But that depression, without more, does not justify any change of behavior
Or it might develop into major depression and have you spend the next few years taking mind-altering antidepressant medications and receiving psychological and behavioral help.
It’s unwise to dismiss the emotional part of the mind as a mere Bayesian datum, because it influences your actions directly, regardless of whatever goals and utility function you may profess consciously. You say that “those [painful emotional] reactions should not drive your behavior”, but your brain is such that they do drive part of your behavior. And by the Litany of Gendlin, you should admit to this, learn about it, and act in accordance—such as sometimes preferring not to admit to a truth because of its potential emotional impact.
If you find that your depression and/or anxiety is preventing you from achieving your goals and you can’t solve this on your own, then seeking expert help is rational. That said, your depression and/or anxiety might be evidence that your articulate goals are not your actual goals (ideally, the expert assisting you would notice this fact).
Nonetheless, it is a more optimal state for your end goals to drive your decisions, even if your emotional state wants to drive in a different direction. Which doesn’t mean that achieving this is simple or cost-free.
You say that “those [painful emotional] reactions should not drive your behavior”, but your brain is such that they do drive part of your behavior. And by the Litany of Gendlin, you should admit to this, learn about it, and act in accordance—such as sometimes preferring not to admit to a truth because of its potential emotional impact.
The OP is asking whether the Litany is true, which requires deciding what it means. By contrast, your point appears to be developing one of the many implications of following the Litany.
Nonetheless, it is a more optimal state for your end goals to drive your decisions, even if your emotional state wants to drive in a different direction.
This is trivially true only if your end goals don’t reference your emotional state—either your ‘end’ emotional state or your state along the way. Otherwise the burden of proof is on you. Most people’s end goals include feeling emotionally well, and if that comes in conflict with some other end goal they have, it’s not clear to me that relinquishing the emotional feel-well goal should be the common, correct, or default choice.
Let me clarify my unfortunately idiosyncratic use of “emotional state.”
Quite frequently, people have emotional experiences of degree or kind that are not justified by the facts of their situations (e.g. manic-depression). Those extreme emotional states can easily conflict with achieving end goals (i.e. Bob is excessively anxious and therefore does not go to a job interview). It is possible to adjust these extreme emotional states so that they do not interfere with achieving end goals. That can be with or without expert assistance, and with or without chemical intervention. My point was that there is no reason not to self-improve in that way.
My overarching point is that the negative feelings that the OP was worried about are probably of that type. “People can stand what is true, for they are already enduring it” means (in part) that negative emotions caused by learning the truth can be overcome, and the phrase implicitly holds that it is worth the effort to find and implement techniques to overcome the negative emotions.
My point was that there is no reason not to self-improve in that way.
I agree. I only wish to add two points: first, such self-adjustment is frequently unsuccessful (e.g. curing severe depression often fails or takes many years) and second, we should self-adjust to remove destructive, negative emotions (where possible) regardless of whether the emotions are “extreme” or are “justified by the facts”. (There may be cases where on reflection we should not remove them, or not completely, but extreme-ness etc. aren’t valid reasons in themselves.)
Or it might develop into major depression and have you spend the next few years taking mind-altering antidepressant medications and receiving psychological and behavioral help.
It’s unwise to dismiss the emotional part of the mind as a mere Bayesian datum, because it influences your actions directly, regardless of whatever goals and utility function you may profess consciously. You say that “those [painful emotional] reactions should not drive your behavior”, but your brain is such that they do drive part of your behavior. And by the Litany of Gendlin, you should admit to this, learn about it, and act in accordance—such as sometimes preferring not to admit to a truth because of its potential emotional impact.
If you find that your depression and/or anxiety is preventing you from achieving your goals and you can’t solve this on your own, then seeking expert help is rational. That said, your depression and/or anxiety might be evidence that your articulate goals are not your actual goals (ideally, the expert assisting you would notice this fact).
Nonetheless, it is a more optimal state for your end goals to drive your decisions, even if your emotional state wants to drive in a different direction. Which doesn’t mean that achieving this is simple or cost-free.
The OP is asking whether the Litany is true, which requires deciding what it means. By contrast, your point appears to be developing one of the many implications of following the Litany.
This is trivially true only if your end goals don’t reference your emotional state—either your ‘end’ emotional state or your state along the way. Otherwise the burden of proof is on you. Most people’s end goals include feeling emotionally well, and if that comes in conflict with some other end goal they have, it’s not clear to me that relinquishing the emotional feel-well goal should be the common, correct, or default choice.
Let me clarify my unfortunately idiosyncratic use of “emotional state.”
Quite frequently, people have emotional experiences of degree or kind that are not justified by the facts of their situations (e.g. manic-depression). Those extreme emotional states can easily conflict with achieving end goals (i.e. Bob is excessively anxious and therefore does not go to a job interview). It is possible to adjust these extreme emotional states so that they do not interfere with achieving end goals. That can be with or without expert assistance, and with or without chemical intervention. My point was that there is no reason not to self-improve in that way.
My overarching point is that the negative feelings that the OP was worried about are probably of that type. “People can stand what is true, for they are already enduring it” means (in part) that negative emotions caused by learning the truth can be overcome, and the phrase implicitly holds that it is worth the effort to find and implement techniques to overcome the negative emotions.
I agree. I only wish to add two points: first, such self-adjustment is frequently unsuccessful (e.g. curing severe depression often fails or takes many years) and second, we should self-adjust to remove destructive, negative emotions (where possible) regardless of whether the emotions are “extreme” or are “justified by the facts”. (There may be cases where on reflection we should not remove them, or not completely, but extreme-ness etc. aren’t valid reasons in themselves.)