The dragon and the beast

The Dragon and the False Beast

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The Dragon and the Beast

Copyright Š 2016 Kelly Bristow

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the copyright holders, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events are either the product of the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

 

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The Dragon and the Beast

It’s all about ME ‘I don’t care about your emotions I don’t care about your security I don’t care about your heart I simply, don’t care I want attention I will get attention Even if I have to hurt you I want to be seen and heard, by

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EVERYONE.’

The dark triad is a group of three personality traits: Narcissism, Machiavellianism and Psychopathy. The term "dark" implies that people scoring high on these traits have malevolent qualities: Narcissism is characterized by grandiosity, pride, egotism, and a lack of empathy.

Machiavellianism is characterized by manipulation and exploitation of others, a cynical disregard for morality, and a focus on self-interest and deception.

Psychopathy is characterized by enduring antisocial behaviour, impulsivity, selfishness, callousness, and remorselessness.

Narcissistic personality disorder - NPD Diagnosis To be diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) they must meet five or more of the following symptoms: 

Has a grandiose opinion of self, sense of self-importance, exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without talent or evidence. Preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance,



beauty, or ideal love Believes that he or she is “special” and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions) and



Requires excessive admiration Entitlement, e.g., unreasonable expectations of especially favourable treatment



or automatic compliance with his or her expectations Is exploitative of others, e.g., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own



ends Lacks empathy, e.g., is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and

 

needs of others Is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her Regularly shows arrogant, haughty behaviours or attitudes ICD10-CM F60.

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Anti-Social Personality Disorder (ASPD or Dissocial) -often referred to as Psychopathy; or Sociopathy Characterized by a pervasive pattern of disregard for, or violation of, the rights of others.

An impoverished moral sense or conscience is often apparent, as well as a history of crime, legal problems, or impulsive and aggressive behavior. Diagnosed when a pattern of antisocial behaviour has occurred since age 15 and consists of the majority of these symptoms: Antisocial personality disorder is the name of the disorder as defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Dissocial personality disorder (DPD) is the name of a similar or equivalent concept defined in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD), where it states that the diagnosis includes antisocial personality disorder. Both manuals have similar but not identical criteria for diagnosing the disorder. ((But distinctions have been made between the conceptualizations of antisocial personality disorder and psychopathy, with many researchers arguing that psychopathy is a disorder that overlaps with, but is distinguishable from, ASPD) Conduct disorder (CD) is a disorder diagnosed in childhood that parallels the characteristics found in ASPD, and is characterized by a repetitive and persistent pattern of behavior in which the basic rights of others or major age-appropriate norms are violated. Children with the disorder often display impulsive and aggressive behavior, may be callous and deceitful, and may repeatedly engage in petty crime such as stealing or vandalism, or get into fights with other children and adults. 

Failure to conform to social norms, lack respect to lawful behaviours, repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest, Deceitfulness, as indicated by



repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure Impulsivity, or failure to plan ahead, irritable and aggressive, indicated by



repeated physical fights or assaults Reckless disregard for safety of self or others. Consistently irresponsible, repeated failure to sustain work, or honour financial obligations.

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

Lack of remorse, being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or



stolen from another There should also be evidence of Conduct Disorder in the individual as a child, whether or not it was ever formally diagnosed by a professional.

Machiavellianism It is the art of manipulation in which others are socially manipulated in a way that benefits the user, characterized by a duplicitous interpersonal style, a cynical disregard for morality and a focus on self-interest and personal gain. Machiavellianism is also a term that some social, forensic and personality psychologists use to describe a person's tendency to be unemotional, and therefore able to detach him or herself from conventional morality and hence to deceive and manipulate others.                   

•only focused on their own ambition and interests •prioritise money and power over relationships •come across as charming and confident •exploit and manipulate others to get ahead •lie and deceive when required •use flattery often •lacking in principles and values •can come across as aloof or hard to really get to know •cynical of goodness and morality •capable of causing others harm to achieve their means •low levels of empathy •often avoid commitment and emotional attachments •can be very patient due to calculating nature •rarely reveal their true intentions •prone to casual sex encounters •can be good at reading social situations and others •lack of warmth in social interactions •not always aware of the consequences of their actions •might struggle to identify their own emotions Source: http://www.harleytherapy.co.uk/counselling/machiavellianism-psychology.htm#ixzz4d26y6LDk

Machiavellian motivation as related to cold selfishness and pure instrumentality, and those high on the trait were assumed to pursue their motives (e.g. sex, achievement, sociality) in duplicitous ways. With each of these traits alone making someone difficult to 5

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be around, all three occurring in one person can make for someone that is quite dangerous to other people’s mental wellbeing.

They give high priority to money, power, and competition and relatively low priority to community building, self-love, and family concerns. Both empathy and emotion recognition have been shown to have negative correlations with Machiavellianism.

Machiavellian intelligence may be demonstrated by behaviors including:      

Blaming and forgiveness; Lying and truth-telling; Making and breaking alliances; Making and breaking promises; Making and breaking rules; Misleading and misdirection.

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Personality disorders are constructed through our childhoods, they are created from times where we were neglected, abandoned, rejected, ridiculed, vilified or abused. The traumatic event, decides how it will respond and cope with such an injury to their ego.

The trauma is either identified or resolved, such as a child falls over and hurts their knee, they cry, their mother nurses their pain and they feel better. However, an emotional injury, such as being scolded in front of the class for saying something cheeky or defying your parent’s commands, creates an injury. This injury, if left alone, will be processed and stored, according to the age and ability of the child. Thus, a fouryear-old child will feel a different response as opposed to a teenager experiencing the same incident. The trauma is recorded, as are all experiences and stored to memory.

All three traits have been associated with a callous-manipulative interpersonal style.

Due to their ability to manipulate.

Obedience to Authority One of the most famous studies of obedience in psychology was carried out by Stanley Milgram (1963). Milgram, a psychologist at Yale University, conducted an experiment focusing on the conflict between obedience to authority and personal conscience. He 6

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examined justifications for acts of genocide offered by those accused at the World War II, Nuremberg War Criminal trials. Their defence often was based on "obedience" - that they were just following orders from their superiors. The study was to look at how compliant people were at taking and acting upon, orders from their superiors.

They measured the willingness of study participants, men from a diverse range of occupations with varying levels of education, to obey an authority figure who instructed them to perform acts conflicting with their personal conscience; The experiment found, unexpectedly, that a very high proportion of people were prepared to obey, albeit unwillingly, even if apparently causing serious injury and distress.

The participants in the study were instructed to give innocent people an electric shock?

They did as they were told!

Stanford Prison Project. The project was designed as an investigation

into the causes of conflict between military guards and prisoners. The experiment is a classic study on the psychology of IMPRISONMENT.

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The study was hypothesized that inherent personality traits of prisoner and guards at the chief cause of abusive behaviour in prison.

The participants were all screened to ensure they didn’t have psychological impairments, criminal backgrounds, or medical problems.

The study was aborted after 6 days due to the violence of the prison guards to the prisoners!

The study supported the cognitive dissonance theory and the POWER OF AUTHORITY! What this study also demonstrates, is the obedience of man and the power struggles between people in power, and people who must be subservient and submissive. The violence in the experiment proved that when a person has power and authority, over other people, that this power can be destructive in the wrong hands. The participants had been screened psychologically and were of sound health. The study supports the hypothesis that, people who are assumed to have power, can easily manipulate and torment those who are under the authority of the institution.

In a relationship, the authority is afforded to men, due to the truth that they do not need to have any time off, for raising a family; this is expected of their spouse. Traditionally the family unit is designed to be led by the man of the house. Social structures support men being the main wage earner; he is assumed the role of leadership, in the relationship and in the corporate world of economics. Due to man having the loin share of power, he then assumes full control over his family reign. If the members of the family do not reciprocate to his dominion, conflict arises, causing heated tempers and arguments that unstable the family foundations.

Due to the social structure of man being the leading figure in the household, if he refuses to accommodate to the emotional and psychological well-being of his flock, he is then consumed by the jezebel spirit, believing in his own doctrine and expecting his family, to prove to society his innocence.

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Central to understanding individuals diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder, or at least psychopathy, is that they appear to experience a limited range of human emotions.

