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pspa123
672 Posts |
 Posted - 04/01/2013 : 18:05:32
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I want to repeat my comment above in case anyone wants to comment on it directly, because I think it is really at the heart of many of the debates/discussions here.
To me this is the essential question. Do we have pain because of our negative emotions, or do we have pain because we have suppressed/ repressed our negative emotions. Although i am someone who likes to find common ground or synthesis where possible I think different people just have divergent views.
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Dr James Alexander
Australia
127 Posts |
Posted - 04/01/2013 : 20:02:53
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tmsjptc- that is the sense i would make of your grandma's current behaviour. The conscious mind is losing its grip, and stuff thats been at a less than conscious level (eg. meanness) now has a chance to emerge. I dare say there are neurological correlates for all this, but ive never looked into it.
pspa123- as you've been reading my book, you'll know my answer to that querie. Yes, i think we have pain because we have suppressed/repressed our negative emotions- and i think cultures like our's are particularly good at doing this, and thats why we see more chronic pain in them than in more emotionally expressive cultures (who also live with high levels of stress, eg. at the mercy of floods, famines, civil wars, bandits, no economic certainty, etc). But, in terms of looking for a synthesis, what i can offer is the following- the human organism in its social/political/physical context is much more complex than any one model can appreciate or depict. As such, it is quite likely that all approaches will be somewhat true/untrue for populations in general, and for any individual in particular. It comes back to being 'horses for courses', so i would never suggest that any one approach must be the answer for all people. The challenge is for any one individual to work out for themselves, from the available approaches, what makes intuitive sense for them, and to go with that. What is the right balance of approaches for any person? The mix is likely to be different for different people. I dont see there as being a problem with this. I had a client once who didnt get better with my approach, but did recover from chronic pain via standard CBT in a pain management program- surprised the hell out of me, but it was a very pleasant surprise, and i was very happy for him. Does the CBT he used need to be synthesised with my approach? It may make it less confusing for people seeking help, but it may also render approaches less effective if they lose what makes them different from each other.
And it just occurred to me- the TMS approach is in fact a synthesis already. When people first come across it in books, it is a purely cognitive approach- just wrestling with ideas, and working out how they may apply to yourself. For many people, this is sufficient- they get over their pain as a result as it triggers changes within them. But, for others, it is not sufficient, and they may then need to consider therapy- at which point, what type of therapy is likely to be helpful? I have tried to answer this question on many occasions here; and still, again, it comes down to being horses for courses. What works for one may not work for another. So, i think it is valid to have a range of ideas presented in a forum like this, so people can make an informed decision about the way to progress.
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pspa123
672 Posts |
Posted - 04/01/2013 : 20:24:58
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| James I am only one anecdote but there were times in my life when I was a fountain of negative emotion but I was pretty good at experiencing it and expressing it, much better than I am now, and those were also times when I had virtually no physical pain to speak of. Was it just that I was younger? I doubt it, I wasn't THAT young. |
Edited by - pspa123 on 04/01/2013 20:27:04 |
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Peregrinus
250 Posts |
Posted - 04/01/2013 : 20:26:10
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PSPA:
Thanks for cutting to the chase!
After reading many posts here as well as reading the words of some Mind-Body gurus I suspect that negative thoughts and suppression of unpleasant memories arise because of psychological conflicts which involve, for the most part, a challenge to one’s identity. Tolle more or less says this explicitly. Ozanich seems to agree. Challenges to our identity, an identity which may be adopted and false, are difficult to accept and one’s reaction will be negative and if sufficiently severe, suppressed. Coming to an understanding of who we think we are can release us from this negativity and its consequences. Negativity and suppression are both important but not the root of the problem.
I suspect that suppression can lead to secondary effects such as fear, anger, and anxiety which in turn lead to TMS. I don’t know how this kind of TMS can be handled without getting to the source of these secondary effects.
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gailnyc
USA
80 Posts |
Posted - 04/02/2013 : 09:00:56
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quote:
Originally posted by Dr James Alexander
i think people are largely perceiving me correctly. My suggestion is that (like the ACT people are saying, and Gabor Mate), we need to allow space for negativity- not that we need to cultivate and indulge in it. To step on negativity quickly will only drive it 'underground', but not make it go away.
James
This is a lot like Claire Weekes's suggestion to "accept" feelings of depression rather than to try to stamp them out by becoming manic with activity. |
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Acknowledging negativity -- Dr. James' book
