Something deep within tells me this just isn’t going to end very well. Would you agree?
And so it is with the use of “The Killer D’s” (to be offset by the Empowering E’s). The Killer D’s are words that begin with the letter “D” and describe processes that I see in my counseling office (and in my bathroom mirror) that disrupt the development and demonstration of therapeutic processes that could provide health and healing in our personal lives and in our relationships.
When practiced, these words often facilitate an outcome described in the picture and in the caption above: the result will not be good, and upon closer examination, doom, devastation and despair, which are not on the list, are sure to be felt and experienced.
I don’t know about you, but I know there is a predator deep within my person (and I would dare say is present within some people who seek my counsel) that “wants what I want when I want it.” Unless empowered to “do the next right thing,” a concept of personal recovery, I, and possible others who may notice this characteristic within their self, may engage in cold-blooded behaviors, characteristic of the shark above.
A full list of the Killer D’s is printed below, and in“The Killer D’s and the Empowering E’s” (Part 2 of 3) we will look at how the “D’s tend to derail or “kill off” communication, connection and intimacy, personally and in our relationships.
In the “The Killer D’s and the Empowering E’s” (Part 3 of 3) we will look at how certain words that begin with “E” not only serve to personally empower us, but when practiced, tend to restore “insight,” equilibrium and empowerment in our lives and in our relationships. Most of the “E” words promote and provide life-giving qualities that enliven us and tend to enliven our relationships as well.
Even though there are parts of our selves which engage in “shark-like” behavior (behavior I hope we’d like to change), thank God we are higher-order human beings who have the capacity to not only integrate counsel but also create opportunities to effect therapeutic outcomes in all of our close encounters.
The Killer D’s
1. Denial
2. Defensiveness
3. Dismissal
4. Deflection
5. Dishonesty
6. Delusion
7. Digs and Digging In
8. Dissuade
9. Discouragement
10. Defaming
11. Diluting
12. Doubt
13. Demonic
14. Deprivation
15. Desertion
16. Deviance
17. Disease
18. Disputes
19. Debacles
20. Dullness
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