Dealing with issues

[Nehru]

Comrades,

As human beings living in this capitalist world, dealing with the pressures of life, success and failures, social problems, esteem issues etc. etc., how do we tackle these? Which school of psychology gives us the knowledge and strength to handle all this? Which is most compatible with Marxism?

Thanks,
Guna

p.s.
I am not talking theory alone but something more practical, like therapy etc., something that helps us tackle the horrible pressures of everyday life.

[Queercommie Girl]

Behavioural and functional psychological analysis, for their more materialist, pragmatic and empirical approaches.

Remember: no matter how "weird" one might be, as long as actual social and behavioural functions are not negatively affected, then it's definitely not a psychological problem. Function comes before essence.

[Nehru]

Behavioural and functional psychological analysis, for their more materialist, pragmatic and empirical approaches.

Remember: no matter how "weird" one might be, as long as actual social and behavioural functions are not negatively affected, then it's definitely not a psychological problem. Function comes before essence.

Thanks, Iseul. I am talking about real problems that affect our body and mind - stress, anxiety, lack of self-esteem, frustration and boredom of everyday life. Dealing with them is not easy, so I thought therapy would help although I am not sure what sort. How about hypnotherapy?

[AnonymousOne]

Thanks, Iseul. I am talking about real problems that affect our body and mind - stress, anxiety, lack of self-esteem, frustration and boredom of everyday life. Dealing with them is not easy, so I thought therapy would help although I am not sure what sort. How about hypnotherapy?

Something I find that helps is to take time back. If I may ask, what is your employment status? Do you have weekends or a few days free? Or are you working something like 60/70 hour weeks?

Because if you have a few days, something I might suggest is designate one day as a day for self-improvement. After I lost my faith, I had this giant day full of nothing to do called "Sunday". At first I woke up super late in the day, derped around on the internet, played some games etc. But I really hated it.

So I decided I'd make that day a day solely for self-improvement. For example I started working out on that day for a good two hours, I would do some programming, read some books, watch a documentary, learn a new recipe and make that for dinner etc. It takes the day and makes it a nice relaxing, positive day.

It's an incredibly empowering and good esteem-building exercise.

As for boredom, well there's not a lot I can help you with here. Try to remember something you loved doing, or find something you don't hate and try to build skills up so you can move into that field.

Also consider making a plan that you can work towards, if you find yourself wanting to switch fields/careers/jobs whatever, begin looking for a job that's better for you and begin looking towards the future.

There was a great book I read called, The Time Paradox: The New Psychology of Time That Will Change Your Life by Philip Zimbardo. It basically talked about how different ways we view time change our behaviors and attitudes.

So if you hate your job, begin looking towards the future. It will make the job go easier and be less hellish.

I don't know if it will work for you, but it definitely worked for me.

[Mr. Natural]

Guna, I find my envelopment by the capitalist system to be an existential nightmare in about every way possible. Capitalism is a system, and with its globalization, it has subsumed all forms of life on Earth.

Mental health, for me, must involve fighting this system with awareness and effectiveness, but I live in Tea Party Town. The most progressive person I know cannot criticize Obama.

So I'm involved in developing a red-green revolutionary organizing theory. This keeps me sane, and progress is being made.

My red-green best. Don't let capitalism get you down; learn to take The System down!

[Fopeos]

I know it has nothing to do with Marxism, but I practice Wing Chun kung fu and an old shaolin breathing-stretching regime called Qigong. They both promote mental focus, low blood pressure, and enable me to let go of my almost constant frustration. I'm not a new-ager or some flakey herbal tea guy. I'm an atheist and Marxist and this stuff works.