In the name of Family

Man is continuously engaged in an inner struggle between who, what and where he is in his life, and who, what and where he should/must/ought to be. When the discrepancy between the reality of who he is and who he should be is too vast, it precipitates an inner crisis. This inner crisis is caused by self-defeating ideas and beliefs that an individual has 'bought' from the outside.

Neurotic beliefs

As children we acquire our values, beliefs and attitudes from significant adults in our lives, especially from parents. And often parents sell these beliefs as a form of control, with the good intention of saving the child from some harm. Too often, however, the opposite happens. These faulty values and beliefs make us uptight, afraid of criticism and rejection, overanxious about approval and disapproval, prone to feelings of guilt, and obsessed with polar opposites such as 'success' and 'failure'. If these beliefs are the guiding principles of our life, we will continue to feel like failures, no matter what Herculean efforts we take to pursue and apply them. Such mistaken beliefs can make just about anyone neurotic.

To read more, catch the May 2009 issue of Complete Wellbeing magazine.