Fitness. All about fitness » mental health

Why Suicide?

Tue, 11 May 2010 04:11:00 +0000

Some people are just too pessimistic about their situation and about life itself. These people have the idea that no matter what they do, no matter what they say, everything would seem to have a negative impact on themselves or to their surroundings. We really do not know what is going on in their minds, but some of them can be a danger to themselves, if not to others. People who are deeply troubled are prone to develop suicidal thoughts. There are a lot of factors that contribute to feeling hopeless and desperate enough to end one’s life. Depression, separation anxiety, loneliness or fear — these are only some of the reasons why people kill themselves. As they say, “suicide is not chosen; it happens when pain exceeds resources for coping with pain.” A person who cannot handle too much pain may consider suicide in some way. They think that this pain would never end, and that it would be heavier as they continue to live their life. If a person feels the pain and cannot cope with it by means of other resources, they eventually feel suicidal. In their minds, suicide is neither wrong nor right. It is not an imperfection of one’s character since they believe that suicide is morally neutral. According to their view, suicide is fundamentally an imbalance between pain and one’s inability to cope with that pain. Feeling pain and loneliness and having no one to talk to makes a person feel even more miserable and lonely. Their loneliness easily worsens into depression, and eventually to thoughts of suicide. These people turn to thoughts of suicide because they seek the relief from the pain that they are currently feeling. However, relief is a feeling and one must be alive to feel the relief of pain. Some individuals may react negatively to what a suicidal person might be currently dealing with. These reactions might even increase the person’s desire to kill himself because of the negativity that surrounds him. This specific case may be seen in a different perspective since these people with negative reactions may just be feeling scared for that person who intends to kill himself. Understanding these suicidal people leads to one thing: concern for the person and his own life. Suicide is really a matter related to the issue of mental health since it is linked to depression and even to separation anxiety. Having someone to talk to is a step forward…hopefully, another step away from the suicide. One must be open to counseling, guidance, help, and support in times of need. It is important that the person is willing to share his feeling of depression with another person. That way, one’s heavy feelings can lighten up a bit. Knowing that he/she is not alone in the struggle is another advantage since this could help in escaping suicidal thoughts. There are a lot of counseling websites and toll free numbers available for those people who just need someone to talk to, someone who can listen and understand them in a very sincere way. Getting help by going to a psychotherapist can really lessen the thoughts of suicide, and by having consistent sessions, a person may just feel the need and the joy to live again.

Over-eating, Stress, and The Modern World

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:59:00 +0000

There mere fact that the term, “comfort food” exists is proof enough that eating certain foods is good for relieving stress. Whether it is some sort of psychopharmacological thing, something connected to mental health and memories, or an evolutionary instinct, the fact is that eating is effective stress relief. However, when one considers all the stress and anxiety that gets tossed around in modern society, it isn’t surprising to learn that the weight loss pill market is on a steady increase. Indeed, as people are put under more and more stress, with less and less time to find stress relief for it, food becomes an increasingly tempting option. Sure, stress and anxiety are not the only factors behind the increasing number of people with obesity, but it does have to take some of the flak. People look to food as a cost-effective means of stress relief, mainly because a number of modern environments simply don’t allow for a significant amount of time to relax. For example, in those high-stress corporate environments, people tend to have very little time to spare between getting to work, actually working, and their duties outside of work. To avoid allowing the stress to build and become a danger to them or the people around them, they do the one stress relief activity that they can do. A little candy bar here or some potato chips there can be enough to get a person’s mind through the stress and anxiety of a typical work day. However, when one develops a dependence on these things to relieve stress, then there is going to be an eventual need for a weight loss pill or diet plan. It isn’t just the corporate workplace and the employees within it that end up eating a little too much “comfort food,” however. As stated in a number of books, such as “Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety,” shows, mothers also have to deal with the problem. Between the stress of having to keep a handle on active children and the duties that mothers have to perform, there is plenty of room for the average mother to binge a little. This can be especially true in suburban environments, where there is often a subtle competition between housewives that puts a lot of undue stress and anxiety on mother and child alike. Children can also sometimes fall victim to over-eating “comfort foods.” With so much pressure on children to succeed on all possible levels, there’s plenty of stress and anxiety to go around. The problem lies in the fact that children nowadays are subjected by their parents to all manner of time-consuming extra-curricular activities, with even the slightest potential becoming something that could be “developed.” Parents tend to be well-meaning in cutting down on the playing time of their children, as all of these activities are designed to help them succeed. However, there comes a time when children will need to be given time to be children. Stress and anxiety are things that the mental health of a child is not fully capable of handling, such that any form of stress relief can be seen as acceptable. For most, succumbing to peer pressure or playing video games can do the trick, but a few others end up turning into binge eaters. Over-eating due to stress and anxiety is not an all-encompassing problem yet, but statistics show that it is getting there. As competition in the workplace, stress in the home, and the pressure to succeed compounds with each generation, more and more people are going to need effective, quick stress relief. Pressed for time to find ample ways to relax, food can often be the only viable option available to them.

