Spiritual Being Expanding Consciousness2_edited_edited.jpg

Circle of Needs & Fulfillment

CONAF Psychological Framework

by Dr. Ngolton
Child, Adolescent, & Adult Psychiatrist

Addressing Global Mental Health
One Individual at a Time

If you want to awaken all of humanity,

then awaken all of yourself.

If you want to eliminate the suffering in the world,

then eliminate all that is dark and negative in yourself. Truly, the greatest gift you have to give

is that of your own self-transformation.

- Hua Hu Ching -

"What can the CONAF Framework do for me?"

Despite advancement in scientific, technological, and medical knowledge, the mental health crisis is a worsening tragic issue globally (see detail at the World Health Organization.)

Drawing from my experience and exposure as a psychiatrist in various settings (inpatient, outpatient, underserved population, cash-only population, substance use, eating disorder, suicide prevention, etc.) and different psychological frameworks (DBT, CBT, psychodynamic, ACT, etc.) combined with deep insight meditations into the nature of consciousness, I have developed a simple but comprehensive psychological framework that has helped my patients and their families in their journey toward mental well-being.

The CONAF framework goes beyond symptom treatment by addressing root needs, offering a systemic and compassionate model for emotional healing and transformation.

I am sharing this framework with you freely so you can masterfully understand psychology & mental health and achieve your own mental well-being...in the hope that as you learn to mend your circle (of needs and fulfillment), you will be able to expand your consciousness, help others mend their CONAF, and pay it forward.

"How Does the CONAF Apply to Me?"

Everyone has a Circle of Needs and Fulfillment (CONAF), regardless if you're aware of it or not. The fulfillment or deprivation of these needs lead to logical and rational emotions, both positive and negative. In the effort to satisfy these needs, people can engage in adaptive OR maladaptive behaviors, healthy OR unhealthy actions, virtues OR vices.

Questions to ask yourself:

Am I aware of my circle of needs and fulfillment?
Which CONAF fuel tank of mine is full and which fuel tank is empty? To what extent?
WHY are certain tanks somewhat empty? Since when...why...how...?
How does the the tanks level of fullness or emptiness affect my emotions and mental health?
How have I been trying to fill my tank? What are my unconscious strategies? Is it adaptive or maldapative?
How can I fill my CONAF tanks in a wise and adaptive manner?

"How Does the CONAF Apply to Others?"

Beside you, everyone else has their own CONAF too. Understanding the CONAF psychological framework not only help you to recognize YOUR needs, strategies (to satisfy them), actions, and emotions, but it will also help you to understand OTHER people, especially those closest to you or have the most impact on you.

By understanding others, you can navigate the emotional, psychological, and social landscape better.

Especially if you are a parent or have deep love for someone, how are you contributing (or detracting) from their CONAF? Despite the best of intention, many parents unintentionally neglect, damage, or fracture the CONAF of their children.

Once you understand how CONAF works on an individual level, you can also apply that knowledge to the wider group. Every group (family, friend circle, organization, club, race, religion, nation, etc) has their own CONAF.

Questions to ponder about others:

What is the status/condition of this person/group CONAF?
What is their pattern or behaviors and why is that? What needs are driving it?
Are they simply trying to survive or are they pursuing indulgences and extravagances?
What strategies do they employ to satisfy their CONAF? How does it affect others?
When people or groups compete, which CONAF components are driving it?
How is "success" defined?

As Inside is Outside

Notice how your needs spread its influences outward!

Re-Framing Life and Emotions

The truth of life is one of experiences with different spectrums: up and down, good and bad, light and shadow, love and loss, night and day, pleasure and pain, joy and suffering, etc.

Accordingly, various emotions naturally arise from the ebb and flow of life experiences.

The first critical approach to mental well-being is to be comfortable with BOTH positive and negative emotions.

