Continuous Revolution

Part 7e of Meeting the Voices in My Head and Searching for an Inner Adult Revolution gives over to tyranny. Having won the right to untuck my shirt from my Simulated Parents, I needed to continue marching against my Simulated Peers or they would be the next oppressors. Usually people exert some independence, but getContinue reading “Continuous Revolution”

The Story of the Shirt Tail

Part 7d of Meeting the Voices in My Head and Searching for an Inner Adult When I was in sixth grade, the Student Council succeeded in getting some parts of the school’s dress code revised. This was in 1968 and I guess the faculty couldn’t resist the overwhelming tide of change any longer, so theyContinue reading “The Story of the Shirt Tail”

Nature’s Problem and Its Solution

Chapter 7c of Meeting the Voices in My Head and Searching for an Inner Adult Nature has a problem. It needs to stir the pot. It wants you to get out, take chances, spread your seed, and do stuff. Furthermore, it needs you to be a little different from everyone else, so the species canContinue reading “Nature’s Problem and Its Solution”

The Self Concept

Chapter 7b of Meeting the Voices in My Head and Searching for an Inner Adult The mission of the Rebel is to claim certain feelings, beliefs, and practices as my own, distinct from others. It establishes the boundaries of the Self and assiduously patrols them. It guards my individuality and protects me from losing myContinue reading “The Self Concept”

A Case for Rage

A Book Review Is my anger justified? Anyone who’s ever been angry believes it is. But anger can be terribly destructive and must be managed, say those who are not angry at the moment. Who’s right? Is anger worth keeping? Ethical philosopher, Myisha Cherry recently wrote a book that describes the difference between righteous angerContinue reading “A Case for Rage”

The Critic in Disguise

Chapter 6c of Meeting the Voices in My Head and Searching for an Inner Adult An Inner Critic will sometimes disguise itself as someone else to give more authority to the things it says. That happened to me once at the grocery store. I was happily browsing in the coffee aisle when a woman cameContinue reading “The Critic in Disguise”

Shame’s Minions: The Inner Critics

Chapter 6b of Meeting the Voices in My Head and Searching for an Inner Adult Shame has such an important job to do, to protect me from rejection, that it spawns a horde of minions to do much of its work. These are the Inner Critics, who dominate a great deal of airtime in myContinue reading “Shame’s Minions: The Inner Critics”

A Reflective Eclectic Treatment of Addiction

A Reading of The Urge: Our History of Addiction, Part V When I was growing up, some people in my life drank, but there was only one instance when someone’s drinking resulted in scary behavior. I grew up in the sixties and early seventies and considered myself a hippie, but drug culture passed me andContinue reading “A Reflective Eclectic Treatment of Addiction”

Zero Tolerance or Harm Reduction?

A Reading of The Urge: Our History of Addiction, Part IV My very first client when I began my career as an intern at a VA Medical Center’s Chemical Dependency Unit, confessed to me that he couldn’t stop thinking about having sex with little girls. He explained that heroin was the only thing that helpedContinue reading “Zero Tolerance or Harm Reduction?”