This is a time when many of us are working with friends, relatives who are undergoing repairs of one kind or another. The repairs may be medical, or physical or mental, but the outcome of the process is a hope that they will return to "nornal". I found this post at Through a Jungian Lens interesting
One of the problems in engaging in therapy or analysis is that one expects too much; there is the expectation that one will be fixed and that life will return to normal if not better than normal. Of course, if one works long enough one comes to accept that there never was a normal way of being. For those who become patients in a pharmacological approach to therapy, the drugs create an illusion of being fixed which often leads to the patient making a decision that the drugs are no longer needed. Predictably the patient returns to the previous state of instability often unaware that they are in jeopardy again. For them, a crisis and/or an intervention is required to have them again achieve some sort of psychological balance. For many conditions, medication must become a lifelong part of the therapeutic process. Hopefully, it won’t be the only part of the process.
For those who engage in therapeutic processes that don’t include prescription drugs, there is the same need to readjust one’s life around the lessons learned, the discoveries uncovered by counselling or analytic session. One needs to create a new normal that is fluid, that has the ability to shift as one becomes more and more aware of shadows within. This doesn’t suggest that one becomes a permanent client in therapy, but it does suggest that one needs to learn how to self-engage in therapy. Ideally, one would maintain a therapeutic relationship that would allow for more objective evaluation of the processes underway. This isn’t any different than going for a biannual eye checkup or a semi-annual dental checkup.
This journey of growing awareness of the depth and complexity of self will allow one to find beauty in the self regardless of the condition of light and life.
One of the problems in engaging in therapy or analysis is that one expects too much; there is the expectation that one will be fixed and that life will return to normal if not better than normal. Of course, if one works long enough one comes to accept that there never was a normal way of being. For those who become patients in a pharmacological approach to therapy, the drugs create an illusion of being fixed which often leads to the patient making a decision that the drugs are no longer needed. Predictably the patient returns to the previous state of instability often unaware that they are in jeopardy again. For them, a crisis and/or an intervention is required to have them again achieve some sort of psychological balance. For many conditions, medication must become a lifelong part of the therapeutic process. Hopefully, it won’t be the only part of the process.
For those who engage in therapeutic processes that don’t include prescription drugs, there is the same need to readjust one’s life around the lessons learned, the discoveries uncovered by counselling or analytic session. One needs to create a new normal that is fluid, that has the ability to shift as one becomes more and more aware of shadows within. This doesn’t suggest that one becomes a permanent client in therapy, but it does suggest that one needs to learn how to self-engage in therapy. Ideally, one would maintain a therapeutic relationship that would allow for more objective evaluation of the processes underway. This isn’t any different than going for a biannual eye checkup or a semi-annual dental checkup.
This journey of growing awareness of the depth and complexity of self will allow one to find beauty in the self regardless of the condition of light and life.
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