Today I found myself wandering the aisles of Walmart in search of
wooden skewers for my niece's upcoming birthday barbeque and in my suburban directionless I stumbled upon a bin of
bargain books. One caught my eye:
I found the title somewhat absurd, shared my sentiments with my significant other using the instant gratification of The Smart Phone and carried on my way.
Later I thought to myself, what exactly is the Tiger Woods Syndrome anyway? Upon googleing, I found an article at Psychology Today entitled with those exact words, which explains:
"Tiger Woods Syndrome is a five stage pattern where the man subverts his needs, feelings and goals to accommodate his mate's to obtain the goal of a romantic relationship. In the artificial intimacy stage, physical attraction and charm is emphasized over compatibility to begin the romance. In the second stage, approval seeking is used to meet his partner's many needs and desires at the expense of his own to keep the momentum of the relationship rolling. In the critical third stage, the man must choose between his old life (usually represented by his friends), and the new lover. In the fourth stage, both partners indulge themselves in idealized views of each other in the Honeymoon. Finally, in the fifth stage, both parthers eventually make peace with the fact that the reasons they had come together were myths. The deceptive relationship often results in two disappointed partners."
(No offense to the authors, especially given I haven't read the book but) Wow, I thought, aren't those the same five stages most poorly-maintained relationships take? What makes this a 'syndrome' as opposed to a reality? It's like saying someone has a 'condition' when they are fat because they don't exercise and eat crap food. That's lazy, not sick. The Tiger Woods Syndrome is a catchy name for a book about why people who don't maintain relationships will find themselves cheated upon, disappointed and alone. [more to come on this topic later, because I have a very colorful alternative explanation for the Tiger Woods Syndrome ;)]
I found the title somewhat absurd, shared my sentiments with my significant other using the instant gratification of The Smart Phone and carried on my way.
Later I thought to myself, what exactly is the Tiger Woods Syndrome anyway? Upon googleing, I found an article at Psychology Today entitled with those exact words, which explains:
"Tiger Woods Syndrome is a five stage pattern where the man subverts his needs, feelings and goals to accommodate his mate's to obtain the goal of a romantic relationship. In the artificial intimacy stage, physical attraction and charm is emphasized over compatibility to begin the romance. In the second stage, approval seeking is used to meet his partner's many needs and desires at the expense of his own to keep the momentum of the relationship rolling. In the critical third stage, the man must choose between his old life (usually represented by his friends), and the new lover. In the fourth stage, both partners indulge themselves in idealized views of each other in the Honeymoon. Finally, in the fifth stage, both parthers eventually make peace with the fact that the reasons they had come together were myths. The deceptive relationship often results in two disappointed partners."
(No offense to the authors, especially given I haven't read the book but) Wow, I thought, aren't those the same five stages most poorly-maintained relationships take? What makes this a 'syndrome' as opposed to a reality? It's like saying someone has a 'condition' when they are fat because they don't exercise and eat crap food. That's lazy, not sick. The Tiger Woods Syndrome is a catchy name for a book about why people who don't maintain relationships will find themselves cheated upon, disappointed and alone. [more to come on this topic later, because I have a very colorful alternative explanation for the Tiger Woods Syndrome ;)]