This can explain their lack of empathy for the suffering of others, since they cannot experience the emotion associated with either empathy or suffering. Risk-seeking behaviour and substance abuse may be attempts to escape feeling empty or emotionally void. The rage exhibited by psychopaths and the anxiety associated with certain types of antisocial personality disorder may represent the limit of emotion experienced, or there may be physiological responses without analogy to emotion experienced by others.

Histrionic personality disorder.

A pervasive pattern of excessive emotionality and attention-seeking, beginning in early adulthood, including inappropriately seductive behavior and an excessive need for approval which is present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following: • •

Is uncomfortable in situations in which he or she is not the center of attention Interaction with others is often characterized by inappropriate sexually

• • • •

seductive or provocative behavior Displays rapidly shifting and shallow expression of emotions Consistently uses physical appearance to draw attention to self Has a style of speech that is excessively impressionistic and lacking in detail?

Shows self-dramatization, theatricality, and exaggerated expression of

• •

emotion Is suggestible, i.e., easily influenced by others or circumstances Considers relationships to be more intimate than they actually are.

The DSM-IV requires that a diagnosis for any specific personality disorder also satisfies a set of general personality disorder criteria. The World Health Organization's ICD-10 lists histrionic personality disorder as: • • •

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shallow and labile affectivity, self-dramatization, theatricality,

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• • • • • • •

exaggerated expression of emotions, suggestibility, egocentricity, self-indulgence, lack of consideration for others, easily hurt feelings, and Continuous seeking for appreciation, excitement and attention.

Histrionic people are lively, dramatic, vivacious, enthusiastic, and flirtatious. People with HPD are usually high-functioning, both socially and professionally. They usually have good social skills, despite tending to use them to manipulate others into making them the center of attention. HPD may also affect a person's social and/or romantic relationships, as well as their ability to cope with losses or failures. They may seek treatment for clinical depression when romantic (or other close personal) relationships end.

Individuals with HPD often fail to see their own personal situation realistically, instead dramatizing and exaggerating their difficulties. They may go through frequent job changes, as they become easily bored and may prefer withdrawing from frustration (instead of facing it). Because they tend to crave novelty and excitement, they may place themselves in risky situations. All of these factors may lead to greater risk of developing clinical depression A mnemonic that can be used to remember the characteristics of histrionic personality disorder is shortened as PRAISE ME  Provocative (or seductive) behavior • Relationships are considered more intimate than they actually are • Attention-seeking • Influenced easily by others or circumstances • Speech (style) wants to impress; lacks detail • Emotional lability; shallowness • Make-up; physical appearance is used to draw attention to self • Exaggerated emotions; theatrical

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Lustfulness is a projection of the patient's lack of ability to love unconditionally and develop cognitively to maturity, and that such patients were overall emotionally shallow.

The common perception is that the reason of not being able to love could have been from a traumatic death experience from a close relative during childhood or divorce between parents, which gave the wrong impression of committed relationships.

Women are hypersexualized in the media consistently, ingraining thoughts that the only way women are to get attention is by exploiting themselves, and when seductiveness isn't enough, theatricals are the next step in achieving attention. Men can just as well be flirtatious towards multiple women yet feel no empathy or sense of compassion towards them. They may also be the center of attention by exhibiting the "Don Juan" macho figure as a role-play.

What is Consciousness Consciousness is the state or quality of awareness, or, of being aware of an external object (physical) or something within oneself (Mentally). It has been defined as: sentience, awareness, subjectivity, the ability to experience or to feel, wakefulness, having a sense of selfhood, and the executive control system of the mind.

Consciousness can be understood in a way that does not require a dualistic distinction between mental and physical states or properties; therefore, consciousness is subjective and objective, in experience and expression.

The primary focus is on understanding what it means biologically and psychologically for information to be present in consciousness, internally, within the mind, determining the neural and psychological connectivity of consciousness; the majority of experimental studies assess consciousness by asking human subjects for a verbal report of their experiences. Thus, meaning the experience is subjective and personal to the individual.

In medicine, consciousness is assessed by observing a patient's arousal and responsiveness, and can be seen as a continuum of states ranging from full alertness and comprehension, through disorientation, delirium, loss of meaningful communication,

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and finally loss of movement in response to painful stimuli. Therefore, consciousness is observed, objectively and is interpreted and analyzed by the skills of the assessor.

The spirit of Narcissism and Jezebel In a romantic relationship, the person is consumed by the jezebel spirit. Such is the true nature of the jezebel desires, the need for power and control. By using their skills of extra sensory perception, ESP and the tools from their material world to dupe and lure, the innocent person, into the jezebel world of contempt and confusion. The jezebel’s world is an empty vessel that siphons life force from those who possess a goodness of heart and honour in spirit, the objective, is to lure the person, away from honour and authenticity towards self-gratification. Jezebel is narcissism, just as Freud described narcissus, in love with his reflection, so does the Jezebel spirit, encourage and entice, the person into self-love and self-serving needs. Accumulating admiration and idolization, through commanding attention. This is the secret to their survival, attention. The jezebel, will spin a web of lies all around your existence, to confuse and de-stabilize your inner power and voice, this enables the spirit to overpower you in your weakest moments and takes control of your ego. Dominating your life choices and lessons!

Romantically, one of the two in a couple, or relationship encompasses the jezebel spirit.

The one who is possessed by the spirit is the real victim, the dominator, or perpetrator, is the one who is guided and driven intrinsically, to control and deceive the other person.

The Jezebel spirit is by design, a destructive essence, within the spirit that has the potential to destroy the development of a person’s psyche and life force. Spiritual murder or manslaughter of the psyche!

When romantically involved, the jezebel spirit is elusive and deceptive. It restrains and withholds the victim from discovering the truth about themselves and the situation they are trapped in. To escape the jezebel’s stronghold, the person needs to address their

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inner child wounds and earlier life experiences, as these situations and experiences are the driving force behind the victim’s vulnerability that ensnared them in the beginning. To overcome the possession, the victim has to examine and explore their own motivations, and trauma’s, in a personal discovery for their soul revival and release.

There is no medicine, or magic pill that will enable a person, possessed by Jezebel spirit, to free them. The only way to free the soul from captivity is to dive back into their traumas and childhood conditioning, from cultural and traditional teachings, and pull out the pain and agony, tears and dramas, examine them and release their power over the soul.

The main objective of the Jezebel spirit is to push the individual, further away from their heart and spirit, from personal inter connection to God. The jezebel spirit, is androgynous, therefore it can attach to male or female. It has no gender base, as it can manifest in men and women, regardless of sexual preference.

In order to hide the true motivations of the jezebel spirit, the jezebel resorts to pretense, smoke screens and mirrors. The objective of the Jezebel is to project a sense of power that they do not have. It is based on fear and intimidation in order to cloud the minds of those it desires to oppress.

The Jezebel spirit is more easily understood within the narcissistic personality disorder, and more dangerously exposed, through the psychopath traits. The jezebel lives in a world of distortion, deception and lies, projecting everything, even the smallest actions to look like the grandiose. Especially accomplishments and an exaggeration of everything, they are exceptional liars, charming and the back stabbers in society. The jezebel is a controller of human emotions and destruction of the soul’s evolution. The jezebel is bound by fear of rejection; therefore, their lives have to be perfect. This perfection is observed in those with a high preoccupation in their looks, clothes, makeup, jewelry, flashy cars and cleanliness. Due to the binding nature and overpowering fear of rejection, they cannot bear the thought of being seen as less than perfect. Therefore, their environment must never be perceived as less than perfect.

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They will smile graciously and hug you professing genuine empathy, and then the minute your back is turned, they will stab you in it, to maintain their power and pretense of perfection.

The characteristics of the jezebel and narcisstic personality are based on insecurity and fear, pride and vanity. Through dominance of fear over love, people who display characteristics of narcissism become attractive to the demonic. Vanity being the devil’s greatest temptation!

Although sometimes temporarily remorseful, but soon returns back to controlling tactics.

An interesting aspect of the jezebel spirit is to play the ‘victim’ or ‘martyr’ rather than the ‘perpetrator,’ to elicit sympathy and avoid responsibility. Interestingly, the jezebel has no conscience and those under the control of the jezebel spirit have hardened their hearts and their consciences are seared. Their will is King and they are supreme!

