Physician's Notebooks 9 - http://physiciansnotebook.blogspot.com - See Homepage -
33. Self Psychoanalysis (Update 18 Septr 2021)
33. Self Psychoanalysis (Update 18 Septr 2021)
By Psychoanalysis I mean
Successful Self Psychoanalysis
How does one accomplish Self PsyA?
How does one accomplish Self PsyA?
Example of Symptom Psychoanalysis
Useful Idea/Techniques
Win-Win Thinking
Useful Idea/Techniques
Win-Win Thinking
By psychoanalysis I mean for a person to achieve insight into the connection between his or her thought and the actual resulting behavior, and to keep a sense of humor against overvaluing one's self and to maintain an ability to see yourself as others may see you. If you find a lack of this insight and those qualities, try to acquire or add them by study and by laughing at yourself at regular intervals. A good way to start is to greet yourself each morning with a "Hello, you idiot!" It reminds you, you are not so smart as you may have thought you were.
To be able to analyze a thought and behavior of yourself or other person allows you to judge the behavior separated from the thought it might be based on; to learn the true motive behind each thought and behavior, not only for yourself but for others. By understanding your thought's origin and realizing that it may be just tentative, sometimes irrational, sometimes illogical, sometimes wrong-headed, selfish and stupid, you may relieve the anxiety generated from the thought and you can start to remove the many passing paranoias of your life and may avoid the acting out of self-harming or other bad behavior and making wrong decisions. And you can protect yourself from another person's bad behavior. The benefit is a more efficient living and a happier life, realizing one's maximal potential for success.
For example, my job is to respond to requests for medical reports on travelers' illnesses. That starts by getting a message on my cell phone that gives a ringing to alert me. Not infrequently the cell phone ringing comes in, interrupting me just as I am about to start a pleasant activity, like eating or going to sleep. And my immediate reaction is irritation at the phone's ringing and anger at the message sender. Before my successful psychoanalysis I would typically act out this anger by purposely not even reading the message until I had finished my pleasant activity. But now I have self-psychoanalyzed myself and although I still feel the immediate irritation and anger, I immediately say to myself. "Hey, you idiot! You are being paid to immediately respond to these messages and not to eat or sleep on the job." And I delay my gratification and take care of the business. That is one small example of an effect of successful psychoanalysis that makes one a better functioning, ultimately happier human.
Most importantly, one tries to see one's present goal in life. If it is a good goal, one can more happily and efficiently achieve it by becoming aware of it earlier in life; if bad, one may abandon it. Many persons never become aware of what it is they are striving for or they do not realize its harmfulness to themselves or others. Especially for this reason, psychoanalysis should be first accomplished by age 20 with an experienced mentor in order, as soon as possible, to rectify early mistakes in goal-setting. Then it should be re-examined at intervals. And it may be modified in individual case.
To be able to analyze a thought and behavior of yourself or other person allows you to judge the behavior separated from the thought it might be based on; to learn the true motive behind each thought and behavior, not only for yourself but for others. By understanding your thought's origin and realizing that it may be just tentative, sometimes irrational, sometimes illogical, sometimes wrong-headed, selfish and stupid, you may relieve the anxiety generated from the thought and you can start to remove the many passing paranoias of your life and may avoid the acting out of self-harming or other bad behavior and making wrong decisions. And you can protect yourself from another person's bad behavior. The benefit is a more efficient living and a happier life, realizing one's maximal potential for success.
For example, my job is to respond to requests for medical reports on travelers' illnesses. That starts by getting a message on my cell phone that gives a ringing to alert me. Not infrequently the cell phone ringing comes in, interrupting me just as I am about to start a pleasant activity, like eating or going to sleep. And my immediate reaction is irritation at the phone's ringing and anger at the message sender. Before my successful psychoanalysis I would typically act out this anger by purposely not even reading the message until I had finished my pleasant activity. But now I have self-psychoanalyzed myself and although I still feel the immediate irritation and anger, I immediately say to myself. "Hey, you idiot! You are being paid to immediately respond to these messages and not to eat or sleep on the job." And I delay my gratification and take care of the business. That is one small example of an effect of successful psychoanalysis that makes one a better functioning, ultimately happier human.
