I (sometimes) find psychology's compulsion to categorize individuals into defined boxes a sort of illness in itself.
Its helpful if you require medication in order not to kill people. But in general, would it be so terribly radical to just accept and embrace quirks as part of one's character, instead of labeling everyone, which implies there's something wrong that must be changed until everyone is homogenous, cookie cutter, monotone, a bland watered down version of their previous selves, for the purpose of making society comfortable by removing any standout characteristics that makes us who we are? It seems a little dystopian sometimes. A little too Brave New World, a little too The Giver. Don't even get me started on Freud or 'female hysteria.'
Modern society is pretty unhealthy and unnatural for any human to thrive in, which is why I think so many of us struggle. Like the quote, 'If a flower doesn't bloom, fix the environment, not the flower.'
What if instead of focusing on finding labels for fluid individual souls, we promoted healthier lifestyles and let people be themselves? Some of these diagnosable diseases come with very positive traits that could be celebrated and cultivated instead of focusing on the negatives.
Why do we have this compulsion to "fix" someone? What if we emphasized empathy and listening instead? People don't exist in a vacuum. We are the way we are for a reason. Hearing each other out doesn't mean we have to agree. We don't need to all be the same.
Maybe some people benefit from traditional methods, but for myself, I have found meditation to be more helpful than a therapy session. I also get good results from journaling, art, exercise, nature, a healthy diet, good sleep hygiene, vitamins or herbs as needed, etc. Sometimes I wonder why I paid so much money to basically complain to for 30 minutes a week, only to sense that the therapist was less interested in listening and empathizing than in trying to find some label, some box, some category to push me neatly into. (Not a single therapist ever succeeded in doing so, so I diagnosed myself with "human" and decided that no one knows myself better than me, so who better to tackle my own issues than myself?
Maybe intervention is necessary sometimes. Nobody's perfect but I'm at a point now where I feel confident that I have the tools I need to heal my own damn self. I accept emotion as a natural part of life and I listen to what it's trying to tell me. I accept myself. I've been seeing a shift in my reactions. I don't feel hopeless anymore. I handle conflict like a pro. I'm grateful for the gems of helpful advice that pushed me in a positive direction when I sought outside guidance, but now that I have more clarity, looking inward for answers is equally if not more effective.
Anyway, I dislike boxes and labels. They exist so that people who lack imagination can make sense of a fluid and free flowing world full of nuance and gray areas.
Wait, did I just label people who like labels?
Hmmm......
11:39 a.m. - 2020-02-18