If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained, you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle. ̶ Sun Tzu
Knowing Social Anxiety
Few had heard of social anxiety before 1994. When I returned to university in my late forties, recovery methods were still in their formative stages and, as I later discovered, poorly invested in social anxiety. Even today, experts treat our condition like any other emotional malfunction when it is anything but. Social anxiety, nicknamed the ‘neglected anxiety disorder,‘ presents unique challenges through its cunning ability to make recovery approaches – productive for most disorders – woefully inefficient for those in our condition.
Although it was apparent to me early on that conventional treatment options for social anxiety were ineffective, the reasons were unclear. After much research and personal application, I embarked on a journey of comprehending how social anxiety sustains itself. I discovered that the mysteries of social anxiety, like the sacred Eleusinian sect of ancient Greece, only reveal themselves to the initiated.
In other words, only someone who has walked in our shoes and defeated the oppression of social anxiety can effectively guide you through recovery. Conventional recovery methods, while clinically sound and well-intentioned, are unreliable at best.
“Dr. Mullen is doing impressive work helping the world. He is the pioneer of proactive neuroplasticity utilizing DRNI – deliberate, repetitive, neural information.” – WeVoice (Madrid, Málaga)
What is Social Anxiety?
Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is a multifaceted and intricate health condition. In the forward to these posts, I emphasize that the distinction between social anxiety, and the DSM-identified social anxiety disorder is not just a matter of severity; it’s a complex interplay of various factors. As any expert will attest, there are subtle differences. However, the recovery process, sans medication, is individually focused and remains strikingly similar.
SAD is a formidable opponent, a master of disguise that withholds its secrets from those who haven’t experienced its enigmatic and catastrophic nature. It is more mysterious than a hormonal teenager, and deciphering its enigmatic structure is challenging, but together we can methodically unravel its mysteries.
SAD steals our identity, making us feel unwelcome and exposed in social situations because we feel unworthy. The condition crushes our self-esteem, causing us to doubt our worth and abilities. It saps our motivation, causing us to avoid activities and personal connectivity. SAD does not want us to be happy because that takes away its power. It does not want us to know how it operates. It does not want to release us from its insidious grasp.
SAD is the fearful boogeyman who can only be excised by the bright, exposing light of rationality.
SAD makes us feel helpless and hopeless, trapped in a vicious cycle of fear and anxiety, and restricted from living a ‘normal’ life. Our fear of disapproval is so severe we avoid the life-affirming experiences that connect us with others and the world. We fear the unknown and unexplored. We endure anxiety for weeks before a situation, anticipating the worst. And we worry about how others perceive us and how we express ourselves.
SAD is like one of those movies in which aliens invade our bodies. They feed off our misery and hopelessness, thriving off our fears and anxieties. The only thing that can kill them is identifying and overwhelming them with rational mindfulness. We starve them with positivity and self-awareness, causing them to wither and die.
“It is one of the best investments I have made in myself, and I will continue to improve and benefit from it for the rest of my life.” – Nick P.
Two Keys to Understanding Social Anxiety
What is Sun Tzu telling us in this post’s opening quote? To effectively challenge our condition, we must know exactly what we are confronting and how it affects us individually. This knowledge empowers us to appreciate the caliber of its weaponry and fashion superior ones, putting us in control of our recovery.
Knowing the ‘Enemy’
Knowing how our social anxiety controls and manipulates us is one key to recovery. Recognizing the symptoms and characteristics of our condition provides the wherewithal to overwhelm and defeat them.
One of the biggest impediments to recovery is our unwillingness to accept or disclose our condition. Many of us deliberately choose to remain ignorant of SAD’s destructive capabilities or go to enormous lengths to remain oblivious to them, as if, by ignoring them, they do not exist or will somehow go away.
It’s astonishing how many clients, after enduring SAD for their entire lives, choose to remain clueless about the easily identifiable symptoms listed by every reputable mental health institute.
The Symptoms
So, let’s put an end to our ignorance once and for all by identifying the common characteristics of social anxiety disorder.
We fear situations in which we may be judged negatively
We worry about embarrassing or humiliating ourselves.
We have an intense fear of interacting or talking with strangers.
We fear that others will notice that we look anxious.
We fear revealing physical symptoms that may cause us embarrassment, such as blushing, sweating, trembling, or a shaky voice.
We avoid doing things or speaking to people out of fear of embarrassment.
We avoid situations where we fear being the center of attention.
We express anxiety in anticipation of a feared activity or event.
We have intense fear or anxiety during social situations.
We negatively analyze our performance and focus on our faulty interactions after a social situation.
We expect or self-prophesize the worst possible consequences from a negative experience during a social situation.
So, no more excuses. We now have a basic understanding of the common symptoms of our condition. Social anxiety instills in us unsound fears and apprehensions that are disproportionate to the actual situation. Social anxiety steals our autonomy, hopes, and dreams. It crushes our expectations and possibilities, causing us to miss opportunities to connect with the world. We beat ourselves up for our perceived defects and inadequacies. SAD convinces us that we are undesirable and worthless.
Knowing Ourselves
The other equally important key to recovery is understanding how we are adversely affected by SAD. Because we are unique individuals with diverse experiences, environments, beliefs, needs, and aspirations, these challenges are highly subjective and differ with each individual.
While occasional anxiety is a normal part of life, those of us with SAD experience it in a different, more intense way. We tend to personalize and dramatize our anxiety. Often blowing it out of proportion and obsessing over its potential negative outcomes. This can lead to self-fulfilling prophecies where we inadvertently encourage our failures.
Living with SAD means dealing with persistent anxiety and fear in everyday situations. Even simple tasks like eating in front of others, riding a bus, or using a public restroom can become unduly stressful. We often find ourselves seeking invisibility, hoping to avoid any situation that might require us to participate. As Matty S. shared in our workshop, ‘I spent high school trying to hide in every dark corner with a book in my face. I never once ate lunch in four years, and never once went to the bathroom in four years at my high school, for fear of having to interact with people.’
Living with SAD means navigating a paradoxical emotional landscape. We often find ourselves craving companionship while shunning intimacy, fearing that we will be deemed unlikeable. It’s not fear that destroys our lives, but the avoidance strategies we develop to cope with it. At the peak of my anxiety, I would circle the block repeatedly before a social situation to bolster my courage. Often, I ended up in the bar across the street rather than the event, a clear example of how I anticipated and guaranteed my self-loathing through avoidance.
Our social interactions are often clumsy, small talk inelegant, and attempts at humor embarrassing. Our anticipation of repudiation motivates us to dismiss overtures to offset any possibility of rejection. SAD is repressive and intractable, imposing self-destructive thoughts and behaviors. It establishes its authority through defeatist measures produced by distorted and unsound interpretations of reality.
Sharing our experiences with social anxiety is like describing an alien disease – a solitary and fruitless endeavor, as others struggle to comprehend what is only understandable to the person afflicted. The comprehensible lack of empathy further isolates us as we face the challenges of our condition alone, highlighting the struggle and need for understanding our complex relationship with our condition.
The journey to self-discovery and overcoming anxiety is a gradual process that requires patience, introspection, and persistence. What makes us tick? What triggers our fears and apprehensions? Where do we feel anxious or fearful? What activities are we engaged in, and what thoughts arise? How do we feel (physically, intellectually, emotionally, spiritually)? What specific concerns or worries do we have? What is the worst thing that could happen? And what do we imagine might occur? Who, where, or what do we avoid due to these feelings?
Once we have a healthy understanding of SAD and how it personally affects us, we will have met Sun Tzu’s criteria for fearlessness in facing the many battles that lie ahead.
WHY IS YOUR SUPPORT SO NECESSARY AND ESSENTIAL? ReChanneling develops and implements programs to (1) mitigate symptoms of social anxiety and related conditions and (2) pursue personal goals and objectives – harnessing our intrinsic aptitude for extraordinary living. Our paradigmatic approach targets the personality through empathy, collaboration, and program integration utilizing neuroscience and psychology, including proactive neuroplasticity, cognitive-behavioral modification, positive psychology, and techniques designed to regenerate self-esteem. No matter the size, every contribution supports someone striving to make a difference in their lives and those of others. All donations support scholarships for groups and workshops.
Committing to recovery is one of the hardest things you will ever do. It takes enormous courage and the realization that you are of value, consequential, and deserving of happiness.
I was recently chatting with Stephanie from Singing Gecko on one of her posts. And she mentioned my comment was Stoic and optimistic and I absolutely loved that. But before I go into this story, I want to take a minute to shoutout Stephanie. She is such a cool person. Her posts really make me think and she has an awesome vibe. Do check out her blog. Okay, now back to how Stoicism saved my mental health.
Basically her comment reminded me that I am in fact a Stoic and have practised Stoicism for years now. I first learnt about it in my first year of university when I took a philosophy course. It really stood out to me because it was the first time I had heard a philosophical school of thought that perfectly encompassed my own beliefs. And the more I read about it, the more I agreed with what I was reading.
Over time, I began to include Stoic practices in my life and saw a major shift in my mental health. But first, let’s talk about Stoicism. I’m sure most people that know are interested in philosophy or know basic philosophical schools will be familiar with Stoicism. But for those that may not be, I’ve shared a little bit about Stoicism and a Wikipedia link if you would like to read more about it.
What Is Stoicism?
“Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy that flourished in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. The Stoics believed that the practice of virtue is enough to achieve eudaimonia: a well-lived life. The Stoics identified the path to achieving it with a life spent practicing the four cardinal virtues in everyday life — prudence, fortitude, temperance, and justice — as well as living in accordance with nature. It was founded in the ancient Agora of Athens by Zeno of Citium around 300 BCE.
Alongside Aristotle’s ethics, the Stoic tradition forms one of the major founding approaches to virtue ethics. The Stoics are especially known for teaching that “virtue is the only good” for human beings, and that external things, such as health, wealth, and pleasure, are not good or bad in themselves (adiaphora) but have value as “material for virtue to act upon”.
Many Stoics—such as Seneca and Epictetus—emphasized that because “virtue is sufficient for happiness”, a sage would be emotionally resilient to misfortune. The Stoics also believed that certain destructive emotions resulted from errors of judgment, and people should aim to maintain a will (called prohairesis) that is “in accordance with nature”. Because of this, the Stoics thought the best indication of an individual’s philosophy was not what a person said but how the person behaved.
To live a good life, one had to understand the rules of the natural order since they believed everything was rooted in nature.” (Source: Wikipedia)
How Stoicism Saved My Mental Health
So, now that you have a better understanding of Stoicism we can get into how Stoicism saved my mental health and has pretty much changed my life over the last few years. For those of you that don’t know, I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety as a teenager. So that’s what I’ll be referencing throughout the post. Anyway, this is how Stoicism saved my mental health:
Acceptance
One major aspect of Stoicism is that Stoics believe that we have free will but also that there are things out of our control. Basically, we believe in destiny, that things are pre-determined. However, how we choose to perceive things is up to us. Realising this was a giant game changer for me.
Growing up, I was always someone that needed control. I like things to be perfect, everything has its place. When things don’t go exactly as planned and even if there’s a slight hitch I would go into absolute anxiety mode. However, I have become so much more calm now when things don’t go as planned. Of course, I’m not perfect at it and I don’t think perfection is achievable. But I accept things that come my way. I experience the negative emotions associated with it and then I process and let them go. I don’t let it debilitate me.
This has been a huge game-changer for my anxiety. I’m no longer meticulously plan every tiny aspect of my life because I’m terrified I’ll do something wrong if I don’t. Can you imagine how exhausting it was for me to be doing that before? But no more. Now, I let life do its thing because I understand that being on anxiety mode 24/7 is not going to change my destiny. But how I choose to react will. I control what I can and I accept what I can’t
Stoic Exercises/Practices
There are a number of Stoic practices that those that believe in Stoicism try to include into their life. Today, I want to talk about two that I practice that have helped me so much with my mental health.
The first one is negative visualisation. This is a technique where you periodically imagine losing the things you value (like your job, health, or loved ones). I know, this sounds super grim and trust me it’s not for everyone. But hear me out. This made my life so much easier and decreased my anxiety immensely. I used to be so anxious all the time about bad things happening. Losing people I love, losing my health, not doing well in school, losing clients etc. But this practice has helped me picture the worst again and again until it’s no longer as anxiety inducing for me. I have finally come to terms with the fact that it’s a part of life that sometimes we do lose things we value. But we can’t let that stop us, we have to stay strong and keep going even when we hit rock bottom.
Another practice that I have added to my routine is voluntary discomfort. Stoics often engage in practices that voluntarily make life harder to build resilience and remind themselves that discomfort is not inherently bad. Earlier, when my anxiety was at its worst any sort of discomfort would ruin my day and I would shy away from it. I realised that this was actually a trauma response.
For me, voluntary discomfort is about doing social things because that makes me very uncomfortable. A few years ago, even leaving the house would give me anxiety. Now, I go out all the time. Sometimes on my own just to have a relaxing mental health day. I’m no longer scared to dine alone, shop alone, talk to new people. Things that would have petrified me have now become enjoyable.
Courage
This was a big one for me and one that was a major trigger for my depression. I’ve always been one of those people that are extremely sensitive to fighting or confrontation. That’s a huge trigger for my PTSD. But I’m also someone that takes their morals and ethics really seriously. When someone does something I believe is wrong or harming someone else, I feel unsettled. But I would never confront people about their behaviour before. Especially narcissists. Now, I’m not longer afraid of confrontation. I still avoid it when I can but when I need to say something, I do it.
Acting in accordance with virtue, even in the face of adversity is an important part of Stoicism. And it’s what taught me to stand up for myself and those that couldn’t stand up for themselves. I’m really proud of how far I’ve come. And thanks to no longer bottling everything up and setting healthy boundaries, my depression and anxiety have gotten so much better. Instead of being depressed that the world sucks, I can now stand up and fight for things to get better.
Moderation and Neutrality
Exercising moderation in all things and avoiding excess is another things I learnt from Stoicism. I used to see things as very black and white before I began actively practicing Stoicism. And that was a really depressing way to see the world. It made me very pessimistic and unhappy.
Now, I understand that things are much more complex. Nothing is black and white, most things are grey. Which is why it’s important to try to stay neutral and objective. Don’t get to a place where you’re on an unrealistic extreme.
As for moderation, I think I’ve generally been a pretty moderate person but over time I have become much less materialistic. I was never that materialistic but I did like occasionally to splurge on things I was interested in like books, skincare, makeup etc. Now, I put a lot more importance on people and memories instead of stuff.
The Bigger Picture
One thing I did a lot of reading and reflecting about is living according to nature. For Stoics, this means understanding the natural world and our place within it. It involves recognising that life is unpredictable and transient. Change is a constant part of it. And that is why it’s so important to learn to accept that and be prepared instead of holding on to the past.
Figuring out my place in the world also helped me recognise just how insignificant I am. Which again, I know sounds a little depressing but it wasn’t for me. It had the opposite effect. I was no longer insecure about those little flaws I saw in the mirror, about my weight, my hair, my body. Because none of that mattered and most people probably didn’t even notice or care about those things. I was just a tiny part of a big world. This did wonders for my social anxiety.
Constant Growth
Wisdom and understanding what is truly important in life is one of the cornerstones of Stoicism. Stoics often practice mindfulness and reflection. Regularly reflecting on your thoughts, actions, and responses helps Stoics become more self-aware. This practice encourages us to examine our judgments and adjust them to align with virtue.
I’ve talked about meditation, mindfulness and reflection quite a lot in my mental health related posts so I won’t go into too much detail again on this one. The post has already become so much longer than I expected it to be. But basically, reflecting on my day and trying to be a better version of myself each day has helped me immensely with my mental health. It’s helped me understand myself and those around me. And most importantly, it’s helped me become a better person which in turn makes me a lot more confident than I used to be. I know what I stand for and don’t look to others to define me.
Final Thoughts
That’s how Stoicism saved my mental health and helped me be the person I’ve become today. I hope you enjoyed this post. I don’t talk about my philosophical beliefs much because I feel like people wouldn’t care too much or would maybe not find that interesting. People that love philosophy love it but those that don’t really don’t. But since a lot of my readers do enjoy my mental health related posts, I thought this would be interesting to them. And maybe a different perspective because I don’t see many people talking about Stoicism in relation to mental health. But for me the two are interrelated and it was important for me to tell my story of how Stoicism saved my mental health.
Disclaimer: If you or someone you love are experiencing mental health problems please talk to a professional or someone you trust. Please seek help if you feel that it is necessary. There is absolutely nothing wrong with needing help.
Lifesfinewhine, a timely and popular website, is a beacon of hope for those navigating mental health issues. Its producer, P.J. Gudka, was diagnosed with depression and generalized anxiety as a teenager. Through research and self-reflection, she has gained a profound understanding of mental health illnesses and the stigma that often surrounds them. Her latest book, All the Words I Kept Inside, is a transformative collection of poetry that encourages readers to delve deep within themselves and confront their darkest thoughts. It takes the inner dread, disappointment, and heartache we all experience and reveals the words of the heart, inspiring hope and transformation.
If you have a story or perspective to share, we encourage you to submit a post for ReChanneling’s website. Please contact rmullenphd@gmail.com to learn more about the submission process.
Unable to cope with fear and uncertainty, a person resorts to denial, repression, compromise, and hides behind the mask of a false self. ― Kilroy J. Oldster, Dead Todd Scrolls
Defense Mechanisms
Understanding and applying coping mechanisms can significantly empower us to alleviate stress and reduce the release of fear and anxiety-inducing hormones. Recovery-oriented coping mechanisms, such as distractions and projecting positive outcomes, give us a sense of control when confronting fearful situations.
Maladaptive coping mechanisms, which we all use at some point, are known as defense mechanisms. These are temporary strategies we unconsciously employ to handle triggers our minds are unequipped to manage.
Defense mechanisms are mostly unconscious and automatic safeguards against stressful situations—psychological reactions designed to protect us from trauma. Although these psychological responses defend us from our fears and anxieties, they are not long-term solutions.
Examples of such mechanisms include denial, conversion, projection, and repression.
Without coping mechanisms, defensive or otherwise, we can experiencedecompensation – the inability to generate effective psychological coping mechanisms in response to stress – resulting in personality disturbance or disintegration.
The difference between defense and coping mechanisms is that the latter are adaptive and promote emotional well-being and recovery. For instance, avoiding a social situation due to fear of criticism and rejection would be considered a defense mechanism, while confronting the feared situation by employing positive self-talk, mindfulness, and social skills training is adopting coping mechanisms.
It is important to remember that although coping and defense mechanisms do not address the root causes of our fears and anxieties, they can provide limited emotional relief. Like an analgesic that temporarily alleviates physical pain, these mechanisms can positively influence our emotional well-being and help rebuild our self-esteem as we navigate our mental health journey. However, it’s crucial to understand and address the root causes.
“It is one of the best investments I have made in myself, and I will continue to improve and benefit from it for the rest of my life.” – Nick P.
