or religions that go beyond catharsis
with their adherents
to help them rein in their egos,
the therapy room
has become the most accepted place
in secular western societies to go,
to rationalize past pain,
and remove the victim-hood from suffering.
How do you rationalize pain ?
ReplyDeleteI have visited a few therapists over the years. My best therapist was our dog Oscar who did not bark. For that and his affectionate nature I believed him to be a rogerian therapist. Everybody gets experiences that seem painful but were deemed necessary at the time. Many people find later that the pain exceeded the gain. The grief of losing Oscar was like that for me. The process of rationalising the pain is one of choosing afresh how to remember those painful experiences to increase the sense of gain so it outweighs the pain. Therapy could easily be defined as 'rationalising pain', because of how the patient leaves their pain with the therapist, and leave the session with a new rationale and way of remembering the past which they can more easily live with. Some people therap themselves to achieve that effect.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
ReplyDeleteI have division of necessary and unnecessary sufferings. And I am with you that few looks at Deena's face helps me, sometimes, to make that distinction and unnecessary suffering leaves..