CHAPTER 1 FOR THE BOOK CALLED --- (UHB)

CHAPTER I

 DEFLECTIONS

To a large extent, the manner in which you react

to  fear determines the make up of your personality.

(Myself)

Have you been told that the genetic make up of your nervous system is not strong enough to cope with the complex responsibilities of our modern world?  

Have you been told to simplify your life --- to give up some of your most cherished dreams?  If you have, or if you have come to such a decision on your own, then, by the time that you finish reading this book, you will know that such advice was --- wrong.

You will begin to stride forward confidently in areas that cause you concern or leave you on the

verge of panic today.  You will become expansive rather than restrictive.You will exude enthusiasm and energy rather than uncertainty and lethargy.  You will learn to calm down and take small steps that will ultimately and unequivocally lead to bigger and better goals. --- Let’s get started.   

He was 19 years old and a pivotal moment in his life was about to occur.  He had been born into abject poverty in a small southern town near the Mississippi River. 

He had already experienced a high level of rejection in his chosen profession in another famous location and his fear of failure was robbing him of the confidence he needed.

He turned to the young entertainer that he had befriended and in total seriousness said, --- When it is my turn to go on stage, if I am too scared to do it; I want you to get behind me and push me through the stage curtain.  This pivotal moment was occurring at the Louisiana Hayride.  It was a local southern or western music concert. 

The name of the entertainer who was asked to do the pushing if necessary was Jim Reeves; the nervous young entertainer was --- ELVIS PRESLEY.  

The previously mentioned rejection happened when Elvis appeared for the first time on the Grand Old Opry.  It was something less than sensational and as he left the stage, the announcer sarcastically told him not to quit his day job, which was driving a truck.

If he had taken this advice, if his fears and nervous tension had prevented him from appearing on the Louisiana Hayride and going forward from there; he may have indeed lived his life as an itinerant worker rather than the incredible entertainer whose music and memory may live forever. 

  

Of course one must have talent and in the case of a singer, --- good looks also.   One only has to look at a program like American Idol on TV to realize that there are many people with the confidence to get out there on stage and perform, but whose level of talent is nowhere to be found.  

If fear can deflect our behavior and our life itself so powerfully, --- obviously it is of paramount importance to understand fear as completely as possible.  

While we do understand the importance of fear, we have unfortunately, not realized how completely it can dominate our personality.

Every human being is affected by fear.  If a lawyer does not overcome his fear of public speaking, he does not become a trial lawyer but chooses instead some other area of law to practice.

 

In many cases this fear is never verbalized except to ones most intimate friends.  This would be a perfect example of a negative response to fear.

Fear is not some horrible weakness that a cruel and callous Creator* has inflicted upon his unsuspecting children which of course includes you and I. 

The following is a footnote to the word Creator.

Creator *

I believe that the ideas that I have put forward to describe how the human mind functions; remain valid no matter what form of religion you follow.   I view all of them as vestiges of our superstitious beliefs.   I do not believe in Atheism either.

However, if you are concerned about how I reached the decision that there is a Creator, I would respectfully refer you to my blog entitled, --- The Religion Of Truth which can be accessed at:    religionforthefuture.blogspot.com

How I reached the conclusion that there is a Creator is best determined by reading the article entitled, --- Defending Intelligent Design, which you will find on the first page of that document. 

On the contrary, fear is our most prized possession when we must face the unknown and try to transfer that unknown into the plus side of our accumulating storehouse of knowledge.

For reasons known only to our Creator, we were placed upon the face of this earth with less knowledge than is required for us to succeed.  It is only through the emotion of fear that we can approach the unknown but still maintain a high potential to remain alive.

In the presence of fear, it is altogether right and proper that we should back off if possible from an achievement that scares us.  But it is also right and proper that we should act correctly to this fear. 

The following statement is the most important one that you will read in this book.  If we react correctly to the emotion of fear, it will motivate us towards increased knowledge and understanding.

What is life all about?  What are we, the human race as a whole, doing here?   No definitive answer can be given to that question and any attempt to answer it must be partial in nature, but for our purposes, here in this book and in life itself, --- we are here to achieve. 

Life is nothing more or less than an endless series of achievements, each one of which carries with it the potential for either success or failure. 

If the latter occurs, then the potential to develop distorted or even irrational fears about this failure can occur.  And still further, the potential for fears to conglomerate and confuse the issue even further is also possible. 

Since fears deflect human behavior then, when a multitude of influences as described above are combined together, they have the potential to deflect ones behavior so drastically that a psychiatrist or even other human beings begin to label such a person as being mentally ill.   

To overcome the feelings of fear in any situation, you must increase your knowledge about the achievement in question and then augment it with action. 

If life forces you to act first, then avoidance behavior, if possible, is the first option.  If that is not a reasonable option, then you must act in accordance with the level of understanding that you can bring to bear on the situation. 

Unfortunately, this can lead to mistakes for some people.  It is absolutely paramount that we do not dictate to ourselves that we must be perfect. 

You must give yourself the right to fail so that in the process of such action, you can learn from your mistakes and be better prepared to be successful at whatever achievement that you have chosen to embrace. 

Of course if you become involved in an achievement that demands perfection, then you must be able to shoulder the resulting stress and still remain as calm and confident as possible. 

That type of behavior in such a situation must find the person ready to learn as much as possible about every aspect of the achievement that he or she is trying to succeed at.                   

All of us carry fears inside our minds.  Some people carry many more fears than others.  There is so much work to be done in this world to try to maintain the level of civilization that we have achieved thus far, that even with the limitations to our effectiveness brought about by our fears, most of us are considered to be contributing and relatively successful members of the human race.

However, if our fears become conglomerated, if they become distorted, if you are not sharing them with others in a manner that would allow you to set aside those of your fears that prove to be unreasonable, your behavior could take you out of the so-called normal zone and into the so-called “abnormal” zone. 

If all three of the above conditions are present, and in all probability, some others also, then you could find yourself exhibiting irrational behavior and be told that you are unable to handle the stress involved in everyday modern life.   And of course, if that deflection is severe enough, you could be told by a psychiatrist that you are mentally ill.

Contained inside the above paragraph is the illuminating and unmistakable truth that what we now refer to as mental illness, in many cases, is not caused by some genetic or chemical imbalance inside the human brain. 

On the contrary, it is caused by a conglomeration of improper reactions to fear and improper thinking, caused by distorted fears that are at all times negotiable.   

Yes indeed, a certain percentage of mental illness is caused by actual physical damage either at  birth or from genetic reasons.  However, some of that damage occurs as a result of the administration of neuroleptic drugs that are currently prescribed to people who are told that they cannot handle the stress in their lives or that they are mentally ill. 

Thank goodness that such drugs have been developed because the methods used to help the mentally ill in the past were monstrous compared to these new drugs.  But these drugs should only be used in short-term emergencies. They should never become life-long addictions.  