Notwithstanding their label, many defense mechanisms support recovery when utilized appropriately. Some, like avoidance, humor,and isolation, need no explanation. Others, such as compensation and dissociation, have positive values in recovery when employed appropriately.
Compensation is when we overachieve in one area of our lives to offset perceived failures in another. For example, a poor student may become a star athlete. We compensate for our negative thoughts and behaviors by channeling our efforts into healthy, productive accomplishments. This process helps rebuild our self-esteem as we focus on our strengths, virtues, and attributes rather than the aspects of ourselves affected by social anxiety.
In essence, we leverage our best qualities to counteract any perceived deficits in self-esteem caused by our social anxiety.
“Dr. Mullen is doing impressive work helping the world. He is the pioneer of proactive neuroplasticity utilizing DRNI – deliberate, repetitive, neural information.” – WeVoice (Madrid, Málaga)
Dissociation
In psychological terms, dissociation refers to the experience of detaching from reality. Dissociation can range from mild emotional detachment to more significant disconnection from physical and emotional trauma. Dissociation helps people manage their emotional well-being by separating their thoughts, memories, feelings, and actions from distressing situation(s).
In less severe cases, we might dissociate by daydreaming or losing ourselves in a good book or movie, which can temporarily relieve stress.
In recovery, we practice deliberate dissociation from the symptoms of social anxiety. This act allows us to separate ourselves from the negative aspects of our condition to focus on our character assets. It provides a sense of control and confidence to objectively analyze our thoughts and behaviors to respond rationally and productively.
When our identity remains intertwined with social anxiety, consciously dissociating from the symptoms of our condition is a functional and productive approach.
Dissociation
Dissociation helps us recognize that we are not defined by our condition’s adversities but rather by our resilience, assets, and determination. It is a deliberate act rather than the unconscious responses linked to our automatic negative thoughts (ANTs).
Theoretically, when we disassociate, parts of our brain become more active and others less active. To regenerate our self-esteem, we energize the positive aspects of our character over the adverse self-appraisal of our condition.
For those who dispute my use of dissociation as frivolous, substitute the words disconnect, separate, uncouple, disunite, or liberate.
When we remain entangled with our social anxiety disorder, we often see ourselves as helpless, hopeless, undesirable, and worthless. These core and intermediate beliefs, shaped by childhood experiences and reinforced by our condition, become the nemesis of our self-appraisal.
By dissociating from social anxiety, we step away from self-targeting to objectively analyze our irrational thoughts and behaviors, leading to more rational and productive responses.
This shift from a disease model to a wellness model is significant. The disease model focuses on the problem, while the wellness model—rooted in humanistic and positive psychologies—emphasizes the solution. It defines health as physical, mental, and social well-being rather than merely the absence of disease or infirmity. This change in perspective fosters optimism for our recovery and reveals opportunities and possibilities.
It’s important to remember that we are not our social anxiety; we are individuals experiencing social anxiety. We do not identify as the injured limb when we break our leg. We view it as something that requires healing. The same principle applies to our recovery from social anxiety. Dissociation is not a sign of weakness; it is a tool we use to distance ourselves from our condition and take proactive steps toward healing.
WHY IS YOUR SUPPORT SO NECESSARY AND ESSENTIAL? ReChanneling develops and implements programs to (1) mitigate symptoms of social anxiety and related conditions and (2) pursue personal goals and objectives – harnessing our intrinsic aptitude for extraordinary living. Our paradigmatic approach targets the personality through empathy, collaboration, and program integration utilizing neuroscience and psychology, including proactive neuroplasticity, cognitive-behavioral modification, positive psychology, and techniques designed to regenerate self-esteem. No matter the size, every contribution supports someone striving to make a difference in their lives and those of others. All donations support scholarships for groups and workshops.
INDIVIDUAL RECOVERY. The symptoms of social anxiety make it challenging for some to participate in a collective workshop. Dr. Mullen works one-on-one with a select group of individuals uneasy in a group setting. ReChanneling offers scholarships to accommodate the costs. What is missed in group activities is provided in our monthly, no-cost Graduate Recovery Group. In this supportive community, graduates interact with others who have completed the program. Contact ‘rmullenphd@gmail.com’.
Committing to recovery is one of the hardest things you will ever do. It takes enormous courage and the realization that you are of value, consequential, and deserving of happiness.
Maybe the journey isn’t so much about becoming anything. Maybe it is about un-becoming everything that isn’t really you, so you can be who you were meant to be in the first place. – Paul Coelho
Our character comprises the mental, emotional, and moral qualities distinctive to our individuality. Traditional psychology and its extensions use the term “character” to refer to our patterns of behavioral traits such as passive-aggressive, narcissistic, anal, hysterical, borderline, and so on. The pathographic or disease model of mental healthcare, the modus operandi for centuries, continues to be the overriding psychological perspective, focusing on the biological and neurological origins of mental illness, i.e., the study of the origins of our harmful behaviors.
The wellness model, a pivotal concept in early positive psychology (1998-), shifted the focus from the pathography of mental illness to the healthy aspects of behavior – our character strengths, virtues, and attributes. It emphasized that character is not just a collection of traits but a dynamic expression of positive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that underscore our emotional, mental, and moral character.
Positive psychology 2.0, a corrective evolution, embraced both positive and negative aspects of our character, recognizing the dialectical opposition of human experience. It proposed that optimal human functioning is not just about positivity but about living a balanced and meaningful life, engaging fully with our positive and negative aspects.
The next and current wave of positive psychology (3.0) broadened the scope of research and practice beyond the individual to include relationships, groups, organizations, and societies – how our character and values reflect and contribute to the community to which we belong, influence, and are influenced.
“Dr. Mullen is doing impressive work helping the world. He is the pioneer of proactive neuroplasticity utilizing DRNI – deliberate, repetitive, neural information.” – WeVoice (Madrid, Málaga)
Character Strengths, Virtues, and Attributes
Positive psychology identifies 24 character strengths universally recognized for creating individual stability and resilience. These strengths are not just traits, but powerful tools that can empower us to overcome challenges and lead a fulfilling life.
These strengths are classified into six distinct virtues: wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence.
Positive attributes refer to behavioral moralities contributing to our character and emotional well-being.
Recovery Goal and Objectives
The primary goal of recovery from social anxiety and related conditions is the alleviation of our irrational fears and anxieties. We execute these goals through a three-pronged, complementary approach.
Replace or overwhelm our negative thoughts and behaviors with healthy, productive ones.
Produce rapid, concentrated positive stimulation to offset the abundance of negative information in our brain’s metabolism.
Regenerate our self-esteem through positive reinforcement and mindfulness of our assets, utilizing methods targeted toward our individuality.
From childhood disturbance to our current emotional status, social anxiety has inundated our neural network with adverse stimuli through negative core and intermediate beliefs, SAD symptomatology, and cognitive biases, leading to destructive, irrational thoughts and behaviors. We call this SAD’s negative trajectory. Our brain’s current metabolism is replete with abundant negative information.
Why Create a Character Resumé?
Childhood disturbances generate negative core beliefs that influence our intermediate attitudes, rules, and assumptions. Our attitudes refer to our emotions, convictions, and behaviors. Rules are the principles or regulations that affect our behaviors, and assumptions are what we believe is accurate and authentic information.
Maladaptive attributions produce a cognitive bias that compels us to misinterpret information and make self-destructive decisions. Since humans are hard-wired with a negativity bias, we already respond favorably to adversity. Add our SAD-induced negative trajectory, and our neural network is replete with toxic information.
We convey this through our thoughts and behaviors and the words we use to express them.
Adversity consumes and conditions us throughout our lives. According to reliable sources, we have heard the word “no” from our parents roughly 135,000 times by age sixteen. Some of us use the same unfortunate characterizations repeatedly. It is not just the words we say aloud in criticism and conversations. The self-annihilating words we silently call ourselves support our adverse thoughts and behaviors.
A character resumé, a tool created and expanded during treatment, manages the three significant recovery objectives. It is a document that lists our positive qualities, achievements, and memories as reminders of our strengths and capabilities. Through introspection and memory work, we become mindful of the qualities that social anxiety’s overwhelming negativity has subverted.
This renewed awareness aids in replacing and offsetting our negative thoughts and behaviors with healthy, productive ones. Through proactive neuroplasticity, they become a vital component of the repetitive input of positive information into our neural network. Additionally, mindfulness and reinforcement of these assets dramatically regenerate our self-esteem.
Replace
Our goal is not just to replace or offset our adverse thoughts and behaviors but to empower ourselves with healthy, productive ones. We construct our character resuméwith positive qualities, achievements, and memories to counter the abundance of negative self-beliefs acquired throughout life.
We retrieve and become mindful of them through recovery approaches, e.g., personal introspection and inventory, memory work, cognitive comprehension, and other tools and techniques. This process requires determination and commitment, but the rewards are immense.
Restructure
Proactive neuroplasticity is a powerful tool that produces rapid neurological stimulation to change the polarity of our neural network through the deliberate, repetitive neural input (DRNI) of information. In simpler terms, it’s the process of intentionally rewiring our brain by repeatedly exposing it to positive information.
Our brain receives around two million bits of data per second but processes roughly 126 bits, so providing substantial positive information, which we can pull from our character resumé, is essential.
A deliberate act is premeditated; we initiate and control the process. Repetition accelerates and consolidates neural renewal and connectivity. Sound, reasonable, goal-focused, and unconditional information determines its strength and integrity. The positive traits we include in our character resumé generate the most efficient words and statements to accelerate and consolidate the process of neural restructuring.
Regenerate
Regeneration is the process of renewing or restoring something damaged or underproduced. Due to our negative self-analysis, we tend to repress, misplace, and forget our inherent and developed assets. These self-qualities (e.g., confidence, reliance, compassion, and other self-hyphenates) are damaged but not lost.
Despite the disruptions in our optimal development, the qualities that establish our self-esteem are not lost. They may be latent or dormant but can be developed and restored. Disruption interrupts productivity, but it does not destroy it.
Like stimulating the unexercised muscles in our arms or legs, our self-esteem can be regenerated.
“It is one of the best investments I have made in myself, and I will continue to improve and benefit from it for the rest of my life.” – Nick P.
Supports Multiple Learning Styles
Learning styles are the methods clients use to understand and retain information. Creating a carefully crafted character resumé that identifies our positive qualities and achievements satisfies multiple learning styles and increases awareness and retention. A character resumé supports auditory learning through the repetition of positive neural input, visual learning through patterns and colors, verbal learning through the written word, logical learning through the patterns and logic of the outline, and linguistic learning through reading, writing, and listening.
Positive Psychology in Recovery
Positive psychology (1.0), which focuses on character strengths, virtues, and attributes, is a powerful tool in recovery. By recognizing and emphasizing our positive aspects, we counter the abundance of neural negativity and adverse self-appraisal.
When extended, positive psychology’s 24-character strengths provide a diverse array of attributes that can empower the client, shifting the focus from negative to positive. This shift is not just a change, it’s an inspiration, a motivation to embrace our potential and worth.
PP 2.0 and PP 3.0 are essential recovery components but do not directly contribute to our character resumé. However, they factor strongly in the evolution of our recovery.
Positive Psychology 2.0
Recovery is not just about recognizing our strengths, virtues, attributes, and achievements. It’s also about acknowledging our shortcomings. This balanced perspective is critical to repairing our brokenness and moving forward.
Notwithstanding, due to decades of negative self-appraisal perpetrated by social anxiety, our neural network is already grossly imbalanced by negativity, and we are already abundantly aware of our flaws and deficiencies, real and perceptual.
Additionally, recovery is based on identifying the irrational fears and anxieties that perpetuate our thoughts and behaviors and establish our automatic negative thoughts (ANTs). PP 2.0 equips us with the tools to navigate these challenges.
Positive Psychology 3.0
Positive psychology 3.0broadened the scope of research and practice beyond the individual to include relationships, groups, communities, organizations, and societies – how we contribute to the community.
Self-esteem, a crucial aspect of our recovery, is the awareness of our qualities and character, including our imperfections. It encompasses our self-perception, our perception of how others view us, and how we process this information. A healthy level of self-esteem reassures us of our worth and significance.
Our renewed awareness leads to self-compassion and self-appreciation. As we recognize our unique contributions, we are inspired and motivated to share them with others. Interconnectedness is a natural and significant progression of self-esteem, fostering a sense of caring and empathy.
Positive psychology plays a significant role in our recovery journey. It’s not just about self-care but about understanding our worth and potential and championing these self-beliefs in others. This moral evolution is a natural development of recovery, and positive psychology is a critical player in this process.
Method Integration
It’s crucial to understand that positive psychology is just one component of an effective recovery program. A comprehensive plan includes closely related programs such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, active and proactive neuroplasticity, recovery-oriented cognitive therapy, schema therapy, cognitive-behavioral modification, acceptance and commitment therapy, rational emotional behavior therapy, and gradual exposure therapy. Recognizing the role of positive psychology in this comprehensive context underscores the effectiveness of a well-rounded recovery plan.
Elements of a Character Resumé
What goes into our character resumé? The answer is anything and everything that stimulates a positive personal response. The character resumé is not a static document but an evolving, living entity. Entries can include our rediscovered character strengths, virtues, and attributes; positive personal affirmations; positive autobiography; rational responses to our automatic negative thoughts (ANTs), happy memories; things we enjoy; and self-esteem self-analysis or other self-esteem inventories.
Positive Personal Affirmations. PPAs are self-motivating and empowering statements that help us focus on goals, challenge negative, self-defeating beliefs, and reprogram our subconscious minds. Providing all the neural benefits of positive reinforcement, PPAs self-describe who and what we aspire to in our emotional development.
PPAs are rational, reasonable, possible, positive, unconditional, problem-focused, brief, and first-person present or future time. Think of PPA’s as aspirations or self-fulfilling prophecies that, through deliberate repetition, help replace our abundance of negative with positive neural information. Practicing positive personal affirmations is a highly effective form of deliberate, repetitive neural input of information.
Positive Autobiography. Our positive autobiography helps regenerate mindfulness of our successes, achievements, contributions, personal milestones, talents, charitable deeds, and service to others. Mindfully retrieving these positive events and occasions encourages us to recognize and embrace the extraordinariness of our lives, confirming that we are valuable, desirable, consequential, and worthy of all the good things life offers.
Rational Coping Statements are the logical, self-affirming responses to our situational fears, anxieties, and automatic negative thoughts. Example: If we fear rejection in a social situation, rational responses might be, “I belong here as much as anyone.” “I am valuable and significant.” “I am equal to anyone here.” “My fear is irrational.” We execute rational responses through the following process.
Identify our Feared Situation. Where are we when we feel anxious or fearful, and what activities are involved? What are we thinking? What might we be doing? Who and what impacts these insecure feelings?
Identify our Associated Fear(s). One way to identify our fears (anxieties) is to ask ourselves: What is problematic about the situation? How do I feel (physically, intellectually, emotionally, spiritually)? What is my specific concern or worry? What is the worst thing that could happen to me? What do I imagine will happen to me?
Unmask our Corresponding ANTs. How do we express our fear or anxiety? What are our involuntary emotional expressions or images? How do we negatively self-label? What do we tell ourselves? “I am incompetent.” “I am stupid.” “I am undesirable.”
Examine and Analyze Our Fear(s) and ANTs. What are the origins of our fears and anxieties? How do we express them? Discovery approaches include cognitive comprehension, introspection, psychoeducation, and the vertical arrow technique.
Generate Rational Coping Statements. We become mindful of the irrationality and self-destructive nature of our associated fears, anxieties, and corresponding ANTs. We unmask, examine, and analyze the cognitive distortions and maladaptive that validate or reinforce them. Then, we devise rational responses to counter their false assumptions.
Happy Memories and Things We Enjoy. These two subjective lists are developed and expanded throughout the recovery program as introspection and other positive recovery methods reclaim them from the recesses of our minds. Due to our cognitive biases and distortions, we forget the pride, joy, and satisfaction these events and experiences bring to our thoughts, behaviors, and positive patterns within our neural network. Happy memories and joyful experiences are potent forces in regenerating our self-esteem.
Self-Esteen Self-Analysis. There are a plethora of clinically approved self-esteem inventories and scales, including, but hardly limited to, the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (CSEI), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE), and Sorenson Self-Esteem Test.
One that we utilize as a valuable element of our character resumé is called Self-Esteem Self-Analysis, a subjective evaluation that encourages introspection and self-awareness, helping us identify what we like about ourselves mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually, and socially.
In Conclusion
A written record of our achievements and strengths is a powerful tool for self-reflection and self-improvement, helping us stay organized and in control of our personal development.
When challenged by negative self-appraisal or automatic negative thoughts, our character resumé constantly reminds us of our qualities and assets—a written evaluation of our value and significance. This indispensable resource helps alleviate self-destructive thoughts, behaviors, and other adverse self-beliefs.
WHY IS YOUR SUPPORT SO NECESSARY AND ESSENTIAL? ReChanneling develops and implements programs to (1) mitigate symptoms of social anxiety and related conditions and (2) pursue personal goals and objectives – harnessing our intrinsic aptitude for extraordinary living. Our paradigmatic approach targets the personality through empathy, collaboration, and program integration utilizing neuroscience and psychology, including proactive neuroplasticity, cognitive-behavioral modification, positive psychology, and techniques designed to regenerate self-esteem. All donations support scholarships for groups and workshops.
INDIVIDUAL RECOVERY. The symptoms of social anxiety make it challenging for some to participate in a collective workshop. Dr. Mullen works one-on-one with a select group of individuals uneasy in a group setting. ReChanneling offers scholarships to accommodate the costs. What is missed in group activities is provided in our monthly, no-cost Graduate Recovery Group. In this supportive community, graduates interact with others who have completed the program. Contact ‘rmullenphd@gmail.com’.
Committing to recovery is one of the hardest things you will ever do. It takes enormous courage and the realization that you are of value, consequential, and deserving of happiness.
ReChanneling accepts guest posts on social anxiety and related conditions for publication on our website as part of our broader outreach into the community. Listening to and sharing the stories, experiences, and expertise of others broadens our perspective and those of our readers.
ReChanneling is a platform that values your voice. Your contributions on social anxiety and comorbidities are not just appreciated, they are powerful. By supplementing our articles and reviews with your ideas, opinions, and experiences, we create a comprehensive overview of emotional malfunction and recovery methods, enriched by your unique perspective.
Do you feel like you’re stuck in a never-ending loop, unable to live the life you want? Do you feel distant from your peers and struggle to connect with family and friends? Do you avoid new relationships, fearing rejection? Do you find yourself making the same mistakes over and over again?
Do you feel like you’re constantly under scrutiny, with everyone around you judging or criticizing? Do you worry about making a bad impression on people who may not even matter to you? Are you overly concerned about your actions, appearance, and how you express yourself? Do you worry that people will notice you sweating or blushing? That your voice will tremble and become incoherent?
Do you incessantly replay adverse events in your head? Do you constantly relive all the discomforting things that happen to you during the day? Do you avoid meeting people or going on dates because you anticipate disaster? Do you beat yourself up for all those lost opportunities?
