This is from Thundarr, written after talking to the Doctor of Psychology whom he works with:
As I promised AnneJ on my thread I would post the info I gleaned from my discussion with the long-time Doctor of Psychology I have the pleasure of working alongside. I told him I had some general questions but I think he probably realized my level of questioning was a bit personal. I decided to post this on a separate thread so that those who don't normally check my thread could be party to the info. I did not solve the puzzle of MLC, but I certainly came away with some good perspectives of what it might be and how it's perceived by academia.
On whether or not MLC exists and why it is not recognized by the medical and psychological community: "It is possible that MLC exists, but when you are dealing with a radical personality change before you can make an accurate diagnosis you have to first rule out medical causes. Several things such as brain tumors, brain injuries, peri and menopause, andropause and many diseases can cause a drastic personality change." He went on to tell me the story of a local man who was very successful and suddenly began acting much younger. His W ordered an MIW on him due to concerns for his welfare and the doctor ordered a CT scan on the man. What he found was "frontal lobe atrophy" which can occur around 40-50 in males and females and is a precursor to dementia and Alzheimers. He said that they symptoms can lessen and the person seem like they are returning to normal, but the condition is irreversible and they will inevitably worsen as they age further. This was news to me, both about the term as well as the fact that no diagnosis can be accurately made without ruling out a medical component. I wonder if the frontal lobe atrophy may have to do with how some never "come out of the tunnel" so to speak.
On why we should not take what they say or do personally: We know that if a person is a good person at heart who is very caring, they cannot simply become what look like sociopaths overnight. If the person cared before and was empathetic to others' feelings then they will always be that way barring a severe traumatic event such as going to war. But, even then the core person remains. He said we should know and accept that the things they do are NOT personal even though they look and feel that way for sure. If the person were really that way then they would have been that way all along and their lack of regard for others would have shown up in all facets of their life. He stressed again not to take their words or actions personal. This is why I thought he might have picked upon it being about me.
On other possible causes for what we term MLC: He said that some people to become good at hiding behind their jobs or their friends and covering up parts of their personality that are undesirable or that they just don't want others to know about. When they can no longer hide behind their jobs or the people around them, or when they begin to realize that the people around them have begun to figure them out they may stop hiding and expose their true selves. This often happens with borderline patients who are able to function in society but are often screaming inside their heads. They are able to compartmentalize by suppressing those aspects of their personalities. Notice that this does not contradict with the previous paragraph as the core person never changes, but rather the undesirable traits simply come to light. I wonder now if my W may fit this description.
He has some literature to give me on how brain functions affect personality and such. He said that if a personality change happens then it obviously has something to do with the brain or brain chemistry. That was another reason he said not to take it personally as there has to be something wrong upstairs, but we have no way of knowing what it is. We also discussed his views on covert depression and whether or not they could compartmentalize enough to function in their jobs and society but not be able to function emotionally, and his response was that was possible due to the fact that industrialized societies teach people to do that anyway as the focus is on achievement and attainment. To me this gives credence to the theory that collectivist societies do not suffer from this epidemic.
Biochemistry, neurotransmitters and brain research
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