Why Can't We Get Along?: Counseling in the Twenty-First Century and Beyond

I was at the UPS Store the other day getting some price quotes on my new e-bay art business when I noticed the customer at the desk next to me was beginning to get irked.


"I need this to go out today!" He demanded.


When the kind lady told him that their store shipments had gone out for the day at 2:30p.m. (it was 3:25), then his voice rose over everyone else's voice.


"If you can't get this out today, then I'm canceling my order. Do I owe you for the cards?"


"No, sir. I'm cancelling that order for you right, now. I apologize for the inconvenience about this," the young woman told him.


"What's happened to me in the last few days has caused me to lose faith in humanity as a race."


He grabbed the items he walked in with and stormed out, vowing to tell others not to use the UPS store's services. By this time, the clerk assisting me just looked at me, and we wondered, what was that man's deal? After shaking our heads, the day slowly crept back to a normal pace as I finished getting my price quotes, and headed to pick up my partner at work. But as I plodded along in the dilapidated Lincoln towns car, I began to wonder what could have happened to the man in the last few days that could have devastated him so?


Perhaps he had lost a loved one, and lost a job all in the same short time span? Losing faith in the human race is a pretty drastic statement to make in front of a store full of people. I don't know the answer of course, but I do know one thing: we all have choices. That man made a choice to unleash his emotional anguish in a negative way. When people need help, sometimes they keep too much inside and stuff and then explode. In the end, the results are usually horrid, and the person who emotionally explodes is no better off.


There are several ways to lessen the situational stress crises bring us:

1. Talk to Your Spouse.

2. Talk to a Friend.

3. Journal about your feelings and thoughts on paper.

4. If you are more comfortable online, or on a computer, then try journaling at LiveJournal.com. You can set each post individually to your desired privacy level.

5. Seek professional help via therapy. Counselors aren't just "shrinks" anymore.

Even among the crew of the Enterprise in Star Trek: The Next Generation, we do see a counselor in the crew's vaulted ranks. Why? Because it's a necessity.

Furthermore, the American Psychological Association has proven standards and practices that have been well honed and established, unlike the counselors in centuries past with such horrors as shock therapy and imaginative illnesses as witnessed in the short story, The Yellow Wallpaper, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. As we've moved into the Twenty-first Century, even our government understands having counselors on hand during a crisis. There is no shame in going to see a counselor or therapist on a regular basis. If everyone was in therapy, then the world would truly be a better place.


In closing, I would like to remind everyone of Counselor Troi on Star Trek:TNG. Even though there were a few super-sappy episodes, most of the time, she provided invaluable support and mental health support for the crew. Luckily, in real life, we don't have to deal with aliens possessing our minds and bodies, but we do have to address our needs. Talking through our problems with a friend, or another qualified individual can only help us. I am personally testifying that counseling has greatly improved my quality of life. After all, I, like Seven of Nine, have been able to be de-Borgified. The Post-modern world tends to make us more Borg-like and logical in the fast-paced environment we live in. Everyone has emotional needs, and needs to de-Borgify themselves.

The next time you feel that all faith in humanity is lost, then stop and talk with someone you can trust about the things that are bothering you. Ninety-nine percent of the time, you will leave with a small granule of faith intact, and it's that small granule that we all need to keep alive.