ReChanneling develops and implements programs to (1) alleviate symptoms of emotional malfunction and (2) pursue personal goals and objectives – harnessing our intrinsic aptitude for extraordinary living. Our paradigmatic approach targets the personality through empathy, collaboration, and program integration utilizing scientific and clinically practical methods, including proactive neuroplasticity, cognitive-behavioral self-modification, positive psychology, and techniques designed to regenerate self-esteem.
“It is one of the best investments I have made in myself, and I will continue to improve and benefit from it for the rest of my life.” – Nick P.
Topics should focus on (a) mental health, (b) social anxiety {disorder}, (c) anxiety, depression, and comorbidities, or (d) self-empowerment.
1. Scholarly articles and reviews
Original and not posted anywhere on the internet. This provision avoids duplicate content that can confuse search engines. However, you can link your article or items within your article to previously posted and similar information. Our posting will provide links to your website and other accounts as appropriate.
2. Personal reflections and experiences
Your experiences with social anxiety and other emotional malfunctions, and how you cope with symptoms and situations, can have a profound impact on others. Your methods of recovery and reflections are not just beneficial, but they are also influential and inspiring to those who are going through similar situations. By sharing your journey, you can empower and inspire others.
Email your submission or proposal to rmullenphd@gmail.com. Once received, our team will review your submission and get back to you within one week.
WHY IS YOUR SUPPORT SO NECESSARY AND ESSENTIAL? ReChanneling develops and implements programs to (1) mitigate symptoms of social anxiety and related conditions and (2) pursue personal goals and objectives – harnessing our intrinsic aptitude for extraordinary living. Our paradigmatic approach targets the personality through empathy, collaboration, and program integration utilizing neuroscience and psychology, including proactive neuroplasticity, cognitive-behavioral modification, positive psychology, and techniques designed to regenerate self-esteem. All donations support scholarships for groups and workshops.
INDIVIDUAL RECOVERY. The symptoms of social anxiety make it challenging for some to participate in a collective workshop. Dr. Mullen works one-on-one with a select group of individuals uneasy in a group setting. ReChanneling offers scholarships to accommodate the costs. What is missed in group activities is provided in our monthly, no-cost Graduate Recovery Group. In this supportive community, graduates interact with others who have completed the program. Contact ‘rmullenphd@gmail.com’.
Committing to recovery is one of the hardest things you will ever do. It takes enormous courage and the realization that you are of value, consequential, and deserving of happiness.
Utilizing Psychobiography to Mitigate Symptoms of SAD
DOI: DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.26023399
Abstract: Putting practical application to theory, this paper illustrates how the research techniques of psychobiography are incorporated into a comprehensive recovery program for social anxiety disorder.
Keywords:character-motivation, childhood disturbance, emotional disorders, Maslow, recovery, self-esteem, social anxiety
Psychobiography can be a most helpful treatment method in alleviating the impact of social anxiety disorder (SAD). Which is one of the most common mental disorders, negatively impacting the emotional and mental well-being of millions of U.S. adults and adolescents who find themselves caught up in a densely interconnected network of fear and avoidance of social situations.
SAD is culturally identifiable by the persistent fear of social and performance situations in which we claim to be misunderstood, judged, criticized, and ridiculed. The irony is that we have far more to fear from our distorted perceptions than the opinions of others. Our imagination takes us to dark and lonely places.
SAD makes us feel helpless and hopeless. Trapped in a vicious cycle of fear and anxiety, and restricted from living a “normal” life. We feel alienated and disconnected—loners full of uncertainty, hesitation, and trepidation. Our fear of disapproval and rejection is so severe that we avoid the life experiences that interconnect us with others and the world.
Fearing the unknown and unexplored, we obsess about upcoming situations and how we will reveal our shortcomings. Experiencing anticipatory anxiety for weeks before an event and expecting the worst.
We feel like we are living under a microscope, and everyone is judging us negatively. Making us worry about what we say, how we look, and how we express ourselves. We are obsessed with how others perceive us; we feel undesirable and worthless.
“It is one of the best investments I have made in myself, and I will continue to improve and benefit from it for the rest of my life.” – Nick P.
As a SAD survivor, researcher, and workshop facilitator, I have found that the investigative methods utilized in psychobiography offer a unique understanding of how our motivation to succeed is seriously impaired by the symptoms of SAD. Until my psychology graduate study, I was convinced my emotional dysfunctions were the consequence of poor behavior rather than SAD-symptomatic. It was then I realized the immeasurable value of the in-depth case study that forms the crux of psychobiography.
Recovery can be encapsulated by the phrase: “We are not defined by our social anxiety; we are defined by our character strengths, virtues, and achievements.”
SAD is a product of our negative core and intermediate beliefs induced by childhood disturbance. Cumulative evidence that a toxic childhood is a primary causal factor in lifetime emotional instability has been well-established. Emotional disorders sense the child’s vulnerability and onset during adolescence. (In the later-life onset of narcissistic personality disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD], the susceptibility originates in childhood.)
The disruption of emotional development subverts the child’s natural physiological and emotional evolution, denying the satisfaction of self-esteem. This does not signify a deficit, but both latency and dormancy are expressed by our undervaluation or regression of our positive self-qualities.
“Dr. Mullen is doing impressive work helping the world. He is the pioneer of proactive neuroplasticity utilizing DRNI – deliberate, repetitive, neural information.” – WeVoice (Madrid Málaga)
In a recent article, I stated the case that the psychobiographic emphasis on the eminent extraordinary limits its potential to understand the character motivations of the “ordinary” extraordinary who has achieved a significant personal milestone. To the average individual living with SAD, a noteworthy milestone is recovery-remission from emotional dysfunction. Putting practical application to theory, I have incorporated research methods of psychobiography into our comprehensive recovery programs.
The role of psychobiography is to generate a more in-depth understanding of the qualities and characteristics that motivate us to achieve and overcome adversity. A primary function of recovery is to galvanize the SAD person to reclaim mindfulness of their character strengths, virtues, and achievements. Recognizing and accepting our inherent and developed personal values encourages us to embrace the extraordinariness of our lives. Confirming we are consequential and valuable.
The lifetime-consistent influx of negative self-beliefs and images generated by SAD negatively impacts the natural development of self-esteem. Defined as the realization of one’s significance to self and community. Self-esteem is the complex interrelationship between how we think about ourselves, how we think others perceive us, and how we process and express that information.
The roots of this lacuna are illustrated by Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of developmental needs. Childhood physical, emotional, or sexual disturbance disrupts our emotional and physiological development. Our sense of safety and security as well as feelings of belongingness and being loved are subverted, denying the satisfaction of self-esteem. While access to Maslow’s hierarchal levels is nonlinear, when coupled with our negative core and intermediate beliefs, the impact on our self-esteem becomes a certainty.
Maslow and Psychobiography: Realizing Our Potential
The collaboration of psychobiography and positive psychology traces its origins to themes addressed by Maslow that stress the importance of focusing on our positive qualities to realize our potential—to become the most that we can be.
A function of psychobiography is to generate an understanding of the individual to learn what motivates our thoughts and behaviors. SAD functions by compelling irrational and self-destructive thoughts and behaviors due to its life-consistent negative self-beliefs and images. Psychobiography lays the groundwork for rational response.
The foundation of positive psychology is a human’s ability, development, and potential. The SAD symptomatic, life-consistent neural input of toxic information subverts our recognition and appreciation of our inherent and developed character strengths, virtues, and achievements—a trajectory initiated by our negative core and intermediate beliefs. It is the role of psychobiography to study the character attributes that generate the motivation to achieve and apply these understandings toward optimal functioning and improved life satisfaction.
The Influence of Core Beliefs in SAD
Core beliefs are determined by our childhood physiology, heredity, environment, information input, experience, learning, and relationships. Negative core beliefs are generated by any childhood disturbance that interferes with our optimal physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development. Perhaps we were subject to dysfunctional parenting, a lack of emotional validation, gender bullying, or a broken home. The disturbance can be intentional or accidental, real, or perceptual. A toddler whose parental quality time is interrupted by a phone call can sense abandonment, which can generate core beliefs of unworthiness or insignificance.
Core beliefs remain our belief system throughout life and govern our perceptions. They are more rigid in SAD persons because we tend to store information consistent with negative self-beliefs, ignoring evidence that contradicts. A recent Japanese study on emotional neuroticism found that core beliefs about the negative self-generate cognitive vulnerabilities in achievement, dependency, and self-control. SAD generates cognitive distortions and maladaptive behaviors counterproductive to logical reasoning, negatively impacting the rationality and accuracy of our perspectives and decisions.
Aaron Beck is the undisputed pioneer of cognitive-behavioral therapy for social anxiety and depression. He assigned negative core beliefs to two categories: self-oriented (“I am undesirable”) and other-oriented (“You are undesirable”). Individuals with self-oriented negative core beliefs view themselves in four ways: we feel helpless, hopeless, undesirable, and/or worthless.
These beliefs can lead to fears of intimacy and commitment, an inability to trust, debilitating anxiety, codependence, aggression, feelings of insecurity, isolation, a lack of control over life, and resistance to new experiences. People with other-oriented negative core beliefs view people as demeaning, dismissive, malicious, or manipulative. By blaming others, we avoid personal accountability for our behaviors.
Intermediate Beliefs: Establishing Attitudes, Rules, and Assumptions
The accumulated negative core beliefs due to childhood disturbance and other early-life experiences heavily influence our intermediate beliefs that develop our adolescence. As with core beliefs, they support our natural negative bias, neurobiologically inputting toxic information that reinforces our negative self-valuations.
Intermediate beliefs establish our attitudes, rules, and assumptions. Attitude refers to our emotions, convictions, and behaviors. Rules are the principles or regulations that influence our behaviors. Our assumptions are what we believe to be true or real. A SAD person’s attitude is one of self-denigration, assumptions illogical and cognitively distorted, and rules interacted by destructive behaviors,
A comprehensive recovery workshop must consider the needs of the individual within the group. One-size-fits-all approaches are anathema to recovery. Just as there is no one right way to do or experience recovery and transformation, so also what benefits one individual may not be helpful to another.
The insularity of cognitive-behavioral therapy, positive psychologies, and other approaches cannot comprehensively address the complexity of the personality. Our environment, heritage, background, and associations reflect our wants, choices, and aspirations. If they are not given appropriate consideration, then we are not valued.
Devising a targeted recovery approach requires multiple perspectives from different psychological and scientific schools of thought developed through client trust, cultural assimilation, and therapeutic innovation.
A collaboration of science and East-West psychologies is essential to capture the diversity of human thought and experience. Science gives us proactive neuroplasticity: cognitive-behavioral modification, positive psychology, and psychobiography are western-oriented; and eastern practices provide the therapeutic benefits of Buddhist psychology. As well as a sense of self that embraces the positive qualities of the individual.
The qualitative and quantitative research elements of psychobiography, including the case study, hermeneutics, interpretations and explanations, personal data and evidence, and the narrative are useful tools for understanding the impact of SAD on our self-beliefs and images.
Quantitative and Qualitative Research
Quantitative research involves the empirical investigation of observable and measurable variables. It is used for testing theory, predicting and illustrating outcomes, and considering clinically-supported techniques. Quantitative research generates hypotheses and helps determine research and recovery strategies. It can include data-driven research, scales, personal inventories, and comparative or correlational studies. Although conceived as focusing on data articulated numerically, quantitative analysis is also used to study feared situations and the severity of anxiety.
Qualitative research provides a close-up look at the human side of SAD relative to behaviors, beliefs, emotions, and relationships, supported by such intangible factors as social norms, ethnicity, socio-economic status, philosophy, and religion. A comprehensive study of the status and motivations of a SAD person is partially compiled through interviews, open-ended questions, and opinion research to gain insight into perceptions and belief systems.
In-Depth Case-Study
The psychobiographic in-depth case study is a reconstructive clinical and systematic analysis of the life and productivity of an individual. The key is the availability of evidence. Accessing therapeutic notes and conclusions is legally impermissible. The workshop facilitator must lean heavily on experience and innovative methods of discovery.
A case study of a recovering SAD person relies heavily on personal interviews– testimony that is conditional and truthful to the extent that the individual believes it or needs the facilitator to believe it. Clinically-supported scales and inventories are useful, and statistical research and studies are abundant. Comparative and correlational evidence supports conclusions.
Interpretations and Explanations
Psychobiography is an interpretation of the life of individuals, extraordinary or otherwise. Interpretations and explanations compensate for the physiological and psychological resistance to personal revelation. Recollections are highly subject to inaccuracies.
We must ask ourselves, to what extent are memories of subjective experiences and events accurate portrayals of what happened, wistful recollections, or biased reconstructions? Whether correctly recalled or not, memories and recollections must be valued as authentic perceptions of the reality of the individual. In the case of Michael Z., his recollections of childhood physical and emotional abuse helped him understand and mitigate his avoidance of trust and intimacy.
Interpretation permeates all investigations from data to statistics, the case study, and hermeneutics. Psychobiography is an intuitive, interpretive method of comprehension based upon the synthesis of evidence culled from all available, relevant sources. Therapists must partially base their diagnosis on the interpretation of observable behaviors.
A facilitator must consider the multiplicities of truth. Which means different things to different people and is contingent upon the validity of the information provided by the subject. We must be willing to risk and value our interpretations, instincts, and even speculations while remaining cognizant that we are susceptible to incorporating personal sensibilities and subject to imperfect conclusions, due to the vagaries and ambiguities of the subject.
Hermeneutics
Hermeneutics is essential to recovery due to the core beliefs of the child impacted by a dysfunction-provoking disturbance. The disruption in emotional development coupled with unjustifiable shame and guilt generates negative and often hostile perspectives in early learning which leans heavily on morality and religion. The unjustifiable shame and guilt expressed by Matty S. was a reliable indicator of his sense of undesirability and worthlessness. Recognizing his non-accountability for onset allowed him to realize the irrationality of his adverse moral emotions.
The negative belief system of the susceptible child cognitively distorts their understanding of self. And their relationship with others and the world. A major function of recovery is alleviating these irrational beliefs. This entails identifying and examining our disruptive thoughts and behaviors and generating rational responses, while proactively repatterning our neural network.
Narrative
The narrative aspect of psychobiography favors the “ordinary” extraordinary because of their ability to access experiences. While the narrative of the average individual may lack spectacularism it does not impede creativity. Every SAD individual’s life is distinctive, consisting of unique experiences, beliefs, and sensibilities. How we express that information is subject to our self-beliefs and images. Through the interview and narrative process, Liz D. could rationally comprehend and mitigate her intense situational fear of constructive confrontation. Its complex origins stemmed from her adolescent intermediate self-beliefs. The role of the personal narrative in addressing negative self-perceptions is significant.
Concluding Thoughts
This article illustrates the value of psychobiography in constructing an individually targeted approach to recovery from social anxiety disorder. A psychobiography generates hypotheses and helps determine recovery strategies. While offering a close-up look at the human side of SAD relative to behaviors, beliefs, emotions, and relationships. It provides support in evaluating and treating the individual within the workshop gestalt.
The investigative methods utilized in psychobiography, including the case study, hermeneutics, interview, narrative, and the relevant social sciences, are valuable to understanding the trajectory of and methods to alleviate life-consistent negative self-beliefs and images. Less reliable is the availability of an informed case study and personal data and evidence. This lacuna is compensated by the experienced facilitator’s interpretation of common threads in SAD recovery. Supported by statistical research and comparative and correlational evidence.
Clio’s Psyche is a peer-reviewed, scholarly journal, founded in 1994, and published by the Psychohistory Forum, holding regular scholarly meetings in Manhattan and at international conventions. Clio’s Psyche is unique in that it prefers experiential testimony over extensive citation.
WHY IS YOUR SUPPORT SO NECESSARY AND ESSENTIAL? ReChanneling develops and implements programs to (1) mitigate symptoms of social anxiety and related conditions and (2) pursue personal goals and objectives – harnessing our intrinsic aptitude for extraordinary living. Our paradigmatic approach targets the personality through empathy, collaboration, and program integration utilizing neuroscience and psychology, including proactive neuroplasticity, cognitive-behavioral modification, positive psychology, and techniques designed to regenerate self-esteem. All donations support scholarships for groups and workshops.
INDIVIDUAL RECOVERY. The symptoms of social anxiety make it challenging for some to participate in a collective workshop. Dr. Mullen works one-on-one with a select group of individuals uneasy in a group setting. ReChanneling offers scholarships to accommodate the costs. What is absent in group activities is provided in our monthly, no-cost Graduate Recovery Group. In this supportive community, graduates interact with others who have completed the program. Contact ‘rmullenphd@gmail.com’.
Committing to recovery is one of the hardest things you will ever do. It takes enormous courage and the realization that you are of value, consequential, and deserving of happiness.
Today, I wanted to share my Blogger Interview with Robert F. Mullen, the latest episode of my podcast. I’ve known him for a really long time thanks to blogging and I have really admired the work he does. As you will notice if you decide to visit his site, he has a doctorate and his area of expertise is social anxiety.
In this interview, we talk about so many things but in particular we focused on mental health and social anxiety. These topics are actually quite personal to me because I’ve been suffering from both depression and social anxiety since I was a teenager. And as he mentions in the interview, these two disorders often go hand in hand.
Robert F. Mullen’s approach is quite different from what I have seen, read and heard about social anxiety. And since he was someone who once suffered from social anxiety himself, I think he has a really accurate idea of what it’s like. He views recovery from social anxiety as “a collaboration of science, philosophy, and psychology” and believes that therefore its remedy must be thought of in the same way.
And from my own experiences with social anxiety, I can’t help but agree. When it comes to research about mental health, I find that it’s always from a specific lens. It focuses on science or psychology or other aspects. But the truth is, for a lot of people at least, it’s a combination of everything that causes the disorder.
If this sort of content sounds interesting to you, check out our interview below. And don’t forget to check out his site. It’s truly a mine of information.
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Lifesfinewhine, a pioneering international website from Kenya, offers invaluable insights into mental health issues. The site’s producer, Pooja G, was diagnosed with depression and social anxiety as a teenager. Her journey, marked by rigorous research and deep self-reflection, has given her a profound understanding of mental health illnesses and the stigma that often surrounds them.
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Comments
“Another very interesting and informative interview. I was particularly uplifted, by the fact that he went through so many transitions in life, before finding his true calling. I admire his approach to his practice. His clients… his life.” – byngnigel
“Another great interview. I love how he is for the underdog.” – Joseph Glidden
“That was a wonderful interview! I am also someone who suffers from social anxiety, thanks for all the work you do Robert!” – Carol anne
”Great interview with Robert Mullen… I love his approach coming from his own background and passing it on to support others.” – Cindy Georgakas
What is your truth? What is your secret? What secrets are you keeping from the world that you hope one day you will be brave enough to tell? When will you tell your heart? All The Words I Kept Inside allows you this moment.
