Parenting The Socially Phobic & Avoidant Adult: Episode 11 - 20 Year Old Emerges from Avoidance, Depression, and Primitive Functioning

Numerous variables can enable primitive functioning, which is defined as “spending the minimal amount of energy required to sustain a baseline lifestyle”. “Baseline” refers to substantially substandard emotional growth and development. In this case the variables include learning challenges which drove performance anxiety, family distress and divorce, fragmented parenting, and an overall compulsion on the patient’s part to detach from expending brain energy while avoiding responsibilities, and social and career challenges. In addition, unresolved and recycling anger and regae was a toxic dynamic. The patient describes his evolution from the prison of detachment, avoidance, and depression to the point where he was developing motivation for healing.