Troubled Consciousness: The Constructive 'I' and the Mental Health Crisis

For centuries, philosophers, psychologists, and neuroscientists have debated the nature of self-awareness, what we call "I." Is it an illusion, a fixed entity, or something more fluid? Troubled Consciousness: The Constructive 'I' and the Mental Health Crisis presents a groundbreaking perspective, redefining self-awareness not as an object or essence but as a recursive, protective function of the brain. Drawing from neuroscience, cognitive psychology, psychoanalysis, and artificial intelligence, this book explores how "I" originally evolved as an adaptive survival mechanism but has now become a source of suffering, disconnection, and existential distress.
At the core of this book is the Constructive "I" Hypothesis, which reframes self-awareness as a multi-layered security system designed to regulate the Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, and Social (PIES) dimensions of human survival. The book argues that mental health disorders, ranging from anxiety and depression to psychosis, are manifestations of "I" malfunctioning in either hyper-protective, hypo-protective, or fragmented states. Anxiety arises when "I" is overactive, treating every situation as a potential threat; depression occurs when "I" disengages, believing survival efforts are futile; psychosis emerges when "I" loses coherence, struggling to distinguish reality from self-constructed distortions.
Beyond pathology, the book explores the humanistic dimensions of "I", how self-esteem, social identity, and existential meaning are shaped by the way "I" functions. It challenges traditional psychological models that either overemphasise chemical imbalances or treat self-awareness as a fixed truth waiting to be uncovered. Instead, it offers a new therapeutic approach, suggesting that healing requires reconstructing "I" as a flexible, adaptive function rather than searching for an unchangeable core self.
The final chapters extend this theory into the future, exploring the implications of AI, neural augmentation, and digital consciousness. Can artificial intelligence ever develop "I"? Will future technologies allow humans to reprogram their sense of self? And if "I" is not a fixed entity, how do we overcome the fear of its dissolution, including death itself?
By integrating deep theoretical insights with practical applications, Troubled Consciousness presents a radical yet intuitive model of self-awareness, one that could reshape psychology, neuroscience, and the future of human mental health. This book is essential reading for those seeking to understand not only the roots of psychological suffering but also the potential for a reconstructed, more adaptive "I."