Philosophical Meditation, a practice with the premise that a decisive share of the trouble in our minds comes from thoughts and feelings that have not been untangled, examined and confronted with sufficient attention.

If we have sizeable reserves of self-love, we might feel we can afford to admit mistakes and still believe in our basic decency. Yet if our self-love is very fragile, no admission of guilt or error is ever possible; it would sap the last of our limited self-regard.

Entertaining the most extreme consequences can be the best way to finally neuter an otherwise nagging concern. One by one, we should confront the worst, and see that it is, for the most part, very survivable.

They are the one who suffer our irritability, gloom, manufactured cheerfulness or our defensive rationalisations. We act unfairly, so they back off and keep a distance. We grow isolated and friendless.

How might we still be OK, even if it all fell apart? Entertaining the most extreme consequences can be the best way to finally neuter an otherwise nagging concern. One by one, we should confront the worst, and see that it is, for the most part, very survivable.

– What am I presently anxious about? – What am I presently upset about? – What am I presently excited about?

Feelings and desires that have not been examined tend not to leave us alone; they linger and spread their energy randomly to neighbouring issues.

Our overall nervousness declines when our anxieties are systematically laid out and examined.

Emotional Identity Questionnaire Give a score to each of the statements below, on a scale from 1 to 5: 1 = That’s not true. 2 = That’s not very true, but there’s a glimmer of recognition. 3 = I don’t know – maybe, maybe not. 4 = A bit true, but I have a few reservations. 5 = Yes, that’s true. Self-Love 1. If people knew who I really was deep down,