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Dreams and fantasies

Dreams are patterns that combined with patterns of past experience. In everyday experiences, specific characteristics are laid down in neurons along with the same characteristics that were in the patterns of childhood experience. This means that in the dream, current and early experiences can become mixed together, but appear as one scenario. Fantasies are likely to be similar to dreams, and the more toxic the mind, the more distorted the dream or fantasy. Imagination is memory of actual experience--only the characters and scenery have changed. The brain cannot create new experience, but designs new mosaics made up of bits of old experience. Because memories are often distorted, a "false memory" syndrome has evolved. But there is no such thing as a false memory, only a distorted version. The distorted patterns of memories are also the basis for the belief in previous lives.

The reticular activating system has a periodic excitability cycle occurring once every 90 minutes, increasing and decreasing in activity throughout the 24-hour day. This excitability cycle reflects periodic detoxification crises that occur as emotional dreaming at night and perhaps some other excitatory behavior during the day. Persons engaged in a fantasy world might be said to be "day-dreaming," and these periods of creating fantasies are influenced by the same physiological events that account for paradoxical sleep. Fantasies, like dreams, provide a release for emotions and are frequently stages for the re-enactment of childhood traumas.

Neurogenic disorders

Psychosomatic disease is better termed neurogenic. Psychological factors do not affect physical disease; rather, psychological problems and physical disease co-exist and both can stem from toxicosis in the brain. Since the hypothalamus controls the fight or flight reaction, pituitary and thyroid activity, and also the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, toxicosis from both endogenous and exogenous sources can result in malfunctioning of peripheral organs and contribute to neurogenic disease. The periodic shift in underexcitation and overexcitation in the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems contributes to a variety of neurogenic disorders. Fluctuations in parasympathetic activity affect the heart, digestion, and elimination. Because the entire sympathetic system is usually excited at the same time, periodic changes in its activity affect most of the visceral organs. Increased release of catecholamines in persons prone to outbursts of anger has been linked to coronary heart disease. Decreased hypothalamic activity or increased tissue metabolism as a result of overexcitation of the sympathetic system may cause the thyroid to become hypoactive. People generally see a doctor when they are experiencing detoxification crises, namely symptoms, and may be diagnosed with hypothyroidsim when there is no pathology in the thyroid gland. In recovery, hypothyroidism usually disappears, and body temperature, blood pressure, and pulse rate tend to normalize as the activity of the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems stabilizes.

 One of the most harmful effects of toxicosis in the brain is the inability of the body to carry out the daily process of detoxification and elimination. Since the sympathetic nervous system increases cellular metabolism, it accelerates the release of toxins throughout the body. Because of toxicosis in the brain, this system is periodically over and under-excited. This means that detoxification events, which might be expressed as a cold or other acute diseases, will be periodic and intense. When sympathetic nervous system activity is suppressed, toxins will accumulate throughout the body. Tumors can occur anywhere in the body where toxins are being walled-off, but enervation in the central and autonomic nervous systems is likely to contribute to cancer. Women with metastatic breast cancer were shown to live longer when they entered therapy for the release of repressed emotions, and the patients who died more rapidly were less able to communicate dysphoric feelings, particularly anger. In recovery, the immune system improves, and detoxification events in the peripheral organs are mild. Post-primal therapy patients enjoy a number of improvements in physical health that can be measured in laboratory tests, for example, normalization of thyroid hormone, cholesterol, and glucose. Increased breast size in post-primal therapy patients who were previously underdeveloped results from a clearing of the neurons in the hypothalamus that control pituitary and thyroid hormones. This allows for normal activity of the enzyme lipoprotein lipase, which regulates the supply of fatty acids to adipose tissue and the breast. Improved nutrition is more effective because the central nervous system that controls the metabolism of nutrients and daily detoxification is now able to function normally.

Violent behavior

 Acts of violence are committed by persons under the influence of drugs and by drug-free persons diagnosed as mentally ill. Violent crimes are often committed by persons who have been quiet and depressed. The courts are filled with defendants whose actions are the subject of much debate over whether the accused was mentally ill at the time of the crime. What the courts do not understand, assuming the accused person actually committed the crime, is that violent behavior is a physiological response to toxicosis. Murder may be the result of a vicarious detoxification crisis and as much a symptom of disease as the sneeze is a symptom of the common cold. It is not my intention to propose this as physiological evidence for innocence and certainly not to silence the justifiable anger of victims of violence. It is important not to try to forgive until justifiable anger is felt and expressed. Forgiveness will come naturally when all the justifiable anger is released. Victims who suppress their anger will eventually release it, perhaps as revenge. Hopefully the theory will affect the kind of rehabilitation offered to violent offenders. Until the toxins are removed, violent persons will be compelled to continue some form of aggressive behavior toward themselves or others. Unless the vital powers of the body have been diminished to the point of exhaustion and ultimate death, the neurons will continue to repair themselves. The cure for violence or any other disease is in eliminating the toxins.

