Indications for Thumotherapy

The condition of our thumos, our spirit, naturally varies through the course of our day. We can be mildly hypothumotic at the beginning of the day. We can go through periods of athumoticity. We can also have periods of hyperthumocity, especially when we are engaged in an activity that is important to us and has a feeling of urgency about it.

Variations in our spiritedness through the course of our day, week, year, and life are normal. They are not indications that we would benefit from thumotherapy.

The key indicator that we would benefit from thumotherapy is when we are troubled in spirit to the point that it interferes with living our life as we desire. When we are so hypothumotic that we do not have enough spiritedness in us to get out of bed and go about our day, so hyperthumotic that we cannot sit still, focus, and finish a task, or so athumotic that we're neither here nor there, we do well to receive care for our spirit along with our body and mind.

Additional indicators that we would benefit from thumotherapy include the various types of dysthumia: 

Malthumia, ill- or mean-spiritedness 

Cyclothumia, cycling- spiriitedness

Disthumia, diffused-spirit, spread out, scattered

Melanothumia, dark-spiritedness

Photothumia, light-spiritedness

Stenothumia, constricted-spiritedness

Pyknothumia, dense, contracted- spiritedness

Schizothumia, split-spiritedness

I will discuss the above dysthumic conditions in upcoming posts

Athumia: Non-spiritedness

Euthumia, dysthumia, and athumia are words I coined to refer to three general conditions of spirit. In future posts I'll describe more specific conditions within two of these three general categories.

This post summarizes previous posts about euthumia and dysthumia and introduces athumia.

Euthumia is well-spiritedness. Dysthumia is ill- or disordered-spiritedness.

Athumia is non-spiritedness. Not in the sense of being without spirit; that is, dead. Rather in the sense of being neither well-spirited nor ill-spirited.

When we're athumic, we're neither high nor low as far as our spiritedness goes.

We tend to have a flat affect.

We're neither lethargic nor hyperactive.

We might be able to concentrate but not in a productive way.

We're neither fatigued nor energetic.

We tend to be apathetic, listless, emotionally numb, and unmotivated.

There might or might not be a physical or mental basis.

When we athumic we're neither euthumic nor dysthumic. We just are.

9 Characteristics of Dysthumia

Dysthumia is a disordered, troubled spirit. I coined the word to refer to a group of spirit-related disorders that I will share posts on in the future. 

Nine general characteristics of dysthumia include-

1. Relative, overall unhealthiness: In my view, a dysthumic person exhibits a general, overall lack of health and well-being. There may or may not be a specific physical or mental diagnosis. Dysthumia can manifest as a general lack of resilience in the face of life's challenges.

2. Avoiding or escaping from life: When we desire to avoid living life in its fullness, with all of its pleasures and pains our spirit could be disordered and weak. Those with disordered, weak spirits tend to avoid or seek to escape from life. Avoidance and escape can take many forms. Some examples include references to running away, complaining about hardships, wanting life to be easier, casting oneself as a victim, spending significant amounts of time turning inward or engaged in spiritual activities, weariness with life, escaping into social media, reading, movies, TV, and other types of entertainment, substance abuse, escaping into a relationship, and escaping into work.

3. Constrained: Those with disordered, troubled spirits tend to be in relationships, jobs, and situations that significantly restrict their personal freedom. 

4. Lacking a sense of being a unique individual and/or alienated from other living beings: When our spirit is disordered or troubled, we tend to lack a sense of who we are. We tend to be unable to be both our unique self and in healthy relationships with others.

5. Dependent on others for basic needs: Failing to provide food, shelter, clothing, transportation and other basic needs for ourselves can be an indication of dysthumia.

6. Unwilling and/or unable to rise up to take on life's challenges: This characteristic goes beyond seeking to avoid and escape from life. When our spirit is disordered and troubled we not only want to avoid and escape from our life, we also lack the will and ability to rise up and take on the challenges we face as we live our life. It's just not in us.

7. Barren, unproductive: When our spirit is disordered and troubled we tend to be ineffective and lack creativity. We are unable to produce services and goods of value to others. We do not have it in us to create art. The more disordered our spirit the more barren our life tends to be.

8. Ineffective, unsuccessful: Healthy, mature spirits are generally successful. They are able to identify and attain their goals. Disordered, troubled spirits tend to be unsuccessful. They're unable to identify and attain their goals.

9. Harmful to others: Dysthumic individuals not only tend to harm themselves. They also tend to harm others. They tend to be needy, dependent, irresponsible, unreliable, resentful, and abusive. They can also be ill-tempered and either suicidal or homicidal.