Along a similar line, I wonder about the psychic underpinnings that go with this mess.

"Freezing" for example, is not confined to PD nor humans. A rabbitt freezes in the lights of an approaching car. A rat dropped into the middle of an "open field" test freezes before seeking the safety of the margin. Both are defensive behaviors in reaction to the anxiety of an unfamiliar situation. If the rat has been exposed in the womb to certain things he freezes for a longer time than otherwise.

Freezing is the locking up of all those muscles for a moment. Same mechanism whether rabbitt or PWP. Are the stimuli triggering it related?

Another response to anxiety is to seek control. A sense of control, even illusory, reduces anxiety. In the work environment that response can lead to success. Part of the PD Personality?

All my life, when in a restaurant or bar, I seek a seat looking out into the room. "Back to the wall" reflects caution. And desperation. Anxiety response?

I seek new things but only in a controlled manner. Never have been comfortable seeking adventure. Well, not quite true. Very uncomfortable seeking adventure when I felt responsible for the safety of, say, my wife. Same situation with a group of my "mates" however, totally different and at ease. Reflection of the anxious "hero child" perhaps?

How deep does it go, this clinging to the safety of the status quo? This illusion of equilibrium as safety? Normal cortisol levels fluctuate in a wide and predictable pattern each day. High in the morning to wake us up. Low in the evening to prepare for sleep. But not so for the PWP. Our levels seek the middle ground and stay there. Clinging to the mean.

There is a clue here somewhere.