Repressed memories are a common theme in stories featuring clinical psychology. Because so and so hid his past from him or herself they have trouble adapting to the present day. The answer was there all along, they just had no means to access it until it is finally revealed to them. Once they find the darkness in their past, they learn to face it, crash down hard, and come back better on the other side.
In the Chinese language, the phrase used to convey happiness is constructed of two words, 'open heart'. I'm not exactly sure the origins of this term, but having an open heart is what opens the door to happiness.
Repression is one of those obstacles in reaching an open heart. By concealing parts of your own history it creates an incomplete self. It may appear to be more like your ideal self, yet in reality all it turns out to be is an illusion, a façade. Much like the appearances of a celebrity can appear ideal, the many complications and stresses of a public life are hidden from view, at least until the paparazzi get to them. Then stories of divorce, drug abuse, sexual abuse and so forth come pouring from the shadows.
People who cannot handle a lot of stress may use repression as a technique to protect themselves from trauma or chronic stress. For those who can, they may utilize a different psychological tactic, evasion. Attention deficit disorder can be summed up as the inability to focus attention on a concentrated task for very long. One analogy is like traffic without signs or traffic lights. Thoughts travel from one to the next without any control of which one is taking the lead. There is never enough time to focus one part of yourself long enough to get to know it very well. Feelings of anxiety or sadness or anger and even joy will be fleeting. It will feel real for the short moment it is there and then disappear by the next fragment of thought that drives by. Happiness, in this case, cannot be found because it isn't around for very long.
With ADD the choice to evade isn't really there. The brain is underdeveloped and lacks the capacity to harness its control mechanisms, it can't control the traffic. Another means of evasion is stress addiction. Workaholics tend to be very focused, unlike people with ADD, and are capable of building up a strong identity and can forge an impressive career. Where they lack in control is their ability to slow down. They are polar opposites to ADD in that they are hyperfocused. All they can do is their work. They feed off of pressure, they feed off of their drive, and their work is the central part of their identity. When provided with time away from work all that remains is an empty vessel. People addicted to stress constantly seek it within their external environment. All their focus is on the outer world that the inner world becomes ignored. They feel uneasy when they are forced to be with themselves because it is someone they do not recognized, it is someone they are not acquainted with. A stranger in their own mind.
Having an open heart means having an open mind. One needs to acknowledge their own self to the fullest capacity. The inside, the outside, the strengths and weaknesses. Everything from the future plans to the long history that has lead to the present, one needs to know themselves and love themselves unconditionally. It may seem overly ideal at times, but it is something I believed can be achieved as long as the right conditions are in place. Sometimes we need to change our own situation to find those conditions, and at other times we need to change ourselves to fit our situation. But whatever the situation is we need to keep an open heart.
No comments:
Post a Comment