Why TEG-Blue Exists: A Story of Survival, Pattern Recognition, and the Need for Validation
TEG-Blue™ wasn’t engineered in a lab or brainstormed inside academia. It was created out of personal crisis—reshaped, day by day, into a visual system that maps what’s so often invisible: the patterns of hurt, survival, and healing in human life.
From Collapse to Construction
In April 2024, my life as I knew it ended. I walked away from a deeply harmful relationship, lost the company I had built from scratch, and found myself with nothing—no partner, no home, no clear future. There was no “research phase.” There was shock, confusion, and the urgent, daily work of simply surviving.
But for as long as I can remember, I have made meaning through design—turning chaos into visual logic, complex realities into clear patterns. My background isn’t in psychology or academia. I’m a motion designer with 25+ years’ experience making complex ideas accessible and human. My curiosity about why people behave as they do has been a lifelong through line—fuelled less by career goals and more by necessity.
Seeing the Patterns, Naming What Was Missing
When traditional frameworks couldn’t reach to help me make sense of what happened, I started mapping my own experience. I devoured everything I could about trauma, emotional survival strategies, manipulation, and recovery—from foundational texts in neuroscience to podcasts on power, relationships, and healing. I applied the full force of my pattern recognition and visual skills, developing shorthand images and concepts that let me see—and eventually share—what I was living through.
Bit by bit, these survival maps became tools that worked not just for me, but revealed common dynamics at the heart of emotional harm and healing. Over those early months, TEG-Blue grew from private sketches to a comprehensive visual framework—one that seemed to reflect universal patterns, not just personal ones.
The Influence of Hans Rosling and Lifelong Intellectual Curiosity
TEG-Blue would not exist without the influence of Hans Rosling. His iconic TED talk, “The Best Stats You’ve Ever Seen,” showed me that seeing reality clearly—even its messiest patterns—is an act of hope and care for humanity. He taught me to believe that “things can be bad and still get better,” and that making data accessible is itself an ethical responsibility.
My own intellectual landscape is formed by decades of self-directed learning: books on emotional intelligence, trauma, neuroscience, the mind-body connection, and the roots of human behavior. (A reading list, spanning Goleman to van der Kolk to Gabor Maté, stands behind TEG-Blue—see below for the full foundation.)
I’m not a credentialed scientist. I am a systems-thinker, visual translator, and survivor who built tools to stay alive—and then realized those tools could serve a wider purpose if tested openly.
Why the Origin Demands Independent Scrutiny
This story is not a credential. If anything, it’s the reason why TEG-Blue depends on careful, external research.
What a crisis offers:
- Insider’s perspective on emotional breakdown and recovery.
- Tools tested under real-world extremity, not theory.
- Visual clarity sharpened by survival. What it lacks:
- Academic distance and objectivity.
- Rigor of controlled, multi-population testing.
- Proof that what’s universal under stress is universal everywhere.
These gaps aren’t a flaw—they’re an honest call for independent, critical, multidisciplinary evaluation.
I’m not asking anyone to believe TEG-Blue is correct because of my story or struggle. I’m asking if, given its origin, it is worth investigating further.
What I Bring & What I Need in Partners
What I can offer:
- Two decades of visual storytelling and design precision.
- Deep curiosity and broad self-education in human sciences.
- A Hans Rosling-inspired commitment to clarity, transparency, and actionable hope.
- A framework built for real-time use, not just theory.
- Complete transparency about what I can and cannot know alone.
What I ask of collaborators:
- Expertise in research methodology, empirical measurement, and academic rigor.
- External, independent testing across diverse groups and contexts.
- Peer review and the willingness to discover both strengths and flaws.
- Collaboration that centers evidence, not narrative.
The Open Question
Did this origin story produce just a personal survival kit, or a system that stands up to scientific scrutiny and serves a wider audience?
Can tools born from necessity deepen, not duplicate, existing approaches?
Do survivor maps reveal or distort universal truths?
These are not rhetorical questions. They are an open, evidence-driven invitation.
For Those Ready to Investigate
If you’re interested in trauma-informed tools, in frameworks where lived and learned experience are integrated, or in the empirical value of survivor-informed designs, I invite you to partner in testing TEG-Blue—fully, transparently, and with all necessary rigor.
I’m not asking for allies. I’m asking for honest skeptics, skilled researchers, and open minds. Only proper research can reveal what is truly useful here.
