PTSD, repression, and "whistling past the graveyard"

I have an awesome vocabulary, but i still dont know exactly what it means.

Is he saying that we repress our fears constantly? And in certain situations we cant repress our fears anymore?

Yes, you are on the mark. Our standard mode of operation is to repress our anxieties and when that repression fails we fall into very difficult problems.

hey coberst what are some books you would recomend? you gave me some before but i didnt write them down.

I recommend
The Death and Rebirth of Meaning--Ira Progoff
The Denial of Death--Ernest Becker
The Birth and Death of Meaning--Ernest Becker
Philosophy in the Flesh--Lakoff and Johnson

I don't think everyone, always, represses anxiety, nor do I get that from this portion of your text:



As I read this, the author is saying a person becomes locked into "mistaken shut-upness" underconditions of something beyond what this particular person might consider normal. Some people are able to look anxiety in the eye and say, "So what?" And many children I have observed are completely nonplussed by situations which might cause an adult anxiety (e.g., going down an icy ski-slope at top speed, petting a large snake).

The person who becomes "inauthentic," according to the above quote becomes uncritical in that he readily accepts what is told him my someone in authority, but I think such a person is apt to be extremely critical (to the point of great agitation) when confronted with opinions which differ from his own.

eclectic

I agree, it is a matter of degree. Those who find a middle ground are able to function in what we might consider to be 'normal'.