The largest part of what we call ‘personality’ is determined by how we’ve opted to defend ourselves against anxiety and sadness.”
– Alain de Botton
something to ponder: The largest part... - Positive Wellbein...
Positive Wellbeing During Self-Isolation
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something to ponder
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4woody
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An interesting quote, but I would question the use of the word, 'opted.' This word means making a choice, but such a lot of this happens when we are too young to make a conscious choice. Later on in life we can become aware and attempt to address this, but a simple choice to change things isn't sufficient. The role of the subconscious and us becoming aware of patterns of behaviour and thought processes must be addressed for real change to occur. In addition, if our personality has been affected by trauma during our formative years, the structure and functioning of the brain itself can be affected. Sorry to waffle on! I completely agree that our conscious attitudes regarding anxiety and depression are very important, I just needed to make these additional points.
Anyone who is interested in these areas can Google 'Compassionate Mind Therapy,' and 'The Body Keeps The Score,' by Bessel van der Kolk.
🙂🌸
I guess that to go with what Alain de Botton says, there has to be belief in the concept of 'self' or 'ego', as personality would be a facet of that. And then how possible it actually is to have a defence against anxiety and sadness.
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