From The Daily Dialogue
From The Daily Dialogue
Broadcast of 7/29/98
Subject: [DailyDialogue #208] Reframing
"According to....the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition), human life is a form of mental illness." - L. Davis
According to the DSM-IV, bad writing, coffee nerves, limited vocabulary and jet lag are abnormal. Developmental Theory allows us to reframe severe distress as a logical response to developmental history. As we attend to the reality of human experience we are able to practice empathy for ourselves and others.
When we label some people as abnormal and others as normal, the actions of the dominant group tend to be destructive of the subordinates. When we focus on a developmental meaning for what have labeled as disorders, we open up to the possibility for growth and change.
We can describe an individual as having a disease or we can say that their distress is a logical result of biological and developmental stressors. These stressors may be located within the individual, within the system and/or within their history. How we define the problem is directly related to how we will go about solving it.
Experiment: Dialogue with your partner about labels that you have been given, have given yourself or have given to others that focus on abnormality. Reframe the problem including the factors of history and environment as well as biology.
Affirmation: I am looking at life with a new lens.
The Daily Dialogue is published each day of 1998 by e-mail. Copyright 1998, Eddy Brame and Marty Crouch, All rights reserved.
