LOOKING BACKWARDS TO TOMORROW*

* Yes, I know that I've used that title and referenced it in posts before but the Jeannie Lewis album from the early 1970s is very good and the song Rocelli Kaharunta is outstanding. Unfortunately I can't find this on this newfangled internet thingy but maybe the readers can. It's well worth a listen to. The best I can find is a sample of it: HERE

Today let's talk about regression. Not regression analysis which is a set of statistical processes for estimating the relationships between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables. We'll leave that to the pointy-headed statisticians. (Note: One of the many courses I studied at university was Statistics and Computing). No, here we're going to talk about regresssion in psychological terms:

"Regression is a psychological defence mechanism in which an individual copes with stressful or anxiety-provoking relationships or situations by retreating to an earlier developmental stage. Regression may be seen at any stage of development in both adults and children when someone behaves in a way that's immature or inappropriate for their age."

           -  By Cynthia Vinney, Verywell Mind October 24 2022

No prizes for guessing who we will be studying today then.

Hey! You were wrong. We're not looking at Richard of Richard's Bass Bag, we're looking at Robert of Robert the apathetic sanctimonious sinner and toilet cleaner.

I commented on his most recent post:

You might consider this to be a bit rude but, I stand by it.

Here's a link to the post: CHRISTMAS IS FAST APPROACHING

If you went there and read the post you'll see what I mean.

In it he wrote:

"It turns out that Joseph took a vowel (sic) at the age of 12 to be a virgin all his life too.
When Mary, reached the age of 14 it was advertised in Jerusalem that she was up for grabs. The temple was packed with hopeful husbands.
Mary, of course, was beside herself.
She only wanted God.
But a rod was passed around and it burst into flower when Joseph held it.
So, the handsome 33-year-old became her husband."

He accompanied it with images like this:

 That childish diatribe and the kitschy image is like the nonsense that the nuns at Catholic primary schools put in our heads. It's fatuous and puerile and says a lot about the naive and jejune young women who were cloistered in convents and who had an unrealistic view of the real world. I remember one young nun 'teaching' us this crap. Her name was Sister Mary Lucille. We called her (behind her back) Sister Mary Loose Wheel which I guess was kind of prescient.

I can't understand why Robert, a nearly 70 year old, tertiary educated man can not only buy into this stuff but, without any sense of irony, promotes it through his blog and, as he has told us, shares it with family, work colleagues and random strangers at his church services.

Regression then.

Cynthia Vinney goes on to say:

 "Studies have shown that regression generally decreases throughout adulthood. A longitudinal study with European-Americans showed that between adolescence and the age of 65, use of the defense (sic) mechanism of regression decreased. However, after 65, regression increased, which the researchers attributed to the challenges of maintaining adaptive coping strategies in older adulthood."

And then, in conclusion (sorry about her American spelling):

"Often telling an adult that their behavior is uncharacteristically childish or age-inappropriate will enable them to recognize  what they're doing and determine how to respond to whatever is causing them distress in a more productive way."

I pick up on that final statement, hence writing this post. The Curmudgeons Inc.ⓒ takes pride in not being judgemental and in trying to assist and educate its readers.

Thank you for your time.