Collective consciousness The Jezebel spirit exists everywhere, on the television, in films and songs, in love relationships and in the spiritual, religious capacity. Jezebel was originally a woman, who bewitched a king, with her powers of seduction and temptress allure. For males, it reveals itself in power and authority, in the relationship field, they are the Casanova, the ultimate romantic ideal image, that embodies charism, power, authority and commands respect. Essentially, the jezebel spirit is an aspect that each of us possesses to some degree, as we all have an ego, so too are we susceptible to being tempted and seduced by the spiritual orders. The new age communities have grasped this concept and now use the jezebel spirit to lure those into becoming more selfish and self-serving.

Encouraging people to love themselves, (egotistical) the narcissistic mirror, the false idolation of themselves and their obsession with material, or physical perfection.

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Women in particular are targeted by the Jezebel spirit, due to the fact that for centuries, men have been dominating and controlling women, by shaping women into being the perfect image for their own gratification. Women are the object of man’s desire, by intimidating and invalidating women in their natural state, they are then pressured and condemned by the social industry, to conform to a normal standardized image of who and what, a woman should look like, to get a man. The social structure is designed to create, complexes, obsessions and fixations with their own body image, which are the basic foundations that create neurosis.

Vanity The beauty industry and the new age community are two of the deceptions that are permeated among the social structures. The beauty industry encourages and sometimes, belittles the person to further their fascination towards self-obsession and perfection. Overlooking the real beauty that is integral to each individual person!

Pride

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Self-love and self-acceptance are two of the self-help industries leading concepts. It’s also two of the main aspects that the jezebel spirit can possess in the individual. Vain and pride in themselves, their own omnipotence, their own self-worth is dependent on the recognition and approval of others, through compliments, praise and flattery for achievements. Pride in the outer expression of who they are! Pride in spending two hours every day, applying make-up, to validate their looks and ensure their obnoxiousness, is hidden away, from public view. Women trapped in the vanity/pride cycle, spends endless hours worrying about self-image, self-presentation, self-worth and if they are wearing the right clothes, as they are driven to express themselves in the highest light, to ensure their imperfections are hidden. All of their efforts are driven unconsciously, by childhood experiences, were they loved for who they really are, or were they condemned and neglected, by their care givers. Both experiences are paramount to being bewitched, by the jezebel spirit.

Anger The one emotion that is the driving force behind the jezebel spirit, anger! Angry that their worth isn’t validated, angry that their commands and orders are being disobeyed!

Anger that is expressed passively, in smart comments and sarcasm, designed to maim the individual emotionally. The angry Jezebel spirit wants retribution and revenge. It will stop at nothing, even murdering another human being, as the power of this spirit is dangerously destructive to the human development.

Lust Desires of the flesh, seduction through physical attractiveness, contrary to being viewed as a harlot, the jezebel has no gender, it simply attaches itself to the person, who has a limited capacity to feel, real emotional experiences of a higher nature, such as love and compassion. The jezebel spirit is the driving force behind mentally unstable personality of the narcissist.

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Trauma bonding An emotional connection; where two parties are connected through a traumatic event.

A trauma, during childhood creates narcisstic wound to the innocent child. Through fear based trauma, or emotional and /or physical neglect, creating inner child wounds that are carried within the psyche until they are examined and released.

Trauma wounds also are our insecurities, flaws, embarrassing and humiliating memories, destructive behaviours. Witnessing violence and experiencing violence directly and indirectly. Traumas are the result of difficult or painful experiences that are now, denied or rejected, within the psyche, causing any number of neurosis, or psychosis, for the individual.

Neglect; poor parenting; emotional, material, psychological neglect and absent parenting due to work commitments, alcohol or drug abuse.

Absent or Neglected parenting, the emotional abuse is created where the parent has put their child on a pedestal, regarded as the golden child, black and white thinking (splitting). Parent using them as a means of financial gain, shaming, guilt tripping, all these components are integral in the Trauma injury.

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Brain Alterations from Trauma Every one of our life experiences change our brain in one way or another, some making a deeper impression on us. When trauma occurs in someone early in life the brain is much more susceptible to drastic alteration. Many of the children exposed to such events will develop neuropsychiatric symptomatology.

During a traumatic experience, various areas of the brain respond. These areas are often altered as a result, permanently impacting future functioning in the brain. After these alterations, if recovery is to be sought, special trauma therapy sessions are necessary to attempt to activate parts of the brain. This is done in an effort to understand and manipulate any emotional or behavioural changes that have taken place. The sooner such trauma treatment is begun, the better chance for recovery. A traumatized child should not have to forever suffer the consequences of an unexpected event or of someone else’s choices. Trauma recovery at can help provide hope and a future for victims of trauma.

Emotional abuse and psychological maltreatment - These kinds of acts, which include verbal abuse, emotional abuse, and excessive demands or expectations, may cause an individual to experience conduct, cognitive, affective, or other mental disturbances.

These acts also include acts of omission against a minor such as emotional neglect or intentional social deprivation, which cause, or could cause, a child to experience conduct, cognitive, affective, or other mental disturbances.

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Inner child wounds

Inner child wounds are created from childhood traumas and pain. They shape the perception and reality that the child grows up accustomed to, the wounds shape the direction in which the person discovers and navigates, romantically and professionally.

Inner child wounds restrict the full potential of human capacity in the individual. The wounds, if it is left rejected or discarded, in the psyche, ironically in the same sense that it was created to begin with, creates cognitive dissonance in the individual, thus giving further painful emotional experiences and heightened and aggravated emotional feelings, to that which they believed, would support, or comfort them.

Thus; the original wound, becomes the catalyst for discovery and liberation in the person, if they choose to free themselves.

Denial, of inner child traumas, causes a number of psychological complexes, namely, chasing validation and verification for their existence. Denial allows the person to continue to believe in the same delusional state of mind, that they are wholesome and integrally decent in presentation and expression. The denial of childhood wounds and traumas can only be cured, through self-introspection, self-analysis and self-discovery for self-actualization. Without the urge or desire to discover why they were hoodwinked in the first instance, they essentially discard, or ignore, the aspect of trauma and an

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integral aspect of themselves. Choosing to reject and ignore, earlier experiences, the person continues to build on previous experience and expectations, thus, another abusive relationship is given access to the individual, due to personal ignorance of their own psychological blue print.

Childhood traumas, such as rape or abuse, can have a detrimental effect on development of the child. Without support, they may go on to believe in their deficiency and try to suppress or hide the painful experience. In later years, depression or anxiety will catch up with them; alternatively, the trauma will manifest itself in the body, such as asthma, diabetes or asthma. Both of these disorders are connected to the endocrine, biology of the human being, which is then translated through the lymph nodes of the endocrine system.

For example, a diabetic, who suffers from chronic anxiety, may overlook the sensation as emotional and reach out for a specific type of comfort food, to appease the emotional body, only to continue and perpetuate the cycle, by aggravating the initial trauma.

Or an asthmatic, which has closed off their heart connection, and feels tight chested, when emotions are needed for expression. They take their inhaler, when the problem may well have been emotional and could have been resolved in the same manner it was created.

Medicine today is a dependent culture that humanity places heavy emphasis.

Regardless of the fact that many internal and psychological traumas are caused by emotional pain, the medical industry is inundated with humanity desperately seeking a cure for their pain. A pill or a diet, that will alleviate their internal agony, and numb the pain, to enable them to continue living the same way. Eventually, the person may face a more serious health threat, which forces the individual into therapy, or, through their own ignorance, will inevitably lead them down the path, to self-abuse and even, psychosis.

Without professional help and support, the outlook for the personality disorder looks bleak!

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Psychosis An abnormal condition of the mind described as involving a ‘loss of contact with reality’.

People experiencing psychosis may exhibit some personality changes and thought disorder. Depending on its severity, this may be accompanied by unusual or bizarre behavior, as well as difficulty with social interaction and impairment in carrying out daily life activities.

Psychosis in this sense is at the exclusion of central nervous system diseases and injuries, diseases and injuries of other organs, psychoactive substances, and toxins as causes of symptoms of psychosis before any psychiatric illness can be diagnosed A history of psychologically traumatic events, and the recent experience of a stressful event, can both contribute to the development of psychosis.

The term "psychosis" is very broad and can mean anything from relatively normal aberrant experiences through to the complex and catatonic expressions of schizophrenia and bipolar type 1 disorder. In properly diagnosed psychiatric disorders (where other causes have been excluded, psychosis is a descriptive term for the hallucinations, delusions and impaired insight that may occur. The term given to noticeable deficits in normal behavior, (negative behaviour) and, more commonly, to diverse types of hallucinations or delusional beliefs, particularly with regard to the relation between self and others, as in grandiosity and paranoia!