This collection of poetry urges you to look deeply inside and confront your darkest thoughts. It takes that inner dread, disappointment, and heartache to reveal the words of the heart. This book will show you that you are not alone. That you are understood. That you don’t have to go through these dark moments on your own because so many of us experience them too. The words found inside will reach out a hand and guide you. Amazon Books
WHY IS YOUR SUPPORT SO NECESSARY AND ESSENTIAL?ReChanneling develops and conducts programs to alleviate the symptoms of social anxiety and help individuals tap into their innate potential for extraordinary living. Our unique approach focuses on understanding personality through empathy and collaboration, integrating neuroscience and psychology. This includes proactive neuroplasticity, cognitive-behavioral modification, positive psychology, and techniques designed to reclaim and rebuild self-esteem. Every contribution, no matter the size, supports individuals striving to make a positive change in their own lives and the lives of others. All donations go towards scholarships for groups and workshops.
Committing to recovery is one of the hardest things you will ever do. It takes enormous courage and the realization that you are of value, consequential, and deserving of happiness.
“Dr. Mullen is doing impressive work helping the world. He is the pioneer of proactive neuroplasticity utilizing DRNI—deliberate, repetitive, neural information.” — WeVoice (Madrid, Málaga)
This series of videos explains how, through proactive neuroplasticity, we compel our neural network to repattern its neural circuitry, generating a correlated change in behavior and perspective. The deliberate, repetitive neural input (DRNI) of information dramatically accelerates and consolidates learning through synaptic neurotransmission.
The series further describes how we replace or overwhelm our negative thoughts and behaviors through CBT, proactive and active neuroplasticity, positive psychology, psychoeducation, roleplay, gradual exposure, and other individually targeted approaches.
This 8th video in our series discusses recovery from social anxiety and related conditions by establishing coping mechanisms.
Coping Mechanisms, Part 1
Social anxiety is culturally identifiable by the persistent fear and avoidance of social interaction and performance situations. Which causes us to miss the life experiences that connect us with the world. Adaptive coping mechanisms help us cope with stress, anxiety, and their provoking triggers.
Our primary recovery goal is the dramatic alleviation of our irrational fears, anxieties, and their triggers. We achieve this through a three-pronged approach where we:
Replace or overwhelm our negative thoughts and behaviors with healthy, productive ones.
Produce rapid, concentrated positive stimulation to offset the abundance of negative information in our brain’s metabolism.
Regenerate our self-esteem through positive reinforcement and mindfulness of our assets, utilizing methods targeted toward our individuality.
Coping Strategies versus Coping Mechanisms
Coping strategies are the methods or approaches that best execute our three objectives. In recovery workshops, we emphasize response-focused and solution-focused strategies. But multiple complementary strategies are utilized. Including problem and emotion-focused coping strategies that help us manage our response to feared situations.
Coping mechanisms are tools and techniques that implement our strategies. Tools and techniques that help us cope with stress, anxiety, and their corresponding triggers. They range from practiced skills in recovery to everyday stress reduction, like gardening, journaling, and listening to music. Coping Mechanisms, Part 1 focuses on the psychological benefits of coping methods and the three primary mechanisms: grounding, reframing, and rational response.
Coping mechanisms are adaptive – they can be tailored to our individual needs and circumstances, positively contributing to our emotional well-being. These empower us to manage our reactions and response to feared situations, giving us control over our recovery journey.
Video Series #8: Coping Mechanisms, Part 1
Coping mechanisms are tools and techniques that help us manage and alleviate our situational anxieties and stress triggers. Part 1 focuses on the psychological benefits of coping methods and the three primary mechanisms – grounding, reframing, and rational response. In Part 2, or video #9, we’ll delve into secondary coping mechanisms and their appropriate utilization, providing a comprehensive understanding of the most effective coping strategies for mitigating our situational fears and anxieties. LINK
Video Series #7: Constructing Our Neural Information
Neural information is constructed by establishing our goal, identifying the objectives or steps we take to implement that goal, and determining the Information – the self-affirming or motivating statement we deliberately and repetitively input into our neural network. We want our information to be authentic and of sound construction to engage the full capacity of positive neural response. The integrity of our goal, objectives, and information correlates to the durability and efficacy of the neural response. LINK
Video Series #6: Affirmative Visualization
By visualizing a positive outcome prior to a feared situation, we experience behaving a certain way in a realistic scenario and, through repetition, attain an authentic shift in our behavior and perspective. It is a form of proactive neuroplasticity, and all the neural benefits of that science are accrued. Just as our neural network cannot distinguish between toxic and healthy information, it also does not distinguish whether we are physically experiencing something or imagining it. LINK
Video Series #5: Challenging Our Self-Destructive Thoughts
In this video, we focus on the trajectory of our self-destructive thoughts that impact our emotional wellbeing and quality of life. They originate with our negative core beliefs generated by our disorder which influence our intermediate beliefs from life experiences and form our ANTs or automatic negative thoughts that underscore our situational fears and anxieties. LINK
Video Series #4: The Power of Positive Personal Affirmations
We drastically underestimate the significance and effectiveness of PPAs because we do not understand the science behind them. PPAs are brief, individually focused statements that we repeat to ourselves to describe what and who we want to be. PPAs help us focus on goals, challenge negative, self-defeating beliefs, and reprogram our subconscious minds. Practicing positive personal affirmations is an extremely effective form of DRNI or the deliberate, repetitive input of neural information that supports proactive neuroplasticity. LINK
Video Series #3: Tools and Techniques
Proactive neuroplasticity is the process of deliberately and repetitively inputting positive information into our neural network to consolidate learning and unlearning. What is that information? How is it constructed? The objective is to ensure the information is of the highest quality to effect change. What are the best tools and techniques? What methodologies and psychological support systems are best suited to support proactive neuroplasticity – to help us unlearn the toxicity of negative self-beliefs, replacing them with healthy, positive ones. LINK
Video Series #2: Three Forms of Neuroplasticity
Reactive neuroplasticity is our brain’s natural adaptation to sensory information. Active neuroplasticity is neural information acquired through conscious activity, which includes all forms of deliberate learning. Proactive neuroplasticity is the conscious, intentional repatterning of our neural network utilizing tools and techniques that facilitate the process. The deliberate, repetitive, input of neural information empowers us to proactively transform our thoughts and behaviors, creating healthy new mindsets, skills, and abilities. LINK
Video Series #1: Introduction
Research has established that our neural network is a dynamic organism, constantly adapting and rebuilding to each new input of information. Scientists refer to the process of neuroplasticity as the structural remodeling of the brain. By deliberately enhancing the process, we can proactively transform our thoughts, behaviors, and perspectives, creating healthy new mindsets, skills, and abilities. All information notifies our neural pathways to restructure, generating a correlated change in behavior and perspective. LINK
The video series describes the evolution of the science of neuroplasticity, differentiating reactive and active from proactive neural input. Videos diagram the trajectory of neural information. And how it impacts the various lobes of the human brain responsible for cognitive learning. The neural input of data, coded into electrical energy, causes a receptive neuron to fire that energy onto a sensory neuron. Which forwards the information to millions of participating neurons.
Benefits of Neural Restructuring
The videos demonstrate how this cellular chain reaction reciprocates that initial electrical energy in abundance due to the amplified neural response. Positive information input, positive energy multiplied millions of times, positive energy reciprocated in abundance. Each neural input of information impacts millions of neurons as they restructure our neural network to a form conducive to a positive self-image.
Subsequently, the natural hormonal neurotransmissions reward our activity with GABA for relaxation, dopamine for pleasure, endorphins for euphoria, serotonin for a sense of well-being, and hormones that support our motivation, enhance our memory, and improve concentration.
However, since our brain doesn’t distinguish healthy from toxic information, the neurotransmission of pleasurable and motivational hormones happens whether we feed it self-destructive or constructive information. That’s one of the reasons breaking a habit, keeping to a resolution, or achieving our desired goal is challenging. And why positive informational input is crucial for recovery and self-transformation.
“It is one of the best investments I have made in myself, and I will continue to improve and benefit from it for the rest of my life.” – Nick P.
Contemporary wisdom disputes the effectiveness of one-size-fits-all approaches to behavioral modification. So these videos evidence how integrating science and east-west psychologies is best suited to positively modifying our thoughts and behaviors. Science gives us proactive neuroplasticity, cognitive-behavioral modification, and positive psychology’s optimal functioning, which are Western approaches. Eastern practices give us Abhidharma psychology and the overarching truths of ethical behavior.
Our core and intermediate beliefs condition our neural system. Childhood disturbance and emotional malfunction negatively impact these beliefs, generating negative self-appraisal that affects our emotional well-being and quality of life.
The mechanics of Hebbian Learning define how the repeated proactive input of information correlates to more robust and practical learning. Hebb’s rule states the more repetitions, the quicker and stronger the connections. Harmful behaviors are unlearned, and healthy ones are adopted through deliberate and calculated activity. Negative core and intermediate beliefs are challenged and replaced by healthy and life-affirming ones. Videos demonstrate how deliberate, repetitive neural information alleviates emotional malfunction and empowers us to achieve our goals and objectives.
Proactive neuroplasticity is theoretically simple but challenging due to the commitment and endurance required for the long-term, repetitive process. We advance to Wimbledon with decades of practice on the courts. Philharmonics cater to pianists who have spent years at the keyboard. Proactive neuroplasticity requires a calculated regimen of deliberate, repetitive neural information that is tedious and fails to deliver immediate tangible results. Causing us to readily concede defeat and abandon hope in this era of instant gratification.
The positive impact of proactive neuroplasticity is exponential due to the abundant reciprocation of positive electrical energy and the neurotransmission of hormones that generate motivation, persistence, and perseverance. Proactive neuroplasticity dramatically mitigates symptoms of emotional dysfunction and advances our pursuit of goals and objectives.
WHY IS YOUR SUPPORT SO NECESSARY AND ESSENTIAL? ReChanneling develops and implements programs to (1) mitigate symptoms of social anxiety and related conditions and (2) pursue personal goals and objectives – harnessing our intrinsic aptitude for extraordinary living. Our paradigmatic approach targets the personality through empathy, collaboration, and program integration utilizing neuroscience and psychology, including proactive neuroplasticity, cognitive-behavioral modification, positive psychology, and techniques designed to regenerate self-esteem. All donations support scholarships for groups and workshops.
Committing to recovery is one of the hardest things you will ever do. It takes enormous courage and the realization that you are of value consequential, and deserving of happiness.
This is not a typical posting on recovery from SAD and related conditions but a published chapter on a psychological method called psychobiography. While admittedly pedantic, it explains how psychobiography, a form of character study, assists in knowing the individual in recovery. More on psychobiography is available on this website at Broadening the Parameters of the Psychobiography and Utilizing Psychobiography to Moderate Symptoms of SAD.
Abstractions of Intent: How a Psychobiography Grapples with the Fluidity of Truth
in C-H. Mayer and Z. Kovary (eds.) (2019). New Trends in Psychobiography, Springer; 1st ed, pp. 539. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-16953-4
Robert F Mullen, PhD
Abstract: A psychobiography is a well-researched, comprehensive, multi-method presentation of a series of occasions through the documentation of events and the explication of the causes, motivations, and consequences thereof. In the fashion of Whitehead, occasions are dynamic and ongoing activities unfolding or producing themselves through time. The creative events that precipitate―originating, anchoring, and turning points―are fixed in time as opposed to the unfixed spatial-temporal reality of an occasion. The psychobiography uses both qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis because of their interactive objective and subjective contributions. The psychological aspect of the qualitative system allows for the in-depth case study, which presupposes that the issues under investigation are best understood from a perspective inclusive of the subject’s personal, subjective and phenomenological world. The quantitative study utilizes verifiable occurrences and statistics to determine the validity of interpretation.
An accompanying facet of a carefully crafted psychobiography is the hermeneutic circle, another component susceptible to error due to the varying definitions and understandings that accompany all manner of texts. These potentials for misinformation are aggravated by the researcher who is susceptible to (1) incorporating personal sensibilities, (2) bias and misinterpretation due to the nature of the investigation, (3) the suggestiveness of the subject and (4) the researchers own condition. A psychobiographical study is also subject to misinformation revealed by the subject, sources, and contemporaries. Awareness of these potential impediments to veracity is essential; however, the researcher cannot allow the search for truth to overwhelm the authenticity of the product.
Adopting multiple strategies can provide a more comprehensive overview of a subject, whose diverse aspirations and plentiful activities warrant a broader exploration. A consequence of the mixed methodology, however, are the opportunities for misrepresentation that result from the adoption of vulnerable systems, especially in the psychological realm which solicits speculation, inference, and other subjective calculations.
In May 1886, Georges Seurat unveiled his 70 square foot Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand. The painting depicts fashionable Parisians enjoying a Sunday afternoon on an idyllic island in the River Seine between Neuilly and Levallois-Perret. The canvas is replete with some forty stereotypical Parisian figures―women of fashion, men in bowler hats, prostitutes, children, umbrellas, dogs, soldiers, boats, a rowing team, a monkey, and a musician.
Individually, the rigid and somewhat indistinguishable images are ill-designed to be the focus of singular attraction but are integral and essential to the panorama. The technique Seurat adopted, Pointillism, involved the use of small touches of pure color intricately placed side-by-side on the canvas. When viewed from a certain distance, these colored spots blend into figures of aesthetic clarity. Move closer, and the portraits dissipate, rendering the composition unintelligible. Move away, and each part asserts its relevance to the whole, but the whole is not its parts, and the parts do not constitute the whole.
The painting, viewed from afar as intended, is a gestalt: the whole is other than the sum of its parts, albeit dependent upon their participation. The individual figures and the finished work resonate in codependence with one another, manifesting a masterpiece abstractly detached from the components that constitute the work. The truth of Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand is in the exactness of the colored spots, their placement on the canvas, and the changeless final masterpiece which the artist deemed worthy of display.
In an abstract sense, the similarities between this artistic masterpiece and a psychobiography are appealing. The methodology incorporates seemingly inconspicuous elements of a life history that, when placed side-by-side on an academic canvas, blend into events and occasions that are, by themselves, imperceptible to the final product. Step back to observe the multiple entities rendered by this method. And one begins to sense their integral relationship to the cohesive whole of the presentation. One only needs canvas, the painted background (the subject’s ethos), and figures, pronounced and ambiguous (entities and occasions), assembled by numerous points of color (causes and consequences) that coalesce into an integral and homeostatic final product.
Understanding Events and Occasions
Every evolution―ethos, philosophy, activity, and so on―is an occasion. Occasions are akin to Alfred North Whitehead’s actual entities. Defined as dynamic and ongoing activities unfolding or producing themselves through time (Hosinski 1993). The events that participate in the creative unfolding of an occasion are fixed in time as opposed to the unfixed spatio-temporal process of an occasion. A psychobiography is a well-researched, comprehensive, multi-method presentation of a series of occasions through the documentation of events and the explication of the causes, motivations, and consequences thereof.
Pillemer (1998) suggests three significant or seminal episodes central to a psychobiography. Originating events are the momentous events that are responsive to the genesis of a subject’s enduring beliefs or attitudes. Anchoring events represent the milestones that perpetuate these values, as evidenced by the subject’s life-story. The third episodes, turning points, mark specific series of events and occasions that augment the subject’s passion. This triumvirate of causal relationships is not a one-off. But is integral in the evolution of all substantial beliefs and activities.
Throughout this chapter, a published study developed and produced employing a psychobiographic methodology is exampled. The overarching focus of the study is a contemporary theorist with diverse aspirations and activities. Convinced that the sheer volume of life occasions merited multiple avenues of investigation, a mixed-message methodology of both quantitative and qualitative research was adopted. Personal philosophy bore significantly on the relevance of abundance. A scholar grasping a singular view denies the creative capacity that flourishes in the enlightened awareness of human ingenuity.
The errant belief that there is only one truth and that any one individual is in possession of it is the root of all malevolence that plagues the world. A theorist of any mettle studies systems and embraces a collective. Any theory or philosophy is based, intentionally or unwittingly, on an amalgam of grounding belief systems. In any theory, the tenets that form its ground are particular, relative, and essential constituents; their axiomatic completeness equal to (or other than) the sum of values and beliefs. One cannot be a rationalist without experientialism, logic, and discursive reasoning. Utilitarianism needs the participation of reductionism and forms of naturalism.
Michael Murphy is co-founder and Director Emeritus of Esalen, nestled in California’s Big Sur. The progressive Institute is the acknowledged birthplace of the human potential movement (Tompkins 1976), inspired by Abraham Maslow’s psychology of peak experiences, which underscores humanity’s potential for the metanormal expansion of consciousness.
Murphy’s search for meaning―and his exploration of wide-ranging and diverse fields to validate that search―underscores multifaceted constituents that support his philosophy and productivity much like pointillism colors its canvas. At least four philosophical components undergird Murphy’s world vision and activities: existentialism, experientialism, humanism, and universal integrality. Murphy’s research into and conviction of deliberate human advancement― heralding a higher complexity of human consciousness―is underscored by these fundamental philosophical concepts, which required extensive study rendered by multiple available means. A mixed-methodology of quantitative and qualitative research proved optimal.
However, the permissiveness afforded by a psychobiography―its hermeneutics, its in-depth case study, narrative, etcetera―lends itself to error and misinformation. The relevance of this theme reveals itself throughout this chapter.
A psychobiography differs from a simple mixed-methodology in scope and magnitude. The use of multivalent systems in the Murphy study ensured an integrally comprehensive presentation. The end-product was not without its faults, however. Upon publication, the validity of certain conclusions became questionable to the researcher.
Was the result true to the subject’s values and contributions? Was the justification of his belief system well defined? And was his integrity underscored in the conclusions? How are truth and authenticity best served and what impediments require accommodation? How does the truth factor in a psychobiography as opposed to other methods of inquiry? Does the broad scope of a psychobiography deliver more forthright conclusions than other, less inclusive methods?
The attractiveness of the broad and inclusive multivalent methodology is due to the number of available options, tolerance of structural fluidity, and the contemporary inclination to adopt and adapt to the latest, cutting-edge methodology. Abundance, however, is a distraction that demands judicious evaluation and editing to avoid superfluous corroboration and unnecessary explication in a study already comprehensively substantive. A psychobiography is not an all-you-can-eat-buffet but a system that offers multiple options which necessitate good choice, careful determination of value and moderation: attributes of most established writers but difficult to grasp for the novice academic.
“It is one of the best investments I have made in myself, and I will continue to improve and benefit from it for the rest of my life.” – Nick P.
What is a Psychobiography?
Simply defined, a biography is an account of someone’s life written by someone other than the subject. According to William McKinley Runyan (1984, 36), a biography is “a portrait painted by a specific author from a particular perspective, using a range of conceptual tools and available data.” Barclay Erickson (203, 35) quotes historian R. G. Collingwood (1946) from The Idea of History, who defines biography as “the discerning of the thought which is the inner side of an event.” Biographical narratives foster a keen understanding of characteristic adaptations, a concept coined by Northwestern psychologist Dan McAdams (2001, 126), to include:
such personal goals and motives, defense mechanisms and coping strategies, mental representations of self and others, values and beliefs … domain-specific skills and interests, and other personal characteristics contextualized in the time, place, or social role.
