Posted by Andy123 on July 14, 2001, at 7:50:10
In reply to Re: The Path to Minimal Pathology, posted by mila on July 10, 2001, at 22:01:04
> I also actively pursue meeting new people. Depression made me very lonely. I constantly remind myself to smile to people and to say something nice even to the strangers. Feeling that I belong to my city, to my neighbourhood and to my class, etc. makes me very happy, and reinforces the recovery.
I totally agree with this. Unfortunately alot of Americans live in cities that don't involve people in the community very well (read: suburban spraw sucks.)
> Finally, I remind myself from time to time to experience anger when under stress. Not irritation, which is more a sign of a depression, but some sort of an angry rebellion. It somehow makes me feel strong and powerful, and I go through the trials of life more successfully, laughing at the ways I used to be scared of challenges before.That reminds me of another book called "Psychosynthesis." Its about changing your personality on purpose, and has a good chapter on using anger in contructive ways.
I looked back at "The Wisdom of the Ego" and realized that I had forgotten most of what it said. There are actually five ego defenses listed as "mature." They are: 1. altruism 2. humor 3. sublimation 4. suppression 5. anticipation. Really there is alot of instructive advice on using the defense mechanisms to improve one's outlook and personality. It is somewhat time consuming to try to apply these ideas, though. :)
poster:Andy123
thread:7154
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20010706/msgs/7423.html