A common feature of psychosis is hallucinations!

Hallucinations Hallucinations may occur in any of the senses and take on almost any form, which may include simple sensations (such as lights, colors, tastes, and smells) to experiences such as seeing and interacting with fully formed animals and people, hearing voices, and having complex tactile sensations.

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Catatonia Catatonia is the classic presentation of a person who does not move or interact with the world in any way while awake. Whilst this is accurate for person suffering with schizophrenia, it doesn’t clarify the other type of catatonia, where the person is in a state of agitation, exhibiting excessive motor behaviour and well as extreme mental preoccupation that prevents an intact experience of reality. An example is where a person in walking tirelessly in circles, to the exclusion and anything else. This is most commonly observed in the mental health institutions and prior to admission. The person is wholly preoccupied with their inner turmoil and heightened anxiety, that movement appears to be the only option offering some relief to their mental anguish.

Thought disorders Thought disorder describes an underlying disturbance to conscious thought and is classified largely by its effects on speech and writing. Affected persons show loosening of associations, that is, a disconnection and disorganization of the semantic content of speech and writing. In the severe form speech becomes incomprehensible and it is known as "word salad".

From a diagnostic standpoint, organic disorders were those believed caused by physical illness affecting the brain (that is, psychiatric disorders secondary to other conditions), while functional disorders were considered disorders of the functioning of the mind in the absence of physical disorders (that is, primary psychological or psychiatric disorders).

Cycloid psychosis is psychosis that progresses from normal to full-blown, usually within a few hours, not related to drug intake or brain injury.

The diagnostic criteria include at least four of the following symptoms;  

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Confusion Mood-incongruent delusions

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     

Hallucinations Pan-anxiety, a severe anxiety not bound to particular situations or circumstances Happiness or ecstasy of high degree Motility disturbances of akinetic or hyperkinetic type Concern with death Mood swings to some degree, but less than what is needed for diagnosis of an affective disorder

Neurosis A relatively mild mental illness that is not caused by organic disease, involving symptoms of stress (depression, anxiety, obsessive behaviour, hypochondria) but not a radical loss of touch with reality.

Neurosis is a class of functional mental disorders involving distress but neither delusions nor hallucinations. Neurosis may also be called psychoneurosis or neurotic disorder.

Neurosis may be defined simply as a "poor ability to adapt to one's environment, an inability to change one's life patterns, and the inability to develop a richer, more complex, more satisfying personality.

Symptoms of neurosis may involve: anxiety, sadness or depression, anger, irritability, mental confusion, low sense of self-worth, behavioral symptoms such as phobic avoidance, vigilance, impulsive and compulsive acts, lethargy, cognitive problems such as unpleasant or disturbing thoughts, repetition of thoughts and obsession, habitual fantasizing, negativity and cynicism. Interpersonally, neurosis involves dependency, aggressiveness, perfectionism, schizoid isolation and socio-culturally inappropriate behaviors.

Neurosis is mainly a fear based reaction to stimuli in the environment, which reacts to previous earlier programming and the primal animal instincts, inherent in all humans. It is also closely related to our inner challenges and obstacles that are integrally driven, to ensure survival and allows the individual to connect to their authentic ability. Neurosis is 23

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a common factor and driving force behind phobias, complexes and fear based activity.

Thus, if an earlier memory of meeting a dog was experienced as violent or traumatic, the memory is imprinted and stored in the mind, thus, creating a fear of the animal they attached the uncomfortable experience to.

Neurosis and fear based conditioning are vital components of inner child traumas and wounds.

The neurosis is created from an uncomfortable experience, which was repressed and denied in the psyche, it is locked into neurotic behaviour, where the person is restricted through addictions and self-destructive activities, designed to alleviate the original cause of neurosis.

Neurosis is the stable blocks that create rituals and rigid routines or structures, to ensure the dreaded experience does not return, the rituals can become damaging and limiting the full capacity of the individual.

Stable and Unstable personality disorders Alongside the cluster, B personality disorders, there is now an additional or alternative diagnosis that includes those who present with bi-polar symptoms and grandiosity, emotionally volatile reactions or emotionally flat (catatonic). Previously, the condition was named borderline personality disorder, as this disorder, includes aspects of NPD, HPD, BPD and ASPD, therefore, one specific diagnosis encompasses all the deficits the person has.

The unstable personality is emotionally inept and dysfunctional to the core. They exhibit numerous characteristics of cluster B personality disorder but fail to stabilize to allow a definite diagnosis. Therefore, stable and unstable personality is defined by the mood stability, whether this is fixed or fluctuating in nature, they most often resemble an inner world of turmoil and torment, fragmented aspects of their earlier, dysfunctional life,

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damaged attachments to their care givers, whether through adoption, orphaned, or abused.

The stable personality is the emotionally flat, apathetic and lacking in various emotions.

Limited conscience and empathy, this type of personality disorder is commonly labeled to those who have an underlying conduct disorder, or pervasive developmental disorder, namely; Asperger’s or High Functioning Autism, as these two conditions have difficulty in empathy, therefore, limiting the range of emotions they can typically feel.

Emotional Intelligence The emotional intelligence that we each have, grows, and develops in stages during a healthy childhood. If developmental stages have been damaged, whether this is through broken attachments such as; adoption, neglect, or damaged parenting, the emotional intelligence is also affected in the individual.

Emotional intelligence is more than knowing what each emotion is and what it can do, emotional intelligence is the soul’s evolution towards maturity, without feeling the emotional components of life’s experiences, maturity cannot be achieved.

A four-year-old child, who is traumatized and abused, may never grow past his emotional age of four, due to damaged aspects of the psyche. They may acquire lots of education and listen to many documentaries, but they never feel the real, core flow of the emotions, connected them to the outside experiences. Thus, their experiences are shallow and limited and their emotional core, is neglected and abandoned, along with the inner child.

Emotional intelligence is developed through stages in life, experiences teaches us, bringing realisations, revelations and disclosures that reveal, new insights to life’s problems.

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In an ideal world, we would all develop our emotional health alongside our physical health. However, due to childhood traumas and cultural conditioning, this is rarely, if

ever the case.

Most people have some traumas from childhood experiences

The Devil inside The book of revelation states that the beast will return at the end times.

The beast, which is identified as 666 in the book of revelation! But how can this apply to each individual? How is God and the Devil a part of the microcosm of the human body?

The information in DNA is stored as a code made up of four chemical bases: adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T).

There are also four gas bases of DNA – oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon. Also, there are four bases that the body functions on; water, soda, salt and iodine.

Four gases, four body fluids, four chemical bases = 12 (two sixes)

Today, we know that atoms contain protons, neutrons, and electrons.

The protons have significant mass and a positive charge and are found in the nucleus of the atom. (+) The neutrons have mass but no charge and are also found in the nucleus. (-) The electrons have negative charge and very little mass and are found outside the atom's nucleus. (-) The weight of an atom in atomic mass units is approximately the sum of its protons and neutrons, since the electrons don't have much mass.

For example, a typical carbon atom has six protons and six neutrons, and it has an atomic weight of 12 amu. A carbon also has six electrons, but they are so small that they don't contribute to carbon's weight.

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6 electrons, 6 neutrons, 6 protons. = 666. Fascinating stuff huh!

Therefore, the beast is not an ugly looking devil that has fangs and horns; it’s the ugly shadow side we each possess. We are all offspring off the beast, in in our biology and blood!

The essence of man was created to embrace the dimensional structure in the universe.

Man, is supposed to travel within his spirit to alternative realms and mystical lands. Yet we are all trapped and caged in the third dimensional existence called earth-human life.

The shadow side of the seven sins We like to blame things, judge things instinctively, without seeing them for what they are. The ego is that part of us that exists in duality, the duality of the psyche with the reality of the material world. The Ego is that part of us that judges ourselves, blames others or outer circumstances, without analysing the situation thoroughly, the ego condemns without understanding it, how it behaves and what stimulated it. When working on your own spiritual or psychic development, the ego is the teacher, the psyche is the student. Depending on how well the person is able to analyse their external experiences and transmute the lesson learned, into self-awareness and selfdevelopment.

