Dr. Dan L. Edmunds, Ed.D,B.C.S.A.,DAPA.

Dr. Dan L. Edmunds, Ed.D,B.C.S.A.,DAPA.
e-mail: batushkad@yahoo.com

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

FEAR

Fear leads to great emotional turmoil. Other so-called mental disorders also often arise from a sense of fear. A fear of individuals, a fear of society, a fear of having been hurt and maybe being hurt again, a fear of life, a fear of death, a fear of not understanding who we are or maybe even being afraid of discovering who we are or what we were, a fear of the uncertainty surrounding what we may become. A fear of persons, a fear that maybe we are not a person, or our identity as a person. A fear of challenges, a fear of not knowing the answers, or maybe a fear of not understanding the question, or even a fear of not knowing what questions to ask. A fear of not being loved, or maybe a fear of not knowing what love really is, or what it could be, or what we have been told that it is. A fear of being controlled, a fear of our freedom being taken away. A fear of what others may do to us, or have done to us, or will continue to do to us.
This is the human condition, we all have levels of fear, some more, some less. We all have the desire for security, for safety, for solace. If we begin to understand this, we will then begin to understand life, we will be able to connect with others, and realize that the only way out of this fear is for us to journey together. Life is a journey, it is filled with moments where we stray into thorns, yet it is filled with moments of delight. To truly describe day, we must see night. To truly describe that which is beautiful we must have something to compare it to. Thus, we have the conditions of suffering. We would not know joy fully, unless we had something to compare it to.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

On Suffering... Suffering, in some forms, can be very beneficial. The suffering a hurt man endures after a hard breakup will make him wiser about his partners. The suffering of several patients with symptons in common may lead to a better cure. The suffering of an aspiring student stuck in a low paying job may make her work harder for a better future.

With a few extreme exceptions, most suffering can pave the way toward truth and strength. This is a theory once shared among many cultures. It is up to the individual to use his suffering as a tool with which to become a smarter, stronger person. It is up to society to support that process.

Where, then, does psychiatry now fit in? Psychiatry takes the lesson out of the suffering. It does not fix the problem, it nullifies the person.

Psychiatry would have the hurt man taking antidepressents and paying for love. Psychiatry would have the several patients numbing the part that ailed them. Psychiatry would have the student instituted until she was ready to accept her mediocre fate.

Nothing will prove to be a better healer than time and love.