Crash Hits: Common Injuries In Car Accidents

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:31:00 +0000

Cars are the most visible signs of modernity in an otherwise ancient world. No urban environment would be complete without these four-wheeled machines. Most people see them as a convenience, enabling them to get from point A to point B without having to endure the crowds the rush hours associated with public transportation. However, as cars become more and more available, roads become more and more congested. As the congestion worsens, it is inevitable that car accidents occur and people get hurt. Statistically speaking, car accidents have been occurring with increased frequency over the past decade. The statistics also show that there are a number of injuries that have become common to most car accidents during that period. Head and neck injuries are listed as being typical to a car accident. The face, in particular, can suffer laceration and cutting from shattered glass or shrapnel generated by the impact. Dental injuries are also possible, particularly for people in the driver’s seat or were close to the point of impact. Mental health problems and head trauma are also possibilities. Concussions are not uncommon among car accident-related injuries. Some people also tend to experience anxiety for some time after the accident, though this is much rarer than physical injuries. The most common mental health concerns related to a car accident would be helping the victims overcome the stress of being involved in the accident, as well as the chance of post-traumatic stress disorder. The body, however, is much more likely to bear the brunt of the damage caused by a car accident. Injuries to the abdomen and legs can result in chronic pain for prolonged periods after an accident. In some cases, accident survivors have had to endure lower back pain for years since their bodies never fully recovered from the damage. Knee pain and damage to leg muscles like the quadriceps can also occur for those who are involved in relatively minor accidents or were not at the point of impact. Areas that have been cut or injured during the accident may also develop an infection, depending on how quickly the wound or opening was addressed by medical teams. Broken bones and torn muscles are common among car accident victims, though the likely areas to be affected vary depending on the specifics of the accident. Simple and compound fractures can both be experienced, typically requiring extensive time to repair and recover. In a number of cases, surgery may be needed to undo some of the damage done. Most often, drivers will experience trauma and damage to the legs and possibly the torso. Some injuries may not be obvious at first and can only be treated after the victim has been given a full examination. Removal of some of the shrapnel from impact may also require surgery if it enters too deeply into the body. There are some psychological disorders that can come about from being involved in a car accident. The most common to be cited is post-traumatic stress disorder, though it is not the only one. Anxiety is also a possible effect of being in a car accident, though it is not considered to be a common occurrence.

