Psychological Demons By Linda Stowe
Sometimes these Wordle stories take me far afield from my everyday thoughts. And so today I found myself considering a list of common psychological demons. There is the usual laundry list including such things as fear, doubt, anger, sadness, addiction, loneliness, and shame. If that list doesn’t spark interest, there are others: insecurity, perfectionism, need for control, jealousy, and greed.
No doubt each of us can pick one or more demons from this list that has plagued us most of our life. Without the benefit of professional counsel, I would say that fear is my primary demon. It has stood in the way of so many life experiences I might have had. In many ways, it has ruled my life.
But did you know that these demons can be a decoy for a deeper issue? They provide a distraction from underlying issues by forcing attention on symptoms in order to avoid looking for root causes. In other words, they’re the tip of the iceberg.
It makes sense. My fear probably didn’t just pop up one day. There was probably some genesis that set me on that path. I have some ideas on that but to paraphrase Scarlett O’Hara I’ll think about that tomorrow.
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Polly here.
There is a “theory” that suggests that all of those demons in our lives stem from fear. That fear is the root of all evil. I know one thing for certain. Fear is a big problem in our country right now. Fear is the cause of hatred. Fear is the cause of prejudice.
When individuals or groups are afraid of something they do not understand or feel threatened by? Hatred takes form in many ways.
Why do they fear? Well, for one, there is the fear of the “Other.”
People often fear what is unfamiliar, whether it’s another culture, race, religion, or way of life. We have seen this fear grow into hatred. “Build the wall. Build the wall.” Yep. The unfamiliar becomes something to be resisted, vilified, or even demonized.
The other thing that is happening right now? People fear the loss of control and power. A lot of white people perceive that their position is under threat. That “their” United States is being overrun by immigrants. So. They may lash out in hatred, often blaming or scapegoating those they perceive as the source of the threat.
I could go on and on about this. About fear and its damage. We’ve seen it in Nazi Germany during the 1930s and through WWII.
We’re seeing it again here.
