System of Stress Metabolism

So, for the sake of putting this together into (theoretical) application, this is the type of predictive potential something like this could have.



In this hypothetical new system, rather than having dozens of competing theories offering their take on certain phenomenon, most all psychic phenomenon would be convergent into a single theoretical model from which they all arise as a factor of degrees and as a factor of interaction --- the same way it's done in medicine.

i.e. - in medicine, if your cholesterol levels are high, but your HDL levels are low it means that you have a greater risk of heart disease. But if your cholesterol is high and your HDL is also high, it means you're not especially at risk. The interactions between the different levels are symptomatic of certain biological processes at work, and also predictive of them --- and vice versa.

So in the above patient's chart, the psychologist could tell that this patient suffers from depression. But depression is understood here to be a general term; there are many types of depression, and this chart measures that too. How so? Because the patient's Is level range cross over beyond the first margin.

This means the patient is constantly experiencing Is fixations that go beyond the normal functioning ranges and manifest as uncontrollable recurring thoughts; heavy-set schemas.

In Elaine's case, this means she's a constant self-defeatist, believing the worst of herself and not allowing herself to try new things because she has already decided it will fail. Anything she does try, she soon sabotages by carrying this expectation of failure into the endeavor.

But we can get more into the "cause" and "treatment" of this sort of thing later. For now I wanna focus a bit more on analysis of the chart. Beginning with a second example to compare against:



In this patient, we can see that Ana is also depressed. But Ana has two values that cross the threshold: Is and Ea. This means two of her emotional defense mechanisms have crossed over into unhealthy levels. What this means is that Ana will utilize both in conjunction, or separate, depending on the circumstance. Ana also suffers from mania. How so?

Because Ea is an externalized emotional mechanism. If a patient has a value of Is, Ic, Ia or Ca that crosses the threshold, they have depression. But if the patient has a value of Ea, Ec, Es or Cs that crosses the theshold, they have mania.

However, in Ana's case, she has mania and depression. What this means is that she will exhibit the tendencies sometimes referred to as bipolar -- or borderline. There are many different types of bipolar/borderline, and this is something not well appreciated in present literature. What this theoretical model would propose is that the underlying cause of each bipolar case is different, which is why a general term to cover the whole range ---as it's been used up to now --- is ill informed. This would present a paradigm shift in how we understand bipolar/borderline.

The new definition of bipolar/borderline would have a variety of sub-combinations and descriptions. One could be bipolar with Is+Ea tendencies, or with Ia+Ec tendencies. Both would go from mania to depression, but in very different ways. Y'see, the problem with bipolar as it's present conceived is that it's not understood as a compounding condition. That is to say, bipolar isn't "one condition" but it is a description of a person with compounding conditions. Looking deeper into the cause of the person's overall distress will reveal that they had toxic life circumstances which they siphoned off into different emotional strategies/mechanisms perhaps according to the situation or in order to mitigate the strength of the effect in any one vector.



In this next example, we have Roger, a person suffering from mania. Notice that he has both Ec and Cs above the threshold, with Cs going above the second threshold. Now, because both of these emotional vectors are external, Roger doesn't seem the type to exist in a "stupor" of depression. But he's quite perturbed in other ways. Having Cs (type3) above this second threshold signals neurosis. In him, what used to be a healthy sense of ego and confidence has evolved into a narcissistic personality out of an attempt to compensate for the stress in his life. As more and more power and entitlement is taken away from him at work and at home, the more he inflates himself.

Roger is not allowing himself to give-in to the fact that his prime is behind him, and he thinks in a manner that allows him to believe that he's the most important and relevant factor in everything.


And as mentioned prior, this diagram/chart would be able to diagnose a lot of other conditions (not just narcissism) presently known under other names. This theoretical structure wouldn't use the same exact terms (i.e. histrionic personality disorder) but it would essentially encompass the same terrains --and more, much more thoroughly-- because it's doing all of this from a cohesive architecture.

Reverse Deduction, Error Checking and Analysis

This is the part that, I think, really could define this method. The above examples take for granted that the patient's levels have been figured out. How, though, would that happen?

