Great work! It has been too long since I've beheld another's thoughts that mirror my own. Your insight into the parallels of body dysmorphia and gender dysmorphia is precise. Your understanding of this collective psychosis and its idiosyncrasies is limpid and distinguished. And yet your prose is pleasantly mordant too. I have also been thinking and writing on this subject (for years). I'm new (but not young) to this world online and I just made my first 'posts' on Substack. Here is a link to my site:
This is the first part of a very long essay. I posted the second part last night and will be strategically posting subsequent sections for the next 6 weeks or so.
I hope we might establish some correspondence (maybe feedback?) on this topic. I'd be happy to parse yours, if you'd like to parse mine. I look forward to reading more of your work.
Body integrity dysphoria. With body dysmorphic disorder I'm not aware of a shared aetiology, and moreover the ideal body in this mental illness simply does not exist and for that reason cannot be embodied, like chasing the receding line of the horizon. Of course, with such people also, it would be unethical to claim that surgery is the answer to their issues or to validate them in their imaginings of a non-existent bodily flaw.
Congrats on your first post on Substack, I'll be sure to check it out :)
I appreciate your time to point out the difference between BID and BDD. When you mention an aetiology (I notice you have a penchant for archaic spelling, which I sympathize with) are you referring to a physical one? I only ask because it seems that the causes of dysphoria and disorders alike may or may not share a measurable physical cause, but it seems obvious they share a pathological one; that is, all delusions share something in common, and are not merely reducible to the mechanistic malfunctions of the brain (unless of course you're a strict materialist), but now I've carried on too long. Anyways... This isn't the place to canvass what these delusions share by way of their aetiology. Or is it?
Aetiology is just the British rather than the American spelling. (Archaic words are fun though; they should all be brought back.)
Paraphilias have a neural correlate (though doubtless require, let's put it politely, reinforcing) as does the body schema/own-body perception cognitive deficit. (Like I said, weak activation in the network of areas of the brain responsible for maintaining/updating one.)
As for demedicalised transgenderism and transableism, if it ever becomes cool to pretend to have a disability or to question one's "cis ability" then we might see an unprecedented increase in teens treating walking frames and hearing aids as accessories ("disability is a social construct", they'll say). We already see a lot of people self-diagnosing themselves with mental illnesses. After all, who wants to be "neurotypical" when one can be "neurodiverse" on top of "gender diverse"?
Delusions are, I believe, the opposite of malfunctions; they are a person's rationalisations for bizarre perceptions. I subscribe to the one-factor model of delusion (poor reasoning abilities are not required, only a bizarre, inescapable* perception). You might find this piece illuminating: https://angelavee.substack.com/p/capgras-and-cotard-delusions-the?utm_source=url
The tragedy is that in gender dysphoria the delusion is humoured (rather than the feeling of bodily alienation acknowledged) by either the ignorant and well-meaning (mostly, there are parents wishing to "trans away the gay" or gripped by some new form of Munchausen by proxy...which has also had a name change) or those merely trying to avoid being fired, de-platformed, or being subjected to verbal and/or physical violence.
*But say you go on anti-psychotics, then you can appreciate that it merely *feels* as though thoughts are being inserted into your head, rather than that aliens (improbable, but you have to admit, not impossible) are trying to command you remotely. (Or that the CIA is sending you messages in the newspaper. That's the the aberrant salience of schizophrenia due to issues with dopamine, among other neurotransmitters, at play.)
Pardon the delay; I have good excuses but no need to enumerate them. I have since read your articles on the capgras and cotard delusions (interesting stuff) and the one on BID. My concern centers on the one-factor model of delusion as a whole, not in relation to specific syndromes like C & C, but in a broader, more general sense. The model you mentioned proceeds from an epistemic presupposition that could be summarized as 'perceptions proceed conceptions', From the temporal framework of learning and experiencing reality as a child to an adult, this progression is fairly straightforward. You might say it's the 'cobblestone patchwork' (I believe this was how you put it) of many perceptions over a period of time that form beliefs, false ones included. But I wonder when this relationship starts to become inverted? After years of studying and learning, it seems to me that an adult perceives the world a certain way. This 'way' refers to the beliefs and convictions they have about the world and the way they learn subsequent information . In other words, at some point, it seems that our perceptions are colored (for better or worse) by our beliefs and therefore the one-model theory is not exhaustive.
Sure, as children, empiricism is preeminent, but then I think this paradigm begins to break down. Delusions in normal (I agree that one can be both more or less rational and deluded, and that delusions are not malfunctions) adults also emerge from more fundamental criteria; namely, ideas. So in contrast to the temporal framework, I think it's the ontological framework that should (but doesn't for most people) replace it for the purpose of graduating the mind. It is the essence of thinking a certain way (again, for better or worse) that slowly begins to the eclipse the empirical paradigm. This seems to be a better explanation for why adults cannot shake certain idiotic (and idiosyncratic) world views, to say little of 'bizarre intellectual fetishes' :) My latest post (part 3 of the aforementioned essay) address some these fetishes, if you'd like to read further.
As to your final bit on schizophrenia, I had a dear friend from college who became as schizophrenic as they come. His case would be a fascinating study...But we'll table that.