 Whether we have conscious control over behavior initiated by unconscious activity in the brain may depend on the degree of enervation and the extent of the toxicosis. If the detoxification crisis is sufficiently strong, conscious thought may not be able to override it. Furthermore, when we do express emotions, we may not be able to control how they are expressed. This is the reason many cannot explain why they committed violent crimes. The anger is justifiable, but the detoxification crisis is usually vicarious, and there is often no remorse. Guilt, which is anger turned inward, may be felt, but true remorse is possible only in recovery, and even then it is not likely to be for past sins. The New Testament word for sin, hamartia, comes from the sport of archery and literally means "missing the mark" --wrong neuron. The Biblical command, Old and New Testament, is: "Be angry and do not sin." This condition of health or sickness in the neurons may provide the physiological basis for the exercise of free will. Whether we can control an exaggerated fight or flight reaction is the subject of moral appraisal and the frequent debate of ethical and religious thinkers. In every court of law it demands reflection by judge and jury as they consider the oftentimes violent behavior of the accused. It may be that free will is best exercised in a decision to embrace measures for recovery.

 Because stimulants trigger detoxification crises, abused children are attracted to violent TV programs. All of us have toxic neurons to some extent and crave stimulation. Many of us could not turn off the TV during the Gulf War. Some sociologists speak of man as having a need for enemies. This is an unconscious craving that will result in the release of repressed anger. In its extreme, this is what motivates cult leaders, terrorists, dictators, and all those who follow along in their paths of destruction. That there might be conspiracies behind acts of violence is because other individuals with toxic minds have the unconscious need to tag along and release their own pent-up anger. This explains why an eleven-year old boy needed to go along with his thirteen-year old friend on a murderous spree in Jonesboro, Arkansas. As soon as the lives of those who have committed violent acts are investigated, we see the truth in headlines, "In the End, the Oklahoma Bombing May Be the Work of 2, Not a Major Conspiracy," and "New Defendant in Trade Center Blast Is Described as Shy and Apolitical". The weapons amassed by David Koresh, Timothy McVeigh, and Shoko Asahara were for the purpose of releasing anger stored up as toxic neurochemicals in the nervous systems of those individuals and probably had little to do with the purposes for which they were ultimately used. Adults who were abused as children are likely to fill the arsenals of the world with nuclear bombs.

The end of mental illness and violence

 The toxic mind theory, by providing an understanding of the physiological effects of toxicosis on behavior, will have a positive influence on the way people deal with emotions in everyday life, on the development of therapeutic methods, and on measures taken by society to eliminate violence. When a theory is found that can help prevent and relieve suffering by explaining the causes of disease, a decision to embrace such a theory is ultimately a decision to support life itself. An understanding of this theory can provide the basis for therapy and self-help measures that will alleviate a wide variety of disorders. Hopefully this discovery will provide knowledge useful to everyone--children, parents, therapists, physicians, educators, religious leaders, the courts, prisoners, and those in charge of rehabilitation of prisoners.

 Proper nutrition will help prevent deficiencies and toxicosis. Exogenous toxins from food and the enviornment are particularly likely to accumulate in the hypothalamus. It has been shown that when the nutrition of prisoners is improved, the likelihood of violent behavior is diminished. Nutrients in excess of bodily needs and nutrients that have been altered chemically by processing and overcooking contribute to toxicosis. Diets high in raw foods provide nutrients the neurons can utilize and facilitate the release of toxins, both endogenous and exogenous. But dietary changes may not bring optimal health without detoxification of endogenous neurochemicals in the central nervous system. Furthermore, there may by excitatory symptoms due to overactivity of the sympathetic nervous system during detoxification of exogenous toxins. Once the work of relieving the endogenous toxicosis by releasing and redirecting emotions is finished, there is seldom any desire for non-nutritious food. When one is post-flood avoiding stimulants, refined sugar, bread, and milk products may help prevent future depression and nervous symptoms.

When symptoms become intense, drugs and/or confinement may be necessary. It is important to follow doctor's orders in taking all prescribed drugs and especially to discontinue them only with medical supervision. The self-help measures can be used along with therapy and drugs. When the detoxication process is finished therapy and drugs will no longer be needed. People who are not detoxifying through therapy and self-help measures may need drugs for extended periods as ordered by their doctors. If addictions develop, Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-step programs (AA, NA, CA, OA, GA, ACA, CODA) are available for the detoxification of alcohol, other drugs, and food. Unfortunately members of these groups transfer their addictions to other members. This is commonly called co-dependency. Most members do not recognize the importance of releasing negative emotions. One of these groups, Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACA, ACOA, also CODA), which might be better named Adult Children with Repressed Emotions, encourages the release of anger and is a place where a redirecting of emotions often begins. When the detoxification process is completed, these programs are no longer needed. Thousands of recovery stories are witnessed in these programs and in experiential therapy that encourage the releasing and redirecting of emotions. There are many paths to recovery and all are compatible with spiritual progress. If one thinks of God as Energy, recovery might be thought of as a restoration of Nerve Energy--the God Within. Some people begin to detoxify in 12-step programs, others begin in therapy, and still others begin through self-help measures or by making dietary changes.

