The Dmytro Telushko Amazon author page features five Ukrainian MriyaRun editions. This guide helps readers choose a book and turn reading into practice.

In the language of self-reflection, an immediate impulse can be understood through primary-process thinking: it seeks rapid relief from tension. Secondary-process thinking introduces a pause, considers consequences, and looks for a response compatible with reality. After a harsh message, the first reaction may be “reply now,” the inner demand “you are not allowed to be angry,” and the mature step to delay the reply, state a boundary, and agree on a workable format.

Self-reflection tools add a useful psychological lens to this guide. In Freud's classical model, the Id is associated with impulses and wishes, the Superego with internalized rules and demands, and the Ego with reality-testing and finding a workable response. This is a historical theoretical model, not a literal map of the brain or a diagnostic test.

In everyday life this may sound like: “I am angry and want to refuse sharply”; “good people do not get angry”; “I can notice the anger, check the boundary, and respond without attacking.” A workbook does not need one part to defeat another. It can help the adult part of the mind tolerate tension between desire, rules, and reality.

The same situation can evoke different defenses. Denial may sound like “this does not hurt at all”; intellectualization turns a living experience into a long theoretical explanation; isolation of affect allows someone to recount an event calmly while barely touching its emotional tone. One episode cannot define a personality. Repetition, context, cost, and access to alternative responses matter.

Denial, repression, intellectualization, isolation of affect, and other defenses may temporarily reduce anxiety. The difficulty is not the mere presence of a defense, but its becoming the only available response. A more useful question than “what is wrong with me?” is “what experience is this protecting me from right now, and at what cost?”

Another example: a person accepts a request while already exhausted, then withdraws without explanation. Writing can unfold the compressed sequence: “I am afraid of disappointing them,” “anger signals overload,” “I can offer another time or decline.” Ego strength here does not mean being flawless; it means recognizing conflicting feelings, tolerating tension, and taking responsibility for the chosen action.

Divide a page into five columns: 1) what happened; 2) what I immediately wanted; 3) what my inner critic demanded; 4) how I defended myself; 5) what adult action is possible now. Example: a last-minute request — I want to refuse — “you must help” — I agree and withdraw — I pause and offer a limited option. This is not a maturity test; it is a way to make an automatic script visible.

A 54-day practice for noticing support, personal effort, and available resources. Example: each evening record one event, your response, and one specific resource.

The workbook separates facts, bodily responses, thoughts, needs, and action. It may help when someone stays silent for too long and then explodes.

A story can make an old role easier to notice. Ask: where does the character lose choice, and what one new scene could be written today?

For people who agree automatically. Before answering, write three options: a full yes, a limited yes, and an honest no.

A 204-page route through gratitude, acceptance, and self-esteem. After each exercise write: what I noticed, what I disagree with, and what I will test through action.

The books are educational tools and do not replace psychotherapy, medical care, or crisis support.