“I want and will. Accept yourself, love life and become happy” is a work based on self-development and psychology. Intended for a wide range of readers.

Mikhail Labkovsky, a psychologist who has a very long experience. He is an unusual type of specialist in internal problems. I have no habit of escalating the problem. He is one of the few who organizes public consultations, at which many of those present manage to understand themselves. This doctor always prefers practice in relationships with patients than talking about purely theoretical and hypothetical things. The work “I want and will. Accept yourself, love life and become happy” was published in 2017.

Many people are subject to some kind of fear. What if this doesn’t work out, that doesn’t work out? What will they think of me? And many others. We may not even realize it, but somewhere in the depths of the subconscious there is a dark something scratching that does not allow us to live the way we want. Restraining factors are, of course, good, but not when they interfere with self-realization and personal happiness.

In this book, the author presents to us six rules that we all know well, but for some reason we do not follow. Have you ever wondered why this happens? But the writer knows and even explains. The book examines in detail the reasons that can lead to neurosis, as well as practical advice on how to get rid of complexes and start living by your own rules. This psychologist is not one of those who is accustomed to answering direct questions with vague formulations. He sees the problem and indicates the shortest way to solve it.

This book can help you change your consciousness and become truly happy precisely in your understanding of this word, and not in what society and popular culture impose on you. This book is one of those that does not lose its relevance over the years.

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Mikhail Labkovsky
I want and will: Accept yourself, love life and become happy

Editor Polina Sanaeva

Project Manager O. Ravdanis

Corrector E. Aksenova

Computer layout K. Svishchev

Cover design Yu. Buga

Cover photo M. Korolev


© Mikhail Labkovsky, 2017

Poster of events and performances by Mikhail Labkovsky labkovskiy.ru/afisha

© Mikhail Korolev, cover photo, 2017

© Vladimir Sokolaev, heirs, illustrations, 2017

© Vladimir Vorobyov, heirs, illustrations, 2017

© Publishing, design. Alpina Publisher LLC, 2017


All rights reserved. The work is intended exclusively for private use. No part of the electronic copy of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including posting on the Internet or corporate networks, for public or collective use without the written permission of the copyright owner. For violation of copyright, the law provides for payment of compensation to the copyright holder in the amount of up to 5 million rubles (Article 49 of the Code of Administrative Offenses), as well as criminal liability in the form of imprisonment for up to 6 years (Article 146 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

* * *

Preface

There was a time when I worked door to door with drug addiction specialists. Soviet narcologists, doctors of the old school. There was always a queue for them - some alone, some with their mother, some with their wife or husband. And it soon turned out that drug treatment specialists were sending some of them home right away. Once I asked them what kind of cruelty it was to refuse help to a person who asks for it. Don't we have to?! And all that... In response, they explained to me that they only refuse those who were brought “on the lasso”; my wife insisted, for example. “These people never stop drinking, at least until they decide to quit,” said the experienced doctor. This may be harsh, but it is the right approach.

When people ask me to make an appointment, I always ask whose decision it is to see a psychologist. It happens that I hear that a woman is calling to register her son or a husband insists that his wife come to talk. And then I also refuse, like those narcologists. I'm waiting for a call from a teenager or woman who finds himself in a difficult situation. And if such a call is received, I invite you to a consultation.

And again an example from the practice of narcologists. If a wife suffers from her husband’s alcoholism, cries, is killed, suffers lack of money, and even beatings, is constantly looking for doctors and tries to put a lapel potion in her husband’s tea - this is only her problem and her choice. Her husband doesn’t consider drunkenness a big problem, he drinks for his own pleasure. This is bad for the wife, but good for him, especially after he’s drunk. And yes, it is impossible to “save” an alcoholic from such a disposition. But everyone usually hopes and puts in a lot of effort. And they put their lives in the fight to save someone who does not want to be saved. And not necessarily from alcoholism, but, for example, from an unsuitable girl, a “bad” company, an unprestigious job... Vain efforts!

