Website owner:  James Miller

Vicious circles, traps, nets, chain reactions

   People don't like him because of his nasty disposition.  He has 
   a nasty disposition because people don't like him. 

   People avoid him because he is angry and hostile.  He is angry 
   and hostile because people avoid him. 

   Negative thinking, always expecting the worst to happen, always 
   dwelling on the ugliest possibilities, causes one to feel 
   insecure.  Insecurity causes negative thinking. 

   He is unhappy because he is not satisfied with himself.  Other 
   people avoid him because he is not happy.  He dislikes people 
   because they avoid him. 

   He is mentally hung up on his problems.  He keeps hashing and 
   rehashing them in his mind, trying to figure out a solution to 
   them.  He doesn't realize the loss of perspective arising from 
   his habit of hashing and rehashing his problems is a large part 
   of his problem.  The habit itself creates a problem.  It is 
   dragging him down. 

   He feels frustrated and unhappy because he feels that he is 
   caught in a trap from which he cannot extricate himself.  The 
   sense of being caught in a trap causes continuing worry that 
   only compounds the problem, tightening the snare.

   Dec 1988