UNIVERSITY OF NATURAL HEALTH

ORTHOPATHY AND HEALING PSYCHOSOCIAL AFFLICTIONS IN MILLENNIAL AND GENERATION Z COHORT GROUPS by: Dr. Sixto J. Sicilia Marrero, PhD 

 Doctor of Philosophy: HOLISTIC HEALTH AND NUTRITION

July, 2020 (all rights reserved)

 CONTENTS:

INTRODUCTION

STATEMENT OF THESIS ARGUMENT

CHAPTER 1: Millennials and Gen Z share a disquieting trend:

    Psychosocial Discord

CHAPTER 2: Holistic Psychosocial Development.

    Erik Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development

CHAPTER 3: The Antidote – Orthopathy and Holistic Health

CONCLUSION, ENDNOTES, ATTACHMENTS

INTRODUCTION

Throughout history, societal advancements have presented themselves with some type of consequence resulting in a negative outlook or outcome of said advancement. Societies have grappled with changes and have either risen to appreciate the change or fallen into a sense of dismay, or a type of arrested development. This arrested development is a cessation of societal growth that continues until the crisis of advancement or change has been resolved and integrated into the societal norm. For the first time since the evolution of the Homo sapiens we are witness to a segment of society living outside of its norms, of psychosocial developmental conditioning, and its inherent communal environment, that is to say, assimilating maladaptive behaviors causing a range of psychosocial dysfunctions such as irrational anxiety, loneliness, social isolation, depression, and hopelessness.

 Historically communities have been the standard of tribal cohesion for our species. In the beginning tribes of 20 or more people helped each other and took care of each other’s physiological needs as well as providing safety and unity for the tribe. The phenomenon of progress shows that progress has not always favored the expansion and growth of the collective consciousness of a society. In the last one-hundred years, progress has been silently dismantling the cohesion of Community and bolstering ill effects and crisis upon the human psyche. It is here we find the occurrence of psychological afflictions such as anxiety, loneliness, social isolation, depression, and hopelessness are at an all-time high in the history of the United States and other parts of the world. In the United States, these afflictions are particularly affecting the generational groups of Millennials (born roughly between 1981–1996) and Generation Z (1997-2012), at much higher rates than other generations. These two groups share what appears to be a separation from psychosocial developmental norms. These psychosocial developmental norms were instilled by the constant evolution of the human race and subsequently adapted and integrated to develop a functional tribe.

 Progress is defined by Merrian-Webster as “gradual development” or “to develop a higher, better more advanced state.1” Two major pioneering developments introduced that were deviations to the evolved communal standard; communal standard being social tribal interactions, were air conditioning and television. Air conditioning and television offered a novel change to the standard lifestyle, one to the comfort of the home the other to the value of entertainment in the home. These two basic introductions changed the way that we, as Homo sapiens, commune in modern times and relate to each other in everyday affairs. It is noted that up until the introduction of these inventions most of us comingled outside of the home relating to neighbors, sharing experiences, and maintaining a tribal community. Children played outside the home, and certainly were not over-stimulated by man-made technological distractions. Air conditioning, the start of environmentally-controlled environments, and television triggered a departure from traditional communal interaction and entertainment. These technological advances started to reshape the social entertainment landscape, our inherent social communal habits. They altered the manner in which we connect with mind-body thought processes and how we handle the related dysfunctional neurosis that arose from these technological advances. Little was it known at the time that by indulging in the luxury of escaping the heat and humidity within our homes (air conditioning) that the consequences would curtail human interaction and promote behaviors that would alter tribal interactions and catapult society into “retreating into the world within” into our sheltered selves and minds. At about the same time as air conditioning made its debut into the home habitat so did another pioneering invention, the television. At first, the television set presented itself as a form of entertainment enjoyed at communal gatherings of friends, family, and neighbors. People gathered in groups at the homes and at places where there was access to a television set and we negotiated, collaborated, navigated, and discussed. Where in the past we gathered socially in traditional Salon-style, which was “a gathering of notables held by custom at the home of a prominent person,” or a “communal gathering where information was shared upon a group of people,”2 along came the Nuclear family unit. The Nuclear family unit introduced a different type of tribal family group. This new group consisted only of parents and children and excluded the extended family and close friends and acquaintances, a significant variance from earlier times where everyone was included in the function of the tribe. At first, within this novel Nuclear family dynamic, there existed only one television set in the household around which family members would gather in collaboration and negotiation in the relationship of human interaction with the television set. As televisions became more accessible there was a shift away from frequent social interactions; venturing out, and the habitual way in which people got acquainted and stayed in touch. In addition, where there was one television set turned into multiple sets throughout the home and the familial rapport and human exchanges were now less than consequential and slightly less relevant. The beginning of diminishing societal contact within the community and the Nuclear family started what can now be defined as undoing a vital part of the social fabric of the micro and macro human experience. The extended family and the tribe were now not involved in the contractual day to day living and communal interactions. We were starting to witness a decline away from healthy communal interactions and a shift towards the “Me” and away from the “WE.” This shift was the manifestation of human isolation of the psyche, revealing itself as anxiety, loneliness, social isolation, depression, and hopelessness.