But when a person says to himself, “I have a problem, and I can’t cope with it,” then the psychologist’s recommendations are beneficial, and the therapy is effective. But it is impossible to help someone who does not completely admit that they have a problem—whether with addiction, anxiety, low self-esteem, or failures in relationships. Basically denies! And why bother coming to him with advice if everything is fine with him? A problem is not considered a problem at all until it interferes with life...

But when a person who doesn’t like his life realizes or at least begins to suspect that the problem is not the cruelty of the world or a combination of circumstances - that the problem is himself, and decides to change, then he has every chance! Chances of being happy. Moreover, at any age, marital status, wealth, etc.

I don’t just believe, I know from the experience of a psychologist that being happy is a decision. And if you think that you have no problems that prevent you from enjoying life, you like everything - this book is not for you.

This is a book for those who want and are ready to change.

This book is for those who now live unhappily, often not understanding what is happening to them and asking “Why do I need all this?”

Who believes that life is unfair, who no longer believes in love, who thinks that “the main thing is that there is no war” and “so that it is no worse than people’s.”

Who is afraid to laugh, who endured, suffered, survived and solved problems. For whom children are a burden, work is not a joy, family is a burden...

This is a book for those who have decided to give up on all this. Finish it.

This is a book for those who did not know that there is another world, another life - “without nerves.” And there are people who do not worry in advance and without reason, work at a job they love, live with their loved ones.

A book for those who did not imagine that there are literally men and women living next to each other who like themselves completely, from the length of their legs to their character and age, and who accept themselves and life entirely. That there are families where a husband and wife met in the 9th grade and now, at 86 years old, they are thinking about how to die on the same day.

That there are parents who do not burden their children with their expectations and do not want them to grow up into great leaders, become lawyers, but want them to simply grow up and be happy.

And there are relationships in which there is no room for jealousy, envy, comparison of oneself with others...

Life is short, and most of us do not have time to feel the joy and pleasure from it.

It’s a shame that every child born into a complex neurotic family absorbs conflicts, betrayal, coldness, inability to rejoice, fears with their mother’s milk and grows up with the feeling that a) everyone lives like this and b) people are born to suffer.

This is not true, you can trust me. You can live differently, and life is not as scary as you think. You can be happy and you won't have to pay for anything. And love does not need to be earned, especially since it cannot be earned. You can be loved because you are just you. And every morning you can wake up without anxiety, but with a feeling of anticipation, as if it were your birthday or today was the New Year.

The most interesting thing is that it is in this blissful state that you can earn good money...

Now the most important thing. Many, even knowing that there is this normal, joyful life and calm, harmonious relationships, do not believe that all this is quite achievable, including for them personally. Because they don’t know HOW to get there, which direction to take, what to do and where to run to achieve all this.

So, this book is exactly about HOW to outgrow your fears, anxieties, complexes and become happy.

But for this you need two things: decide to change your life and not be afraid of it.


Any conflict in the family, at work, in love and friendship is only a reflection of your internal conflict. Therefore, you don’t have to deal with others, you have to deal with yourself. And having conquered neuroses, live with joy.

Personality

About the first rule

Just give them free rein...

First teacher


Our citizens perceive the advice to “do only what you want” as a call for anarchy. They consider their strongest desires to be base, vicious, and dangerous to others. People are sure that they are secret lawbreakers, and are simply afraid to give themselves free rein! I see this as a serious symptom of general neurosis.

You tell a person: “Do what you want!” And he: “What are you talking about! Is that possible?!”

I answer: “If you consider yourself a good person, then yes. It is possible and necessary." The desires of a good person coincide with the interests of others.

Six rules that have helped more than a dozen people overcome neurosis are the result of 30 years of practice. This doesn't mean I've been thinking about them for 30 years. Rather, one day they spontaneously lined up, like the periodic table in Mendeleev’s head when he woke up.

