TALKING IT OVER with Dr, Clyde M, ISarramore
Dr. Narramore, graduate of Columbia University, New York City, is a nationally known psychologist. He is the director of one of America's largest psychological clinics— The Christian Counseling center in Pasadena, California.
REJOINING THE WORLD Q. Can you help me with my prob lem o f poor memory ? When I listen to the average radio speaker, minis ter, etc., before the program is over I have forgotten the main points; ten minutes later I ha/ve forgotten the whole thing. I f someone mentions the subject or a part o f it, I can re call it; otherwise not. Also faces look dll alike to me, and names go so fast. I am a success in the art field. I earn a good living and have a nice home. When I was a child, my par ents quarreled so much that I delib erately shut out the world to every thing but my art. Now that my par ents are dead, I would like to rejoin the world. Can you help me get back to normal living so I won’t meet my customers or casual friends on the street and wonder who they are and where I have met them? I am saved and love the Lord. A . This is a classical problem and not at all uncommon . . . the inabil ity to remember things. This profes sional woman, a line artist and a dedicated Christian has already given the cause o f her problem. Her childhood was unbearable because of quarreling in the home. She couldn’t exist under such conditions so she began to shut out the noise by turn ing to art and by her creativity shut out the unpleasant home life o f her parents. She closed the door to life, and while she became a success at her vocation, created a psychological problem which now needs profes sional help or psychotherapy. Most of us have experienced a similar problem to some degree, al though may not be aware o f it. The things we do not want to hear we can shut out. I remember so well during World War II I was a gun nery officer stationed in New York out on the beach where we were training men. The noise was a ter rible, deafening blast that caused one to feel like stuffing cotton in his ears, but instead I turned my thoughts to other things and worked at shutting out the awful noise from the firing o f the anti-aircraft guns. You know what happened? I was
finally able to put “ psychological cotton” in my brain and not even hear the noise. The rest o f the Navy officers said the same thing. That is what this artist has done. She found the world with mother and father so unpleasant that it had to be shut out. It is wonderful that God has made the human body and mind in such a way that we can shut out all the things we don’t want to hear. For instance, a husband who is living with a wife who is very nervous and upset and nags and talks all the time, revealing her severe emotional condition, finally becomes oblivious to her chatter and doesn’t hear it at all. Or a mother who con tinually chastises her child in a nag ging way will cause him to shut her out by this mental process provided fo r the protection of the human mind and body. Done in a prolonged time period and to an extreme, it can become a problem that must be treated by a professional in order to correct the condition. I would recommend a clinic such as ours to this professional woman, where we w ou ld first put her through our psychodiagnostic divi sion. As we put her through our testing program, we would learn more about her and what the dy namics of her personality are. We would verbally take her back to these experiences in childhood and talk them through, pray with her, and think them through.
I came alone to America from a foreign land as a boy of H , living first with a relative who had a piece of raw stump land. To be sure, I found plenty o f work to do. When I was about 16, I left this relative and hit out fo r myself. I found it hard going at times. But in those days, one did not have to look too much fo r a job, as work was plentiful. I was always willing to work, regardless of conditions. I worked in lumber camps, railroad camps and saw mills much o f my life. In my later years, I became a railroad employee and have been re tired fo r many years. I am now well advanced in years. I have not always been faithful to my Lord. Some of the time I have been far from my Heavenly Father. Yet He has supplied me with won derful health and bestowed wonder ful blessings on me, even though I have been so unworthy of all His blessings. Now I can no longer see to read. Yet I can type, so I am writing you this letter to let you know how gra cious God is to His own children. A. I’m sorry that you no longer have your sight, but want to tell you what a fine letter you’ve written. We receive many letters from peo ple who do not have their sight, and I am grateful for their letters and the friends who help with reading. Your letter is very encouraging to young people. Yours has not been an easy life, yet you do praise God for His guidance. Indeed He has given you lots o f sweetness and kindness in these last days. This is a real encouragement to me and to all o f us. Your testimony reminds me of Psalm 4 :3 — “ But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is god ly for himself: the Lord will hear when I call unto him.”
AGED IMM IGRANT GIVES THANKS TO GOD
O'. I read your articles and listen to the problems you discuss on so many different subjects on y o u r radio broadcast and think your advice is real good in most cases.
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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