Eastern practices in psychotherapy

https://www.b17.ru/article/eastpsy/

The psychology of a person is connected with the culture in which he lives. Traditions, norms, moral foundations determine our consciousness. It is possible to single out certain features of Western culture, which at the moment can be the cause of various psychological problems:

1. Individualism.

Through cinema, music, books and other means of culture, it is transmitted to Western people that self-sufficiency is a basic necessity. In the process, the boundary between self-sufficiency as autonomy (the ability to be independent, without the need to refuse communication and support) and independence (underlined by an individualistic approach) is sometimes blurred.

The value of communication, as well as love, friendship, family connection cannot be overstated. Socialization is a basic skill, a human need that opens up many possibilities. Sincere interest in others, empathy slip away when attention shifts to the cult of self-sufficiency.

This can be traced very well in the attitudes that have changed in Western culture towards older people, towards roots and towards the nuclear family. Old people are no longer a storehouse of wisdom, children and great-grandchildren often do not feel respect and interest in communicating with them, interest in the history of the family, even in its creation, has significantly decreased. At the same time, modern Western man longs for a support in the form of cultural identity, which can be expressed in the search for it outside, for example, love for ethnic outfits, jewelry, music.

2. Multitasking.

Studies have shown that the simultaneous execution of a number of tasks does not contribute to the achievement of either faster or better results, but quite the contrary. At the same time, the ability to multitask is actively cultivated in Western culture: this is both a necessary quality for an employee on a resume and a basic requirement in everyday life. However, doing multiple tasks at the same time leads to poor concentration.

3. Ambition.

The incessant pursuit of values that we do not need, the high bar that capitalism has instilled. At a minimum, it is desirable to have: a car, an apartment, trips to the sea, a stable visit to a fitness center, lectures and courses. By itself, a person often does not feel his value, he understands that he is interesting only thanks to running in step with others.

4. The cult of the positive.

Western culture is much less characterized by the analysis of longing, sadness, grief of loss, discussion of negative feelings and emotions. Often, especially strong negative emotions appear in an attempt to cope with primary appropriate, just experiences. For example, intense shame as a result of the inability to cope with sadness or anger after the death of a relative. A universal means of working with psychological problems is, in fact, a trip to a psychologist, or silence, and even feigned joy at the problem. Of course, the increased popularity of psychotherapy cannot but have a positive effect, however, social support and mutual assistance continue to be a necessary factor for coping with difficult experiences.

Are these guidelines right for us? I don't think it's worth stigmatizing them as dysfunctional, but they don't always contribute to mental health. This can be corrected by supplementing, leveling them with Eastern values and practices. Oriental practices such as meditation have long gained general popularity in the West. Marsha Linen, the founder of today's top DBT approach, uses Eastern philosophy and techniques based on it, which I will discuss below, in her therapy model.

1. Meditation.

In this article, I would like to draw your attention to Anapana meditation. Here are some of the goals of this practice: observe yourself, learn to focus on the present moment, learn to feel your body, learn to act consciously, achieve balance and peace through stopping thoughts (a method used in CBT), see the world more broadly and more empathically. Meditation instructions abound on the net, I will describe the concept.

Self-observation begins with focusing on your own breath, its individual components, subtle features (such as the puff of breath on the skin under the nose). It is very important to learn to focus on only one part of the body, when the skill is mastered, you can move on to studying other parts, the whole body. Pain and discomfort are also observed, but the meditator does not try to stop them (which is an excellent metaphor for coping with psychological discomfort), the study of the sensation on the body continues until it disappears. The technique also involves meditation, during which we try to feel unity, love, wish light and balance to those around us.

2. Techniques of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy.DBT techniques are largely based on Marsha Linen's assumption that "Suffering is an integral part of life." Indeed, acceptance of the characteristics of life (for example, aging, death), sadness, oneself, others, broadcast by Eastern philosophy, as well as an undemanding, non-oppositional attitude towards life can be very useful for healing the psyche and has been integrated into DBT through client training:

A) Attention to one's own emotions, behavior, events, observation of one's psychological life.

B) A verbal description of what is happening as objectively as possible, without giving out one's own assumptions, thoughts, emotions for a fact. For example, if I think I can't do it, it doesn't mean that the situation is really like that.

C) Immersion in activity without separating oneself from events.

D) Replacing the belief in the need to ban feelings and emotions by accepting one's experiences.

E) The ability to accept oneself, the situation, those around without judgment, which does not mean leaving in a positive assessment. Rather, the rejection of evaluation, the transition to observation.

I hope that observation regarding possible sources of anxiety, as well as the noted techniques for working with it, will be useful to you in your work or in self-analysis, self-help.

I will be happy to help you deal with difficult feelings and emotions in both the DBT approach and others.

Eastern practices in psychotherapy psychology