 The shift away from community norms continues as technological advancements produce people that are intertwined with Artificial Intelligence and technology that takes away from integrating the Self wholly into the human experience. These advancements in “staying connected” were to stimulate our central nervous system into non-urgent action, creating anxiety and the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO), modern afflictions of our innate Fight or Flight behavioral response. One may relate, when not too long ago, with the introduction of the home answering machine suddenly people felt an urge, as never before, to constantly check their home answering machines to check and see if someone had called. People also started to carry beepers. If you were not part of an essential service, what would be the urgency of being available 24-7?

 The Technological Revolution as it has been labeled is an age where we started to relate to others through virtual machines of all types and, interpreting human emotions through them. In times before these advancements and in times of adversity we may have reached out to one another, and most importantly exercised the strength of the human psyche to heal through human interaction now done through a middleman: the screen. Within the Holistic Health philosophy, there exists a list of 32 key contributors to human well-being as stated by Dr. Douglas N. Graham in his book the “80-10-10 diet” (Graham, D.N. Dr.(2006 and 2008). The 80/10/10 Diet: Balancing your health, your weight, and your life, one luscious bite at a time, Pg 11. Key Largo: FoodnSport Press). These 32 key contributors state what a human being should experience for a healthy dose of the human experience. The most important of these is the need to maintain a clean, hygienic living environment, yet closely followed by Laws #11 through 16 which deal with the development of psychosocial skills, (See attachment 1).

Psychosocial skills:

11. Need for the Human Touch

12. Thought, cogitation, and meditation

13. Friendships and Companionships

14. Gregariousness (Social relationships, community)

15. Love and appreciation

16. Play and recreation.

For a complimentary copy to the whole of this article please drop me a line at sixto@drsixto.me. Thanks for your valued interest. 

To your Whole Health, Naturally!

Sixto J. Sicilia, Ph D.

An excerpt:

“We can find comfort in Holistic Health philosophies, a natural development of paradigms emphasizing merging technology with nature. Health is the result of natural living. When people live in harmony with their physiological needs, health is the inevitable result. By supplying the organism with its basic requirements (natural, unadulterated food; sunshine; clean, fresh air; pure water; appropriate physical, mental and emotional activities; and a productive lifestyle) while simultaneously eliminating all harmful factors and influences, the self-constructing, self-regulating, self-repairing qualities of the body are given full rein. Holistic Health practices are defined as a principled, belief system in the restoration and preservation of health both physical and mental by natural, unadulterated means as simple as the intake of pure water, sunshine, exercise, clean air, cleanliness, proper diet, exercise, getting outdoors (Biophilia), sleep, rest, correct temperatures in living environments, relaxation, poise and overall a good mental and spiritual attitude.  Establishing these habits easily become a routine, and surprisingly so, most of us were probably not intentionally taught good mental health hygiene habits. These habits also bring consistency to our lives, promote wellness and resilience, and protect us from becoming overwhelmed by mental illness. And while mental health hygiene habits may vary from person to person, it is important to identify those that work best for us and to integrate them into our day — every day — through reminders and practice until they become a routine that we anticipate with pleasure.”

“The United States over the past five decades, as mentioned in the introduction of this thesis has experienced a decline in social capital – the network of social relationships, grounded in shared values and norms that gives people a sense of community and support. Younger Americans have fewer closer friends and belong to fewer and fewer communal associations. Younger Americans display less trust for each, not necessarily trust each other less, just display less trust: fear of strangers, mounting social media pressures of a technology-based lifestyle, and the difficulty in establishing meaningful connections due to choice overload, for example in their romantic relationships, this furthers a sense of all aloneness. What is more surprising is that in regards to other generational cohort groups, Millennials and Gen Z seem to suffer more. “What we see with the onslaught of physical distancing and isolation of Covid-19 and the recent flare-up with racial injustice is an exacerbation to the sense of separation between people at a moment when we need more social support.”