Sleepwalking, 2

Who cares if children or adult sleepwalk? I'm sure I don't.

Some do not care. Some think it is no big deal either way. Some apparently have thought it to be a type of wild goose chase if not overkill to attempt to locate the underpinnings or contributors of sleepwalking, especially since for most children who exhibit this behavior, they tend to outgrow it by puberty. However, others say that sleepwalking is not a “benign behavior” for everyone. In the Washington University School of Medicine, researchers studied the behavior of a 12-yar-old girl who sleepwalks. They found that she leaves the house and wanders around the neighborhood, all the while being completely unaware of what she is doing. Furthermore, she has absolutely no memory of having done so when she wakes up. For some individuals, such parasomnia behaviors dramatically interfere with their lives and can even be life threatening. However, if a specific gene(s) can be identified, then researchers believe that treatment that focuses on the cause rather than just the symptoms be able to be developed. 

Sleepwalking

I have a grandchild who walks in her sleep, wand I appreciated your comments about that. However, I also have an adult niece who sleepwalks. What about sleepwalking in adults? Has that been studied?

 Among other researchers, Dr. Dauvilliers, professor of physiology and neurology and director of the sleep lab at Gui-de-Chauliac Hospital in Montpellier, France, was principal investigator and author of a study on adult sleepwalking. In a nutshell, conclusions were that adult sleepwalking is a potentially serious condition that may induce violent behaviors and affect health-related quality of life. According to A. Kales in the British Journal of Psychology, sleepwalking and night terrors share a common genetic predisposition. Sleepwalking appears to be a more prevalent and less severe manifestation of night terrors. Inherited factors appear to predispose a person to develop sleepwalking or night terrors. However, how these traits are expressed may be influenced by factors in the person’s environment.

Happily Retired, Part 2

Happily Retired, Part 2 (Author Unknown)

9. I took a job in a Shoe Factory. I tried hard, but it was never a good fit.

10. I worked for a while as a professional fisherman, until I discovered I couldn't live on my net income.

11. Managed to get work at a Pool Maintenance Company, but the job was just too draining.

12. Then I took a position Workout Center, but they said I wasn't fit for the job.

13. After many years of trying to find steady work, I finally got a job as a Historian - until I realized there was no future in it.

14. My last job was working in a coffee shop., but had to quit because it was the same old grind.

15. Eventually, I tried retirement and discovered I am perfect for that job. I just love it.  --Author unknown

Happy Thanksgiving

Quite frankly, I cannot think of anything for which to be thankful about today. The world is in a mess, to say nothing of the US, and Australia and California due to all the fires. And that’s not even beginning with COVID-19. I’m alive but several friends and family are not. Just saying!

 Well, “Just saying,” it has been a challenging year—challenging several years, actually. However, not being thankful will not improve anything and can actually make you feel even worse. Your comments have prompted me to find things for which I can be thankful. There always is something! Yes, getting to travel around the world and share information about brain function has been curtailed, thanks to COVID-19. However, along with many others on planet earth, I am reinventing myself and having fun doing it. I have a wonderful family of choice, and although we cannot all be together on Thanksgiving, we chat via mobile phone or zoom. We have enough to eat and a place to live. Everywhere I look there are those less fortunate than me. The “joy of service” helps to keep my brain thankful. Are you looking down and back or up and forward? It’s your choice and what you choose can impact your brain-body health. 

Brain & Music Recognition

Does anything different happen in the brain when it hears familiar versus unfamiliar music? We’re coming into the holiday season and I always look forward to hearing the music of the season.

 Good question. One study found that there are brain changes when it has recognized a piece of familiar music. According to the abstract, researchers used electroencephalography (EEG) and pupillometry to reveal the temporal signatures of the brain processes that allow differentiation between a familiar, well liked, and an unfamiliar piece of music. Professor Chait pointed out that the eye pupil dilated within 100-300 milliseconds after the start of a song if the subject recognized a familiar song; and a burst of electrical activity in the brain occurred around 500-800 milliseconds after the start of the song. These effects do not occur when the brain does not recognize the music as being familiar.

