Self-Devaluation Conflict

Unlike territorial or separation conflicts — which involve one's sense of position and contact in relation to the world and others — the self-devaluation conflict involves one's sense of adequacy and ability in relation to what the organism itself desires to be.

Self-devaluation conflicts vary in their specificity and intensity. A generalized or central self-devaluation (e.g. "I am not who I once was") tends to affect the spine or ribcage. A local self-devaluation involves the tissues that carry out the activity one is devaluing. For example:

• "I can't run as fast as I used to" — legs, especially knees
• "I deserve shame/judgment" — neck
• "I have lost someone forever" — gonad
• "I have an ugly belly" — fat tissue on belly

The intensity of the self-devaluation conflict determines the depth of tissue involved:

• A mild self-devaluation involves connective tissue, fat tissue, and muscle tissue
• A moderate self-devaluation involves lymphatic and venous tissue (lymph nodes, veins, and arteries)
• A severe self-devaluation involves bone, bone marrow, and blood tissue

During the conflict-active phase, the affected new mesoderm tissue undergoes cell loss or necrosis: bone loses density, muscle atrophies, cartilage thins, or blood cell counts drop. The body literally becomes "less" in the area of perceived inadequacy. During the healing phase, the tissue rebuilds to a larger size and becomes permanently more capable and productive than before.

The tissues of the new mesoderm that respond to self-devaluation conflicts are called "the luxury group" because the biological benefit of the special biological program comes at the very end, when the tissues are larger, stronger, and producing more hormones than before.

Laterality (and crossover) apply in self-devaluation conflicts. Organs and tissues on the dominant side of the body respond to self-devaluation in relation to partner, and those on the non-dominant side respond to self-devaluation in relation to mother or child.

This is an important understanding: the bone that deteriorates during an active self-devaluation conflict becomes denser, thicker, and stronger after healing. The muscle that wasted during an active self-devaluation conflict grows back stronger and bigger in the healing phase. Every self-devaluation conflict, fully resolved, makes the organism more capable in exactly the area where it felt insufficient.

Two Particular Challenges

The Vicious Circle – While the conflict-active phase mainly involves only the unpleasant sense of self-devaluation (plus heightened sympathecotonia), the healing phase of self-devaluation programs produces pain, swelling, stiffness, and a literal reduced ability (or inability) to use the affected part of the body. New mesoderm healing phase pain is actually relayed from the periosteum and is controlled from the post-sensory cortex (ectoderm) because new mesoderm tissues do not have sensory capacity. The purpose of pain in the healing phase of self-devaluation programs is to force the organism to rest and protect the healing tissue. However, not understanding this, pain and weakness or stiffness can easily trigger a new self-devaluation conflict about the very body part involved. This "vicious circle" is the pattern that keeps many special biological programs in hanging healing and constant conflict relapse.

Megalomania – If there are self-devaluation conflicts in relation to both mother-child and partner of the same type – affecting tissue on both sides of the body (e.g. both shoulders, both hips, both gonads, teeth on both sides of the mouth) – it produces a cerebral medulla constellation, which results in megalomania: a delusional overestimation of one's ability in relation to the conflict content. The megalomania constellation persists until both constituent self-devaluation conflicts are resolved and the healing phase of both special biological programs is complete.