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March 20, 2019 Angry Man [Baby] Syndrome by F. Givens Throughout my years of incarceration, I have sought to gain insight into who I really am. Through my efforts, it is now easier for me to identify many of my character defects, which allows me to correct some defects. As a corollary of self-awareness, I can now recognize traits of my own maladaptive behaviors exhibited in others. Such recognition allows me to have empathy towards these persons. One of the most demonstrative behaviors I have witnessed in prison, I have labeled, not so affectionately, the "Angry Man-Baby Syndrome". I developed this label after being the recent target of extreme emotional outbursts from fellow prisoners whom had somehow felt wronged by my desire to take early morning showers: "Why does he have to be the first one in the shower every morning?", queried Angry Man 1, displacing his own anxieties caused by his own reluctance or inability to awaken early. "He wasn't worried bout takin' showers on da street." Angry Man 2 retorted, transforming through sublimation, his own perceived loss or discomfort into levity to ease his pain. "He's always blockin' everyone else from gettin' in da shower", responded Angry Man 1, emphatically emphasizing his generalization with a single-finger hand gesture universally recognized as something other than a "peace to you". "I wanna get in da shower when I wanna get in da shower" Angry Man 2 seemed to whine, fully regressing to the days when his mother would comfort his tears. "Look at him now! Puttin' on all that stuff tryin' to smell good. He wasnt worried about smellin' good on da streets" quipped Angry Man 1 as he projected his own anger and inability to procure hygiene products unto someone he vicariously felt had robbed him of such opportunity. These outbursts, loud enough for me to hear without directly speaking to me, as they usually are, occurred despite the existence of 9 other shower heads and me personally having never witnessed either individual seeking to awaken prior to the opening of the showers at 6 am. My first impulse was to become angry and disgusted towards my clairvoyant shower adversaries, whom had obviously over-estimated their psychic abilities in discussing my life "on da streets". These self-proclaimed victims felt vicariously deprived of an opportunity which they have never sought. I could have responded with equally absurd statements, but having previously experienced various encounters of this sort, I knew that any attempt to provide understanding through whimsical hyperbole would prove quite unproductive. Instead I set out to explore possible causation(s) of the Angry Man Baby Syndrome. My first thought was that the angry fellows may have had some type of brain malfunction. The human brain is very complex, and it's functioning has yet to be fully understood. The field of artificial intelligence or "AI" employs various techniques to replicate the way humans think. In "Deep Learning", a network of computers or 'neural net' is fed massive amounts of data which the network uses to self-educate itself in recognition and identification of patterns. However, Deep Learning appears to have its limitations. In an experiment, a neural network attempted to teach itself how to play the game "Breakout”. Without any prior knowledge of the game, the network began poorly but by the 600th game, was able to recognize patterns sufficiently to develop expert moves beyond most human's capabilities (Thompson, Cline: "The Miseducation of Artificial Intelligence", Wired Magazine (Dec 2018). Believing that the network would be able to develop human style cognition, slight tweaks were made to the game in which human players were able to quickly adapt, but the neural network could not. It only knew one way to react to the game and was incapable of adapting to something new: " "[W]e humans are not just pattern recognizers. We're also building models about the things we see ... we understand about cause and effect" [Citation.] Humans engage in reasoning, making logical inferences about the world around us; we have a store of commonsense knowledge that helps us to figure out new situations... The neural net, on the other hand, hadn't understood anything about Breakout. All it could do was follow the pattern. When the pattern changed, it was helpless" ... Thompson, supra, quoting Computer Scientist Dileep George. My hapless unwashed foes seemed incapable of making logical inferences or using common sense approaches to properly evaluate the “cause and affect” of the situation, which could have eased their anxiety. I could fill endless amounts of data to “The Showerless” alerting them to the existence of 9 other shower heads, the availability of alarm clocks and early morning wake up calls, so that they could self-educate themselves. I could have also explained, in graphic detail too explicit for this essay, exactly how they could procure their preciously sought hygiene products, but that method, for men or women, would have been unlawful in all but one of the United States (I refer to Nevada). Notwithstanding these facts, any form of external stimuli feed into their cerebral networks would most likely have been placed in temporary storage, and permanently erased when the angry fellows went into “sleep mode”. On second thought, AI may function exactly like (some) human brains. So with the answer appearing not to be with in the field of computer science, I delved into the field of psychology. By the early 1940’s Dr. Sigmund Freud lead in the development of the three-part human brain personality, or "the human psyche". The psyche consists of the Id, Eros and Thanatos. The Id (also known as the “Reptilian” portion of the brain) is the primitive, unconscious portion of our personality and is present at birth. It is immune to logic, values, morality, and the demands of the external world (Hockenbury, Sandra E., Discovery Psychology, 3rd ED (2004)) The id is also the pleasure-speaking portion of our personality and is best exemplified in newborn infants who cry out when they feel some form of need (Cox, Richard H., Sports Psychology, Concepts and Applications, 7th ed, (2012)). The “Eros” (Limbic System or “Ego”) “represents the conscious, logical reality oriented aspect of the personality” (Cox, supra). The “Thanatos” (Neocortex or “Super Ego”) is critical of self or ego, and enforces moral standards while blocking unacceptable impulses of the Id, and at times, may trigger aggressive, destructive or self-destructive behavior (Hockenbury, supra). While it may appear that our brain comes in pre-installed with a self regulation system, the system can be overloaded by environmental factors. The brain’s Prefrontal Cortex controls what is referred to as our “Executive Function”, which determines our ability to self-regulate. Factors such as poverty and highly dysfunctional homes during the early stages of our lives, as well as numerous other factors, may inhibit our ability to self-regulate our temperament, impulses and urges (Babcock, Beth: “Why Do Some Children Respond to Intervention While Others Don’t; Ted talks video series). These early childhood stress factors can cause a lifetime of maladaptive behaviors and mental disorders: Studies have shown that the inability to manage stress levels in