Cherish the Invisible Mind: A Plan to Heal Humanity by Defeating Narcissism andNeurosis. Damian B. Kim, M.D. Braugler Books. ISBN: 978-1970063837. $19.99US. Paper. 142 pages.
Dr. Damian B. Kim is a healer, and his words of
wisdom in his new book Cherish the
Invisible Mind offer sound guidance in our age of mental health crises. The
book is excellently written, engaging, and well organized. Drawing on a number
of scientific studies and psychological theories, as well as his own vast
clinical experience, Dr. Kim tackles a range of problems and offers a number of
solutions. For instance, narcissism and ego-centrism found among many younger
Americans is leading to high expectations unfulfilled, competitiveness, and
hence loneliness, depression, and even acts of suicide. Overall, Dr. Kim’s book
is a succinct but commanding appraisal of and relevant response to a host of
mental health disorders, ranging from anxiety and depression to drug abuse and
violence, plaguing the American mind today.
As a highly-trained psychiatrist, Dr. Kim sees that
some neuroses can be cultural; that is, mental health can be negatively
affected or triggered by social conditions immersing people, often unwittingly,
in a materialistic and power oriented society. This predicament is then compounded,
Dr. Kim goes on, by professionally trained counselors who miss the cues or
provide a failing treatment. With a focus on millennials, Dr. Kim’s head and
heart are in the right place: he cares about the future of Americans and the
U.S. This honest approach has not, of course, been embraced by all his peers,
as he is the first to admit.
In an age of rampant psychiatric medications, Dr.
Kim believes the source of people’s problems should be treated using
psychotherapy whenever possible. A major concern of Dr. Kim is the rise of
suicide rates in the U.S., perhaps because, not to oversimplify, the comfort of
the body (using medicines and technology) has taken pride of place over the
health of mind (using talk therapy). So Dr. Kim, as implied in the title of his
book, seeks to penetrate and renew the unconscious mind which can often take a
pernicious grip on one’s life with baneful results. This is more of a
qualitative rather than a quantitative approach and hence, today, often ignored
by many professionals though quite useful. At the same time, the unconscious
mind can be a wellspring of sustenance if properly recognized, gently cared
for, and ably negotiated. That’s the area of Dr. Kim’s expertise.
Dr. Kim rightly draws an analogy between the
deteriorating and widespread harms of neuroses to a pandemic virus spiraling
out of control, also unseen and destructive. Oddly, part of the cause for the
spread of neuroses, he suggests, is capitalistic technology meant to make life
easy and enjoyable, since it draws people apart and distracts them away from
mindfulness and empathy. This book is a profound assessment of the current and
at times superficial practices of psychiatry and yet an eloquent antidote to
this profession’s shortcomings. Dr. Kim’s emphasis on character (using theory
from Karen Horney) and interpersonal relationships correctly asks that
contemporary people, especially the younger generations who will eventually be
in control of government and the economy, engage in self-discovery. Some people
might require professional therapy to do so, but the investment in
self-understanding in a community of others is of paramount importance to Dr.
Kim.
How do we solve these individual and social
problems? There are some remedies that don’t require medication: education to
increase knowledge of neuroses; meditation to help one come to grips with the
self and comprehend the inner experience; psychotherapy, if required. In other
words, answers to these problems are not necessarily in technology, more
possessions, or competition among others but in acceptance and understanding of
the unconscious mind. I found this book easy to read, enjoyable, and
informative; it provides valuable guideposts to the future, and I recommend it
to all students of psychology.
- Gregory F. Tague, Ph.D., professor, departments of
Literature, Writing and Publishing / Interdisciplinary Studies, St. Francis
College, Brooklyn, N.Y.
