01:02 Defense mechanisms 05:30 Aiming for restraint and mindfulness 08:34 Is it better to be a dissatisfied Socrates? 10:14 When it's better not to think 11:55 Don't spend time on things that don't have an answer Today, I will talk about the theme of "The technique of not thinking when you're in a difficult situation". When you're not feeling well, you may think "I don't want to think anymore". I think that even if you try to space out, you may find yourself thinking more and more about unpleasant things, or associating unpleasant things with them. You may think "I don't want to think anymore". I understand that very well. I think that people who are depressed or in trouble don't want to think anymore, and want to take a break. There are some parts that can be controlled to some extent by drug treatment, but there are also some parts that you have to make an effort on your own. This time, I will talk about how to stop thinking and how to train yourself to stop thinking. ■ Defense mechanisms There are psychoanalytic and psychological terms for when to stop thinking. The psychological reaction to protect yourself from stress when you are in a difficult situation is called a "defense mechanism". There are immature and mature defense mechanisms.・Denial: When a painful or unpleasant reality occurs, you deny that it never happened. ・Repression: Suppress and hide from sight. ・Suppression: Accept and stop. There are patterns like these. You may be wondering how they are different, but this is a clinical nuance. It is a way of saying that this person is in denial, and this person is accepting and enduring. It is decided by clinical nuance rather than being determined by philosophical definition. When an alcoholic says that he can control his drinking, it is close to "denial". When a child holds back from talking about their parents' divorce, it feels like "repression". When a parent dies as an adult, accepting the sadness of the death is called "repression (acceptance)". It is an image like this. So it depends on the clinical nuance and context. ・Splitting: Separating yourself from yourself and making you not feel it. You enter a kind of psychotic state and no longer see the reality. ・Dissociation: It is similar to splitting. It is separated, but it feels like you are seeing it from the corner of your eye. It is also a little different from the dissociation in dissociative disorders. He says, "It has nothing to do with me," from a distance, but it feels like he is looking at me from the side. ・By concentrating on mindfulness, you don't think about anything else. Even if you face a harsh reality, you focus on your breathing. By immersing yourself in some task, you can stop feeling anxious. ・Even if you have a manic drinking problem, you feel like you are strong, you can quit, it's okay, let's go out and have fun. ・It's like rationalizing and making excuses. It's okay to drink alcohol, you can go to work, so there's no problem. It's a personal pleasure. You may be drinking and ruining your days off, and you may be cutting down on time with your partner or friends, but it's your own choice, so it's okay. ・Sublimation Do something else instead of something painful. Do something constructive, such as volunteering or devoting yourself to sports. When you see various patients and realize that this is how you are now, these words make a lot of sense. It's quite difficult to explain when you actually try. ■I do not recommend denial, aiming for suppression and mindfulness, or dissociating and leaving your problems piling up. What you should learn is the technique of convincing yourself, and mindfulness, which allows you to concentrate on what you need to do at each moment. This is what you should aim for. It's better not to think when you're in pain, so it's no good to go out and play, saying, "I'm relieving stress!" in a manic defense. Rather than solving the problem with rationalizations (sophistry) like, "That's just your opinion, isn't it?", "That has nothing to do with it, right?", or "There's no point in humans living, is there?", I think it's better to aim for restraint and mindfulness. I used to be in the Self-Defense Forces, and I get tired when marching. I get tired, I get hungry, my legs hurt, and I get irritated. At times like that, I'd say, "No, no, I'm in training, so it can't be helped," or I'd concentrate on something in a mindful way, concentrate on my breathing, or play ONE PIECE from volume 1. Mindfulness is a technique of concentrating on your breathing and immersing yourself in it, but it's quite difficult. So I think it's fine to chant prayers or immerse yourself in dancing. There are all kinds of patients. I practice mindfulness through boulderin