Who dares suggest the American dream could be thwarted by an indistinct entity a mere two letters long? The CIA certainly doesn’t have a dossier on it. Yet one ingredient of personal suffering and national self-sabotage is the id. Yes, I know that’s an odd, whimsical word, one … [Read more...] about A Participant in National Self-Sabotage
inner conflict
The Politburo in Your Psyche
A politburo is an unelected body of communist party leaders—an executive committee—that rules with a totalitarian mindset in a one-party state. Fortunately, there are not many politburos left (according to Wikipedia, China has one, along with North Korea, Laos, Vietnam, and … [Read more...] about The Politburo in Your Psyche
The Helplessness Trap in Cravings & Addictions
This post is a revised and expanded version of an earlier post, “The Negative Emotions behind Addictions,” which was published here last October. In this version, I go into the heart of the emotional experience of the “helplessness trap” which addictive personalities experience … [Read more...] about The Helplessness Trap in Cravings & Addictions
Mark Twain’s Mysterious Misery-Machine
We all like to think we’re motivated by self-interest, self-protection, and self-love. Consciously, we are. Unconsciously, though, we operate a misery-machine inside us that churns up self-defeat, self-damage, and self-rejection. A reference to a misery-machine is made by … [Read more...] about Mark Twain’s Mysterious Misery-Machine
Panic Attacks Arise from Within Our Psyche
The public is not getting the best insight into a wide range of psychological ailments, including panic or anxiety attacks. Books on the subject downplay the role of the psyche or unconscious mind, and ascribe the problem, as one author wrote, to the intrusions of the conscious … [Read more...] about Panic Attacks Arise from Within Our Psyche