MISTAKES

The person who does things makes many mistakes,

but they never make the biggest mistake of all,

which is --- to do nothing.

(Benjamin Franklin)

In one of my original writings for this book, the next five pages were to contain some of the most beautiful thoughts that I had ever written, at least I thought they were. 

However, I failed to use the draft copy feature on the word processor [yes, it was that long ago] that I was using at the time and to my great regret, I mistakenly erased all five pages. 

It is all well and good for me to tell you not to demand perfection from yourself, but what about this ridiculous mistake that I have just admitted to you?

 

Yes, I was so disgusted with myself over this mistake, that I took the rest of the day off, but there I was the next day back at the word processor again. 

One of the many drawbacks to our continued increase in knowledge on a personal level and on a global level for the human race itself, is our fear of  failure and of facing the truth.

No matter how inconvenient or how complicated the telling of the truth can make a situation, --- in the long run, your chances for success in whatever achievement that you are involved in are in direct proportion to your ability to face the truth.  Unless of course, you are living a lie, or you are a criminal who must avoid the truth to continue to be successful. 

I was so worried all day long whether or not I would be able to recall from memory the wonderful words  and ideas that I had lost in the morning. But for all I know, these ideas that I am expressing right now are far more important than those that I had lost the day before.  

How am I to know whether or not you --- as the reader, --- would tune out yesterday’s words, but retain forever what I am saying right now? 

Perhaps by admitting my mistake, you have now made a determined decision not to be so hard on yourself for the mistakes that you make also.  That could be a much greater message to give to my readers than any of the lost ideas that I was so impressed with.

In reality, none of those ideas were original.  I had thought about them and written about them before.  I cannot remember enunciating them as precisely as I did yesterday, but nevertheless, it is entirely possible that later in this book I will use those ideas and express them as fluently as, or even better than those which I have lost through my own bad habits.

How do you view the ideas expressed above?  If you allow mistakes to rob you of your self-confidence, you will actually increase your chances of making more mistakes in the future. 

If you look at mistakes as a learning process and maintain a reasonable level of self-confidence, your chances of success in the future will be increased. 

Better for me to have lost 5 pages at the start of this book and learn from that mistake, then to lose 50 pages in the future with a similar error.

In the television movie called, “The Untouchables” with Kevin Costner, at one point in the story he rebukes a corrupt public official for trying to bribe him. 

The culprit warns Kevin that he will be sorry for his high handedness and that he is making a terrible mistake.  Kevin’s response is, --- “Yeah, well I’m making a lot of mistakes lately and I’m beginning to enjoy them.”

When Winston Churchill was finally handed the reins of power in England during the second World War, a member of the previous government asked him: 

“Aren’t you afraid that you will make the same mistakes that we made.”  Winston answered, --- “Not at all.”  “We will make a brand new set of mistakes.”

Does this sound like a cavalier approach to a very serious problem?  The unequivocal answer is --- absolutely not.  The individual who has a distorted fear of failure actually increases his potential to fail. 

His focus is so completely on negative thoughts that he does not entertain the necessary positive thoughts that are required to be successful.  The correct approach to any fear is to increase your knowledge of the achievement in question.

The shortest answer, as in that which Winston gave, is often the most powerful.  Contained inside Winston’s apparently flippant remark is a veritable deluge of psychological maturity.  First of all he is saying that he has learned from the mistakes that others have made and he will do his very best to avoid repeating them.

He is also saying that he knows that he will make new mistakes but he does not intend to allow those mistakes to rob him of the confidence and action that must be taken in the future. 

Furthermore, he is implying that he does not have to be perfect.  His archenemy Adolph Hitler must also make awesome decisions, which will cause him to make mistakes also.  Winston’s job is not to be perfect, but to make fewer mistakes than his adversary does.

None of Adolph Hitler’s Generals could risk disagreeing with him on penalty of banishment from the high ranks of the Nazi party, [read Hitler himself] or even death. 

In effect, Hitler robbed himself of the knowledge that the truth could have given him.  Thank God that his dictatorial arrogance helped to dictate his ultimate defeat.

   

  STRESS

We believe, incorrectly, that the word fear denotes weakness.  As a result, we use the word stress, when in reality, they are synonymous.

(Myself)

Another of Churchill’s brilliant comments occurred while his party was in opposition.  One of the members of his party rose in Parliament to castigate the government for their inability to act and their total indecisiveness.  Winston stood up and refuted his colleague. --- 

“It is not true that the members of government cannot make a decision”.  “They have indeed reached a decision”.  “They have decided to remain undecided.”

     

Sometime in the future, and I hope it is sooner rather than later, the expression mentally ill will be used sparingly if not at all.  In its place we will refer to such people as suffering from conglomerated and distorted fears and who are in need of behavioral assistance to return to more realistic, confident and mature approaches to life.

As incredible as the above achievement seems to be, it is only part of what this new understanding holds forth for those who are considered to be normal.  

The correct approach to fear is going to allow the entire human race to embrace more achievements without unnecessarily damaging their physical, emotional and mental well being.  The psychological necessities of life are as follows:     

        1.  Safety

        2.  Approval

        3.  A sense of belonging.   

     4. The desire to experience action which of course includes  sexual activity ultimately leading to procreation.

        5.  The desire to acquire knowledge.

All of our actions are directed towards success in the above areas.  What is stress?  Hans Selye first coined this expression to explain the feelings that occur inside our bodies when we are involved in one specific achievement, or many different achievements at the same time. 

These feelings originate from the emotion of fear, but since this word seems to attach weakness to the person that it is directed to, we prefer to use the more acceptable word --- stress. 

In reality, they are actually synonyms.  The level of stress that you feel will be in direct proportion to the potential for failure that is occurring inside your mind. 

You can be involved in an achievement with total relaxation but if you make a mistake, then the next time you attempt to address the same achievement, your stress level will be higher because your expectations for success have been lowered.

The actual level of stress that you feel has many components.  As well as the one listed above, the value that you place on the achievement is another. 

The level of success that you have been able to produce in the past also plays a part in determining how much stress you will feel.  Stress is indeed a highly personal reaction. 

One person’s stress can be another person’s source of confidence.   If you are reacting correctly to this stress, you will increase your knowledge about the achievement in question and your chances for success in the future will be increased, which in turn will reduce your stress.

In this regard, it is better to be involved in small achievements and work your way up to larger achievements as you gain knowledge and experience. 

This is of course exactly how our Creator allows us to live our lives.  We start out with small child-like achievements and progress to more mature adult achievements.

One of the accepted theories about stress is that our brains were programmed to handle fears that would occur when we were still cave men.  This fight or flight response is supposedly inadequate and injurious to our physical and mental well being in the modern world.  This is absolute nonsense and in my opinion, it represents a very low opinion of our Creator.

