As some readers of my posts will know, I am a student of the ancient Tibetan Buddhist practices known as Lojong. These practices are, today, most closely associated with the Buddhist nun Pema Chödrön.

In a nutshell, the practice is summed up in the Signature quote that appears at the end of each of my posts. (See below.) I couldn't say exactly where I read it. But somewhere in Pema Chödrön's writings she says if one follows through consistently with the practice, over time, difficult emotions will subside. Could Pema be wrong?

In addition to struggling with depression, anxiety, & some OCD-type behaviors, I have also struggled my entire life with Gender Identity Disorder. It is as strong today as it was half a century ago... maybe stronger. (Dr. Anne Vitale, Ph.D. who has studied & written on the lives of transsexual individuals confirms that this is "normal" in the course of non-transitioned transsexual individuals.)

Anyway, as skilled as I have become with regard to sitting with my powerful "transsexual imperative", depression & anxiety... sitting with it & accepting it with lovingkindness & compassion, it does not lessen. I find it difficult to believe it ever will. This is not to say I can't continue to do the practice. But it does occur to me that perhaps, in this instance, Pema is wrong. There may be some circumstances in which no matter how skilled one becomes, there is no diminution of emotion. There is only the sitting, on-&-on...

[gayleggg]

I agree that there are always exceptions to the rule. It may mean that Pema is talking about the "norm". With mental health I find that we have trouble finding the "norm".

[Fuzzybear]

[TheOriginalMe]

"If one follows through consistently with the practice, over time, difficult emotions will subside"

Consistency is very hard to achieve, the same level of concentration, determination, effort, every day. Could just a small amount of hesitation or distraction make the difference?

I'm a really inconsistent person, so one day the illness that accompanies me everywhere is a tolerable shadow, the next it is a devastating storm. Yet, despite the inconsistency I'm still here and still managing the difficult emotions and not giving in to seriously harming myself.

Maybe the reference to difficult emotions subsiding is more about gaining a surer ability to manage the feelings, than having the emotions diminish or disappear altogether? You certainly have developed an infinite amount of patience, in that you seem to accept that this will be a lifelong wait.

Originally Posted by TheOriginalMe

"If one follows through consistently with the practice, over time, difficult emotions will subside"

Consistency is very hard to achieve, the same level of concentration, determination, effort, every day. Could just a small amount of hesitation or distraction make the difference?

I'm a really inconsistent person, so one day the illness that accompanies me everywhere is a tolerable shadow, the next it is a devastating storm. Yet, despite the inconsistency I'm still here and still managing the difficult emotions and not giving in to seriously harming myself.

Maybe the reference to difficult emotions subsiding is more about gaining a surer ability to manage the feelings, than having the emotions diminish or disappear altogether? You certainly have developed an infinite amount of patience, in that you seem to accept that this will be a lifelong wait.

Thanks for your reply, TheOriginalMe! Yes, I think particularly with regard to mental health struggles, gaining the ability to manage feelings is probably what makes sense, whether or not this is what Pema might say. I don't think, in writing the books she has written, that she was thinking about the implications of mental illness on the Lojong teachings. Although... she does write repeatedly that a person can believe her / himself to be the worst person who ever existed in the history of the world, & that's a great to start. If believing yourself to be the worst person to have ever existed in the history of the world isn't a descriptor of mental illness, I don't know what would be...