Lerner says we live in a repressive society which diminishes our humanity.  He says there are very real reasons for feeling oppressed—conditions in society such as parental neglect, poverty, crummy television, the power and willingness of corporations to destroy our environment, etc. 

feelings of powerlessness and isolation lead to cynicism, which further subjects us to the very forces that control our lives.  We begin to accept our enslavement as just the way things are and there’s nothing a person can do about it.   By adopting an attitude that “this is just the way things are and can’t be changed,” we further enslave ourselves.  And we fail to take action to change the system. 

Instead of sharing our unhappiness, we stuff it, blame ourselves for our lack of fulfillment, and succumb to stress related diseases—cancer, heart disease, headaches, and a variety of other health problems that have been proven to be linked to the way we live and the way we think.