Agony on a wordless wednesday

Depression in Recession

The BBC has an  Interesting Article on how the economic crisis is leading to an emotional crisis in many men in the face of trouble providing for their families.  The report on a survey that found men are twice as likely currently to report having suicidal thoughts, half as likely to discuss their trouble with friends or family, and while experience mental health problems in roughly equal numbers with women, they go untreated far more often.

This is interesting to me for several reasons.  The suffering goes on largely in silence.  Men don’t use health care in general to the extent that women do and they absolutely don’t use mental health care to the same extent.

They like me, they really like me!

Yanub, at Yet Another Never Updated Blog has honored my site with its first ever pass along blogger award.  These are awards given to blogs you think do an outstanding job, who are then instructed to give the award to several other blogs. 

Points of Interest v2, #8

    It’s back.  I have journeyed hither and yon, leaving no corner of the the ethernet unexplored, (except those unseemly ones) in my tireless effort to bring, you, the reader, the very best the internet can offer on all things mind, soul and body.  Today I have Zombie spiders, the terrifying dangers of shampoo, brain enhancing chewing gum, what we think Stephen Colbert is really thinking, how the elderly predict the weather, and repairing genes gone bad 7 million years ago to name just a few.  So grab a chair,clear your calendar, and enjoy the very tip top (IMHO)- 

Regarding the Mind-

Bill Hendrick at WebMD reports on a fascinating study that found that chewing gum improved students scores in math on standardized tests. 

 One of the strangest stroke syndromes is hemineglect, in which patients are paralyzed on one side of their body but do not comprehend it, or even recognize that side as themselves, impeding any effort for physical rehabilitation.  BPS research digest rep0rts a fascinating new study in which hemineglect is improved by having patients observe themselves on video.

The Situationist reports how our political ideology changes how we interpret satire, examining a study on college students and Stephen Colbert.  I can never decide what Colbert really believes, what does that say about me?

Regarding the Soul-

 In a first ever for this blog, I wade into the prickly subject of Gay marriage with an article in Time magazine that reports how the union of church and state in regard to marriage is at the heart of the conflict, and whether a “divorce” could possibly enact a solution to the conflict.

At Urban Monk, Evan Hadkins emphasizes the return of the conquering hero/heroine in life’s spiritual journey, encouraging the remembrance of the entire purpose of the journey in our celebration.

    At the Millennial Star, JA Benson gives a fascinating religious history lesson on the Sephardic Jews, whose experience diverged from the rest of Judaism during the reign of King Solomon, and were at the heart of the Spanish inquisition.

Regarding the Body-

At World of Psychology, Diana Walcutt, PhD, examines the role of the adrenal gland, and the stress hormone cortisol in our ability to predict the weather, in a fascinating biology lesson.

At Not Exactly Rocket Science, Ed Yong has an excellent summary of breakthrough new research that has discovered for the first time some of the genes that are related to autism and their function in the brain, helping neurons connect with other neurons, for the very first time.

Having a particularly good week, Ed Yong at Not exactly Rocket Science also reports a fascinating find,  how fixing a gene gone bad 7 million years ago holds promise in the fight against HIV.

or All the Above-

At the Boston Globe, Jonah Lehrer examines the very subject to which I have dedicated my career, the amazing Baby brain, and the surprising finding that in a very real sense, Baby’s experience much more of the world than we do.

The wonderfully named Coco Kraft and the Village Elders has an insightful discussion on the idealized version of the patient so much of our ideas on health care reform depends on, asking if we are setting ourselves up for failure.

At World of Psychology, Therese Borchard critically examines the response of the mind to criticism in depression., expounding on this profound, if confusing thought,  “I’m not who I think I am…. Nor am I who you think I am…. I am who I think you think I am.”

AtMusings of a Distractible Mind, Dr. Rob takes an insightful look at worry and fear, in the context of both doctor and patient in a way that refreshingly humanizes both, noting we all fear worrying too much (fear itself).

At Neuronarrative, David DiSalvo discovers that when it comes to resisting bullies, girls are much better friends to have than boys, according to a very interesting study out of San Francisco.

and just because I Liked it=

Zooillogix is busy working out the plot for the next big horror flick, describing real research into spiders that appear to wake from the dead.   Bwahahahaha!

Dr. Rob of Musings of a  Distractible Mind gets his silly, satirical groove back as he expounds of the newly celebrity endorsed dangers of shampoo.

Here is a video of some contagious laghter that I guarantee will brighten your day, and maybe even think for a minute that quadruplets might not be SO bad.  (HT- No Surf Girl)

  How can you top that.  I’m out of here.  I will be back later to bring you more as always.  Until then, happy surfing.

The Tortured Soul

    My last edifying voyage into the world of podcasts while working away in my monastic resident existence at the hospital this past month was a rebroadcast of the fantastic Speaking of Faith episode on Depression and the Soul.  It really hammered home my own experience in a jarring and powerful way. 

Points of Interest, Vol 2, #5

Hello and welcome to my roundup of the best of mind, body and soul as found by my spending entirely too much time surfing the internets.  Today I have sleep deprivation and madness, power and trust, gratitude in the midst of recession, helpful herpes, failed antioxidants, and the power of peanut flour, to name just a few.  Dig in and enjoy the most excellent posts-

Points of Interest, vol. 2 #4

In an effort to return to a regular weekend schedule, I present the creme de la creme of my web browsing put together in a mere five days time, and still overflowing with thoughtful, touching, funny and poignant goodness.  Today I have peer support, intuition, schizophrenia, salience, religiosity, spirituality, diet soda, cotton candy, and a bunch of other vaguely defined subjects.  So pull up a chair, sit down and dig in to the absolute best I could find on the internet-

points of interest, vol 2, #3

And we’re back.  It is time once again for my semi-regular offering of the choicest gems I found scouring the internet for all things mind, soul, and body.  Today I have virtual reality, depression, doctors, some crucial playing around, the endowment of power, medicinal goats milk, courage, one ton snakes, how one can actually buy happiness, and child brought into an alternate reality by his neighborhood dentist, to name just a very few.  So dig in and enjoy the very best of the internets-