Let us say that a cave man was out hunting for food and he was confronted by a huge lion.  The fear for his safety prepares the hunter for fight or flight. 

In those days, against a lion and before the invention of guns, the choice was either flight or hide, either one of which is avoidance behavior.

If the [male] lion had recently killed some other prey and it was not the least bit hungry, it might not be interested in the man at all.  Especially if it had picked up the scent of a receptive female lion in the area and it was rushing towards this “much more” important achievement.

After the lion had ignored the man and gone past him, the man’s heart would be pounding and he would be feeling the same kind of stress that you and I feel today. 

It is true that the extra daily physical activity that our ancestors were forced to perform in their search for food would help to use up the extra adrenalin that the above stressful situation would pour into his bloodstream but would not be used up immediately.

Certainly, modern man with his more sedentary life style must make a point of getting more exercise to use up any extra adrenalin that accumulates in his bloodstream and body during all of the achievements that he must become involved in during his or her day.  

Obviously, those achievements are different than those that our ancestors faced, but the underlying necessity is the same.  The need to provide food for himself and his family and all of the other necessities of life. 

Of course in our age that also includes achievements that we either volunteer to embrace, or we force ourselves to embrace, --- so that we can enhance our life experiences.

Indeed the modern world forces us to embrace far more complex achievements and though a hungry tiger or lion isn’t threatening our lives, those complex achievements are constantly threatening us with the potential for economic or interpersonal failure. 

The modern world requires us to understand more completely than we did in the past, and more completely than we do at this time, --- how fear affects our minds and determines our behavior. 

We are failing to increase our knowledge in this area fast enough and as a result, too many people are being incorrectly told that they have some kind of genetic flaw, or chemical imbalance in their brain that is preventing them from being successful in the modern world.               

It is my unshakeable belief that our Creator has constructed the human brain so that it could deal with the uncertainties and consequent fears that confronted us in the past, --- the present, --- and I truly believe, for all those years that will occur as far into the future as our imaginary powers can perceive.

When a child learns to walk, he or she stumbles and falls hundreds of times.   Fortunately, their bones are not as brittle as those of older people  and they can take the abuse.  The child just keeps trying again and again until finally they are able to walk. 

It’s a good thing that our Creator didn’t allow our brains to develop to the point where we can become aware of a sense of shame and embarrassment before we tried to learn to walk. Otherwise, some of us might have given up after 10 or 20 failures and never tried again. 

That is how some humans conduct their lives in more complicated achievements as they get older.  If a growing child uses avoidance behavior when he or she should be learning new maturing achievements, the child is in effect, --- failing to experience the maturing process.

Although shyness is relatively normal for a child, when it becomes all invasive, it must be looked upon as a warning signal to the adults who are involved in the child’s journey towards maturity, that psychological help is needed. 

If a child does not receive the proper help along the way, when he or she enters the adolescent years, the new demands inside the mind and body of such a child, which are propelling him or her towards being a sexually active individual, will clash vehemently with a lifetime which was previously devoted to excessive avoidance behavior in too many different circumstances.

The fact that so called “mental illness”, first starts to manifest itself disproportionately between the ages of 15 and 25 is not a coincidence. 

In reality, it is one of the pillars upon which the theory of conglomerated and distorted fears, as a causative factor for mental illness, rests so convincingly.

Albert Einstein said, --- “Men of clarity and vision are few and far apart in anyone’s lifetime.  What is preserved of their work is mankind’s most important property.” 

In this regard, I would like to thank all of the brilliant authors who poured out their knowledge and experience into the books that they wrote concerning the discipline of psychology and other fields also.  

It was my good fortune to be able to come into contact with such giants because of the extensive and comprehensive library system that has been developed, not only here in my native Canada, but in the United States of America and around the entire world also. 

Please accept my heartfelt thanks to all those who are responsible in large and small ways for such a wonderful and impressive library system.

To those of you who are so inclined, I would highly recommend that you read the book called, “The Resilience Factor”, written by Karen Reivich, Ph. D, and by Andrew Shatte, Ph. D.  It includes a seemingly endless series of successes for the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy approach. 

On page 48, you will see the following words:  --- “Feel free to skip  this chapter if you like, and move on to Part 2 of the book.” --- DON’T YOU DARE DO IT!

That chapter (3), in my opinion, contains the most important information in the entire book.  I consider this chapter, which the author’s have entitled: “Laying The Groundwork”, to be one of the most definitive statements concerning the past, present and future of the science of psychology, that I have ever had the pleasure of reading.

It contains the undeniable blueprint that I predict will eventually propel us into a safer and more dynamic future for the entire human race.

On page 54 of that book, the following words appear:  “An enormous body of evidence demonstrates that  cognitive behavioral therapy is a highly effective treatment for anxiety and depression.  People can bring about real change in their lives --- if they focus on what really  matters: ones beliefs, thoughts and emotions.” I enthusiastically salute both of its authors, Karen Revitch, Ph. D., and Andrew Shatte, Ph. D.

 ADRENALINE

When your work speaks for itself, don’t interrupt.

(Henry J. Kaiser)

Adrenaline prepares the body for action and it also prepares the mind for total concentration and alertness.  During the Korean War, autopsies were performed on many of the casualties of front-line action. 

Although these men were in their early 20’s, the Doctor’s were  amazed to discover that many of them were suffering from a huge amount of plaque in their arteries. 

Hans Selye demonstrated many years ago that unrelenting stress, fear of injury or death, in laboratory animals can cause physical damage inside the body and the brain of the affected animals. 

The Doctors said it looked the same as if these dead soldiers were 70-year-old heart patients.  They also noted that it appeared entirely possible that the young soldiers could have died of this problem before the bullets actually killed them.  These soldiers had to live with the fear of imminent death almost 24 hours of every day.

I believe that the adrenaline rush that is activated because of this fear, caused the excess plaque, which I postulate would be un-metabolized adrenaline still in their bloodstreams. 

Since bullets do not discriminate, we can also postulate that other “luckier” soldiers who were wounded instead of killed, also had excess plaque in their bloodstreams.

If they were removed from the killing zone because of their wounds, their bodies would have a chance to break down or use up the excess adrenaline.  

The appearance of their arteries would, with the passage of time, and in accordance with the subjective nature of each individual’s reactions to fear, have the potential to return to a level which would be considered normal for their age group.

We can now use cat scans to prove that such remedial action does take place. With this knowledge, it is easier to see why some soldiers would use alcohol or recreational drugs or even neuroleptic drugs to try to anesthetize or shut down these unending fears that affected their internal body functions.

Since an inordinate number of surviving soldiers in their early 20’s did not die of natural causes, as the Doctors had predicted, then other factors must have entered into the equation to keep them alive.  I believe that these other factors, and the factors thus described in the above story, prove that the condition was at all times, --- negotiable.

