The Healthy Management of Reality - Stanford University

The "healthy" aspect of "the healthy management of reality" refers to the factthat even if one could have complete control over oneself and one's life, it isunclear to me whether that much control would be desirable. There appears to be arange of control that is optimal for human life. Too little control leads todemoralization and depression, too much control can lead to obsessiveness,rigidity, and oppression.In the use of medications, there is a concept called the "therapeutic window,"which refers to a moderate dose range which is neither so little that it has no effect,or so large that it can have too many undesirable side effects or the possibility ofdangerous overdose. A physician prescribing a medication must achieve this"therapeutic window" in order for the condition to improve.In order for the management of reality to have beneficial results, it willprobably have to be done within a healthy range. At one end of the continuum,lack of any control over one's reality often leads to a sense of being overwhelmedand powerless. As long as things go well, there might be little discomfort. As longas one has few expectations, there might be little or no disappointment. But fewpeople are able to truly live for the moment and be content with whatever befallsus. Most of us have some sense of what we would prefer and what we want toavoid. Thus, some sense of control and predictability is generally welcome. At theother end of the continuum, attempts at obtaining excessive control are probablyalso unwise. Even if we were able to achieve it, too much control over our realityis likely to backfire.HMOR.July2005.Muñoz.doc 30