The rules are simple at first glance:

1. Do only what you want.

2. Don't do what you don't want to do.

3. Immediately talk about what you don’t like.

4. Don't answer when not asked.

5. Answer only the question.

6. When sorting out relationships, talk only about yourself.


I'll explain how they work. Every neurotic person receives some irritant in his life as a child, and, most likely, more than one. Since this is an annoyingly repeated irritant, the child’s psyche develops the same stereotypical reactions to it. For example, parents yell - the child gets scared and withdraws into himself, and since they yell constantly, the child is constantly in fear and depressed. It grows and the behavior continues to be reinforced. Stimulus - reaction, stimulus - reaction. This goes on year after year. During this time, strong nerve connections are formed in the brain, the so-called reflex arc - nerve cells arranged in a certain way, which force them to react in the usual way to any similar stimulus. (And if the child was beaten or abandoned altogether? Can you imagine what kind of reactions he develops to life?)

So, in order to help a person overcome fears, anxieties, uncertainty, low self-esteem, this arc needs to be broken. Create new connections, their new order. And there is only one way to do this without using a lobotomy: with the help of actions that are unusual for a neurotic.

He needs to start acting differently, breaking his behavioral stereotypes. And when there are clear instructions on how to behave in each specific situation, it is easier to change. Without thinking, without reflecting, without turning to your own (negative) experience. For life in general, it doesn't matter what you think - only what you feel and what you do matters.

My rules suggest a way of behavior that is completely unusual for neurotics and, on the contrary, characteristic of mentally healthy people: calm, independent, with high self-esteem, those who love themselves.

The greatest resistance, a lot of questions, doubts, and also accusations against me are caused by the first point. They say to me: “What is this? “Love yourself, don’t sneeze at everyone, and success awaits you in life”?” Although I never talk about “spit on everyone” anywhere.

For some reason, everyone stubbornly believes that living as you want means living at the expense of those around you. In addition, in our society there is a contemptuous attitude towards one’s own desires, as if they must necessarily be base. And vicious. I would even say that our citizens treat their desires with caution or fear. The concept is: “Just give me free rein! I'm woohoo! Then you won’t be able to stop me!” (Sex, drugs and rock and roll, or like “I’ll kill everyone here!” and “I’m scary when I’m angry!”) If this is really what he wants, then what kind of person is he? Then he usually admits that he needs a firm hand, a strong rein, and so on. In my opinion, this psychology is called slave psychology.

There is one more concept. My mother’s favorite cry after (perhaps my father) was: “You cannot live the way you want!” And she said worse things about those who live like this (perhaps, again, about her father). My grandmother had a saying: “We live not for joy, but for conscience”; and the whole family had a sign: if we laugh a lot today, it means we will cry tomorrow. The result is that a person with an anxious psyche organically cannot do what he wants. He can’t even determine what exactly he wants. It is as if he is guilty in advance and is sure that retribution will come for fulfilled desires and therefore, preventively, he must behave “as it should.”

And “doing what you want” is often confused with “being selfish.” But there is a big difference! The egoist does not accept himself and cannot calm down. He is absolutely fixated on himself, his problems and internal experiences, the main one of which is a feeling of resentment. He cannot help or sympathize with you, not because he is so bad, but because he does not have the mental strength to do so. After all, he has a stormy, exciting relationship with himself. And it seems to everyone that he is insensitive, callous, cold, that he doesn’t care about anyone, but at the same time he thinks that it’s precisely no one who cares about him! And continues to accumulate grievances.

And who is a person who loves himself? This is the one who will always choose the business to which his soul lies. And when you need to decide what to do, he may figure out what is effective, what is reasonable, what his sense of duty dictates, and then he will do as he WANTS. Even if he loses money on it. And he has a lot to lose. But who should he be offended by? He is fine. He lives among those he loves, he works where he likes... He has everything agreed and harmonious with himself, and therefore he is kind to others and open to the world. He also respects other people's wishes as much as he respects his own.