The psychology in a psychobiographic study inserts itself through aggregate-level social sciences such as social structure and personality interpretation, history, sociology, psychological anthropology, and political psychology. The study maintains its flexibility by drawing upon the knowledge of many schools of thought while devising new concepts as they become necessary for evaluation. Extensive and often exhaustive research is required to remain faithful to the subject’s intersubjectivity.
Runyan (1988, 285) advocated for the use of psychology in psychobiography, “mediated through the aggregate-level social sciences, including such scientific ‘substratum’ as social structure and personality, historical sociology, psychological anthropology, and political psychology.” George Atwood and Robert Stolorow (1993, 9) also campaigned for the use of multiple perspectives, promoting “a psychobiographical method capable of flexibly drawing upon the knowledge of all the different schools of thought, and also of devising new concepts as it goes along.”
In the published study exampled throughout, this correlated well with the data-driven research of extraordinary events and occasions which, as Murphy points out in The Future of the Body: Explorations Into the Further Evolution of Human Nature (1992, 2) demands “a synoptic acquisition of soundly verifiable data that draws at once upon the natural and human sciences, psychical research, religious studies, and other fields.”
The methodology of Erik H. Erikson’s (1958) Young Man Luther: A Study in Psychoanalysis and History is the genesis of modern psychobiography and its foundation of psychological analysis. To Atwood and Stolorow (1993, 13), Erikson was the first pure psychobiographer because he was able to synthesize aspects of the psychology of knowledge (personal-subject relativity) and the sociology of knowledge (historical-cultural relativity). “Although each field [psychology of knowledge and sociology of knowledge] can make a certain degree of independent progress, their analyses are allied and complementary.” What evolves from these cooperations are syntheses of material that coalesce into a verifiable, historic narrative. These sciences include sociology, biology, psychology, religion, phenomenology, history, and so on.
Psychoanalytic histories bridge the gulf between the concrete particularity of individual life and the experience of being human in universal terms … providing the initial basis of comparison for describing the pattern of the individual’s life as the realization of shared human possibilities (Atwood & Stolorow 1984, 7).
Murphy’s theoretical constructs emerge from both Eastern and Western spiritual philosophy. He is a barometer of humanity’s temperament, including its mental, physical, and spiritual aspects. The events and occasions of his life are integral to his ethos, worldview, and subsequent activities. These include: (1) research and analysis of philosophical and scientific apperceptions of advanced metanormal potential, 2) data-driven evidence of advanced human potential, (3) efforts to bridge the gaps among science, religion, and mysticism, while identifying the comparability of religious teloi, and (4) humanitarian efforts in education, health, politics, and religion to address the disenfranchised through international diplomacy (Mullen 2014, 175).
The plenitude of Murphy’s contributions made it expedient to employ many investigative approaches; a more restrictive methodology would have failed to adequately accommodate the magnitude. Combining qualitative and quantitative inquiry made it easier to research and document the scope of Murphy’s life, ethos, goals, productivity, and so on. The construction of the whole, the final product, was achieved through a thoughtful and scholastic synthesis into a final gestalt. In hindsight, success was only partial, and conclusions flawed, a complication arising from the ambiguities of truth and the freedom accorded by the use of multiple methodologies.
Quantitative research involves the empirical investigation of observable and measurable variables. It is used for testing theory, predicting and illustrating outcomes, and determining integral relationships. Quantitative research takes a particular approach: answering research questions, generating hypotheses, setting up research strategies, offering conclusions, and so forth. Analysis of data-driven research is quantitative, as are surveys, and comparative or correlational studies. Although generally conceived as focusing on data articulated numerically, Quantitative analysis is also used to study events or magnitudes of occurrence.
Qualitative research focuses on examining topics via cultural phenomena, human behavior, and belief systems. A comprehensive study of the life and productivity of an individual can make use of interviews, open-ended questions, opinion research, and so on to gain insight into certain beliefs, concepts, and systems. It provides an overview of the human side of an issue concerning behaviors, beliefs, opinions, emotions, and relationships, supported by such intangible factors as social norms, esoteric beliefs, ethnicity, socio-economic status, philosophy, religion, ethics, etcetera.
A psychobiography is constructed by engaging qualitative and quantitative methodologies and their subsidiaries―the empirical and non-empirical, ontological and epistemological, narrative, interview, in-depth case study, hermeneutics, the social sciences, and so on. Even so, while this mixed-method study meets the criteria of an adequate psychobiography it, by no means, promises the most comprehensive, which demands a more robust and radical adoption of multivalent ingredients and methods to subsidize the gestalt. The components of a good psychobiography are more fluid, fragmented, and decentralized in its pursuit of authenticity.
The good psychobiography will not shy away from seemingly disparate components but will embrace than as means to provide a more thorough investigation. Resoluteness and flexibility, concreteness and fluidity, proof and conjecture, reason and intuition, exclusion and inclusion―all become academically acceptable grist for the mill. A quantitative approach creates a blueprint that establishes the parameters of the study, a logical order that provides the foundation for the various components necessary to the evolution of the product. The qualitative element, more reflexive and evolving, adds texture and nuance to the structure. The quantitative architecture strategizes the product; the qualitative animates it.
Picture a fan in the stands at a baseball game, seated in one of multiple sections offering an angular and myopic view. To fully appreciate the game, the fan listens to the statistician and color-commentator on the radio, one actor providing hits, runs, and innings, the latter, personality profiles and stories. Awash with the sticky smell of beer and hotdogs, inclement weather, ear-shattering insults and enthusiastic roars, and the mingled sweat of thousands, full appreciation of the game is experienced though the combined components that contribute to the festive totality of the event. Remove a singular sensation―the sound, the smell―and the experience is different. The game is a more dynamic and thorough experience because of the multivalent stimuli―coalescing conflicting forces that converge to narrate nine or more innings.
The Case Study
A psychobiography is an in-depth case study, according to Atwood and Stolorow (1993, 27-28), an integral and comprehensive presentation of a personalistic, phenomenological, historical, clinical, and interpretive investigation. Its methodology allows the gathering of as much information as possible, using multiple disciplines. Three general characteristics distinguish an in-depth psychobiographical case study from other methodological orientations and approaches. First, the in-depth case study is “inherently personalistic and phenomenological because it presupposes that the issues under investigation can are best understood from a perspective inclusive of the subject’s personal, subjective and phenomenological world.” Second, psychobiography is historical, albeit the fluidity of occasions mitigates the opportunity for a purely linear presentation.
Third, the in-depth case study is both “clinical and interpretive.” This overarching requisite for interpretation is a double-edged sword as the researcher is highly susceptible to (1) incorporating his or her sensibilities, (2) bias and misinterpretation due to the vicariousness of biography, (3) the suggestiveness of the subject, and (4) the researchers own condition. Condition is one’s current state-of-being as consequence of reaction and adaptation to experience and circumstance. The study is also subject to bias and misinformation supplied by the subject, sources, and contemporaries. Awareness of these potential impediments is essential; however, the psychobiographer cannot allow the search for truth to overwhelm the authenticity of the work, which implies being genuine or as real as possible.
Case study research allows the exploration and understanding of the motivations, events, and occasions that impact the subject’s life history. This holistic, in-depth investigation specializes in analysis of the subject’s social, moral, ethical, and behavioral underpinnings: schooling, faith instruction, socio-economic status, family structure, and other influencers which motivate sociological concerns. This method was particularly relevant to Murphy’s focus on education, health, religion and other humanitarian efforts.
A good psychobiography is “committed to a narrative mode of truth arrived at through [the] in-depth, case study approach to biographical and psychological knowledge” (Erikson 1958, 39). The case study nourishes itself through intersubjective methodology, which aids in clarifying relationships and motivations. Intersubjectivity is the psychological relationship between people―how common-sense, shared values are used to interpret mutual compliance within social and cultural life. It is the trademark of systems and institutions which share a particular ideology. It also highlights how unilateral groups alienate disagreeable groups through self-preservation, which incurs bias, prejudice, truth-distortion, and other extensions of inherent territorial emphasis. Intersubjective investigation addresses these temperaments, as well as those of others who offer significant support or opposition as evidence of motivation.
Interviews and Review of Materials
Among the sources of data the psychologist is likely to turn to when carrying out a case study are interviews with the subject and contemporaries, diaries, personal notes, letters, documents, and so on. In psychology, case studies often confine themselves to the examination of a particular individual; a psychobiographic researcher is inclined to extend this research to contemporaries and other influencers.
Murphy’s firm conviction of the inherent human potential to access the metanormal required the theoretical study of phenomenon to describe the subjective reality of events, and philosophical research and analysis, which involved clarification of definitions, prevailing wisdom, and norms. The perusal of the books, essays, and articles written about the subject was necessary. Esalen’s (2013, 2014) extensive website was an excellent source of corroboration. Multiple sources about issues and values addressed by Murphy had to be analyzed, as did his published fiction, nonfiction, and works-in-progress.
The interviews were of inestimable value, first to set the boundaries of a good working relationship and then as a forum to address topics that required further explication. These one-on-one interviews, structured by specific lines of questioning, were generously enriched by Murphy’s extemporaneous flow of vision and thought. On average, these meetings lasted approximately two hours. Some issues were explored in person, others via phone and email. Recordings of interviews were professionally transcribed, results reviewed, and submitted to Murphy for approval. The rich material from these interviews informed multiple aspects of the study.
About halfway through the process, however, findings antithetical to the researcher’s secular sensibilities began to manifest. An Actual Man (2010) is a series of essays in honor of Murphy’s 80th birthday. Among the stories and anecdotes were short biographies describing Murphy’s humanitarian works in Russia, and Esalen’s part in Yeltsin’s 1991 ascension to the presidency. Tompkins’ (1976) extensive profile in The New Yorker was a highlight, as was evidence of the metanormal in everyday experience, a tribute by Huston Smith, and Ken Wilber’s encomium to an exemplary human being.
In the midst of these and other profound contributions was a story about Murphy’s paranormal escapades with the San Francisco 49ers. The essay asserted that the ritualistic burying of football gear and Murphy’s ability to manipulate Universal order was instrumental in the 1981 success of the fledgling upstarts that led to their first Superbowl. Numerous texts supporting research into paranormal were analyzed, including Frederic Myer’s (1907, 1918) early 20th-century evidence of levitation and life-after-death and Thurston’s (1951) descriptions of stigmata, luminous phenomena, and bilocation.
Murphy’s penchant for metaphysics and other esoteric practices cornered the psychobiographer into a self-created abyss of intellectual superstition, confirmation of how a researcher is subject to personal bias and singular perception. The football story was omitted from the study for fear it would unduly prejudice readers against the merit of Murphy’s contributions to natural science. The paranormal corroborations of Myers and others of his ilk were minimized for the same reason,
Was that the right choice? In hindsight, these arbitrary exclusions may have slightly repudiated Murphy’s authenticity. Later introspection revealed the story of the 49ers as a tongue-in-cheek, piece of smart fiction or, at the most, an illustration of over-inflated egos. In his forward of Cosmos and the Psyche, Richard Tarnas (2006, xiii) writes:
Skepticism is the chastity of the intellect … The mind that seeks the deepest intellectual fulfillment does not give itself up to every passing idea … Only with that discernment and inward opening can the full participatory engagement unfold that which brings forth new realities and new knowledge.
Murphy has authored and collaborated on numerous novels and works of nonfiction. Incorporated into the study was an assessment of his fiction as evidence of his predilection for mystic spiritualism, Eastern and Western collaborative thought, and metanormal human capacity. Elements of his appreciation for the interrelationship of science, mysticism, and esotericism began in novel form then neatly transcribed themselves to his most crucial nonfiction work: the data-driven research on transformative human capacity, The Future of the Body: Explorations Into the Further Evolution of Human Nature (1992).
A subject’s worldview is both implicit and definitive exposition of philosophical and religious lineage. It was essential to look at the significant contributions influencing Murphy’s evolution of thought―paranormal research, Catholic miracles, esoteric documentation, the evolution of psychology, Huxley, Maslow, and Teilhard de Chardin,cross-cultural religion and metaphysics, process and evolutionary philosophy, science, and so on.
This abundance of research material provided a more formidable and daunting diversity of interests that served as the foundation for study and informed the substratum of Murphy’s ontological development. Mainstream academic research was enlisted to solidify, confirm, or offer alternative viewpoints for the subject’s theories. Murphy (1992, 15) defines this method of data-driven research, analysis, and interpretive documentation as “synoptic, multidisciplinary, or integral empiricism (remembering, of course, that empiricism usually refers to data acquisition and verification limited to sensory experience).”
The Narrative
Embracing individuality within a history of events and occasions is, of course, a key component to any study of a person. The primary method for doing so is through narrative. As personality psychologists begin to turn attention to the subjective nature of peoples’ life histories, the story becomes more valid in “conveying the coherence and the meaning of lives” (McAdams 2001, 102). In a psychobiography, the narration is the method of presentation incorporating the elements relative to the construction of the final product into a stimulating and understandable rendition of the subject’s evolution of thought, and activity.
Storytelling is a method of making the study readable, comprehensive, and appealing. Pillemer (2008) defines narrative truth as the criterion used to decide when a particular experience is captured satisfactorily; it depends on continuity and closure and the extent to which the fit of the pieces takes on an aesthetic finality. It is left to the researcher to determine, through judgment and scholasticism, the primary experiences that factor into decision-making and lend themselves to the subject’s worldview.
In The Rise of Hermeneutics (1972), Dilthey and Jameson caution that ascertaining truth through narrative biography will incite debate, a desirable component of any presentation. To them, narrative truth is a razor’s edge because of the many factors that instigate misinformation. Since narration is a composite of many differing and supporting collegial contributions, this unpredictability is even more prevalent.
One of the more unique qualities of Murphy’s body of written work is the transposition of his fictional accounts of metaphysics, science, the spiritual, the magical, and the mystical to his later nonfiction that complements and enhances the actuality of many conclusions, the plausibility of more, and possibility of the remaining. This evolution originates with his fantastical creations of the metanormal in his best-selling Golf in the Kingdom (1972), continues throughout his other novels, and culminates in his data-driven, natural science exploration The Future of the Body: Explorations Into the Further Evolution of Human Nature (1992).
In other words, Murphy’s concentration in the natural history of metanormal accession and evidence thereof does not diminish in the transition from novel to nonfiction but expands and substantiates itself. It is a textbook example of how, in the words of Cyril “Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life, and I feel sure that if you think seriously about it, you will find that it is true” (Wilde, (1909, 10).
Michael Murphy has written or contributed with significant impact to more than half-a-dozen additional works of nonfiction, which address the codification of transformative capacities, the evolution of humanity’s potential, extraordinary capacities within sports, studies of yogis and Zen masters, cardiovascular and metabolic changes, and psychological, physiological, and spiritual transformation.
These are illustrated to corroborate the vast diversity of materials that were considered, and as evidence of how Murphy’s forays into fiction implemented his later works. In an article in The American Society for Aesthetics, F. E. Sparshott (1967, 3) argues against those who contend that works of fiction cannot be considered the embodiment of claims to tell any truth about the real world. Truth in fiction is “the explicit content of the fiction, and a background consisting of either of the facts about our world … or of the beliefs overt in the community of origin.”
The Historical
A singular substance cannot exist without its interrelationship with other substances. Everything, every entity is a creation―intertwined, interconnected, and interdependent with and within other creations. It is therefore prudent to engage Pillemer’s (1998) three significant or seminal events as central to the evolution of occasions. To iterate, it is impossible to provide a purely linear exposition of a subject’s history because of the non-temporal fluidity of occasions.
History is primarily concerned with the knowledge of the mind and the thoughts it generates, which motivate an individual’s philosophy and action. “The task of the historian is penetrating to the thought of the agents whose acts they are studying” Collingwood (1946, 25). The evolution of Murphy’s occasions is paramount to this study, as is his place in contemporary studies of a natural history that combines science with religion and metaphysics. William McKinley Runyan’s (1984) Life Histories: A Field of Inquiry and a Framework for Intervention served as a support vehicle for inquiry into the role of Murphy’s life-history.
Particularly germane were the investigations into: 1) the philosophical growth and conclusions resulting from Murphy’s intensive study, and experiential activities, (2) his ethos and set of mental characteristics, (3) analysis and insight into the psychological motivations of his ethos and activities, and (4) the practical implementation of these motivations and activities in interactions with others. The study provided special consideration to Murphy’s research into human transformative capacity―his conviction of the potential for metanormal functioning as evidenced by his participation in, and investigations into events, occasions, practices, and phenomena affected by and affecting the human person. Dilthey and Jameson (1972, 227) write:
There can indeed be no history worthy of the name that does not breathe something like his spiritual enthusiasm for the traces that life has left behind it, something of the visionary instinct for all the forms of living activity preserved and still instinct within the monuments of the past.
Murphy’s fundamental philosophies staunchly lend themselves to the theory of advanced innate human potential. His existentialism underscores the human faculty to determine its motivation and development, especially essential to its inherent ability to deliberately evolve by way of metanormal events and occasions. His experientialism is manifest by his actual experiments to affect extraordinary events and occasions. Humanism is evident by his belief in involution and evolution, a doctrine that asserts the self-creativity, and self-reliance of each person, imbued by divine allowance and participation.
Finally, universal integrality posits that all entities are creatively bound to all other entities, intertwined, interconnected, and interdependent. It is these systems that motivate the events paramount to Murphy’s occasions. As the theory maintains, occasions are not only evolutionary but interdependent upon all that precedes and proceeds them. One cannot fathom their causes without understanding the relevant factors of the creative process; it is the task of the researcher to make best efforts to investigate and comprehend this process through abundant research and thoughtful explication.
Hermeneutics
The interest in psychobiography slowed between the great wars of the Twentieth Century to witness a resurgence in Dilthey’s (1961) adoption of hermeneutics. The hermeneutic circle is similar to gestalt in that the parts are “accessed in relation to a totality while knowledge of the whole is constituted by study of the parts” (Atwood and Stolorow 1984, 3). The ultimate goal of the hermeneutic process is to discover how the subject’s philosophic, spiritual, and religious subjects of inquiry facilitated his or her ethos and subsequent activities. In Methodology for the Human Sciences: Systems of Inquiry (1983, 221), David Polkinghorne advocates for the use of hermeneutics to better understand what canon and tradition mean to a specific element of philosophy.
Hermeneutics is possible here because … there is here the relation of the parts to the whole in which the parts receive meaning from the whole, and the whole receives meaning from the parts: these categories of interpretation have their correlate in the structural coherence of the organization [and subject], by which it realizes its goal teleologically.
