1. Beneath the fun and social, Halloween is here as self-medication (social-medication) for fears, phobias, worries, whatever negative. Through dressing up, some seek to dissociate, laugh at ourselves and our fears. Others call it "unleashing the alter ego"...
2. And since many people have common fears/issues (the so-called collective fears), we would be sharing the human experience.
3. Can "Social-Medication" eliminate all childhood issues?
At the moment, no. One can argue that it is not engaging enough or all-encompassing. Social media is also fairly voluntary. The deeper level, of course, is that the most pressing problems that inhibit individual potential also inhibit good social life. So the people who need this most may also be getting the least of it.
If you really have the relevant fears, go get some therapy!
4. Most of the stuff associated with Halloween are very dark.
- Theme: Death.
- Death is no doubt the biggest part of Halloween and a HUGE topic in psychology. Whether it's ghosts, spirits, demons, mummies, Grim Reaper or undead, death is clearly the greatest part of halloween.
- Most people have a fear of death that goes unresolved until...death. So naturally, coping mechanisms are developed to enable people to cope with these issues. With the decline of religion (from when it was mandatory), Halloween has become a popular alternative. Being frightened and then feeling OK again is a great way to get temporary relief.
- Appropriate Response 1: Get therapy! Yes, I think everybody should have a therapist. A "life coaches", counselor or psychotherapist.
- Appropriate Response 2: Realize "Death, by definition, means unconsciousness. You may be conscious of the dying process, but will not be conscious of your death or the world thereafter." (I have known that for as far as I can remember.) Knowing this, you have 2 choices.
- Go live and do what you are here to do, whatever it is!
- Carry on with whatever you were doing, free from existential fear.
- Obligatory Rand: "I don't die, it's the world that dies!" - Ayn Rand. The world has no meaning to you if you don't exist anymore, if you don't have a brain nor a mind to process it. While Rand was no Buddhist or nihilist, this compels you to detach yourself from everything that is the world - to do your best to draw in the sandy beach, then let the waves wash your drawing away. It makes you realize the infinite freedom and wonder that the world is, in a far more profound way, than most western religion and philosophies. In the context of Objectivism, it is the recognition of the logical fact that the individual is the prerequisite for society, civilization and the collective we call the world. There is no society, no world, no morality, without the individual.
- Theme: Being Forgotten.
- Why do people believe in an afterlife? Why do people entertain the possibility of ghosts?
- Ghosts and spirits mean afterlife. And that's secretly optimistic. Outside of religion, people want to believe there is something after life.
- Ghosts are direct manifestations of unresolved psychological trauma, emotionally significant events. WoooOooooOOooo....
- Theme: Violence. (+ Death = Murder)
- Have you been to the Peak recently (Oct 2014)? It's like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre up there, with the Fright Dome at the top!
- Violence. What kind of violence? Do people have an innate fear of this? WHEN are people afraid of violence?
- What kind of violence? The kind where the aggressor successfully hurts the victim. Where victim is helpless.
- Do people have an innate fear of violence and violent death? No. It can be overcome, understood, or simply not exist if well-raised. Which some don't.
- When are people afraid of violence/aggression? If completely defenseless, helpless. If they feel alone. If they feel that nothing good (eg. good afterlife, martyrdom, good for a cause...) will come out of it.
- So...how does Halloween help people deal with violence?
- We know there is violence in the world that we haven't and feel that we cannot resolve.
- Foreign wars.
- Governments.
- Abuse of children.
- Halloween is a way of expressing unresolved fears. On a deeper level, Halloween is an opportunity to throw all those fears into a portal and forget them...until the next Halloween.
- Appropriate Response:
- Realize that violence is very rare in most first-world countries, despite what you see in media, movies.
- Presuppose happiness and wellness.
- Stay fit and healthy.
- Be confident in your body - aggressors generally don't pick on others stronger and more confident than them.
- Theme: Magic.
- What is magic, really?
- Magic is that which does not exist in the real world.
- Something for nothing.
- Consciousness OVER reality. (eg. Spoon bending...with mind power)
- Insanity.
- Why do people want it?
- People feel that there are needs unfulfilled in reality. Fantasy...
- It's lots of fun, funny, in a crazy kind of way.
- Escapism.
- Appropriate Response.
- Understand what magic really is, what values and virtues it holds true.
- Be aware of "magic" thinking - irrationality in yourself.
Most people don't go that deep into Halloween, just as people who celebrate Christmas are not theologians, philosophers and historians. Nevertheless, this is what's beneath the surface.
Go crazy, have fun, and never trivialize these issues. They have deep roots and needs to be addressed accordingly.
Go crazy, have fun, and never trivialize these issues. They have deep roots and needs to be addressed accordingly.
On this All Hallow's Eve, I wish you all a very Psychological Halloween 2014!
To be continued....next Halloween.
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