Daydreaming, 2

Do “smart” people daydream?

It would appear so. Einstein is often quoted about his belief in daydreaming. For example, he lived his daydreams in music. Many of his ideas reportedly came from daydreaming or his “thought experiences.” I agree that imagination is more important than just knowing a bunch of facts. As Einstein pointed out, logic can get you from point A to point B, while imagination will take you everywhere. There are indications that other personages appear to have similar perspectives.

 Deepak Chopra: Daydream, imagine, and reflect. It’s the source of infinite creativity.

 Neil Gaiman: You get ideas from daydreaming . . .The only difference between writers and other people is we notice when we're doing it.

Forgotten Information

Where does the information go that we “forget?”

 If your brain believes the information is important—based on its tracking of your history, it likely will move it into long-term memory. The rest is purged. Consolidation—a label for the brain moving information into long term memory, occurs during sleep. If sleep is cut short, some of what you might prefer to have retained is lost. Information loaded from Adverse Childhood Experiences or ACEs involving mental, physical, emotional, or sexual trauma—especially if it occurred prior to the easy use of language—may be buried so deeply in the brain’s subconscious, it may be recalled only as pictures, sensations, or feelings. Some memories may be buried so deeply they may be recalled only with the help of a skilled therapist—if at all. 

Daydreaming

I grew up being told by parents, teachers, and other adults to “stop daydreaming and get down to business!” I still do it and have felt guilt during these 50+ years. My brain still wants to do it, however. What’s the deal here?

 
Many human beings will likely be able to relate to your experience and could tell a similar story—unfortunately. “You a such a daydreamer—get working!” was NOT a compliment or an encouragement to problem solve or use the creativity that is built in the brain and that needs to be honed. I compare it to being born with innate musical ability but never doing anything with that. The “deal” is that there is definitely a time to pay attention in the present moment and there is definitely a time to daydream. Many of the world's greatest scientists, inventors, writers, playwrights, and artists in almost any genre knew /or know how to “daydream!” More tomorrow.

Adjustment DIsorder

We were flooded out back East in the storms and my grandfather seems to be falling apart. I wonder if it is PTSD.

 There is something known as an Adjustment Disorder. It can be described as an adverse reaction in an individual who is unable to cope with stressful life changes. Adjustment Disorder represents a stress-response syndrome to what the individual perceives as some type of life stressor whether traumatic or not. Adjustment Disorder is characterized by emotional or behavioral features of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress in various combinations, and may represent a subthreshold syndrome in which the person does not meet the full criteria for PTSD, or major depression. Exhibited behaviors can include recklessness, ignoring family and friends, neglecting tasks and duties, and suicide attempts. Any significant change in life, causing stress followed by difficulty coping with the pressure can result in adjustment disorder. Triggers can include events such as death of a loved one, separation from spouse or parents, illness, job loss, retirement, home destroyed in a fire, and so on. In adolescents, the stressors may include problems in schools and relationships issues. Getting your grandfather some help by a counselor who is skilled in Adjustment Disorder treatment—and sooner is better than later—may avoid this going into PTSD.

Acute Stress Disorder

 

I don’t have a lot of the symptoms for PTSD, but I sure have some of them. Is that unusual?

 If you have experienced some natural or human-made disaster or death, you may have a stress disorder that has not yet reached the PTSD level. The DSM-5 Manual defines Acute Stress Disorder as a Trauma and stress-related disorder that resembles PTSD, but its duration is over a shorter period of time. Symptoms may occur after an individual either experiences personally or witnesses or experiences a disturbing event indirectly. Symptoms begin or worsen after the trauma occurs and can last from three days to one month. If symptoms persist after a month, the diagnosis becomes a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Some symptoms for may include:

·       A sense of guilt about not having been able to prevent the trauma, or for not being able to move on from the trauma more quickly

·       Panic attacks, which are common in the month following a trauma

·  Children with acute stress disorder may also experience anxiety related to any separation from caregivers

If you are having some symptoms of PTSD but not all of them and they have been present for less than a month, mental healthcare professionals would likely say, now is the time to get some help. It may prevent developing a full-blown PTSD.

