Perilous Pandemic Ponderings- Part 1: Beyond the 'Big Ten'

       The Great Lies of Life; the answers lie beneath...

       Related to the three part "Compelled to Comment" series, the next two posts are an attempt to engage you in active reflection (provocation, that is!) of some less often considered sources of psychological distress. These include thoughts and even internalized beliefs that can in turn have powerfully destructive effects on our psychological well-being (i.e., insidious). The awareness of the inter-relationship among these thoughts, feelings, and behavior is critical and instrumental for 'recovery'. These are thoughts that affect us all at any given time. So it's not whether, but instead where, when, and how much we are affected. These two posts, then, are not an afterthought to the discussion of suicide, but offered as powerful tools that are readily accessible, regardless of where you currently fall on the scale of psychological well-being. Timely, I think, given the likelihood they are being experienced at a higher frequency and perhaps greater intensity (i.e., at a greater 'depth') as the pandemic has persisted.

       The 'Big Ten' here has nothing to do with football, at least not directly. Regardless of your religiosity (or now often referred to as one's 'spirituality'), whether through formal religious teachings or more incidental exposure through Charlton Heston's rendering of Moses with the tablets, the "Thou Shalt" and "Shalt Not" assertions resonate with us all. These are, of course, commands to withstand temptations we all face daily. Challenging enough. What I am concerning myself with here are a different category of temptations that can have just as detrimental impact on our well-being, but those that lurk beneath the surface of our immediate awareness. Limited awareness that is turn due to a combination of repression, denial, and being otherwise psychologically preoccupied. Like an undertow in a great body of water, they can pull us under, especially when not paying attention, when caught by surprise.

       The Great Lies of Life: By the 'Great Lies" I am not referring here to the 'Big Three', the three classic lies all parents have been exposed to by the time your child has reached their adolescence: 1) "Mom and dad, if you get me a pet, I'll care for it" (get ready with your pooper scooper mom; it's you who will be doing poop patrol, of course!); 2) "I need a computer for educational purposes" (only if educational means learning the parameters of the latest video game); and 3) "I need a cell phone so we can be in continuous communication" -- LOL X 3!!!  Less benign, the Great Lies refer to the kinds of (primarily negative, and sometimes profound) self-statements we are all prone to, regardless of origin. Statements such as "Things will never work out for me", "No one cares", "Life sucks; it's not worth it", "I'll never amount to anything; I should just give up", "If I didn't have bad luck, I'd have no luck at all"... Sounds like Eeyore from "Winnie-the-Pooh", eh? Not a laughing matter, these. And, as I say, another form of temptation as the evidence to seduce us into considering and even believing them, is ever present.

       What am I to do? Part 2 - Counter-Action: 'Personify the Lie'