(Re)Positioning the Past

We’ve all heard it many times: “You can’t change the past.” History happens once...but we do revisit it and our minds reframe significant events.    Time changes  our view of the past, and it in turn, alters and illuminates the present.

At times, a person may cling to the past as a defense to insulate against change and risk-taking. Reviewing and reframing the past may be essential when a person feels victimized by it.  A traumatic experience can act like an indigestible particle of food that requires something extra to metabolize it, like a pill or, in the following example, a course of psychotherapy.

Mr. W. was traumatized by an involuntary hospitalization and as a result, felt fearful of interacting with people.  He did not understand that he may have (unwittingly) played a role in causing this traumatic event. After several months of reviewing the circumstances, he recognized that his behavior had contributed to a misunderstanding.  (He had been lurking in the hospital corridors and refused to reveal the contents of his pockets, causing the authorities to suspect malevolence.)  Acknowledging that his actions had an impact on the outcome freed him from fear of living in the present.

Ms. K. ‘s father suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. She assumed that she would suffer the same fate. “Why bother to engage in life? Look how I’ll end up,” she said.

An article in The New York Times (November 17, 2013) suggests that we don’t need a test to see if we’ll be afflicted with this disease. Instead, we need to invest in the present and plan for the possibility by staying socially active, exercising, and purchasing long-term care insurance.

Conclusion: (Re)Positioning the past may be essential in order to engage productively in the present.

Dear Reader, I welcome your thoughts. Jsimon145@gmail.com