How can I be at "war with myself" without causing a mind-split?

[sidetrack]

One of the things that’s always made me uneasy about how ppl say that u got to “fight your inner urges” is that it can make you bipolar.I mean I can imagine myself fighting off my urges and it resulting in an inner dialogue that makes look spaced out and indecsive and at worst look I’m talking to myself.How shold I approach it then?.

 

[Alex246]

There’s a big difference between internal discord and being bipolar. I can tell you that fighting the urges that we all experience to sin will NOT give you bipolar disorder. The internal dialogue that can result is perfectly normal. As long as you don’t start to resemble Gollum and argue with yourself out loud, that is

 

[Heuchler]

Well, it simply means to fight your instincts. However, you won’t appear bi-polar anymore than it would look bi-polar for you to think on what type of sandwhich you would like at subway. It is a process of decision making that is completely internal. While you may sometimes follow your instincts and other times not, it will not make you appear any more bi-polar than your average person.

If your fear is looking indecisive or taking time in deciding, then the human endeavour will be much harder for you as this is probably 95% of what we as a people do: that is, we make decisions. Besides, if you are willing to have an inner conflict over where to eat or what movie to rent, you should be much more willing to have an inner dialogue if it concerns the fate of your soul.

 

[odile53]

First of all, “fighting your inner urges” won’t make you bipolar. That is a biomedical condition caused by imbalances of neurochemicals. You can’t influence them by thought alone.

Have you stopped to consider that if everyone lived out their lives following their inner urges, the streets would be littered with corpses?

No, we are to discipline our impulses with thought and reason, and yes, the tools of our faith. You needn’t look as if you are talking to yourself. Learn to discern how impulsive actions would displease God, harm others, and harm yourself, and dismiss these impulses as leading you towards a bad course of action. Even if you doubt that the actions would be offensive to God, they most certainly would not even be in keeping with your own self-interest.

It would be tempting, and somewhat satisfying, to tailgate the guy who cut you off in rush hour traffic, flip him off, flash your car’s headlights at him, and lean on the horn. But honestly, what would that even obtain for you? Certainly the knowledge that you were acting in an asinine manner, and if you were unlucky, a traffic ticket, and if you were really unfortunate, an accident. Isn’t it really in your own best interest to let the affront of getting cut off in traffic slide?

Aren’t most of the things we do based on our feelings at the time really short-sighted?

Learn to cultivate your reason and will to combat impulsiveness. You therefore are not at war with yourself, you are merely nurturing your better self.

 

[Seira]

First of all, “fighting your inner urges” won’t make you bipolar. That is a biomedical condition caused by imbalances of neurochemicals. You can’t influence them by thought alone.

Have you stopped to consider that if everyone lived out their lives following their inner urges, the streets would be littered with corpses?

No, we are to discipline our impulses with thought and reason, and yes, the tools of our faith. You needn’t look as if you are talking to yourself. Learn to discern how impulsive actions would displease God, harm others, and harm yourself, and dismiss these impulses as leading you towards a bad course of action. Even if you doubt that the actions would be offensive to God, they most certainly would not even be in keeping with your own self-interest.

It would be tempting, and somewhat satisfying, to tailgate the guy who cut you off in rush hour traffic, flip him off, flash your car’s headlights at him, and lean on the horn. But honestly, what would that even obtain for you? Certainly the knowledge that you were acting in an asinine manner, and if you were unlucky, a traffic ticket, and if you were really unfortunate, an accident. Isn’t it really in your own best interest to let the affront of getting cut off in traffic slide?

Aren’t most of the things we do based on our feelings at the time really short-sighted?

Learn to cultivate your reason and will to combat impulsiveness. You therefore are not at war with yourself, you are merely nurturing your better self.

This. sidetrack take note of this. Say a prayer whenever you start to feel your “inner urges” & you won’t look like you’re “Gollum”, you’ll just look like a very devout Catholic.