Spectrum of Integrity: A Hierarchy of Needs and Depression

Intro

I couldn't post this on TRP because I'm new.

I've decided to take it upon myself to create a framework in which all human experience can be labeled for the benefit of TRP. I have termed this framework "The Spectrum of Human Integrity", based on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and my own Mask's Hierarchy of Depression. My depiction of the hierarchy of depression is based on my own experience, climbing from the depths of depression to reach where I am now, with solid ground in Integrity Tier +2.

For the purpose of this post, integrity is defined as "the feeling one gets from acting in line with the reason one exists." To remain in line with the rules of TRP, I will leave the reason for existence up to personal interpretation and refrain from moralizing in any way. I'm also the guy that says "TRP is focusing too much on..." without submitting material that I'd like to see more of. That ends here.

In this post I intend to clearly define each stage of integrity by how the psyche functions in the stage, how the subconscious responds in the stage, and how the physiology presents in the stage. I will also include the skills and behaviors that act as chutes and ladders to and from each stage, so that the reader will feel comfortable navigating the stages of life. By the end of this post, the reader will be able to clearly identify the stage of integrity they belong to and begin to identify the stage of integrity others belong to.

This framework will help all players of The Game categorize, connect with, and provide value to men and women alike as they determine their integrity levels and work toward achieving actualization in their own lives (and if they so choose, in the lives of others).

Yes, this will be a long post. I intend to provide as much value as possible. Fuck your TLDR.

Body

All negative tiers of integrity are caused by a refusal to accept responsibility for one's Quality Of Life (QOL) due to an increasing aversion to putting forth effort.
All positive tiers of integrity are caused by the opposite: a conscious acceptance of responsibility for one's QOL and an increasing willingness to put forth effort to improve one's QOL.

Mask's Hierarchy of Depression

As can be expected, the deeper one falls into depression, the more effort it will require to climb back up. In this section you will find a clear picture of depression, details on the slippery slopes that lead to each level, and the psychological tools I call ladders to help you climb back up.

Integrity Tier -5 | Deliberate Self-Deception

Consciously deciding to ignore your flaws and weaknesses and pretend to be someone you aren't.

Presents as incongruent narcissism and bipolar mood swings, and leads to impostor syndrome, or "wannabe" mode.

In this state, your psyche is in constant extreme levels of turbulence as your subconscious fights to remind you that you are a failure at life, and you consciously war against those underlying feelings by reaffirming yourself as exactly who you want to be. The physiology of the deluded is posh, arrogant, and cocky, yet still reeking of insecurity and fraud. They walk with aggression, speak with strong frame control until directly challenged, and have a perceptible delusional mania in their eye. Talking with this person can be extremely exhilarating at first, as they seem extremely intelligent, passionate, self aware, and self-confident, but as you get to know them, you realize that their confident artificiality is matched only by their inadequacy, ineptitude, and incompetence.

Falling to Tier -5 from Tier -4 is rather easy. All one has to do is become fully aware of their flaws and weaknesses and deliberately decide to hide the truth from themselves. Every level of depression is based on this exact tendency, but Integrity Tier -5 obviously takes it to a conscious extreme. This tendency is common in the psuedo-spiritual communities: repeat these affirmations, rewire your subconscious mind, change your life! Affirmation without appropriate effort is delusion.

Someone in this stage of depression finds themselves constantly looking for distractions, whether it be in video games, porn, youtube, twitch, netflix, drugs (including marijuana), or alcohol, while simultaneously doing a bunch of things that make them feel productive, like reading and posting on reddit, spending a lot of time "creative writing", researching aimlessly, and intellectually masturbating with pseudo intellectual shows and documentaries.

This stage is one of the most difficult to leave, and usually takes a traumatic life event to shake up the psyche so much that radical change is rendered absolutely necessary. However, if the reader has found themselves in this stage and wants a ladder, here you go:

Take an inventory of your weaknesses relating to the hierarchy of needs. If you don't consider yourself to be a reliable person, examine why. If you don't have physical and financial security, examine why. If your ONLY source of validation is affirmation, examine why. Examine your source of self-esteem. Examine your levels of productivity. If you have no clearly defined goals (READ THE FUCKING SIDEBAR), create some small goals with clear deadlines to get you back on your feet. Get a job, start a business, go to the gym, quit an addiction, go back to school, take online classes. Do something to tangibly elevate your station in life.

Yes, this will lead you back to Stage -4. Yes, it will suck. Yes, it is worth it in the long run.

