![]() ![]() (In other words, I’m not talking about schizophrenia here.)Īnd disintegration is certainly not always positive. Suffice it to say, virtually everyone experiences some form of disintegration in their lives, though not the most severe kinds. “Normal” symptoms of disintegration are distinctly and almost universally observable at the time of puberty and menopause, also at times of critical experience, suffering, inner conflicts, intense joy or exaltation, etc. The term covers a wide range of states from temporary loosening of contact with reality observable in severe fatigue, boredom, depression, stress, mental conflicts, disequilibrium, neurosis or psychoneurosis to a split of personality in schizophrenia. “It is sometimes an appropriate response to reality to go insane.”Īnd what he meant by “go insane” is what Kazimierz Dabrowski called “disintegration.”īut we’d better define this more precisely than that, so here’s something pulled from the glossary of Dabrowski’s 1970 book, Mental Growth Through Positive Disintegration, co-authored with lawyer and philosopher Andrzej Kawczak and microbiologist and psychologist Michael Piechowski :ĭISINTEGRATION, mental, consists of loosening, disorganization or dissolution of mental structures and functions. The thing that disintegrates in the process of positive disintegration, you see, is your “adjustment” to things that maybe you don’t want to be well adjusted to in the first place. Disintegration does indeed sound horrid, and to be sure, even the positive kind we’re talking about is no walk in the park.īut there’s a reason we call it positive, and it’s a reason that we here at Third Factor hope will be as relevant to those of you sinking deeper into panic, depression, and despair as you scroll through the daily headlines and your social media feeds. Those of you who have stumbled across our magazine without having ever heard of TPD before may well be in the midst of a similar reaction. “Positive disintegration?” the woman echoed when I told her. It came up that I had come to the area for a conference on a psychological theory, so she asked me what it was about. There, while I was in line for the gondola, a British tourist struck up a conversation with me. So as soon as the conference was over, I hopped on a tour bus and went to see the Canadian Rockies. And hey, though I’d never thought of going to Calgary before, it turned out that it was not a bad place for a vacation, being located near Banff National Park, Canada’s crown jewel. ![]() In 2016, I had the opportunity to go to Calgary to attend the Dabrowski Congress, a biannual gathering of academics, educators, psychologists, social workers, parents, and generally overexcitable people who find value in Kazimierz Dabrowski’s theory of positive disintegration (TPD). ![]()
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