Most importantly, one tries to see one's present goal in life. If it is a good goal, one can more happily and efficiently achieve it by becoming aware of it earlier in life; if bad, one may abandon it. Many persons never become aware of what it is they are striving for or they do not realize its harmfulness to themselves or others. Especially for this reason, psychoanalysis should be first accomplished by age 20 with an experienced mentor in order, as soon as possible, to rectify early mistakes in goal-setting. Then it should be re-examined at intervals. And it may be modified in individual case.
Concerning the effect of a disturbing dream, say, you, a man, have a dream of enjoying sex with another person and, after awakening, you realize the sex partner is a man and resembles your father? For many men, such a dream would be terribly and continuously disturbing in its revealing a homoerotic and incestuous tendency. But the successfully psychoanalyzed person says to self: “Aha! I obviously have homosexual, incestuous thought directed towards my father; I wonder why?” He is not upset by it because he knows that sexual desire directed toward another person is part of being human, and also that a thought or dream is separate from behavior.
Successful Self Psychoanalysis (PsyA) gives one insight into dream, thought and emotion and in so doing allows one not only not to be unduly disturbed by each one's content but also to more easily control and channel a disturbing thought or an emotion. Take a situation where a man's mother is constantly chiding him for not dressing warmly enough in winter or not getting a haircut regularly or whatever old moms chide grownup sons for? And as is common in such a case, the son feels furious towards the old lady. A non-Self PsyA person might act out his anger by shouting at the mom and slamming a door in her face, but a Self PsyA person, although he may still feel the anger, thinks to himself, I feel great anger at Mom now but it will really be stupid of me to act out. After all, she and I would just be re-enacting archetypal roles in the war between successive generations and even though her treating me as if I am a child is infuriating me, it is done out of love and caring.
The idea of psychoanalysis started in late 19th century in Vienna with Drs Joseph Breuer and Sigmund Freud but their basic concepts are now outmoded. Freud continues to be honored as the founder of PsyA but today he should have no influence on its performance. To really learn about its modern development the reader should access the works of Dr Harry Stack Sullivan. My PsyA most resembles what he developed but it is difficult to find good practitioners. Ergo, do it yourself as in this chapter.
The idea of psychoanalysis started in late 19th century in Vienna with Drs Joseph Breuer and Sigmund Freud but their basic concepts are now outmoded. Freud continues to be honored as the founder of PsyA but today he should have no influence on its performance. To really learn about its modern development the reader should access the works of Dr Harry Stack Sullivan. My PsyA most resembles what he developed but it is difficult to find good practitioners. Ergo, do it yourself as in this chapter.
How does one accomplish Self PsyA?
First is by having the concept of Self PsyA. It is to analyze one's thoughts so as to control their affects on your behavior. Similarly to analyze other persons behavior as they affect one's own life.
Then by trying to attain and retain insight and a sense of humor about your own worth.
First is by having the concept of Self PsyA. It is to analyze one's thoughts so as to control their affects on your behavior. Similarly to analyze other persons behavior as they affect one's own life.
Then by trying to attain and retain insight and a sense of humor about your own worth.
And by educating self in science and literature and history; and especially in psychology and psychiatry.
And, in the particular situation, by running the events of one's life through a seminar in one's mind. (Or actual seminar if it is in a group.) And in the case of a behavior, by analyzing the process for stimulus and intent and always asking the question: What is the gain one gets from the behavior or thought in question? And what the goal? Finally, to always be considering one’s ultimate ambition in life and making sure it syncs with one’s current behaviour.
And, in the particular situation, by running the events of one's life through a seminar in one's mind. (Or actual seminar if it is in a group.) And in the case of a behavior, by analyzing the process for stimulus and intent and always asking the question: What is the gain one gets from the behavior or thought in question? And what the goal? Finally, to always be considering one’s ultimate ambition in life and making sure it syncs with one’s current behaviour.
