Psych. . . What? | Clarissa's Blog
One of the great benefits I have had through self analysis is the reduction of guilt and confusion. I had both, and there were related to each other, because of the different way in which modernity frames reality. People would say to me that I was acting in a certain way because my ego was sensitive, but that was far from being the case. Sometimes my ego just withdraws itself and I am no longer relating personally -- that is, with sensitivity. I am relating pragmatically, in terms of what has to be done to handle a situation in the most effective way.
They would say, "you should feel bad about responding too sensitively." But at that time, I would feel nothing personal about the matter, as I was already in an ego-retracted mode and acting impersonally (and quite effectively, to solve a problem).
I found it very confusing that contemporary people kept asserting I was doing one thing when I was doing the other, but now I see that my inclination to become impersonal is triggered by a sensitized reaction to threat. In modern society, the threat of actual violence is minimized, but I was brought up in a society where the violence was real and learned to respond accordingly.
So I'm over-reactive to a threat, certainly. But I find modern people quite under-reactive and oblivious. They don't read their environments well or scan them for any possible danger.
In any case, I'm not feeling guilty anymore, because I understand that my adaptation is not a moral failure, but has to do with being oriented to different circumstances. Also the perceptions moderns have about my level of reaction has to do with their assumption that modernity is the only possible society one can live in. They judge on the basis of one's adaptation to modernity and try to turn that into a moral question.
Definitely no counselor I ever saw was able to develop insight like I have, even when the different circumstances were explained to them. The modern idea is that we all are individuals, who at the most are influenced by one's nuclear family, but certainly not more than this. Adaption to the environment is not considered to play a role, except in a way that is deemed to be extraneous to the development of an individual self. So therapists have a fundamental cognitive block, it seems.
One of the great benefits I have had through self analysis is the reduction of guilt and confusion. I had both, and there were related to each other, because of the different way in which modernity frames reality. People would say to me that I was acting in a certain way because my ego was sensitive, but that was far from being the case. Sometimes my ego just withdraws itself and I am no longer relating personally -- that is, with sensitivity. I am relating pragmatically, in terms of what has to be done to handle a situation in the most effective way.
They would say, "you should feel bad about responding too sensitively." But at that time, I would feel nothing personal about the matter, as I was already in an ego-retracted mode and acting impersonally (and quite effectively, to solve a problem).
I found it very confusing that contemporary people kept asserting I was doing one thing when I was doing the other, but now I see that my inclination to become impersonal is triggered by a sensitized reaction to threat. In modern society, the threat of actual violence is minimized, but I was brought up in a society where the violence was real and learned to respond accordingly.
So I'm over-reactive to a threat, certainly. But I find modern people quite under-reactive and oblivious. They don't read their environments well or scan them for any possible danger.
In any case, I'm not feeling guilty anymore, because I understand that my adaptation is not a moral failure, but has to do with being oriented to different circumstances. Also the perceptions moderns have about my level of reaction has to do with their assumption that modernity is the only possible society one can live in. They judge on the basis of one's adaptation to modernity and try to turn that into a moral question.
Definitely no counselor I ever saw was able to develop insight like I have, even when the different circumstances were explained to them. The modern idea is that we all are individuals, who at the most are influenced by one's nuclear family, but certainly not more than this. Adaption to the environment is not considered to play a role, except in a way that is deemed to be extraneous to the development of an individual self. So therapists have a fundamental cognitive block, it seems.
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