Like any good medical theory, multiple factors should converge. And irregularities in the hypothetical conversion can be used to tell that something is "wrong with this picture." Similar to those logic puzzles out there. Here are various converging angles:

The Symptomatic: If a patient already displays, known symptoms of (say) suicidal thoughts related to feelings of self-shame and unworthiness, then we know that Is has crossed the threshold.

What else does that tell us? It tells us that the patient has endured over (15,000str) in their life. What that means is that, the patient's history should cross-check with this fact and verify it. If, for example, an examination into the patient's past reveals very little in the form of stressors (lets say a grand total of no more than 5,000str) then we know something is missing.

Clues could be: they may have a yet-to-be-unearthed 10,000str in Ca (The Problem Denier), or it could be going into their health. Or the patient simply isn't revealing everything about themselves.

The Historical: This is what the above would check against, but this could also be a primary starting point. If we hear a full and detailed account of the patient's history, and it is filled with terrible misfortune, well over 40,000str, and we're not yet seeing the symptoms, that means that the symptoms are either not being reported/understood, or are latent.

The patient may have a very deep-deep set anger which may only come out in the most dire of circumstances, but may be enough to commit homocide. An Ea of over 20,000str could be lying right below a Ca of even more (i.e. 25,000str).

The Physiological: As I mentioned above, psychoneuroimmunology has made progress in verifying that stress has a direct link to things such as irritable bowel syndrome, leaky gut, autoimmune diseases, and from what I've read also a higher risk of the big players such as cancer.

A person with extremely high cortisol levels in their blood will be a strong indicator of distressed individual in a fight-or-flight response. Adrenal failure can also be an indicator of chronic stress. The presence of these physical ailments can also be another verification method for where and how severe the stress is.

Treatment Strategies

#1: Dispersion - Going back to Roger's case, we see a man whose stuck in Cs, with a little bit of Ec in the mix. A strategy that can help a case like his is one of dispersion. This theory acknowledges that LTS doesn't just dissipate into thin air. There is a law-of-conservation-of-emotional-energy at work. So there is, especially at first, a very tactile reality to the stress and where it's going.

What dispersion proposes is to divide up a singlular and overwhelming stressor into multiple smaller vectors in order to mitigate the short term damage being caused. In Roger's case, the psychologist may propose that he properly grieve and acknowledge the loss of his prime. Rather than inflating himself or adamantly seeking to put-off a looming depression with ambition and cockiness, he should let the sorrow hit; let the stupor fall over him and humble his spirits.

This may translate to deeper moments in Ic's contemplativeness or Is' solemn/intimate emotionality. The psychologist would have to monitor to ensure that Roger doesn't become absolutely apathetic (extreme Ic) or suicidal (extreme Is), but a little of that could do him good. All of that stress, all of that grief needs to be mentally dealt with, and when it's properly absorbed by the more melancholy emotional vectors, the manic vectors will have less tension built up.

#2: Schema Psychoanalysis - Passing the first threshold signals the presence of a persistent conflation between an emotional vector and a malignant paradigm; a maladaptive schema. (i.e. "The world is never safe, I must over-prepare" or "I can never be loved, I'm too flawed.") This would be a patient-therapist effort to identify the maladaptive beliefs that lie behind the emotional vectors that have exceeded the healthy threshold. What sort of belief has been ingrained into the patient, either about the world, or themselves?

The self-reinforcing nature of schemas would need to be addressed with self-awareness. This could go a long way in preventing further stress accumulation by breaking the feedback loop.

#3: [---etc---]: I don't present known of too many other successful strategies but this would, naturally, be a constantly updating frontier. This theory/diagram/tool would mostly to be aide therapists in providing those services. As mentioned before, this theory would have those opportunities for growth/expansion.

Additionally, even the diagram could be expanded if more emotional vectors/mechanisms are found in the future. Another row or rows can be added while not truly changing the overall format of how data is evaluated. Though the evaluation criteria will evolve over time as well.