The Demons We Created (Part I)

Human beings come a long way. With technology and development, our living standards have risen and yet we are living the safest but the most difficult time in history. The threats we faced such as war and poverty may have seemed ended but they merely transformed. We are at war with ourselves. In this segment, we will try to provide as many aspects and as much as we could.

The following are negative emotions that we all have or are forced onto from time to time...

• Guilt: the feeling of carrying the responsibility that isn't ours

Guilt comes in many forms and they do so quietly. Even when noticed, we may still try to level with it, thinking that we are making excuses not to think it's our fault.

We grow up living the expectations of our parents'. As they feed us and send us to school, we should pay them back by achieving the goals they have or didn't get the chance to fulfill because that is what filial piety means, making your providers happy. However, being happy is a very vague idea and so is filial piety.

Guilt Trip Master:

"EVERYTHING I did was for YOU."

"YOU don't know how much I have sacrificed for this FAMILY."

"Don't blame me once you fail and regret!"

Perhaps you have a friend that went through an accident with you. Perhaps you were the driver or the person who made the plan. We tend to think that whatever happened is because of us. If you have lost the friend, a part of your soul gets cut and it hurts every time you come across things that you relate to the friend. If it was an injury, it keeps reminding you not to be happy because you've done something terrible and unforgiving.

The reason that guilt is so devastating is that it isn't physical. It's a deep mental attack that we made to ourselves. It doesn't heal unless we find reconciliation. In reality, not only we can trigger our emotional bondage, those who are closest to you are often the ones that practice "emotional blackmail". Even when you knew well that the matter had no relation to you, the goodness in you will off easy. The only person who could save you, is yourself. Know thyself!

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• self-pitying: believing deeply that you are the victim, rejecting help to feel safe

We feel sorry for our situations but don't want to admit it, thinking that others won't know but in fact only fooling ourselves. Self-pitying is unique because to feel so, you must be proud of the same thing you are troubled with. We reject assistance but at the same time blame those around us for not helping thus creating a vicious circle. As it worsens, we live closer and closer to fiction, making us imagine that we are tragic heroes, leading us to isolation.

Self-pitying Level Max:

-You have a successful career that you crafted throughout the years. You got sick or would like a vacation but cannot take a break because there is no one else to replace you at work.

-You are a single parent who raised 2 children. The school tells you that your kids got into a fight and require your presence in a meeting. You become annoyed, blaming the teacher for not handling the issue and make you take a personal leave from work, affecting the life that you're struggling to have.

In both cases, of course purely imaginary, we could see a sense of high self-esteem, one is content with the self-made plans but backfires and the other assumes everyone to relate to the effort of having a family, especially a single-parent family. The truth is that he's not that important and her life isn't as tragic as anyone should care. These are mean words but truthful. We're simply one self-centered speck of dust in the world. Grow out!

Yes, this is another of those darker pieces. Bear with us!