The Power of Negative Thinking

There is a quote I like: "Even if you are on the right track, you can be run over the train, if you just sit there". 

In other words, if the light at the end of the tunnel is a train coming your way, no amount of  positive thinking will not save you, although of course, if you can avoid worrying, you will  be  quite happy and relaxed right until the moment the train hits and you've became roadkill.

On the other hand, sitting on the tracks, paralyzed by worry and fear that a train might come and hit you will not save you either, unless you get moving and get off the damn track!

Thinking, either positively or negatively, on its own does neither "create a better future" nor "cause bad things to happen". Thoughts  either negative or positive without action are just those: thoughts. Positive thinking without action is as useless and possibly harmful as negative thinking. 

Think about it: if you leave a pot on the stove while you leave to do your positive visualization session and a fire breaks out in your kitchen, the fire is neither a result of your negative thinking, nor is it prevented by the positive energy created by your visualizations. 

If you do find a fire in your kitchen, I hope you will not try to "bless it" or "breathe through it": you will deal with it, and if you can not put it out easily, you will call 911 and ask for the firefighters to come and deal with it.

Likely, and hopefully, the fire department will not instruct you to sit down, take deep breaths, and visualize the fire  putting out itself.  Most likely, and most hopefully, they have a truck available, and will send trained firefighters armed with tools and knowledge to deal with the emergency.

The very existence of a firefighter department in your community is a result of "negative thinking" and "positive thinking": it is their job to think of any and all causes, man made, or act of God, deliberate or accidental, that could cause a fire, it is their job to think of anything that might go wrong, and it is their job to come up with a plan as to how to deal with any and all that can go wrong. Of course, coming up with a plan to prevent fires, as well as a plan to put them out requires positive thinking: they must believe that they are capable of putting the fire out and they must feel confident in their training and capability to do so.

On the other hand, having a plan is utterly useless without actually putting it into action. If there were plans to have a fire department, but no dispatch, no fire trucks, no tools and no capable fireman available, the fire will not put itself out.

Facing your worst fears, and making an "emergency" or, "contingency" plan to deal with them, instead of either being paralyzed by them, or simply wishing them away is a powerful way of reducing anxiety and increasing your chances of survival, or success.

Thinking negatively does not cause disasters  but having a plan to deal with negative events is positively helpful in life's small or big emergencies.

So, "Trust Allah, but tie your Camels". Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst, and whatever you do, do something: you do not get anywhere by sitting on the right track, but you might very well run over by the train, if you just sit there. 

Have you got the Bad Eye? Depression in an Ethno-Cultural Context

Mental illness is present in all societies, but its form and expression varies across cultures. Furthermore, what is considered healthy in one society may be viewed as pathological in another. For example, hearing voices of, seeing or communicating with dead relatives is viewed in Western Society as abnormal, while the same experience is regarded perfectly normal in some societies.

Not only are mental  disorders perceived differently, but also, their symptoms and manifestations, and culture specific idioms of distress (the way people describe their "symptoms" and/or express their distress")  vary across cultures. Understanding the language of distress from a cross cultural point of view, culturally competent diagnosis and treatment of mental illness are becoming increasingly important in societies such as Canada and the United States, where the main feature of society is cultural diversity.

Ironically, although the western population makes up only one sixth of the world's , western diagnostic framework has been historically regarded as an all encompassing standard for all mental illness, regardless of culture. Thus, diagnosis, treatment  psychoanalytic theory and practice has been developed almost exclusively by white, middle class professionals whose words views are strongly linked to the western tradition of work ethic: progress and future orientation, rigid time tables, nuclear family structure, individualism, self reliance, importance o uniqueness and autonomy.  However, this value system is not necessarily shared by other cultures and how people identify  explain and communicate distress may differ considerably from one cultural group to another.


Relative orientation perspective of today's psychiatry and psychology strongly emphasizes the influence of such cultural, social and environmental factors. According to this perspective, depression, as a mental illness is a western construct, and as such, a culture specific disease to western society   In fact, according  to at least some experts, depression is-among other things- based on the belief in an individual's right to "pursue happiness  and does not exist  at least not in the same form in cultures that do not share the importance of individualism and self determination, therefore, depression  an extreme state of "unhappiness" is "caused" by the individual's -unsuccessful- pursue  of "happiness".

Furthermore, while defining and diagnosing depression in the western culture always includes the criteria that the condition causes "clinically significant distress or impairment of functioning", suffering, distress and sadness does not necessarily viewed as an impairment in other cultures, where "success" and "happiness" or "sadness" and "impairment" are not necessarily interchangeable terms.


