Who is the author of the folowing quote: "The certainty of misery is
preferable to the misery of uncertainty  ".

The quote "Most people prefer the certainty of misery to the misery of
uncertainty" is attributed to the late psychologist Virginia Satir,
the founder of the AVANTA program.

"Virginia Satir, a pioneer in the field of family therapy, writes,
'Most people prefer the certainty of misery to the misery of
uncertainty.' So it's understandable that we may resist the demands of
midlife. It is, for most of us, a terrifying experience: we're
desperate to know that things will work out, yet all we can see is the
unknown. Midlife requires an immense leap of faith."

Stephanie Marston Hot Flashes
http://www.stephaniemarston.com/archives/hotflashes2001/hotflashes_april2001.html

"Do you remember the quote I referred to earlier from psychotherapist
Virginia Satir? 'Most people prefer the certainty of misery to the
misery of uncertainty.' Sit with that thought for a moment. Getting
out of your destructive relationship rut requires risk and perhaps a
bit of time on your own. You won't die from it! You will quickly see
that health attracts health and new, exciting, healthy people will
soon fill your life."

Planet Lightworker
http://www.planetlightworker.com/articles/bookreviews/destructive_relationships.htm

"A wise sistah, Virginia Satir, once said that most people prefer the
certainty of misery to the misery of uncertainty. Is she right, or
what! Certainty is such a funny thing. It means fixed, or settled; we
think indisputable or undeniable when we hear the word. So what, in
life, fits that description? The longer I live, the fewer things fit
for me. My experience of life is that just when things feel settled,
there is a little shimmy here and a little shake there, and things
start to move. In fact, the more energy I use to try to fix something,
the more things come undone. Many a sage has expressed what I have
come to know in my life: the only constant is change."

Sisters of No Mercy
http://www.sistersofnomercy.com/mmm-1199.htm

"This is a group of people who repeatedly and publicly yearn to return
to safety even if it means a return to slavery, a powerful example of
psychologist Virginia Satir's remark that people prefer the certainty
of misery to the misery of uncertainty."

Beliefnet
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/27/story_2718_1.html 

Here you can learn more about Virginia Satir and AVANTA:

http://www.avanta.net/

Search terms used:

"certainty of misery"
"quote"
"quotation"
"virginia satir"

I hope this is helpful. If anything needs explanation, or if a link
does not function, please request clarification before rating my
answer, and I'll be glad to offer further assistance.

Best regards,
pinkfreud

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Request for Answer Clarification by piccadilly-ga on 14 Mar 2003 13:47 PST

When did she likely to have said this, i.e., what year??

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Clarification of Answer by pinkfreud-ga on 14 Mar 2003 14:02 PST

I believe this quote comes from Virginia Satir's book, "Your Many
Faces," which was published in 1978.

Virginia Satir died in 1988.

HOW ABOUT THIS AS AN EXAMPLE OF THE CERTAINTY OF MISERY OVERCOMING THE
MISERY OF UNCERTAINTY. TWO MONTHS AFTER MOSES LED HIS PEOPLE OUT OF
SLAVERY IN EGYPT, THEY WERE COMPLAINING ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF
STARVING IN THE WILDERNESS. AND FONDLY REMEMBERING THEIR FULL BELLIES
IN EGYPT. THEY SEEMED TO HAVE COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN THAT IN EGYPT THEY
WERE TOTAL SLAVES, AT THE WHIM OF THE EGYPTIANS, WHEREAS IN THE
WILDERNESS, THEY WERE A FREE PEOPLE. HAVE A LOOK AT EXODUS 16; 1-3 AND
17;3. ANOTHER GOOD EXAMPLE IS WHY SOME WOMEN STAY IN ABUSIVE MARRIAGES
SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY HAVE A ROOF OVER THEIR HEADS.