To Fear or Not to Fear

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 02:52:00 +0000

Fear and Halloween are probably going to be forever intertwined. After all, a holiday that celebrates “the ghastlier aspects of death and beyond” has to conjure up images of fear in some minds. However, fear and anxiety associated with the holiday aside, observing people’s behavior around Halloween can often show an interesting dichotomy to how people handle fear. The same concept also applies whenever most people are presented with an option to voluntarily view something they know is designed to scare them, such as a horror movie. Proper observation can often make it apparent that far is not quite as simple to understand as most folks would like to assume. Fear is a negative emotional response. This has been what each and every one of us has been told since we were children. Recognizing fear and anxiety as negative factors is also deeply ingrained into the basic human psyche, with people instinctively associated fear with a variety of undesirable personality traits. The avoidance of fear, or at least controlling one’s self to the point that one’s fear and anxiety is not readily apparent to casual observers, can sometimes have side effects when a person’s mental health is considered. This is particularly true if the unwillingness to show fear has become a fear in and of itself, which is both psychologically dangerous and rather ironic. However, that does not seem to coincide very well with how much people want to be scared. While it is unlikely that a random person off the street is going to readily admit to the inclination, most psychologists believe that people want to be frightened. Ghost stories around the campfire, horror movies that have ample amounts of tension and anxiety, and roller coasters with obscenely risky loops are all taken as factors. Each of the above can be used to scare people and, according to some mental health experts, it is the fact that things like the above scare us that cause us to frequent them so much. However, it isn’t so much the fear itself that the brain and the body draws pleasure from, but the hormonal reaction to that fear. Most psychologists and doctors believe that the body and mind comes to enjoy the sensations brought about by the various chemicals the body produces when it is in an excited state. The most commonly known of these substances would be adrenaline, but there are other hormones and biochemicals that come into play. The easiest way to get the body to increase the flow of these substances is to feel fear, which would explain why people are sometimes to eager to put themselves in situations where they can be scared. The adrenaline “rush” caused by fear and taking risks can also account for people’s enjoyment of extreme sports, even if they are not the sole factor. The fact that things like horror movies and roller coasters are, to an extent, controlled environments also makes it easier for people to go into them. The sense of control over the situation that induces the fear is often enough to keep the survival instinct from overriding the desire to be scared.

A Depressed Mind Equals A Depressed Head

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 14:33:00 +0000

The words “mind over matter” are more than just three words randomly strung together to make something that sounds somewhat sensible. “Mind over matter” is more than just a myth, because there are times when a person’s state of mind has considerable effects on matters of the flesh. Performance anxiety can make someone do a sub-par job on physical activities, like missing critical free throws and over-extending left jabs. Mental health can have an effect on a person’s physical performance, with certain issues having more noticeable effects than others. As an example, there is the connection between depression and sexual impotence.

Impotence is one of those problems that an increasing number of men have difficulty coming to terms with. It takes a significant amount of courage to even consider talking to a physician about the possibility of a problem. It can even be harder to admit to others that the problem is there, whether they are undergoing treatment for it or not. Sexual impotence as seen as being highly damaging to the measure of a man, by modern socio-cultural standards. Fear of failure and extremely stressful situations can wear down a man’s ability to “get it up,” but very few can make the problem as long-term as depression can.

In what might be the worst possible case of “mind over matter” than any red-blooded male can imagine, depression can effectively cripple a man’s ability to function sexually. The emotional problems caused by depression can have serious effects on the hormones and biochemical transmitters that the body uses to signal or initiate an erection. Obviously, if a man can’t attain a proper erection – or has difficulty maintaining it long enough to be of any importance – then he’s going to be classified as impotent. Sadly, if the problem is left untreated long enough, there’s a very good chance that the condition would just worsen.

Once a man begins to believe he has entered a state of sexual impotence, he may actually become even more depressed. This is because of a psychological loss of gender identity as dictated by socio-cultural factors. With equal rights and women’s liberation, men have lost the part of “manliness” that involved being the sole provider for one’s family and loved ones, forcing a socio-psychological focus to rest on that other aspect that supposedly defines masculinity. Essentially, society has made men think that to be classified as men, they have to be virile and sexually potent. Once they lose that critical part of their gender identity, then life just starts to go downhill that bit faster for them on a psychological level. This, in turn, not only worsens his relationships but also makes it harder for him to overcome his impotence.

There are drugs to help fight impotence, but those drugs are often best suited to treating men who have problems rooted in the body. Lack of proper circulation, damage to muscle tissue, and a variety of other physical ailments can also cause impotence. Implants and corrective surgery can fix those issues, but they are likely to do little for a man with problems deeply rooted in his own mind. For that, physical repairs may have some appreciable change, but they won’t have the same impact that they normally do unless the mind is also given proper treatment and care.