Understanding the Circle of Needs and Fulfillment

The CONAF has 7 components or fuel tanks:

Safety & Security: The need to feel protected from harm—physically, emotionally, and economically—serves as the foundation for stability and trust in life.
Affirmation: The deep human desire to be seen, valued, loved, and acknowledged for our inherent worth and presence.
Competence: The need to feel capable, effective, and skillful in navigating life’s challenges and fulfilling our roles in society.
Superiority: The drive to stand out, excel, or rise above others in some domain to validate our uniqueness, pride, or power.
Stimulation: The craving for novelty, excitement, challenge, or engagement to avoid boredom and maintain vitality.
Meaning & Purpose: The longing to live a life that matters—guided by values, direction, and contribution beyond the self.
Libido / Sexual Drive: The urge for erotic connection, pleasure, intimacy, or reproduction, which can express love, dominance, escape, or affirmation depending on one’s psychological and emotional state.

Each fuel tank can be filled to a different degree: completely empty, "enough", full, or over-flowing, which correspond to fulfilling a need at its most basic necessary level to relentlessly pursuit of indulgence and extravagance.

Specific Life's Areas Associated with Each Need

Needs to Action to Outcome to Emotions

Flow of Needs and Fulfillment-text-upscale-2x.png

Positive Emotions Associated with Fulfillment of Needs

Watch out for the toxic emotions in red!

Negative Emotions Associated with Deprivation of Needs

Anger Iceberg & Anger Spectrum

Adaptive Behaviors to Satisfy CONAF

Maladaptive Behaviors to "Satisfy" CONAF

Triad of Virtues to Satisfy CONAF

Triad of Vices to Ruin CONAF

Sequential Cascade from CONAF to Outcome

Are you aware of each step and how it flows to the next?

Can you see the patterns in how you respond?

Tornado of spiraling worry/fear.

We'll do a deep dive into each component of the CONAF below.

Triangles of CONAF Events Outcome_edited.jpg

Misusing stimulation (addiction) as a distraction from fractured CONAF

Other Topic of Interests through CONAF Framework

The CONAF can be applied to many different areas:

X. CONAF Expansion Excel

Explore the CONAF in more detail in table format, linking to other concept such as CIS, WIS, LC vs HC expression, shadow and distortions, archetypes, defense mechanism, and planetary expression ranking.

Download full Excel file: Expansion of CONAF Worksheet

Y. Diagnosing Humanity in 2025

Click to see how the CONAF psychological framework diagnose humanity.

1. Personality Disorders
Root maladaptive patterns in unmet core needs—e.g., Borderline Personality Disorder often stems from unstable affirmation and safety, while Narcissistic Personality Disorder is linked to distorted superiority and affirmation regulation.
2. Paraphilia
Explore how unfulfilled needs (especially affirmation, stimulation, or superiority) can manifest through atypical sexual behaviors in attempts to assert control, seek validation, or escape pain.
3. Politics
Understand how leaders and populations are driven by different needs—some exploit unmet affirmation or superiority for manipulation, while others focus on justice and meaning to uplift the collective.
4. Racism & Prejudice
Reveal how superiority, affirmation, and safety anxieties can drive in-group/out-group dynamics, projection, dehumanization, and collective trauma.
5. Addiction & Substance Abuse
View addiction as a maladaptive attempt to fulfill stimulation, safety, or affirmation through external substances when internal resources are depleted.
6. Consumerism & Capitalism
Diagnose how advertising and market systems exploit unmet affirmation, stimulation, and superiority needs, driving compulsive consumption and materialism.
7. Education Systems
Design curricula that nurture competence, affirmation, and meaning while preventing burnout from unmet stimulation or superiority needs.
8. Workplace & Burnout
Use CONAF to assess whether employees feel safe, affirmed, competent, and meaningful—failing which leads to disengagement or burnout.
9. Romantic Relationships
Understand how couples often clash due to mismatched needs—e.g., one partner seeking affirmation while the other seeks stimulation or superiority.
10. Childhood Development & Attachment
Frame secure attachment as the fulfillment of early safety, affirmation, and competence needs, and identify which deficits lead to later dysfunction.
11. Criminal Behavior & Gangs
Recognize how unmet safety, affirmation, and superiority can push individuals toward gangs or crime as alternative means of identity, power, and belonging.
12. Social Media & Identity
Evaluate how platforms exploit affirmation, superiority, and stimulation needs, often leading to addiction, performative behavior, and mental distress.
13. War & Conflict
Expose how unmet needs for superiority, meaning, or affirmation (often via ideology or historical trauma) can escalate into violent nationalism or extremism.