This is a comment to a Washington Post article, “Helping others could be a cure to post-grad loneliness” by Renee Yaseen, September 14, 2023:
Helping others is a fine palliative in some cases. But it can have a psychological rebound effect. If a person was deprived of critical needs (love, empathy, respect) in childhood, needs which the present day can never adequately redress, it can feel strangely wrong to “be there” for others: The altruistic act will resonate inward and “remind” the person that no one was ever there for him or her.
This “reminder” is to return – like a time machine that has kidnapped you – to childhood pain that, were it to be read, would reveal impossible loss and would create the sudden awareness of an empty and never-had life.
Be careful.
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Comments are welcome, but I'd suggest you first read "Feeling-centered therapy" and "Ocean and boat" for a basic introduction to my kind of theory and therapy.