A Sure Sign Self is Gone

 Bernadette Roberts 

As I see it, the affective system* is not only the cause of every psychological illness, it is the cause of all man's suffering. An organic problem without this system could not give way to psychological or mental suffering because there would be no fears, anxieties, or all the rest that so easily erupt into emotional disturbances.

…In fact, a sure sign self is gone is the absence of these affective symptoms. So as long as there is any fear of losing self, self remains – in which case there is nothing to worry about one way or the other. But this is why the histories of those who have truly gone beyond self will never be found in psychiatric literature. With no problems in the affective domain, few people would be in need of a psychiatrist or analyst, indeed, without an affective system, or without a self, this whole school of thought would be out of business.

Experience of No Self

* Affective -- feeling or emotion as distinguished from cognition, thought, or action.