 Listen to my weekly audio podcast https://anchor.fm/arlene-r-taylor

PTSD Treatment

I am assuming that as the world opens up again and life returns to normal, symptoms of PTSD will resolve in the lives of those who got it because of COVID-19, right?

In many cases your “assumption” does not seem to reflect reality. PTSD does not tend to heal just with the passage of time. In fact, symptoms can increase. Find a good counselor who specializes in PTSD and can help you plan a recovery program. Some available treatments include:

·       Trauma-focused Psychotherapy

·      
Possible medication to manage symptoms

·       Prolonged Exposure (PE) Therapy

·       Stress Management

·       Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

·       Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

·       Support groups

·       Lifestyle and selfcare therapy to develop healthier habits

 Also, there are some Pediatricians who specialize in helping children with PTSD recover. The Veterans Administration is developing programs for veterans. First responders are also being given options for recovery assistance. Bottom line: get help! 

PTSD Symptoms

 I am wondering if some of my own family members have developed PTSD due to COVID-19, but we didn’t realize it. Especially my twin niece and nephew after their dad moved  out.  They are only three years old but they were very close to their father and nothing seems to be working. I mean, the doorbell rings and they rush to the door thinking it is their dad. Or the phone rings and they fall all over themselves to answer it in case it might be their dad. It breaks my heart! What are common symptoms?

Symptoms are all over the map depending on the age and gender of the individual and the type of trauma experienced, It could be they are experiencing stress from separation anxiety. For PTSD, following are some of the symptoms:

•    Social withdrawal
•    Avoiding places, activities, or physical reminders of the traumatic event
•      Acute bursts of fear triggered by stimuli arousing a sudden recollection
•    Panic attacks when reliving a trauma in intrusive memories 
•    Extreme anger
•   Feel numb or detached 
•     Sleep problems
•    May be easily startled    Autonomic hyperarousal with hypervigilance      
•   Fear and avoidance of cues that remind the sufferer of the original trauma       
•   Severe anxiety with or without depression
•    Nightmares and/or flashbacks
•   An inability to control one’s thoughts about the event or experience 

Listen to my weekly audio podcast https://anchor.fm/arlene-r-taylor

PTSD Risk Factors

 Your audio podcasts have opened my eyes about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Could you please give a little more information on risk factors for PTSD?

 The DSM-5 Manual considers PTSD a mental health condition and considers it a Trauma and Stressor-Related Disorder. It can happen to anyone from infants and toddlers to centenarians and supercentenarians. Prevalence estimates are that 3 million children and nearly 8 million adults in the United States have suffered or are suffering from PTSD. Some individuals are more likely to develop the disorder. 

Risk factors include:

·       Witnessing interpersonal violence

·       Combat exposure or living in a war zone

·       First responder exposure

·       Adverse Childhood Experiences or ACEs

·       Family history of mental illness, mood, or personality disorders

·       Family or personal substance use problem

·       History of experiencing psychotic symptoms

·       Bomb threats or terrorism activities or drive-by shootings

·       Drive-by shootings

·       Other extreme or life-threatening events including pandemics

Child Exposure to Violence

A review of the psychological impact of quarantine published in The Lancet reported increased anger, confusion, symptoms of severe stress, and substance use. Dysregulated emotions and substance use can increase violent behavior, especially within the family setting. Children will experience increased risk for maltreatment when isolated at home. Children’s exposure to intimate partner violence, whether directly witnessed or overheard, is harmful and may lead to PTSI along with emotional and behavioral problems. Intimate partner violence and child abuse often co-occur. In ordinary situations, 1 in 8 children have confirmed maltreatment by child protective services (CPS) in their lifetime. During any period of crisis, unfortunately, there is an increased risk for child exposure to family violence.

