Disintegration of Self: Breaking Synapses and Double Binds | P 17 – 37

The essay explores two distinct classes of behavioural problems, in one, neural, there is
involuntary, progressive loss of self, and in the other, cognitive, there is voluntary, hostile
loss of self. In both people use metaphors, in neural class the metaphors are common in
the early phase and slowly fades, whereas in cognitive class it remains normal. Deception
is confined to early phase in neural problem, whereas in the cognitive it peaks in the
last phase. Wounds of pain in the two classes are different, and so also its outcomes. In
neural class the pain has its origin in irreversible breaking of synapses, and therefore loss
of innate and acquired associations. In the cognitive class the origin of pain is in failing
psychological and social attachments. The most enduring is empathy in neural class
toward spouse, as opposed to its conscious denial in double binds between families.

Keywords: Metaphor. Love. Alzheimer’s disease. Double bind. Suicide. Self. Pain.
Empathy.