Dear Angela,
Great work! It has been too long since I've beheld another's thoughts that mirror my own. Your insight into the parallels of body dysmorphia and gender dysmorphia is precise. Your understanding of this collective psychosis and its idiosyncrasies is limpid and distinguished. And yet your prose is pleasantly mordant too. I have also been thinking and writing on this subject (for years). I'm new (but not young) to this world online and I just made my first 'posts' on Substack. Here is a link to my site:
https://tyndall.substack.com/p/reclaiming-common-sense?r=11etpp
This is the first part of a very long essay. I posted the second part last night and will be strategically posting subsequent sections for the next 6 weeks or so.
I hope we might establish some correspondence (maybe feedback?) on this topic. I'd be happy to parse yours, if you'd like to parse mine. I look forward to reading more of your work.
Warmly,
Ty Kun
Thank you so much for the compliments, Ty.
Body integrity dysphoria. With body dysmorphic disorder I'm not aware of a shared aetiology, and moreover the ideal body in this mental illness simply does not exist and for that reason cannot be embodied, like chasing the receding line of the horizon. Of course, with such people also, it would be unethical to claim that surgery is the answer to their issues or to validate them in their imaginings of a non-existent bodily flaw.
Congrats on your first post on Substack, I'll be sure to check it out :)
I appreciate your time to point out the difference between BID and BDD. When you mention an aetiology (I notice you have a penchant for archaic spelling, which I sympathize with) are you referring to a physical one? I only ask because it seems that the causes of dysphoria and disorders alike may or may not share a measurable physical cause, but it seems obvious they share a pathological one; that is, all delusions share something in common, and are not merely reducible to the mechanistic malfunctions of the brain (unless of course you're a strict materialist), but now I've carried on too long. Anyways... This isn't the place to canvass what these delusions share by way of their aetiology. Or is it?
Here's my article on body integrity dysphoria if you'd like to learn more: https://angelavee.substack.com/p/when-an-amputation-is-the-only-way?utm_source=url
Aetiology is just the British rather than the American spelling. (Archaic words are fun though; they should all be brought back.)
Paraphilias have a neural correlate (though doubtless require, let's put it politely, reinforcing) as does the body schema/own-body perception cognitive deficit. (Like I said, weak activation in the network of areas of the brain responsible for maintaining/updating one.)
As for demedicalised transgenderism and transableism, if it ever becomes cool to pretend to have a disability or to question one's "cis ability" then we might see an unprecedented increase in teens treating walking frames and hearing aids as accessories ("disability is a social construct", they'll say). We already see a lot of people self-diagnosing themselves with mental illnesses. After all, who wants to be "neurotypical" when one can be "neurodiverse" on top of "gender diverse"?
Delusions are, I believe, the opposite of malfunctions; they are a person's rationalisations for bizarre perceptions. I subscribe to the one-factor model of delusion (poor reasoning abilities are not required, only a bizarre, inescapable* perception). You might find this piece illuminating: https://angelavee.substack.com/p/capgras-and-cotard-delusions-the?utm_source=url
The tragedy is that in gender dysphoria the delusion is humoured (rather than the feeling of bodily alienation acknowledged) by either the ignorant and well-meaning (mostly, there are parents wishing to "trans away the gay" or gripped by some new form of Munchausen by proxy...which has also had a name change) or those merely trying to avoid being fired, de-platformed, or being subjected to verbal and/or physical violence.
*But say you go on anti-psychotics, then you can appreciate that it merely *feels* as though thoughts are being inserted into your head, rather than that aliens (improbable, but you have to admit, not impossible) are trying to command you remotely. (Or that the CIA is sending you messages in the newspaper. That's the the aberrant salience of schizophrenia due to issues with dopamine, among other neurotransmitters, at play.)
Hi Angela,
Pardon the delay; I have good excuses but no need to enumerate them. I have since read your articles on the capgras and cotard delusions (interesting stuff) and the one on BID. My concern centers on the one-factor model of delusion as a whole, not in relation to specific syndromes like C & C, but in a broader, more general sense. The model you mentioned proceeds from an epistemic presupposition that could be summarized as 'perceptions proceed conceptions', From the temporal framework of learning and experiencing reality as a child to an adult, this progression is fairly straightforward. You might say it's the 'cobblestone patchwork' (I believe this was how you put it) of many perceptions over a period of time that form beliefs, false ones included. But I wonder when this relationship starts to become inverted? After years of studying and learning, it seems to me that an adult perceives the world a certain way. This 'way' refers to the beliefs and convictions they have about the world and the way they learn subsequent information . In other words, at some point, it seems that our perceptions are colored (for better or worse) by our beliefs and therefore the one-model theory is not exhaustive.
Sure, as children, empiricism is preeminent, but then I think this paradigm begins to break down. Delusions in normal (I agree that one can be both more or less rational and deluded, and that delusions are not malfunctions) adults also emerge from more fundamental criteria; namely, ideas. So in contrast to the temporal framework, I think it's the ontological framework that should (but doesn't for most people) replace it for the purpose of graduating the mind. It is the essence of thinking a certain way (again, for better or worse) that slowly begins to the eclipse the empirical paradigm. This seems to be a better explanation for why adults cannot shake certain idiotic (and idiosyncratic) world views, to say little of 'bizarre intellectual fetishes' :) My latest post (part 3 of the aforementioned essay) address some these fetishes, if you'd like to read further.
As to your final bit on schizophrenia, I had a dear friend from college who became as schizophrenic as they come. His case would be a fascinating study...But we'll table that.
I look forward to future correspondence,
Ty