Integrity Tier -4 | Self-Hatred

Being fully aware of everything you could do to improve your flaws and weaknesses while believing you are too weak (or some other inherently debilitating flaw) to take positive action. Presents as high-energy implosive anger and leads to irritability, rage, and lashing out. In this state, your psyche is boiling in negative energy as your subconscious bombards your conscious mind with all the things that are preventing you from achieving greatness in your lifetime. The physiology of the self-hater is marked by slumped shoulders, a slumped posture, and a bowed head due to the feeling of defeat. They walk slowly and without energy, speak at a low volume with a grave tone, and have a perceptible grey disdain for life (and of course, of themselves) in their eye. Talking with this person tends to be extremely draining, as their mind is conditioned to look for the negative in everything, and as you get to know them, their world view will confirm it.

Falling from Tier -3 to Tier -4 simply takes the realization that your flaws and weaknesses are able to be improved upon or eliminated, but feeling that you specifically would be unable to improve or eliminate them. Someone in this stage of depression will find themselves devoid of any passion or enjoyment of life, failing to believe that any effort they exert will have any meaningful returns.

If you find yourself in this state, know that your psyche is fertile ground for the seeds of transformation. Here is your ladder: every negative thought you are bombarded with can be transmuted into a seed of equivalent benefit. A seed, not the full blown flower. Every reason you now hate yourself can be reversed and changed into a reason you love yourself in the future. If you hate yourself for your porn addiction, you will love yourself for every day you go without it. If you hate yourself for your skinnyfat body, you will love yourself for every day you go to the gym. If you hate yourself for being antisocial, you will love yourself for every time you open a new set- and especially love yourself for joining a club you were one passionate about.

"Every adversity carries with it the seed of an equivalent benefit."

Burn this statement into your mind. Test it, believe it, swear by it.

Integrity Tier -3 | Self-Deprecation

Joking acceptance of your weaknesses in a way that reaffirms them as immutable. Presents as low-energy slights at the self, leading to a deep belief in one's own weakness. The physiology of the self-deprecator is can present similarly to the physiology of either the normie or the beta, depending on the depth of the depression. They walk rather normally, speak at a normal level of enthusiasm, and have a slightly sad look in the eye. Talking with this person can be funny, as they usually have a pretty great sense of humor, but can easily get annoying and draining if their jokes are constantly trying to invoke your sympathy or pity.

Falling from Tier -2 to Tier -3 takes the development of a relaxed attitude toward one's weaknesses post-reflection. "These are things I can't change about myself," you tell yourself, "so I might as well joke about them." What begins as a harmless and helpful mindset for reducing anxiety can easily become an unproductive and self-destructive habit. Someone in this tier will find themselves easily connecting with other people and making shallow friendships (as most people you meet will belong in this tier), yet always feeling alone-even when in a social environment.

If you find yourself in this Tier, know that it is relatively easy to break out of it with a level of determination and awareness. Now is the time to focus in on your strengths, passions, and life vision. The more specific and detailed your vision for life is, the stronger your passion will become, and this inner fire you will carry you right back up the Spectrum of Integrity. As you climb back up the Spectrum, people will begin to notice your growth. Some will compliment you, others will insult you due to a crab-in-the-bucket mentality. Simply be prepared for people to care about your behavior and demeanor in a new way.

Integrity Tier -2 | Anxiety

A constant underlying feeling that something is wrong with you or your environment. Usually caused by a habit of procrastination that has gotten out of hand. You're used to putting things off until the last minute, but still getting them done. The heavier your workload, the more you procrastinate, the more anxiety you feel as the deadlines approach, the more your subconscious mind gets accustomed to worrying. Presents as shakiness, flakiness, and an aversion to taking on more responsibility. The physiology of the Anxious presents as uptight, alert, and clear. They walk briskly, speak at varying levels of enthusiasm (directly dependent on their level of trust of their conversational partner and the environment they're in), and have a slightly crazed look in the eye. Talking with this person can be boring before they trust you and overwhelming once they open up. Their mind tends to be functioning at a high speed all the time, with very little creative output, causing it to overheat and spill over once they do begin to open up.

Falling from Tier -1 to Tier -2 takes the recognition of one's flaws, then blaming them on some external cause. You make up excuses for why you don't get things done. "If only my dad had taught me how to fuck bitches and get money, I'd be God-tier by now" type shit. This type of thinking only serves to keep you paralyzed. No one is coming to save you. You must become your own hero.

If you find yourself in this Tier, recognize that you are the cause of your own feelings, thoughts, actions, and quality of life. You need to adopt a creative outlet like writing, music production, painting, debate, martial arts, or some other sport to release some of your pent-up energy. As you begin to blow off steam, you will begin to realize that many of your problems are self-made, and therefore can be resolved by you. This realization will give you the confidence to continue your climb.

