feeling somewhat morose

[hedya]

It might be because of the misty weather, which always puts me in a melancholic, introspective state, or just because having had the lurgies dragging on for FAAAR too long has put a damper on it all, but I have to say that I'm feeling rather..... a sad person

Comments

[jorune]

Looking at web pages about Tony Robbins, they show the full spectrum of web content; Fawning praise, some reasoned comment and total loathing. For me, his work is about making Psychology accessible to the layman. It's a big subject and I find it quite daunting when looking at some of the books in Waterstones when they venture into the arenas of neurology, pharmacology and social context. A lot of it is of relevance to the mentally ill, those people with deep trauma as opposed to people like myself who want to do a bit of self analysis.

He has prised out those parts of psychology that are useful to healthy/near to healthy person in order to allow themselves to change who they are and what they are. In order to do so we need to able to change our beliefs about who we are, what we are and what we can do about it. Therefore we need to define what is a belief, how does it operate, how does it become active, how does it become inactive. Where does physiology fit in this? Are certain thoughts more likely to occur when you look down at the ground with a frown than to look up with a smile on your face?

This discussion is either in 'Ultimate Power' or 'Awaken the Giant Within', grandiose titles that are designed for an American audience. I find the book quite readable, it's not a zealous sales pitch to buy the rest of his back catalogue. I would hazard a guess if you had one book you may not require anything else. Given that comment, borrow one or find it cheap in a sale.

As we go through life we accept and project influences from our surroundings and these create experiences. Many people are left wondering what to think and feel about these experiences. What Robbins, NLP and the rest of the self help crowd have done is to suggest new ways of thinking and reacting to these experiences and as a person you pick and choose which of these ideas works for you.

So you have a new toolset to play around with the innards of your head. The next question might be why do the things I do. And that's another story, I went to read Karen Horney's book Neurosis and Human Growth. Published in 1950 it was one of the very first 'self analysis' books, it's an engaging read and I impressed by her ability to express ideas concisely and yet be able to express the details behind them without rambling. It is even more impressive when her native tongue is German. Whilst Robbins is a 'gifted' amateur she was a working Psychoanalyst and had plenty of experience to draw upon.

[purp1e_magic]

Having studied psychology I found that most work in the field, even aimed at the world of academia, is written as though for the layman. Of course, when you're talking about in-depth nitty-gritty, that's harder to do. But you may well find that if you read a general overview and get to grips with the basics, there won't be much left that you can't read. And yes, that includes the neurology/pharmacology etc.

I've not come across Tony Robbins, but as a rule I find that pop-psych is very good at getting right to the heart of a matter. If you take a narrow enough topic, one that is useful for real life, you can cover a good depth and breadth, covering all or almost all the relevant points. However, to sell well, the author has to sound confident about things that are cutting edge, and therefore largely unknown. There are just too many question marks, no matter the subject or how narrow a question you take.

I personally find pop-psych very helpfull, but that's mainly because I have a background framework that it all fits into. Otherwise I'd find it frustrating.

Published in 1950
Psychology moves too fast to bother reading something that old. As a rule, if it's earlier than 1970s, it'll no doubt be interesting but almost primitave, and probably a foundation of later work proving it wrong or developing the ideas (often beyond recognition). Of course I'm overgeneralising horribly.

[hedya]

Given that comment, borrow one or find it cheap in a sale.

Do you have a copy I can borrow please? :)

I will have a look at it because out of general principles I try to not rule out anything before looking at it, but I have to admit to a certain perjudice against self help here, as in the past, with respect to other issues, it has been more harmful then helpful. Will try, and in case you can always wallop me round the head for my narrowmindedness next time we talk about this! :)