Causality: Effects of a Merry-Go-Round Don't Last Forever

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As it pertains to this blogpost, the American Psychological Association (APA) defines an effect as “an event or state that is brought about as the result of another (its cause).” To demonstrate a causative effect, I now invite you to consider Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT).

First, it may be worth noting that one source states, “A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (International English), or galloper (British English) is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders.”

Another source states, “A roundabout (British English), merry-go-round (American English), or carousel (Australian English), is a piece of playground equipment, a flat disk, frequently about 2 to 3 metres (6 ft 7 in to 9 ft 10 in) in diameter, with bars on it that act as both hand-holds and something to lean against while riding.”

I recall merry-go-rounds being placed at virtually all public parks and in the playground areas of most schools in my childhood. As it turned out (pun intended), rambunctiously-behaved children often sought to make each other physically nauseous when spinning the playground equipment.

Now, REBT uses the ABC model to illustrate that when an undesirable Action occurs and you Believe an unhelpful narrative about the event, it’s your assumption, not the occurrence itself, that causes an unpleasant Consequence. This is known as distress or disturbance.

In particular, there are four predominate irrational beliefs which people often use to distress or disturb themselves: global evaluations, low frustration tolerance, awfulizing, and demandingness. When contemplating these unproductive scripts, think of the acronym GLAD.

Additionally, from a psychological standpoint, people distress or disturb themselves using a Belief-Consequence (B-C) connection. Of course, this isn’t to suggest that in the context of the naturalistic or physical world there is no Action-Consequence (A-C) connection.

From an A-C view, rambunctiously-behaved children spun the merry-go-round as fast as possible (Action), and riders of the playground equipment became ill due to short-term symptoms of vertigo (Consequence). This was a causative effect of a ride on a merry-go-round.

Yet, from a B-C outlook, when experiencing temporary vertigo (Action) and Believing, “This is bad [G], and I can’t stand it [L], because awful dizziness [A] shouldn’t result from a ride on a merry-go-round [D],” then a child caused one’s own perturbed condition (Consequence).

Addressing how people upset themselves with unhelpful attitudes, the ABC model incorporates Disputation of unproductive philosophies of life in order to explore Effective new beliefs. Whereas rigid beliefs cause self-disturbance, flexible beliefs result in an un-disturbed condition.

Of course, the effects of a merry-go-round don’t last forever. Generally, unless a child flew off a merry-go-round and broke a bone—which did occasionally happen, a kid was able to quickly recover from both the A-C and B-C experiences. I now think of this example as I read a book.

As REBT is informed by Stoic philosophy, this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding a book entitled The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman.

Ancient Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius stated, “When forced, as it seems, by circumstances into utter confusion, get a hold of yourself quickly. Don’t be locked out of the rhythm any longer than necessary. You’ll be able to keep the beat if you are constantly returning to it” (page 289).

In essence, Aurelius described how one recovers from the effects of the B-C connection after experiencing an A-C connection event. Spinning around this logical and reasonable (collectively “rational”) proposition (pun definitely intended), authors of The Daily Stoic state (page 289):

We’re going to get caught off guard from time to time. Not just by “black swan” type events—a terrorist attack or a financial panic—but also by minor, unexpected occurrences. Your car battery dies, your friend cancels at the last minute, you suddenly don’t feel well.

These situations have a way of throwing us into confusion and disarray. We’ve made an assumption about the world and built plans on top of that assumption. Now that the assumption has collapsed, so too might our organization or understanding.

Although unexpected Actions may correlate with Consequences such as confusion, the ABC model maintains that assumptions (i.e., Beliefs) about these Actions are what cause resulting Consequences—not the Actions themselves, as the APA thusly defines causality:

[I]n philosophy, the position that all events have causes, that is, that they are consequences of antecedent events. Traditionally, causality has been seen as an essential assumption of naturalism and all scientific explanation, although some have questioned whether causality is a necessary assumption of science.

Others have suggested that, although causality must be assumed, there are different types of causality, each of which makes different metaphysical assumptions about the nature of the world and adopts different criteria about what types of relationships between phenomena can be considered as legitimately causal.

I’m in the philosophical camp regarding those who maintain that Actions occur, Beliefs about those events exist, and such assumptions cause Consequences (i.e., psychological versus physiological effects of a merry-go-round). Of a similar view, the authors conclude (page 289):

That’s perfectly OK! It happens. A line of infantrymen will face withering attacks—what’s key is that they don’t allow chaos to reign. Musicians will experience technical difficulties and lose their place from time to time.

In both cases, it just matters that they get back into position as quickly as possible. The same is true for you today. The order and the peace might be interrupted by a new circumstance. OK. Get a hold of yourself and find your way back.

Concerning causality, the effects of a merry-go-round don’t last forever. Per authors of The Daily Stoic, “get back into position” and “find your way back” when riding a proverbial merry-go-round of life, because unexpected events will inevitably go ‘round and ‘round (yes…a pun).

If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.

As a psychotherapist, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues ranging from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.

At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!

Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW

References:

APA Dictionary of Psychology. (2018, April 19). Causality. American Psychological Association. Retrieved from https://dictionary.apa.org/causality

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Daily Stoic. (n.d.). Translating the Stoics: An interview with “The Daily Stoic” co-author Stephen Hanselman. Retrieved from https://dailystoic.com/stephen-hanselman-interview/

Goodstudiominsk. (n.d.). Manually powered playground carousel or roundabout isolated on white background [Image]. Magnific. Retrieved from https://www.magnific.com/premium-vector/manually-powered-playground-carousel-roundabout-isolated-white-background_12622681.htm#fromView=search&page=1&position=31&uuid=db9f79fc-13ca-448f-b591-4aa6ea2908c0&query=roundabout+playground

Holiday, R. and Hanselman, S. (2016). The daily stoic: 366 meditations on wisdom, perseverance, and the art of living. Penguin Random House LLC. Retrieved from https://www.pdfdrive.com/the-daily-stoic-366-meditations-on-wisdom-perseverance-and-the-art-of-living-d61378067.html

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