Integrity Tier -1 | Self-Limiting Distrust

A feeling you may not be able to trust yourself to make your vision come true. This is the residual paralyzing fear of failure from failures one has experienced in the past. Presents as paralysis and hesitation. The physiology of 'he of little faith' is consistently pensive when beginning a new task, learning a new skill, or finally presenting himself and his talents to the world. They have begun to walk with purpose, speak clearly and properly (with the exception of stuttering here and there due to nervousness), and have a nervous but faintly courageous look in their eye. Talking with this person can require patience, as they spend time thinking about how to best say what they mean before they speak. It is generally well worth the wait, as they have become wise and insightful as a result their journey.

Falling from Tier +1 to -1 is common, and it only takes an obstacle that you care about surmounting enough that the fear of failure kicks in. This is both the easiest and hardest tier to climb up from, because it is the most emotionally charged with ego and identity.

"You must let go of who you were to become who you will be."

"Everything you want is on the other side of fear."

If you recognize that your past self was full of fear and delusion and refuse to identify with your past self any longer, then you will do what it takes to take the next step, surmount the obstacle, and become your new self.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Integrity Tier +1 | Basic Integrity

The beginning of self-belief. You consider yourself to be reliable and organized, at least when it comes to things you truly care about. This has come about as a result of a consistent daily routine that has put you on a upward spiral. This leads to seeing results in your physique, your mental clarity, and in your levels of productivity. Your psyche presents with a somewhat fickle confidence, expectation, and ambition. The physiology of the Man of Integrity has begun to resemble that of the Alpha, with a few glitches here and there. A straight posture, a walk with a bit of swagger, speaking with a deeper and well projected voice, and a driven look in the eye. Talking with you has become a pleasure, as you are self-confident and begin recognizing and passing shit-tests with ease, grace, and sometimes humor.

Falling from Tier +2 to Tier +1 is somewhat uncommon, and is usually caused by a measure of arrogance that caused a chronic lapse in judgement. Climbing back up to Tier +2 will require an analysis of the holes in your armor. Were you weaker or less experienced than you expected and lose a fight? Did brown-nosing your boss backfire? Was your job simply too easy to be secure? Have you left your family unprotected? Have you been slacking on your healthy diet? Did you live in a location known for tenant turnover and wind up evicted? Check yo'self before you wreck yourself twice.

Integrity Tier +2 | Safety

Prime condition for peaceful self-reflection - or arrogant complacency. You consider yourself to be safe from the major troubles of life, at least for the time being, and have found security. Therefore, of course, your psyche presents a prevailing feeling of security. The physiology of the Safe Man is calm, cool, casual, and relaxed. The walk has begun to take on more natural proportions of swagger, speech is succinct yet powerful, and the look in the eye is relaxed. Talking with you is easygoing and can be fun.

Integrity Tier +3 | External Validation

You have become a leader, and you have begun to naturally feel like the Alpha. People respect you (or envy you) and most have no problem expressing it. Sex comes easily, your family loves you and look up to you, and you have begun to cultivate deeper friendships. Your psyche presents with a consistent feeling of joy as you drink in the admiration. Your subconscious goads you toward new opportunities to win.

Integrity Tier +4 | Self-Esteem

You now live only for the rush you get from accomplishment. Most people in your field respect you and look up to you, and you find it easy to respect everyone, even those you know are below you. Your psyche presents with focused attention, drive, and ambition. The subconscious spends most of its time creating new and more efficient solutions to your problems.

Integrity Tier +5 | Actualization

Consciously deciding to live every moment of your life in line with your commitments and stated goals, regardless of your flaws, weaknesses, thoughts, or feelings. Leads to euthymia, enhanced productivity, and equanimity. In this state, your psyche is at peace and in harmony. The subconscious is free to work on and perfect self-awareness.

Conclusion

Notice what each tier of integrity has in common-- degree of adherence to personal commitments.

The subconscious mind is always communicating to you where you lie on the spectrum, and your place on the spectrum of integrity can vary widely from moment to moment, day to day, week to week, and so on. While this comes dangerously close to moralizing, I'll input that the goal of life in my view is to gain control over your place on the spectrum and spend as much time in Tier +5 as possible.

I cannot speak much on Tiers beyond +2, as I have not gained a significant degree of control over them and therefore do not have the data required to make bold declarations. If you can help me expand this list, as you find yourself at a higher Tier of Integrity than myself, all contributions are welcome and will be considered.

There is a Tier -6 that I haven't explored here at all. This is the Tier where people give up on life entirely. Who have stopped searching for meaning and have already made plans to commit suicide. For you, my dear friends, I can offer you only the truth that life does get better, with the red pill that life does get better if and only if you are willing to put forth the effort required to change it for the better. If you're willing to trust me on this, take me at my word, and look into making your life better, please, call the national suicide hotline @ 1-800-273-8255.