The Mermaid Attachment Syndrome (MAS) and Neurotic-Dependent Attachment Syndrome (NDAS): SIVHs as an Antidote to Perimenopausal Neuroticism Limbo
In the context of women’s career trajectories and emotional well-being between the ages of 35 and 50, psychometric analysis reveals three primary categories of attachment patterns influencing professional and relational behaviors: (1) women in stable familial relationships, (2) independent women, and (3) women exhibiting problematic attachment dynamics. While the first two categories are more predictable — focusing on either relational stability or assertive career advancement—this essay explores the third, more complex profile.
This phenomenon is conceptualized here as Mermaid Attachment Syndrome (MAS) or, in a more clinical frame, Neurotic-Dependent Attachment Syndrome (NDAS). MAS/NDAS represents a psychometric and neurochemical pattern where emotionally ambivalent attachments intersect with heightened neuroticism, especially during the perimenopausal transition.
We will dissect the psychosexual, neurochemical, and organizational mechanics underpinning MAS/NDAS, and propose Structured Internal Value Hierarchies (SIVHs) as a viable framework to disrupt this emotionally and biologically reinforced cycle.
MAS/NDAS and Women Prone to It
MAS/NDAS manifests as a self-reinforcing behavioral and emotional loop where the subtraits of neuroticism — particularly volatility and withdrawal — are exacerbated through repeated engagement in emotionally unfulfilling, yet sexually intimate, relationships. Women particularly susceptible to this dynamic often exhibit higher-than-average neurotic volatility and are within the 35 to 50-year age window, coinciding with the hormonal instability of perimenopause.
This life stage is marked by erratic estrogen and progesterone fluctuations, which destabilize mood-regulatory neurochemical pathways, including serotonergic and oxytocinergic systems (Carter, 2007; McEwen & Milner, 2017). For neurotic-prone individuals, this biochemical turbulence amplifies emotional reactivity, leading to increased irritability, anxiety, and diminished stress resilience.
Women with elevated openness to ideas and higher general mental ability (GMA) may further rationalize or intellectualize the symptoms of MAS/NDAS, obscuring them from peers and supervisors. However, behavioral cues — such as reduced productivity, increased psychomotor agitation, and non-verbal tension signals (e.g., rapid eye blinking, micro-expressions of frustration) — often surface.
The Tale of the Little Mermaid and Its Psychosexual Parallel
In Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid, the protagonist sacrifices her voice and endures constant pain in pursuit of love from an emotionally unavailable prince, who ultimately fails to recognize her devotion. This narrative closely parallels the psychosexual mechanics of MAS/NDAS.
Women entrapped in MAS/NDAS often relinquish core aspects of their personal agency, whether through self-silencing, emotional over-functioning, or unreciprocated caregiving. The relationship provides intermittent reinforcement, much like the prince’s occasional kindness, sustaining the emotional entrapment despite ongoing emotional depletion.
The mermaid’s refusal to “kill the prince” symbolizes the inability to sever from detrimental attachments — a critical failure echoed in real-world MAS/NDAS dynamics.
The Neurochemical Reinforcement Loop
Sexual intimacy in MAS/NDAS offers temporary neurochemical relief from emotional instability. Oxytocin release reduces amygdala hyperactivity, while cortisol levels drop as the HPA axis downregulates. Simultaneously, dopamine and β-endorphins provide euphoria and pain relief, momentarily masking the distress associated with heightened volatility (Bethea et al., 2002; Carter, 2007).
However, this biochemical cycle fails to address the underlying emotional void, instead locking individuals into addictive relational dynamics that exacerbate neurotic tendencies and delay self-actualization.
The Neuroticism Limbo Effect
MAS/NDAS operates as a neurotic trade-off, where unresolved volatility cycles into withdrawal, creating a self-perpetuating downward spiral. Women move between emotional highs post-intimacy and sharp emotional crashes as the hormonal “high” fades, reinforcing both subtraits over time.
This dynamic contributes to long-term patterns of self-worth erosion, dependency on external validation, and, in some cases, riskier relational or sexual behaviors. The result is a chronic cognitive fragmentation where short-term relief is pursued at the expense of life coherence.
The Partial Solution from the Tale
The critical intervention — symbolized by “killing the prince” — requires severing ties with unfulfilling relationships that show no progression toward long-term emotional stability after approximately 12 months. Failing to do so deepens the MAS/NDAS pathology, pushing women toward either altruistic over-functioning (in those with higher assertiveness) or compassion-driven passivity (in those with lower assertiveness).