I postulate that it was not caused by genetic factors that could not be negotiated or dietary factors either at that age.  At the time, and in that book, nothing was said, or perhaps even known about the physical affects on the brain of these soldiers. 

However, now we know that the brain actually swells up when it is under constant, unrelenting stress that a soldier who must face the possibility of death on the front lines must endure in all out war. 

The CBC up here in Canada made a TV movie, which they called, “Glory Enough For All.”  It concerns the discovery of Insulin by Frederick Banting, right here in the city of Toronto.  Dr. Bertrand Collup was brought in from the western province of Alberta to help purify the extract. 

He was actually the first person to perform this task.  However, in his excitement over his discovery, he failed to keep adequate notes and could not replicate his discovery.   The search for purified Insulin had to be continued for another period of time before Insulin was finally purified once again.

I believe that the above story about autopsies in the Korean War holds a very important example to prove that my theories about distorted and conglomerated fears are correct. 

I feel a kinship with Dr. Collup because, although I have the quotations from the book, I failed to keep adequate notes so that I could refer the reader to the actual source of this story.  

I believe that the book in question was written between 1955 and 1965.  The topic that the book addressed itself to was Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.   The Korean story was not central to the book itself but was merely one of many different topics described therein. 

I have made a considerable effort to find this book without success.  If any of you who are reading these words can help in locating --- “The Korean story” book,; I would certainly appreciate hearing from you.  My email address is --- strarrow2@gmail.com  

Listen to the words of Jerome L. Jacobs M.D., who wrote the book which he called, “Interplay.”  On page 96 and 97 ---

“Thousands of Psychiatric casualties from the First World War were believed to have been shell-shocked, brain damaged, by concussive explosions when in reality, they were actually victims of fear.”

“It is simpler to comprehend that a metabolic malfunction in the brain may produce neuroses, psychoses and even criminality, and treat that disorder relatively cheaply with chemicals, than it is to spend considerable amounts of time with patients in psychotherapy trying to understand and sort out numerous variables in their developmental experiences which are actually responsible for their suffering.”

Since this knowledge about fear has been available for such a long period of time, why hasn’t the truth become totally accepted?  The answer is, unfortunately, that the success rate for psychotherapy has not been good enough to bulldoze the bio-psychiatric model into a mass grave where it so rightly belongs.

It is interesting to note here, that the drugs that are now used for mental illness were originally brought into existence to help calm the nerves of hospitalized patients who were waiting for major surgery.  These people were experiencing fears for their physical well being and in some cases, the fear of death itself.

If the drug temporarily damaged or dulled the brain, making it difficult to concentrate on ones fears and as a result, calmed down the patient waiting for surgery, isn’t it rather obvious that if it also helped the mentally ill person, that such people were also being negatively influenced by conglomerated fears?  

Not necessarily fear for their physical well-being but fears associated with whatever achievements that they were involved in and which they felt they were failing at. 

Fears that in effect were robbing them of the maturing process at whatever age they were at.  And still further, fears that were negatively affecting achievements that were important to them.  And if you will allow me to inflict upon you the curse of repetition, --- fears that are at all time negotiable.  

HELEN’S HIVES

An investment in knowledge pays the best dividend.

Helen Irving had a loving and compassionate childhood environment but her parents did not verbally express their love to their children.  In her late 30’s, Helen had four children of her own and since she and her husband  had split up, Helen was left to support her young family herself.

A colleague at work who had just came back from holidays, mentioned to Helen that her extended family held a family picnic get together each summer.  Since Helen had moved some 100 miles away from her childhood home, she  decided to set up the same kind of picnic for her family also.

The next year came and once again her colleague talked about a family reunion and Helen realized that she had not followed through with her plans.   She made a promise to herself to make it happen the next year and this time, she followed through with the plans.  

Two months before the family picnic was to occur, Helen’s mother died.   Helen blamed herself for her procrastination.  It was her fault that they never had the family reunion in time for her Mother to attend.  For more than a year after her death, Helen found herself pretending that her Mother was still alive, as if to assuage her guilty feelings.

Helen broke out into hives and visited her family Doctor.  After 1 or 2 months of trying to find a physical cause for the hives, her Doctor said, on her next visit, that she wasn’t leaving his office until they found out what was bothering her.  He said that it didn’t necessarily have to be something that happened recently, it could be something from the past also.

Again they went through all of the possibilities for allergies and other physical causes, all to no avail.  Helen said that she could not think of anything that was bothering her unless it had something to do with the fact that a year and a half ago her Mother --- she never got to finish the sentence. 

She broke down and cried for about 10 minutes.   She apologized profusely for her behavior, telling the Doctor how she was sorry to waste his time while a room full of patients waited for his help.

Fortunately for Helen, she had one of the finest Doctors a person could ever hope to have.  Never mind that he was not a psychiatrist, he had just performed a psychic miracle. 

He told her not to worry about his other patients; she was more important than any one else at that moment.  He also told her to go ahead and cry until she released all of the built-up inner tension.  Within two weeks the hives had disappeared.

Helen’s physical problem was psychic in nature.  How could a pill, prescribed by a psychiatrist, or anyone else, --- solve this problem?  Only by using the “talking therapy” could this problem be solved directly. 

What if a Doctor had given her a pill for her nerves and seen her for 10 minutes once every 3 months?  The odds of him helping to unearth the real cause of the hives would, in all probability approach almost zero.  

                 

 STUTTERING SOLVED

A problem that is well stated is half solved.

In reference to the inconclusive success rate for Psychotherapy on this subject, it is only necessary to review what some psychiatrists had to say about stuttering. --- 

“Stuttering is caused by the fear of the ego being overwhelmed by the all-powerful auto-eroticism. --- It is a form of gratification of the  original oral libido, which continues as a postnatal gratification in talking.”

“Stuttering is a pre-genital conversion (hysterical) neurosis in that the  early problems dealing with the retention and expulsion of the feces have been displaced upwards into the sphincters of the mouth.”

  

And another gem reads like this: --- “Stuttering represents the act of nursing at an illusory nipple.” 

The above quotes appear in Dr. Martin F. Schwartz’s book entitled, “Stuttering Solved.”  He helps his patients overcome relevant fears and they were cured.  None of the above nonsense has any value in the situation whatsoever.

Freud himself tried to treat stuttering and his misguided theories about how the human mind functions can be seen interwoven into the above nonsensical quotes. 

With this approach to other more serious fears and distorted behavior, including mental illness, it is a wonder that anybody was helped by such nonsense, which enjoyed an aura of authenticity that became attached to the words, --- psychoanalysis and psychotherapy.

Dr. Sigmund Freud’s case history of little Hans, which is reported on pages 31 and 32, of the book called, --- Fear [Learning to Cope], shows that although Sigmund correctly diagnosed that the boy was suffering from fear, what really happened to him psychologically and what Sigmund thought was happening, was entirely different. 

