PASS – Prolonged Adaptation Stress Syndrome and ADD/ADHD Attention Deficit
Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
I don’t want to reiterate and confuse the clearly presented material in
Katherine Benziger’s articles but I do want to emphasize the significance of the
identification of this “syndrome”. The desire and preoccupation with self
destructive behaviors such as drug use, consumption of stimulants (why is coffee
the most consumed drug worldwide?), dangerous sexual promiscuity, psychological
abuse of food, etc. can be attributed largely to this syndrome.
It’s my belief that if Dr. Benziger’s
techniques were adopted and enhanced it would lead to a cultural renaissance
unparalleled in human history. Of
course this would completely disrupt the current unhealthy social order,
schools, and daily work/behavior patterns of nearly every person. Click
for
other articles authored or co-authored by Dr. Benziger.
Here is an excerpt from one.
LEVERAGING YOUR STRENGTHS
From the perspective of brain dominance know thy self and to thine own self be
true can be translated as: leverage your natural preference. The best and
surest way to do this is to energize or "charge" yourself by starting each day
over center using your natural lead, in a context that suits your
extraversion/introversion.
Not surprisingly, different people need to engage in very different, highly
specific activities to insure this self-charging.
A person with a natural preference in the Basal Left mode will be energized by
attending to something that allows him to think/act in a proceduralized manner
sequencing, organizing things that lend themselves to being sequenced; or by
using well organized materials.
A person with a natural preference m the Basal Right mode will be energized by
attending to something that allows him to focus on the presence or absence of
harmony and act to maximize the authentic sense of connection and harmony
between people and voices, instruments and / or colors in the environment.
...
REDESIGNING TASKS
Generally speaking there are two types of redesign
possible: formal and informal. When your evaluation of your job
has revealed that the fit between your preferences and the tasks you are
expected to perform is poor, it is often a good idea to consider a formal
redesign such as a job or career change.
ADD/ADHD
I argue later that the cognitive functions relate directly to our environment as
humans. Human’s who live in an environment that is as functionally diverse with
changes as frequent as a “natural” environment are psychically healthier than
individuals who live in cities and create “artificial” environments that cause
over-development of specific functions and starvation of others. The long term
consequences are detailed well in her research. If we lived in a world that
accommodated our personal cognitive needs we would not have the dysfunctional
society we have today. We would not have a culture that medicates children with
Schedule II psychoactive drugs because they showed a preference for a different
environment than other children. See the following sites regarding ADD/ADHD:
http://www.borntoexplore.org/gifted.htm
http://borntoexplore.org/addtemp.htm
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/medicating/
http://www.breggin.com/ritalin.html
http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2000/09/25/medicate/
http://www.cnn.com/2000/HEALTH/children/03/20/kids.drugs/
Despite the disclaimer on the
Addtemp page, I do believe that children with
Extroverted Intuition are far more likely to be diagnosed with ADD (i.e. type 1
“inattentive”) than other
children (INFP, ENTP, INTP and ENFP). The dominant US cultural “type” has been
determined to be ESTJ (most all schools in the US reinforce xSTJ learning and
thinking). ESTJ and INFP are considered temperamental opposites.
Here is a quote from the book "The Pathfinder" by Nicholas Lore describing INFP
“The Healer”. This quote was found on
http://borntoexplore.org/addtemp.htm
"(By far the most likely type to identify themselves as ADD, considering
they are only 1% of the population): Idealistic, warm, caring, creative,
imaginative, original, artistic, perceptive, supportive, empathetic,
cooperative, facilitative, compassionate, responsive, sensitive, gentle,
tenderhearted, devoted, loyal, virtuous, self-critical, perfectionist,
self-sacrificing, deep, multifaceted, daydreamer, persistent, determined,
hard-working, improviser, initiator of new projects and possibilities, agents
of change.”
