Psychological Discomfort
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- Created: 27 March 2014
Psychological symptoms or discomforts can sometimes be an opportunity knocking in disguise but not always so.
The stars are not wanted now:put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
For nothing now can ever come to any good.
(W.H.Auden 'Funeral Blues' 1938 )
This could be a graphic portrayal of grief without redemption. Some clouds don't have a silver lining. The pain cannot be rationalised or analysed away.The wounding needs a long time to heal,if ever, and leaves a scar.
In contrast, C.G.Jung wrote 'We are still as much possessed by autonomous psychic contents as if they were Olympians. Today they are called phobias,obsessions, and so forth; in a word neurotic symptoms. The gods have become diseases; Zeus no longer rules Olympus but rather the solar plexus, and produces curious symptoms for the doctor's consulting room...'
(Commentary on 'The Secret of the Golden Flower'. Collected Works v, 13 1968)
In Jung's conceptualisation,these painful experiences can be construed as meaningful. So the anxieties,depression, and other psychological malaise are indicators of the need for actions leading to change. For example, the boredom or depression arising from being in the 'wrong' career; the anxiety about losing the 'wrong' job; the pain of a dysfunctional relationship; or frustrated self development in general, can lead to a more positive course of action or arrangement. The pain of low self esteem can signal a call to arms for choices, behaviours, and achievements of various kinds.
The fear of risk in confronting change may be overcome when an apparent purpose for a symptom can be realised in a way that seems to fit. There may be an opportunity for needed growth in a frightening symptom or circumstance. It is a sober task to differentiate between the latter and psychological distress that simply requires recovery.
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