I really love...

...humans, and behavioral science.

During my early years, I was provided access to medical, theological, philosophical, and English literature through the vast collection in my parents' den as well as school and public libraries. I learned to read later than other children due to a combination of genetics, dyslexia and calculexia. My reading teacher was phenomenal and upon completion of the program, I was brought to UNC-Chapel Hill for testing, most likely for grant reasons. Our elementary school was well funded, and the teachers loved their jobs. I'm thankful for all they did for me academically, despite their missing the evidence of domestic abuse in my home.

I was a voracious reader and spent many hours pouring over anatomy and physiology textbooks as well as Shakespeare, and C.S. Lewis. During that period, my reading appetite grew quickly and I wanted challenging books closer to my level of comprehension. I was introduced to a wide variety of books by wonderful teachers. Although I may not have comprehended the subject matter completely, I understood context and was able to enjoy each book I picked up. I was too smart for my own good, and knew it. My oldest child is the same way. Despite my intellect, I was perceived to be subpar as a student and sent to special needs classes due to the misdiagnosis of ADHD. Thankfully in middle school, I moved to another state where I was recognized academically and elevated to more challenging courses. It took another three years to be properly diagnosed and treated for a type of dysautonomia called Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia syndrome.

In high school, I took parenting, and early childhood development. I strongly believe every high school student should have these two courses as mandatory curriculum in addition to intro psychology with a unit on trauma informed responses. The hands-on portion of early childhood development should be voluntary. The education necessary to prevent unintended child abuse and neglect by those who become parents before the age of twenty-five could be provided in these courses alone. At twenty-five, the frontal cortex is fully developed and individuals are capable of mature reasoning. Those who lack critical thinking in adulthood are often from high-stress impoverished backgrounds further complicating an already difficult socioeconomic position. With these three courses and an additional specialty unit, we would be providing the information necessary to understand the needs of a child and equipping potential parents with the skills necessary to manage any distress they may feel related to parenting. I believe this simple change would be a huge step towards a healthier society. 

It begins with the children.

Gabriela Mistral said, "We are guilty of many errors and many faults, but our worst crime is abandoning the children, neglecting the fountain of life. Many of the things we need can wait. The child cannot. Right now is the time his bones are being formed, his blood is being made, and his senses are being developed. To him we cannot answer ‘Tomorrow,’ his name is today."

In his lectures and further illustrated in his book Behave, Robert Sapolsky states that "When you pay too much attention to boundaries, you don't see the bigger picture, all you can see are categories." Categorical thinking limits our view and prevents creative solutions from forming.

Therefore, when discussing individuals, we must keep in mind that they are more than the diagnostic labels we affix to their collar. Additionally, we must be aware of concepts defined by social perception theory. Important concepts include, our perception of others is not a reflection of who they are; our perception of others is a reflection of our inner being; our experience dictates our expectation; and, we collect information based on the "goals" we assign to the situation. For example, if our goal is to understand someone, then we are more likely to keep an open mind and adapt a flexible belief. Conversely, if our goal is to justify the reasons we've determined are relevant to the end of a relationship, we may begin to amplify each undesirable trait, increasing distress and motivating our exit.

Over the past fifteen years, following treatment and diagnosis of various conditions during my teenage years, I had to learn to recognize that regardless of diagnosis, I am still a person. I have my own pain and pleasure thresholds to work within. I have my own biological processes and genetic makeup to work with. Diagnosis of a disorder should be no different. It is the end of who we thought we were, and the beginning of understanding who we actually are. 

It is the beginning of our journey to self-actualization; the alignment of who we are with the image we project.

Personality is fluid, while temperament is not.

"Personality may be defined as the underlying causes within the person of individual behavior and experience.

Personality description considers the ways in which we should characterize an individual."

Hippocrates is cited as one of the first to describe temperament types. These "four basic types are sanguine (optimistic), melancholic (depressed), choleric (irritable), and phlegmatic (apathetic)."

Over our life time, our thought processes lead to development of habits which determine our behavior. One of the concepts oft repeated in self-help books and seminars encourages people to change their thoughts to change their life. What this means is that every thought we have determines our response. Our choices lead to good or bad outcomes which we can control. In an unsafe situation, if we cannot determine what happens to us, or those we care about, we will feel distressed. This distress creates insecurity.

A distressed individual will seek control in the way they know how. Following a traumatic experience we may empower ourselves or overpower others in an attempt to regain a sense of security, and control.

If a child is not provided an appropriate example of how to manage their thoughts and emotions while distressed, they will develop maladaptive behaviors and become disordered. Disordered individuals need a supportive person willing to be their closest friend and ally without enabling their maladaptive behavior. This supportive person must have the ability to recognize undesirable patterns, and have the disordered individual's faith in their word. Change is often accompanied by the grief cycle as poor habits change to good, and the individual learns to accept their past while moving towards a better future. Once the disordered individual has reached their rock bottom, their breaking point, that is when they can change. Like re-breaking a bone to set it right, an individual may have multiple breaking points before setting themselves right. They may feel guilty and ashamed of themselves for their past behavior; it's important to remind them that now that we know better, we can do better. All that we can do is keep stepping one foot in front of another, and make amends where the victim allows. Some disordered individuals will feel too deeply ashamed to become better; these individuals dissociate in order to function in society. As the dissociative pattern becomes normal, they become numb to the harm they cause others. With each lie, they begin to believe the story they've told themselves to survive. If they were to confront the truth, it would destroy everything they believe about themselves and force them to start over. To start over is to lose every year that builds between the moment they first became numb, and the present. Perhaps they see this as a loss, reinforcing their callousness.

