The Wide Awakes

In part two of our investigation into the liberal mind and the syndrome of NAPPS(Narcissistic Peter Pan ParanoidSchizophrenia), we look into what has recently been termed the Peter Pan Syndrome. PPS is not an actual syndrome in psychological terms, but it is a label most of us innately understand. It refers to, in essence, those people who will just ‘never grow up’.
People whose development has all but stopped in the adolescent phase. People who will avoid responsibility at all costs. People whose fear of the future, fear of failure, and fear of inadequacy has held them in a seemingly permanent state of dependency.
This mental problem seems to be more common now than ever…

‘Society has come to accept the idea that people do not become adults until they are in their late thirties. As a result, adolescence has been extended well into the twenties… Recently the MacArthur Foundation has funded a major research project called ‘Transitions to Adulthood’, which situates the end of that transition at 34. Some social scientists claim… that in our time we do not reach maturity until the age of 35
The infantilisation(sic) of contemporary society is driven by passions that are quite specific to our times. The understandable desire not to look old has been replaced by the self-conscious cultivation of immaturity. People in the past wanted to appear young and attractive, but not necessarily to behave like children. The present-day obsession with childish things may seem like a trivial detail – but the all-pervasive nostalgia for childhood among young adults is symptomatic of a profound insecurity toward the future. Hesitations about embracing adulthood reflect a diminished aspiration for independence, commitment and experimentation.’

But it can be traced back…

‘Ideas and social movements that began in the 1960s also have discouraged young people from adult roles and responsibilities. “Radical feminism, the New Left, the sexual revolution and the population control movement all blended together and had a common interest in seeing marriage and childbearing diminish as part of American life.”’

PPS may not, in itself, be recognized by the mental health community; however there is a psychological syndrome that embodies many of the symptoms we use here to describe PPS.

It is Dependant Personality Disorder. Persons with this disorder are described here:

‘People with dependent personality disorder may exhibit a pattern of dependent and submissive behavior, relying on others to make decisions for them. They require excessive reassurance and advice, and are easily hurt by criticism or disapproval. They feel uncomfortable and helpless if they are alone, and can be devastated when a close relationship ends. They have a strong fear of rejection. Typically lacking in self-confidence, the dependent personality rarely initiates projects or does things independently. This disorder usually begins by early adulthood and is diagnosed more frequently in females than males.’

Desires of the Dependant Personality include the following:

1) A yearning for a strong figure who will provide the resources for their survival and happiness (sounds like the left’s definition of government to me)

2) The need for support (ever hear of the term ‘entitlements’?)

3) Desiring help from other people (and if necessary, of course, that help will be forced by the penal power of government through the redistribution of wealth.)

4) Subservience and subordination (through the ceding of one’s rights for the feeling of safety)

Their desires are, of course, fear based and these fears include:

1) Feelings of helplessness (in themselves and thus projected onto others)

2) Fear of independence and having to do things for oneself (why be independent when the nanny state can take care of all one’s needs?)

3) Fear of rejection or criticism (remember the Narcissist? And what happens when he feels criticized or rejected? Uh oh.)

In the end, those with PPS/Dependent Personality Disorder wish to avoid, by any means, the world most of us know simply as adulthood. They refuse to acknowledge the need for independence and personal responsibility. They refuse to face the fact that life can be sometimes hard and mean. And, as perpetual adolescents, refuse to uphold their own duty to society. And, it is this refusal of the ‘Peter Pan’ to face true reality that ultimately leads directly into the next subject of this investigation and the next post…Paranoid Schizophrenia.

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Glen by The Wide Awakes