Free-Will is not Free

Do you believe that every person has free-will to live how they would like to live? Have you ever said "well, that's their decision"? How sure are you that you are conscious leader of your life?

I will start with hoarding behavior. Hoarding is typically defined as a mental illness that is categorized by the persistent accumulation of items, unwillingness to discard of things regardless of condition and perceiving things as being more valuable than they are. This behavior can often lead to very cluttered homes and property and living conditions as deemed inappropriate by others.

The hoarding condition is usually connected with some sort of physical or mental trauma, and the hoarding behavior brings a sense of comfort to the individual. The unexpected loss of a loved one, sexual assault and abuse are among some of the traumas individuals encounter that turn to hoarding.

There are treatments for the illness including cognitive behavior therapy, exposure therapy and antidepressant medications. Those treatment options, along with ongoing support, can often find closure for the individual that was hoarding.

Do you believe they decided to become hoarders, or that they found a behavior that soothed them and made them feel safe when nothing else they had could? If you have never felt the absolute despair that comes with having your world rocked, then it is possible you will not understand how deeply the want to create your own little happy world can penetrate you.

Let's move on to other aspects of life to see how much free-will we have. Which one of these statements sound wrong? "John's one year old infant is a republican" or "John's one year old infant is a Christian"? In America we hear about one state being red and one state being blue when it comes to politics. I wonder if you have to be born there or if you have to move there to be included.

Fact is that children are born into religions, just as you may have been. In America it is more common to be born into Christianity, but if you were born in Sudan there is an overwhelming chance you would be a Sunni Islamist. Many people stay with the religion they are born into because that's what their family believes and it is what they have been taught from before they could walk. Years and years of people telling them what the truth is and what to believe.

Did you know that if you ever need to have a parole hearing you should make sure to get an appointment time for directly after lunch because studies have shown the judge to be more lenient? Are you curious as to why? The judge not being hungry has been proven through studies to lead to a nicer judge! Better hope no one stole his/her sandwich. Where is the free-will in this?

People that sit on hard chairs are often found to stick to their guns and be less willing to change. Ever heard the term "hard ass"? Put a person in a more comfortable chair if you want to get your way.

Behavior analysis is not considered scientific enough to be used in courts because there is room for a lot of interpretation but look at some of the things that are pretty common in the behavioral world. You need to determine a behavioral baseline in order to know what different behavior for that person is. When you're standing with someone check out where their feet are pointing. People generally direct their feet in the direction they want to go. Does the person you like have their feet pointed towards you? Perhaps they are interested.

Do you determine the people you like or dislike? Studies have shown that the amygdala, which is responsible for fight or flight, responds when certain pictures are flashed in front of people so quickly that they can't visually determine what the picture was. Pictures of different races and religions were presented in several studies that showed response of the amygdala when the photos did not match up with the persons race and/or religion. Are you choosing this? No. We have evolved to have constant lookouts for danger, and for most creatures, anything that is different than can be dangerous.

The amygdala basically indicates "us" or "them" and if it's a them they need to be careful and ready to respond. Thankfully science has also shown that you can also see a person of different race/religion wearing a hat from the sport team you like and it will consider that person an "us". This shows that the society, family structure, and overall environment play into what is learned to be an "us" or "them".

Have you ever had a craving for something salty? Was that you deciding you wanted something salty or your body saying, "give me some salt please"? Did you respond sort of aggressively earlier because you felt the need to be aggressive or because you were tired and had a bad night of sleep? Scare a child while wearing a mask and ask him in a few years if he or she knows why they hate Halloween.

What we are told, how we are raised, how we feel, our experiences in our lives and our ancestors all impact our decisions. The idea of free-will becomes less and less believable as our actions are better investigated. Think about the things you see on a daily basis such as drama, violence, and sex smeared all over television and social media. Look how information on one channel can be presented to you completely different than another. Consider how the people around you act and what they believe. Look at your family and think of the generation after generation of information that has been passed down to you.

What we must do is understand that everything we take in becomes a part of who we are and what we do. People use to ask me how I could manage seeing what I did when I was an EMT and my answer would be "it is amazing what you can use to". I do not respond to emergencies the way someone who has rarely encountered them will.

With this in mind we need to try to make sure what we pass on are truths, what we watch and listen to is a reflection of who and how we want to be as people, and treat each other with compassion. You likely don't know what led the person in front of you to get where they are or what influenced the decisions made. If you want to hold onto the concept of free-will, use it to help others and make this world a better place where people can live happily instead of living in a constant state of suffering to stay alive.