TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS
Today’s post is excerpted from CHAPTER THIRTEEN of the book "The Child Ignorance Stage" or "The Child No-Knowing State," that chapter entitled “The Depressive Personality Disorder, the Histrionic Personality Disorder, and the Factitious Personality Disorder.”
Earlier, details were offered regarding the Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder which always manifests alongside the Addictive Personality Disorder, driving the mind to obsess about one thing over and over and over until that obsessing eventually leads to compulsive (that is, irrational and uncontrollable and neurotic and even psychotic) behavior.
Today, and during the coming days, details will be offered regarding other disorders which persons should be aware of in order not only to spot them and address them but also to eliminate them and end their control over one's every thought and every word and every action. The key here is the word which all disorders share in common, namely, “personality.”
The sages for ages have warned persons to avoid the assignment or assumption of personality identifications because they are the prerequisite for the development of personality disorders; personality disorders, in turn, are the prerequisite for the development of neuroses and psychoses (that is, for one of the three key symptoms of the Ultimate Sickness (insanity). All there of those key symptoms, as identified by Maharaj, include "ignorance" and "stupidity" as well as "insanity," he said).
Once Maharaj came to see that the Ultimate Sickness is not about persons believing in too little religious dogma and obsessing too little over religious dogma, and once he came to see that the Ultimate Sickness is not about persons having a “spiritual malady” or a "sick spirit" or an "unwell or impure soul," then the way was paved for him to see clearly that the actual roots of the Ultimate Sickness are psychological, are mental, in their nature.
That clarity also affirmed a key point of the ancient, non-dual teachings regarding the role played by personality identifications which generate mental health issues.
It has been shown that, by returning to "The Child Ignorance Stage" or the "Child No-Knowing State" and discarding all identification with personality or ego-states, there can also be an elimination of the use of ego-defense mechanisms.
Elimination of the use of ego-defense mechanisms, in turn, eliminates the relative scourge of egotism and frees one from (a) self-absorption and selfishness and from (b) all of the game-playing associated with trying to maintain an image by using denial and rationalization and excuse-making and projection and upgrading and downgrading and dissociating and from (c) seeking the impossible goal of thought-suppression in an effort to try to still the anxiety-creating-and-worry-provoking-and-peace-disturbing "mind."
It has also been shown that, by returning to "The Child Ignorance Stage" or the "Child No-Knowing State" and discarding all identification with personality eliminates the possibility of suffering from personality disorders which can develop beyond disorders and into neuroses and psychoses and full-blown insanity. The heavy toll of being trapped in the Narcissistic / God Complex Personality Disorder or in the Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder has been shown, including not only the toll on one's own relative existence but also the toll on the relative existence of those dealing with persons trapped in those disorders.
Next, consider these additional relative results of not returning to "The Child Ignorance Stage" or the "Child No-Knowing State" but remaining trapped instead in personality and the subsequent disorders and effects that personality assumption can generate:
THE DEPRESSIVE PERSONALITY DISORDER
To be trapped in the Depressive Personality Disorder is to suffer from feelings of dejection, joylessness, a sense of inadequacy and worthlessness, brooding or worry, and a sense of remorse and / or guilt. Also, one suffering from this personality disorder often feels highly anxious, hopeless, fearful, tense, irritable, and / or angry for no apparent reason.
Other symptoms can include sleep and appetite disruption (involving too much or too little of either or both), fatigue, apathy and its accompanying loss of interest in activities, and a sense of hopelessness. The disorder might be clinical or situational or might even have a chemical component, but it is still rooted in (and / or aggravated by) personality assumption, appearing most frequently in those with one of three personality types, specifically:
1. "The Helper / Savior / Rescuer Type,"
2. "The Performer / Actor / Achiever / Image-Maker Type," and
3. "The Romantic / Mental Escapist / Individualist Type."
THE HISTRIONIC PERSONALITY DISORDER
The word "histrionic" means "dramatic" or "theatrical." Those with the Histrionic Personality Disorder suffer from extreme intensity and display unstable emotions and are often emotionally-intoxicated. They have distorted self-images, blocking them from even seeking - much less finding - authenticity. They are second only to "The Performer / Actor / Achiever / Image-Maker Types" in terms of being most likely to support the false and avoid reality and facts.
[A wife who is trapped in an extreme degree of this disorder is in a "relationship" with a naive and delusional Personality Type Three husband (Type Threes being the kings and queens of spin and self-deception); thus, he spins the truth about her mental condition and cannot see that her unchecked, hysterical laughter (which comes when she is in the manic phase of her manic-depressive disorder and when she is being especially impressed with herself) is driven by her histrionic disorder and is not actually evidence at all of what he calls "her cheery self."]
