Thursday, March 3, 2011

If we had some bacon we could have some bacon and eggs if we had some eggs

1 comments
A couple is grocery shopping. One sees bacon on sale and says, "Ooh! We could have bacon and eggs!"

The other replies, "Ehn, don't bother. We don't have any eggs."

They continue shopping until they come across eggs on sale. "Ooh! We could have bacon and eggs!" says one to the other.

"Ehn, don't bother. We don't have any bacon."

...

Or a more realistic example:
Person 1: "You don't have a DVD player?"
Person 2: "Well, I don't own any DVDs, so what would be the point?"
Person 1: "They have DVDs at the library. You could watch those."
Person 2: "Well, no, I can't, because I don't have a DVD player."

...

Or even closer to home:
Person me: "I don't need a high-paying job, because I don't have a lot of expenses. Then again, it would be nice to be able to travel a lot. But I can't do that, cuz I don't have a high-paying job. But I don't need a high-paying job, cuz I don't have a lot of expenses."

...

Is there a name for this particular type of neurosis? It seems to involve a narrow focus on a single problem at a time, and the unsolvability of it due to some other blocking problem, without simultaneously being able to think of the other problem being solvable. Looking at only one of several mutually dependent problems, there is never any ready solution to any. It may be due to a dependence on a sequential ordering of problems and solutions, which isn't always available. It may have to do with an attitude of scarcity rather than of abundance, where "what is missing" is the driving force in decisions, rather than what else is possible. All of one's options may not be considered, if some part of your brain has already ruled out some of them for some minor reasons.

Is there a treatment for this particular type of neurosis? One potential idea is to train yourself to consider any problem as solvable, when faced with one. More than just consciously thinking that this particular problem is solvable, unconsciously accept that all problems are solvable. Imagine that all problems are solved, and then let your imagination fill in the details of how that happens.