Jozsef Dikter

Discussion entries: 2

Answers

16 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +4

pull at/understand better/unravel

Explanation:
He means to focus his efforts on better understanding/unravelling the associable aspects of otherwise blocked (in contrast) emotional experience.

Diogo Garcia
Portugal
Local time: 14:41
Native speaker of:

Portuguese

Notes to answerer

Asker: Thank you so much, Diogo, for your contribution!

38 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

tease out

Explanation:
A synonym for 'tug on' in the ST context would be 'tease out':
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/tease-ou...

'to try to get information or understand a meaning that is hidden or not clear'

Jennifer Levey
Chile
Local time: 09:41
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 27

Notes to answerer

Asker: Thank you so much, Jennifer, for your contribution!

1 day 8 hrs confidence:

draw sg. (grab, avail, etc.)

Explanation:
Hello Haribert, you seem to be right. To 'tug' generally means to pull or jerk something with some force. Prepositions might slightly 8or dramatically) change change the meaning of a term:
1) ‘Tug’ is often used with 'at,' which can mean ‘to pull gently’ or ‘to pull repeatedly’ at something. Tugging at the sleeve implies trying to get someone's attention. Nad girls also tug at things in bed 😊 according to some lyrics.
2) 'Tug on' implies a more direct action, as ‘on’ is always more direct than ‘at’. Tugging on a rope suggests a firm grip to pull something heavy. (Also see the Collins entry linked below). And boys sometimes tug on something if there is no girl to tug at it :) - also according to some pop music, not my style.

The speaker wants to draw attention to something. Professional speakers/writers intentionally allow some room to associate, see: TUG tests (Timed Up and Go).

(You will certainly forgive me that I am not a native speaker of English.)

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Note added at 1 day 8 hrs (2024-03-28 20:37:41 GMT)
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(sorry for typos)

Example sentence(s):

Hoping that your creation encourages them to tug on an idea that they may not have considered before.

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/tug-at-the-heartstrings
https://www.physio-pedia.com/Timed_Up_and_Go_Test_(TUG)

Dr. Jozsef Dikter
Hungary
Local time: 15:41
Works in field
Native speaker of: Hungarian

Notes to answerer

Asker: Hi, Joszef, thank you so much for your contribution!

19 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

pull up/have recourse to make use of

Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Local time: 14:41
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 659

Grading comment

Notes to answerer

Asker: Thank you so much, Yvonne, for your contribution! Actually your suggestion of "draw on" has made me think that the author might have used a synonym of "drawing on", since "draw" and "tug" has similar meanings in a non figurative sense (and in this case, also in a figurative one)...

Asker: Dear Yvonne, I agree with you! Hope your sister is feeling better now... Have a nice weekend!

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English translation: draw on, exploit

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