Gradually, you will start to see the ego for what it is. Not only physically, but also internally, through dreams, through visions, through understanding. By stripping away, the ego’s desires and defenses, we begin to understand the world in which we live and the circumstances that have occurred, which are easily explained and dissolved, through inner child and ego resolution, to strip back layers of conditioning and discover, the raw, limitless creative power and potential, we each possess is the ultimate discovery.

The planets in the solar system and their respective energies are more than stars in the sky. The solar system exists within each of our personality structures and influences our psyche development, deeper than we each can admit. The solar planets have a direct

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influence in one’s life journey and experiences, a thorough natal birth chart, can reveal to the person, the influences, and restrictions from their astrological blueprint at birth.

This snap shot, or photograph of the solar system we each have at birth, is unique and exclusive to everyone.

The Sun Pride – by transmuting conceitedness into humility, we can then begin to see what master we are serving and what benefits this master brings. Pride enable’s the individual to remain fixated on themselves, re-enforcing to the ego that needs to be validated by external input. By overcoming the pride, how we feel about ourselves, shaking off the shame that haunts us from our shadow experiences. The voice within, which chastises and berates us! Facing shame and embracing the shame, helps the person to overcome prideful boasting and understand that they are no greater than the next person. Pride, if left to develop without conscious awareness, can consume a person to fall into narcissism. Empathy is the feeling that enable us to understand and share. To connect to each other and feel harmony, we must transmute pride, into humility. Shame into courage! Releasing and revealing the good, bad and ugly and embracing these aspects of the character, into the psyche. Humility is born, out of the psyche.

Pride is self-esteem. Because we are ignorant of what this virtue really is, we don’t see our pride for what it is. Pride is the one who feels abandoned, mistreated, misjudged. In our self-pity, in victimizing ourselves and others, pride accompanies us in every moment.

Pride orchestrates the rest of the ego. It is our pride that prevents us from being honest with ourselves.

The Moon Greed – living in abundance. An abundance of all the hearts desires! As opposed to all that the ego desires. The two concepts differ, in that greed appears to be too much of

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something, whereas, abundance is an overflowing of all that is good. The generosity of the moon encourages and urges us to live life of giving, of service to others.

We have to find our greed, our attachment, dissolve it and rebuild it into generosity. Our inner Being, who will present us with circumstances, in which our attachments will be tested in physical reality! We associate generosity with money, which is related with money, but also related with time, energy and attention. We are very attached to time, to attention and to energy. Not just the physical things, but also psychological things.

The moon reflects back to us what we are giving our attention to, through emotions, our body responds to the stimulus. The moon, rules our moods, cycles and seasons. The moon which is the illusion of the sun, urges the individual to embrace the cyclical nature of the moon.

Mercury Sloth – the opposite or shadow of sloth is labour. By working diligently with what you have, and using the tools at your disposal, you can transmute sloth, into action. By addressing and acknowledging the aspects of your life that need action, attention and focus. Diligence is the shadow opposite of sloth.

Mercury is the messenger of the Gods. It is stated in esotericism that without mercury there cannot be any self-realization. Mercury, often associated with communication, is the messenger of the god that is transmuted through the heart and translated into words for the mind to understand and action.

Venus Lust –Living in the desires of the flesh, lusting sexually. Admiring, devouring and manipulating the sexual energy of the divine feminine. By repressing the sacred serpent of feminine power and reversing the power, the lusts and desires of the ego, are drained and diminished. Whereas, when the feminine power of the serpent has been aroused

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safely, the occupant will experience blissful feelings, connected to and similar in sensation, to that of the kundalini energy. The sacred serpent is released to the occupant, who respects and honour’s the power within. Lust is the raw desire for life, to feel alive, to experience feelings and emotions beyond the peace and calm of the soul.

Lust is the uncontrollable urge to create and express raw, feminine energy.

Lust is governed by Venus and transmuted through Aphrodite, into pure consciousness of love. The reversal of this is the lusting of a sexual nature, yet when harnessed and transmuted, lust becomes a lust for life, rather than the sexual act between two people.

Mars Wrath – the power of the boiling rage, when transmuted into energy, becomes the driving force behind the man. Rage and anger are emotions that help the individual to understand their psychology and spirituality. When wrath is wrongly directed, it can be destructive and damaging to all those in its presence. By transmuting anger, and using it constructively, the person has gained mastery over their lower, animal instincts and emotions and ultimately achieved power through the expression and transmutation of the energy. Anger is the drive behind the volition, when used correctly, reveals justice.

Mars can be very ferocious, but it is a sign of love, not pride or fear. It is the love of the mother protecting her child, it is not angry, it’s ferocious, virtuous! We need the ferocity of Mars in order to protect the innocent, reject the impurity of our mind, and restore the presence of the divine in ourselves.

Jupiter Envy – jealousy and the associated aspects of this sin are the desires of the heart, can be transmuted into action for self-growth. Envy, when it is stripped down is merely a wanting, urging or lusting for something, someone else has. It restricts growth of the self as the person experiencing this emotional state, is unaware of what to do with it.

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Following old programming of this feeling, the ego is slighted, offended and hurt. It can consume the individual into acting or a pretense of their persona, which further distorts the feeling. Envy is a powerful emotion that hi-jacks the psyche into believing they are more worthy than their neighbour. It leads the person to believe that they are not good enough, that they have to do more, improve more; the endless quest to selfactualization begins. Envy is the trap that teaches us we are separate, that life is a continuous struggle, the envy is the emotion we experience as inferior to others, which leads the individual into seeking lust, greed, pride, wrath, gluttony and sloth.

Envy creates painful emotions characterized by feelings of inferiority, hostility, and resentment, caused by an awareness of a desired that is enjoyed by another person or group of persons. The anti-thesis to envy is happiness for other people’s success.

In fact, our media is based upon stimulating envy. The movies, commercials, magazines, books, are all using our envy to manipulate us, to use us, to get our money, and to get power over us. Oftentimes, we only want what we want because we want to be envied by others.

Saturn Gluttony – The hunger for more. More life experience, more an insatiable addiction to life and life force energy. The power that can be derived from the insatiable desire of the kundalini serpent, or from the divinity of nature! Gluttony, can be transmuted into insatiable hunger for learning and life. A hunger that can only be satiated, by expansion!

The opposite effect of gluttony, is temperance and balance. To be able to balance the internal drives with the external challenges!

We are gluttonous with soap operas, shopping, reading, talking, gossiping, with getting attention from others. We are gluttonous with anything that feeds our inner emptiness.

Some of us are gluttonous with profit.

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Temperance is the virtue of using only what we need, not more. Temperance is a sense of balance. Temperance is the virtue of sensing when to stop, when to restrain and when to expend.

Neurons that fire together, wire together!

The amygdala. This primal region of the brain, associated with fear and emotion, is involved in the initiation of the body’s response to stress. this is the part of the brain responsible for so many destructive emotions like fear, unhappiness, and anger.

When our body reacts to something we are afraid of, we start to feel panicked and scared. This then leads on to physical symptoms such as racing heart, bowel movements, we emit sweat as our body tries to fight the surge of adrenaline coursing through our veins. We may get a headache or start shaking as the chemical reaction of the anxiety takes hold of our body and mind. These are very real emotional responses from a very real thought or event that occurred in our life. It can be so debilitating and crippling that it affects our entire functioning and we isolate ourselves further into a safety net to avoid the next occurrence of anxiety. It can stop your whole life and make you retreat into your own world, and you feel powerless to this crippling emotion overtaking your body.

The sensory stimuli that we experienced as children, created an emotional attachment to something physical in this world. That emotional attachment is then in the driving seat of further anticipated anxiety in the future of our lives!

Thoughts that often occur in Anxiety include our overestimating or exaggerating the actual threat, and underestimating or minimizing our ability to cope: •

I'm in danger right now

•

The worst possible scenario is going to happen

•

I won't be able to cope with it?

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Even thinking about situations, we find anxiety provoking can lead us to experience our anxiety symptoms. They can also reinforce our desire to avoid situations and keep our anxiety going by strengthening our already negative perception of a situation.

The scientific evidence behind the victims experience The victims who have experienced a violent or abusive crime, often suffer alone in silence, for fear of being judged, for fear of being labelled, fear tends to take over the victim’s life. This can affect the person’s ability to function adequately, in the social world. Flashbacks, nightmares, and panic attacks are a few of the symptoms experienced by victims. Labelling a victim with a personality disorder is unfair and unjust, just as it’s unfair and completely wrong to state a battered woman or man, has co-dependency to an abuser.

