"Terminating Reactions" --An Especially Malignant Form of the Internal Tyranny

Humans, like nearly all other life forms, are strongly motivated to avoid and escape from pain of all kinds. One manifestation of this among humans is the universal tendency to develop what I have come to call "Terminating Reactions (TR's)."

I define a "Terminating Reaction" as any automatic, habit pattern that tends to give us TEMPORARY relief from some form of physical, mental, and/or emotional pain or discomfort-- ranging from mild to very severe. In other words, a TR tends to REDUCE OR TERMINATE PAIN, in the most general sense of that word, for a relatively short period of time.

In the following video, I offer a brief introduction to Terminating Reactions and provide a broad overview of how they range from completely benign to highly pathological.