  Mental health depends on the ability of an individual to respond to stress with a healthy fight or flight reaction. In recovery, the fight or flight reaction is no longer exaggerated, anger can be expressed in non-violent ways, and symptoms of nervous and mental disease disappear. Post-primal therapy patients have been observed to recover from a variety of physical as well as mental disorders. Cleared neural pathways throughout the brain enhance memory, intelligence, and creativity. Neurotic fear, anxiety, and depression do not return. Noradrenaline levels at synapses fluctuate only slightly, and euphoria, best defined as "freedom from anxiety and distress," is permanent. Recovery is undeniable to anyone who experiences it and is a place of quiet mind. This is because the detoxification process is like a periodic opening of floodgates. When the flood is completely gone, recovery is virtually complete. As written in Revelation, "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away."



Author Note

I am a retired neuroscientist and was engaged in research in biological psychiatry at The Rockefeller University and New York University School of Medicine. Since the time of Hippocrates it has been understood that symptoms of most diseases, other than degenerative disorders where irreversible organic damage has been sustained, represent the body's efforts to eliminate toxins. In 1962 we discovered a toxic metabolite of dopamine in the urine of schizophrenic patients and published many papers based on this finding. However, we did not correlate this with the damaging effects on the nervous system of suppressing emotions. The toxic mind theory is proven by over fifty years of research studies and because it is based on established physiological mechanisms, which reflect empirical knowledge gained from years of observation and experimentation. This kind of evidence is substantial, whereas statistics gathered from current studies cannot account for all variables are are often misleading.

 Portions of this article are taken from the scientific article The Toxic Mind: The Biology of Mental Illness and Violence in the journal Medical Hypotheses. I am not a medical doctor and cannot offer medical advice. I hope however that an understanding of the biology will be useful to therapists and to persons in recovery. While the biological concepts have the authority of publication in a peer-reviewed medical journal, the self-help measures are of the nature of advice given in self-help programs. I cannot assume responsibility for any interpretation and use the reader may make of the biological concepts or dietary approaches. If you use these concepts in your therapy, you do so at your own risk. If your depression is severe and you are suicidal please seek professional help right away. I recommend having a medical check up before using the self-help measures to make sure there is nothing seriously wrong physically. This article does not suggest discontinuing therapy or the use of prescribed drugs as ordered by physicians. The self-help measures can be used along with therapy and drugs. If you recover using these measures and decide to discontinue medication, be sure to do this under medical supervision. If your depression is severe and you are suicidal please seek professional help right away. The self-help is not intended for children under age and in the care of their parents without parental permission.

I was not an abused child by society's standards, but I was left by my mother in my crib at birth to 'cry it out' and listened to my father rage, never at me, but at my mother, brother, and sister. I learned to suppress my justifiable anger very early. I was an autistic child and in my twenties was diagnosed as schizophrenic and locked for four years on the violent ward of a mental hospital. I spent much of the time in the 'mattress' room, where I raged against the tight sheets of a straight jacket, or I turned my anger inward in suicidal rage. One of the shock treatments didn't quite make me unconsious, and I felt pain and panic as the electricity surged through my body. It was like being electrocuted, yet still alive. Over the next thirty years I was confined in more than twenty hospitals, rediagnosed a number of times, and was given every drug known to psychiatry. At age 60 I was rediagnosed with major depressive disorder, then manic-depressive, and had symptoms of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. In my years of hospitalization, only one nurse had a sense of what I needed. She came into a room where I was tied to a bed in restraint, untied me, and gave me a tray of plastic dishes. "Throw these at the wall, dear" she said. If I had known to mentally picture my parents on that wall, I might have begun to heal. I wanted to be locked up in those hospitals. I never knew why, but it was an acting out of a fantasy. It was a re-enactment of having been imprisoned in my crib and an opportunity to have my justifiable anger. After making this discovery in 1995, and with the help of the self-help measures based on this discovery, I recovered in a short time. I am enjoying all the benefits of good mental and physical health as validated by diagnostic and laboratory tests. Since the posting of this article many have used the self-help measures. Those who used them consistently were relieved of depression in a few months and after about a year were virtually free of symptoms of emotional disorders.

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