I was looking up information to better understand what "repetition compulsion" is. I came across an article here:
http://www.dailystrength.org/g...ns/messages/11034522

It is also copied below. I'm surprised by things the author says are repetition compulsion. I'm wondering what others think?

Also wondering if anyone has any better articles or resources that talk about this idea of repetition compulstion.

~jd

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Stop Repetition Compulsion
10 Ways to Break Away from Repetition Compulsion
by Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen

We keep making the same mistakes & engaging in the same destructive behaviors even when we know better. Here are 10 ways to stop repeating the past.

Repeating the past and making the same mistakes is repetition compulsion, according to Sigmund Freud. This in psychiatric terms means "the blind impulse to repeat earlier experiences and situations quite irrespective of any advantage that doing so might bring from a pleasure-pain point of view." In regular words, it means that we're repeating the past, making the same mistakes, and constantly complaining about the results and yet we keep doing it!

Stop Repeating the Past: Why We Struggle With Repetition Compulsion

Repetition compulsion or repeating the past involves recreating the same dynamics that we experienced as children. If your childhood was filled with verbal abuse and fear, then you may be more comfortable living with abuse and fear as an adult and so you pick a partner who calls you names or pushes you around. This is repeating the past. If you were the "good kid" who didn't cause trouble and always helped out, you may be inclined to make people happy (the people pleaser). Again, you're repeating your past or making the same mistake.

For some, repeating the past means complaining about never making money in the stock market because they never invest or move their money around. For others, repeating the past means waking up with a hangover and no idea where the car is and doing it again the next weekend, or even the next day. It's about repeating the past or making the same "mistakes". However, repeating the past isn't about mistakes.

Repeating the past or repetition compulsion could involve picking friends who take advantage of you, or accepting jobs that don't offer a chance of promotion or professional development. Repeating the past is pursuing the same dead ends over and over again, or engaging in the same self-destructive behavior. It's making the same mistakes. To stop repeating the past, you must first determine if you are repeating the past.

Repetition compulsion or repeating the past includes:
- Emotional eating, or eating too much or too little
- Drinking too much or alcoholism
- Unsafe, unprotected promiscuity
- Drug addiction
- Working all the time, workaholism
- Constant misery, complaining, or sour attitude - a common form of repeating the past
- Chronically choosing the wrong man or woman
- Picking the same type of friends (bad ones)
- Chronic negativity or pessimism
- Trying to "make" others love us - another common form of repeating the past
- Constant financial struggles
- Persistent struggles with illness or disease

How to determine if you're repeating the past:
You consistently ignore the negative consequences of your actions (and you're obviously repeating the past). For example, when you're stressed about work you always eat donuts, potato chips, and chocolate bars until midnight then wake up feeling disgustingly fat and sluggish. Yet, you ignore the awful feelings and not only do you keep on eating, you don't deal with the source of the stress (eg, get a different job or delegate some responsibilities). You're repeating the past and suffering for it.

10 ways to stop repeating the past:
1.Counseling with a therapist familiar with repetition compulsion and PTSD.
2.Self-awareness and honesty.
3.Books. To stop repeating the past, read about habits and motivation.
4.Workshops or lectures about repetition compulsion.
5.Support groups.
6.Friends or family that will support you as you stop repeating the past.
7.Crisis moment or pivotal experience (eg, experience with death).
8.Medication (if you're depressed, for instance, learn about antidepressants).
9.Quitting cold turkey.
10.Find relief through vacations, exercise, hobbies, new activities. To stop repeating the past, you may need to distract yourself many many times.

When you're trying to stop repeating the past, you may not know which way will work best for you until you try each method. Pick the most obvious or easiest method to stop repeating the past, give it your best shot, and see what happens. If it doesn't work, then pick another path. A combination of things (such as books and support groups) is an often effective way to stop repeating the past.

I got really excited when I read “10 Ways to Break Away from Repetition Compulsion” and actually said out loud, “HECK FREAKIN’ YES I WANT TO BREAK AWAY FROM REPEITION COMPULTION!” But seriously, what kind of advice is “self-awareness and honesty”? that’s like telling someone with depression, “focus on the good things in life and you will be happy”. And quitting cold turkey? How am I supposed to quit something that I’m not aware I do most of the time. I agree with the whole first part of the article where she explains about R.C., just not so impressed with the 10 ways.

I agree Mac. Parts of it reminded me of the "Stop It" skit that we have talked about on here before.

Awareness is only half the battle and if it were as easy as a list of ten things in a self help book then I think we'd all be there already.

Jane, please don't misunderstand, I think it was a great topic to post and I appreciate it, I just think many of the suggestions are missing the mark.

oh - let me clarify - I posted the article because I am really bothered by it and wondering if it was just me and it made me even more confused what reprition compulsion was. The first paragraph seemed a little helpful but the rest just hit me badly. Like yeah, "just be aware and stop what you are doing." ha. if it was that easy I wouldn't be in T. ugh. The actions that people do, that the author says are repetition compulsion also seem... well... weird... are all those things really repetition compulsion?

Yeah, that illness one really got me. So if someone has a chronic illness (say diabetes for example) that is repetition compulsion? Huh?

yeah...
the "10 ways to stop repeating the past"
1-6 all seem like good things to seek out if availible...

but this:

"7.Crisis moment or pivotal experience (eg, experience with death)."

huh? To stop the past, have a crisis. (and worse, the example of an experience with death.)

riiight... (did the author read what she wrote?)

yeah, if that worked, having life fall apart in a crisis way, then I'd be repetition compulsion free.


sigh.

Thanks for the feedback and validating that this article is nutty, not just me!

Oh gosh Jane, I didn't even get to that one! I stopped reading before that because I was super annoyed. Yeah, I'm pretty sure we'd all be compulsion free if having a crisis were a way to fix it!! What an idiot!