techniques like IFS are in principle capable of addressing the underlying source of the anger; once you do that you don’t need to counteract it anymore, it just effortlessly happens less if at all. you’ve “delayered” instead of “layering”
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what kind of damage can you do to yourself the counteractive / layering way? let’s say you also have a strong inner critic, for example. when you notice yourself failing to properly counteract your anger, that can become another thing for your inner critic to latch onto
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“jeez look at you, can’t do anything right, can’t even stop yourself from being angry the way the therapist told you to”
part of the damage here is the idea that these techniques are supposed to solve your problem; easy to conclude that if they don’t then it’s your fault
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failed attempts at self-transformation can also produce resistance to future attempts at self-transformation, as various parts of the bodymind conclude that it’s unsafe and will not actually help them get their needs met. not a great place to be in! better to use good tech!
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further reading: UtEB is most of the core of my framework for analyzing and comparing and debugging techniques, would still highly recommend as a read for anyone who wants that:
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Me being triggered slightly by this thread and looking at what's at the core of that:
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I dislike the "layering vs. unlayering" frame because it perpetuates the idea that all we have to do is remove all our trauma and then we'll respond perfectly to every situation.
Even if you get rid of all your hangups with people, communication is still hard, skills are needed.
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Ooooh yeah, great point about the metaphor—I'm also resistant (though differently to you) to the image of "clean it all up then you're done".
Though 's "layering" frame has done a lot for me, including in my programming work!
eg:
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I sometimes frame it as "untangling" too.
I guess what I might say is something like, no amount of *just* delayering is sufficient, but since most techniques and experiences *add* layers, it is an utterly vital dimension to track and attend to in organizing anything (psych &+).
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I prefer "counteractive" to "layering" since "counteractive" points more specifically to the problem, whereas "layering" doesn't distinguish between good and bad layering.
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this is a good point! i guess what i like about “layering” is the idea that there can be more than two layers 😛
Yeah, agree that "counteractive" implies that there's only one the opposite process and doesn't highlight the way that things can get stacked.
Nor is it very good for describing situations where the balance looks more like a learned constraint than outright counteraction.
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re multiple layers, RDLaing:
With great labour, a wish is:
(i) denied
(ii) replaced by a fear that generates a nightmare that is
(iii) denied, and on which a
(iv) nice facade is then placed
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hey
hey
hey
I had a belated realization
what if...
what if...
what if...
we called it...
"counteractive layering"?
😂
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