A good two-part post (well, actually three posts, so far) from Douglas LaBier (of the Center for Progressive Development) at Huffington Post - he looks at our "social psychosis," which he defines as "a constellation of growing, shared delusions; a political-social backlash to the highly interconnected and diverse world that now exists. The delusions include political, economic and anti-science-based decisions and policies that appear likely to predominate for some time."
What he (and others) are describing is the apparently pathological response to the emergence of postmodernism in mainstream culture and, with Obama and Clinton, in the federal government.
I say apparent because, really, those who exhibit the "social psychosis" are really quite sane when seen from within their own worldview and values system - to them, we are the psychotics.
Read the rest of this post before moving on to part two.An Inside-Out Life: Protection From the Growing Backlash -- Part 1
Douglas LaBier, Director, Center for Progressive Development
I think we're living in an era of increasing "social psychosis." I use that term deliberately to highlight a constellation of growing, shared delusions; a political-social backlash to the highly interconnected and diverse world that now exists. The delusions include political, economic and anti-science-based decisions and policies that appear likely to predominate for some time, as Paul Krugman and others have argued. And, they're likely to contribute to more social dysfunction and damage to individual lives, including psychological and physical health.
Because this backlash of false beliefs and harmful actions are likely to be with us for some time, it's important to build some immunity to their destructive impact on your life. In this post I describe a way that helps you do that. It also describes new criteria of a psychologically healthy life within today's increasingly interdependent and unpredictable world. I call it the "Inside-Out" solution.By way of context, in a future post I'll explain why our "social psychosis" is likely to strengthen for some time, but will not last. That's because evidence from research, survey and demographic studies reveals massive shifts building within our society in this direction: A rising desire to subordinate purely self-interest motives in personal life and social/political policy to actions and policies that serve the larger common good.
That relates to what I mean by the "Inside-Out" solution.
This theme reflects a growing recognition that we're one world; that all of our lives are like organs of the same body. As President Obama recently put it, "...we rise or we fall together as one nation -- one people -- all of us vested in one another."
How to Live an 'Inside-Out' Life
Douglas LaBier, Director, Center for Progressive Development
Posted: September 13In Part I of this post I wrote of a rising "social psychosis" in our culture. That is, a growing number of people actively promote, accept or are increasingly receptive to beliefs and policies contrary to fact; that either deny or oppose actions for creating a secure, growth-oriented, healthy society and planet.
I'll expand on that in a future post, but here I want to emphasize that this growing social psychosis will likely increase societal and individual dysfunction for some time, until it runs it course. And it will: Demographic, survey and research data reveal a steady, growing shift in behavior, values and attitudes in several areas that will trump the current backlash.
But meanwhile, it's important to find pathways for maintaining psychological health and resilience during these times -- through what I call the "Inside-Out" life. In Part one I explained what I mean by the "inner" and "outer" dimensions of life, and how they differ. A strong inner life is the core of psychological health. It helps inoculate you against the current backlash we're living through. But it also defines the psychological criteria for success and well being, post-backlash, as we face the impact of interconnection, heightened diversity and constant flux in today's world.
In Part 2 I highlight some specific practices that strengthen your inner life; that make it the driver of your decisions, choices and actions within your outer life, now and in the future.
Read the rest of this post.
And then read the third part (so far) of this on-going series.Read more.Redirect Your Life Towards Sanity in Today's Turbulent World
Douglas LaBier, Director, Center for Progressive Development
Posted: September 21There's an old saying: If you want to see into your future, just look into a mirror. It's how you live your life each day -- through your choices, values and behavior -- that steadily shapes and determines who you will become in the future.
Many people today don't like what they see when they look into that mirror. They see themselves trying to make it through the day when so much feels out of control or dead-ended: Economic decline, with no end in sight. Social and political shifts that are frightening, maybe dangerous. Career uncertainties that no one is immune to. Relationships that unravel under stress. Ever-increasing climate disasters that politicians deny or ignore. The list goes on.
All of these realities of life today impact your mental health and overall well being. Research and survey data show that emotional, physical and social symptoms are rising: Depression and anxiety; obesity; demagoguery from commentators like Glen Beck; emotional disturbances and violence in the workplace.
All of this can make you feel confused and uncertain, not knowing which way to go. How can you navigate through it in a psychologically healthy way? And how to best deal with a cultural and political environment that treats self-serving, shortsighted behavior as a virtue? In my posts I've been addressing the impact of living in our new world of "social psychosis" upon our psychological and societal health. In this one I describe three ways that help refocus and redirect your life in positive ways.
1. Wake Up!
Common lore is that it's harmful to wake up a person who's sleepwalking, but that's not true. And when you're been sleepwalking in your life it's especially crucial to wake up to some important truths about yourself. That's one resource for health, today. Those truths include what really drives your life, your values, your beliefs and your conflicts; what lies behind the denials, rationalizations and social fictions you've created or bought into along the way.
We all have hidden drivers. That's part of growing up as a human. Waking up to them means facing and working at rectifying whatever's been unexamined or unresolved in your life. Those drivers are mostly unconscious and usually products of old childhood and family-based conflicts. People tend to repeat and reenact them through adulthood. As Faulkner put it, "The past is never dead -- in fact, it's not even past."In addition to old traumas are the consequences of having taken a wrong path in life. Perhaps a decision that you now regret, or one that was based on fear. Those can also keep you locked in place and uncertain about how to handle new challenges.
Waking up to painful truths can feel frightening or humiliating. But it's a step along the road to restarting a sense of direction and self-directing your evolution. Examples include confronting feelings of deep self-loathing, or recognizing shame about expressing your needs, perhaps because your parents affirmed only the desires they approved of. It might mean facing up to a character trait you've been blind to, like arrogance or contempt. Therapy can be very helpful with these issues. But you can also practice honest self-examination on your own, through reflection, journal-keeping, meditation or prayer.
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