Me with St. Diphna, patron saint of… on DailyBooth

EmperorNorton

Message

September 1st, 2010

40 views

Me with St. Diphna, patron saint of those of us who are haunted by little green devils.

There was a psychologist who conducted experiments with dogs back in the late sixties. He put the dogs into a room with an electrified floor (oh the things scientists come up with) and a lever. If the dog pressed the lever, it could stop the electric shock. For some of the dogs, the lever didn't work, however. These dogs would curl up into little balls and whimper. Even when the function of the lever was restored, they wouldn't press it because they had given up hope.

Psychologists call this phenomenon "learned helplessness". Somewhere along the line, the lever didn't work for me and now I don't believe it even exists.

That's part of the nature of my little green devil. Do you have one?

Following 100, followed by 91 people as of this posting. Congratulations to @crypticfragments for being #91 and #100.

ArdieVerde
#1

Reply

How cruel to experiment that way. I don't believe in little green devils. I believe in levers that work. I believe that hopelessness is not an option.

September 1st, 2010
Hope_Moskal
#2

Reply

I have an evil blonde devil. I have thought of committing suicide just to make her go away.

September 1st, 2010
prayersfor_rain
#3

Reply

What a horrible thing to do to dogs. Any animal. :(
I don't know if I have any little green devils right now, I've been doing good. I probably do have some but I don't pay much attention to them.

I try to never give up hope. Probably the reason I'm alive today, as some days I wonder why I even exist... Ya just gotta keep going. Try again. Try something different. Figure it out!!! Every day's a new day! another chance to try again.

September 1st, 2010
drippydrop
#4

Reply

Hey that was my patron saint when I went through confirmation in the catholic church! :D (I'm now an atheist though.) I read a book by the guy who ran that experiment. It teaches some basics of cognitive behavioral therapy. I really liked it.. he explained a bunch of different experiments, his processses, etc. It's "Learned Optimism" by Martin Seligman.

September 2nd, 2010
EmperorNorton
#5

Reply

@ArdieVerde I'm glad that you are not one of the afflicted. I wouldn't want my illness afflicting another.

@Not_That_Steph_The_Other_Steph I understand that you have a real disease and that sometimes it can be hard to manage. I call my mood disorder The Beast -- something which I have tamed somewhat, but know I can never eradicate. What I credit myself for is never allowing it to win the big game. The winning score is pathetic, but it is still a winning score.

@prayersfor_rain I have days when hope is strong and I have other days when I feel no anxiety, no depression but remain empty. Sadness adds depth to us, I believe, and I am at my best when I allow a little into my life.

@drippydrop Cognitive therapy is a very helpful tool in the handling of depression. There was, however, an article critical of Seligman in the August 2010 issue of Harpers in which it argue that Seligman was promoting the creation of personalities unafflicted by doubt. My experience has been that those without doubt wreak the greatest harm.

It seemed to the author that Seligman was out to create Nietzchean supermen who developed their moralities without consultation with anyone other than others, that his chief motive was merely to remove all their anxieties from them so they could do the jobs demanded of them like killing people for the U.S. military.

I hasten to note the existence of Nietzscheans wearing God-masks among the Fundamentalists which is one of the chief reasons I don't like them. They say "What I did was right because the Bible (or rather my understanding of the Bible) says it is right. Just past that little black book you can see the real agent of action -- themselves -- who mask their selfishness and aggression by parroting carefully selected passages that they happen to agree with. They, too, want to remove doubt.

Liberal Chistians honor doubt. I am aware that many atheists are not Nietzcheans, either.

No therapist ever could satisfy my concerns about the morality/ethics issue. It always seemed to be something they wanted to push aside in an effort to "cure" me. After being deemed a hopeless case by the last one, I gave up on the cure though I do apply cognitive therapy principles to my episodes -- injecting realism instead of either pessimism or optimism into my consideration of my state of being, e.g. "Sometimes I fail, but sometimes I succeed, too." In other words, I consider myself a "the glass has water in it" sort of guy. ;)

September 2nd, 2010
paulnography
#6

Reply

Anything can be learned or unlearned, it's just about providing the right opportunity

September 2nd, 2010
edinguy
#7

Reply

Even the troubled need a saint,

September 2nd, 2010
NutellaCoffee
#8

Reply

as I am a cognitive therapist myself I value this direction of therapy as much as I know its limitations....experience them on my own as I am too one of those "learned hopelessness"-people.
Cognitive therapy though is developing in a new direction, the concept of mindfulness (a buddhist principle) has started its way into therapy as well as other techniques. Lot of research going on.

September 2nd, 2010
EmperorNorton
#9

Reply

@paulnography That's largely true, but some recent studies suggest that a few of us are more susceptible to shock than others.

@edinguy Is that a box of cigars that she is holding? With a shamrock?

@NutellaCoffee I think mindfulness is a wonderful way to go and when I am doing better, it makes for a fuller life.

September 2nd, 2010
drippydrop
#10

Reply

@EmperorNorton from what I've read in this book, seligman argues using optimism sometimes, and realism/pessimism at others. So you wouldn't be 100% reckless and without doubt. Times that call for realim, like serious life threatening or "our company will go under," definitely would harm an optimist. But in most depressive states, it's not neccessary to ruminate and blow things out of proportion. It's a really great book, you should give it a shot.

September 2nd, 2010