Who needs such people? This appears to be the personality that most desires
to make others happy. Is it any wonder that they are among the easiest to
psychologically victimize? This is a somewhat complicated issue as there is far
more going on here then just ignorance. For a more detailed explanation
please read my
Earth page here is an excerpt.
So, if one considers the defining attributes of the cognitive
functions in each attitude, the neuro-physiological basis for differentiation,
the variability in an individual’s RAS, the various levels of utilization and
development of each function which forms the individuals working cognitive
matrix, and the evidence of unexplained accelerating IQ then one can see the
patterns that emerge in the behaviors for each of the ‘disorders’ I identified.
I think most of the subjects diagnosed with Asperger Disorder (Syndrome) would
be found to have a 100% more efficient Introverted Thinking (Ti) function and
consequently an extremely underdeveloped Feeling (subjective reasoning)
function. On the flip-side I think many of those diagnosed with Social Anxiety
Disorder are likely to be found to be Introverted Feeling (Fi) dominant and thus
a poorly developed objective Thinking (objective reasoning) function. Additional
support for this theory can be found in the success of Cognitive Behavior
Therapy (CPT).
The fact that Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder ADD/ADHD entails a variety of qualifying behaviors is
evidence itself that those who define the ‘disorder’ really don’t know what they
are dealing with. They have drugs that placate ‘unruly’ children so they have
tried to discern common behavioral patterns. The pattern I see between the type
1 “inattentive” children and the type 2 “hyperactive” children lead me to
believe that the differences are dominated by extroverted perceiving
differences. That is, I think the type 1 children are most likely to be Ne
dominant and the type two kids Se dominant. Evidence of this can be found if the
children are evaluated on a Jungian basis as evidenced by the “Born to Explore”
argument that many of these children excel in similar areas.
Here are some posts I have recently contributed to Yahoo! online Bulletin
Boards.
 "I can ask him to go outside and get
the paper, 15 minutes later I go to find him and he is looking at a bug in the
grass. When you ask him where's the paper, he looks at you like what are you
talking about, and then you see the light dawn in his eyes and he says, oh yeah,
I forgot."
- Parent on Yahoo! message board describing his
son
From your description your son sounds like a wonderful and
normal child. ‘Normal’ after you understand that children are not
identical copies of each other and that there is beauty and strength in our
diversity.
Experts: Introverted youth have deep roots for behavior
By Janie Magruder, Gannett News ServiceMon Nov 28, 2005
The attitude that there's something wrong with introverted people is widely
shared in society, where fast talk and snap decisions are often valued over
listening, deliberation and careful planning. Extroverts seem to rule the world
or, at least, the USA, which hasn't elected an introverted president for three
decades, since Jimmy Carter.
"The signals we get from the world agree that extroversion is valued," says
Sanford Cohn, an associate professor in curriculum and instruction at Arizona
State University. "A lot of the messages we get from society have to do with
being social, and in order to be social you have to behave a certain way."
But that is impossible for introverted kids. Raising them isn't easy,
particularly if parents, family members, teachers, coaches and other adults
don't allow them to be who they are.
Introverted children enjoy the internal world of thoughts, feelings and
fantasies, and there's a physiological reason for this. Researchers using brain
scans have found introverts have more brain activity in general, and
specifically in the frontal lobes. When these areas are activated, introverts
are energized by retrieving long-term memories, problem solving, introspection,
complex thinking and planning.
Extroverts enjoy the external world of things, people and activities. They have
more activity in brain areas involved in processing the sensory information
we're bombarded with daily. Because extroverts have less internally generated
brain activity, they search for more external stimuli to energize them.
"It's the different pathways that are turned on that activate the behaviors and
abilities we see in introverts and extroverts," says Marti Olsen Laney, a
neuroscience researcher and author in Portland, Ore., who is credited with
connecting introversion with its underlying biology. "It impacts all areas of
their lives: how they process information, how they restore their energy, what
they enjoy and how they communicate."
Introverted children need time alone more than do extroverted children, says
Laney, whose book, The Hidden Gifts of the Introverted Child, is due in January.
