Are Depression, Anxiety, And Other Mental Illnesses From Bad Psychology?

[fdrakely]

I remember Leo's one video on Depression, and it was a harsh message to some people, but interesting to me. I believe he said it is the result of poor psychology, and it can be fixed by the person on their own through correct thinking, or something along those lines. My question is - are all mental illnesses a product of poor psychology? When I think of strong psychology, I think US NAVY SEALS - tough minded, thick skinned bad asses. But is this how people should be? What is the default/standard/normal temperament/mindset/psychology of a human being? 

Someone who is easily offended? Never offended? Tough and rigid? Soft and compassionate? Tough and compassionate? 

How can you feel compassion for a stranger who is crying, or down on their luck - but then not be offended when someone verbally attacks/insults you? Wouldn't both require having a soft heart? Soft Heart = compassion...Hard Heart = not giving any f*cks and never being offended...yes no? Possible to have both? Hard heart seems cold & uncaring, dull and full of hate 


How do I know if my psychology is how it should be? How do I know if it needs to be improved? What is the standard? Where is the bar set? 


I hope someone can understand what I'm trying to say/ask. Thoughts & concerns and appreciated! 

Edited April 25, 2016 by fdrakely

[Nathalie]

18 hours ago, fdrakely said:

My question is - are all mental illnesses a product of poor psychology?

I don't think so, they surely have physical, and some times genetic roots too.. It often seems to be a mix of psychological, physical and environmental matters..

 

19 hours ago, fdrakely said:

How can you feel compassion for a stranger who is crying, or down on their luck - but then not be offended when someone verbally attacks/insults you?

You can feel compassion through your own experiences, I mean you "know" how it is because you already underwent this kind of feelings, some say it comes from our "mirror neurons" . It doesn't imply that you become offend by verbal attacks, but this requires mental work, not in order to become hart => it never really works.

You can observe it deeply:

What offends me?

Why?

Is it -partly- true what they say ? Did I try to hide it? Even for myself?

Am I open enough to considere every possibility?

Do I cramp myself by hearing "insults"? How does it feel like? Where is it in my body?

Am I even able to be grateful for the opportunity to grow by hearing any attack and use them for myself?

Besides, emotional intelligent people would never insult anybody.. Don't you think so?

19 hours ago, fdrakely said:

How do I know if my psychology is how it should be? How do I know if it needs to be improved? What is the standard? Where is the bar set? 

How do you feel ? That's the bar set and your measure to find out if you need to be improved.

What's the standard? I don't know.. I never cared...

I hope it helps..

[Henri]

@fdrakely The amazing thing about western psychology is the element that there is no definition about what it is to be mentally healthy. To my opinion that is the reason that western society is invaded by the so called social psychologists, mental health is what socially is accepted. The same thing is with physical health, there is no definition. 

If you want to know more about the different aspects of the human psychological developmental lines check out Ken Wilber`s book on Integral Psychology. He gives answers to those questions you have in this great book.

[IVONNE]

I dont think so. They all different on their own but mostly find out each one separatly with your feelings.

[FindingPeace]

On 25/04/2016 at 10:28 PM, MartineF said:

they surely have physical, and some times genetic roots too.. It often seems to be a mix of psychological, physical and environmental matters..

This is true, but I have another take on it. Sure, genetics and environmental conditioning can play a part, but the beauty with psychology is that it can be rewired. Not always easily or quickly but it can be done. So even if you've inherited some controlling or narcissitic psychology, or OCD related issues or emotional problem (all of which can have genetic roots), you're not confined to this way of thinking and feeling. Doing inner work can override any pre-existing 'condition'.

I tend to agree with Leo's take on things, that with the right kind of insight and commitment, any negative psychologcial 'habits' or neuroses can be changed, or at the very least, new layers of psychology can be put in place over the top.

On 25/04/2016 at 2:52 AM, fdrakely said:

My question is - are all mental illnesses a product of poor psychology?

I've stopped looking at mental illnesses as 'mental illness'. I see it all as faulty psychology at the end of the day. If you really looked in to it you could say that every single one of us was mentally ill in some way (needy, insecure, hedonistic, whatever). Psychology is what it is for each individual. But there are healthy ways to be alligned with and there are unhealthy ways. Healthy ways will lead to less neurotic behaviours, addictions, suffering etc and a greater peace of mind.

On 25/04/2016 at 2:52 AM, fdrakely said:

How do I know if my psychology is how it should be? How do I know if it needs to be improved? What is the standard? Where is the bar set? 

The degree to which you need or want in life and the degree to which you don't have consistent peace of mind, is the degree to which your psychology is unhealthy, or rather, could be improved.

[Pav]

Depression and anxiety, yes. Although I cannot say for any other mental illness. Look up Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, it's by far the most effective treatment for depression and anxiety, much more effective than drug treatment, with a success rate of about 8/10 including severe cases. CBT basically involves replacing distorted automatic thoughts with realistic thoughts. I have had first hand experience with depression and have seen how significant of a role thoughts play in depression. Thoughts and emotions are interconnected. "Bad psychology" is accurate for this instance. 

Schizophrenia and other mental illnesses, on the other hand, seem a bit more complex. I don't understand much about it, but schizophrenia seems to me to be more of a malfunctioning of the brain, possibly owing to genetic factors, rather than "bad psychology". I haven't heard of anyone curing schizophrenia by fixing up their psychology, CBT is ineffective, but perhaps it's possible. The brain is highly plastic after all, its structure is constantly changing with everything you do.

[Brian Noble]

Hello everybody, I'm new here, so I want to say thank you all for having me here.

I have a question regarding depression. A couple years ago, I was randomly struck with panic anxiety with sensations of derealization. However I don't know what came first the chicken or the egg. (Is it feelings before thoughts or thoughts before feelings?) I have a positive outlook on life for the most part in any circumstances knowing that thoughts of guilt, worthlessness, victimization, and lack of personal responsibility are useless. During that time I was on a path to try to improve myself and then all of a sudden it felt as though I went mad and I became overwhelmed with fear and dread with no reason either. I couldn't find any reason. My childhood was amazing, I liked the people I was around, no history of mental illness, and I had a positive experience with spirituality at the time. Long story short I learned to quell my panic and anxiety by learning how to distance myself from the sensations and thoughts involved in the process and gradually rode the storm until it passed. However, now that that's over, I'm still left with feelings of disinterest in things I enjoyed, fatigue, poor concentration, and low enthusiasm. I got blood work that came back healthy so maybe it's a nuanced psychological dysfunction that I don't know is there? Anyway, my strategy as of right now is setting the intention to cure it by staying in the present apart from the "story" of my depression, regardless of how I feel, think only of what it is that I want to achieve from this, ignoring the "story", and acting in my everyday experience as if I'm already depression free, even if I don't feel like it and obviously not convinced of the "act" for the time being. I hope that by doing these all at once, maybe I'll get rid of this depression.

In regards to this, would anyone have a more educated approach or opinion as to that particular strategy? Is there any scientific evidence that would support something like this? Also, what is it that often comes first regarding our experiences, the feeling or the thought?

I look forward to hearing from you guys and again, thank you.

Edited May 3, 2016 by Brian Noble