The Games Memories Play

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 04:37:00 +0000

People have been making stuff up for as long as anyone can imagine, perhaps even longer. The human mind is capable of incredible feats of creativity and artistic talent, though this is not usually applied to something as critical as a person’s memories. Yet, if you examine the witnesses, you’ll notice a few things that are amiss. Their sworn statements, their testimony while under cross-examination, and what they said years after the fact can all differ drastically, with details being altered, deleted, or added seemingly at random. Things can get even more confusing for people who have undergone counseling or treatment due to some form of psychological trauma, because there are usually even more alterations. This is not because they’re making this up as they go, of course. At least, they may not be doing it consciously. The state of their mental health is not entirely fractured either, as even the sanest and most “normal” people can have memories that are altered drastically with each retelling of it. Certainly, people with certain mental health issues might have more “false” memories than others, but that doesn’t mean that their minds are the only ones capable of such things. The fact is, the human mind has a propensity to create false memories. That much has been known to medical science for decades now, though the reasons for this unusual trait have yet to be fully explored and, if possible, understood. Human beings tend to have a lot of faith in memories that they can recall in detail, whether the one doing the recollecting is the type to note detail or not. This is a logical mechanism, after all. The more you remember about a certain event, the more likely it is that you were actually there and you didn’t dream the whole thing up. However, if fiction writers are any indication, the mind is capable of creating things with as much vivid detail as anything that can be conjured up from memory. There are also times when the foggiest, least detailed memories are the ones that actually occurred, despite the lack of details that a person can draw on as support. The mechanics of this unusual aspect of memory and the mind have recently been put under intensive study by South Korean researchers, under the leadership of Hongkeun Kim of Daegu University. The study discovered that there were two sections of the brain devoted to memory, with one storing the specific details while another stored the basic gist. Using common memory tricks, the team managed to discover that most people called on the area that stored the gist more often than the area that stored the specifics. Additionally, the more confident the person was in his memories, the more likely that the “detail” area would light up on a scan of the brain while the memory was being recalled. While this does explain how the brain works with regards to memory, it does not explain the phenomenon of false memories. The researchers assume that it somehow relates to the interaction between the two, along with areas that are more closely linked to the subconscious than memory. At the moment, though, this is still conjecture and further study is needed. The researchers believe that, once understood, the knowledge can help people with memory-impairing problems, such as Alzheimer’s. It may also improve our understanding of how certain disorders cause someone to lose recollection, but retain familiarity.

Dogs of War: Psychology In “Metal Gear Solid”