The histrionic types seek esteem and the approval of others, so they are often dependent types. As with those assuming the persona of "The Performer / Actor / Achiever / Image-Maker," those with the Histrionic Personality Disorder have an overwhelming desire to be noticed and often behave dramatically or inappropriately in order to get attention. They are always - if in their manic cycle - "on stage." (What is it like for those living with these types? Well, some might enjoy going to the theater and watching a two-hour play on occasion, but to be trapped in a theater and to have to watch plays continuously, 24 / 7, might not be so entertaining in the long haul.)
They might appear to have developed social skills, but they use those skills to manipulate others so that they can be the center of attention (being quite uncomfortable unless everyone's attention is focused on them); thus, they will act in overly-dramatic ways while claiming that they are just "enthusiastic" or "passionate" rather than admitting that they are fanatical and overly-emotional and unstable and lacking sincerity.
They become quite needy and constantly seek reassurance or approval; they are excessively sensitive to criticism or disapproval; they are often bored and skip about from one event to another; they have a low tolerance for frustration; and they often begin projects without finishing them. They are the most talkative of all of the basic personality types, trying constantly to keep the focus on themselves and trying constantly to impress in order to gain huge quantities of the love in an effort to compensate for the love they did not receive during childhood from an absentee or unavailable father. They seldom see that their incessant chatter eventually begins to have the reverse effect of driving people away from them.
They make rash decisions and are so self-centered that they rarely show real concern for others even though they often put "helping others" ahead of taking care of themselves. The fact is, though, that their helping and rescuing is never altruistic but has the ulterior motive of trying to entice more and more people to like them or love them. Their selfish motives behind what might appear at first to be self-less service eventually exposes their shallowness and phoniness to the more discerning types.
THE FACTITIOUS PERSONALITY DISORDER
Those with the Histrionic Personality Disorder can also show evidence of the Factitious Personality Disorder, but the two do not necessarily manifest in tandem. Because the "mind" in a collection of fiction, and because personality is fictional, then all personality disorders are also "mind"-based and therefore involve distortions and delusions and illusions and lies and bogus ideas and concepts (all of which make up persons' belief systems).
The name "factitious" comes from the Latin word for "artificial." As with all personality disorders, the Factitious Personality Disorder is rooted in artificiality rather than in authenticity. With this mental disorder, persons act as if they have a physical sickness or a mental illness when, in fact, they have consciously created their symptoms (often to gain attention).
Initially, a child might begin to feign illness after observing that harsh or cold and unfeeling parents were suddenly kind and caring during times when the child was actually sick. The child becomes conditioned to believe that there is a payoff for being sick and that there is even a payoff if one is not sick but appears to be. They come to enjoy the attention they receive if seemingly ill, and they come to like it when the focus is on them.
The effort to appear ill and receive nurturing will increase, and can manifest in more drastic ways as the disorder worsens, so some people with the factitious disorder will deliberately create or exaggerate symptoms of an illness by lying about or faking symptoms and, in extreme cases, by hurting themselves to bring on symptoms (including cutting, overdosing, or taking other actions that are even more harmful).
Because persons with this personality disorder have an inner need to be seen as ill or injured in order to obtain the sympathy and special attention given to people who are truly ill, they are quite willing or eager to have medical tests, operations, or other procedures as the disorder progresses.
(Some can be drawn to long-term counseling for counseling's sake or can relish spending years in groups where they can "share" or "speak" and thereby have a captive audience which can keep the focus on them; typically, however, the more serious cases manifest in the physical / medical realm.)
The discussion of the effects of other mental / personality disorders will continue in the coming days for this reason:
If persons were to understand how perverted and insane thoughts and behaviors manifest alongside the assumption of personality identifications, then they would readily seek out a Realized teacher to guide them back to that state when they were originally free of personality and thus free of the effects of using ego-defense mechanisms and free of the misery and suffering that are generated by personality assumption and the subsequent personality disorders which follow. Alas, most will never find the actual source(s) of their relative problems and will therefore continue to be miserable and suffer and / or contribute to the relative misery of those around them.
To understand the consequences of not returning to "The Child Ignorance Stage" or the "Child No-Knowing State" and to understand the shift in one's relative existence that could happen if one were to return to the "The Child Ignorance Stage" or the "Child No-Knowing State" would likely provide all of the motivation necessary for one to begin following the "path" to Realization, even if the entire "journey" is never completed. What are the odds of Realizing Fully? Slim. Could the effort be worthwhile nevertheless, relatively speaking? Absolutely.
To be continued.
Please enter into the silence of contemplation.
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