No wonder that the success rate for psychoanalysis was minimal.  No wonder that other avenues for dealing with mental illness, such as biological damage or genetic damage, gained prominence over such ill-conceived, convoluted and confusing theories.

In the introduction to her book entitled, “Psychotherapy: The Hazardous Cure”, Dorothy Tennov, who is a consulting psychologist, discusses the hazards an unsuspecting patient may fall prey to. --- 

“Psychotherapists intent on “hooking” a patient on long term and expensive therapy;  --- advice thoughtlessly given, ---careless misunderstanding and distortion of the patients true needs and wants.  An insidious domination  by the therapist until psychotherapy becomes the single ruling factor in the patient’s life.”

In Patricia Neal’s autobiographical book entitled, “As I Am”, on page 132, appears the following words:  --- “I [Patricia Neal], knew from the first session, that I was not going to like the Psychiatrist.” 

“He had an insinuating smile that said there’s something that you’re not telling me.   But I was so convinced that I needed to talk to someone that I went back”.

“It would not have taken a genius to figure out why I was a wreck.   I loved Gary (Cooper) but he would not make a commitment.   No amount of probing my psyche was going to help."  

"I told the Doctor that I wanted a family of my own. I wanted a house of my own.   I wanted a husband of my own; and furthermore; I wanted  to stop the sessions.”  He smiled that smile and  said, --- 'But you haven’t mentioned masturbation.'  I jumped to my feet and ran for the door.”  

Just exactly whose fear was the psychiatrist addressing when he made the above statement about masturbation?  Using Patricia’s expression, it doesn’t take a genius to see that he was addressing his own fear.

 

Not about masturbation, but about losing a wealthy, well-known actress as a client whom he had hoped to “hook” into a long-term analysis.

It was also entirely possible that he was looking forward to bragging about the high profile actress that he was able to attract.   In all probability he was looking forward to other important clients that he could attract and in the process, make more money for himself and his family.

He was probably unprepared and maybe even shocked by Patricia’s decisive action.  He wanted to make her think that he had some special insights to offer, to convince her not to reject him.  He was trying to impress her by his out of the blue comment about masturbation.

What we have here is a psychiatrist whose first priority was his own financial success.  If you really know what you are doing, and this applies to anyone in any profession, you don’t have to “hook” another person. 

Your success in helping such a person, that you come into contact with because of your work, will generate the necessary income you need to live comfortably.

Even though most of the psychiatric profession has a much better profile than the one encapsulated above, since, for the most part, it does not see reactions to fear at the core of the mental health problem; its success rate, as it is presently constituted, will never propel it to the place of eminence that it so rightly deserves and which it should have attained many years ago. 

So much for the negative side of this problem.  Now let’s take a look at trying to “solve” the problem.   Stuttering goes to the very heart of who we are as human beings.  

In her book called, --- Out With It, --- Katherine Preston agrees with one of the individuals that she has quoted who said that as a person who stutters:  

“You don’t feel like you are part of the human race.”  “You seem to have more of a kinship with lower animals whose ability to communicate is much less refined than is our own.”

Our ability to communicate with each other as extensively as we can is one of the most important differences between us and all other forms of life on this planet.

  

The structure of our tongue and more importantly, our voice box, had to be such that we could make a multitude of different sounds so that eventually we could put together a language such as the one that I am using right now to write these words.

Before the written word could happen, the spoken word had to come first.   It is the above thoughts that make the quest to understand stuttering so complex and seemingly beyond our ability to fully comprehend.

That conundrum is about to be dispersed with.  Some traumatic event precedes almost all forms of stuttering.  It is the building of the hierarchal approach to overcoming fear that is required.   It is the accumulation of the individual steps for all fears that has eluded us thus far.

When Otis first demonstrated the elevator at the Chicago Worlds Fair in 1893, no one would get on his new-found contraption.  Their fear was realistic. 

If this new invention is so wonderful then let Otis show us that we are safe in using it.   Let him get on the damn thing and if the cables snap, let us see what happens.

And so, that is exactly what Otis had to do to convince people to ride on his elevator.   He got on the elevator himself and after being hoisted up to a certain height he had an assistant cut the cables under the elevator car.

Apparently the original brake was a rather strong spring at the bottom that cushioned Otis’ fall and he emerged from the elevator car unharmed.   Once he put his life on the line, and remained alive, others were more inclined to get onto his newfangled contraption.

So how do we construct a series of hierarchical programs that will ultimately tame the multitude of fears that constitutes what appears to be the confusing  causes of stuttering.  

Usually just one fear starts the stuttering process but then the existence of that stutter brings many more new fears into existence inside the brain of the stuttering person. 

In her book called, --- Out With It, --- Katherine Preston, through her determination and forbearance constructed most of those hierarchies and has become almost cured of stuttering.

As is the case with all of us she had to progress through the mind-field of adolescence.   Because she was a girl and a beautiful one at that, her journey for a stutterer was in many ways easier for her than for a less beautiful girl or for a shy boy.

A very curious choice of words at one point in her book, in my mind, explains the occurrence of the remaining stuttering that still afflicts her.  She wanted to be different and she wanted to find the cure for stuttering. 

Until she believes that such a cure exists and can see for herself that it does; it is my belief that the  small amount of stuttering that still inflicts itself into her speech, will remain as it is.

However, there is another way to look at this.  As Katherine says, many people actually do overcome their stuttering without really knowing why.  

It is the construction of the hierarchical approach that these people have achieved through their own resources that has allowed them to achieve fluency.  There is a real chance that Katherine has already reached this level and will remain stutter free.

Therefore, until the ideas that I am expressing, which go against the understanding of most of the researchers in this field, --- are accepted for the simple truth that they represent; Katherine may indeed remain fluent without really understanding why.  I think that I have answered that question with the ideas that I have expressed throughout this book.

THE KING’S SPEECH

When you are 78 years old, you tend to believe that you have already seen the most entertaining and rewarding movie that you will ever see and yet the King's Speech comes along and suddenly it takes that title for itself.  

Mainly because it verifies all of the ideas that I have put forward concerning the imminent importance of understanding the emotion of fear.  

If there ever was any doubt in my mind about the veracity of my ideas about fear, it was ended for all time when I had the unparalleled pleasure of watching that movie.

The most important point to be realized is that this approach to fear will not only work for people who stammer but for any achievement that any of us become involved in. 

This includes what I am trying to do right now, which is to put forward new knowledge about how the human mind functions on a deeper level than is understood at this particular time. 

At one point in the movie Lionel Logge, the un-credentialed speech therapist who treated King George the 6th. says:  "He is terrified of his own shadow."   In other words, the King is overwhelmed with fear. 