Next Steps: Connect and Collaborate
- For inquiries, funding, or collaboration ideas, contact:
- Learn more, download the full Comprehensive Summary:
Anna Paretas – Email: [email protected]
Foundations & Further Reading
Core influences include:
- Daniel Goleman, “Emotional Intelligence”
- Bessel van der Kolk, “The Body Keeps the Score”
- Gabor Maté, “The Myth of Normal,” “When the Body Says No,” “In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts,” “Scattered Minds”
- Stephen Porges, “The Polyvagal Theory”
- Alain de Botton, The School of Life
- Desmond Morris, Yuval Noah Harari, Brian Klaas, Tara Brach, Mark Wolynn, David Richo, Stefanie Stahl, Emma Rose Byham, and many more.
For the full reading list and intellectual background, see below.
The Intellectual Foundation Behind TEG-Blue
The Spark: Hans Rosling's Legacy
Eighteen years ago, Hans Rosling's 2006 TED talk "The Best Stats You've Ever Seen" changed my life. His way of showing reality with clarity, hope without denial, and data with heart became the first seed of this project. Hans Rosling taught me that understanding reality deeply—even when it's complex—is an act of love for humanity. Without him, The Emotional Gradient Blueprint would not exist.
Discover his brilliance in Hans Rosling's 2006 TED Talk
The Books That Built the Foundation
Here are the books that helped me connect the dots—that showed me the world through a different lens, and helped me become a more human human being.
Books about Emotional Intelligence & Self-Awareness
- Daniel Goleman – Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ
- Alain de Botton & The School of Life – The School of Life: An Emotional Education
Books on Human Behavior & Evolutionary Psychology
- Desmond Morris – The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
- Yuval Noah Harari – Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Books and Podcasts about Power, Corruption & Social Structures
- Brian Klaas – Corruptible: Who Gets Power and How It Changes Us
- Brian Klaas – FLUKE: Chance, Chaos, and Why Everything We Do Matters
- Josh Clark – The End of the World (Podcast)
Trauma, Healing & The Mind-Body Connection
- Bessel van der Kolk – The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
- Gabor Maté – The Myth of Normal: Illness, Health, and Healing in a Toxic Culture
- Gabor Maté – When the Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress
- Gabor Maté – Scattered Minds: The Origins and Healing of Attention Deficit Disorder
- Stephen W. Porges – The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-Regulation
Understanding Narcissism & Toxic Relationships
- Lundy Bancroft – Why Does He Do That? Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men
- Ramani Durvasula, PhD – It's Not You - How to Identify and Heal from Narcissistic People
- Stephanie M. Kriesberg, PsyD – Adult Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers: Quiet the Critical Voice in Your Head, Heal Self-Doubt, and Live the Life You Deserve
- Emma Rose Byham – Was It Even Abuse? Restoring Clarity After Covert Abuse
- Kerry McAvoy, PhD – Educational content on narcissistic abuse and trauma recovery
- Smith & Doe – What Men Don't Want Women to Know: The Secrets, the Lies, the Unspoken Truth
Boundaries, Self-Worth & Emotional Resilience
- Nedra Glover Tawwab – Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide to Reclaiming Yourself
- Tara Brach – Radical Compassion: Learning to Love Yourself and Your World
- Najwa Zebian – The Book of Healing
- Najwa Zebian – The Only Constant
- Rosalind Miles – Women's History Of The Modern World: How Radicals, Rebels, and Everywomen Revolutionized the Last 200 Years
Relationships & Emotional Growth
- David Richo – How to Be an Adult in Relationships: The Five Keys to Mindful Loving
- Stefanie Stahl – The Child In You: The Breakthrough Method for Bringing Out Your Authentic Self
- Robin Norwood – Women Who Love Too Much
- Ichiro Kishimi & Fumitake Koga – The Courage to Be Disliked: The Japanese Phenomenon That Shows You How to Change Your Life and Achieve Real Happiness
Generational Trauma & Family Conditioning
- Mark Wolynn – It Didn't Start With You: How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Who We Are and How to End the Cycle
- Michael Cooper – Nonviolent Communication: The Best Way to Connect with Others and Build the Foundations of a Healthy Relationship
- Tina Payne Bryson & Daniel J. Siegel – The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind
Addiction, Recovery & Social Conditioning
- Gabor Maté – In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction
- Steven Slate & Mark Scheeren – The Freedom Model for Addictions: Escape the Treatment and Recovery Trap
← Back to System Vision Invitation
TEG-Blue™ is a place for people who care-about dignity, about repair, about building something better. It’s a map, an invitation, and a growing toolbox, as an evolving commons—supporting emotional clarity, systemic healing, and collective wisdom. Here, healing doesn’t require perfection—just honesty, responsibility, and support.