This chapter has floated a simple thesis: psychological malaise accompanies defective life stories. We’ve only drilled a few inches down this potentially very rich mine of wisdom. But hopefully we’ve illustrated the value of narrative as a critical tool for diagnosing the ills of the soul. Here are our examples of this, in condensed tabular form: Defective Life Story Psychological Malaise “someday . . . ” “if only . . . ” delusion paralysis absence of script over-abundance of scripts anxiety apathy lack of positive ending nihilism; depression; fatalism; paranoia indeterminate past fossilized
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