Are you feeding your imaginary fiend?

Some of us have had (maybe still have) an imaginary friend.
Most of us, lurking in the shadows, have an imaginary fiend.

Definition: “Fiend” – an evil spirit or demon.

Demonisation has a huge impact on our mental health. It can even affect whole groups of people. They ‘demonise’ other groups or individuals that they don’t like, and then that person or group or institution cannot hope to do anything good. 

It’s like the tale of the compassionate child who encountered the devil crying his eyes out on the steps of a church. 

“What’s the matter Mr devil?” she asked.
The devil replied, “It’s that lot inside – they blame me for everything!”

It’s time for Confession!
I talk to ‘stuff’.
I have a ‘stupid’ bin.
I have a ‘stupid’ computer.
I’ve caught my cardie on a ‘stupid’ door handle so many times, you’d think it would learn to get out of the way. In the kitchen this morning, we’ve got the ‘stupid’ kettle, the ‘stupid’ fridge, the ‘stupid’ lid on the oat-milk…  Why is everything so ‘stupid’?

https://youtu.be/5AB7IDw3PNI?si=i2LRELiiHMc5V1-l may give you an insight into the difference between dreams, imagination, and reality – if not, it may give you a laugh. It’s a link to a clip from one of the most important training series for my mental health: Father Ted.

How did all these non-sentient objects in the house become so ‘stupid’? Personally, I think it is a sign of a personality-defect in each of them. Each object is deliberately and wilfully ‘froward’.

‘Froward’ is a deliciously old-fashioned word for someone who is bad, evil, unreasonable, obnoxious, perverse – just plain contrary and difficult to deal with… just like my bin, the toilet seat, the front door… and don’t get me started on the mat in the hall.

Back to Life; Back to Reality (Check-In)
[If a song with that theme is suddenly playing in your head, stay with it, we can use that…]

In reality – that realm different from the imaginary – toilet seats are not possessed of a will to wound. They do not have a personality. They have no intent to harm.
When we ‘demonise’ any object, we give it an emotional charge it doesn’t deserve – and which can be toxic to our day. I can pretty much guarantee that by the time you’ve vented your frustration at the stupid computer, stupid switch, stupid mat in the hall that deliberately tripped you up simply to make you look stupid… by the time you’ve experienced such froward nonsense from an unfriendly universe, it won’t take you long  to snap at the cat, or berate bad service.

Here’s an idea. https://youtu.be/TB54dZkzZOY?si=qgYUKfNlAnTSdKhP – Soul II Soul – Back To Life. This can become a friendly (and imaginarily friendly) Earworm that sits ready to catch you getting cross with anything that doesn’t have the power of the personality to change.  Simply hear, “Back to life… back to reality…” playing in your mind’s imaginary ear, and calm down.  It’s just a bin, a fridge, a rug…

“Fiend or Foe?”  Let’s get better at recognising the difference – our mental health may depend upon it.

Lex

A Moodscope member