Hermeneutics is a system of rules, “a whole whose parts were held together by the aim of giving an interpretation of general validity” (Dilthey and Jameson 1972, 240). One’s spiritual and philosophical evaluations are products of interconnected parts, which are in turn constituents of the whole; again, the parts without the whole—as well as the whole without its parts—inadequate to conclusive evaluation. Scholars later expanded the system of hermeneutics to apply to any literary text, which broadened the scope of influence on a particular ethos or philosophy while maintaining the integrality of hermeneutic tenets. Polkinghorne (1983, 221) warns that one of the considerations of hermeneutic knowledge is that it is difficult “to attain a degree of intersubjective agreement and certainty that one has understood an expression accurately,” additional evidence of how bias and misinterpretation factor in a multi-discipline psychobiography.
The researcher’s cognizance of hermeneutic compatibility to the ethos and philosophy of the subject is highly susceptible to error due, much in part, to the varying definitions and understandings that accompany all manner of texts. A psychobiographer is compelled to identify the extent of the hermeneutic contribution to the subject’s worldview but is, likewise, influenced by those sources relied upon for evidence and affirmation. To Esalen biographer, Jeffrey J. Kripal (2007, 61), hermeneutics is “a model that recognizes a truly profound engagement with a text [that] can alter both the received meaning of the text and one’s own meaning and being.”
Murphy’s broad expanse of interests is served well by the hermeneutic circle as his belief system compliments his concept of advanced human potential. AHP is closely tied to the theory of involution-evolution which posits that the energy and capacity of divinity are thrust into the basest of evolutionary particles, expanding in sympathy with human consciousness. Hermeneutic evaluations were essential to Murphy’s theme of religious, spiritual, metaphysical, and scientific comparability. Aurobindo Ghose’s (2006) cultivation of a multi-runged ladder to Supermind corroborates the evolution of human consciousness which supports advanced human potential.
Exegetical scrutiny evidences the symbiotic relationship of Teilhard de Chardin’s (1974) Omega Point to Ghose’s Supermind, and Murphy’s (2012) Supernature. A review of relevant religious, spiritual, and philosophical commentaries grounded the study’s construct and allowed comparison with Murphy’s ethos and activities. Cooper (2006) was particularly helpful in understanding various interpretations of evolutionary panentheism; and Myers (1907, 1918) and Thurston (1951) assisted in the information and documentation of metanormal human potential.
Interpretations and Intuitions
The psychobiographic, in-depth, case study is a reconstructive, intuitive, interpretive method based upon the synthesis of all available evidence culled from all available sciences providing systematic analyses of information on the life and life’s works of a single individual (Erickson (2003, 40).
This conclusion is supported by other theorists (Runyan 1984, McAdams 2001) and by the methods of personality comprehension enabled by the psychological in-depth case study. It is within this context that things get rocky as the constituents of misinformation (speculation, intuition, interpretation, inference, and so on) are subject to bias, error, and misinformation. Runyan (1984, 47) offers the following benchmarks to mitigate explicit misinformation:
Explanations and interpretations can be evaluated in light of criteria such as (1) their logical soundness, (2) their comprehensiveness in accounting for a number of puzzling aspects of the events in question, (3) their survival of tests of attempted falsification, such as tests of derived predictions or retrodictions, (4) their consistency with the full range of available relevant evidence, (5) their support from above, or their consistency with more general knowledge about human functioning or about the person in question, and (6) their creditability relative to other explanatory hypothesis.
It is evident that much misinformation results from poor choice and poor judgment, a lack of thoroughness, and/or ignorance. Hubris and bias also factor in misleading and erroneous conclusions. McAdams (2001, 114) asks: “To what extent are memories for personal events accurate renditions of what happened or biased reconstructions of the past?” Occasions maturate as events happen and vice-versa. It is nigh on impossible to maintain a firm grasp on their evolutions. Individuals rarely retain accurate recollections of the day, time, circumstance, or other exacting details of Pillemer’s triune events in the creation of an occasion. However, memories and their interpretations, whether correctly recollected or not, should not be taken as false or intentionally inaccurate. In the best-case scenario, one creates the best and most honorable recollection of which one is capable.
For we can always make mistakes about the motivation and the principal actors in a study; they can indeed spread misconceptions about their motives. However, the work of a great poet or innovator, religious genius or philosopher can never be anything but the pure expression of the individual’s spiritual life; in that human community delivered from all falsehood, such a work is ever real and unlike every other type of expression registered in signs; it is susceptible to complete and objective interpretation; indeed, it is only in the light of such works that we begin to understand the other contemporary artistic monuments and historical actions (Dilthey and Jameson 1972, 233).
How close to the firemust a researcher’s feet be held? Many insist that academic sources used in support of an argument ease the propensity for misinformation but that is not the case. Any decent researcher can glean sources that support any conclusion one chooses to deliver. A standard academic practice requires the grad-student render a coherent paper, which conclusions are in opposition to the student’s ethos and convictions.
A researcher must always consider the multiplicities of truth. Truth means different things to different people. It is contingent upon the validity of recollection and information provided by the subject, sources, and contemporaries. The researcher is highly susceptible to incorporating personal sensibilities and is subject to misinterpretation due to the vicariousness elements of investigation, the suggestiveness of the subject, and the researchers own condition. As beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so also does truth evidence its ambiguity.
Conclusion
The psychobiography employs many methodologies, its conclusions subject to researcher’s ability to locate fact within abundance. Qualitative research focuses on examining a topic via cultural phenomena, human behavior, and belief systems. A comprehensive study of the life and productivity of an individual can make use of interviews, open-ended questions, opinion research, and so on to gain insight into certain beliefs, concepts, and systems. It offers a close-up look at the human side of an issue concerning behaviors, beliefs, opinions, emotions, and relationships, supported by such intangible factors as social norms, esoteric beliefs, ethnicity, socio-economic status, philosophy, religion, etcetera.
The inherently personalistic aspect of the in-depth case study opens up avenues of misinterpretation as does the study of the phenomenological which is inherently subjective. Add to this the interpretative nature of a psychological inquiry, which is formulated by instinct, speculation, and inference. These overarching requisites for interpretation provide ample room for misinformation. The tenets within any hermeneutic are extremely difficult to fathom. Many texts subject to evaluation are products of another age and civilization, originating in a language open to interpretation.
Take, for example, Buddha’s Noble Truth. The word “dukkha” or suffering that underscores the Four Nobel Truths is translated in multiple ways including anxiety, constraint, distress, and so on. Suffering connotes a purgatorial existence of physical torture, which is counterproductive in its gravity of message. The more reasonable condition of humanity is a state of disillusionment. For the record, this view is a perfectly valid and reasonable consideration. It’s a rational and intelligent revision and is theoretically correct. Many will disagree, some may call it cavalier.
So, do these predilections to misinformation and misinterpretation render a study obsolete? The contrary is true. A subject, researcher, or source is not without fault; it is this susceptibility to error, mistake, bias, motivation, and so on that establishes the humanness and authenticity of the participants. A multivalent psychobiography does not diminish the final product but enhances it through its complexities of comprehension. It is always fortuitous that a good psychobiography not end-up in the academic wasteland of the unforgettable but rise into forums of debate and commentary.
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13 Cognitive Distortions Germane to Social Anxiety
Defense Mechanisms
Defense mechanisms are temporary safeguards against emotionally challenging situations that our minds struggle to manage. They are mostly unconscious and automatic psychological responses designed to protect us from our fears and anxieties. We deny, avoid, and compensate rather than confront our problems. We rationalize ourbehaviors, project them onto others, or displace them by kicking the dog..
The defense mechanisms called cognitive distortions are exaggerated or irrational thought patterns that perpetuate our anxiety and depression. In recovery, we identify these self-destructive processes and, over time, eliminate them from our thoughts and behaviors.
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COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS
Understanding how we use cognitive distortions as subconscious strategies to avoid facing certain truths is crucial to recovery. Our social anxiety drives illogical thought patterns. Every instinct perpetrated by social anxiety is counterproductive. That’s how it subsists.
By cognitively distorting our reactions and responses to situations, we twist reality to reinforce or justify our toxic behaviors and validate our irrational attitudes, rules, and assumptions. Our attitudes refer to our emotions, convictions, and behaviors. Rules are the principles or regulations that influence our behaviors, and our assumptions are what we believe to be accurate or authentic. Social anxiety, depression, and related conditions compel us to create inaccurate self-perceptions.
Our compulsion to twist the truth to validate our negative self-appraisal is indeed powerful. However, understanding how these distortions sustain our social anxiety is a vital step towards taking back control.
Be Mindful of Distorted Thinking
For those experiencing social anxiety, the susceptibility to cognitive distortions is high. However, cultivating awareness, which involves recognition, comprehension, and acceptance, is a crucial guide in understanding and addressing the self-destructive nature of these distortions.
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Similarities
One concern in working with cognitive distortions is recognizing their overlapping characteristics and parallels. Multiple names for the same cognitive distortions are common, and distinguishing one from the others can be challenging.
For instance, when we catastrophize, wepredict the worst-case scenario, often blowing things out of proportion. Polarized thinking compels us to view life as either uncompromisingly good or bad, with no middle ground. When we filter, we usually focus on the negative aspects of a situation, ignoring the positive. These are all examples of cognitive distortions that perpetuate our social anxiety.
Control fallacies lead to blaming and vice versa. We often jump to conclusions when we label someone based on a single characteristic. Emotional reasoning begets personalization, filtering, polarized thinking, andthe fallacy of fairness. The distinctions are often obtuse and blurred, but as long as we remain mindful of their self-destructive nature, we can learn to recognize and even anticipate them, devising rational responses.
We are highly susceptible to cognitive distortions when under stress. Social anxiety and related conditions paint an inaccurate picture of the self in the world with others.
We are highly susceptible to cognitive distortions when under stress. They are emotional IEDs, capable of destroying our confidence and composure. Cognitive distortions are rarely cut and dried, but they tend to share common traits and characteristics. That’s what makes it difficult to distinguish clearly. Still, as long as we remain mindful of their self-destructive nature, we can learn to recognize and even anticipate them, devising rational responses. After time and with practice, our reactions become automatic and spontaneous.
The number of cognitive distortions listed by experts ranges substantially. There are thirteen that are particularly relevant to social anxiety.
A dogmatist believes that their principles and opinions are incontrovertibly accurate, despite the convictions of others. Due to our worries over criticisms and ridicule, we tend to be dogmatists, disputing and dismissing those who disagree with us.
The constant need to be right is a heavy burden we carry, always striving to prove ourselves correct, dismissing any conflicting opinions as false. We refuse to acknowledge our mistakes, insisting that our way is the only way.
This irrational thinking pattern helps to compensate for our symptomatic expectation of being challenged. We will go to any length to prove we’re right, notwithstanding evidence to the contrary, reflecting our inability or unwillingness to accept our fallibility. Hence, we dismiss opposing or correcting beliefs as misinformed or mistaken. We go to great lengths to defend our opinion while demonstrating the inaccuracy of the opposition. Our desire to be right becomes more important than the beliefs, opinions, or feelings of others.
The Lure of Perfectionism
Living with constant negative self-evaluation is emotionally destabilizing, leading us to overcompensate by striving for perfection. This is a significant and understandable characteristic of social anxiety. We adopt perfectionism as an unhealthy coping mechanism for our feelings of incompetence and inadequacy, but it only exacerbates our emotional instability.
As perfectionists, we perceive anything short of excellence as failure. The compulsion to always be right is a common thought pattern typical of our condition. We see things as black or white. There is no middle ground, no compromise. We are either brilliant or abject failures. Our friends are for us or against us. We are winners or losers. Anything less than flawless is emotionally untenable.
Unfortunately, our drive for perfectionism causes us to set unreasonable expectations for ourselves.
Wanting to be the best we can be is a wholesome function of human behavior, motivating us to learn and make sensible decisions. However, our need to alwaysbe right, even in the face of evidence to the contrary, can lead us to disregard the feelings of others and push them away. This insistence that only we know the answer alienates relationships, leaving us feeling isolated.
Rigid Core Beliefs
The unhealthy need to always be right reflects our low implicit and explicit self-esteem. Unfortunately, even when our belief system is self-destructive, it defines how we see ourselves. When we decline to question our beliefs, we act upon them as though they are infallible, ignoring contrary evidence. Our insecurity can be so severe that our maladjusted perceptions run roughshod over facts and the feelings of others.
Cognitive Bias
Remember, we store information consistent with our negative core and intermediate beliefs, which generates a cognitive bias – a subconscious error in thinking that leads us to misinterpret information, impacting the accuracy of our perspectives and decisions.
Yet, we tend to ignore what others say because we need to be right, notwithstanding logical alternatives. We avoid anything that might lead us to accept that we are mistaken. Even when we know we are wrong, we find it challenging to admit it.
When our opinions clash with those of authority figures, we grudgingly bow to their point of view, covertly convinced of our superiority. This servility strips us of our power, generating anger and resentment. We cater to their authority but envy their power, irritated and bitter.
Always being right does not bode well for healthy relationships. Our unwillingness to consider the feelings and opinions of others is dismissive and demeaning. Friendships thrive on mutual respect and understanding, not on one person’s need to always be right. Few want to deal with someone unwilling or unable to value their opinions, insight, or belief system.
Our need for others to see us as clever and erudite protects our fragile self-image. Many of us compensate for our fears of criticism and rejection by emphasizing our intellectual proficiency, even when our ‘knowledge’ is unsupported by evidence.
The tendency on social media to attack someone’s conflicting beliefs and the pundits who deny, obfuscate, and shout down the opposition are excellent examples of the always-being-right syndrome.
It reminds us of the cognitively immature teenager who upends the board game when they sense defeat, preferring to throw in the towel rather than suffer the indignity of losing.
As with most cognitive distortions, the key objective is to think before reacting, asking ourselves the obvious questions. This self-reflection empowers us to take control of our cognitive biases and make more informed decisions:
Could I be wrong? The probability is high if we get our facts from the Internet.
Have I considered the opposition’s opinions objectively? Perhaps their argument has merit. Being open to different perspectives can broaden our understanding and lead to more balanced decisions.
Even if I’m right, is it necessary to demean the other’s position? What do I gain by winning the argument other than selfish satisfaction? It’s not like we’re on a debate stage. Is my need to be right more important than someone else’s feelings? This line of questioning encourages us to be more empathetic and considerate in our interactions.
BLAMING
What do many of us do when we refuse to take responsibility for failing to live up to expectations? Blaming is a negative thinking pattern in which we mistakenly assign responsibility for a negative outcome. That blame can be external when we hold someone or something else accountable, or internal when we blame ourselves.
External Blaming
External blaming occurs when we hold others accountable for situations that are of our own making. Years of self-reproach for experiencing social anxiety can feel overwhelming, leading us to unconsciously assign blame to others for what we are unable or unwilling to manage emotionally.
We convince ourselves that others are responsible for our defects because it is more emotionally manageable than accepting responsibility. For instance, if we fail an exam, we might blame the instructor for a perceived bias instead of acknowledging our lack of preparation. If we’re for work, it is more convenient to blame traffic, rather than our lackluster morning preparations due to a hangover.
InternalBlaming
We generally have significantly lower implicit and explicit self-esteem compared to those without social anxiety. Our sense of inadequacy and inferiority can compel us to blame ourselves for situations or circumstances that are not our fault. For example, if a dinner guest appears less than enthusiastic, we may blame our cooking or hosting skills rather than considering other reasonable explanations. Similarly, if our roommate is fraught with personal issues, we might attribute it to something we said or did, even when we have nothing to do with their circumstances.
Blame for Our Social Anxiety
Blaming ourselves or others for the origins of our condition is misguided. Early childhood does not provide the cognitive development to assign blame, even if we could identify the source(s). Scientists have linked the serotonin transporter gene “SLC6A4” with social anxiety disorder, but anxiety is produced by polygenic traits controlled by multiple genes, supported by numerous other factors.
One client would always return to his childhood when discussing the reasons for his social ineptness. A physically abusive father and emotionally denigrating mother can probably be held responsible for his negative core beliefs, but they are a catalyst for multiple disorders other than or comorbid with social anxiety. Steven found solace in assigning his parents some responsibility for the origins of his condition, but did not allow that to interfere significantly with his healing.
Notwithstanding, recovery focuses on the here and now and how it reflects on the future. The past is not negligible, but it pales in importance.
Our adolescent/adult thoughts and behaviors indeed aggravate our condition, but to attribute them to perceived character deficiencies and shortcomings rather than recognizing them as symptoms of our condition is problematic. This blame irrationally fails to acknowledge the true nature of our disorder and hinders our progress toward recovery, for which we are responsible. So again, the blame is not the onset and experience of social anxiety, but for our willingness or inability to remedy the situation.
Blaming Mistreatment by Others
Justifiable blame can be a healthy response to harm, but we often cling to anger and resentment, thinking it will negatively affect those who have wronged us. However, the responsible party is usually (a) unaware of their actions, (b) has forgotten their transgression, or (c) refuses to take responsibility for it. The only person damaged in this scenario is the injured party, and we can reclaim our power through forgiveness.
Forgiveness helps us resolve our animosity and restore balance by eliminating the influence of the past and the actions of others. Our innate desire for vengeance can be substantial; our basic instinct may seek retribution. With its profound healing power, forgiveness frees us from the desire for retaliation and helps us move beyond victimization and vindictiveness. This underscores the importance of self-forgiveness in our healing journey.
Blame for Our Mistreatment of Others
Feeling shame for harming another is a natural and necessary part of our emotional landscape. Accepting blame is crucial but carrying that emotional baggage is illogical. The past is over. We learn from it and move on. Our guilt and self-blame can be resolved by making direct or symbolic amends and forgiving ourselves. Remember, self-forgiveness is not just a necessary tool but a powerful act of self-empowerment in our healing journey.
CONTROL FALLACIES
Do you sometimes fell that everything that happens is your fault, or are do you feel impotent and unable to change anything?
A fallacy is like a mirage in the desert of our minds, a false oasis we believe in without proof. We accept these assumptions as true, but they are merely speculations.
In short, a fallacy is a belief based on unreliable evidence and unsound arguments.
A control fallacy is when webelieve we have complete control over everything that happens to us. On the flip side, we might think that fate or other people are in control because we feel incapable. We either think things are beyond our control or we take responsibility for things we have little to no power over.
These feelings cause negative thoughts and behaviors, leading to an unending cycle of distress and irrational thought patterns. Both aspects of this cognitive distortion can generate guilt and shame, compelling us to blame ourselves or someone else.
External Control Fallacy
When we feel externally controlled, we perceive ourselves as weak and powerless. We blame outside forces (fate, weather, authority figures) rather than assume responsibility for our actions. A delinquent blames her parents, the philanderer blames his wife, and our failing grade is because our instructor dislikes us.
We believe external forces control us because our condition is unmanageable and makes us feel impotent. This is a valid assumption because, in essence, until we seek recovery, social anxiety is in control of our emotional stability.
Perhaps we’ve convinced ourselves that we are stuck in an uncomfortable job or relationship, unable to take control of our self-worth or happiness. We believe we can’t fix anything and become casualties of the ‘why bother’ syndrome of helplessness, where we feel that no matter what we do, the outcome will be the same, so why bother trying at all?
