Photo credit, property of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, fair use
I’m not usually a fan of the live-action remakes of The Walt Disney Company animated classics. I cherish many of the animated features of old from the company and I’ve found it disappointing to witness what has become of Walt Disney’s legacy under modern standards of his business.
All the same, I practice Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) to keep from self-disturbing about what I’ve seen from Walt Disney Animation Studios and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (collectively “Disney”). I accomplish this through use of two primary techniques.
First, REBT maintains that when an unexpected Action occurs and a person uses an irrational Belief about the situation, it’s one’s unhelpful attitude and not the undesirable circumstance that causes unpleasant cognitive, emotive, sensational, and behavioral effects as Consequences.
There are two main types of unhelpful Beliefs which serve as prescriptive influences on Consequences, forming an unproductive Belief-Consequence connection. They are absolutistic and conditional forms of should, must, and ought types of personal philosophies for life.
These rigid commands violate the is-ought problem proposed by the late Scottish philosopher David Hume. Essentially, Hume proposed that one cannot derive an ought from an is. Thus, when faced with truth and reality (is), one cannot inflexibly demand what ought to instead be.
One caveat to Hume’s proposal is that an individual can violate the is-ought problem if choosing to do so through use of beliefs which are irrational—that which isn’t in accord with both logic and reason. As an example, I could choose to ignore Hume’s principle in regard to Disney films.
When a Disney live-action remake alters an original storyline (Action) and if I were to use an absolutistic Belief such as, “Disney must adhere to content of its authentic narratives,” then I’d likely experience anger, a rapid heartbeat, and tightness in my chest (Consequence).
Likewise, given the same Action and using a conditional Belief such as, “If Disney doesn’t do what I demand, then the company shouldn’t exist any longer,” I’d probably experience an equally self-disturbed Consequence. When violating the is-ought problem, self-upset is a choice.
Rather than remaining self-disturbed, an individual is invited to try Disputation which may lead to an Effective new belief that’s used in place of an unproductive self-narrative. With the ABC model, a person learns to stop needless suffering which is caused by unhelpful assumptions.
Second, REBT uses the technique of unconditional acceptance (UA) to relieve suffering. This is accomplished through use of unconditional self-acceptance, unconditional other-acceptance, and unconditional life-acceptance.
Rather than demanding that the world shouldn’t be as it is, while unhelpfully considering life as it could be, UA is the practice of tolerance and acceptance without inflexible requirements of oneself, others, and life in general. Ultimately, I find the ABC model and UA to be quite helpful.
When contemplating this matter further, I’m reminded of something that was stated in Disney’s live-action remake film Cinderella (2015). Renaming the main character of Cinderella to merely “Ella,” a narrator concludes the film by stating:
Ella continued to see the world, not as it is, but as it could be. If only you believe in courage, and kindness, and occasionally—just a little bit of magic.
While I appreciate the message of hope offered in the film, I also acknowledge that this form of irrational suggestion violates Hume’s principle. Although there isn’t anything inherently bad about or wrong with hope, I’ve oft observed such wishful desire transition into demandingness.
Thus, I invite you to consider that when choosing irrational hopefulness – which I do on a frequent basis – it may be useful to remind yourself that imagining what could be doesn’t have to transition into demanding what should be. Still, the latter is a choice – as is self-disturbance.
If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.
As a psychotherapist, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues ranging from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.
At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!
Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW
References:
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