Text |Tang Sugar
When I first got the book "The World Is Worthy: Finding the Meaning of Life in the Midst of Suffering", my first feeling was that the title of the book was not good. At first glance, it sounds like chicken soup, but when you taste it carefully, this kind of meaning-seeking book is easily reminiscent of existential psychology, not to mention clichés, at least not much new. After reading it, I realized that this book is neither chicken soup nor existentialism, but a history of the life transformation of a great female psychologist.
The author, Martha M. Lane Han, is a female psychologist on par with Sigmund Freud who has received the Lewis Dublin Prize, a Lifetime Achievement Award in the field of suicide, and the Excellence in Research Award for Suicide by the American Society for Suicide Prevention. For clinical psychology research, she has received the Gold Medal for Applied Lifetime Achievement in Psychology from the American Psychological Association, the Scientific Research Award from the National Psychiatric Alliance, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Association for Behavior and Cognition, and the Lauger-Meyer Award in Psychology.
In 2018, she was included in Time magazine's list of 100 scientists who have influenced the world, along with Hawking, Newton, Galileo, Einstein and others, and the only other two psychologists on the entire list were Freud and Wundt.
In this book, Martha tells in detail how she went from an emotionally troubled adolescent girl to a great psychological pioneer. Including the core and ideas of the dialectical act** (DBT) method she pioneered, she also accompanies her own stories to the readers.
Martha grew up in a respectable middle-class family, with five siblings and a family that was almost perfect in any way. Before the age of 18, she was carefree and confident, and was recognized as the "most popular" and "most promising" girl, but after the age of 18, things took a turn for the worse when she was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and sent to the "School of Life", which she called "hell". During this time, she committed suicide and self-inflicted injuries and was the most difficult patient in the college. In the first part of the book, Martha tells the story of what she saw and heard during her descent into "hell" and how they eventually prompted her to vow to escape "hell" and help others "escape" from prison.
It can be said that her later experience stemmed from this 18-year-old trip to hell. In the process of Martha's transformation from an "incorrigible" girl plagued by illness to creating her own world in the male-dominated field of psychology, what I feel the most is the tenacious vitality that comes from Martha. Her sincerity and enthusiasm, her courage and dedication, her tenacity and tenacity in never admitting defeat, and her heroism in saving the common people finally contributed to her miracle.
In the Dialectical Act Method (DBT) created by Martha, the word "dialectic" is very important. And this element is also vividly reflected in Martha. She is naturally susceptible to mental illness genes, and she is also plagued by a "traumatic lack of recognition" in her family of origin. There is both deep melancholy and lively brightness;There is both a completely out-of-control madness and a strong autonomy;There is not only the courage to devote himself completely, but also the ability to break away. Through her own tenacious efforts, she has torn apart these contradictions and deeply integrated them, which is the core "dialectic" idea of DBT technology she founded.
A brief introduction to DBT.
DBT has two unique features.
The first is a combination of Eastern meditation and Western behavioral science, emphasizing the dynamic dance between acceptance and change. Specifically, it's about accepting yourself and your situation in life while embracing changes toward a better life. In this dynamic and balanced dance, there is both a strategy for change and a strategy for acceptance, constantly moving back and forth between the two.
The second feature is that it incorporates "mindfulness" as a technique into the psyche for the first time.
In the present, when it comes to mindfulness, we are already very familiar with it, but in Martha's time, mindfulness meditation from the far East has not yet entered the field of vision of mainstream psychology.
DBT is essentially a behaviorist approach. In contrast to Freud's theory of the unconscious, behaviorism focuses on "effective behavioral techniques." Put simply, it is about helping patients acquire more effective life skills that can lead them to a creative life. DBT's skills training consists of four modules, namely mindfulness skills, pain tolerance skills, emotion regulation skills, and interpersonal efficacy skills. These skills are not only suitable for people with a variety of mental disorders, but also have practical guiding significance for ordinary people.
Behaviorism is realistic and offers skills and methods. In life, many people will say, "I already understand the truth, how to do it?""If you're confused, there's no doubt that DBT offers dozens of proven skills that can help you.
If you take this book as a personal autobiography or a story, I think it is too underestimated, this book condenses the core spiritual power of this epoch-making psychological pioneer, this power is moving, although Martha's words are very simple, but after reading I still feel that "the world is worth it", the key is that we must learn to "find the meaning of life in suffering." ”
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Tang Sugar
National Level 2 Psychological Counselor |15w fan psychology blogger on the whole network.
Published "Being an Emotionally Stable Parent: You Are Your Child's Family of Origin".
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