--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is easy for us to delude ourselves…" description: "\"“It is easy for us to delude ourselves into thinking that our notions of the healthy person are unbiased by our particular circumstances or partialitie..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccd/robert-kegan-23287_health_it-is-easy-for-us-to-delude-ourselves-in_1386495.jpg" --- # It is easy for us to delude ourselves into thinking that… ![“It is easy for us to delude ourselves into thinking that our notions of the healthy person are unbiased by our particular circumstances or partialities. It is comforting for us to think that, in totalitarian societies, where troublesome people are often psychiatrically hospitalized, the indigenous…” quote by Robert Kegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccd/robert-kegan-23287_health_it-is-easy-for-us-to-delude-ourselves-in_1386495.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccd/robert-kegan-23287_health_it-is-easy-for-us-to-delude-ourselves-in_1386495.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccd/robert-kegan-23287_health_it-is-easy-for-us-to-delude-ourselves-in_1386495.jpg) > ““It is easy for us to delude ourselves into thinking that our notions of the healthy person are unbiased by our particular circumstances or partialities. It is comforting for us to think that, in totalitarian societies, where troublesome people are often psychiatrically hospitalized, the indigenous mental health professionals are themselves aware that their behavior is nakedly political and actually aimed at social control rather than the health of the person. Bus what is the possibility that American mental health workers are themselves vulnerable to what amounts to the goals of adjustment couched in notions of health, and which lead to equal - and probably equally unwitting - exercises of social control?”” [Robert Kegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kegan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mental health practices can unintentionally serve political control, mirroring totalitarian tactics, even in democratic societies. **In simple terms:** Therapy can be a tool of social control. Key Takeaway Critically examine mental health systems. Themes power ethics mental health Mood skeptical reflective Type analytical critical When to use this quote - clinical diagnosis - policy making - community counseling - educational psychology - advocacy work Key Concepts social control bias institutional critique Questions to Reflect On - How might clinicians guard against political bias? - What safeguards ensure health-focused care? A Different Perspective The argument may generalize without empirical evidence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Control Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/control-health-440035/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Healthy person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/healthy-person/) [Indigenous Mental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indigenous-mental-4818168/) [Mental health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-health/) [People Psychiatrically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-psychiatrically-4818167/) [Social control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-control/) [Think Totalitarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-totalitarian-4818169/) ## Related quotes > [We should be picky of what we choose to put in our mouths. 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Doing so does not eliminate doubt, it only places it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kegan/depression-characterized-by-the-threat-to-orientation-lodges-itself/) [Robert Kegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kegan/) > [“Instead of regarding them as things that just need to go away, we look at the behaviors as a precious resource, valuable information that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kegan/instead-of-regarding-them-as-things-that-just-need-to-go-away-we-look/) [Robert Kegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kegan/) > [“All growth is costly. It involves the leaving behind of an old way of being in the world. Often it involves, at least for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kegan/all-growth-is-costly-it-involves-the-leaving-behind-of-an-old-way-of/) [Robert Kegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kegan/) > [“A writer has to strain to make the reader recover the process in the words 'human being'; we talk about 'a being' and 'beings.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kegan/a-writer-has-to-strain-to-make-the-reader-recover-the-process-in-the/) [Robert Kegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kegan/) > [“Emergence from embeddedness involves a kind of repudiation, an evolutionary re-cognition that what before was me is not-me. This we see, too, on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kegan/emergence-from-embeddedness-involves-a-kind-of-repudiation-an/) [Robert Kegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kegan/) > [Learning is the making of meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kegan/learning-is-the-making-of-meaning/) [Robert Kegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kegan/) > [“How do we help people (whether individuals or groups) to make their third column commitments visible? We begin by surfacing the biggest fears that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kegan/how-do-we-help-people-whether-individuals-or-groups-to-make-their/) [Robert Kegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kegan/) > [“Kohlberg's stage 4 is essentially the psychological birth of ideology, which is a meaning system that is above all factional - that is, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kegan/kohlberg-s-stage-4-is-essentially-the-psychological-birth-of-ideology/) [Robert Kegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kegan/) [Explore all 26 Robert Kegan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kegan/) ## More Health quotes > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [Water is life, and clean water means health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/water-is-life-and-clean-water-means-health/) [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) > [Advances in technology will continue to reach far into every sector of our economy. Future job and economic growth in industry, defense, transportation, agriculture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-bond/advances-in-technology-will-continue-to-reach-far-into-every-sector/) [Christopher Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-bond/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [I believe in taxation and health care that is outside the usual libertarian mandate, because I don't want people to have to suffer. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-peart/i-believe-in-taxation-and-health-care-that-is-outside-the-usual/) [Neil Peart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-peart/) > [It is irresponsible to set an arbitrary cap on how much therapy a Medicare beneficiary can receive. 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What they lack is organizational health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-lencioni/the-vast-majority-of-organizations-today-have-more-than-enough/) [Patrick Lencioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-lencioni/) > [Leaders need to compromise, negotiate with members of both parties and ideologies, and reform health care the right way - by developing a strong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-boustany/leaders-need-to-compromise-negotiate-with-members-of-both-parties-and/) [Charles Boustany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-boustany/) > [I listen to my body, I give it things it wants and I eliminate things it doesn't want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/britt-ekland/i-listen-to-my-body-i-give-it-things-it-wants-and-i-eliminate-things/) [Britt Ekland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/britt-ekland/) > [As an adventurer...I try to protect against the downside. I make sure I have covered as many eventualities as I can. In the end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/as-an-adventurer-i-try-to-protect-against-the-downside-i-make-sure-i/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [Mental health is an issue close to my heart - an issue, indeed, I've covered repeatedly for Channel 4 News.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-newman/mental-health-is-an-issue-close-to-my-heart-an-issue-indeed-i-ve/) [Cathy Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-newman/) > [If you’re going to die on screen, you’ve got to be strong and in good health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-garbo/if-you-re-going-to-die-on-screen-you-ve-got-to-be-strong-and-in-good/) [Greta Garbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-garbo/) > [Every patient carries her or his own doctor inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/every-patient-carries-her-or-his-own-doctor-inside/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [Making sure that people have access to preventive medicine for the first time ever as a nation? That's a big deal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-schneider/making-sure-that-people-have-access-to-preventive-medicine-for-the/) [Brad Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-schneider/) > [Not only is a healthy America a strong America - it's vital to our national defense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-james/not-only-is-a-healthy-america-a-strong-america-it-s-vital-to-our/) [John E. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-james/) [Browse all 17,127 Health quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It is easy for us to delude ourselves into thinking that our notions of the healthy person are unbiased by our particular circumstances or partialities. 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