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 18:14:00 +0000

Compared to the early releases, new video games have improved in terms of plot and character development. The psychology and personalities of the characters – hero, villain, and recurring figure alike are now just as important as how the game plays. However, like in the early days of comic books before Stan Lee’s “Spider-Man,” video game characters tend to be flat caricatures of real people, with flaws like social anxiety, fragile mental health, and depression being traits reserved for antagonists. Yet, even in such a climate, there are still maverick character designers who have made heroes that are difficult to fit into the traditional definition of the “hero” role. Among the best examples of such games is Hideo Kojima’s “Metal Gear Solid” series. Being a game that both embraces the psychology of war and carries a strong pacifist undercurrent, there is a complexity in the cast of characters that is necessary. To an extent, all of the characters have some form of mental health disorder, which is appropriate for a game that relies heavily on the personalities of its characters. While some might initially see them as extreme responses to their situations, Kojima has gone to great lengths to present his characters as possibilities present when war meets psychology. The characters of the MGS series can be taken to represent the various effects of war on a person’s mental health, whether they are soldiers, commanders, or bystanders. He shows this through their personalities and the conversations that they have with the protagonist, making them more than just an obstacle to overcome to complete the game. Among the most long-standing favorites of Kojima’s multitude of antagonists is the woman known only as Sniper Wolf. She may appear perfectly sane at first glance, but some have analyzed her personality as a potential consequence of growing up in a war zone. The experience of living in war-torn Iraq has left scars that damaged her mental health and emotional development . For children who were born and raised in a war zone, the typical response is to find a way out of the chaos and destruction. For Sniper Wolf, even after her rescue, her mental health was so marked by her experiences that the only real way she could overcome her prolonged trauma was to become part of it. Yet, perhaps due to some sort of anxiety disorder, she also longed to distance herself from it. As a soldier, she became part of the very thing that terrorized her as a child. As a sniper, she perhaps relieved her fear and anxiety as a child by distancing herself from the front lines, taking lives from behind the scope of her rifle. This theme of a person becoming part of what scarred them in their youth is repeated in the “Beauty and the Beast” military unit in the upcoming finale of the MGS series, albeit with a more literal interpretation. Liquid Snake, one of the series’ primary antagonists, also exhibits a number of psychological disorders. His initial goal appeared to have been little more than the “world conquest” standard, but as the plot progresses, it is revealed to be much deeper. As the genetically-altered “twin brother” to the protagonist, Solid Snake, Liquid exhibits signs of sibling-caused status anxiety. Altered to be the inferior of the two brothers, Liquid pushed himself to perform in every aspect of his military life to prove that his inferior genetics were not going to define him. His status anxiety also pushed him to lead an insurrection of soldiers in an attempt to outdo his father and form a utopia for soldiers. His murderous competition with his brother is also driven by status anxiety, as he subconsciously desires to kill his brother to prove that he is better than both his brother and his father. This desire to outdo both his brother and father is a consistent factor in his appearances in the series. He also exhibits a slight Messiah complex in his desire to fulfill his father’s dream, as he expanded the plan to not only create a haven for soldiers, but also to destroy the governments that would use and discard them. The problem of status anxiety also manifests slightly in the goals of Big Boss, Liquid and Solid Snake’s “father.” A man deemed to be the “perfect soldier,” his genetic material was used to create his “sons,” even as he had one of them modified to be inferior to the other. As a solider, he quickly realized that the time would come when men like him would no longer be needed and would be discarded by the governments they served like obsolete trash. His own status anxiety, combined with his disillusionment at how the US government betrayed his mentor to save their reputation, forged the idea of a soldier’s utopia in his mind. It was during his second attempt to establish such a utopia – which he termed “Outer Heaven” – that he was slain in battle by Solid Snake, his genetic son. His adamant refusal to be referred to by his codename of “Big Boss” also reflects his status anxiety towards the events that earned him the name. He resents the fact that he was awarded that codename because he killed his mentor, “The Boss,” for a government that discarded and abandoned her – despite her loyal service – simply because it was politically convenient to do so. The bitter irony of the name has not escaped him. However, perhaps the most psychologically compelling case among the MGS series cast would be the chief protagonist himself, Solid Snake. According to records spread throughout the games, Snake exhibited signs of social anxiety at an early age. Trained to be the perfect killer and the ultimate stealth soldier, he was raised to dislike emotional attachments and view closeness with other people as a potential weakness. This social anxiety was reinforced by his second major mission, where he had to kill both his best friend and his father to fulfill his mission objectives. The fight with Gray Fox, his best friend, was also an instance where he showed performance anxiety, being extremely unwilling to fight a man he considered his friend and combat superior. His traces of status anxiety also plays a role in his character, though not in the way most would expect. He views himself not as the hero the people around him believe he is, but simply as “an old killer, hired to do some wet work.” He constantly seems to wish to prove that he is more than just the soldier he believes himself to be, but inevitably cannot distance himself from the battlefield. His conflicted status anxiety sometimes plays out subtly, as he no longer wishes to engage in fighting and just live out his life in isolation. However, he understands that he is a soldier and he will always be a soldier, with his only home being the chaos of a battlefield. A common trait among the front line soldier characters of the MGS series is their inability to feel grief over loss. The explanation was that, as they were exposed more and more to the horrors of war, they began to lose the ability to grieve over lost comrades and family. This has been portrayed as a side effect of the horrors of war upon a soldier’s mental health, particularly in the cases of Big Boss and Solid Snake, who both had to endure the trauma of killing someone that they were emotionally attached to.

