Dissociative Dyslexia
Introduction
While exploring learning disorders and healing from trauma-related symptoms and normative dissociation, Ron Davis’s work on Orientation Counseling (HERE) (italicized portions of document below are from his book: Gift of Dyslexia) came into our awareness.
Data
Here are some excerpts and our responses that we must take into consideration when understanding systems of stress, Addiction as Dissociation Model, Dissociation-Informed Care, and Addiction-Informed Care:
“Dyslexics don’t all develop the same gifts, but they do have certain mental functions in common. Here are the basic abilities all dyslexics share:
- They can utilize the brain’s ability to alter and create perceptions (the primary ability).
- They are highly aware of the environment.
- They are more curious than average.
- They think mainly in pictures instead of words.
- They are highly intuitive and insightful.
- They think and perceive multi-dimensional (using all the senses).
- They can experience thought as reality.
- They have vivid imaginations.
These eight basic abilities, if not suppressed, invalidated or destroyed by parents or the educational process, will result in two characteristics: higher-than-normal intelligence and extraordinary creative abilities. From these the true gift of dyslexia can emerge—the gift of mastery. The gift of mastery develops in many ways and in many areas. For Albert Einstein, it was physics; for Walt Disney, it was art; for Greg Louganis, it was athletic prowess.”
When we now look at the dyslexia categorization, we see dissociation. Dr. Davis’s work identifies orientation as attention. He states that perception can get disoriented (our word for dissociation). Disorientation is what happens when learning is stressed and being stressed around learning usually would come from an attachment dynamic or rupture that produces developmental trauma and an adverse response to new learning. According to our principles of conditioning (O’Brien, 2023a), this adverse response to learning may be what is operantly or classically conditioned into the learning process. As a result, people with learning disorders maybe more related to trauma-related dissociation and addictive processes than what has been previously understood because addiction has not been clearly defined and could be conditioned (operant or classical) to their attachment style. Suggesting that dyslexia may be an emotionally-based learning system that may be related, connected, or may be the implicit memory system that holds the ability to understand emotional evolution (emotional intelligence), spiritual (moral development), and dissociative ascending/elevation or living in a raised state of consciousness instead of “altered state of consciousness” (Healers).
“Reading the same sentence while using nonverbal conceptualization will produce dyslexic symptoms. While disorientation is a common experience, dyslexics have taken it far beyond the ordinary. They don’t just experience disorientation, they cause it [editorial: habit conditioning described in the previous paragraph] to occur without realizing it. Dyslexics use disorientation on an unconscious level in order to perceive multi-dimensionally. By shifting their senses, they are able to experience multiple views of the world. They can perceive things from more than one perspective and gain more information from these perceptions than other people.
This has been our experience that was not understood by many of our teachers, educators, or even parents. What we do know now is that those who label are the ones with the power and control – both of which are addicting.
“Because the altered perceptions bring about recognition of objects that would otherwise be unrecognizable, disorientation becomes a normal part of their thinking process. Dyslexics are not aware of what occurs during the disorientation because it happens too fast. They are only
aware of what occurs when they use it: better recognition of three-dimensional objects, sounds and tactile stimuli. Besides resolving confusion, dyslexics utilize the altered perceptions that occur with disorientations for creative imagination. When it is applied to solving a problem
during nonverbal conceptualization, it might be called intuition, invention or inspiration. When it is done for entertainment, it is called fantasizing or daydreaming”.
Discussion
Who is to say what about the dyslexia-dissociation connection? Who the labeler is and their frame of reference (e.g., their emotional/spiritual/moral development) of the observed becomes particularly important when power dynamics between professions (education and psychology) create laws, diagnoses, and consequence based on their level of understanding – or lack their of. The fact that learning disorders are also misdiagnosed would mean that it is another product of our industrialized system that has failed to meet the measures of common sense. The fact that they were constructed out of law, governmental practices, and business “ethics”, which can account for why we have not reached full maturity in our emotional growth, identity, or moral development.
As we all know, the past has created our present and if we believe that it is not going to repeat, then we are the fools because force learning would produce a dissociative response. As our work highlights that pathology is incomplete and, with an absent transdiagnostic status, trauma, dissociation, and addictions are not completely accounted for (O’Brien, 2023a). As ADHD and OCD present similarly, positive pathology will prove its weight in the clinical application of qualitative science (O’Brien, 2024e).
Conclusions
As we embark on our new adventure of being a psychedelic educator, standup philosopher, poet advocate, and dissociative researcher, we are so happy to see that there is more information available (albeit 1993) about the conditions we study and what it implies to those who have been labeling dissociation as something abnormal, disordered, or diagnosable. As we look at the diagnostic shortcomings of our current pathology models, the absence of an operational definition for addiction means that we do not have an accurate definition of pathology. In fact, our terminology and case conceptualization for addiction may define it. This is particularly true from an attachment, developmental, dissociative, and healing perspective.
Our dissertation (O’Brien, 2023a) explores the unconscious aspects of spirituality, emotions, learning, memory, dissociative states, and addiction. As a concept, addiction has been presented as a learning disorder (Salavitz, 2016). While we appreciated this conceptualization, we see that the underlying mechanism of dual attention (with a mechanism of action activated by a common dual attention stimulus (DAS); O’Brien, 2023b), the deactivation of the default mode network (DMN) in brain systems, implicit learning, and the aspects of dissociative ‘mechanisms of action’ as such coincidences that we cannot see how we are all talking about the same thing differently (O’Brien, 2023a). If meditation (or the rebranding of meditation, otherwise now known as Mindfulness) is evidence-based, then every professional in one theory or another can really stop talking because the reality is that all of the professions are doing the same thing differently, just like all roads lead to God.
Future Directions
See our emerging research: HERE
References
O’Brien, A. (2023a). Addiction as Trauma-Related Dissociation: A Phenomenological Investigation of the Addictive State. International University of Graduate Studies. (Dissertation). Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/courses/addiction-as-dissociation-model-course/
O’Brien, A. (2023b). Memory Reconsolidation in Psychedelics Therapy. In Path of the Wounded Healer: A Dissociative-Focused Phase Model for Normative and Pathological States of Consciousness: Training Manual and Guide. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/courses/addiction-as-dissociation-model-course/
O’Brien, A. (2023c). Path of the Wounded Healer: A Dissociative-Focused Phase Model for Normative and Pathological States of Consciousness: Training Manual and Guide. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/
O’Brien, A. (2024a). Healer and Healing: The re-education of the healer and healing professions as an advocation. Re-educational and Training Manual and Guide. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/
O’Brien, A. (2024b). Diagnostic Privilege: Meta-Critical Analysis. In Healer and Healing: The re-education of the healer and the healing profession as an advocation. Re-educational and Training Manual and Guide. Appendix 2. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/courses/addiction-as-dissociation-model-course/
O’Brien, A. (2024c). Meta-Critical Analysis: The “Science” of Pseudoscience. In Healer and Healing: The re-education of the healer and the healing profession as an advocation. Re-educational and Training Manual and Guide. Appendix 3. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/courses/addiction-as-dissociation-model-course/
O’Brien, A. (2024d). Moral-Ethics. In Healer and Healing: The re-education of the healer andhealing professions as an advocation. Re-educational and Training Manual and Guide. Chapter 14. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/
O’Brien, A. (2024e). Path of the Wounded Healers for Thrivers: Perfectionism, Altruism, and Ambition Addictions; Re-education and training manual for Abusers, Activists, Batterers, Bullies, Enablers, Killers, Narcissists, Offenders, Parents, Perpetrators, and Warriors. Re-Education and Training Manual and Guide. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/
