Straigtening up

The psyche is not like a house. It cannot be gone through, discarding items no longer wanted or needed. The items to be kept can't be organized onto shelves and into plastic boxes and closets. A lifetime of disfunction requires a perserverance towards gradual change. Organizing the house can help in the process, but it is not the process.

Being aware of the disfunction is only an initial step in reprogramming the psyche. Pointing out the disfunction to someone not ready to hear it is likely to invoke defensiveness initially, and must be done respectfully if it's to have any chance of being helpful. Even one who is willing to change will find the process challenging.

What are you changing?
Who do you think you're changing?
You can't change things, we're all stuck in our ways
It's like trying to clean the ocean
What do you think you can drain it?
Well it was poison and dry long before you came

But you can wake up younger under the knife
And you can wake up sounder if you get analyzed
And I better wake up
There but for the grace of God, go I

Rise up with fists from Rabbit Fur Coat
by Jenny Lewis