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Dreams, Reality, and Disappointment: A Neuropsychological and Behavioral Analysis | Melanie Boling, Boling Expeditionary Research

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Dreams, Reality, and Disappointment: A Neuropsychological and Behavioral Analysis | Melanie Boling, Boling Expeditionary Research

Human beings are often driven by aspirations and long-term goals that promise fulfillment and identity. However, when these dreams are realized, the anticipated satisfaction frequently diminishes, giving rise to disappointment or even disillusionment. This paper explores the neurobiological, psychological, and behavioral mechanisms underlying this phenomenon, with emphasis on the role of the dopaminergic reward system, prediction error, hedonic adaptation, and pathological cycles of striving. Additionally, the paper discusses the potential for maladaptive outcomes and outlines strategies for coping with disillusionment, while considering long-term neurological and physiological implications.


The Hidden Toll of Toxic Leadership on Military Minds and Families: A Neuroscientific and Psychological Perspective | Melanie Boling, Boling Expeditionary Research

The Hidden Toll of Toxic Leadership on Military Minds and Families: A Neuroscientific and Psychological Perspective | Melanie Boling, Boling Expeditionary Research

Objective. This paper examines the neurobiological and psychological consequences of toxic leadership in the U.S. military for service members, spouses, and children.

Method. Drawing upon neuroscience, psychology, and epidemiological data—including Department of Defense suicide reports and Family Advocacy Program statistics—this review synthesizes evidence of chronic stress, moral injury, family dysfunction, and intergenerational trauma caused by destructive command climates.

Results. Toxic leadership disrupts hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis regulation, heightens amygdala threat reactivity, reduces prefrontal control, and damages hippocampal integrity. Service members experience depression, anxiety, suicidality, and physical illness. Spouses suffer secondary traumatic stress, somatic illness, and suicide risk. Children endure disrupted attachment, altered neural development, and epigenetic vulnerability. Epidemiological data demonstrate the scope: 523 service-member suicides in 2023, 146 family-member suicides in 2022, 8,298 documented domestic abuse cases in 2023, and more than 500 intimate partner violence–related homicides and suicides between 2012 and 2022.

Conclusion. Toxic leadership is a systemic health hazard, comparable in severity to combat trauma. Addressing it requires leadership accountability, trauma-informed family support, and recognition of its intergenerational consequences.

Keywords: toxic leadership, moral injury, HPA axis, military families, neuroscience, intergenerational trauma

The Wolf of Wall Street: Cinematic Glorification, Neuropsychological Aspiration, and the Dynamics of Trauma Bonds | Melanie Boling, Boling Expeditionary Research

The Wolf of Wall Street: Cinematic Glorification, Neuropsychological Aspiration, and the Dynamics of Trauma Bonds | Melanie Boling, Boling Expeditionary Research

This paper explores why Jordan Belfort, despite being a criminal, abuser, and drug addict, continues to inspire admiration among some men and attraction among some women. Drawing on film analysis, psychology, and neuroscience, it argues that Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street operates not only as a cautionary tale but also as a vehicle of glorification. It also constructs a psychological profile of Belfort, emphasizing traits consistent with personality disorders, particularly narcissistic, antisocial, and borderline patterns. Simultaneously, it examines the psychological mechanisms behind male aspiration toward figures like Belfort and the trauma bonds that kept his former wife entrapped, extending this analysis to the broader profiles of women drawn to men with power, wealth, and status. Finally, it situates Belfort’s psychological makeup alongside case comparisons to other financial criminals and charismatic leaders, and expands on the neuroscientific underpinnings of his manipulative charisma and followers’ susceptibility.

Haunted Identities | Melanie Boling, Boling Expeditionary Research

Haunted Identities | Melanie Boling, Boling Expeditionary Research

Individuals with Cluster B personality disorders—including Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD), Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD), and Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD)—are overrepresented among stalkers and harassers of former partners. A subset of these individuals not only persist in intrusive behaviors but also engage in mimetic identity disturbance: adopting the style, appearance, and behaviors of their ex-partner’s new romantic interest. Beyond this, some attempt to reshape their new romantic partner into a facsimile of their ex, recreating lost dynamics. These behaviors reflect profound identity diffusion, unstable attachment, and neurobiological dysregulation in frontolimbic, dopaminergic, and mirror-neuron systems. Victims of such dynamics often experience trauma, identity violation, and boundary collapse. This paper integrates neuroscience, clinical psychology, and forensic evidence to analyze the dual dynamics of mimicry and partner re-creation, and outlines therapeutic and legal responses.

Betrayal Trauma, Perpetrator Psychology, and Witness-Survivor Resilience: A Case Study of Father Norbert J. Maday in the Chicago Archdiocese | Melanie Boling, Boling Expeditionary Research

Betrayal Trauma, Perpetrator Psychology, and Witness-Survivor Resilience: A Case Study of Father Norbert J. Maday in the Chicago Archdiocese | Melanie Boling, Boling Expeditionary Research

Clergy-perpetrated sexual abuse (CPSA) is uniquely harmful because it fuses interpersonal violation with the betrayal of sacred authority and institutional trust. This paper examines the case of Father Norbert J. Maday, a Chicago Archdiocese priest convicted of sexually abusing minors, as a lens to explore perpetrator psychology, betrayal trauma theory, and the neuropsychological and psychological sequelae of abuse. The analysis emphasizes the underexamined population of “witness-survivors”: children who resisted inappropriate advances, observed abusive behaviors, or voiced concerns, but were dismissed or punished by family and parish staff. Maday’s behavioral profile demonstrates grooming, cognitive distortions, narcissistic entitlement, antisocial tendencies, and moral disengagement, all reinforced by institutional silence. Survivors—including witnesses—show classic betrayal trauma responses, including HPA axis dysregulation, amygdala hyperactivation, hippocampal alterations, and prefrontal suppression.

“Anything of value is worth the effort””
— Melanie Boling