If you refuse to pay council tax, your threatened with court and jail, so you believe to be a good upstanding citizen, you pay to avoid the consequence (co-dependency) whereas a woman who is threatened with a knife to her throat to and forced to have sex with an abuser, complies, to avoid the consequence. Yet these women are labelled as weak, co-dependent and asking for it!! But the tax evader isn’t co-dependent? It’s duality, two sides of the same coin. Rather than communities pulling together for the good of the people, communities are taught to turn on each other instead?

It’s exactly the same principle; evade tax, sent to prison! Refuse to obey your husband, black eye? Both concepts EXPECT OBEDIENCE Society is co-dependent to health and the government in many ways, but the wider public isn’t labelled as co-dependent, there would be outrage if the public realized this, yet the cognitive dissonance allows the lay person to accept their opinion and view as the right view, and enables them to add their prejudice, as they have never experienced trauma. So why children, spouses and rape victims are labelled co-dependent for being a victim!

Thankfully, the psychiatric community has caught up with psychology and the derogative label is fading out of the psychiatric community.

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Trauma bonding and Complex-PTSD (C-PTSD) A common diagnosis given to survivors of traumatic experiences is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), commonly diagnosed to war veterans. However, there is growing evidence within society that survivors of long term abuse and neglect also fall under the PTSD bracket, which has allowed the scientific community to expand the PTSD diagnosis and now includes complex traumas that imply the victim was exposed to more than one traumatic experience and this has had a long-lasting impact on the development of the psyche. The term is more widely known as Complex Post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD).

To understand C-PTSD, first we need to understand PTSD to grasp the complexity and enormity of this disorder that is sweeping across the nation. C-PTSD is now becoming more widely known and studied. PTSD can result from an accumulation of many small, individually non-life-threatening incidents. To differentiate the cause, the term "Complex PTSD" is used. The reason that Complex PTSD is not in DSM-IV is that the definition of PTSD in DSM-IV was derived using only people who had suffered a single major lifethreatening incident such as Vietnam veterans and survivors of disasters.

Note: there has recently been a trend amongst some psychiatric professionals to label people suffering Complex PTSD as exhibiting a personality disorder, especially Borderline Personality Disorder. This is not the case - PTSD, Complex or otherwise, is a psychiatric

injury, trauma related.

The facts: The diagnostic criteria for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are defined in DSM-IV as follows: A. The person experiences a traumatic event in which both of the following were present:

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1. the person experienced or witnessed or was confronted with an event or events that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of self or others; 2 the person's response involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror.

B. The traumatic event is persistently re-experienced in any of the following

ways: 1. recurrent and intrusive distressing recollections of the event, including images, thoughts or perceptions; 2. recurrent distressing dreams of the event; 3. acting or feeling as if the traumatic event were recurring (eg reliving the experience, illusions, hallucinations, and dissociative flashback episodes, including those on wakening or when intoxicated) 4. intense psychological distress at exposure to internal or external cues that symbolise or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event; 5. physiological reactivity on exposure to internal or external cues that symbolise or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event.

C. Persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma and numbing of general responsiveness (not present before the trauma) as indicated by at least three of: 1. efforts to avoid thoughts, feelings or conversations associated with the trauma; 2. efforts to avoid activities, places or people that arouse recollections of this trauma; 3. inability to recall an important aspect of the trauma; 4. markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities;

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5. feeling of detachment or estrangement from others; 6. restricted range of affect (eg unable to have loving feelings); 7. sense of a foreshortened future (e.g. does not expect to have a career, marriage, children or a normal life span).

D. Persistent symptoms of increased arousal (not present before the trauma) as indicated by at least two of the following: 1. difficulty falling or staying asleep; 2. irritability or outbursts of anger; 3. difficulty concentrating; 4. hypervigilance; 5. exaggerated startle response.

E. The symptoms on Criteria B, C and D last for more than one month.

F. The disturbance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

It seems that Complex PTSD can potentially arise from any prolonged period of negative stress in which certain factors are present, which may include any of captivity, lack of means of escape, entrapment, repeated violation of boundaries, betrayal, rejection, bewilderment, confusion, and - crucially - lack of control, loss of control and disempowerment. It is the overwhelming nature of the events and the inability (helplessness, lack of knowledge, lack of support etc.) of the person trying to deal with those events that leads to the development of Complex PTSD. Situations which might give rise to Complex PTSD include bullying, harassment, abuse, domestic violence, stalking, long-term caring for a disabled relative, unresolved grief, exam stress over a period of years, mounting debt, contact experience, etc. Those working in regular traumatic situations, e.g. the emergency services, are also prone to developing Complex PTSD.

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A key feature of Complex PTSD is the aspect of captivity. The individual experiencing trauma by degree is unable to escape the situation. Despite some people's assertions to the contrary, situations of domestic abuse and workplace abuse can be extremely difficult to get out of. In the latter case, there are several reasons, including financial vulnerability (especially if you're a single parent or main breadwinner - the rate of marital breakdown is approaching 50% in the UK), unavailability of jobs, ageism (many people who are bullied are over 40), partner unable to move, and kids settled in school and you are unable or unwilling to move them. The real killer, though, is being unable to get a job reference - the bully will go to great lengths to blacken the person's name, often for years, and it is this lack of reference more than anything else which prevents people escaping. Covert abuse can and does affect anyone, especially in the corporate world.

The DSM-5 has shuffled the deck and moved

PTSD out of the anxiety

disorders section, as in DSM-IV, and into a newly created section, traumaand stress-related disorders. PTSD now keeps company with acute stress disorder, reactive attachment disorder, disinhibited social engagement disorder, all the adjustment disorders, other specified trauma- and stressor-related disorder, and unspecified trauma- and stressor-related disorder.

The health effects of bullying with PTSD and Complex PTSD Repeated bullying, often over a period of years, results in symptoms of Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

How do the PTSD symptoms resulting from bullying, meet the criteria in DSM-IV? A.1 The prolonged (chronic) negative stress resulting from bullying has led to threat of loss of job, career, health, livelihood, often also resulting in threat to marriage and family life. The family are the unseen victims of bullying.

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A.2 One of the key symptoms of prolonged negative stress is reactive depression; this causes the balance of the mind to be disturbed, leading first to thoughts of, then attempts at, and ultimately, suicide.

A.3 The target of bullying may be unaware that they are being bullied, and even when they do realise (there's usually a moment of enlightenment as the person realises that the criticisms and tactics of control etc. are invalid), they often cannot bring themselves to believe they are dealing with a disordered personality who lacks a conscience and does not share the same moral values as themselves. Naivety is the great enemy. The target of bullying is bewildered, confused, frightened, angry - and after enlightenment, very angry.

B.1The target of bullying experiences regular intrusive violent visualisations and replays of events and conversations; often, the endings of these replays are altered in favour of the target.

B.2 Sleeplessness, nightmares and replays are a common feature of being bullied.

B.3 The events are constantly relived; night-time and sleep do not bring relief as it becomes impossible to switch the brain off. Such sleep as is achieved is non-restorative and people wake up as tired, and often more tired, than when they went to bed.

B.4 Fear, horror, chronic anxiety, and panic attacks are triggered by any reminder of the experience, e.g. receiving threatening letters from the bully, the employer, or personnel about disciplinary hearings etc.

B.5 Panic attacks, palpitations, sweating, trembling, ditto.

Criteria B4 and B5 manifest themselves as immediate physical and mental paralysis in response to any reminder of the bullying or prospect of having to take action against the bully.

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C. Physical numbness (toes, fingertips, lips) is common, as is emotional numbness (especially inability to feel joy). Sufferers report that their spark has gone out and, even years later, find they just cannot get motivated about anything.

C.1. The target of bullying tries harder and harder to avoid saying or doing anything which reminds them of the horror of the bullying.

C.2. Work, especially in the person's chosen field becomes difficult, often impossible, to undertake; the place of work holds such horrific memories that it becomes impossible to set foot on the premises; many targets of bullying avoid the street where the workplace is located.

C.3. Almost all callers to the UK National Workplace Bullying Advice Line report impaired memory; this may be partly due to suppressing horrific memories, and partly due to damage to the hippocampus, an area of the brain linked to learning and memory.

