Everyone seems to have unique strengths and deficits, and
sometimes our work is to minimize those deficits. No one to whom I administer
the various ability and achievement tests in my neuropsychological testing work
does perfectly across the board, in all areas. In working with our deficits, it
might be useful to realize that our deficits are ecological.
In psychological terms, this means that they are usually
there because they serve, or once served, a useful purpose, or solved some
problem for us in our scheme of things, and that is why we opted to have them.
In removing them, no matter how dysfunctional they may seem to the rational
mind, we must take this into account or else they are often replaced by other
symptomatology.
Removing those deficits
without dealing with their cause is not ecological. That is, since they serve a purpose, something
else must replace them, or we must outgrow that need or insecurity. If we don’t,
we run the risk of their being replaced by other solutions to the unresolved
problem.
This is a natural process which may take place in many of us
who see growth as a positive outcome, even if it requires a path which is not
always easy. It’s sometimes like traveling straight up the mountain with a four
wheel drive vehicle rather than taking the road, which circles the mountain
many times to provide a more gradual and gentle path. The concept of
reincarnation, of accepting our situation this time, and coming back to deal
with it another time, might be just such an analogy.
Situations in which our health is involved may sometimes
involve this kind of mechanism. “If I had an ailment which prevented me from
having a particular competency, I wouldn’t have to do this.” Most of the time
these unconscious reasonings are not rational, and again, if the underlying
problem isn’t resolved, the behavior or condition may seem extremely difficult
to remove.
These root causes often go back far beyond the usually blamed
proximal causations, and might stem from early childhood rather than, for
instance, a less than perfect job. Working with elderly family members,
caregiving tasks, etc. can sometimes trigger what at first seems to be
dysfunctional behavior or conditions. These solutions to some of life’s
problems may make a kind of sense from a viewpoint of desperation in dealing
with an untenable situation.
Although these concepts might not be the sole or main cause
of some neuromuscular (what used to be called psychosomatic, but is now
recognized as actual physical, long term stress related problems), they might
be seen as at very least, contributory factors more often than one would
expect.
In the past, before cellphones, PDAs (Personal Digital
Assistants), computers, and the internet, people’s lives were often
interspersed with periods of “down time”. These natural periods of unscheduled
time, during which the “day residue” of unresolved input might be processed or
in some ways dealt with, have, in recent years, become less and less prevalent.
Nowadays it has become even more important to make sure we have sufficient
periods of quality time in our lives, be it exercise, meditation, or other
relaxing pursuit.
Again Thanks and Best Wishes,
Daniel