I believe that it all began with a Nanny who wanted to make herself so important that she would never lose her job with the royal family, which thankfully for George’s sake, she finally did. 

At family dinners the Nanny would bring George to the table but she would secretly pinch him and make him cry.  Then she would be asked to take George away from the table to "put up with him" by herself. 

On these occasions she would then refuse to feed George for a certain period of time to scare him half to death.  She must have also convinced him that if he tried to tell on her, that nobody would believe him and that she would make things even worse for him.  At the age of 4, George was easily reduced to silence.

Whether the future King finally told someone or if someone else inadvertently saw the Nanny pinch George, was not disclosed in the movie, but in any event, the offensive maneuver lasted for 3 years before the Nanny was let go.  During that time George became afraid of his own thoughts and the stammering began.

Compounding this problem was the epilepsy that plagued his younger brother Johnny who died at the age of 13.   The royals never talked about Johnny and kept him as a secret from the public at large. 

The fear that there was some kind of genetic flaw in the family entered George’s mind and probably the mind of his older brother David also.  These thoughts also added to George's dilemma of keeping certain things quiet. 

Certainly others who had to endure this secrecy also, did not start stuttering but that is part of the subjective nature of fear where some people react differently than others to the same kind of fear. 

This then becomes a challenge for those who will follow me in trying to determine why certain fears are displayed in certain ways and by whom. 

Then the various swear words were added to George's tension.  As part of the royal family it was expected that one did not use vulgar language in private as well as social settings. 

At more than one point in the movie, to try to cure George of this fear, Mr. Logge deliberately provoked the King into using such profanity in order to reduce the fear that he would blurt out such profanity at an inappropriate moment.   

In another scene, Lionel Logge also provoked the King into forcefully declaring that he had a voice.  This gave the King more confidence and became part, --- at that time, of an unknown hierarchy which helped the King overcome his fears and inevitably his stammer. 

After giving his first speech about the war, Logge informed the King that he was still stammering on his w’s.  The King replied in effect:  “I wanted to reassure the public at large, that it was me speaking, not someone else who didn’t stammer.”  

I am sure that Lionel Logge did not know about the hierarchical approach to overcoming fear but he instinctively knew that it was important for him to do something to reduce that fear if he was ever to relax the King and give him a chance to speak normally and/or fluently.

As an aside, it appears that the King’s older brother David used a convenient ploy to avoid facing the fears of being the King and as such the Titular leader of the free world. 

Breaking down like a child at his mother's shoulder when he knew that he must become the King is a tip-off to the level of fear that dominated his mind.
 

The ploy involved marrying Mrs. Wallace Simpson in order to give him an excuse to abdicate the throne and thereby avoid having to face his totally secret fear. 

This was done without him admitting to anyone else and perhaps even to himself that the above motives were in play when he decided to abdicate.

The tip-off that David entertained such thoughts occurred in the car when he mentioned to his younger brother George that their father was choosing to die at that particular moment to add to the pressure that David would experience when trying to decide whether to face the responsibilities of being the King or leave it all behind by choosing to marry Mrs. Simpson and be forced to abdicate. 
   

Didn't he sound wonderfully human when he gave it all up for the love of a woman??  What better way to disguise his real intention, which was to avoid facing the aforementioned fear.  Did he ever admit this to himself or did he maintain until his death that his only motivation was the love he felt for Mrs Wallace Simpson?

Returning to King George the 6th., the responsibilities involved in being a King, especially in the new age of radio, movies and television, which meant that the King had to be able to speak fluently, added another level of fear that helped solidify his stammering.  Logge had to overcome all of these fears and many more in order to allow the King to speak fluently. 

 GENETICS OR NOT??? --- THAT IS THE QUESTION???

Recently I asked a close acquaintance if he knew anyone who stuttered.   After a brief hesitation he said that he himself stuttered when he was young.   If he had not admitted it, I would never have known; he spoke with total fluency.

So how do those who believe that stuttering is genetic explain this situation?   Invariably they say that if it was truly genetic, then he would still be stuttering right now but since he is not, --- it wasn’t genetic to begin with.

Then the question becomes, --- what was it that caused his stuttering?   After all, if you are going to say that stuttering is genetic, shouldn’t you also know why it is not?  Their answer is that the cause of stuttering is unknown and this example fits into this scenario.

Isn’t it more than likely that the cause is distorted fear?   If in the future, the person achieves fluency, then they have, in their own way, overcome that fear, or the multitude of fears that stuttering can cause to happen inside the mind of a person who stutters.  

In the case of the above mentioned person who stuttered, bullying by others while he was young was definitely a factor in developing the stutter.  

I am not sure how he developed the necessary hierarchal approach to fear that allowed him to overcome them. At least in regard to those fears that caused the stuttering to start in the first place.

However, I will take an educated guess.   He told me that he did not read except perhaps the local newspapers now and then.   I think this forced him to decide that either he would become fluent or he would not have any other pertinent form of communication to fall back on.

It also allowed him to avoid getting into discussions where he was less than confident about his response.  Not reading gave him an “excuse” not to get too involved when he was in the stuttering stage.

It is my unequivocal belief that the above ideas are much closer to the truth than trying to invoke the genetic principle to explain this stuttering problem, or for that matter, stuttering in general.   It is my hope that you will agree with me in this matter, which I believe should be considered self-evident. 

MIGRAINE HEADACHES

Migraine headaches involve a conglomeration of thoughts about a situation where the individual cannot come up with a solution and cannot get those thoughts out of their mind.

For a perfect example of this phenomena you can find it in the book called, --- Clouds of Glory on page 1126 of the large print edition of that book.

Ulysses S. Grant had a massive migraine that immediately disappeared when he got a message from Robert E. Lee saying that he agreed to meet at Appomattox Court House to discuss the terms of surrender.

ULCERS

Anyone who thinks that there aren’t two sides

to every argument is probably in one.

(The cockle Bur)

All searchers for new  levels of truth become aware that if they actually do find a new truth, it becomes readily apparent to them that the scope of the unknown is even greater than they understood it to be before. 

In fact such a feeling or conviction may simply be the human reaction when we come face to face with infinity.  It is my unshakeable belief that the ultimate level of understanding that is possible for the human mind does indeed approach infinity.             

A researcher has discovered that a certain bacteria causes stomach ulcers and that the age-old belief that nervous tension causes ulcers, is therefore proven to be false. 

But I contend that a more detailed look at this situation is required.  One of our Creator’s special miracles is the capacity of the human digestive system (and other life forms also), and in particular the stomach, to tear apart food that we eat, including meat, while at the same time protecting the “meat” which is part of our bodies.

This is accomplished by a miraculous mucous lining in our stomachs.  Any tear or damage to this lining would allow the digestive juices to react with the physical entity, which is our stomach.   The condition, which has the potential for this to happen, is called an ulcer.  