C.4. the person becomes obsessed with resolving the bullying experience which takes over their life, eclipsing and excluding almost every other interest.

C.5. Feelings of withdrawal and isolation are common; the person just wants to be on their own and solitude is sought.

C.6. Emotional numbness, including inability to feel joy (anhedonia) and deadening of loving feelings towards others are commonly reported. One fears never being able to feel love again.

C.7. The target of bullying becomes very gloomy and senses a foreshortened career usually with justification. Many targets of bullying ultimately give up their career; in the professions, severe psychiatric injury, severely impaired health, refusal by the bully and the employer to give a satisfactory reference, and many other reasons, conspire to bar the person from continuance in their chosen career.

D.1. Sleep becomes almost impossible, despite the constant fatigue; such sleep as is obtained tends to be unsatisfying, un-refreshing and non-restorative. On waking, the

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person often feels more tired than when they went to bed. Depressive feelings are worst early in the morning. Feelings of vulnerability may be heightened overnight.

D.2. The person has an extremely short fuse and is often permanently irritated, especially by small insignificant events. The person frequently visualizes a violent solution, e.g. arranging an accident for, or murdering the bully; the resultant feelings of guilt tend to hinder progress in recovery.

D.3. Concentration is impaired to the point of precluding preparation for legal action, study, work, or search for work.

D.4. The person is on constant alert because their fight or flight mechanism has become permanently activated.

D.5. The person has become hypersensitized and now unwittingly and inappropriately perceives almost any remark as critical.

E. Recovery from a bullying experience is measured in years. Some people never fully recover.

F. For many, social life ceases and work becomes impossible; the overwhelming need to earn a living combined with the inability to work deepens the trauma.

Emotional and psychological trauma is the result of extraordinarily stressful events that shatter your sense of security, making you feel helpless and vulnerable in a dangerous world. Traumatic experiences often involve a threat to life or safety, but any situation that leaves you feeling overwhelmed and alone can be traumatic, even if it doesn’t involve physical harm.

A stressful event is most likely to be traumatic if: • It happened unexpectedly.

• You were unprepared for it.

• You felt powerless to prevent it.

• It happened repeatedly.

• Someone was intentionally cruel.

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• It happened in childhood

Childhood trauma increases the risk of future trauma.

Traumatic experiences in childhood can have a severe and long-lasting effect. Children who have been traumatized see the world as a frightening and dangerous place. When childhood trauma is not resolved, this fundamental sense of fear and helplessness carries over into adulthood, setting the stage for further trauma.

Childhood trauma results from anything that disrupts a child’s sense of safety and security, including: • An unstable or unsafe environment • Separation from a parent • Serious illness • Intrusive medical procedures • Sexual, physical, or verbal abuse • Domestic violence • Neglect • Bullying

Common symptoms of PTSD and Complex PTSD that sufferers report experiencing •hyper-vigilance (may feel like paranoia?)

•exaggerated startled response.

•irritability, sudden angry or violent outbursts •flashbacks, nightmares, intrusive recollections, replays, violent visualisations •sleep disturbance, exhaustion, and chronic fatigue. Reactive depression

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•guilt, feelings of detachment, avoidance behaviours, nervousness, anxiety, phobias about specific daily routines, events, or objects •irrational or impulsive behaviour •loss of interest •loss of ambition •anhedonia (inability to feel joy and pleasure) •poor concentration, impaired memory •joint pains, muscle pains •emotional numbness •physical numbness •low self-esteem •an overwhelming sense of injustice and a strong desire to do something about it

Associated symptoms of Complex PTSD Survivor guilt: survivors of disasters often experience abnormally high levels of guilt for having survived, especially when others - including family, friends or fellow passengers - have died. Survivor guilt manifests itself in a feeling of "I should have died too". In bullying, levels of guilt are also abnormally raised.

The survivor of workplace bullying may have developed an intense albeit unrealistic, desire to work with their employer (or, by now, their former employer) to eliminate bullying from their workplace. Many survivors of bullying cannot gain further employment and are thus forced into self-employment; excessive guilt may then preclude the individual from negotiating fair rates of remuneration, or asking for money for services rendered. The person may also find themselves being abnormally and inappropriately generous and giving, in business and other situations.

Shame, embarrassment, guilt, and fear are encouraged by the bully, for this is how all abusers - including child sex abusers - control and silence their victims.

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Marital disharmony: the target of bullying becomes obsessed with understanding and resolving what is happening and the experience takes over their life; partners become confused, irritated, bewildered, frightened and angry; separation and divorce are common outcomes.

Breakdown: The word "breakdown" is often used to describe the mental collapse of someone who has been under intolerable strain. There is usually an (inappropriate) inference of "mental illness". All these are lay terms and mean different things to different people. I define two types of breakdown: A. Nervous breakdown or mental breakdown is a consequence of

mental

illness. This is a psychiatric trauma and would need psychiatric treatment.

B. Stress breakdown is a psychiatric injury, which is a normal reaction to an abnormal situation. Stress breakdown is a

psychological injury, needing

a different type of treatment therapy to the former.

Because results from the DSM-IV Field Trials indicated that 92% of individuals with Complex PTSD/DESNOS also met diagnostic criteria for PTSD, Complex PTSD was not added as a separate diagnosis classification because it is intended to be labelled under the general term PTSD. However, cases that involve prolonged, repeated trauma may indicate a need for special treatment considerations.

What types of trauma are associated with Complex PTSD? During long-term traumas, the victim is generally held in a state of captivity, physically or emotionally, (Herman 1997). In these situations, the victim is under the control of the perpetrator and unable to get away from the danger.

Examples of such traumatic situations include:

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•

Concentration camps

•

Prisoner of War camps

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•

Prostitution brothels

•

Long-term domestic violence

•

Long-term child physical abuse

•

Long-term child sexual abuse

•

Organized child exploitation rings

An individual who experienced a prolonged period (months to years) of chronic victimization and total control by another may also experience the following difficulties:

Emotional Regulation. May include persistent sadness, suicidal thoughts, explosive anger, or inhibited anger

Consciousness. Includes forgetting traumatic events, reliving traumatic events, or having episodes in which one feels detached from one's mental processes or body (dissociation).

Self-Perception. May include helplessness, shame, guilt, stigma, and a sense of being completely different from other human beings

Distorted Perceptions of the Perpetrator. Examples include attributing total power to the perpetrator, becoming preoccupied with the relationship to the perpetrator, or preoccupied with revenge

Relations with Others. Examples include isolation, distrust, or a repeated search for a rescuer

One's System of Meanings. May include a loss of sustaining faith or a sense of hopelessness and despair Because people who experience chronic trauma often have additional symptoms not included in the PTSD diagnosis, clinicians may misdiagnose PTSD or only diagnose a personality disorder consistent with some symptoms, such as Borderline, Dependent, or Unstable Personality Disorder. Care should be taken during assessment

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to understand whether symptoms are characteristic of PTSD or if the survivor has cooccurring PTSD and personality disorder. Clinicians should assess for PTSD specifically, keeping in mind that chronic trauma survivors may experience any of the following difficulties: •Survivors may avoid thinking and talking about trauma-related topics because the feelings associated with the trauma are often overwhelming.

•Survivors may use alcohol or other substances as a way to avoid and numb feelings and thoughts related to the trauma.

•Survivors may engage in self-mutilation and other forms of self-harm.

•Survivors who have been abused repeatedly are sometimes mistaken as having a weak character or are unjustly blamed for the symptoms they experience as a result of victimization.

Treatment for Complex PTSD Standard evidence-based treatments for PTSD are effective for treating PTSD that occurs following chronic trauma. At the same time, treating Complex PTSD often involves addressing interpersonal difficulties and the specific symptoms mentioned above. Dr. Herman contends that recovery from Complex PTSD requires restoration of control and power for the traumatized person. Survivors can become empowered by healing relationships which create safety, allow for remembrance and mourning, and promote reconnection with everyday life.

Emotionally Abusive Behaviours The following are all behaviours a partner may experience from an emotionally abusive partner.

Withholding – Withholding love, affection, empathy, and intimacy.

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Countering – This is when the partner expresses a thought and the abuser immediately counters that view with his/her own without really listening to or considering it.

Discounting – When the abuser discounts the partner’s views or thoughts, tells the partner those ideas are insignificant, incorrect, or stupid. The abuser may even discount the partner’s memory about the abuse itself.