Internal Control Fallacy
The fallacy of internal or hyper-control occurs when we assume responsibility for the conduct of others. We feel that we are so in control of everything that if anything goes wrong, it is our fault. This is a form of personalization, where we believe everything is somehow related to us. Often, we compensate for our inability to manage our lives by falsely assuming control of others.
Our illogical mindset makes us feel responsible for what others experience and guilty for their adversities and unhappiness. Our symptomatic apprehension of judgment and criticism drives us to assume responsibility for other people’s thoughts and behaviors, which makes us mind-readers and fortune-tellers.
Assuming responsibility for someone else’s behavior often leads to self-blaming. “It’s my fault my wife is unhappy.” “He drinks because I don’t appreciate him.” The notion that we have failed them invites self-guilt and wreaks havoc on our self-esteem.
One egregious internal control fallacy is our tendency to blame ourselves for our condition, forgetting or disputing the real cause of childhood disturbance and the negative trajectory it sets in motion. We must remain aware that we are not responsible for experiencing social anxiety. We did not ask for it. It happened to us.
Control fallacies are inaccurate assignations. Logic dictates that we assume responsibility for our actions and stop taking it for problems we do not create. Social anxiety does not thrive on logic, so we must recognize when we fall into either aspect of this cognitive distortion. For instance, when we find ourselves blaming external factors for our situation, we can pause and consider our own role in it. Similarly, when we start feeling responsible for others’ actions, we can remind ourselves that we are not in control of everything.
Recognizing control fallacies can be a liberating experience. It’s a step towards understanding and managing our social anxiety. It’s important to remember that control fallacies are not unique to us. Many people struggle with these distortions. Understanding this can help us feel less isolated and moreconnected, helping us recognize that we inherently control our mental health.
EMOTIONAL REASONING
Cognitive distortions, with their exaggerated and irrational thought patterns, wield significant power in sustaining our anxiety and depression. They distort reality to reinforce or justify our toxic thoughts and behaviors, particularly our negative self-appraisal.
Recognizing how we use cognitive distortions as strategies to avoid facing certain truths is a significant step toward awareness and recovery.
Cognitive distortions are rarely clear-cut; they often overlap, making them challenging to define precisely. However, because they disrupt our emotional well-being, we learn to recognize their individual impact, anticipate them, and work to eliminate them from our thoughts and behaviors. While the number of cognitive distortions can vary, thirteen are particularly relevant to social anxiety.
We will begin our exploration of the thirteen cognitive distortions most relevant to social anxiety with emotional reasoning. This distortion involves making judgments and decisions based solely on our feelings.
The term ‘emotional reasoning’ is misleading as a cognitive distortion because it implies a coalescence of emotions and reasoning when its true meaning is that our reasoning is emotionally induced. We rely on our feelings to make decisions rather than on objective evidence. The phrase my gut tells me encapsulates this irrational thinking.
In essence, we believe that our feelings must be true. For instance, if we feel like a failure, we conclude that we are a failure. If we feel incompetent, we assume we are incapable. If we make a mistake, we think we must be stupid. We convince ourselves that all our negative beliefs about ourselves, others, and the world are valid because they feel genuine. Understanding this compulsion equips us with the knowledge we need to combat it.
What are some examples of how emotional reasoning can affect our lives? Our core beliefs and symptoms make us feel helpless, hopeless, undesirable, and worthless. Feeling hopeless disincentivizes us from trying anything new. Our helplessness makes it challenging to make healthy decisions. Feeling undesirable will prevent us from social activities and disrupt any attempt to make friends and establish close relationships. And if we feel worthless, then why bother with anything?
If we are solely guided by our feelings, opposing facts, and positive experiences will not change our perspective. How we feel influences our emotions, impacting us unconsciously and automatically. For example, if we fear public speaking, our emotions will convince us of our inability, even if we have evidence to the contrary. Our distorted thoughts and beliefs manifest in our emotions, causing us to misinterpret reality.
When we feel guilty about something, our emotional reasoning decides we must be guilty even when there is no evidence that we have done anything wrong.
We may have excellent grades in high school, but if we feel stupid, we are convinced we are dumb and unworthy of higher aspirations. If we feel unattractive, no outfit, no matter how appealing, will make us feel otherwise, and we avoid social situations because our chances of having healthy interactions are hopeless. We will be alone forever, we tell ourselves.
Let me provide a vivid example from my social anxiety days. On an infrequent hiatus from alcohol and pharmaceuticals, I was lucky to be cast in a small part in a major film, Report to the Commissioner. They rewrote my mediocre page of dialogue minutes before filming. I managed to fluster myself through the dialogue and exited the scene by running into the camera. The producer, John Frankenheimer, grumbled that my work was passable and necessary to the script. Months later, I attended the premiere at the Cinerama Dome and waited excitedly for my big break, which, unbeknownst to me, had landed on the cutting room floor. It had no place in the film because the plot line of my disappearing sister had been edited out of the film. Nonetheless, my emotional reasoning convinced me they rewrote around me because of my pathetic performance. I gave no thought to the rational explanations, i.e., the insignificance of my character or the fact that being edited from a film was commonplace.
My SAD-induced insecurity, coupled with core beliefs of undesirability and incompetence, dominated my self-appraisal. It was an excellent excuse to pop a Quaalude, get drunk, and ignore my agent for several months.
Staying in touch with our feelings and trusting our instincts is healthy when supported by experience and evidence. SAD, however, fuels irrational thoughts and feelings, compelling us to make poor decisions. A balanced perspective requires a coalescence of right and left brain thinking. The right hemisphere supports our emotions, while the left is analytical and logical.
Our doctor recommends a healthy diet to lower our cholesterol. For the past two weeks, we have been eating oatmeal and berries for breakfast, and lunches have consisted of kale and spinach salads. We’ve avoided saturated fats and added fish to our diet twice weekly. Then our date takes us Outback Steakhouse, where you splurge on a 13-ounce ribeye and a bowl of bloomin’ onions. Rather than recognizing the positive benefits of fourteen days of healthy eating, our emotional reasoning (and hunger) convince us it was all for naught, and we pick up a six-pack of Guinness stout and a bag of Doritos Nacho Cheese on the way home.
Emotional intelligence (EQ) is perceiving, managing, controlling, or communicating emotions. Those of us experiencing social anxiety ostensibly have a low EQ because it requires rational thinking, a faculty anathema to our condition. We compensate for emotional reasoning this lacuna by enhancing our left brain’s intellectual attributes to balance our right brain’s creative pursuits.
Understanding and mitigating our tendency for emotional reasoning is necessary for personal growth. Recovery requires a strategy based on rational coping statements to achieve psychological balance. We need to examine and analyze our emotions rationally without self-indulgence. This self-analysis counteracts our tendency to allow our feelings to guide our behaviors.
In other words, we enhance our ability to perceive, manage, and communicate by balancing our emotions with rational thought. Through cognitive processes, including Socratic questioning, we aggressively and consciously learn to utilize both brain hemispheres—a harmony crucial to recovery from social anxiety and related conditions. This alleviation of emotional reasoning helps us achieve optimal coherence, producing a well-balanced, rationally creative symmetry.
FALLACY OF FAIRNESS & HEAVEN’S REWARD
A fallacy is a belief based on unreliable evidence and unsound arguments, as in control fallacy, where we either believe something or someone has power and control over things that happen to us, or (2) we hold that type of power over someone else. The fallacy of fairness is a common and relatable cognitive distortion. It’s the unrealistic assumption that life should be fair, a notion many of us grapple with frequently. It’s the most immature cognitive distortion used by children to justify their selfish notion that the world revolves around them.
Due to our Irrational perception, we are the centerpiece of everyone’s attention; we tend to exploit the fallacy of fairness, albeit unconsciously, to compensate for our comparison envy and any disappointment that may arise.
It is human nature to equate fairness with how well our personal preferences are met. We know how we want to be treated, and anything that conflicts with that seems unreasonable and emotionally suspect.
Fairness is subjective, however. Two people seldom agree on its application. The concept is irrational, and our compulsion is childish and evasive. As Grandpa remarks in The Princess Bride, “Who says life is fair? Where is that written?”
Fairness is subjective, based on personal beliefs and experiences. It is our biased assessment of how well others, institutions, and nature meet our wants and expectations. When reality conflicts with our perceptions of fairness, it generates distressing emotions such as anger, frustration, and resentment.
The belief that everything should be based on fairness and equality is a noble but unrealistic philosophy. We can strive for such things, but life is inequitable. People are self-oriented, and institutions are singularly focused. Only nature is impartial.
Wanting things to work in our favor is rational and normal. Expecting them to do so unfailingly is unreasonable to the extreme.
We often base our concept of fairness on conditional assumptions, which allows us to shun personal accountability. “If my teacher knew how hard I studied, she’d give me a passing grade.” However, studying does not guarantee comprehension, and grades are usually based on test results. And the effort of studying is subjective.
A common misconception is expressed in the phrase,” If my parents had treated me better, I wouldn’t have social anxiety disorder.” Notwithstanding our desire to source our discontent, a direct cause of emotional malfunction is indeterminate, and blaming is irrational, given the evidence or lack thereof. Blaming is another excuse for not taking personal responsibility.
The fallacy of fairness is the unrealistic assumption that life should be subjectively fair. Coupled with the fallacy of heaven’s reward, where we expect to be equitably rewarded for performing kindness, an endless cycle of disappointment and unjustified resentment is predictable. Disappointment is an inevitable part of life, and understanding these fallacies can help us prepare for it.
Heaven’s Reward Fallacy
The fallacy of fairness is commonly associated with heaven’s reward fallacy, which is the unreasonable assumption that we will be justly rewarded for our hard work and sacrifice. Heaven’s reward fallacy, as Aaron Beck explains it, is the belief that someone is keeping track of all our sacrifices and self-denial, for which we will be rewarded someday. Although destined for the afterlife, unlike Job, we expect some assurances in this life. When tangible rewards don’t materialize, it can lead to a profound sense of disappointment and even bitterness.
This anticipation of reward drives us to do things for others with the expectation that some higher power will recognize and reward our efforts. While a return on our investment may be appreciated and reciprocated in this lifetime, it is unreasonable to presume it will happen. If these expectations are unmet, the resultant disappointment aggravates our social anxiety and leads to depression, animosity, and self-recrimination.
Unhealthy Motivations
Anticipating rewards for services rendered makes our expectations real and visceral. This often leads to overcompensation, where we do more than is necessary or reasonable to please others. We become codependent, relying on them for our sense of self-worth and identity, often sacrificing our own needs in the process.
We become consummate enablers, justifying, encouraging, or contributing to someone else’s harmful behaviors to gain their favor and friendship. Rather than standing by our boundaries, we allow ourselves to be bullied and taken advantage of, seeking affirmation and appreciation.
Set Reasonable Expectations
These fallacies are rooted in our innate desire for fairness and reciprocity. We know how we want to be treated, and anything that conflicts with that is emotionally untenable—even if our expectations are immoderate and implausible. Unfortunately, the naïve belief that all our positive support will be recognized and reciprocated epitomizes unreasonable expectations that will inevitably be unmet.
In reality, not all effort or hard work is rewarded. Altruism for the sake of a reward is a misinterpretation because the practice represents unselfishness. Not all good works entitle you to a reward, and not all kindnesses are redeemed by the universe. If we give without expecting some quid pro quo, we convince ourselves our actions are selfless, but they are often motivated by our need for connection and appreciation.
Let’s consider our relationships. It is naïve to assume that our contributions to a relationship are always returned. Making sacrifices for the sake of reciprocation is selfish. Unfortunately, our fear of rejection often compels overzealousness, which can be off-putting. Even if our giving is appreciated, expecting a satisfying and equitable return can lead to resentment, anger, and disappointment, which projects an unsustainable relationship.
In the workplace, expecting notice and reciprocation for services above and beyond what is required is common. Our core and intermediate beliefs of undesirability and worthlessness play a crucial role in our desire to be recognized. Many of us who distort reality by believing that life is fair and that we will be justly rewarded tend to value ourselves based on our work performance and how our cohorts and superiors perceive us.
However, because life is not always fair and expectations are rarely met, we can become frustrated and resentful, which can negatively impact our relationships and productivity.
It is human nature to expect equity or reciprocation for our efforts. However, nature’s algorithms do not support the concepts of fairness and equal treatment. Life is a crapshoot. By letting go of unrealistic expectations, we can experience logical resolutions and reasonable solutions, knowing that our emotional well-being is internally driven and not determined by external factors.
FILTERING
When under stress, we are particularly vulnerable to cognitive distortions. Like emotional IEDs, they wreak havoc on our confidence and composure.
One concern in working with cognitive distortions is recognizing their overlapping characteristics and parallels. Multiple names for the same cognitive distortions are common, and distinguishing one from the others can be challenging.
When we filter, we selectively ignore the positive aspects of a situation. This unbalanced perspective leads to polarized thinking, where we perceive things only in black or white. Because of our negative self-appraisal, we assume everything that happens is our fault, and anything said derogatorily reflects on us. This distortion is called personalization, which usually leads to internal blaming.
While some of these distortions share traits and characteristics, making them difficult to distinguish, we learn to recognize their idiosyncrasies – the thoughts and behaviors specific to your experiences and personality.
Filtering is a cognitive distortion in which we selectively focus on the negative aspects of a situation. While familiar to all of us, this is especially prevalent among those of us experiencing social anxiety. When we filter, we ignore the positive perspectives and embrace those that support our negative self-appraisal. Our learned tunnel vision gravitates toward the adversity of a situation, excluding the recognition of the positive aspects. This habit also affects our mood, memories, and possibilities as we dwell on the unfortunate aspects of past events rather than the broader picture of multiple experiences.
Our compulsion to focus on the negative is additionally challenging because all humans possess that inherent negativity bias, where we are more receptive to adverse events than positive ones. Imagine you are on a plane, and the pilot alerts you to the wonders of the Grand Canyon on your left side and the landscape decimated by the forest fire on your right. Which one gets your undivided attention?
A person who consistently filters out negative information probably has an excessively cheerful or optimistic personality. Conversely, a person who emphasizes gloom and doom might be considered unhappy or defeatist. Those of us living with SAD tend to mirror the latter. We filter out the positive aspects of our lives, creating an emotional imbalance due to our emphasis on adverse thoughts and experiences. We view ourselves, the world, and our future through an unforgiving lens.
A dozen people in our office celebrate our promotion; one ignores us. We obsess over the lone individual and disregard the goodwill of the rest. By dwelling on the one individual’s indifference, we reinforce our feelings of undesirability and alienation. It’s a common pattern fostered by our condition.
Negative Filtering
Negative filtering is one of our more common cognitive distortions. It’s a habit that many of us share, sustaining our toxic core and intermediate beliefs, which are deeply ingrained negative beliefs about ourselves and the world. Our pessimistic outlook exacerbates our feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. We accentuate the negative. We anticipate the worst-case scenario, expect criticism, ridicule, and rejection, worry about embarrassing or humiliating ourselves, and project unpleasant outcomes that become self-fulfilling prophecies. Unsurprisingly, we readily turn to filtering to justify our irrational thought patterns.
I wrote the book and directed an original theatrical production in my twenties. The songs were great, the dancing commendable, and the direction sufficient to garner a few good reviews. One of the trades, however, gave us a vicious review. Any rational person would have basked in the good notices. My social anxiety, of course, zeroed in on the negative one, prompting me to smash my guitar and a pair of glasses.
I did this in public, to boot, which reinfiorced my reputation as a drama queen.
To effectively counter filtering, we need to analyze the unsoundness of our one-sided perspective and consider the broader picture. As we become aware (identify, comprehend, and accept) of filtering’s self-sabotaging nature and characteristics, we can start to mitigate its power. With time and practice, rational and authentic responses to its duplicity become automatic and spontaneous. We learn to consider the glass half full rather than half empty.
SAD is an emotional virus that metastasizes throughout our lives until we moderate its symptoms through recovery. A pathogen brings disease to its host. Another name for a pathogen is an infectious agent, as they cause infections. As with any organism, pathogens prioritize survival and reproduction.
There’s another irritating trait called the comfortable misery syndrome. We’ve lived in the SAD prison for so long that we’ve gotten used to the gruel.
We view ourselves through myopic lenses. SAD sustains itself by making us inadequate and inferior. It controls us by convincing us we are weak, stupid, and incapable of surviving without it.
LABELING
When we label individuals or groups, we reduce them to a single, usually hostile or dismissive characteristic or descriptor, often based on an isolated event or behavior. As a result, we view them (or ourselves) through the label and filter out information that contradicts it.
Labeling leads to false assumptions, ostracizing, and prejudice, fueling painful personal emotions and generating hostility. Obvious examples of labeling are, “Because he can’t fix the dishwasher, he is useless.” “Because she won’t talk to me, I am undesirable.”
Labeling is emotionally demoralizing when those of us experiencing social anxiety are labeled by our symptoms, especially if we do the labeling.
Labeling is a form of overgeneralization, a cognitive distortion in whichwe draw broad conclusions or make statements based on one or two incidents or behaviors and ignore contradicting evidence. Polarized thinking, filtering, emotional reasoning, and jumping to conclusionscan also instigate labeling.
OtherLabeling
Because we fear criticism and ridicule, we often label others out of anger and resentment for our perceived inadequacies. We also tend to retaliate to compensate for our insecurity. For example, if we feel alienated at a party, we might label the other guests rude or hostile.
If our companions seem unsupportive, we might label them disloyal and our intimate partner indifferent.
Personal Labeling
Personal labeling (self-labeling) is when we create negative labels based on our self-appraisal. We know how distressing it can be when someone adversely labels us. When we engage in personal labeling, we sustain our self-loathing and disappointment. “No one talked to me at the event. I must be undesirable.” This self-labeling can be particularly damaging, as it perpetuates our negative self-perceptions and undermines our self-esteem.
Branding ourselves with a negative epithet is self-defeating, sustaining our anxiety and depression. This practice leads to thoughts and behaviors reinforcing our label, triggering a cascade of negative self-perceptions. The self-perpetuating cycle of adverse self-labeling deepens our sense of hopelessness, and our subsequent actions support our despondency. It’s crucial to recognize this self-defeating cycle and take steps to break it.
Labels are unreasonable because they are subjective interpretations. Arbitrarily evaluating someone based on distinct incidents or behaviors does not define their entire character and is hurtful and harmful.
Rather than focusing on the specific element or prejudice that generated the label, it is essential to value the positive contributions of the person or group. We should appraise everyone with compassionate insight. For instance, instead of labeling someone as ‘aloof’ or ‘arrogant,’ perhaps we can consider their shyness or anxiety. Rather than an arbitrary label, attempting to understand the reasons for their behavior or our discomfort is a kinder and more rational approach.
Our preconceived notions often stem from experience, bias, disinformation, or unconscious projections. When we label someone based on their appearance or behavior, it’s crucial to question our assumptions. Why do we feel this way? What motivates our need to characterize someone by a particular attribute? By questioning our assumptions, we can gain a deeper understanding and avoid the pitfalls of labeling.
