Psychology Free Online Medical Advice

Working on your way of life; Creative problem solving

Written by: Gunborg Palme, certified psychologist and certified psychotherapist, teacher and tutor in psychotherapy.

First version: 22 Jul 2008. Latest revision: 10 Aug 2008.

Question:

Answer:

Anxiety and unpleasant feelings are a part of life. Their function is to tell us that something is wrong and must be corrected. There are two ways of removing anxiety: We can flee from it with the aid of drugs, overeating, starving and similar escape mechanisms or we can struggle and set to work on our problems. The reason that drugs of various kinds are so popular is that they temporarily relieve mental anguish, but they are a bad remedy because they don't solve any problems and they hinder our development.

We develop and change when we begin to work on the solution of our problems, but many are so fixed in bad solutions that they can't see any other way out of their problems. Here the help of a therapist might be needed.

People with eating disorders have, furthermore, a defect in their ability to identify and separate out different feelings and needs and this complicates their recovery.

How can you improve the way you live? You need to start solving problems instead of escaping from them. Which problem shall I start with? The problem which feels most important right now.

For example: Carola is in hospital because of anorexia nervosa. She dislikes intensely when Mary, one of the assistant nurses, gives her nutrient solution with the tube, and she tries to remove it. Carola gets help to understand that she can exchange Mary for one of the assistant nurses who she likes. This is the beginning of Carola's appreciation that she has the right to her own feelings and her will and she can begin to influence her way of life and find out how to be happy.

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