Lewie, aged 15Spirogenetic theory recognizes each individual as having an original spirogenetic essence – a ‘real me’ – that is, from conception, an equally soul-ly and genetically encoded form of self. Through our various life experiences, and the ways they (re)shape us, this real self may become devalued, disconnected, fragmented, and even lost, as we strive to reconstruct a perfect pretend self that others might recognize, like, accept and love.
The pretend self
The constant effort required to create and maintain this perfect pretend self (and its ideal appearance & achievement) may produce feelings of stress, fear, anxiety, depression, emptiness, and isolation that may be temporarily relieved through (ever-increasing) achievement or consumption - i.e. through work, sport, food, dieting, drugs, alcohol, surgery, shopping, etc. The (fear of) failure to achieve that perfect self, perhaps because we feel we just cannot be beautiful, slim, intelligent, successful, or good enough, may result in a feeling of loss of control over one’s self and life, and a retreat from the outer social world into one’s inner world where that sense of order, control, and goodness of self can be achieved and maintained.
The real self
This inward retreat has historically been seen and interpreted as ‘mental disorder’. But spirogenetic theory reinterprets eating, depressive, anxiety & addiction (dis)orders as a ‘re-ordering’ form of survival of the real (but fragmented) self, when other, socially approved forms have been denied. On this understanding, the cure and preventative for stress, anxiety, fear, disconnectedness, or mental (dis)order is not drugs which further numb, dumb, and immobilize, but the reclamation, reintegration, revaluation, and true expression of the real, sexed, spirogenetic self.
