”How can I get out of my chains, my attachment, my ideas, my prejudices?”

[Raz]

There's this phenomenon called Stockholm Syndrome, where a person is held hostage and through all the trauma they start to sympathize and identify with their captor. They may even try to defend the person abusing them. Sound familiar? Most people do this with their own fearful thoughts, the ones that bring them so much suffering. They become those thoughts, and aggressively protect them.

People are usually too proud to admit they've been abusing themselves. That would make them look stupid. It's much easier to play the victim role and act like something totally out of your control is causing your suffering. Of course, suffering always occurs within your own mind, even if it is triggered by "external" circumstances. You have enormous influence over your own mind, you have the power to no longer suffer. It's your choice, you don't have to cling to it. Most people are still playing the "damsel in distress" role, a favorite of both the masculine and feminine ego, and waiting for something else to come save them.

Who can force you to let go? Nobody else can do that for you, you can only do that for yourself. If you understand this then you understand why it's impossible for another to truly heal you. They can provide temporary relief to your mind, they may even trick you into healing yourself, but ultimately it's you releasing the thoughts that were holding you back.

*sniped and edited for context* from TGFP