 Listen to my weekly audio podcast https://anchor.fm/arlene-r-taylor

Multiple Threats

In addition to the threat presented by the COVID-19 virus itself and its multiple variants, various psychological problems may arise due to quarantine, school closures, working remotely, threat of job loss or eviction or food shortage. Isolation itself has a negative impact, increasing reactivity to stress and elevated neuroendocrine responses. The result can be a wide range of mental, physical, emotional, and relational disorders of varying severity. These include problems in concentrating, anxiety, depression, insomnia, aggression, and interpersonal conflicts. The intensity of these symptoms may be due in part to the fear of infection, access to accurate and appropriate information, duration and extent of the quarantine or isolation, feelings of loneliness—and perhaps low levels of Emotional Intelligence that increase the risk of conflict. T

Pulling Together or Falling Apart

I know that COVID-19 has disrupted the world. During hard times, however, don’t families pull together instead of falling apart? My parents used to talk about the “Depression” and how some families pulled together and how others fell apart, even giving up their kids for adoption or putting them in an orphanage.

 Some families do pull together. Others, for whatever reason, seem unable to do that--and fall apart.  Some couples have never ever spent such a long period of time in such close proximity in their entire relationship. Those with strong mental and emotional bonds who are also good friends, tend to pull together and even grow even closer. Others who partnered primarily due to a strong sexual attraction (which lasts an average of 18-24 months and then wanes) may separate and/or divorce. Others remain but reports of increased domestic violence after shut-down orders have revealed the risk of interpersonal violence during isolation. More Tomorrow.

Listen to my weekly audio podcast https://anchor.fm/arlene-r-taylor

PTSD & COVID-19

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a trauma and stress-related disorder thought originally to be experienced only by military personnel. Not so. it can happen to anyone, especially to those who experience an intense, often life-threatening, event. PTSD differs from acute stress disorder in that the experiences are more long-term and will usually disturb daily life. An estimated 7.7 million Americans have suffered or are suffering from PTSD. Another 8 percent of the population will eventually develop the disorder. PTSD is defined as a type of anxiety disorder triggered by exposure to actual death, the threat of death, serious injury and/or sexual violation, and war. Symptoms can appear as soon as the episode ends or even years later. The event may be experienced personally or witnessed in person or experienced by hearing about a traumatic event. COVID-19 and its global interference with life as most people knew it, definitely matches some of the criteria for placing some human brains at higher risk for PTSD. More tomorrow. 

COVID & Family Violence

 

What is happening with families in this COVID-19 pandemic? Couples breaking up, mental, emotional, and even physical abuse in the family. I don’t get it!

 Think of the COVID-19 pandemic as a war against a virus—no matter how it started—that disrupted life in the entire world. Brains that lean toward introversion seem to have had an easier time adjusting to sheltering in place (unless they came up with strategies to keep their brains stimulated in a rewarding way) “went bananas,” as one person put it. They were unaccustomed to being cooped up with a partner, children, sometimes extended family members, and so on. and working remotely, and etc. Even some ambiverts found they didn't like their "partner" as well as they thought they did—if at all. Studies have shown that in a “war” environment—active-duty individuals or people living in the area—are at higher risk of experiencing PTSD.  Individuals who experience a major natural or human-induced disaster are at higher risk of developing symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), TSD, especially if they are exposed to the death of others. Therefore, based on how the COVID-19 epidemic impacted an individual brain, some will develop PTSD. One of the symptoms is aggression—which can be acted out in mental, emotional, physical, and even sexual abuse against others. More tomorrow.

 Listen to my weekly audio podcast https://anchor.fm/arlene-r-taylor

Happily Retired—Part 1 (Author unknown)

1. My first job was working in an Orange Juice factory. I got canned because I could not concentrate.

2. Then I worked in the woods as a Lumberjack, but just couldn't hack it, so they gave me the axe.

3. After that, I tried being a Tailor, but wasn't suited for it -- mainly because it was a sew-sew job, and people liked to hem and haw about the price.