And by the way, this is why he does not have that internal conflict that is characteristic of neurotics living a double life. For example, with a wife - out of a sense of duty, but with a mistress simply out of feeling. And then he buys his wife a gift because “it’s necessary,” and not because he WANTS to please her. Or he goes to work because he likes what he does, and not because he has a loan and hopes to endure another five years in this office hell. Here it is - duality!

Wanting to achieve results, many consider it their duty to fight with themselves, suppress emotions, tell themselves: “It’s okay, I’ll get used to it!” The result, achieved without struggle and self-overcoming, apparently does not please them. Here is a universal example of such a struggle: on the one hand, a girl wants to eat, and on the other, she wants to lose weight. Therefore, even if he loses weight, he loses. She is losing to herself because she still dreams of a cake, she is hungry, especially closer to one in the morning.

This is roughly what I tell my clients when I explain the first and perhaps most important of my six rules. By which, by the way, I myself try to live. And I won’t pretend that it was easy for me. To “live the way you want” requires a lot of effort at first. The psyche habitually leads you along the path of compromises and fears, and you catch yourself by the hand and say: “Stop, what am I doing? I don’t want this!” And so many times, after which it becomes easier and easier to make decisions. To your benefit, but not to the detriment of anyone. I know that I am a good person, which means that my desires will not create problems.

And, frankly, life is getting easier and easier. Moreover, after practicing, after some time you can no longer do it any other way. Sometimes you think to “act wisely,” but against your desire and will, but your body already resists. As long as you don’t give up what you really don’t want, but seem to need. And joy comes. True, I recently lost a decent income in this way, but income is better than health and joy.

– You say you have to do only what you want. Won't this provoke a wave of hatred towards me?

– Your question shows how much you depend on the opinions of others.

“It depends on him how easy my life will be!”

– How easy your life will be depends solely on how well you treat yourself.

About the meaning of life

He died without finding meaning in life. And he died, having found meaning in life. And he died without looking for meaning in life. And this one is still alive. I should talk to him.

Mikhail Zhvanetsky


I will say right away that I do not claim the laurels of writers and philosophers, that is, people who professionally search for the meaning of life. And I don’t really believe that it can be achieved in a rational way. Like this: “I read The Brothers Karamazov and understood the meaning of life.” I would not have raised this question at all if I had not been faced with situations every day where a pseudo-loss of meaning and goals causes suffering. And if the consequences did not include severe depression and even suicide.

I'm sure cause and effect are reversed here. How do we traditionally see this? A person searches and does not find meaning in life, lies down on the sofa, becomes depressed, and suffers. (In our country, getting hurt is a favorite national pastime, but that’s not about that now.) In reality, of course, first something happens to him, some kind of failure: from getting a bad mark on an exam to the loss of a loved one - and then he goes on to broad generalizations, becomes convinced that he is a loser, life is decay and there is no meaning in it... Or he suddenly realizes that he is not living at all the way he wants, the way he planned. The result is the same. Or, on the contrary, he realizes that he has achieved all his goals, but there is no happiness. Or... You see, questions about the meaning of life arise not from great intelligence and maturity, but precisely because a person somehow does not live. Some attitudes, complexes, or mental characteristics interfere. Healthy, mentally prosperous people do not pose such questions or rational goals. And especially not trying to implement them at any cost. They enjoy the emotional side of life! They just live.

The rational part of the brain (and ourselves) is responsible for meaning, and the emotional part is responsible for mental well-being and happiness. If emotions are suppressed or discredited, a speculative search for meaning begins, which sooner or later ends in disappointment, crisis, if not tragedy.

And a gun that fires in adulthood is loaded again in childhood. What successes do parents record and encourage with pleasure? Boys: good academic performance and physical strength. For girls: good academic performance and physical beauty. It is believed that one can build a life on this. And a lot of other things, right from childhood, are tied to the word “must”.