"Guilt motivates a confession of wrongdoing, shame inhibits it." Paul Ekman

Guilt can be artificially determined through psychological manipulation and may not be an indication of fault. Law enforcement has used psychologically manipulative tactics for decades to influence a suspect to confess. Although the courts are beginning to realize the faults in this system, they aren't doing so often enough to matter overall. Change is a slow process.

Disorder centers around shame which attacks self-esteem and damages a sense of self-worth. 

In early childhood (age 0-3, 0-5, or 0-12 dependent on which vocation you ask), we develop our sense of self. Before the age of three, we are only aware of our own feelings. At three years old, we begin to recognize and relate with others. This is when we start to practice an apology in response to harm we cause others. According to Freudian theorists, during these first crucial years of development, we are developing the id, superego, and ego. We develop a sense of self and become aware of ourselves as a person in stages. The first stage develops the id, or the most vulnerable part of us. This is our inner child. The next stage begins with our awareness of I, me, mine. This is the ego. We begin to recognize that we are special, unique, and worthy of attention, praise, affection. Interwoven into this framework, we have the superego. 

Self-esteem in adulthood is determined by the development of an individual's superego. The superego is one part of ourselves which acts as a critical voice. This critical voice is shaped by parental influence, and our role models, during development of our sense of self. 

If an individual has an inner critic who shames and devalues them, they will develop dark triad personality traits. These traits are evident in early childhood leading some to wonder whether there is a genetic component. 

Early intervention and correct diagnosis are nearly impossible due to the ambiguity of symptoms. Impulsivity and aggression are often attributed to other disorders or diminished and explained away as part of normal childhood development. The same was done for high functioning autism spectrum disorders until more recently. ASD symptoms often overlap with personality disorders and cause some to wonder whether we are over or under diagnosing children.

I believe there is another answer, or rather it is more complicated than a single approach may address.

Research has identified some of the genes responsible for Ehlers Danlos syndrome. There is another condition which should be brought to the attention of doctors called mast-cell activation disorder. This disorder is rarely diagnosed due to invasive testing. In order to be discovered, a patient must insist their doctor order tests of their bone marrow. Few are willing to chase Zebras.

MCAD is a mitonchondrial disease. I believe the health of our mitochondria bears more weight than we currently attribute to it. Often I have seen genetics and epigenetics discussed without the authors recognizing how gene expression by the mitochondria is effected by viral presence. Our immune system responds to bacterial, fungal, and viral infections differently. I believe we need to pay more attention to how our cells are being damaged by viral exposure. 

"Mitochondria are crucial cellular organelles in eukaryotes and participate in many cell processes including immune response, growth development, and tumorigenesis"

After three years of reseach, I have come to the conclusion that HPV holds more similarities to HIV than has been mentioned. Although I don't believe we need to create a panic, the prevalence of HPV and lack of testing for men causes me great concern. I believe those responsible for reseach and creation of a vaccine against high-risk types know more than they are willing to discuss openly. The scare created by HIV may be influencing the medical profession's approach with HPV. To prevent outright panic, HPV has been reduced to a "common" virus which the body will "clear". Not everyone will clear the virus, and women are encouraged to be honest with their partners. I knew a man once who informed me that his ex-girlfriend told him about her positive test. His response was that he doesn't have it because he was tested, therefore she cheated. After this conversation, I have heard at least two others with similar stories. Is anyone taking this subject seriously enough?! Why isn't there a test for men?! Some women downplay the conversation when I approach the subject. They say, well that causes cervical cancer and there's a vaccine, we have surgery if they catch it early enough... so... *shrug*. I want to scream. It causes MORE than just CERVICAL CANCER. I may feel a bit heated on this one. Please, can we give the appropriate weight to a disease that is spreading like wildfire without a male test, and show the women in our lives that we value their health. 

It's fully possible that I am completely off base.

I believe, similar to Humphrey Osmond, that psychiatric disorders may be reclassified as metabolic. Should they be reclassified, I believe we would find evidence of abuse and neglect on a biological level allowing social workers and doctors to provide early intervention services to the families involved and preserving the family unit before abuse may escalate to a violent level.

Changing our school curriculum to address the challenges of our changing world, and shifting the medical perspective to a biological cause of pschiatric illness would allow us to address mental health disorders without the social stigma of therapeutic services.

There's nothing wrong with YOU, you're just out of homeostasis.

As "helpers" in society, we must view each person with the desire to help them reach their greatest human potential.

We must begin by removing shame from the collective human psche.

I found this during my research and thought it was interesting although not all inclusive:

https://www.continuingedcourses.net/active/courses/course101.php

***When I say research, I mean as a layman reading medical and academic journals to further my knowledge on the subject. I am often frustrated that I have more to say, but am limited by my formal education which has only just begun.***