Both outcomes mirror the Mermaid’s silent sacrifice, perpetuating relational dependence and delaying personal sovereignty.
SIVHs and MAS/NDAS
Structured Internal Value Hierarchies (SIVHs) provide a framework to guide individuals away from this dependency-driven pattern by reordering internal priorities toward autonomy, self-sufficiency, and goal coherence.
While SIVHs do not instantly dismantle the neurochemical and psychological grip of MAS/NDAS, they serve as a compass for long-term transformation, enabling women to:
Prioritize career and material stability,
Reinvest in physical and emotional health,
Rebuild supportive interpersonal relationships,
Clarify personal values that transcend relational dependency.
Our applied research indicates that breaking free from MAS/NDAS almost invariably requires first establishing personal independence before seeking healthier partnerships.
Organizational and Clinical Implications
For employers, recognizing MAS/NDAS patterns among perimenopausal women can clarify underlying causes of emotional volatility, withdrawal behaviors, and performance fluctuations. Integrating SIVH-based support or coaching within workplace structures could contribute to greater psychological stability and long-term professional engagement.
From a clinical standpoint, understanding the MAS/NDAS dynamic can deepen therapeutic interventions, allowing practitioners to address not only surface-level emotional patterns but also the biochemical reinforcement loops sustaining relational dependency.
Conclusion: Breaking the Mermaid Spell
The Mermaid Attachment Syndrome (MAS) and its clinical correlate, Neurotic-Dependent Attachment Syndrome (NDAS), are complex psychometric and neurochemical phenomena that trap individuals in emotionally barren yet neurochemically soothing relational loops.
The key to resolution lies in internal restructuring — severing maladaptive attachments and embracing SIVHs as a system for reorienting focus toward long-term personal sovereignty. Only through this internal reordering can women transition from cycles of emotional survival to sustainable self-authorship and emotional mastery, creating meaningful life and professional trajectories.
Some of the References Used for the Article
Andersen, H. C. (1837). The Little Mermaid. Copenhagen: C.A. Reitzel.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control. W.H. Freeman.
Bethea, C. L., Lu, N. Z., Gundlah, C., & Streicher, J. M. (2002). Diverse actions of ovarian steroids in the serotonin neural system. Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology, 23(1), 41-100.
Carter, C. S. (2007). Sex differences in oxytocin and vasopressin: Implications for autism spectrum disorders? Behavioural Brain Research, 176(1), 170-186.
Carter, C. S. (2014). Oxytocin pathways and the evolution of human behavior. Annual Review of Psychology, 65, 17-39.
Crockett, M. J., et al. (2009). Serotonin modulates behavioral reactions to unfairness. Science, 320(5884), 1739-1741.
Eysenck, M. W., & Derakshan, N. (2011). New perspectives in attentional control theory. Personality and Individual Differences, 50(7), 955-960.
Eysenck, M. W., Derakshan, N., Santos, R., & Calvo, M. G. (2007). Anxiety and cognitive performance: Attentional control theory. Emotion, 7(2), 336-353.
Fisher, H. E. (1998). Lust, attraction, and attachment in mammalian reproduction. Human Nature, 9(1), 23-52.
McEwen, B. S., & Milner, T. A. (2017). Understanding the broad influence of sex hormones and sex differences in the brain. Journal of Neuroscience Research, 95(1-2), 24-39.
Mobbs, D., et al. (2007). When fear is near: Threat imminence elicits prefrontal-periaqueductal gray shifts in humans. Science, 317(5841), 1079-1083.
Panksepp, J. (1998). Affective Neuroscience: The Foundations of Human and Animal Emotions. Oxford University Press.
Sapolsky, R. M. (2004). Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers: The Acclaimed Guide to Stress, Stress-Related Diseases, and Coping. Holt Paperbacks.
Skinner, B. F. (1957). Schedules of Reinforcement. Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Taylor, S. E., et al. (2000). Biobehavioral responses to stress in females: Tend-and-befriend, not fight-or-flight. Psychological Review, 107(3), 411-429.
Tops, M., van Peer, J. M., Korf, J., & Tucker, D. M. (2010). Individual differences in emotional expressivity predict amygdala response to negative emotional stimuli. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 5(3), 286-293.
