Personal Blogs
New blog post
New blog post
Goodluck to all doing exams today!!
You can do it!!
Don't freak if you cant remember the correct terminology for something, just get your understanding on to that exam paper. Your marker is looking for anything to give you marks on...and exams don't require the same perfection as tmas!!! (Oh, but just remember to relate your answer to the actual exam question written in front of you).
Goodluck again!
New blog post
http://feeds.feedburner.com/TEDTalks_video
This is sensible fullstop.
In my view, the west (Europe and America) should acknowlege and apologise for their effect on middle eastern countries.
I know it sounds naive and unimportant, but, often acknowlegment and apology is what people need.
For example, in the compensation culture of America, doctors are not allowed to apologise for fear of strengthening someones legal case against them. But, I read somewhere (sorry, cant remember, you will have to search to find it), that some hospitals have tried a different tack, they allow apology and listen to the complaints, and, instead of resulting in more compensation payouts, they are being sued less. Some people only sue to get the acknowlegement that what a doctor did was negligent. Of course others sue for different reasons too...
So, we hear about "Islam" all the time now...I fear its going to become more extreme as times goes by...for crying out loud please please governments stop playing the technically PC correct game. Say sorry. Stop intefereing in the middle east only when it suits your aims, have more integrity. Stop the PC playing lip service to minorities (in the UK) and instead truly treat minorities as citizens of the country, and insist on integration (in schools etc). Religion should not be governments concern at all, schools, roads, hospitals etc are governments concern. Government should actually specify what its remit is for all to see, because in the UK we don't have that laid out. Then stick to it.
New blog post
Night terror last night. Okay not unusual and went back to sleep. But, I woke this morning on the sofa. Have no idea how I got there. I must have sleep walked. Thats unusual for me now...Bummer...
What the hell is it!!! What is is that sometimes you have night disturbances and sometimes you don't??? One day I will have an insight...(I hope) And I bet it is an additive thing. I bet its a threshold that is reached by a combination of factors. One factor on this list I suspect is an allergic reaction resulting in inflammation????
New blog post
New blog post
New blog post
Just been listening to Dr Paul Zak who has been doing much of the recent research in oxytocin, trust, social phobic anxiety etc.
Interesting...He finds that oxytocin is not "stored" but made immediately as and when the person or animal encounters triggers for its release. Also, he finds that not only is there variation between people in their release of oxytocin, but, also in their ability to be affected by it. He suspects that some people may have less or impaired receptors for oxytocin, so, even if these people enounter triggers, and then release oxytocin, it may not be able to exert quite the same or as strong an effect.
Using my own personal experience, I would suggest to researchers, that they study if there are differences in these less receptive people depending on the trigger??? There are many triggers;
birth/labour
breast feeding
hugs/touch/massage
sex
care and attention/assistence from carers, non-threatening eye contact
petting animals and caring for animals
I suspect, there will be differences....In ASDs maybe infants are less able to use oxytocin from the parental care per se, or maybe because sensory issues make it uncomfortable. But, maybe as their nervous system develops they might then be more able, but, unfortunately, their short history has already changed the way carers interact with them, and also they have conditioned associations that still make them less inclined to elicit parental care, attention, touch...
I suspect, the triggers could be put into groups..
eg, biological triggers that are older in evolutionary terms, such as birth, breastfeeding and sex.
social triggers that maybe less old in evolutionary terms, such as, shared attention, care, eye contact, talking, singing...
And maybe an inbetween category?? Maybe social grooming that is physical, and also taking care of pets??
Just exploring thoughts, I hope this is part of what blogs are for??
Remember; Sleep is essential to life and well-being
Sleep;
Mother said I slept well as a baby.
Mid childhood;
started falling out of bed,
started sleep walking.
Adolescence;
started night terrors and continued sleep walking. Hurt my self a few times by somehow leaping out and away from bed...And often would get dressed for school or work while "asleep". (Really, my parents should have taken me to a Dr!!!)
By 40 years of age had got to the stage that I never (or rarely) slept through the night. I didn't even realise how tired I was every single day...
Last year had 5 nights in a row of sleep terrors, so much I had a sore throat from screaming and was emotionally and cognitively "exhausted". GP gave me some meds as a short term solution. This was the first time ever I had taken meds for sleep...I never ever wanted to be dependant on tablets. They worked a little bit..
Just before Christmas I went to see the psychiatrist who diagnosed ADHD and Aspergers to take up his suggestion of methylphenidate and one of his suggestions for treating the sleep problem. I had started to suspect that the older I was getting the worse my sleep was becoming.
He said, you only start one treatment at a time, especially if you have an ASD. He thought the priority was methylphenidate. I reluctantly agreed. Reluctant because;
I feared it wouldn't work...
I feared it would work and then I would be "dependent".
I feared it would increase my irritability/impatience and make sleep worse.
How wrong could I have been?????????
Even with the incredibly low dose and mindfully keeping an eye out for side-effects (tempory headaches) I soon realised I was less irritable. And, I was sleeping better.
He increased the dose slowly, and I defied his instructions and actually increased my taking of it even more slowly than he suggested. And the biggest gain is sleeping through the night, followed by less irritibility and more patience. I still have night terrors occasionally, but, I can go back to sleep now.
I did wonder if I just slept better because I was being more productive each and every day. However, I started running out of meds and just took the morning dose for a week before I got to see the Dr again. And, even though I was still being just as productive and active, my sleep started worsening again. So, somehow, for some strange reason, a stimulant helps my life long sleep problems....
People just dont realise quite how important sleep is...
Well I didn't, until I started sleeping better...I don't know how I managed to function all those years...
This blog might contain posts that are only visible to logged-in users, or where only logged-in users can comment. If you have an account on the system, please log in for full access.