You have taken on the name "monster" as a means of identifying yourself. You have expressed the fear that this label is who you are. I am suggesting you reexamine the assumptions that give rise to this fear.

The label monster is not one that is affixed to an objective fact or set of facts, like the labels boy and girl are. It is a perjorative term, steeped in unexamined moralistic beliefs. To call a human a monster is to interpret, not to name a fact.

My previous comments presuppose that you will want to take a step back, sit down, and examine for yourself what you mean by the terms you use to understand yourself. Question yourself, your assumptions and those of your father.

By the way, it's one thing to care about your father's opinion. It's quite another to allow it to dictate your self image. You say you understand that, but if you did, you wouldn't have asked the question in your original post to begin with.

What a pleasure to read this thread so filled with acute analysis and real-world wisdom. This is what I imagined when the idea for this forum came to my awareness. Good work Hexi, good work Dragontongue: meaningful words, and some therapeutic dexterity too: "My apologies, i had to prod a bit to get something out of you." --Hexi

Daniel, what can I say? Your last post was simply brilliant, and goes right to the heart of the necessary inner work as I see it.

Monster, I told you I would reply eventually, but the treatment here by Dragontongue, Hexi, and Daniel really goes so directly to the crux of it that I don't need to say much.

In my opinion, when your father told you that your feelings were "bad and wrong," he made a mistake—perhaps a habitual mistake of his that has something to do with the constant tension between good and evil which characterizes the Baptist theology he professes. Feelings simply are. They simply exist apart from what anyone thinks about them. We do not choose our feelings, and so we are not responsible for them. Since feelings and desires come and go just like the wind in the trees, we need not banish them, nor hold on to them. We can watch them as they arise if we like, and watch them fade away. You might as well say a cloud in the sky is bad as to say your feelings are bad. Both are just there for awhile, and then fade away no matter what.

The first step towards coming to peace within yourself is to make a habit of openly and freely acknowledging your feelings to yourself without labeling them. Simply notice what you feel without judging good or bad. This does not mean acting on every feeling, but just that you allow yourself to feel what you feel.

I understand that you have violent urges, and are frightened about acting on them—frightened that you may not be able to control your urges, and so perhaps do harm to someone. That is why I recommend that you try to find help—some understanding person who can hear your concerns without judging you. That is the kind of thing that happens in psychotherapy, but I don't know if a therapist would be available to you at this point in your life—probably not. If I am wrong, and you can get some personal help right now, please do it.

At least you have opened up here on this forum, and I imagine that the words of Dragontongue, Hexi, and Daniel have been helpful. They all seem to be people who are in touch with their own feelings, and who are actively engaged in accepting their feelings and dealing with them. As human beings, this accepting and dealing is part of our ordinary inner housekeeping, as I see it. At some point along the way, if not at present, you will be able to get some in-person help. I think you will need it in order to find peace of mind, which, in my experience, is the deepest desire of all human beings, whether they know it or not.

Okay... let's give it a try. I'm afraid I might be a monster because I'm assuming... let's see... ah. I'm assuming that hurting and killing others and enjoying it makes someone a monster, and that wanting to do something like this is as bad as actually doing it. So I'm defining 'monster' as 'person who enjoys hurting and killing others' and am afraid that I may fit the definition because of my second assumption, which may not be right. Come to think of it, it isn't right. While wanting to hurt and kill others may be as bad on your soul as actually hurting and killing others, it's not as bad on the world in general... so while it may incline you to become a monster it doesn't qualify you as one right off.


Sort of like calling an unpleasant woman a witch? Only less specific.


Introspection, you mean? Yes... I ought to do that more.


Which question? 'Is my dad right in calling me a monster?', or 'What should I do if my dad's right in calling me a monster?', or 'Can these desires be used for good?'? Or did I ask another question without realizing it? (I know that can happen.) I don't think his opinion is dictating my self image, but I would be lying to myself if I said it didn't affect it. Of course my dad's opinion affects my self image... he's my dad. And even if that didn't mean anything to me, I'd still be living in the same house with him, seeing him every day. It's hard to remain unaffected by an opinion that lives with you, don't you think?

edit:
Thank you, Dr. Robert. :) You have a wonderful forum, and the people here have really made me do some serious thinking.

I haven't had the time to properly go forward with this but Daniel picked up where i was going with it, it seems. You are already doubting your previous assertions of yourself and stepped back to think about it. You've realised that blanket statesments like "you're a monster!" hold very little water, this is the right direction. In your view, enjoying violence, specifically inflicting it, makes you a monster which is quite subjective in my opinion. You are not sure about your own views so you cling to your fathers, which is understandable i suppose but consider this; your father is a monster according to some for having guns in the house with children.

Anyways. the real issue, in my opinion, is that you should focus on yourself. If you go and rip someones face off and stuff them in a box, it's you who will deal with the consequences, not your father. The real focus should be if you can master the impulses or not. If you doubt for a minute that you can't, you need psychological help because the alternative will ruin your life for sure. Forget the definitions of monster and the bible, when you're sitting in a cell for life because you couldn't hanlde it, none of it matters squat. Remember, you need to control the urge not only when in a stable state but when angry aswell. Can you deal with the urge to hurt while enraged? That is the question you need to consider for yourself because there will become a time when you have to face it. This is an issue which cannot be solved via a discussion forum, you need to either handle it or find someone you are comfortable with to help you handle it. Not a judgemental, self-imporant priest but a real person with real interest in helping YOU, not your soul nor your fathers reputation, you.

Something that has helped me is drilling it to my head that whatever i do in life, i will have to deal with the consequences and are my actions truly worth the risks. Satisfying my urges will only be temporary, just like the urges themselves.