We are so much more than a label. We are unique individuals with diverse backgrounds, beliefs, and concerns. This awareness should broaden our perspectives.
Consider why someone might act the way they do. Think about how harmful and closed-minded a label is and how it might affect them. How does being labeled affect you? We abhor our fears of being judged or criticized. Why would we do that to someone else? Why would we do that to ourselves? Questioning our assumptions is crucial for rational thought, perception, and behavior.
Overgeneralization, Jumping to Conclusions & Catastrophizing
Three closely aligned cognitive distortions appear moderately indistinguishable because they are all derived from our compulsion to dramatize their conclusions. Overgeneralization, jumping to conclusions. and catastrophizing arethe engine, car, and caboose of our exaggerated reactions to common situations.
Let’s take an example from our social anxiety. We overgeneralize that a failed relationship means every other effort will generate the same negative response. We then promptly conclude that we will never experience a healthy relationship. The catastrophic belief is that we will become isolated and friendless, with multiple cats to keep us company. These three closely related cognitive distortions are broad, unsubstantiated, and ostensibly inaccurate subjective projections. Here’s how we tell them apart.
Overgeneralization
We overgeneralizewhen we drawconclusions that exceed what could be logically explained, usually applying statistics from a small sample size to a larger population.
The neighbor’s teenage son is a delinquent because most teenagers in this neighborhood are delinquents.
Overgeneralizing happens when we make exaggerated claims about something or someone without evidence. We make false conclusions based on limited or inaccurate information, convinced that a negative experience or behavior applies to similar situations, whether or not the circumstances are comparable.
We assume an isolated behavior represents an entire group, which leads to stereotyping. We view a one-time incident as a never-ending pattern of regularity, disputing the potential for behavioral change. Moreover, we disregard evidence that disputes our findings.
Like filtering, where we ignore the positive and dwell on the negative, overgeneralization supports our SAD-induced tendency to assume the worst of an incident or behavior, usually due to prior experience. So ‘once’ becomes ‘many,’ ‘sometimes becomes always,’ and ‘possibly’ becomes ‘probably.’ For example, the last time we went swimming, we almost drowned. Therefore, all pools and lakes are dangerous and should be avoided. Because the sushi made us ill, all East Asian restaurants are unhealthy.
These irrational conclusions prevent us from placing ourselves in similar situations where we assume a bad experience will repeat itself. Our automatic negative thoughts (ANTs) are usually overgeneralizations. For example, if we feel rejected at a social gathering, we may conclude, “I am undesirable.’ No one will ever like me,’ which supports the likelihood that we will avoid or suspect future social situations
We overgeneralize when we claim that all politicians are corrupt or all priests are pedophiles based on small representations. Outlaw gangs often ride motorcycles. Therefore, the couple on the Harley-Davidson must be members of an outlaw gang. These are all instances of overgeneralization that we encounter in our daily lives.
Overgeneralization can make it difficult to establish and maintain relationships. Our condition makes establishing and maintaining relationships difficult, and they often fail, making us consider all potential relationships too risky. A mistake at work might repeat itself and lead to overgeneralizing our ineffectiveness, hindering our professional growth. This cycle of negative self-appraisal further damages our already fragile self-esteem.
Jumping to Conclusions
Jumping to conclusionsinvolves makingbroad and inaccurate conjectures that are unsubstantiated by evidence. T
he neighbor’s teenage son is a delinquent because he enjoys heavy metal.
When we overgeneralize, we infer that a single behavior or incident indicates a pattern. Jumping to conclusions occurs when we make a broad assumption based on a particular behavior or incident despite having evidence to the contrary.
Most of the symptoms of our condition are examples of jumping to conclusions. Our negative core beliefs and self-appraisal compel us to jump to conclusions. We assume that we will embarrass or humiliate ourselves during a situation because we feel stupid. We jump to the conclusion that no one will talk to us because the shame of our condition makes us want to hide. We avoid companionship and intimacy because we jump to the conclusion that we are undesirable.
Jumping to conclusions implies we are telepathic and clairvoyant. Our projection of adverse outcomes makes us fortune tellers and mind readers. Fortune telling is a type of cognitive distortion where we predict adverse outcomes. We symptomatically focus on the worst-case scenario and the probability of disaster. We become faux mind-readers when we conclude we are subject to criticism and ridicule. Both distortions can lead to a warped perception of reality.
Catastrophizing
When we catastrophize, weassume the worst by imagining a situation potentially more disastrous than logic dictates.
The neighbor’s teenage son will probably do us harm because he is a neighborhood delinquent who enjoys heavy metal.
Chicken Little was plucking worms in the henyard when an acorn dropped from a tree onto her head. She immediately assumed the worst. The sky is falling, the sky is falling, she clucked hysterically.
Catastrophizingcompels us to conclude that the worst-case scenario has occurred when things happen to us rather than considering plausible explanations. It is the irrational assumption that something is or will be far worse than reasonably probable. We prophesize the worst and twist reality to support our projection.
For instance, if our significant other has a bad week, we might conclude that the relationship is in jeopardy (external control), leading to behaviors that could instigate such an outcome. We catastrophize by convincing ourselves that divorce is imminent and we will never find love again.
If we receive a disappointing grade on a test, we may conclude that we will fail the course or catastrophize that we will never graduate. If our manager isn’t happy with how we performed a task, we might jump to the conclusion that we will not be promoted or convince ourselves that we will lose our jobs and will never work again.
If we experiencemigraines or abdominal pain, we might decide to rest up or see a physician if the pain continues. Convincing ourselves that we have a brain tumor or a ruptured appendix is catastrophizing.
Catastrophizing is not just a cognitive distortion; it’s paralyzing. It limits our interactivity and social engagement because we are on the cusp of disaster. Catastrophizing prevents us from trying new things and experiencing life to the fullest. It shuts out possibilities. It limits our ability to establish, develop, and maintain healthy relationships.
Understanding the paralyzing effect of catastrophizing is the first step towards overcoming it and living a more fulfilling life.
One of the four central core beliefs associated with social anxiety and depression is our sense of helplessness. This perceived impotence, if left unchecked, can become a learned behavior developed through repetition and experience. We express learned helplessness when we convince ourselves that if we lack control over some experience in the past, we will never have control over it.
It’s crucial to recognize and address the self-destructive nature of our perceived impotence to regain control over our lives.
To Encapsulate
Overgeneralization: The neighbor’s teenage son is a delinquent because most teenagers in this neighborhood are delinquents.
Jumping to Conclusions: The neighbor’s teenage son is a delinquent because he listens to heavy metal.
Catastrophizing: The neighbor’s teenage son will probably do us harm because he is a delinquent who listens to heavy metal.
Solutions
The obvious suggestion is to stop blowing things out of proportion. That’s easier said than done, but given our condition, it’s prudent to repeatedly instruct our neural network to focus on common-sense thinking. Recognizing the irrationality of these assumptions is the first step to challenging and changing them.When we overgeneralize, jump to conclusions, and catastrophize, we prophesize potential adverse outcomes and shape our behaviors to ensure they happen.
By devising rational explanations, we can break this cycle
Our desire for stability causes us to seek certainty and predictability. Our anxiety flourishes in fearful or unfamiliar situations. This is because our ‘fight-or-flight response,’ a natural reaction to stress, compels us to make rash and careless assumptions without considering other possibilities and perspectives.
It is essential to remain vigilant that cognitive distortions may support our twisted interpretations, such as believing ‘I’m a failure’ after a minor setback, and validate our irrational thoughts and behaviors, like avoiding social situations due to fear of judgment.
Still, their inaccuracies perpetuate our anxiety and depression. By considering other possibilities and perspectives, such as ‘I may have made a mistake, but it doesn’t define me’ or ‘Others may not be judging me as harshly as I think’, we can challenge these distortions.
There are simple and obvious steps we can take to eliminate these distortions.
Justify our conclusions with evidence. What research and data support them? Do we truly know anything about the subject? What fears, experiences, and prejudices initiated these conclusions? Perhaps our obsession with others criticizing, ridiculing, and rejecting us compels us to attack first as a form of self-defense. This critical thinking is crucial in combating these distortions.
Put ourselves in the shoes of those we subject to inaccurate and derogatory accusations. How do we feel when the tables are turned, as they invariably are when we succumb to our SAD-induced fears of criticism, rejection, and ridicule?
Assess the situation and consider plausible explanations and other perspectives. Respond rationally rather than emotionally.We have the power to stop these negative thought patterns. We identify them, write them down, analyze their irrationality, and produce common-sense solutions.
Practice basic self-care: These irrational conclusions are more likely to materialize during periods of fatigue or stress. Basic self-care practices, such as getting enough sleep and eating properly, exercising regularly, connecting with nature, and taking time to reflect with gratitude on the positive aspects of our lives, can help us feel more emotionally balanced.
By prioritizing self-care, we show ourselves the care and attention we deserve, which can help manage unproductive thoughts.
Stop overthinking. When we overthink, we obsess, engaging in repetitive and unproductive thoughts. We make mountains out of molehills. Overthinking is a hindrance to personal development because it entails ruminating about our past habits and failures, whereas recovery is a here-and-now solution that will positively impact the future.
Thoughts are just thoughts. They are not facts or reality unless we make them so.
Compassion can help us see situations through the other’s perspective, reducing our tendency to distort the accuracy of the situation. Critical thinking will challenge our assumptions to avoid distorting our conclusions.
As we progress, we become acutely aware (identify, comprehend, and accept) our perverse idiosyncrasies. We recognize them in our behaviors and notice them in others. We identify them when we make unthinking and unfounded statements and observations.
PERSONALIZATION
Did you ever walk into a room and the conversation suddenly stop? It is because we irrationally assume we are the immediate center of attention and are under evaluation when we are nothing more than a momentary distraction.
Personalization, often called the mother of all guilt, is a common human tendency. It’s the belief that everything is somehow directed at us, even without a logical connection. This perception stems from our emotional assumption that we’re always the center of attention, and our suspicion that we’re constantly under negative appraisal, criticism, and ridicule.
When we personalize, we tell ourselves that what others are doing or saying must relate to us personally. We assume random comments are directed toward us. For instance, we are convinced that a teacher’s general criticism of the class is because of something we did. Similarly, if a friend cancels plans, we might conclude it’s because they don’t want to spend time with us, rather than considering other possible reasons.
Understanding personalization can be a game-changer. When someone advises us, “Don’t take it personally,” we might be engaging in personalization. This concept helps us realize that we’re not always the cause of things happening around us. It’s a relief to know that not everything is a reaction to us, and that random comments are often not personally relevant. This understanding can empower us to navigate social situations with a clearer perspective, reducing the burden of unnecessary guilt and anxiety.
Personalization can manifest in various forms, from the belief that our whispering colleagues are critiquing us to the conviction that a friend’s foul mood is a reaction to something we did. This distortion leads to a cascade of negative emotions, including guilt, anxiety, and a pervasive sense of inadequacy. It also gives us a sense of control over other people’s motivations. For example, if we believe a friend’s foul mood is because of us, we might feel we have the power to ‘fix’ their mood, even if we are entirely unrelated to the real cause. This perceived control can be a heavy burden, as it often leads to misplaced responsibility and unnecessary stress.
Personalization causes a misplaced sense of personal responsibility that does not account for external factors or circumstances. We blame ourselves for things that have nothing to do with us. A disappointing event or relationship is our fault, even when we are uninvolved.
Much of this is due to our symptomatic self-centeredness, a term that refers to our tendency to focus on ourselves and our own feelings, often to the exclusion of others. We worry about embarrassing or humiliating ourselves, and our intense anxiety during social situations. Of course, the reality is that everyone is the center of their little world with their busy lives and unique interests. The chances that they are thinking and talking about us are doubtful. As children, we believe the world revolves around us. We are emotionally and cognitively incapable of considering other probabilities. We assume our parents fight because we did something wrong. Reasonable people grow out of this self-obsession.
Two types of personalization disrupt our emotional well-being. The first is when wetake our disappointments and struggles personally due to some perceived character deficit. If we are criticized at work for a report, we assume it’s because our productivity is inadequate. We don’t consider alternative explanations. Perhaps our supervisor has been raked over the coals by their boss, and they are merely displacing their frustration. Or the report may be acceptable, but the supervisor is nauseous from a bad lunch. Or the report has a simple typo. But instead of considering viable options, our immediate recourse is to jump to the conclusion (another cognitive distortion) that we aren’t good enough.
The other form of personalization is when we assume responsibility for the trials and tribulations of others.We believe we are responsible for the welfare of others and convince ourselves we are accountable for their happiness or depression. If our relationship fails, we assume we are to blame. When we are ghosted, it’s because we are unlikable.
I’ll provide a personal example. At any level in the entertainment industry, an actor is subjected to the inhumane process of casting, a journey that leads to an inordinate number of rejections. As someone who personalized the indifference of my cat, I lived in a sad cycle of self-criticism. Like many artists, I craved the recognition and occasional moments of audience adulation to compensate for my lack of self-worth. When Report to the Commissioner premiered at the Cinerama Dome on Sunset Blvd., I put on my finest threads and anxiously awaited my small moment on the giant screen. It never appeared, of course. The fact that I was so nervous I couldn’t remember my lines might have been a factor, although my original scene was incongruous to the final product. Numerous actors have survived the indignity of the cutting room floor, including Kevin Costner, Mickey Rourke, George Clooney, Kevin Spacey, and Christopher Plummer, but they were made of sterner stuff.
Here are some coping techniques to help us recognize and mitigate our tendency toward personalization.
One powerful tool in our arsenal is the ability to devise immediate situational affirmations to counter triggers that lead to personalization. Situational affirmations are positive statements to remind ourselves of our worth and capabilities. For instance, if we feel inadequate at work, we can remind ourselves of past successes and unique skills. By doing so, we can regain control over our reactions and prevent negative personalization.
It’s sensible to consider the source of criticism. We are not responsible for other people’s ignorance, prejudice, and temperament, but we control our responses and reactions to their opinions. This allows us to resist the urge to dwell on the clumsy criticisms of witless individuals. We must stop overthinking the criticism and retain our power.
Identifying our triggers in advance is not just advisable, it’s crucial. This proactive approach ensures we will not be piqued when someone tries to inflame them. Is it a particular memory, emotion, or sensation? Pay attention to the sources of your triggers, and take control of your emotional responses.
There is a vast difference between taking things personally and being personally invested. When we take things personally, we are affected by others’ actions or words, but it doesn’t mean we have to let them antagonize or define us. Convincing ourselves that other people’s beliefs and opinions don’t matter can lead to dehumanization and moral disengagement. Personal investment means we invite criticism but don’t let it influence our self-worth.
Standard techniques help mitigate our discomfort when we assume we are the center of attention. For instance, we can remind ourselves that our belief is irrational. Everyone is too busy thinking about themselves to focus on us. Or we can challenge our beliefs. We can use the ‘Look Around Technique’ to observe what’s happening, not what our self-consciousness tells us is happening. Are people specifically talking about us or judging us? Are they even looking at us?
On the other hand, what if a stranger is staring at us, and evaluating or criticizing us? So what? That’s their issue. They don’t know us. They’re just making an uninformed evaluation. Why should we care what they think? We do not need someone else’s approval to be who we are.
Here’s what we can do when we feel self-conscious in public. We take a deep breath, relax our muscles, and gradually look around the room or environment. We’re not staring people down or trying to attract their attention. We are casually looking around to gauge what’s happening around us. The Look Around Technique will reveal that hardly anyone is looking at us, and if they are, they have an ulterior motive, which means they are likely cognitively distorting.
What you observe will reassure and surprise you.
POLARIZED THINKING
One of the most unfortunate battles we face is our constant self-criticism. We endlessly dissect every move and conversation, berating ourselves for perceived ignorance and incompetence. This self-imposed pressure to be perfect can be overwhelming, as we convince ourselves that anything less than perfection is a failure.
In polarized or all-or-nothing thinking, we view things in extremes – black or white. There is no middle ground, no room for compromise. We are either exceptional or complete dullards. Our friends are with us or against us. It’s important to remember that this type of thinking is more common than we might think, and understanding its prevalence can help us feel less isolated and more understood.
We deny the possibility of balanced perspectives or positive outcomes. We hesitate to give people the benefit of the doubt and apply the same skepticism to our behaviors.
Worse than our anxiety about criticism is our self-judgment. Our self-judgment is even harsher than our fear of outside criticism. We must be broken and inept if we are not flawless and masterful. We have little tolerance for mistakes or mediocrity, leading to self-deprecating conclusions like, “I failed my last exam; I fail at everything I try. I’m a loser.” It’s important to note that change is possible. Tending to polarized thinking doesn’t mean we’re broken or flawed. It’s a common human trait that can cause problems when taken to extremes.
All-or-nothing conclusions damage self-esteem and self-perception. We face constant disappointment and demoralization when we judge ourselves or others by impossibly high standards.
Concluding Remarks
Individuals grappling with social anxiety often find themselves entangled in cognitive distortions and defense mechanisms. However, the journey to recovery begins with the empowering act of recognizing, comprehending, and accepting these self-destructive patterns. This process not only fosters recovery but also cultivates attentive listening skills, enabling us to engage in active communication where we truly value what others have to say. In empathic interaction, our goal is to understand, and then to be understood.
As we nurture our self-esteem, we embark on a journey of self-discovery, learning to identify the root causes of our irrational thinking patterns. By overcoming our fears of judgment and criticism through the regeneration of self-esteem, we open ourselves to accepting and appreciating the value of others. Positive psychology serves as our guide, leading us to embrace our unique character strengths, attributes, and shortfalls. This journey of self-appreciation not only fills us with confidence and joy but also inspires us to pay it forward, spreading positivity and understanding.
It’s vital to approach life’s events with a holistic view, considering multiple perspectives. We need to steer clear of the narrow focus of filtering, the inflexibility of polarized thinking, and the half measure of emotional reasoning. Instead, we should embrace the diverse kaleidoscope of viewpoints, interpretations, and possibilities that life offers.
WHY IS YOUR SUPPORT SO NECESSARY AND ESSENTIAL? ReChanneling develops and implements programs to (1) mitigate symptoms of social anxiety and related conditions and (2) pursue personal goals and objectives – harnessing our intrinsic aptitude for extraordinary living. Our paradigmatic approach targets the personality through empathy, collaboration, and program integration utilizing neuroscience and psychology including proactive neuroplasticity, cognitive-behavioral modification, positive psychology, and techniques designed to regenerate self-esteem. All donations support scholarships for groups and workshops.
INDIVIDUAL RECOVERY. The symptoms of social anxiety make it challenging for some to participate in a collective workshop. Dr. Mullen works one-on-one with a select group of individuals uneasy in a group setting. ReChanneling offers scholarships to accommodate the costs. What is missed in group activities is provided in our monthly, no-cost Graduate Recovery Group. In this supportive community, graduates interact with others who have completed the program. Contact ‘rmullenphd@gmail.com’.
Committing to recovery is one of the hardest things you will ever do. It takes enormous courage and the realization that you are of value, consequential, and deserving of happiness.
