Posted by katie on October 18, 1999, at 11:52:42
In reply to Invisible Masters: Compulsions & the Fear that.., posted by dj on October 16, 1999, at 13:00:14
> Drives Them is a book by psychotherapist and author George Weinberg, which I am currently reading. Early on in the book he makes the following comments which I found intriguing and suspect that some folks on the babble board may relate to:
> "Not surprsingly, people with compulsions are often also quite depressed. In many cases the depression came first. The person sought refuge from it in some way -- through gambling or working around the clock -- and in the process became compulsive.
> But even if they weren't especially depressed to start with, once a compulsion becomes full-blown it leads to depression. What could be worse than feeling helpless to quit some activity! Having resolved to stop doing anything evidently pointless and repetitious, only to discover that one can't stop, this is ample reason to be depressed."
> Finally, people who become compulsive often expect too much of themselves, and their inability to meet those standards (no compulsive person is ever truly statisfied with his or her own performance) can itself lead to depression."
>
> Makes sense to me. Anyone relate to this brief excerpt??*******************Boy do I. In high school and college I was always forcing myself to put my soul into everything...the only problem--it backfired and I wound up failing (at least in my mind) In real life, once I step away from the problem, I can take a deep breath and relax. By allowing myself freedom;or space away from the difficulty, I find that I'm more at peace with the situation. Everybody needs a break. I actually take too many nowadays. Also mistakes can turn into advantages, even though it may not seem that way. A change in mental perspective can put a damper on negative compulsions. It's possible to "trade" a bad compulsion for a good one, just with one little change of thought. I've done this numerous times and I'm sure alot of folks on this board have too. We all know how to change, it's just doing it that is the challenge.
poster:katie
thread:13268
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19991016/msgs/13373.html