Self or Adult Compromising Behaviors and Attitudes: Page one
	Self-compromising behaviors/attitudes can also be termed, Adult-compromising behaviors/attitudes.  These are behaviors,or attitudes, that undermine an individual’s ability to function as a bonfide Adult; as their genuine Self.  As the developmental continuum progresses, or as is often the case, stalls, independent of a person’s chronological age, very few, if any, individuals find themselves solidly positioned in the Adult range.  If we can believe what has been written about Jesus, he is likely the only Class A Adult.  This developmental continuum is composed of Maslov’s five progressive need levels, the fifth being subdivided into three Adult ranges.  This diagram gives an indication of their progressive nature. This developmental pyramid illustrates the difficulty of achieving Self-actualization, Adulthood, or Spiritual Maturity in an environment that does not offer physical security, emotional security, social security  and intellectual, or cognitive, security.  These pre-requisites for spiritual security, or Adulthood, function independent of economic status.  A billionaire with a doctorate from any one of the prestigious Ivy League universities is not guaranteed much more than physical security, if that. Whereas, a person such as Mother Teresa can climb to the developmental continuum’s pinnacle.  Another concept which illustrates the dependence on experience for emotional progress is shown by this diagram.  Faulty attachment experience will produce distorted perceptions of the world, which will in turn produce a distorted Self-image.  The quality of one’s Self-image will determine the potential health of interpersonal relationships.  Maslov's hierarchy of developmental needs can be separated into two general, loosely knit, catagories:  external and internal.  The bottom three levels, physical, emotional, and social, are predominantly involved with the processing of external influences.  The upper two levels, mental and spiritual, are predominantly involved with internal processes.  The three external levels are foundational for the fourth and fifth internal levels.  The external three levels were essentially established by the age of three and therefore are part of one’s subconscious.  All attachment experience has been catagorized, cross-referenced, assigned significance and organized in a manner which makes some sense and satisfies the Self.  Regardless of authenticity, this subconscious organization of experience determines the nature of the individual's world, the image the individual views him or herself as, and the manner in which this individual will interact.   This nebulous, subconscious milieu is what we refer to as personality or character.  It is the filtering force for all of life’s experience.  All experience must pass through each of the three foundational levels.  Any distortion in these levels will distort the experience. Early childhood experience is the factor which creates the unique distortion patterns in an individual’s perception and self-image.  Since this early childhood experience was experienced within the child’s home, the child’s home is the only environment where this distortion is relatively uncontested.  Later in life, this status quo environmental pattern is reconstructed, if not actually returned to, in order to establish some form of emotional equilibrium, some form of non-threatening environment, thus, the magnetic pull of family during the holidays.  This status quo environment may itself be a destructive environment, but it is an environment the grown-up-child has developed coping mechanisms for and is therefore perceived as less threatening than even a nebulous, non-threatening, unknown environment. This distortion is concealed behind coping mechanisms and difficult for the grown-up-child to recognize.  However, this distortion leaves recognizable fingerprints in the form of Self-compromising, or Adult- compromising, behaviors and attitudes.  Disciplining these behaviors and, or, attitudes out of a person’s realm of experience does not satisfy the legitimate need the behavior and, or, attitude is revealing.  Suppression simply guarantees an eruption in some other behavioral form.  All suppressive behaviors are embodied within the commonly used phrase, getting over it.  Getting over it, has no long term benefits and only serves to further distance a person from their True Self.  Accurately reading the message embodied within the behavior and, or, attitude and then effectively dealing with the root cause, is the only healthy, wholesome response which guarantees long term benefits.  Following is a chart listing many of these compromising behaviors and attitudes.  This list is by no stretch of the imagination exhaustive and keeps growing day to day.
			Self or Adult Compromising Behaviors and Attitudes: Page two