American Psychosis, Resiliency & Human Potential

American Psychosis, Resiliency & Human Potential

American Psychosis article by Chris Hedges”, p27, Savage Grace

Here is a quote from Chris Hedges.  He is a thought leader and political activist and commentator, news reporter, and good guy at large.

We – all of us gathered tonight – you, me, the children — this family that is gathered to pray and to break bread and to pass the peace pipe, we are one of the ‘like-minded cells of defiance’ that Chris Hedges talks about, in regard to surviving this dark night of the globe:

“To recover our mental balance, we must respond to Trump the way victims of trauma respond to abuse.  We must build communities where we can find understanding and solidarity.  We must allow ourselves to mourn.  We must name the psychosis that afflicts us.  We must carry out acts of civil disobedience and steadfast defiance to re-empower others and ourselves.  WE must fend off the madness and engage in dialogues based on truth, literacy, empathy and reality.  We must invest more time in activities such as finding solace in nature, or focusing on music, theatre, literature, art and worship – activities that hold the capacity for renewal and transcendence.  This is the only way we will remain psychologically whole.  Building an outer shell or attempting to hide will exacerbate our psychological distress and depression.  We may not win, but we will have, if we create small, like-minded cells of defiance — the capacity not to go insane.”

Resiliency

Mills and Dombeck, Savage Grace, p79

“To be resilient means to be able to ‘spring back ‘into shape after being deformed.  To be emotionally resilient means to be able to spring back emotionally after suffering through difficult and stressful times in one’s life.  Stressed people experience a flood of powerful negative emotions which may include anger, anxiety and depression.  Some people remain trapped in those negative emotions long after the stressful events that have caused them have passed.  Emotionally resilient people, on the other hand, are quickly able to bounce back to their normal emotional state.”

Human Potential

by Victor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning,  Savage Grace, p80

We must never forget that we may also find meaning in life even when confronted with a hopeless situation, when facing a fate that cannot be changed.  For what then matters is to bear witness to the uniquely human potential at its best, which is to transform a personal tragedy into triumph, to turn one’s predicament into a human achievement.