Some may be disappointed that this doesn't contain more of the gruesome descriptions of Dahmer's treatment of Billy. BUT THE MATERIAL IS FASCINATING! I can't imagine what life had been like for Billy all the years prior to his work with Dr. Watermann. With all the vets returning from Iraq with PTSD I guess he'll be busy.
Susan
Could you discuss "flow" in more detail or could one of your readers? When I read about "flow," I can't get past phrases such as "the power of positive thinking." And would this kind of therapy work on an obsessive-compulsive child about 12 years old.? If not, why not?
K
Thanks for your comments. Flow is the experience of having all one’s attention and resources focused on a challenging task. Since all of the attention is focused on the task, one is not aware of any particular emotion, any self-evaluation, such as “Am I looking okay? Or am I succeeding?” It is the experience of functioning at a high level and is rewarding. However one is aware of it being rewarding after the flow is over. On my home page, in the section “Watermann” and in the chapter “Personal Changes” there are 4 paragraphs that are about flow. One can go to Google and type in flow.Then go to Wikipedia. Then go to “Flow Psychology” then to “Components of Flow”. This is an excellent discussion.
I will now answer the second question about obsessive-compulsive problems and flow. A person who is obsessing and has compulsive behavior is experiencing the opposite of flow. All of his attention is directed inward to fears and how to magically relieve the fears. I have treated one preadolescent with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. She was able to tell me about the fears that she had and how she lessened those fears with obsessing and compulsive behavior. I approached the problem with her much as I would for a person with panic attacks. I asked her to be aware of the images that she made that frightened her. Then I asked her to experiment with changing those images in various ways. That gave her control over that particular fear. Then the next session we would do the same with other fears. Unfortunately the therapy was interrupted by her relocating before we were able to change all the fears.
Eugene Watermann |
Dr. Watermann, in using Billy Capshaw’s experiences with Dahmer, shows us all ways we might deal with our own personal fears, emotions, and mental health. I’ve personally found helpful his emotional management suggestions in chapter 3. I believe the visualization techniques work.
Also, sometimes in reading we tend to skip bio sections. I think Gene’s information about his own life- work, retirement, how he gains purpose in life using “flow”, can teach us all and give us impetus to examine our own lives. Thank you, Gene, for sharing this information.
Jim |
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