What do they tell kids in high school? “You MUST study well,” “Your father and I will go to great lengths for you to enroll,” “A good education opens up prospects.” As if any education is good. As if it could guarantee anything. Do you know that, according to statistics, people with a “good” education most often become employees?

Yes, but girls are often told in their ears that they need to get married ON TIME, otherwise they might not get married later. In my opinion, it is impossible, and simply dangerous, to instill in children that marriagethis is the best thing that can happen to them in life. The bestthis is happiness. And happinessthis is maximum personal fulfillment: in love, friendship, family, children, professionin everything in which a person is talented and wants to try.

What's the reality? They come up with meanings for themselves in advance (absorb them with mother’s milk), and when they stop working or turn out to be false, they fall into despair. At such a moment, it is important to understand that there is no abstract meaning to life. What meaning of lifein life itself. The purpose of lifeis to enjoy it. Life guideself-realization.

By the way, those same mentally well people (these are not aliens - they really walk among us) do not talk to their children about what kind of people they should grow up to be. And they don’t tell you that not to disappoint their parents’ expectations is their main task for the next life.

Sometimes the inability to enjoy life and, as a consequence, the continuous search for the meaning of life is associated with underdevelopment of the emotional sphere. This can be both a hereditary and an acquired feature of the psyche. It seems to a person: now I’ll change jobs, or get divorced, or move – and finally everything will be fine. But external changes are happening, but inside he is not getting better. Because happiness depends very little on external circumstances. It's all in ourselves, it's true. Viktor Frankl not only did not break down, but also did not change psychologically in the concentration camp.

Another option is an unstable psyche. When a person rushes about, he keeps looking for something and cannot stop, linger on something, or find peace. (If the psyche is stable, a person likes something for a very long time.) Again, the point is not a lack of meaning and purpose, but that both change too often. There is an endless shuffling of jobs, wives, apartments, partners... But all you need to do is love what you have. Yourself and your life. And then development, growth, positive changes occur naturally and smoothly.

Both emotional underdevelopment and psychological instability are completely curable. The main thing is to know for sure that life should be joyful.

– Everything is fine with me: family, three children, life is filled with worries. But I started to wonder what I will do when they grow up? What will be the meaning of my life then?

– This is precisely a consequence of the attitude that every woman’s calling is home, family, motherhood. And if a girl has no other interests before marriage, she tries to cling to children as a source of meaning. But children grow up, and a crisis inevitably begins. However, there are many other examples around: for example, when a 70-year-old mother calls her 48-year-old son, teaches him how to live and checks whether he ate porridge for breakfast - she never found any more meaning or occupation for herself other than motherhood. Your task is to find it! It’s worth starting to search and realize yourself now. You need to understand what you want from life, EXCEPT family and children. It's normal to want to give birth. It's not normal to want only this.

– A friend is depressed, she has lost the meaning of life because it turned out that her husband is cheating on her. How can I support her? She needs to decide whether to continue the relationship.

– The main thing here is not to say: “Yes, divorce this asshole!” And you don’t have to say: “It’s okay!” There is no need to discount her problem. But try to show that she is not alone and has every right to make any decision. Show delicacy: in moments when it is so difficult for a person, loved ones cannot replace his lost meaning with their own. They cannot replace his destroyed life with their own. But they can support and be there for you.

– I live by rationalizing everything, and I don’t know how to do it any other way. How to give up rational goals to follow emotions?

– This happens both when the emotional sphere is suppressed, and, conversely, when a person is hypersensitive and anxious. In order not to go crazy, he has to constantly control himself. His rationalization is an attempt to stay afloat, to protect himself from his own emotions, from life itself. Both are treatable. Go to a psychologist.