I think it is reasonable to conclude that psychological factors, stress of one kind or another, as well as physical factors, including a bacteria, can both be causative agents to bring about an ulcer. 

To further compound the situation, a combination of both psychological factors and physical factors can be the causative agents in forming an ulcerous condition.

When researchers find differences inside the brain for those who are considered to be mentally ill, are they looking at genetic damage; or, are they looking at the side effects, or the physical manifestations that occur as a result of the thoughts that such a brain or mind is entertaining?  Once again, we have the age-old dilemma, which came first, the chicken or the egg?

If an individual’s thoughts are embracing distorted fears, then the telltale physical signs inside the human brain can be interpreted two different ways.   The physical differences are causing the aberrant behavior, or they are the result of the behavior, --- both are possible.

Since I believe that 90% of the time, mental illness is caused by distorted and conglomerated reactions to fear, it behooves us to try to correct this problem on an individual basis by behavioral adjustments. 

I should be able to help most of the people whose stories appear in this book, with the rudimentary skills that I possess in this area of behavioral adjustment.

Other people, more qualified than I, who have spent many years studying and actually trying to help people with problems related to stress, --- and if they add my ideas about fear to their already acquired understanding, --- should be able to help certain individuals whose problems I would be unable to comprehend.

Still other more complex behaviors, --- although eventually those suffering from them may be helped through adjustments to their reactions to fear in the future, --- at this particular time and definitely in my case, those kind of problems are far beyond my ability to comprehend or help the individuals so afflicted. 

But before any such action is started, the Doctor must do everything possible to rule out a physical cause for the existing problem. Even though the above criteria is met, it still does not mean that a psychological cause will be the determining factor causing the problem(s).

A perfect illustration of this dilemma is contained in the story about Carl and Lee, a Korean American couple who were having sexual problems in their new marriage. 

They were part of a culture that mystified sex and an extended number of therapy sessions were required to finally zero in on the problem.   The couple was unable to consummate their marriage.

The complete story can be found in the book called, “The Pornographer’s Grief”, however, the name of the book has now been changed to --- “Sexual Secrets”, it was written by a brilliant Psychotherapist named Dr. Joseph Glenmullen. 

Much time in therapy was spent overcoming cultural taboos and misguided personal diagnosis by both Carl and Lee, (Carl was impotent --- Lee was frigid), before Dr. Glenmullen finally came to realize that Lee was a virgin.

Their culture was such that a person never went to a Doctor unless they were sick.  Consequently, Lee had never had a gynecological examination.  Dr Glenmullen’s guess turned out to be right.  Lee’s hymen was still in tact. 

After a minor surgical operation to break the hymen, all of the physical and psychological “problems” disappeared and as Dr. Glenmullen so exquisitely noted, --- “When Carl and Lee arrived for their next therapy session, they were both beaming with joy and happiness.”  

Other forms of therapy, not including the bio-psychiatric approach, must begin to help their patients much more quickly than they presently do.  On the one hand, the large cost of procuring such help makes it a poor option for many potential customers who need psychological help. 

On the other hand, today’s world sees the general public rushed for time and a pill that seems to solve their problems faster and just as good as “talking”, looks like a good choice to make. 

Especially when the profession is so positive about the genetic and chemical imbalance theory to explain mental illness and stress related tensions.

Making better use of a psychotherapist’s time is paramount to overcoming the incorrect use of extended medication.  One cannot expect a Doctor such as Joseph Glenmullen to greet his new patients, such as Carl and Lee, by asking if the wife is a virgin and if her hymen is intact. 

But, questionnaires which are tailored to the reasons why a person is visiting a therapist could help to reduce the amount of “work up time” required before the therapist finally discovers what the real problem is.

Now we can talk about the concerns, or fears affecting the therapists.  Some of them would say, I already am having trouble making a decent living in respect to my chosen profession, now you are telling me to make less money.    ‘I’ll look like a loser and a fool to my other colleagues who will be making much more money than I will.”             

I could be facetious here and say to them, don’t worry, if the tensions become too strong for you, we’ll put you on a Selective Serotonin Uptake Inhibitor.  That way you can feel more in tune with your patients.

In reality, once the new understanding which is being put forward in this book is accepted, those therapists who already are functioning in a manner consistent with my theories, will find themselves so busy that the fear of not making a more than adequate living will be non-existent.  

This scenario is in keeping with my theory that reactions to fear represent a spectrum of behavioral patterns, which encompass both ends of such a spectrum. 

Mental illness, acceptable behavior considered to be normal, and behavior and achievements bordering on genius are simply different positions on the spectrum of human behavior that is negotiable. 

Sigmund Freud was known to have fainted in the presence of eminent scientists in his field.  Since we are not told that he fainted in other situations also, we can rule out physical causes alone for this problem. 

From his autobiographies, we know that he was acutely affected by critical reviews or alternative theories about psychology. 

The fainting in my estimation shows the extent of the psychological tension from the fear of failure, rejection and the fear of confrontation with other contemporary members of his profession that conglomerated inside Freud’s mind.  It is a compilation of such concerns and fears that I believe led to the fainting spells.

Unfortunately, Sigmund ultimately died from smoking a pipe and also a cigar.   One could say that this is a physical problem, but all activity originates in the mind. 

In his day, they were not sufficiently aware of the adverse effects of smoking on the human body and consequently, --- as is the case in far too many situations, we had to learn the hard way.

It has always seemed interesting to me to realize that if a bad idea receives acceptance, --- as the population increases and more people accept the bad idea, it then becomes more obvious that the idea leading to the behavior is wrong and it should be given up.  However, as per usual with human habits, in some cases it takes society a long time to overcome them and accept change.

Recently, I read an article comparing Babe Ruth to Barry Bonds.  Both of them were either alleged to, or proven to be doing things that were not considered to be positive role models for the younger generation.  After half-heartedly defending his drinking and carousing; Babe Ruth tried to back off the reporter in one instance by saying: ---

“The next thing you’ll do is criticize me for being a spokesman for Chesterfield cigarettes.   What’s wrong with having a relaxing smoke?   They have already shown that it help’s to calm people’s nerves down.”  

Here is a perfect example of why it takes so long to change human behavior.  Especially if it is a socially accepted one being endorsed by a celebrity figure.  Maybe “the Babe” should have just stuck to hitting baseballs.      

Charles Darwin endured a veritable lifetime of stress at a level that left him with many psychosomatic symptoms.  However, while some would say that these symptoms are imaginary, I believe that they are not. 

Our Creator gave us the potential to live approximately 100 years.  When we experience somatic pains it can be compared to a small level of torture such as a drop of water falling on ones forehead.  Eventually it feels like a 5 pound brick.

Our hearts don’t give out under stress until such time as the accumulation of such stress and the resulting “somatic” pain adds up to a full blown heart attack.  In Charles Darwin’s case, that resulted in many difficult physical symptoms and finally after 72 years, his life came to an end. 

