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| Woody Harrelson and Christopher Walken in Seven Psychopaths (2012) |
The narrarator works on "a list of things I have grown to hate about doctors' offices" (98).
Do you think it might be therapeutic to create such a list about a place you hate? Or would the process encourage you to focus on the negative and thereby amplify it?
Try creating a list of things you hate about a particular place. Be as concrete as possible. Don't share the list here, but when you finish, characterize the experience.
Did it affect your mood in a positive or negative way?
I believe that there is a therapeuticness to creating a list of things you hate about a place due to how it allows you to focus on one thing and reflect on your thoughts. I fully believe that it depends on how you view that place in your normal day to day whether or not it encourages you to focus only on the negative at that location. If you always complain about a certain place then make a list of all that you hate about the place stripping the goods of it, then it could increase the negativity. I will be leaving my job due to college, leaving a job that I deeply enjoy and am happy I was given the opportunity to work here. When I made a list of things I hated about it, yes, things did come to mind, but due to the overwhelming good qualities about it, it did not affect my overall opinion of my job.
ReplyDeleteI think this is similar to what therapists sometimes call exposure therapy. When there is trauma or PTSD involved a therapist my suggest there client try briefly writing about the experience in a safe environment.
ReplyDeleteIn my eyes this a similar approach and maybe identifying what it is you “hate” about the doctors office gives you more serenity next time your sitting at the doctors office. I think there’s something missing in this exercise though. Like maybe identifying and redefining a more positive existence with the doctor’s office.
I agree. When you write out a list or even vent to the people in your life, it helps you process and better understand your situation. I agree that having another list of things they like would create some positive reinforcement for a generally negative experience and maybe make her dread the doctors appointment less.
DeleteI do think it can be therapeutic for some people but in my opinion it would create unhealthy habits. Constantly thinking about how much you hate the space and and dreading having to go to every doctors appointments would put me in a bad mood. She is already unsure about all the appointments and having to tell people about her diagnosis so by her creating these lists of things she hates is adding onto that depression and uneasyness. She is focusing on the negative parts and amplifying these already existing feelings, but on the other hand it could help distract herself from the waiting and anticipation. After creating my list my mood feels heightened in a negative way. It made me notice the things I hate more but it also affected me in a positive way because I felt better after getting those feelings out.
ReplyDeleteI believe the process of creating a list of things you dislike about a place would cause you to focus on the negative. I think it would cause you to amplify every negative aspect of it, no matter how small. I think it would be very easy for several small things, that typically would not be a big deal, to turn into something you hate or resent. When we only focus on the bad it forces us to overlook the good. After I made my list, I associated the specific place I was thinking of as being bad, even though many great things had happened there as well. It definitely affected my mood negatively.
ReplyDeleteCreating a list about the characteristics of a place one dislikes not only feels therapeutic but also allows one to further appreciate the aspects they do like. Writing or typing a list of dislikes can be a somewhat effective way of expressing negative feelings. One can sit and reflect upon their feelings- good and bad. In the wake of the creation of my list, I have concluded it has not negatively altered my emotional state. I realized there were positive traits of a certain place.
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