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Friday, October 8, 2010

Rocky calls it "Mentally Irregular"


The psychiatrist William Glasser's basic model for good mental health is this:

"You are mentally healthy if you enjoy being with most of the people you know, especially with the important people in your life.... Generally you are happy and are more than willing to help an unhappy family member, friend, or colleague to feel better. You lead a mostly tension-free life, laugh a lot, and rarely suffer from the aches and pains that so many people accept as an unavoidable part of life. You enjoy life and have no trouble accepting other people who think and act differently from you. It rarely occurs to you to criticize or try to change anyone. If you have differences with someone else you will try to work out the problem; if you can't, you will walk away before you argue and increase the difficulty. You are creative in what you attempt and may enjoy more of your potential than you ever thought possible. Finally, even in very difficult situations when you are unhappy,... you will know why you are unhappy and attempt to do something about it."

So, there you have it. Your sister, daughter, friend Lorenne is mentally ill. "It rarely occurs to you to try to change anyone." Does "rarely" mean "frequently"? Cuz that would work for me.
"If you can't [work out the problem], you will walk away before you argue..." Arguing is how I work the problem.

Bottom line is: keep your distance. I could be dangerous...

Postscript: This definition of mental health has actually been an epiphany for me. For 41 years, I have believed that arguing an important point, as opposed to avoiding or failing to resolve issues was the most productive and "best" way to manage issues. "Discussing" issues, in my mind, was just a watered-down form of arguing, lacking passion—passion being a good thing. All of a sudden, I see a better way. It's nothing new. I've heard it all before: listen and then be heard. End of story. It's not my job to convince anyone of anything. There are no winners and no losers in the exchange, just information and then the opportunity to enlarge my own perspective and maybe return the favor. And maybe not. But in any case, it's respectful and reasonable. All it took was for some book definition to tell me I'm mental, and now I'm properly motivated to be temperate in all things. One of my edges finally seems to be rubbing off. That took awhile....

3 comments:

Linda Barton said...

wow....how it workin' for ya'?
I am impressed. :)

Jen V said...

my computer died - email me so I can have your email address on file. I have a great 'comment' for this post to share with you:)

Marianne said...

Wow. That's really insightful. Do you mind if I print that out and stick it on my wall? It's a great reminder.