Blocking and diverting – When the partner wants to discuss a concern, the abuser changes the subject and prevents any discussion and resolution.

Accusing and blaming – The abuser will accuse the partner of some offence. The abuser may well know the partner is innocent of the supposed offence, but this tactic serves the purpose of putting the partner on the defensive rather than seeing clearly the behaviour of the abuser.

Judging and criticizing – This serves to weaken the partner’s self-esteem and increases their looking to the abuser for validation.

Trivializing – This is when the abuser minimizes something that is important to the partner, such as a concern about something the abuser has done.

Undermining – When the partner wants to do something positive in her/his life, the abuser becomes threatened and tries to stop the partner. It may be an overt command, or it may be trying to subtly convince the partner why it’s a bad idea.

Threatening – This can include threats of divorce, of leaving, of abuse, or other threats of actions that would hurt (not necessarily physically) the partner or someone the partner cares about. (Family, friends and pets) Forgetting – This includes the abuser ‘forgetting’ about incidents of abuse', which undermines the partner’s reality. The abuser may also ‘forget’ about things that they know are very important to their partner.

Ordering – Treating the partner as a child or a slave; denying the independence of the partner.

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Denial – Similar to discounting, although here the abuser outright denies his/her actions. This discounts the reality of the partner.

Abusive Anger – When the abuser becomes enraged to the point of frightening the partner. This rage often is caused by incidents that a non-abuser would consider insignificant.

The psychological term- Stockholm syndrome Stockholm syndrome is a term used by Psychologists who have studied the syndrome.

They believe that the bond is initially created when a captor threatens a captive’s life, deliberates, and then chooses not to kill the captive. The captive’s relief at the removal of the death threat is transposed into feelings of gratitude toward the captor for giving him or her life. As the Stockholm bank robbery incident proves, it takes only a few days for this bond to cement, proving that, early on, the victim’s desire to survive trumps the urge to hate the person who created the situation.

The name of the syndrome is derived from a botched bank robbery in Stockholm Sweden In August 1973, four employees of Sveriges Kreditbank were held hostage in the bank’s vault for six days. During the standoff, a seemingly incongruous bond developed between captive and captor. One hostage, during a telephone call with Swedish Prime Minister Olaf Palme, stated that she fully trusted her captors but feared that she would die in a police assault on the building.

So, in the case of the Stockholm syndrome a normal adult may experience an ironic attachment to an abuser through the sequence of terror, isolation, infantilization, denial, gratitude and attachment. Love is felt by some. A battered wife might love for similar reasons.

Or, a battered wife might love her spouse because she was trained from infancy to love an abusive parent - that is, to equate love with the intimate enduring dependence on the person who provides life's necessities and who also hits and hurts. (Operant conditioning from care givers) A little like the carrot and the stick approach!

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Or, the battered wife might love her spouse because relief from punishment is so rewarding that she has learned to savour this feeling while denying the pain of physical abuse. (Compartmentalising and cognitive dissonance) Or, she might love qualities that are lovable and suppress any outrage in response to behaviours that are cruel. (Denial!)

Love is notoriously irrational, complex and paradoxical. To regard all love in abusive relationships as the only product of abuse is unhelpful and untrue.

One of the alternative explanations to Stockholm syndrome is transference.

Transference occurs when a person forms an unconscious attachment bond that displaces feelings and attitudes from the past, which can be positive and/or negative, into an existing mental scheme and onto an authority figure (Gelso, Palma, & Bhatia, 2013). Transference explains the initial imaginary and misdirected emotional attachment towards captors, but it usually takes place under safer conditions. Survival instinct may explain why the hostages are cooperative in the beginning when they fear for their lives, but it does not explain why, when given a chance of safety and freedom they chose to stay with their captors (De Fabrique et al 2007; Persaud & Bruggen, 2013).

This can be explained as learned helplessness, which is when one is exposed to events out of their control and learns that their behaviour does not affect the outcome (Maier & Seligman, 1976). The hostages express learned helplessness by the means of just giving up, believing that there is no point of even trying to get away. Depending on how much the captor is manipulating the captivee, with threats such as violence, further abuse or even abandonment. The captivee believes they are at fault and need the captor to ensure their survival and safely.

The safety behaviours that people express when under extreme pressure or held in captivity can range from bizarre to outright insanity.

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The original blueprint to ensure the captives compliance or instructions, is led by, the inner wound and associated fear. e.g., a fear of abandonment could keep a captive, unknowingly attached to a person who overwhelms their psyche, accepting all forms of degradation and debasement, depending on the original trauma or inner child injury that was created. A child who experienced sexual abuse may attach to an abuser due to the damage of their inner child and psyche. An abuser will use this tragic experience to further demoralize the victim, (damaged goods, self-worth will be heavily undermined) which forms the stronghold to the dysfunctional trauma bond.

For those who were too damaged and traumatized, the cycle repeats itself!

Approximately 4% of men and 7% of women are thought to have some form of antisocial personality disorder according to the DSM-IV. Personality is constructed through our childhoods, psychology begins when the mind is able to split and discover that there is good and evil in themselves and in the world.

Inner child wounds are created from times where as children, we were neglected, abandoned, rejected, ridiculed, vilified, or abused. The traumatic event, decides how it will respond and cope with such an injury to the ego. The trauma is either identified or resolved, such as a child falls over and hurts their knee, they cry, their mother nurses their pain and they feel better.

However, an emotional injury, such as being scolded in front of the class for saying something cheeky or defying your parent’s commands, also creates an injury. This injury, if left alone, will be processed and stored, according to the age and ability of the child. Thus, a four-year-old child will feel a different response as opposed to a teenager experiencing the same incident. The trauma is recorded, as are all experiences and stored to memory.

The younger the child, when the original trauma was experienced, the deeper the psychology! Such as what age they experienced the emotional wound, thus, as a preteen boy who was physically beaten by his father. The father will try to justify his behaviour as discipline, his child needed to be taught discipline and the father does not like disobedience, the child will record the incident as dangerous, unsafe and feel a

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huge loss of control, even though it wasn’t their own self-control that was lost, by observing the incident, you can see that the child was helpless, maybe they did get cheeky, but did they deserve to be beaten for their words? Did they deserve to be raped because they said they didn’t want to do those things? Did the child deserve fear induced conditioning!

The truths is, the adult is responsible for the child’s welfare and failed to model and demonstrate appropriate behaviour? A child will process this event as bad, they will then vow to themselves that no-one will ever hurt them again and this resolve shuts down their emotional capacity. The anger at the original trauma develops into a complex wound. The anger and rage they feel against the injustice of the beating or rape, fuels the fire within. Being a defenseless child, they are forced to suppress their anger and their voice. Eventually, shutting down all emotional fields of empathy and compassion, this is how we create a core narcissistic wound – loss of control. This is the foundation to abuse and bullying behaviour for those who don't possess a moral conscience. For those who do have a moral conscience, they tend to be re-victimized and re-traumatized, due to holding it all in as there was nobody they could turn to, to help them process the damage, therefore, the experience is repressed and accepted, as normal behaviour. Because their own assumption or alternative theory, is that they deserved to be abused because THEY internally believe (because of societies relentless prejudice to victim blaming and shaming) they are not good enough!

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Washington, DC: Author.

Cantor, C., & Price, J. (2007). Traumatic entrapment, appeasement and complex post-traumatic stress disorder: Evolutionary perspectives of hostage reactions, domestic abuse and the Stockholm syndrome.

Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 41(5), 377-384. doi: 10.1080/00048670701261178 Cloitre, M., Garvert, D., Brewin, C., Bryant, R., & Maercker, A. (2013). Evidence for proposed ICD-11 PTSD and complex PTSD: a latent profile analysis. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 4, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/ejpt.v4i0.20706 Davidson, C., Hanson, H., & Spanggaard, M. (2010, October). In Stephen Billick (Chair). PTSD in DSM-5: A better fit for Stockholm syndrome?. Poster presentation delivered at the 41st annual meeting of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. Tuscon, Arizona Retrieved from http://www.aapl.org/docs/Final Program 2010.pdf De Fabrique, N., Romano, S., Vecchi, G., & Van Hasselt, V. (2007). Understanding Stockholm syndrome.

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Herman, J. (1997). Trauma and recovery: The aftermath of violence from domestic abuse to political terror. New York: Basic Books.

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