Chapter 49 The Legend of Orestes

When it comes to mental health and mental illness, I have advanced or implied a series of conclusions, seemingly irrelevant, such as: neurosis is a substitute for suffering in life; psychological recovery must be done at any cost Stick to the truth and respect the facts; if we stray from our subconscious will, we develop mental illness.Now, let's move on to the topic of mental illness and organize the above conclusions into a coherent, systematic conception. We live in the real world. In order to live better, we must understand the nature of the world as much as possible, but the real understanding cannot be achieved overnight.To understand the essence of the world and recognize our relationship with the world, we may experience all kinds of pain, and only through pain can we finally move towards the truth.

We tend to avoid all pain and suffering, so we may turn a blind eye to some negative phenomena, and may turn a blind eye to the cruel reality. Our purpose is to defend our level of consciousness and prevent the intrusion of realistic information. Psychology Scientists call this situation "the defense mechanism of consciousness".Everyone may employ this mechanism to deliberately limit the cognitive range and cognitive ability of the individual.But when, whether through laziness or fear of pain, we employ defense mechanisms that block our cognitive processes, our awareness of the world becomes poor, our minds disconnect from reality, and our words and actions suffer. would become impractical.When this situation develops to a certain extent, we will have serious mental illness.Even if we don't know it ourselves, it's clear to others that we're slipping out of reality, poor weirdos or aliens.We think we are normal, but our mental illness can be quite serious.

Before our health deteriorates, the subconscious senses changes in us, noticing that our ability to adapt is getting worse.In various ways, it reminds us that things are not good—frequent nightmares, excessive anxiety, extreme depression, and similar symptoms keep appearing in us.Although the conscious mind may be out of touch with reality, the omniscient subconscious mind can always see the truth and remind us to make timely changes with the occurrence of the above symptoms.In other words, the symptoms of the mind, which may be difficult for us to accept, are manifestations of magical forces, the result of powerful forces that nourish the mind outside of our awareness.

I have briefly enumerated the cases of melancholia above.If a person has symptoms of depression, it means that his (her) life state conflicts with his or her psychological needs, so timely adjustments are needed.Many of the cases mentioned above are of course intended to explain some truths, but they can all prove one fact: the appearance of symptoms of mental illness means that the wrong path has been chosen, and it means that the patient's mind has not grown, but is in a serious crisis. in crisis.Next, I would like to give another example to prove the role of psychological symptoms on the road of life.

Betsy is a 22-year-old woman. She is smart and lovely, but she is often unsmiling and appears too prudish.She suffers from severe anxiety.She was the only daughter of a working-class family, and her Catholic parents saved her money to put her through college.Despite Betsy's excellent academic performance, she had just finished first grade when she suddenly chose to drop out of school and married the boy next door, a car mechanic, while Betsy herself went to work as a cashier in a supermarket.The two years of marriage went smoothly, but she soon developed strange psychological symptoms: she always felt anxious for no reason, and sometimes it was difficult to control.She went shopping, or went to work in the supermarket, or walked alone in the street, and often experienced strong feelings of fear.She had to drop what she was doing and rush back home or to her husband's repair shop.Only when she is with her husband does her fear go away.The symptoms got worse and she had to quit her job.

She went to numerous doctors, whose sedatives did not calm her down and her condition did not improve.Betsy had to ask me for help, crying: "I don't know what's wrong. My life is normal, my husband is great to me, we love each other and I love my job. Now But the situation is terrible, I am going crazy! Please help me, let me return to my original appearance." In fact, Betsy's situation is not as beautiful as she described.Through treatment, she admitted and accepted a fact that had always caused her pain: Although her husband was very kind to her, there were always some shortcomings in her husband that she could not tolerate.Her husband was rude and narrow-minded, whose only interest was watching television, which bored her.In addition, working as a cashier in a supermarket also made her feel extremely boring.We began to discuss why she dropped out of school to live the monotony of her present life. "The university I went to made me feel uneasy," she said. "A lot of my classmates were doing drugs and having sex. They were rotten and not working. I felt unacceptable. I was uncomfortable all day and people thought it was me. There was a problem. Not only the guys who wanted to have that kind of relationship with me, but my female friends also thought I was abnormal and said I was too naive and childish. I even started to doubt myself, the church and my parents' values. I was so terrified by the situation that I had to drop out of school." After a period of therapy, Betsy was finally able to muster the courage to face whatever she was avoiding.And, she decided to go back to school to continue her studies.Fortunately, her husband was willing to change his shortcomings and make progress together with his wife, so he also decided to study in college, and their life horizons expanded rapidly.Betsy's anxiety disorder naturally healed.

