Psychopathy & Grandiosity Are Deeply Linked
💡 Core Issue: Blocked energy—wanting movement or resolution but encountering resistance.
💡 Goal: Shift from muscular bracing & mental agitation to fluidity, adaptability, and forward momentum.
💡 Core Issue: Experiencing vastness—momentarily losing the sense of self in response to something greater.
💡 Goal: Expand perception, facilitate deep embodied wonder, and integrate awe as a grounding, sustainable state.
💡 Core Issue: Moral or social superiority—creating emotional distance from those perceived as inferior or unacceptable.
💡 Goal: Soften facial tension, release rigidity, and restore relational engagement without condescension or detachment.
💡 Core Question: Are Compassion & Empathy distinct emotions, or are they aspects of the same state?
Hypothesis:
💡 Core Issue: Psychopathy is a strategic detachment from emotion, vulnerability, and interpersonal reciprocity in favor of power, control, and dominance.
💡 Key Insight: Unlike other character structures, psychopathy is not primarily a “felt” emotional experience—it is a cognitive and autonomic reorganization that prevents the full experience of certain emotions.
Neuro-Somatic
Mapping for Vulnerability & Uncertainty
How These
Hinge States Shift Between Fight/Flight and Freeze
1. Emotional
Experience: Vulnerability & Uncertainty as Hinge States
In TCM, we can view mobilization of the fight-flight response through the lens of the Yang sinew channels, which activate the body's defensive (Wei Qi) and muscular responses, highlighting a direct correlation to the sympathetic activation described in PVT. This perspective allows us to see the cascade of physiological and energetic responses—from Qi stagnation and Blood stasis to the impairment of the enteric system—as a comprehensive response system that aligns with the neurobiological pathways outlined by Porges. By understanding these parallels, the cascade of reactions set off by the fight or flight response becomes evident, providing a clear pathway for addressing these responses holistically and restoring balance to the body and mind.
Primitive reflexes (PRs) are foundational components of the human nervous system, serving as essential building blocks for complex motor and cognitive functions. These automatic, involuntary movements are present at birth and typically integrate as the child matures, usually by the age of two. Controlled by cranial nerves in the brainstem—a primitive part of the brain—these reflexes maintain a balance between the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems, supporting motor movement, decision-making, and emotional regulation. When these reflexes remain reactive or reemerge later in life, they disrupt vagal nerve signals, leaving the body in a heightened state of arousal, and flooding the brain with stress hormones along the HPA axis.
Contributions from mental health and trauma professionals like Peter Levine, PhD, Dr. Stephen Porges, PhD, and Svetlana Masgutova, PhD, illustrate the role of the nervous system and the biochemical processes involved in trauma. However, their profound insights have not yet translated into effective treatment solutions for many. Several factors contribute to this challenge: a persistent mind-body split in mental health, prohibitions against mental health providers physically interacting with patients, inadequate insurance coverage for counseling, and an over-reliance on medication. These issues highlight the complex landscape of mental health care, where pharmaceutical approaches often fail to provide comprehensive solutions.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the body is understood as a series of interconnected systems, each with unique pathways and functional layers that encompass physical, energetic, and physiological domains. Classical concepts like the six divisions, the three jiaos, and the Eight Extraordinary Vessels offer a structured approach to balancing qi flow and organ health. However, as we explore these classical frameworks with modern anatomical, neurological, and fascial perspectives, a richer understanding emerges—one that connects ancient insights with contemporary scientific models.
This exploration aims to bridge these TCM frameworks with the
