Healthcanc

Here's the snap : Impatient with Patients: The What Else Is New It often happens that someone (in therapy) will say, "I’m doing great! So much better!" And in the very next breath it is: "Actually, then (this happened), and (that happened). But still. . . I handled it so well. . ."  And you are waiting.  There is a pause. Maybe even a short one, the response could even be sans pause and pow!  The patient looks right at you, the mood has changed, the patient narrows his eyes, might even scowl, becomes a different person, his old self, for he remembers.  "I’m just really, really angry at . . ." and another story tumbles out, same story, same offender, or some other offender, on a good day there may be multiple offenders, persons who share the responsibility, the blame for the change in mood. Even if the patient attributes a good reason, an empathetic reason for offender behavior, the narcissistic injury stings.   A narcissistic injury, just to digress...

Or: How Failing to Establish Boundaries, thus Needing to Cut Someone Off, an Exaggerated and Extreme but Sometimes Necessary Measure, Can Be Avoided  (1) Extremes and Exaggerations There was a Jewish sage, the Rambam, I think, Maimonides, who lived in the twelfth century. A doctor, (they didn't specialize then) he recommended that if you want to change something about yourself, your life, then err on side of extreme. If you are shy, exaggerate working the room. Act social.   Make yourself talk until people are bored listening to you. (All this my interpretation of a distant memory, probably wrong.) If you are angry, become the Dalai Lama. If you are late, strive to make every appointment really, really early. Pushed too far it is ridiculous. If you are old, work at being young. If you are sick, make yourself well. Exaggerating doesn't work for everything, and surely the Rambam knew that. The chachma (Soft "ch" not like the "ch" in "chuck", but soun...