Why do we need enemies? From intimate relationships to politics, tribalism, and community, we cannot seem to stop dehumanizing each other. Are chronic conflicts in our families, societies, and nations inevitable? In this podcast, Polly Young-Eisendrath, Ph.D. and Eleanor Johnson analyze human hostilities from the most mundane to the most sophisticated as we apply psychology, psychoanalysis, art, spirituality, and relational theory in conversations about belonging and othering in our relationships and ideologies. Each program will reach for a fresh wisdom that shows us how to step back from creating enemies in our lives.
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Why do we need enemies? From intimate relationships to politics, tribalism, and community, we cannot seem to stop dehumanizing each other. Are chronic conflicts in our families, societies, and nations inevitable? In this podcast, Polly Young-Eisendrath, Ph.D. and Eleanor Johnson analyze human hostilities from the most mundane to the most sophisticated as we apply psychology, psychoanalysis, art, spirituality, and relational theory in conversations about belonging and othering in our relationships and ideologies. Each program will reach for a fresh wisdom that shows us how to step back from creating enemies in our lives.
ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 31: The Help that Hurts and the Hurt that Helps: Knowing How to Help When Others Are in Need
ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom
48 minutes 14 seconds
5 years ago
ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 31: The Help that Hurts and the Hurt that Helps: Knowing How to Help When Others Are in Need
Years ago, there was a saying that came out of family psychiatry, especially in working with families of young adults with severe psychological disorders. It went like this, “When it comes to parents, there’s the help that hurts and the hurt that helps” – meaning that it is very difficult to know how much we can really help when loved ones are in need or in trouble (especially when they are teens or adults), and how much we need to allow them to find their own way. In this episode, we will talk about helping those at home with you, as well as helping people in your community who need help. When there is an acute need, what is the help that hurts? Sometimes we find ourselves giving opinions, advice, and even making judgments when others need help. These strategies are not helpful. Other times, we may not want someone close to us to go through a painful experience, simply because we are too afraid of the outcome for ourselves. The ways we help and try to help need during this COVID 19 crisis can be fined tuned if we pay closer attention to the nature of compassion, sympathy, control, and empathy.
ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom
Why do we need enemies? From intimate relationships to politics, tribalism, and community, we cannot seem to stop dehumanizing each other. Are chronic conflicts in our families, societies, and nations inevitable? In this podcast, Polly Young-Eisendrath, Ph.D. and Eleanor Johnson analyze human hostilities from the most mundane to the most sophisticated as we apply psychology, psychoanalysis, art, spirituality, and relational theory in conversations about belonging and othering in our relationships and ideologies. Each program will reach for a fresh wisdom that shows us how to step back from creating enemies in our lives.
