Principles for psychological growth
Radically effective and rapid psychological growth is possible with the right combination of counselor and method. But this is rare in 2024!
It can be extremely valuable to view psychological issues as having an immediate payoff. For example, depression, anxiety, insecurity, failure at work, failure in romance, muscle tension / chronic pain, self-loathing, etc. can help one avoid fears or achieve unconscious goals.
The nervous system is constantly making and updating unconscious predictions about our future environment, our future observations, and our future selves. Psychological growth often requires getting these predictions to update.
Psychological growth is often more about unlearning than learning. Example:
Unconscious predictions can be made conscious with skillful technique.
Psychological growth is largely about self-fulfilling prophecies. For example, expecting a job interview to go well can be self-fulfilling, and expecting a date to go poorly can also be self-fulfilling.
Each individual's growth will be unique, yet most have the same general shape.
For most people, psychological growth is mostly about improving their social interactions.
This should be obvious, but some psychological growth can occur by improving one’s physical environment (e.g., reducing lead poisoning, eating better food, darkness at night for better sleep).
Thanks to Brian Toomey, Stag Lynn, Kaj Sotala, Alex Zhu, Damon Sasi, Anna Salamon, CFAR, Epistea Residency, Nolan Kent, and many more for mentorship and support.
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