i. Pathological Thought

“Feelings are not supposed to be logical. Dangerous is the man who has rationalized his emotions.” – David Borenstein

“The emotions aren't always immediately subject to reason, but they are always immediately subject to action” – William James

These quotes are perhaps the easiest way to understand pathological thought. Often times as an individual we are confronted with emotions which are subconsciously aroused due to stimuli provided from specific circumstances. Or to put it more simply… We get emotions that we can’t control from things happening around us.

Now, because of these subconscious emotions we perform arbitrary functions such as thought and physical action in specific ways. However, we often times act solely upon our emotions without regards to logic or reasoning. This is pathological thought in its purest form.

So now you might be wondering: How am I supposed to refrain from pathological thought if it happens subconsciously? Or: What makes pathological thought bad? Or: Is it possible for pathological thought to ever be positive?

The answer to the first question can be obtained by approaching the question from a different angle. A subconscious emotion is something that can not be altered and therefore must be kept in check. If we realize that emotions can not be stifled, but rather, they should be accepted as a form of instinctual reaction, then we can proceed to understand how to control them. Once we learn how to manage our emotions, we will be able to leave the realm of pathological thought and venture into the ideology of psychological thought.

The answer to the second question is indeed very personal and relative to the individual answering. However, I believe there is a universal consensus on some opinions regarding the disadvantages of pathological thought. To act solely upon one thing, regardless of what it is, is a form of bias action. And as was stated in the previous sections, bias is a very undesirable trait which can lead to limited, and often times poor, actions. Also, the fact that emotions are a temporary reaction to stimuli is one that provides reason not to make a decision without consideration or comparison of something else. I think that it can be accepted that it would not be wise to make a life altering decision based upon a temporary condition.

Lastly, the answer to the third question can be found from analyzing our subconscious reactions to negative stimuli from the environment. Without pathological thought we may never release our hand from a stove top burner, or make critical decisions when being faced with a life or death situation. These are two examples that could be debated, but I hope you see the idea of the answer provided. Without pathological thought we would not be able to make split second decisions that could determine the difference between life or death.