Even if depression, as western society defines the disease does not exist, or at least, manifest in a very different way in other cultures there are a number of culture bound syndromes that resemble depression. The following list, (adapted from the DSM IV) includes commonly reported ones:

Mal de ojo (evil aye) or Mal ouchhio (Latin American, Latin Cultures of the Mediterrean)
Mal de Pelea (Puerto Rico)
Nervios (Latinos in the United States and Latin America)
Aataque de nervios (Nervous attack) Latin America and Latin Cultures of the Mediterrean)
Susto (fright, or soul loss)
Bran fag, or Brain fog (West Africa)
Zar (Northest Africa nd Southweset Asia, especially  Egypt, Suydan, Somalia, Ethiopioa and Iran
Shejing shuairou- (neuroligal weakness, neurasthenia) Chinese

So, next time when you are wondering if you have got depression, consider that perhaps feeling sad or melancholy is not a disorder, but a perfectly normal reaction to your experience. On the other hand, if the sadness, melancholy, lack of motivation and other signs of distress are severe or prolonged seek whatever treatment or remedy might feel right to you, personally.

Of Peace and War

If you want peace, stop fighting. If you want peace of mind, stop fighting with your thoughts.

Peter McWilliams, Life 101, 1991

I have been reading  with horror and disbelief in the aftermath of the tragic Sandy Hill Elementary School shooting of how at least some American's reacted to this violence. There was news of that six grader whose parents gave him a gun to go to school with, so that in case there is a shootout in his school, he could protect himself. There was the news that  some Americans, in fear of new gun control laws, went out in big numbers to buy guns and assault riffles, while they could, in case they too, run into a crazy gunman in a shopping mall, in a movie theater, in a school, or who knows, maybe next time, in a hospital maternity ward. The latest I have heard was the shocking and idiotic proposal of the National Riffle Association to start supplying guns for teachers and train them to be  sharp shooters, so that they could protect themselves and schoolchildren, should another school shooting occur. Next, maybe someone will come up with an idea to teach children not Reading, Writing and Arithmetics, but the basics of armed combat and ABCs of war. 

 It makes me mad, angry, and sad that fighting violence with more violence appears so deeply engraved now into society, that these proposals and ideas can even occur to civilized people in the twenty first century and worse, they are debated, instead of quickly dismissed as what they are: crazy, stupid, dangerous and utterly ridiculous ideas . I thought we are supposed to evolve into unity and peace not regress into bloodthirsty Neanderthals.

It is clear to me, and I can not for the love of God (or Universe) understand why is it not clear to others, that being armed to the teeth does not prevent, but leads to armed fights. 

Then, I thought about the fact that these stupid, idiotic, dangerous and violent ideas are nothing but a sign of desperation: a desperate and loosing war of desperate, fearful, disconnected and depressed individuals desperately fighting for what all humans, -except the exceptionally ill and evil- individuals of all cultures and all societies really want: to feel loved, safe, free of threats  free of danger, free of fear, to feel at peace. 

And then, it occurred to me that there will be never ever peace on earth, peace between countries, peace between races, sexes, no peace in relationships and no peace in families, until there will be peace of mind of the individuals and therefore, a peace of the collective mind.

It is a contradiction, really. Until we learn to stop fighting our own fearful thoughts , until we stop arming ourselves with  negative, violent and angry ideas, until we stop fighting our thoughts, until we put down our weapons, our poisoned words, our verbal and mental staggers, until we stop throwing insults at each other and our own selves, until we stop abusing substances, abusing our children, our partners, our elders, our employees, our environment, our Earth there will be no peace in minds, no peace on earth and no peace in heaven.

One of us, all of us, have to stop fighting violence with violence, fear with fear, judgement with judgement, desperation with desperation. One of us, all of us, have to realize that peace starts with putting down the weapons, taking off our armors, destroying walls, borders and all of that separates us. 

Hate begets hate, fear begets fear, desperation begets desperation. The only way to win the war is to stop fighting it. 

I am not suggesting we should close our eyes to violence, to close our eyes when others are violated or not to react when we or others are in danger. There are other, more effective ways to fight against abuse, destruction, oppression and injustice, than violence. There are other, more effective ways to protect the innocent, to protect ourselves, there are more effective, peaceful ways to build a society and culture of evolved and intelligent Human Beings. Think Jesus, think Buddha, think Gandhi, think Mother Theresa, think Francis Agassi, think Martin Luther King, think Nelson Mandela, think...think...think...oh, if we could only stop and think, before pulling the trigger, if we could think before throwing the stone, if we could think before giving into hate. Because, if you think about it, eliminating all what leads to fights, wars and abuse, would make more common sense, than bombing or shooting the hell out of others. Loving the hell out of ourselves and other people would be smarter, cheaper, and yes, more civilized.

If there were no borders, we would not have to defend them. If there were no guns, we would not need gun laws. If there were a society based on love, tolerance, compassion, empathy  taking care of our and each other`s physical, emotional and spiritual needs, there would be no need to fight.

There would be peace on Earth, there would be peace everywhere and we could finally, individually and as species, have a piece of mind.

Let the force of peace be with you.....

Peace!