The Curse of the Self

Despite its obvious advantages our ability to be self-reflective comes at a high price. Few people realise how profoundly their lives are affected by self-reflection or how frequently inner chatter interferes with their success pollutes their relationships with others and undermines their happiness. By allowing people to ruminate about the past or imagine what might happen in the future self-reflection conjures up a great deal of personal suffering in the form of depression anxiety anger jealousy and other negative emotions. A great deal of unhappiness in the form of addictions overeating and domestic violence is due to people''s inability to exert control over their thoughts and behaviour. Is it possible to direct our self-reflection in a way that will minimise the disadvantages and maximise the advantages? Is there a way to affect the egotistical self through self-reflection? In this volume Mark Leary explores the personal and social problems that are created by the capacity for self-reflection and by drawing upon psychology and other behavioral sciences offers insights into how these problems can be minimised.