The Shifting Sands Of A Bi-Polar Mind

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 09:40:00 +0000

There are very few psychological conditions that can be as devastating for a person to develop as bi-polar disorder. This mental health disorder is a vicious condition that can be traced as the cause of various problems, including suicide. It is ranked as the third most common cause of suicide around the world and the sixth leading cause of someone being classified as “disabled.” Bi-polar becomes even worse when one considers it can be a recurring problem, plaguing people that have it for the rest of their lives. It is also sad that this mental health condition is rarely understood by the general public, to the point that most people tend to associate it with violent or criminal tendencies. What Happens When Someone Has Bi-Polar Disorder? As previously stated, bi-polar is a mental health condition that is typically identified by the recurring shifts between mania and depression. The sudden “swings” can often make bi-polar patients incredibly difficult to predict, particularly if the condition has been left untreated for long periods. The “swings” are not regular and can be spaced years apart in some instances, but patients with the condition often have an average of eight to ten within a lifetime. Certain external factors, such as one’s environment and peers, are sometimes said to aggravate the condition, but this theory has yet to be fully tested. Some patients experience psychotic episodes, particularly during the mania periods of the condition, but these occur only after very severe cases. Finally, younger patients with the condition experience chronic mania, rather than episodic, often accompanied by factors such as stress, irritability, and anxiety. What Causes Bi-Polar Disorder? Recent evidence suggest that there might be a genetic link that causes bi-polar. Studies have focused on twins, blood relatives, and adoption studies. According to the results, parents who have a mood-related disorder tend to produce offspring that have bi-polar disorder. Twins also frequently develop the problem together, though there are cases where only one twin develops the condition. The results have also shown that identical twins have a 43% chance of developing the disorder, as opposed to a 6% chance for fraternal twins. The studies also note that since the results for the twins study did not reach 100%, environmental factors may also play a role in the development. Whether they merely activate the genetic trigger or if they are the direct cause, however, remains to be seen. How Do You Treat Bi-Polar Disorder? Treatment of bi-polar disorder can be rather extensive, as it usually involves a lifetime of therapy and the use of some form of medication. Usually, the medication prescribed to accompany the therapy is a mood stabilizing drug, such as lithium, valproic acid, or carbamazepine. These medications only help suppress the mood swings and shifts, but are not known to completely remove the disorder. There is a certain level of difficulty in treating the condition as the episodes can occur with years of interval between them. In some extreme cases, anti-psychotic medication can also be given to help. Nutritional supplements have had no noticeable effects during testing, despite some claims to the contrary. Currently, the best treatment known consists of psychotherapy, mood-stabilizing medication, and psychoeducation.