One could then conclude that the above factors and, in all probability, a host of others also, combined together to shorten his potential life span by 28 years. 

Darwin could not endure the tension of public speaking and throughout most of his life he vomited, and endured much gastric distress.  His life was such that he developed a distorted fear for his physical health and of death itself.  

To be sure, such fears were reasonable under the circumstances that existed in his time, but a negative outlook on ones health, or for that matter on any achievement whatsoever, tends to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. 

This is not achieved in some mysterious unexplainable way; on the contrary, it is the manifestation, or the by-product of negative thinking in general. 

What we have here are two recognized giants in their lifetime whose tensions shortened their life spans and intensified their stress levels in their everyday existence. 

They did not progress into mental illness but in today’s psychiatric environment, some kind of mind-altering drug such as Prozac or Paxil might easily have been  prescribed for them.

On page 232 of Darwin’s biography written by Janet Browne, and called simply “Darwin”; we are treated to a virtual symposium of psychological components that led to his unending physical problems. 

He suffered serious bouts of retching that brought up bile and acidic digestive juices, but interestingly enough, he rarely if ever actually vomited up food. 

His fears for his health and potential death led him into a distorted fear that he would not have enough time to complete the work that was so important to him.

One could then say that such a fear should have compelled him to finish the book quickly but in reality, he ruminated over it for more than 30 years, compiling endless examples to prove his theory of evolution. 

This came about because of his distorted fear of failure, which manifested itself in a demand for perfection in the most minuet details.

On page 249, Darwin’s cousin Fox, came as close as possible to correctly labeling his uncle’s health problems with the following statement:  “I suppose your destiny is to let your brain destroy your body.”  Of course knowing what a problem is and correcting it is an entirely different matter.  

In any event, not only do we owe a great level of gratitude to Charles Darwin for substantially adding to mankind’s storehouse of knowledge, but with the understanding that we now have, we know that he put up an heroic battle to entertain all of his many new discoveries in the face of such debilitating physical problems. 

In everyone’s life there are moments when two fears collide.  I  believed that such occurrences forced a person to go through one of those fears.

 

Unfortunately, when I tried to help a young woman in this manner, I found out that the person could avoid both fears and continue in the immature approach to life that they brought to the potential maturing process.

When such people avoid this high potential situation for new mature approaches to life, the resulting failures that such avoidance behavior causes, are then looked upon as a further sign that their brain or nervous system is not good enough to function in the modern complex world.  In effect, instead of experiencing the potential for something positive, they add to the thoughts that fuel their own negative self-image.

On page 14 of the above-mentioned book, we have Charles Darwin opening a letter from Alfred Russel Wallace.  In it he found a blow by blow description of natural selection almost identical to his own.  The fear of being upstaged by Wallace; of seeing his 30 years of compiling the book all add up to nothing.

I believe that he also correctly realized that Wallace’s depiction of the forces behind evolution were not as compelling as his own.   He correctly foresaw the high level of skepticism and anger that would occur when his evolutionary theories were put forward.

He probably concluded that his own potential book was far more capable of withstanding the tumultuous criticism that would be directed at his theory of evolution.  If so, the future would prove him to be totally accurate.  All these thoughts and probably many others combined together and as a result,

Charles Darwin was experiencing the --- two fears colliding theory.  He went through the fear concerning the achievement that was the most important to him.  He wrote at a greater rate than at any time before in his life.

 

He finally ended his procrastination, which can be a fear of failure brought on by a distorted desire for perfection, --- and he completed the book.

Later he found out that each edition, and there were many, allowed him to refine his theories based on the constructive criticism of others because they had read the book.  His desire for absolute perfection was not warranted and it almost became destructive.    

To capsulate, Darwin experienced massive anxiety because of his fear of death, which would rob him of the time required to complete his achievement to bring new knowledge about evolutionary forces into existence.  The above ideas and his perfectionist personality constantly activated his adrenal glands for the fight or flight response.

One has to keep in mind here that not only does the fear response prepare the individual for physical action; it also provides nor-adrenaline to bring the human mind to full alertness to meet the threat.  This is the type of mental threat that Darwin was experiencing. 

This fear reaction shuts down the digestive tract so that all of ones resources can be marshaled to meet the potential challenge, --- physical or mental.   Hence, his myriad and extensive digestive disorders. 

To a lesser extent, these symptoms affected most if not all of Darwin’s contemporary scientists and learned men in the Victorian era.  One could say that since Darwin was entertaining the largest achievement of all of them, that his symptoms would necessarily be greater and more profound then those of his contemporaries. 

Offsetting these concerns is the fact that Darwin avoided confrontation with others as much as possible.  His good friend Huxley did most of the defense of evolutionary principles for him.

This avoidance behavior helped to keep Darwin alive longer than might have been the case if he had faced such confrontations without gaining the necessary psychological knowledge that is necessary to do so successfully. 

Of course these types of assessments are not absolute.  Each person develops reactions to stress differently and some people are more confident than others. 

Hence we find a spectrum of reactions to the same stimuli from any group of people.  Looking at his health problems from our vantage point, we could make the following comments:

(a.)  The fight or flight response to fear, although well known in the external world in Darwin’s time, was not, I believe, well understood in the internal world of the human body and in particular, inside the human mind.  

(b)   The release of adrenaline and especially nor-adrenaline was not specifically known.  

(c)   The fact that the digestive tract would be shut down under the influence of fear was not known definitively to the point where such symptoms as suffered by Charles Darwin, could be diagnosed as having psychological origins rather than physical ones.                                    

As a result, as has been the case since time immemorial, Charles Darwin did what the entire human race does at one time or another; he experimented with trial and error. 

If we could use a time machine to bring Mr. Darwin back to life, in reference to his unending physical afflictions that affected him all of his life, we could offer him less error and much more help. 

The purpose of this article is to show how the behavioral spectrum applies to geniuses who have the potential, because of limited psychological knowledge, of seeing their behavior manifest itself in physical symptoms of poor health or even placing them in the zone that their contemporaries would call mental illness.  

Then of course there are all manner of variations in this spectrum and shifts from one extreme to the other.  The main thing to remember of course is that it is at all times --- negotiable.

In conclusion, to decide that certain behaviors are consistent with the theories put forward by bio-psychiatry and to consign many of those people to a lifetime of drugs can no longer be tolerated. 

Even worse, is to tell them that they cannot handle the everyday stress of modern day life like others with better genetic material are capable of doing. 

To then assign such people to a position as a virtual spectator in the incredible game of life, when in reality, with the proper psychological help, they still retain all of the potential to be active participants thereof, is to rob them of the essence of life itself.  Such a state of affairs is, --- in my not so humble opinion, --- an unacceptable tragedy.