If you feel depressed, I advise you to first learn not to be afraid to express your emotions. If you want to scream, scream! As Tortila the turtle sang, “If you want to fight, then fight!” Don’t be afraid to look ill-mannered, conflicted... The heads of conflict experts who explain about the culture of conflict should be torn off. Suppressing emotions is a direct path to cancer. The meaning of conflicts is to drain the negativity; if this does not happen, the negativity goes into physiology. Animals do not have heart disease because they do not have reflexes; they know that in an acute situation they must either run or fight. And also try to trust positive emotions and desires. Do what you want, not what you should...

– What should I do if my mother is seriously ill and my whole life passes next to her?

– I see it this way: you lived, searched to the best of your ability for the meaning of life, then it turned out that you had a sick mother and – oops! – it turns out there is no need to look for anything else. So? It's always a matter of choice, a question of whether you agree with what life offers you. The problem of caring for your mother can always be solved, at least for a few hours a day - there are nurses. Another question is, what will you do when you don’t have to look after your mother? You know? Will you return to work? On what? Do you like your job? Answer these questions for yourself, and then a lot will become clear.

And one more thing about elderly mothers: psychiatrists around the world are inclined to believe that after a certain age, say, after 60 years, everyone should take antidepressants.

– I love my job, but it takes a lot of energy and nerves. Does this mean that we need to look for another?

– For an employer, a neurotic is the best employee. Because a neurotic person worries all the time: what if he’s late, what’s wrong, what if he doesn’t work enough? And he doesn’t ask for a salary increase because he’s not confident in himself.

Are all these reasons for your worries real? Are you sure? It is quite possible that everything is fine with work, but you have a neurotic attitude towards it. It’s like in love - someone becomes stronger from it, but someone suffers and dies. Don't change your job, try to change your attitude towards it.

– Everything was fine, I was fulfilled both in work and in relationships. Then she gave birth to a child, he was diagnosed with severe autism. Now my whole life is dedicated to him. I love him very much, but periodically I lose the meaning of life. And I certainly can’t enjoy it anymore. What do you recommend doing?

– Do everything so as not to feel like a hostage – the child and the situation. If there is any opportunity to free up time, hire a person who can competently care for your son, spend time with him, develop him, do it without hesitation. Do everything to begin to perceive your son as a child, and not as a disabled and sick creature. It’s better to spend 5 minutes with him, but with desire, than if he annoys you 24 hours a day... And you definitely need to solve something with your feeling of guilt - this is a destructive feeling and a bad adviser.

– Did I understand correctly that if someone does not enjoy life, then he is simply some kind of under-examined person? Does he need to see a psychologist?

- In general, yes. Right.

– Do I understand correctly that all this search for the meaning of life is a search for love?

– Thank you for this deep thought. Of course, the desire to be loved rules the world. Not even from birth, but from conception, it is important that the mother who carries you at least wants to give birth to you. Because a small child wants his parents to physically belong to him... How important it is for a teenager to feel love, it has already been said - it is vitally important! Actually, all this struggle for success, popularity, beauty, all these incredible efforts, plastic surgery, Instagram, collecting likes - all this is the search for love... Dissatisfaction with life is the absence of love. A person feels that he is not loved. He doesn’t understand what’s happening and thinks: what can I do to be loved? You already know what? Start by loving yourself!

Before you download the audiobook I want and will. Accept yourself, love life and become happy free torrent in mp3, read the description: Psychologist Mikhail Labkovsky is absolutely sure that a person can and has the right to be happy and do only what he wants. His book is about how to understand yourself, find harmony and learn to enjoy life. The author explores the reasons that hinder a mentally healthy lifestyle: where do we get our conscious and unconscious anxieties, fears, and inability to listen to ourselves and build relationships with other people?

A distinctive feature of Labkovsky’s approach is its specificity. He always gives an extremely intelligible answer to any difficult question. His statements and advice are so radical that many are initially surprised, if not shocked. In the recommendations, the author does not hide behind streamlined formulations, but clearly identifies the causes of the problems. And the most important thing is that he knows how to solve this problem - without delving into childhood psychotraumas and close analysis of your past. If a person has knowledge and desire, then changing himself and his life for the better is quite possible.

