Posted by SLS on February 12, 2009, at 12:49:01
In reply to Has anyone ever felt like this?, posted by sharon7 on February 12, 2009, at 10:42:47
I feel so "unspecial" reading this thread. You people are just so well educated about psychology and psychotherapy. I am not.
I don't know if this will help or not, but it helped me:
"What is most personal is most general".
* There is a difference between personal and private.
This was said by my college Psych 101 professor regarding human personality. Perhaps this phrase captures the essence of why another person (a T for example) can learn to predict what one's reaction to a certain stimulus will be. Some people are trained to be skilled at developing a "theory of mind" more than others. That's why they get paid to listen to us talk.
Masturbation was my first thought regarding the truth I found in my professor's phrase as I sat listening to him. At age 18, nobody did it. :-) Well, maybe one person. People knew better, but were still unwilling to admit it - maybe even to themselves.
Now comes the duality of human nature part. While it may be true that we all have commonalities in certain core traits, each individual is unique. It is this uniqueness that allows for some people to get together as friends and others to not get along at all. It is the personality that is so unique and all the things that go into its manifestation.
Sharon7, like it or not, you are unique. That is just the consequence of how we humans develop as individuals. You have very little choice about that. And since you present as a very good and honest person, this uniqueness makes you extra-special in my book.
Now comes the really tough part. You need to come to believe it yourself, in spite of the messages you were exposed to during your development as a human being. If you like to know the Truth, you will have no choice but to believe that you are indeed special as you process your issues. Your journey is not to attain specialness. It is to recognize, accept, and celebrate the specialness that is already there.
I don't come to this board - ever. I don't know what I am doing here now. I guess I have had my fill of drugs for the day. You will have to excuse my babbling. I am sure it is rudimentary stuff, and not all that special. It is embarrassing. Uh, oh. Time for affirmations...
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:879622
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20090129/msgs/879650.html