On the occasion of my new book’s launch, I’d like to tell you a story about something that happened to me nearly 13 years ago; it will help to explain why today means so much to me and why I’m experiencing the publication of this book as a kind of “corrective emotional experience” for an… Continue reading From Heartbreak to Redemption
Tag: Emotions and feelings
Art and the Dread of Experience
A discussion of one particular form of artistic inhibition, where artists misuse their art form in order to deaden unbearable emotions. Great works of art have dimension; they contain and express vital human truths. Unsuccessful works of art created in this defensive manner instead deaden emotion, rendering it “flat”, “two-dimensional” or lacking in depth.
Psychotherapy Issues Arising from Bipolar Disorder Symptoms
In bipolar disorder, there’s an underlying fear that the internal damage is so pervasive it’s hopeless to do anything realistic to repair or improve it, leading to a search for magical solutions instead. This article illustrates these dynamics with a case study and discusses psychotherapy for those who suffer from bipolar disorder.
The Toilet Function of Friendship (and Other Relationships)
Some people use their friends as a kind of “toilet” into which they can dump all their bad feelings. These individuals rely on a primitive kind of projection to evacuate experience they are unable to tolerate.
Unbearable Emotions and Feelings
A case study of bulimia as a means to discuss unexpected emotions and feelings and how we try to get rid of them.