The goal of any psychologist’s work is the personal happiness and well-being of his patient. The purpose of publishing this book is the personal happiness of everyone who reads it.

Preface
Personality
About the first rule
About the meaning of life
About neurotics
About true desires
About appearance
About compromises
The first story is about ours, about the girl’s
Story two, about work
Story three. About friends
Story four. About Roman holidays
And the fifth story. About parents
What's wrong with them?
About men, women and psychologists
About social networks
About the psychology of the victim
About work and money
About self-love (New Year's message)
About addiction
Acquaintance
Love
Permanent relationship
Marriage
Didn't quit, but stopped
About desires
About inaction
Relationship
About relationships
Act one. Start of a relationship
Act two. First difficulties
Act three. Conflicts
The penultimate act. Fear of separation
The last act. Parting
About neurotic relationships
About love and libido
Poetry of libido
Forewarned is forearmed
Healthy connections
About sex
About bitches
About "Irony of Fate"
Nadia
Hippolytus
Now Lukashin
Relationship between Zhenya and Nadya
The end of the film
Lessons
“How to leave your loved one if you understand that he is a goat?”
About getting married
1. You want to get married only speculatively
2. Marriage is a way for you to solve problems.
3. You are having an affair with a married man.
4. You continue to be in previous relationships in your head (unfinished relationship syndrome)
About family therapy
Children
About mom's "cockroaches"
About dad's "cockroaches"
About the uselessness of reading
About kindergarten
About family and school
About teenagers
About childhood psychotraumas and adult neurotics
About mothers and sons
How to raise a happy child
About lessons
List of illustrations
Notes

I want and will: Accept yourself, love life and become happy

Editor Polina Sanaeva

Project Manager O. Ravdanis

Corrector E. Aksenova

Computer layout K. Svishchev

Cover design Yu. Buga

Cover photo M. Korolev

Poster of events and performances by Mikhail Labkovsky labkovskiy.ru/afisha

* * *

Preface

There was a time when I worked door to door with drug addiction specialists. Soviet narcologists, doctors of the old school. There was always a queue for them - some alone, some with their mother, some with their wife or husband. And it soon turned out that drug treatment specialists were sending some of them home right away. Once I asked them what kind of cruelty it was to refuse help to a person who asks for it. Don't we have to?! And all that... In response, they explained to me that they only refuse those who were brought “on the lasso”; my wife insisted, for example. “These people never stop drinking, at least until they decide to quit,” said the experienced doctor. This may be harsh, but it is the right approach.

When people ask me to make an appointment, I always ask whose decision it is to see a psychologist. It happens that I hear that a woman is calling to register her son or a husband insists that his wife come to talk. And then I also refuse, like those narcologists. I'm waiting for a call from a teenager or woman who finds himself in a difficult situation. And if such a call is received, I invite you to a consultation.

And again an example from the practice of narcologists. If a wife suffers from her husband’s alcoholism, cries, is killed, suffers lack of money, and even beatings, is constantly looking for doctors and tries to put a lapel potion in her husband’s tea - this is only her problem and her choice. Her husband doesn’t consider drunkenness a big problem, he drinks for his own pleasure. This is bad for the wife, but good for him, especially after he’s drunk. And yes, it is impossible to “save” an alcoholic from such a disposition. But everyone usually hopes and puts in a lot of effort. And they put their lives in the fight to save someone who does not want to be saved. And not necessarily from alcoholism, but, for example, from an unsuitable girl, a “bad” company, an unprestigious job... Vain efforts!

But when a person says to himself, “I have a problem, and I can’t cope with it,” then the psychologist’s recommendations are beneficial, and the therapy is effective. But it is impossible to help someone who does not completely admit that they have a problem—whether with addiction, anxiety, low self-esteem, or failures in relationships. Basically denies! And why bother coming to him with advice if everything is fine with him? A problem is not considered a problem at all until it interferes with life...


