Foreword
序文
We are all born to particular parents at a particular time and in a particular
わたくしたちは皆、特定の両親もと、特定の時代、特定の場所に生まれてきて、
place and our early experiences combine with our inherited temperaments to
幼少時の経験と生まれながらの気質とが結合されて、他とは違う個々人つまり自己を形成する。
form us into recognisable individuals – ourselves. The journey through
infancy, childhood and adolescence to adulthood is a complicated one and,
幼児、小児、青年から成人への旅路は複雑なものであり、
while most of us acquire a more or less stable and satisfied sense of ourselves
多かれ少なかれ、私たちのうちのほとんどの者は安定した満足のできる自己感覚
and an adequate grasp of the world we live in, we all collect some habits or
と私たちが住んでいる世界について十分な理解を得る。しかしその一方で、くせ、性質、信念についてのいくらかは
dispositions or beliefs which serve us badly but which are so much part of our
私たちに悪い影響を与えるけれども、それはとても自分らしいので、それらに対して疑問を持ったり
sense of ourselves that we do not question them. Unless and until,that is, we
しないものである。
find ourselves suffering from unreasonable anxiety or frequent depression or
そして、自分が、理由のない不安、頻繁な抑うつ、 説明のつかない身体的な症状に苦しんでいると気がついたり、
unexplained physical symptoms or become aware of ways in which our life is
期待あるいは意図したとおりの人生でないことに気が付いて初めて、
not going as we hoped or intended. At this point we may stop and think
疑問を感じる。 この時点で私たちは立ち止まり、
about how our life has been and we may talk to family and friends and receive
自分の人生がどんな風であったのか考えて、家族や友人に話し、役に立つ支援やアドバイスが
helpful support and advice. But for many more troubled people there is a
得られることもあるだろう。しかしもっと困っている人にとっては、援助やアドバイスがどんなに
limit to how useful that may be, partly because those we choose to talk to will
いいものであっても限界がある。なぜなら、 ひとつには、私たちが相談しようとする人は、しばしば（無意識のうちに）
often be selected (not consciously) because they can be trusted to respond to
私たちの期待通りの反応をしてくれると信頼しているから選ぶのであって、
us in the way we expect and not to challenge our problematic aspects and
どうにもならない局面を打開しようとして挑戦するために選ぶのではないからである。
partly because,if they do challenge them, we may be unable to take on board
またひとつには、そのようにしてアドバイスの通りに結果の見えないことに挑戦したとしても、
what they are saying. This is not because we are stupid,it is because,to a far
言われたとおりのことはできないことが多いだろう。これは私たちが愚かだからではなくて、
greater extent than we usually realise, we all live suspended in a web of relationships
普段思っている以上に、 私たちは過去や現在の他者との関係の網の目の中に
with others, some from the past and some present, and it is this web
依存して生きているからであって、自分が自分であるという感覚を支えてくれているのは、
of connections with others which sustains our sense of being ourselves. Or it
他者との連結の網の目に他ならない。
may be that,in the face of early experiences that were emotionally unmanageable,
we have learned to conceal ourselves and to mistrust others to the
extent that there is nobody we can feel safe enough with to show our pains
and to expose what we may feel to be our weakness.
It is at such a time that this book can be of particular value. Liz McCormick
combines a wealth of experience as a psychotherapist with a gift for writing
and an attitude which is fully respecting of the reader. Those seeking simple
categorisations of distress or illness linked to prescriptions of how to get better
will be disappointed,for there are no over simplifications of the problems
and no dispensing of ready-made solutions. Instead,readers are invited to
think clearly about their difficulties and to feel directly the meanings of their
past and present experiences. The common tendency to think about psycho-
logical symptoms as if they were analogous to physical illnesses and to treat
them with medication or simple symptom-oriented therapies is reinforced by
some psychiatrists and by the power of the pharmacological industry. It can
be difficult for many people to realise that their moods and symptoms are the
physical manifestations of difficulties in living and can signal the need for
change. That symptoms may be partly physical in origin and may sometimes
require medical treatment is of course acknowledged here, but the book aims
to emphasise the value of understanding the links between one's distress and
how one leads one's life. By indicating the possibility of understanding and
changing the thoughts,feelings and behaviours which underlie our depres-
sion, anxiety or headaches and our unhappiness or difficult relationships,it
allows passive suffering to be replaced by an active engagement in identifying
and changing damaging and restricting aspects of our own natures.
To help in this task the book starts by offering clear descriptions of common
problematic patterns of thinking and acting. These usually repeat unhappy
patterns experienced early in our lives or represent our early attempts to solve
problems through means that have themselves become harmful or restricting.
We are usually only partly aware of our own patterns and here common ones
are usefully illustrated by examples and are linked to exercises that support
self-discovery and in
dicate possible alternative ways of coping. This is unfamiliar
dicate possible alternative ways of coping. This is unfamiliar
territory for most people and exploration needs the help of a guide.
A particular strength of the book is the way in which one has the experience
of being in dialogue with the author; one is not being given instructions and
a guide book so much as one is invited to participate in the construction of
one's own map and to conduct one's own exploration. This means that
readers,to benefit, must accept their share of the work. This is not a book to read
while waiting for the bus;it demands concentration and the ideas need to be
thought about actively through the day. Change will not come about in a
flash of realisation,it will require sustained attention. The structure of the
book supports this and it will be most valuable to those who go through it
systematically and at their own pace. As well as helping one to think clearly
about negative aspects of oneself Liz McCormick draws on her knowledge
of Buddhist ideas to propose mindfulness techniques which can enlarge
self-awareness.
The book can help many people through many problems and can contribute
to enlarging what can be called emotional literacy but it does not
claim too much for itself. Enduring what cannot be changed is not a skill that
can be taught but learning to recognise what can be changed and knowing
how to begin to change will be greatly clarified by reading this book. Further
reading from a wide spectrum of viewpoints is listed and guidance on how to
find appropriate psychotherapy is provided. But whether or not further help
is needed,I warmly recommend it as an excellent place from which to start
the journey.
Anthony Ryle