Humans Can Always Accept Themselves

When I Was 16 I Started Keeping A Diary In Which I Recorded My Disagreements With The Famous Philosophers. I Didn't Insist That They Were Wrong, That I Was Right And I Had To Prevail. I Just Agreed And Disagreed With Them. I Thought There Was A High Degree Of Probability That I Was Right And Some Other Thinkers Were Wrong. But I Wasn't Positive About It.

Religious Creeds Encourage Some Of The Craziest Kinds Of Thoughts, Emotions, And Behaviors And Favor Severe Manifestations Of Neurosis, Borderline Personality States, And Sometimes Even Psychosis.

I'm One Of The Best-loved Psychologists In The United States, But I'm Also Probably The Most Hated One.

The Freudian Tradition Will Never Completely Die Because It Has A Few Good Points. For Example, People Have Motives And Thoughts Of Which They Are Unaware. Most Of Cognitive Therapy Has Now Adopted A Similar Idea. On The Other Hand, The Relationship Part Of Psychoanalysis - Where You Must Have A Deep, Emotional Relationship With The Client - Will, I Think, Get Kicked In The Teeth One Of These Days.

The Attitude Of Unconditional Self-acceptance Is Probably The Most Important Variable In Their Long-term Recovery.