Betsy's anxiety is a kind of "square terror", which is a kind of psychological phobia that occurs unconsciously when she is in a large public place such as a supermarket.For Betsy herself, it was the terror of freedom.Although she can move about freely, communicate and interact with others, if she goes out alone without her husband's "protection", symptoms of anxiety and fear will appear at any time.Fear from a sense of freedom is the essence of her mental illness, and it causes Betsy to suffer from severe anxiety attacks.From another perspective, it may be easier to understand her illness: Betsy had a fear of freedom long before the appearance of anxiety disorders, and she chose to drop out of college, which limited her mental maturity.According to my judgment, she suffered from "freedom phobia" three years before the anxiety disorder appeared.She doesn't know anything about it.She also didn't know that choosing to drop out of school would only make her condition worse.She realized she was suffering from some kind of mental illness when she felt inexplicably anxious.Fortunately, after treatment, Betsy finally returned to the path of spiritual growth.I believe that most mental illnesses are related to the above pattern, that is, the illness is present in the person's body long before the symptoms become frequent.Symptoms are not a disease in themselves, but the beginning of a cure, and though they are unwelcome and we loathe and fear them, they are a vital message from the subconscious.It makes patients aware that their physical and mental health is going wrong, so they can reflect on themselves in time, or receive necessary psychological treatment.

Like the attitude towards the subconscious mind, most people always reject this reminder. They avoid it in various ways and refuse to take responsibility for the disease.They turn a blind eye to the symptoms, and plausibly say: "Everyone may have abnormalities, or be hit by minor disasters and illnesses occasionally." In order to avoid their due responsibilities, they may also stop working, stop driving, and move to a new place. cities, or forego participation in certain activities.They may also take painkillers, take pills prescribed by a doctor, and use alcohol or other drugs to numb themselves in an attempt to resolve the symptoms on their own.Even if they admit that there are some strange symptoms, they subconsciously attribute the responsibility to the outside world - the indifference of their family members, the hypocrisy of their friends, the oppression of their bosses, the sickness of society, and even their own bad luck.Only a few people face up to their own symptoms, and they clearly realize that the abnormality is caused by something deep inside.They listen to subconscious cues and get help from them.They accept their shortcomings and shortcomings, endure the pain that must be experienced in treatment, and get huge rewards from it.According to the Christian "Bible?In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus once said in the "Teaching on the Mount": "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for heaven belongs to them." I think this statement is exactly the same as the essence of psychotherapy.

Regarding the relationship between "subconscious mind" and mental illness, I think one of the best examples is the story of Orestes and Furies in Greek mythology.Oresus was the grandson of Atreus (king of the ancient Greek city of Mycenae).Aurus was ambitious and wanted to prove that he was incomparable, even greater than the gods, so he was punished by the gods, and his descendants were cursed, causing Orestes' mother, Clytemnestra, to marry a human being. Tong, and murdered her husband, Agamemnon, the father of Orestes.In this way, the curse fell on Orestes again-according to the ancient Greek ethics, the son must avenge his father.However, the behavior of the mother is also unacceptable by Greek law.Orestes was in a dilemma and suffered great pain. In the end, he killed his mother.So the gods sent Nemesis to follow him day and night and punish him.There are three monsters with a human head and a bird body that only he can see and hear. They are threatening him, attacking him and cursing him all the time.

