Hidden Goals and Illness

After I shared earlier this week about hidden goals, a lot of news came out about more people getting infected with the coronavirus. This includes people who deliberately went against sensible health guidelines, especially regarding mask wearing From a cause-and-effect perspective, we could say that the virus eventually caught up with them, and of course their risky behaviors significantly increased their chances of getting infected. But from a hidden goals perspective, we can also say that when people express such behaviors, they’re also expressing the hidden goal of getting infected. In other words, not wearing a mask isn’t just an expression of denial or bravado. Not wearing a mask expresses an elevated intention to invite infection. The hidden goal is to get sick. Why would someone – or some part of a person’s psyche – want to get infected? There could be lots of reasons. What are the benefits of getting infected? These are numerous. First, you get immediate access to lots of downtime in a socially acceptable way. You’re expected to go into isolation and rest more. Suppose that I announced that I had the virus. Wouldn’t that immediately change what you expected of me in the coming weeks? If I put myself into such a stressful or obligatory situation that getting sick could provide a much needed break, that could increase my chances of engaging in risky behaviors, such as not exercising or not eating well. How often hav...
Source: Steve Pavlina's Personal Development Blog - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Health Lifestyle Source Type: blogs