Why I Write about the Dark Side of Human Nature
My need to shed light on harsh realities
“Man is a mystery. It needs to be unravelled, and if you spend your whole life unravelling it, don’t say that you’ve wasted time. I am studying that mystery because I want to be a human being.” ~ Fyodr Dostoevsky
As a trauma therapist in the public and private sectors of NYC for over three decades, I’ve served as a witness to thousands of stories replete with human atrocity. As a complex trauma survivor, I am also personally aware of the decimation caused by the sadistic cruelty of morally depraved caregivers. The crippling symptoms and destructive behavior of those seeking treatment evidence the devastation incurred. Miraculously, just as evident is the way in which survivors reach for beauty, seek out meaning, and strive, in spite of all odds to actualize potentials.
Those who have been on the receiving end of merciless victimization are cognizant of what a formidable force human evil is. Equally as powerful and critical to transcending evil’s damaging impact, is the opposing force of virtue. Moreover, it is the existence of both evil and virtue that sustains the existence of the other as all things in life are qualified by their opposite. This pre-Socratic principle known as enantiodromia was referenced by the father of psychoanalysis Carl…