Discovering Spiritual Wellness

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 05:24:00 +0000

Very few people are attuned with their spiritual health which has a significant effect in the over-all wellness of the mind and body. Spirituality is unique to each individual. It can be equated with traditional religions such as Christianity, Hinduism, or Buddhism. It could also be manifested in the level of growth that one experiences in personal relationships, or in simply being at peace with nature. Those who are not in touch with their spiritual needs usually experience deep sadness, depression, intense anger, fear, anxiety, and grief. These negative feelings can create the environment for emotional, physical, and mental health dysfunction. People who suffer from repeated physical and emotional abuse carries a wounded and broken heart, as if perpetually tormented by life’s difficulties and pains. They do not realize that their heavy-heart influences their well-being or quality of life. Denial of the depth of distress will only aggravate the situation and may lead to serious heart conditions and illnesses. Recent studies have shown the connection between depression and anxiety, and the development of heart diseases. They are considered risk factors equal to high cholesterol and diabetes. According to research, patients going through depression are twice as likely to die from the complications of a heart attack, compared with people who don’t have depression. Some experts even suggest that depression and anxiety should be classified as new risk factors for the development of heart disease. People who are alone and friendless tend to be more sickly, with greater chances of developing heart disease and a shorter life expectancy, than those blessed with a wide circle of friends and other relationships that provide emotional and moral support. There seems to be a direct connection between illness and lack of love as documented in research studies conducted by Dean Ornish, M.D., a respected cardiologist from the University of California in San Francisco. A few years ago, scientists have discovered that inflammation of the coronary arteries plays a role in the arteries becoming clogged with cholesterol. Two of the most successful heart medications, beta-blockers and ACE inhibitors, work at the hormonal level, reducing the influence of adrenaline released when we are upset, nervous, or experiencing stress and fear. These drugs have been nothing short of miraculous, reducing incidence of death by 30 percent. However, there are many patients who do not respond well to drugs because of emotional as well as physical ailments. This is where alternative healing, such as meditation, prayer, or psychotherapy, comes in. One such meditative therapy is called Sufism, or Practicing Remembrance — an ancient spiritual practice that originated in Islam, and best known in the West through the poetry of Rumi. Sufism focuses its many practical and effective methods of healing on the heart with a simple but miraculous way of opening a person to the healing rays of love. Practicing Remembrance is a time-honored method of healing that makes use of a combination of breathing and sounds to open the heart to greater love. What you will be remembering when you utilize this technique is the concept of love. To many spiritual groups, the concept of love and God are interchangeable. For Sufis, the Practice of Remembrance is the repetition of God’s name in a number of succession or cycles. Each time the name of God is repeated, love flows into the heart. It is this continuous process of repetition that has the power to cleanse the heart of all the negative vibrations and the heaviness it carries. But it is important to visualize love or the spirit entering the heart when the sound is being repeated. Spiritual wellness is discovering a sense of meaning in your life, and living out the reason and purpose of your existence.

The Science Behind The Torment

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 06:34:00 +0000

There is a rarely mentioned, supposedly nearly-extinct sect of Buddhism that believes in the words “perfection through pain.” The philosophy is not one most people would be keen to adapt, but it does take into account something that most people don’t want to acknowledge. Pain is a part of life and it is not going to go away until life goes away. Most people, of course, are capable of enduring pain. The natural pain threshold and pain tolerance of people may differ from person to person, but old lore has always said that men had a lower tolerance for suffering and torment than women did. Most of these same stories point to childbirth as the primary evidence for this age-old hypothesis, though recent discoveries are starting to reveal that the opposite is true. According to research conducted by the University of Washington, depending on the form of stimuli, men actually have a higher pain tolerance than women. The research went to great lengths to remove any preconceived cultural and social notions about pain and the ability to handle it. The point was to find a biological basis for some of the most commonly held ideas about the nature of pain and whether gender has an appreciable effect on pain. It is one of many studies focused on the nature and biology of pain, which is understandable when one considers just how little people know about it. Up until the 1960s, for example, the medical community was completely unaware that the brain can rewire the nervous system to respond to certain painful stimuli. That dispelled the long-held belief that the stimuli-nerve-reaction sequence of pain signals was set in stone. The study published results that point to the possibility of men and women’s bodies having different methods for processing and dealing with pain. There was also evidence that women also had an additional biological system in place that used estrogen as a key component. In one test that was conducted, it was found that women were more likely to complain from temperature-related pain than men at lower levels. One specific test subjected people to a heated surface, with all of the women feeling the pain at a colder temperature than the men. The results were consistent with other forms of tests. However, just because women have a lower pain threshold than men does not mean that they are more likely to succumb to pain. According to the study, succumbing to pain is just as tightly linked to psychology as it is to biology. Culture and environment are just as likely to affect how someone handles pain as genetics and body build. For example, proper physical training can often help someone endure and overcome levels of pain that most individuals would not have been able to. In others, the social norms and demands of the culture they grew up in may psychologically force them to endure, even when the body is being pushed to the limits. The researchers sometimes commented that it was difficult to separate cultural and psychological factors from the results their tests gave them in the early stages of the study. Despite the many answers that it opened up, it also posed a number of questions. It unraveled the possibility of hormonal factors being involved in pain and pain perception. The fact that estrogen levels seemed related to some painful stimuli also prompted a number of inquiries, as the exact effects of the estrogen (whether they dulled the pain or enhanced the sensation of it) were undetermined.