Wherever he went, Orestes was pursued by Furies.He wanders from place to place, looking for a way to atone for his sins.After years of solitude, soul-searching, and self-blame, he begged the gods for mercy and lifted the curse on House Atreus.He said that for the crime of matricide, he had paid a very high price, and Furies did not have to follow him closely.The gods then held a large public trial.The sun god Apollo defended Orestes, saying that everything was arranged by himself. The curses and orders he issued made Orestes fall into the predicament of killing his mother to avenge his shame.At this time, Orestes stepped forward and denied Apollo's statement. He said: "I am the one who is at fault. I killed my mother, and it has nothing to do with Apollo." The gods were amazed, because no one in the family of Atreus was ever held responsible for their actions, and they always blamed the gods.In the end, the gods decided to pardon Orestes, canceled the curse on Atreus's family, and turned the goddess of revenge into the goddess of mercy.The monster with a human head and a bird body turned into a caring elf, who gave Orestes useful advice and good luck throughout his life.

The meaning of this myth is not difficult to understand, and only Orestes can see the phantom of the Furies to represent his own symptoms, that is, he suffers from a serious mental illness.The transformation of the goddess of revenge into the goddess of mercy means that the mental illness is cured, and the whole process is exactly the same as the case we talked about earlier.Orestes reversed the situation because he was willing to take responsibility for his own mental illness, rather than blindly avoiding responsibility or blaming others.Although he tried his best to get rid of the entanglement and torture of the Furies, he didn't think that he had been unfairly punished, nor did he see himself as a victim of society or environment.As the curse that befell the Atreus family, the Nemesis symbolizes Atreus's mental illness, which is an internal problem of the Atreus family, that is, the sins of parents or grandparents are to be blamed by their parents. future generations to bear.However, Orestes did not blame his family, his parents or grandparents, although he could have done so.Nor did he blame God or fate.On the contrary, he believes that the situation is his own making, and he is willing to work hard for it to atone for his guilt.This is a long process, and like most treatments, it takes a long time to finally bear fruit.In the end, Orestes was "healed", he completed the "treatment" through hard work, and everything that had brought him pain became an auspicious messenger that gave him wisdom and experience. Experienced psychiatrists have all witnessed the "reenactment" of the above-mentioned myths in reality. They have seen the process of the goddess of revenge becoming the goddess of mercy, that is, they have restored the patient.This process of change is not easy.Once most patients realize that psychotherapy means facing pain and taking responsibility for their illness and healing, fear will arise in their hearts.After entering the treatment state, no matter how high the patient's fighting spirit is, he will retreat in his heart.Some people would rather continue to be sick, risk losing their health, and put the blame on the "gods" instead of taking it on themselves.The psychiatrist must convince them that self-discipline and responsibility are important factors in successful treatment. In the process of self-discipline, the patient may have to experience considerable pain.The therapist needs to be patient enough to lead the patient to face the reality step by step.Sometimes, the patient is stubborn and extreme, even like a disobedient child, crying, beating and kicking, until finally he calms down, fully accepts his own responsibility, and makes a turn for the treatment.Only a very small number of patients are always willing to take responsibility for themselves. Even if the treatment still takes one or two years, the overall treatment will be very smooth, and it is a comfortable and pleasant experience for both the patient and the doctor.In both cases, Nemesis can transform into Mercy, but the degree and duration of the transformation are different. When patients face up to their mental illness and assume corresponding responsibilities, it will be easier for them to overcome difficulties, achieve transformation, and completely get rid of childhood nightmares or "curses" inherited from their ancestors.At this time, they will realize that they are entering a new world: a problem that was once extremely complicated has become a rare opportunity.A hated obstacle becomes a challenge worth looking forward to; a dreadful distraction in the mind becomes a beneficial spiritual revelation; a dreadful inner feeling becomes a source of vitality and hope; a heavy mental burden becomes a Became a wonderful gift from God.Of course, this also includes the symptoms of the disease that has been eliminated. “My depression, my anxiety, has been a rare reward!” they always say at the end of treatment.Even if the patients don't believe in God, they will really feel that after passing the treatment period smoothly-everything was so wonderful, it's like God's help.