adults tend to arise from unaddressed disorders, i.e, complex PTSD or "DESNOS" (disorders of extreme stress not otherwise specified). The most common of these disorders, in order of frequency, are separation anxiety (fear of loss), oppositional defiant disorder, phobic disorder, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD). children who have received diagnosis of any of these disorders tend to be characterized as having pervasive problems with “attachment, attention, and managing psychological arousal”. (Assessment and Treatment of complex PTSD, American Psychiatric Press, 2001). However there are ways of overcoming such debilitating conditions: “[I]n Most cases, we’ll find that the patterns of behavior we establish early in life and what we’ve carried with us up to the present. Some of our patterns and choices has served us well, while others have not. Through the [searching of fearless moral] inventory, we search for the patterns we want to continue and those we want to change”... It works - How and Why, The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Narcotics anonymous at page 42-43. Applying this information to the case at hand, I made the determination that the individuals whom I had somehow provoked, in all likelihood, suffered from the aftermath of unaddressed early childhood trauma. It has generally been my observation that a large portion of my fellow prisoners were raised in less than idea environments for children. Those from environments which have tended to have been better balanced seemed to be criminals of opportunity or choice. Not necessarily a criminal out of perceived need to survive, but a criminal who was more so motivated by sheer desire. However, a common characteristic amongst the vast majority of prisoners is that they seem to possess highly reactive personalities. I can personally attest to being more reactive than proactive throughout a good portion of my adult life. It has been far easier for me to make excuses rather than effectuate productive results, i.e. 'proactive'. In most cases, my reactivity has been a clever ruse to displace my own uncomfortableness caused by fears and or inadequacies upon anyone or anything I could blame rather than myself. To this effect I can see similar displacement of feelings displayed in the actions of many of my fellow incarcerants who often claim they reason for their incarceration as having "caught a case" as a person might catch a common cold. While the possibility that a virus could cause someone to commit assault, drug distribution or corroborating with a foreign entity to fix an election is extremely remote, there remains a good chance that many actual convicts actually suffer from some type of disorder which prevents or restricts their ability to self regulate their own stress levels: "[Y]oung children are highly vulnerable emotionally to the adverse influences of parent mental health problems and family violence. One of the most extremely documented of these vulnerabilities is the negative impact of a mother's clinical depression on her young children's emotional development, social sensitivity, and concept of themselves, effects that have been demonstrated in both developmental research and on brain functioning. Young children, who grow up in seriously troubled families, especially those who are vulnerable temperamentally, are prone to the development of behavioral disorders and conduct problems" ... National Scientific Counsel on the Developing Child, Harvard University, (2004). Since my incarceration, I have sought to gain understanding into my own dysfunctional behaviors and beliefs, and have personally learned to address issues by using the tools acquired through rehabilitative self-help groups and books. One course designed in strengthening relationships as well as self was premised upon a book titled "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen R. Covey. The Habits emphasize the concepts of private and public victories in life. Covey states that before we can develop productive relationships, we must first obtain private victory in our lives by gaining independence in our lives. This can be accomplished by being proactive rather than reactive (Habit 1), setting goals or "begin with the end in mind" (Habit 2) and prioritizing or "putting first things first" (Habit 3). Once a person has achieved their own private victory, public victory can be obtained through "interdependence with others". Such interdependence can apply to business, social and family relationships. This requires having a "win win" attitude (Habit 4). Once a person has this mindset, the next step requires us to develop empathic communication or "seeking first to understand, then to be understood" (Habit 5). Once we understand others, we can value the differences between ourselves and others, and using those differences we find win-win solutions which neither party might be able to see separately, thus creating "Synergy" (Habit 6). Covey states that once these victories have ben effectuated, Habit 7 requires us to "sharpen the saw" or perform the daily tasks necessary for maintaining and increasing our own personal and public effectiveness, or our "production capability". At this point, and on a daily basis, I now seek to maintain my own "saw" by participation in healthy ways to increase or better myself physically, mentally,social/emotionally and spiritually. This knowledge has played a key role in strengthening relationships in my life and finding ways to work with those around me in prison whom I would probably not have done in a free society. Without the use of many of these techniques, I too would most likely be a perpetual member of the Angry Man-Baby society. Imagine a newborn infant who has learned to cry in order to relieve stress caused by hunger, fear or uncomfortable anxieties. Fast forward some 50 to 60 years and consider the man or woman who continues to lash out at others whenever they feel uncomfortable. Any perceived loss which could trigger emotional response could arise from the loss of freedom, relationships, possessions, privacy or in some cases, a perceived inability to shower at 6:00 am. The same factors which have created my in-prison Angry [Person] group have spawned an unlimited supply of members, many of whom have yet to be incarcerated. Though the use of continuous prayer, meditation, self-reflection and education, I have come to the belief that we all have choices that we make in life. These choices may be effected by environmental factors or arising from our own goals, values and priorities. What is important is not only how we respond to situations, but also how we respond to the consequences of our own choices, which determines the level of responsibility we take for our own actions. Our responses to the latter tend to indicate the type of character we possess as well as our own maturity levels. I focus on eliminating negative character traits while strengthening the tools which are effectuating change in my life. I prefer proactivity over hyper-reactivity which could lead me to disavow any responsibility for my actions and the harm caused. It is incumbent upon each and every individual, male:or female, free or incarcerated, rich or poor, to choose the correct tools and responses which can build or destroy their lives, and the lives of others.