Example of Symptom Psychoanalysis: A 40-year-old woman complains of chest pains, shortness of breath, rapid heart, and is panicky, worrying over whether or not she will have a heart attack and die. This results in frequent trips to emergency rooms and tests, and a tense unhappy person. She has an 8 y/o boy diagnosed as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). She has no social network, no other family to pass him to and is stuck with him in a small apartment. Her conscious motivation is that she is obligated to be a mother even though she lacks resources for this child. But the idea of giving the child up is unacceptable.
Symptom psychoanalysis based on her telling me her thoughts (Which include fearful dreams of her dying and the boy being a helpless orphan.) and her often stated anxiety over the boy's fate should she get a heart attack made it certain in my mind that her symptom is an un self-aware attempt at getting herself off the hook of having to take care of the boy. Her un self-aware solution was for her to get a serious heart disease that would make her a medical invalid in hospital and free her from the guilt-feeling of not taking care of the kid. I decided better to initially withhold telling her my interpretation because she had no resources to deal with it and no insight into herself and all I would accomplish would be to make her angry. I suggested she arrange a cardiac catheter test with coronary artery check to finally see whether or not she has the heart disease. This was done and showed a normal heart and arteries and I then gently presented her with my analysis and interpretation and since then her chest pain is gone.
An example of a very simple behavior psychoanalysis helping health: One evening, sitting in office, I get to thinking I very much desire an unhealthy takeout dinner from nearby 7/11 store. I realize it is unhealthy but also I feel a great surge of the urge.
First, I delay gratification by drinking a cup of coffee, which takes an edge off my appetite and delays my doing anything. Then while sipping the coffee I psychoanalyze my reaction to the unhealthy desire and say to myself "I want to avoid this food at this time because it is unhealthy and in the long run will sicken me and cut short my happy life but I also feel a great urge for going and getting it now to give instant-gratification of my eating urge and to give me a hedonic interval to satisfy my feeling of depression and boredom. Then I say to myself "To prevent harming my health in this case, I will keep my mind flexible when I go out to buy the dinner. I will not have the fixed idea I am going out to buy that particular unhealthy food portion. If I see any excuse to eat something healthier first, and by that means, delay the unhealthy food purchase, I'll do it." After deciding that plan, I avoided buying the bad food portion by excuses for not going for the bad food: like it is a freezing night and I already had simple Cup Noodle in the office to eat. Finally, on another occasion, I go out but instead of rushing to the 7/11, I stop at a nearer store and, seeing a smaller portion, healthier food I like at bargain price, I buy it, also using the excuse of being a cheapskate and also not wanting to walk more to get the unhealthy food.
Psychoanalysis even of simple behavior can help your life. The important thing is to always have it in mind as a tool.
Constantly self psychoanalyze using above examples and generalizing.
Symptom psychoanalysis based on her telling me her thoughts (Which include fearful dreams of her dying and the boy being a helpless orphan.) and her often stated anxiety over the boy's fate should she get a heart attack made it certain in my mind that her symptom is an un self-aware attempt at getting herself off the hook of having to take care of the boy. Her un self-aware solution was for her to get a serious heart disease that would make her a medical invalid in hospital and free her from the guilt-feeling of not taking care of the kid. I decided better to initially withhold telling her my interpretation because she had no resources to deal with it and no insight into herself and all I would accomplish would be to make her angry. I suggested she arrange a cardiac catheter test with coronary artery check to finally see whether or not she has the heart disease. This was done and showed a normal heart and arteries and I then gently presented her with my analysis and interpretation and since then her chest pain is gone.
An example of a very simple behavior psychoanalysis helping health: One evening, sitting in office, I get to thinking I very much desire an unhealthy takeout dinner from nearby 7/11 store. I realize it is unhealthy but also I feel a great surge of the urge.
