The Gelosi Project
An article in the Tuesday’s edition of the New York Times, psychologists praise the practice of some out-of-work executives who continue their daily routines even though those routines are now somewhat contrived. The story describes people who continue to take the train into the city, dressed for the office, though they are currently unemployed. And the experts who were interviewed agreed that it was a healthy practice, rather than a delusional side effect.
The story really nails an important characteristic of the post-modern society — the role of the life movie (a term coined by author Neal Gabler). There’s a story in our head. It’s the story we want to find in our reality. Psychosis is often created when we can’t balance the story in the head with the real story. But sometimes, priming the story in our head lets us cope with the stressful story outside. It allows us to retain our pride and it creates a path to change in our real life.