4. Next, I tried working in a Muffler Factory, but that was too exhausting.

5. Tried being a Chef - figured it would add a little spice to my life, but I just didn't have the thyme.

6. Next, I attempted being a Deli Worker, But any way I sliced it.... couldn't cut the mustard.

7. My best job was a Musician until I discovered I wasn't noteworthy.

8. I studied a long time to become a Doctor, but I had no patience.
 

 Okay, you are a brain function specialist. How do you feel when someone you know ignores you? Does it still hurt, or do you blow it off?

 Interesting question. I am a “human” brain function specialist, not a robot. There are times when someone I know very well and enjoy chatting with walks past my office without stopping even to nod or passes me at a meeting without every even “seeing” me. My brain registers the rejection and releases its natural opiate, endorphins, its painkiller to help counteract the physical pain. Endorphins, by the way, impact the brain very differently than synthetic opiates such as morphine. When that happens, I avoid JOT (low Emotional Intelligence) behaviors because they hurt me the most. Does it still hurt? Of course, because it is a type of social-emotional rejection (all the more because I know I would have enjoyed a short chat), and my brain processes that as physical pain. I also know that at some level I choose how long I want to “hurt.” In order to change the way I feel, I must change the way I think. I am clear the person must be having a bad day or preoccupied because I have done or said nothing hurtful[ART1] . Therefore, I let it go. Then I think of something for which to be thankful and go on about my day. It’s a learned strategy.

 Listen to my weekly audio podcast https://anchor.fm/arlene-r-taylor

---

I was rejected many times when I was younger because of my extreme obesity. I know how it feels. I am now within my optimum weight range. I have the urge, however, to reject others just so they will learn what it feels like. Is that a mental illness?

First, congratulations on doing the work to be within your optimum weight range. Your brain and body will thank you in that it is likely you will be able to avoid some chronic diseases—more than 50 of which are related to obesity. You know the Golden Rule, so called:  Treat others the way you would like to be treated. The urge you are describing is the opposite of the Golden Rule. If you reject others just so they will learn what it feels like would likely fall into the category of some type of mental dysfunction. My guess is that you dealt with your weight but you did not deal with and heal from the anger and shame you felt when you were rejected. My guess also is that you would be well advised to find a good counselor who can help you recover and resolve the anger. That can help you treat people the way you would like to be treated and not the way you were treated—that is just continue the dysfunction.

 Listen to my weekly audio podcast https://anchor.fm/arlene-r-taylor

Rejection & EQ

Work on raising you level of EQ. The higher your EQ the less likely it is that a rejection will throw you for a complete loop. It may be initially painful. However, realize that rejection is more about those doing the rejecting than it is about you—unless you have been confrontational—and you can more quickly move forward rather than wallowing in pain to the point of immobility or in making knee-jerk and often unwise decisions. Estimates are that at least 50 percent of the problems most people experience in life are of their own making. As your EQ rises and your wisdom increases, you can work on dumping the problems that you create (often unwittingly). Know that you are capable of love and of being loved. To reinforce that, spend time with individuals who accept you just as you are and who love and care for you. When you find those individuals, consciously build those relationships. They can be invaluable for both of you. Some may even last for a lifetime. . .

 https://anchor.fm/arlene-r-taylor 

Rejection Wisdom

Someone told me that dealing with rejection is less painful when one’s Emotional Intelligence or EQ is high. What does that mean?

 EQ is not an emotion—it is a set of skills that help you manage your emotions more effectively. It can teach you to be on the lookout for JOT behaviors: Jumping to conclusions, Over-reacting, and Taking things personally. JOT behaviors may be responsible for three-quarters of the conflict experienced in relationships. The antidote for JOT is AAA: Ask questions to avoid jumping to conclusions; Act calmly to minimize over-reacting; and Alter your perceptions to stop taking things personally. (You do not need to ask these questions aloud of yourself; you can ask them silently and internally.) Perhaps you need to avoid specific situations in favor of those that are more accepting. Perhaps you have been trying too hard to “help” others instead of helping yourself. Maybe you need to be more consciously careful of the individuals you become involved with or the situations in which you place yourself. Self-care begins at home.

 https://anchor.fm/arlene-r-taylor