Posted by llrrrpp on July 2, 2006, at 16:13:14
In reply to feeling as choices? » curmudgeon, posted by pseudoname on July 2, 2006, at 14:55:29
Hi Pseudo,
sometimes feelings are habits. Difficult as it may be, it's possible to change many habits, through mental health channels as well other modalities.Othertimes, feelings are choices. While it is rare in my experience to have a choice, I have recently begun to conceive of lapsing into depressive thought as a choice. Perhaps this conception is just another illusion, but at least it seems to be having more positive benefits than the cognitive illusions that depression provides me.
About 5 minutes ago, I had a completely novel "feeling". It was the feeling of goosebumps, which emerged as a mosaic patchwork along my right forearm. Very strange. This feeling was not a habit or a choice, because I've never experienced it before. However, I did feel that I had a choice as to what I wanted to do with that feeling. Ignore it? Freak out and get pdoc on the phone? Start crying? Get angry?
In terms of applying a "choice", my first step is to realize what's going on, take a tiny timeout, enough time to inhibit an automatic reponse, and instead review the evidence at hand. Then the second step is to give my feelings a direction. Hopefully the direction I've given myself will lead me to a satisfactory outcome. If not, then I can at least evaluate what I did in retrospect, having done it consciously.
I have a hard time replying to a lot of threads too, Deneb*. My mom brainwashed me into thinking "If you can't say anything nice, then don't say anything at all". Well, the world is not that simple, neither is psycho-babble. Sometimes the nicest thing to do is to gently disagree and do your best to support your argument.
-ll
poster:llrrrpp
thread:662984
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20060623/msgs/663593.html