First, I delay gratification by drinking a cup of coffee, which takes an edge off my appetite and delays my doing anything. Then while sipping the coffee I psychoanalyze my reaction to the unhealthy desire and say to myself "I want to avoid this food at this time because it is unhealthy and in the long run will sicken me and cut short my happy life but I also feel a great urge for going and getting it now to give instant-gratification of my eating urge and to give me a hedonic interval to satisfy my feeling of depression and boredom. Then I say to myself "To prevent harming my health in this case, I will keep my mind flexible when I go out to buy the dinner. I will not have the fixed idea I am going out to buy that particular unhealthy food portion. If I see any excuse to eat something healthier first, and by that means, delay the unhealthy food purchase, I'll do it." After deciding that plan, I avoided buying the bad food portion by excuses for not going for the bad food: like it is a freezing night and I already had simple Cup Noodle in the office to eat. Finally, on another occasion, I go out but instead of rushing to the 7/11, I stop at a nearer store and, seeing a smaller portion, healthier food I like at bargain price, I buy it, also using the excuse of being a cheapskate and also not wanting to walk more to get the unhealthy food.
Psychoanalysis even of simple behavior can help your life. The important thing is to always have it in mind as a tool.
Constantly self psychoanalyze using above examples and generalizing.
Useful idea/techniques for a person undergoing psychoanalysis: Win-Win Thinking is analyzing a decision to see the good side either way. Say your spouse dies? One side feels sad but the other says (very privately) “Hey, I’m free to really be me!” A self-PsyA person may seem cruel and unfeeling but, in my experienced opinion, she or he is a better person from all aspects.
Understanding how the state of one's body can rapidly change one's mental attitude. A couple of examples will help here:
Using masturbation to prevent dangerous sexual decisions. This is very relevant for men and it can easily be tested. If you are young man and about to make a sexual proposition that might have bad result, try a quick masturbation and you will discover that immediately after its orgasm you may have a totally different mental attitude based on a sexually satisfied body state and will realize the danger of propositioning or groping. (And replace the indecent proposition with a decent proposal) Similarly in the case of having the urge surge for the unhealthy food and heading it off by the caffeine coffee affecting one's food satiety body.
The understanding of the effect of small temporary paranoid anxieties on one's emotional attitude toward oneself. As one goes through life, daily, small anxieties tend to get in the way of happy attitudes, e.g., small failures,worries about money, about sexuality, about paying one's taxes, about health. Depending upon one's sensitivity and the seriousness of the cause of the anxiety this may lead to a severe depressive reaction that might be acted out suddenly as suicide. The important point here is that if you understand that this is a kind of normal condition that everyone goes through and that you may experience not infrequently when you feel disturbed by such anxieties you will discount the seriousness of the disturbance and not act out. And to prevent a bad acting out, you might take a sleeping pill or a strong tranquilizer or arrange to have a hedonic interval (Body state enjoyment affect).
The best solution to unhappiness and part of a preventive PsyA is to try to live a life with a minimum of small paranoias by following the good advice in Physician's Notebooks and divesting from complicated, unreachable, unhealthy desires.
Finally, using the technique of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy of Aaron Beck, do not be constantly thinking bad about one’s self; emphasize one’s successes, the people one has helped, one’s possibility for a good future outcome.
For fictional psychoanalysis, at leisure, select one and click 13.27 Psychoanalysis Explained, 13.28 The Psychoanalysis of a Depression, 14.(9-10)
Stan's Ideal Psychoanalysis & Psychothe... , 15.8
Nymphomania , 15.12
Psychoanalysis of Nymphomania , 15.(31-32)
Psychoanalysisle for Writer Unblock , 16.3 An
Ongoing Psychoanalysis: What is Happy? , 16.(10-11)
Nina's Breast Cancer (Read Chapter 11 "The Psychoanalysis of Wanting to Get Rid of One's Wife"). Note these are all from http://adventuresofkimi.blogspot.com, the Slim Novels.
No comments:
Post a Comment