All sorts of stuff — e.g. gabby strangers approaching me unexpectedly when I’m in a low mental energy state. But when I observe the sensation of that nervousness, without rumination or feeding of the feeling, it fades rapidly. As Twain [allegedly, but possibly never] said, “I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.”
Sans fear of dying,
The angst of trying
Is felt and left
To float.
What’s the thing you’re most scared to do? What would it take to get you to do it?
Going to a cocktail party with no one I know in attendance. FYI —Things that would generate less anxiety include: cage-fighting, gator-wrestling, skydiving, and (admittedly with the appearance of irony) giving a speech to a large audience.
A battle-hardened phalanx with pointy sticks.
For example: being punched in the face and swimming in open waters.
As for how, to my knowledge there’s only one way to overcome any fear and that’s exposure to the fearful stimulus. e.g. One loses (at least greatly reduces) fear of being hit by sparring.
The other day I read that a man had pushed a person onto the tracks in front of an oncoming train. The week before that, I'd read in a book by Robin Ince that a person who -- having had a baby thrust into his hands -- has intrusive thoughts of throwing said baby out of the nearest window is [believe it, or not] the best person to ask to hold one's baby. The argument goes like this, the person having these intrusive thoughts is being intensely reminded by his or her unconscious mind that under no circumstances -- no matter what unexpected or unusual events should transpire -- is he to throw the baby out the window (or otherwise do anything injurious.) I've heard that, at some point, virtually everyone has some type of awkward intrusive thought such as the thought of pushing a stranger in front of a train. Most never do it, nor truly want to do it. Then this one time... someone did.
I’m a Joke and So Are You: Reflections on Humour and Humanity by Robin Ince
MonsterMind: Dealing with Anxiety & Self-Doubt by Alfonso Casas
The End of Trauma: How the New Science of Resilience Is Changing How We Think About PTSD by George A. Bonanno
1.) No one has ever been mocked, insulted, or beaten into the best version of themselves. 2.) The brain sticks little value labels on everything, labels that have no real existence - but very real consequences. 3.)Whatever else one may be, life insists one be a philosopher. 4.)One can't fathom another's malfunction while discounting that person's fears. 5.)Hold nothing that drags you down. 6.)Before going crazy, contemplate your crazy. 7.) Any dope can see the beauty in beautiful things, a strong mind sees the beauty in all things. 8.) To know a thing's name and classification is to know nothing. 9.) Don't discount the profound power of imaginary worlds. Read.
Understanding Mental Illness: A Comprehensive Guide to Mental Health Disorders for Family and Friends by Carlin Barnes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book is a concise overview of mental illness for individuals who don’t know much about the subject, and who may hold misunderstandings about mental illness and the mentally ill. If that’s what you’re looking for, you’re in the right place. If you’d like to know more about the variations in particular disorders or about relatively obscure conditions, you’ll probably find this book doesn’t meet your needs. The book advocates for doing away with the stigma associated with mental illness and having a better idea of the nature of mental disorders.
The book has fourteen chapters that are mostly logically organized. I say “mostly,” because chapters three, ten, thirteen, and fourteen deal in unique situations facing specific demographics (children / teens, the elderly, women, and professional athletes, respectively.) I’m not sure why these are spread out with topics that have a tighter logic interspersed in between them. I also am not sure why there is a chapter specifically dealing with professional athletes. Mind you, I understand the author’s argument about the unique mental health risks afflicting professional athletes and retired pro athletes. However, it seems like there are other careers that create unique problems (e.g. air traffic controllers) that touch more lives. Given the fact that an important part of the author’s message is about how those with mental health issues are frequently misunderstood and stigmatized, it seems like if one had to pick one career group to represent in the book, one would find one that is bigger and more relatable (e.g. military personnel, cops, social workers, therapists, or even poor / unemployed people.) If it was done to appeal to the general readership’s interest in celebrity, it’s a fail.
Chapters 1 and 2 set the stage by discussing what exactly a mental illness is, how it can be distinguished from the quirks that we all have in varying ways and degrees, and what the various causes are. Chapters 4 through 9 are the heart of the book, and present information on various mental illnesses by type (i.e. mood disorders, anxiety disorders, psychotic disorders, personality disorders, eating disorders, and substance abuse, respectively.) Chapters 11 and 12 discuss suicide and mass shootings, both are worthy inclusions.
The chapters discuss the clinical criteria for various ailments (which often seem arbitrary, but that’s part of the need for such a book – to give readers an understanding of the difficulty of diagnosing the mentally ill.) There are brief case examples included throughout to help the reader recognize the signs. That said, there isn’t a lot of room to deal in the tremendous levels of variation seen within given disorders.
There is an appendix with resources and links. Otherwise, there isn’t much ancillary matter in the book.
I would recommend this book if you are looking for a quick overview of mental illness with some presentation of typical examples. Particularly if you want a handy convenient guide without a lot of searching about. [Which is to say, I don’t think there’s a great deal that one would get from this book that one wouldn’t find doing some internet research.]
Tiger Riding for Beginners 