Is This the Tool You Want to Use?

[DISCLAIMER]

Photo credit, property of Crunchyroll, fair use

Not long after it first aired as an English dub version, I enjoyed the anime television series Soul Eater which was based on a Japanese manga series. Before I continue, I don’t care if you don’t like anime, nor am I concerned if you object to anime English dubs. I like what I like.

The animated series is set in the Shinigami technical school and revolves around a partnership between weapon masters and sentient weapons. As students try to attain the rank of Death Scythe, they’re required to collect the souls of 99 “evil” humans and a witch, as trouble ensues.

I watched the series when attending graduate school for social work, mainly as a form of escapism from the nonsense with which students were indoctrinated. Ultimately, I rejected the feminist and social justice tools which were prescribed for use in the field of social work.

Memorably, one Soul Eater character stood out to me as a composite of the illogical and unreasonable (collectively “irrational”) doctrines which comprised the social work conditioning to which I was exposed. Regarding this character, one source states:

Excalibur takes after his original meister Arthur Boyle in his arrogance, causal demeanor, and tendency to make bad impressions on people despite having a universally compatible soul wavelength. As a result, even those who are able to become Excalibur’s partner discard him after enough time has passed for their tolerance of him to waver.

Regarded as being a greater narcissist than even Black Star, this defective personality is only exacerbated by his short temperament and patience, making Excalibur truly insufferable to all but a “chosen” few.

It is for this reason alone that those who are able to utilize Excalibur long enough to achieve anything significant are praised with titles such as “hero” and “king”, as only they possess the means and/or strength of will to withstand Excalibur’s numerous annoying deficiencies.

By the time I went through graduate school for social work, I’d already earned a master’s degree in counseling. Therefore, given the aforementioned description, I understood Excalibur to have exhibited symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder.

Still, because I’d already practiced Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), my understanding of Excalibur’s personality and behavior differed from the outlook of the cited source. Specifically, I invite you to consider what a separate source states about tolerance:

Ultimately, a psychologically healthy individual learns to accept oneself, others, and the world. They also develop a high frustration tolerance. An individual with high frustration tolerance acknowledges that undesirable events can and will happen but believes that they can tolerate such events by either changing or accepting them and pursuing alternative goals.

Even though Excalibur exhibited behavior which people believed was annoying, it was a distinct choice not to use the powerful weapon due to intolerance. With this in mind, I encourage you to consider what I stated in a blogpost entitled Must You Tolerate Abuse?:

Must you tolerate abuse? If you choose to be a volunteer for maltreatment, perhaps you can conclude that tolerance is aligned with your interests and goals. Even in this event, [in Must You Tolerate Abuse?] I’ve demonstrated how to reduce self-disturbance through use of REBT.

On the other hand, suppose you’ve left or have chosen to leave an abusive relationship. Committed and diligent practice of REBT may help you to alleviate unnecessary suffering.

Simply because you can tolerate obnoxious behavior doesn’t mean you must do so. Thus, merely because you learn helpful REBT tools which allow you to withstand behavior that you consider annoying doesn’t mean you have to use them. You have choices!

In brief, I invite you to ask yourself when self-disturbing without use of REBT tools or un-disturbing with use of REBT tools: Is this the tool you want to use? A rational third option is choosing not to engage with Excalibur, even if you can endure his nonsensical behavior.

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. (2023, November 15). Narcissistic personality disorder. American Psychological Association. Retrieved from https://dictionary.apa.org/narcissistic-personality-disorder

Hollings, D. (2022, October 5). Description vs. prescription. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/description-vs-prescription

Hollings, D. (2022, May 28). Desire and disturbance. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/desire-and-disturbance

Hollings, D. (2022, March 15). Disclaimer. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/disclaimer

Hollings, D. (2025, April 24). Distress tolerance. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/distress-tolerance

Hollings, D. (2025, September 8). Entitlement. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/entitlement

Hollings, D. (2025, May 20). Evil. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/evil

Hollings, D. (2023, September 8). Fair use. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/fair-use

Hollings, D. (2024, May 17). Feeling better vs. getting better. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/feeling-better-vs-getting-better-1

Hollings, D. (2023, February 9). Feminism. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/feminism

Hollings, D. (2023, October 12). Get better. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/get-better

Hollings, D. (2024, April 13). Goals. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/goals

Hollings, D. (2025, September 7). Have to. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/have-to

Hollings, D. (2024, February 24). High frustration tolerance. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/high-frustration-tolerance

Hollings, D. (n.d.). Hollings Therapy, LLC [Official website]. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/

Hollings, D. (2024, July 10). Ideal should beliefs. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/ideal-should-beliefs

Hollings, D. (2025, July 22). Impressions. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/impressions

Hollings, D. (2024, February 14). Insufferable vs. undesirable. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/insufferable-vs-undesirable

Hollings, D. (2024, January 2). Interests and goals. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/interests-and-goals

Hollings, D. (2023, September 19). Life coaching. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/life-coaching

Hollings, D. (2023, January 8). Logic and reason. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/logic-and-reason

Hollings, D. (2024, July 8). Must you tolerate abuse? Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/must-you-tolerate-abuse

Hollings, D. (2023, November 22). Personality disorders. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/personality-disorders

Hollings, D. (2024, January 31). Perverse qualifiers. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/perverse-qualifiers

Hollings, D. (2024, May 5). Psychotherapist. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/psychotherapist

Hollings, D. (2022, March 24). Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT). Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/rational-emotive-behavior-therapy-rebt

Hollings, D. (2025, August 13). Rational versus irrational thoughts and beliefs. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/rational-versus-irrational-thoughts-and-beliefs

Hollings, D. (2022, November 1). Self-disturbance. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/self-disturbance

Hollings, D. (2023, September 6). The absence of suffering. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/the-absence-of-suffering

Hollings, D. (2025, January 2). The choice is yours. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/the-choice-is-yours

Hollings, D. (2023, February 16). Tna. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/__tna

Hollings, D. (2025, February 28). To try is my goal. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/to-try-is-my-goal

Hollings, D. (2025, April 18). Tolerable FADs. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/tolerable-fads

Hollings, D. (2023, March 11). Unconditional life-acceptance. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/unconditional-life-acceptance

Hollings, D. (2023, February 25). Unconditional other-acceptance. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/unconditional-other-acceptance

Hollings, D. (2023, March 1). Unconditional self-acceptance. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/unconditional-self-acceptance

Skiski518. (n.d.). Excalibur, the legendary sword of Soul Eater wallpaper [Image]. Wallpapers.com. Retrieved from https://wallpapers.com/wallpapers/excalibur-the-legendary-sword-of-soul-eater-ekvug655ppjv9ghh.html

Soul Eaterpedia. (n.d.). Excalibur. Fandom. Retrieved from https://souleater.fandom.com/wiki/Excalibur

Vinney, C. (2019, September 23). What is rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT)? ThoughtCo. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/rebt-therapy-4768611

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Escapism. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escapism

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Soul Eater. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_Eater