How To Think Clearly
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: London
Posts: 448
Originally Posted by stonetree
Another example to make it clear:
Imagine someone who avoids, say, dentists. Now say this is due to a trauma, like a dentist almost killed him sometime because he injected too much pain killers.
So, the generalisation is that he hates dentists in general. And the generalisation contains the trauma (the one event where a dentist nearly killed him).
Cbt would probably tell him to be more 'realistic' because not all dentists are bad. And he would probably practice a more 'positive' view.
But the generalisation is not unrealistic. It is absolutely sound given the history of this one individual.
Implementing techniques to be more positive means repressing the trauma even further because the trauma is acted out by the generalisation.
Thats what I see as very unhealthy. Repressing it until it seemingly doesnt exist anymore. Only to keep the facade that everything is alright.
Imagine someone who avoids, say, dentists. Now say this is due to a trauma, like a dentist almost killed him sometime because he injected too much pain killers.
So, the generalisation is that he hates dentists in general. And the generalisation contains the trauma (the one event where a dentist nearly killed him).
Cbt would probably tell him to be more 'realistic' because not all dentists are bad. And he would probably practice a more 'positive' view.
But the generalisation is not unrealistic. It is absolutely sound given the history of this one individual.
Implementing techniques to be more positive means repressing the trauma even further because the trauma is acted out by the generalisation.
Thats what I see as very unhealthy. Repressing it until it seemingly doesnt exist anymore. Only to keep the facade that everything is alright.
If you have one traumatic experience with one dentist does it reflect reality to apply your fearful perceptions to all dentists? Are not most dentists educated professionals who have passed years of training and usually have great incomes and lives and would have a lot to lose by being neglectful. Do not thousands of people go successfully to the dentist everyday? Is it not an overgeneralisation therefore to say that because one dentist has behaved unprofessionally that all others will. My feelings do not reflect reality in this situation. They reflect the overgeneralisation I have attached. This is not about repressing your original trauma, its about not attaching it to all other professionals.
Thanks for making me think.
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