Psychiatry helps a patient air his conflicts.
It is not always possible to say with certainty who needs psychiatric help and who does not. The assistance will not hurt. It can speed up recovery from a nervous breakdown, and it can prevent the breakdown from happening in the first place.
Psychiatry does its work by giving the patient an opportunity to ventilate his conflicts. Psychoanalysts call this catharsis - the act of overcoming your conflicts by taking them out of your system. In a way, each patient cures himself.
It would be impossible to estimate the many thousands who commit what might be called "psychic suicide".
A friend told me of a young doctor who had been disappointed in love. Despite warnings by other physicians, he refused to slow up. He insisted that he had no alternative.
When he began to complain of pain in the region of his heart, it was too late. A fatal heart attack brought the career of this brilliant young man to an end. He was an example of psychic suicide.
You must determine that if you ever find yourself, now or in the future, turning to an excess of anything - work, play, liquor, food, gambling, or other irresponsible behavior - you will recognize it for what it is; An escape from life, a form of psychic suicide. And you will get to the reason underneath.
No one is ever going to have the perfect life. If they did, it would be too glassy smooth to be interesting. So do not run from life but view complications as interesting puzzles and pride yourself on being able to solve them.
Here are some suggestions that can guide you in life;
1.k Never be without a project or goal that you can work toward.
2. Do not let an emotional problem sit there on your shoulders, becoming like the proverbial monkey on you back. Talk it over with a friend or let a competent psychiatrist help you.
3. No matter how bad things seem, learn to count your blessings each morning.
4. Tell yourself that you can survive all life's adversities.
5. Every time you find yourself guilty of negative thinking, take the same statement and reword it into a positive statment of how you are going to handle a problem or how you are going to rise above it.
6. Form the habit of becoming useful to others.
7. Have a physical checkup at least once a year and then do whatever your doctor suggests without making a big thing of it and broadcasting your medical reports to the world.
8. Take one vacation - and two if you can - every year. Enjoy life. Learn to laugh.
9. Be sensible about the number of hours you work. Write out your schedule every day and provide entertainment and self-rewards.
10. Always be involved with two books - one that you are reading and the other one that you are going to read.
11. Make self-improvement a lifetime goal - in physical appearance, social graces, speech improvement, cultural pursuits and additional acquired knowledge in your professional field.
12. Never stand aloof from people. Never hesitate to strike up conversations with strangers.
Those are the even dozen guidelines - and sometimes lifelines - that I give to my patients and friends. If you use them you may still not dance a jig every day, but you will not be crying the blues either. New contentment will be yours.
Two final thoughts.
First, remember that what you do now is up to you. Do not wait for others to lead you by the hand or make you welcome.
Second. Consider an old Chinese proverb: "You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair".
DR. FRANK S. CAPRIO AND FRANCES SPATZ LEIGHTON
FROM THE TORONTO DAILY STAR.
DON SAYS: Quite inspiring, and I am going to read it every morning before I start my routine! This is wonderful outline for living your life. GO FOR IT!
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