Mikhail Labkovsky

I want and will: Accept yourself, love life and become happy

Editor Polina Sanaeva

Project Manager O. Ravdanis

Corrector E. Aksenova

Computer layout K. Svishchev

Cover design Yu. Buga

Cover photo M. Korolev

© Mikhail Labkovsky, 2017

Poster of events and performances by Mikhail Labkovsky labkovskiy.ru/afisha

© Mikhail Korolev, cover photo, 2017

© Vladimir Sokolaev, heirs, illustrations, 2017

© Vladimir Vorobyov, heirs, illustrations, 2017

© Publishing, design. Alpina Publisher LLC, 2017

All rights reserved. The work is intended exclusively for private use. No part of the electronic copy of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including posting on the Internet or corporate networks, for public or collective use without the written permission of the copyright owner. For violation of copyright, the law provides for payment of compensation to the copyright holder in the amount of up to 5 million rubles (Article 49 of the Code of Administrative Offenses), as well as criminal liability in the form of imprisonment for up to 6 years (Article 146 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

Preface

There was a time when I worked door to door with drug addiction specialists. Soviet narcologists, doctors of the old school. There was always a queue for them - some alone, some with their mother, some with their wife or husband. And it soon turned out that drug treatment specialists were sending some of them home right away. Once I asked them what kind of cruelty it was to refuse help to a person who asks for it. Don't we have to?! And all that... In response, they explained to me that they only refuse those who were brought “on the lasso”; my wife insisted, for example. “These people never stop drinking, at least until they decide to quit,” said the experienced doctor. This may be harsh, but it is the right approach.

When people ask me to make an appointment, I always ask whose decision it is to see a psychologist. It happens that I hear that a woman is calling to register her son or a husband insists that his wife come to talk. And then I also refuse, like those narcologists. I'm waiting for a call from a teenager or woman who finds himself in a difficult situation. And if such a call is received, I invite you to a consultation.

And again an example from the practice of narcologists. If a wife suffers from her husband’s alcoholism, cries, is killed, suffers lack of money, and even beatings, is constantly looking for doctors and tries to put a lapel potion in her husband’s tea - this is only her problem and her choice. Her husband doesn’t consider drunkenness a big problem, he drinks for his own pleasure. This is bad for the wife, but good for him, especially after he’s drunk. And yes, it is impossible to “save” an alcoholic from such a disposition. But everyone usually hopes and puts in a lot of effort. And they put their lives in the fight to save someone who does not want to be saved. And not necessarily from alcoholism, but, for example, from an unsuitable girl, a “bad” company, an unprestigious job... Vain efforts!

But when a person says to himself, “I have a problem, and I can’t cope with it,” then the psychologist’s recommendations are beneficial, and the therapy is effective. But it is impossible to help someone who does not completely admit that they have a problem—whether with addiction, anxiety, low self-esteem, or failures in relationships. Basically denies! And why bother coming to him with advice if everything is fine with him? A problem is not considered a problem at all until it interferes with life...

But when a person who doesn’t like his life realizes or at least begins to suspect that the problem is not the cruelty of the world or a combination of circumstances - that the problem is himself, and decides to change, then he has every chance! Chances of being happy. Moreover, at any age, marital status, wealth, etc.

I don’t just believe, I know from the experience of a psychologist that being happy is a decision. And if you think that you have no problems that prevent you from enjoying life, you like everything - this book is not for you.

This is a book for those who want and are ready to change.

This book is for those who now live unhappily, often not understanding what is happening to them and asking “Why do I need all this?”

Who believes that life is unfair, who no longer believes in love, who thinks that “the main thing is that there is no war” and “so that it is no worse than people’s.”

Who is afraid to laugh, who endured, suffered, survived and solved problems. For whom children are a burden, work is not a joy, family is a burden...

This is a book for those who have decided to give up on all this. Finish it.