"Extroverts gain energy by being out and about," but "being with people takes
energy from introverts, and they need to get away to restore that energy."
Laney says introverted kids also behave differently.
They're not slow, inattentive or shy. Shyness is behavior that may diminish as
children grow; introversion is a character trait that lasts.
Looking at our minds from an evolutionary perspective of
millions of years please consider how dysfunctional and unnatural our modern
lives are. Regardless of the ability to do so, neither the human animal nor the human mind evolved to process chalk
on a blackboard.
The Natural Born
Scientist: Is there an ADD Connection?
I've added this section because of the number of people who have written to
me who were scientists and engineers, and also ADD. There are many interesting connections
between ADD traits and the make-up of a good research scientist. The
"absent-minded professor" isn't just a cliche. Of course, several of our most
famous inventors and scientists are believed to have been ADD (Edison, Tesla,
Franklin, Einstein).
Just say yes to Ritalin!
Parents are being pressured by schools to medicate their kids -- or else.
By Lawrence H. Diller, M.D.
September 25, 2000
“As a doctor with a practice in behavioral pediatrics -- and one who
prescribes Ritalin for children -- I am alarmed by the widespread and knee-jerk
reliance on pharmaceuticals by educators, who do not always explore fully the
other options available to deal with learning and behavioral problems in their
classrooms. …”
Government raising caution on use of psychiatric drugs among preschoolers
WASHINGTON (CNN), 2001 -- ...Citing a recent report in the Journal of
the American Medical Association, Mrs. Clinton said that from 1991 to 1995,
use
of Ritalin among U.S. preschoolers increased 150 percent and antidepressants
like Prozac went up more than 200 percent.
...
Attention deficit disorder, or ADD, usually is diagnosed in school-age children
based on interviews and observed behavior.
Symptoms of ADD include the restless inability to sit still to read, study or
even watch television. Often a child cannot play in group games, and a common
symptom is the inability to control impulses. Some mild forms of these symptoms
are common in many children, leading experts to worry that ADD is diagnosed too
often.
"When you ask him where's the
paper, he looks at you like what are you talking about, and then you see the
light dawn in his eyes and he says, oh yeah, I forgot. So the problem does
exist, the drug does help, and if it wasn't for the drug, he wouldn't be where
he is in school today."
- Parent on Yahoo! message board describing his
son
If you were to say to the grown-ups: "I saw a beautiful house made of rosy
brick, with geraniums in the windows and doves on the roof," they would not be
able to get any idea of that house at all. You would have to say to them: "I saw
a house that cost $20,000." Then they would exclaim: "Oh, what a pretty house
that is!"
Just so, you might say to them: "The proof that the little prince existed is
that he was charming, that he laughed, and that he was looking for a sheep. If
anybody wants a sheep, that is a proof that he exists." And what good would it
do to tell them that? They would shrug their shoulders, and treat you like a
child. But if you said to them: "The planet he came from is Asteroid B-612,"
then they would be convinced, and leave you in peace from their questions.
They are like that. One must not hold it against them. Children should always
show great forbearance toward grown-up people.
-
The Little Prince, written and illustrated by Antoine de Saint Exupéry,
translated from the French by Katherine Woods, Chapter 4
While I have a complex hypothesis for how a child’s
cognitive preferences are determined during gestation it needs a lot more work
and research to be able to predict or determine a preferred function.
Regardless, I suggest parents (everyone) learn about the fundamental differences
between people and how those differences are manifest in children's behaviors.
To that end my I suggest the following book;
“Nuture by Nature – Understand Your Child’s Personality Type – And Become a
Better Parent”
by Paul D. Tieger & Barbara Barron-Tieger. They provide insight and suggestions for all 16 types. They divide the
comments by age,
Preschool - Birth to Age 4
School-Aged - Age 5 to 10
Adolescent - Age 11 to 16.
The book starts with the following wonderful and insightful poem,
"Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even
in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with
His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is
stable."
- The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
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