"Religionizing" only one part of life secularizes the rest of it. - Abraham Maslow

A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What a man can be, he must be

I am deliberately rejecting our present easy distinction between sickness and health, at least as far as surface symptoms are concerned. Does sickness mean having symptoms? I maintain now that sickness might consist of not having symptoms when you should. Does health mean being symptom-free? I deny it. Which of the Nazis at Auschwitz or Dachau were healthy? Those with a stricken conscience or those with a nice, clear, happy conscience? Was it possible for a profoundly human person not to feel conflict, suffering, depression, rage, etc.? In a word if you tell me you have a personality problem, I am not certain until I know you better whether to say "Good" or "I'm sorry". It depends on the reasons. And these, it seems, may be bad reasons, or they may be good reasons. An example is the changing attitude of psychologists toward popularity, toward adjustment, even toward delinquency. Popular with whom? Perhaps it is better for a youngster to be unpopular with the neighboring snobs or with the local country club set. Adjusted to what? To a bad culture? To a dominating parent? What shall we think of a well-adjusted slave? A well-adjusted prisoner? Even the behavior problem boy is being looked upon with new tolerance. Why is he delinquent? Most often it is for sick reasons. But occasionally it is for good reasons and the boy is simply resisting exploitation, domination, neglect, contempt, and trampling upon. Clearly what will be called personality problems depends on who is doing the calling. The slave owner? The dictator? The patriarchal father? The husband who wants his wife to remain a child? It seems quite clear that personality problems may sometimes be loud protests against the crushing of one's psychological bones, of one's true inner nature.

Hasta insanlar, hasta bir kültürün ürünleridir. Sağlıklı insanlar ise ancak sağlıklı bir kültürde yetişebilirler. Bununla birlikte, hasta insanların yaşadıkları kültürü daha da bozduğu, sağlıklı insanların ise daha sağlıklı bir kültür yarattığı da bir gerçektir. Bireyin sağlığını geliştirmek daha iyi bir dünya yaratmanın yollarından biridir. Diğer bir deyişle, kişisel gelişimin özendirilme olasılığı yüksektir; var olan nevrotik belirtilerin yardım olmadan sağaltılabilme olasılığı ise daha düşüktür. Bir insanın daha dürüst olmayı seçmesi, kendi takıntı ve saplantıların sağaltmaya çalışmasından çok daha kolaydır.