Reason #1 to Grow Beyond the Medical Mindset of DSM Diagnosis (Essay Series on Mental Diversity vs. Mental Illness)

Life is challenging - And That Explains A Lot

Death and Loss

Life is fragile. We are all vulnerable to loss and death. There is no way around it. No one we know will escape it.

Millions of people have tried. Millions have tried to offer comfort. Every religion on earth has done its level best. So have many scientists, academics and philosophers.

This includes people throughout human history, from every cultures and country in the world. Every single one of us has a stake in this. Practically everyone would give their eye teeth to find an answer that fit for everyone. Some people have devoted their entire lives to trying. A lot of people have given their lives to find answers that fit for at least some of us.

Yet, no one has succeeded. As a whole, for the human race, we still have more questions that answers. This is especially true when it comes to the really hard questions:

• Why is there suffering?
• Why do bad things happen to good people?
• What happens when we die?
• What happens our relationships with the people, animals, beings we love? 

 

Survival Needs

Add to this the challenge of survival. Let’s face facts, as human beings there are certain things we all need. If we don’t have them, it’s hard to be happy, healthy and reasonably comfortable.

Yet, a lot of what we need is not that easy to get. Sometimes it’s because resources really are scarce. Other times it’s because human relationships (war, greed, family loyalties) make the resources scarce.

Whatever the reason, all too often, our welfare depends on competing with each other. That means some of us end up losers. That’s a high stakes game, no matter how you cut it.

Responsible Relationships

Add to this the fact that we care about each other. Not everybody, but at least some people. If the people we care about don’t have what they need, that affects us too. That’s true for those we care about too, which creates added stress all around.

Self-Assessment

Still don’t see how life is challenging?

Take this simple quiz: http://goo.gl/forms/TBZZdK3i9x


Viewing this as hard copy?  The form is below:

Life Challenges Questionnaire

* Required

The Human Condition *

How protected do you feel natural human vulnerabilities like suffering, sickness, loss and death?




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Personal Needs *

How confident do you feel that, if you just relaxed and used your best judgment, you could live comfortably with the resources you have or could get?




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Relational Responsibilities *

How confident do you feel that the people you care about will be okay, if you just relaxe and use your best judgment?




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Not at all												Totall