Agony on a wordless wednesday

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. 

From the Archives: Fearing Fear Itself

First Published on March 10, 2008

He who fears he shall suffer, already suffers what he fears. ~Montaigne, Essays, 1512

Fear is a very primitive emotion, setting off a chain reaction of events that pumps our blood full of adrenaline, raises our heartbeat, tenses our muscles, expends our energy, and quickens our thoughts. This is the essence of the so called “fight or flight mode.” It is very necessary for our physical survival that we recognize danger and react to it. Its result is a complete shutting off of higher centers in the brain, in order to focus all our faculties on a threat.

While fear is good for survival, the behavior that results has lead to some of the ugliest, most savage, animalistic atrocities that our race is capable of.

Against the clock

   Neurology has traditionally been a rather laid back specialty.  The delight of it for me is the chance to ponder the inner workings of the brain as it affects the nervous system in a systematic and reflective manner.  We don’t usually go into for the thrill of racing to save someone in a life and death situation.  In fact, at least for me, this is when my brain functions at its worst.  Thoughts begin to race, focus is scattered, and things become less clear.  However, times have rapidly changed with the advent of thrombolytic therapy for stroke.

Points of Interest #29

It’s here again and back on schedule.  This week I’ve got emotion, fear and stigmatization on the mind, parables, heaven and hell and success for the soul and whoopee cushions, spleens and lots and lots of protein for the body, to name just a few.  So without further delay I present especially for you, the reader, the creme de la creme of the internet I happened to have stumbled across surfing the internets-

Points of Interest #27

It’s back, the feature in where I share all that is virtuous, lovely or of good report in my wandering to cyberspace.  I may have complained that I am sick of it in my last post but I am over that now.  Please disregard it, which I leave only as a reminder to me and warning to others about what happens when certain medications are stopped or skipped.   Instead, turn yourself to the very best of the past week in the Internet-

Points of Interest #26

Well, well, well, welcome to Mind, Soul and Body’s 100th post.  I guess that makes my collection of gems found surfing the internet just over a quarter of my posts.  Most blogs have about a three month lifespan and I am happy to have surpassed that.  I wonder if that means I am in this for the long haul, at least for the rest of residency, which is coming up on the end of one long, long road.  This week was a very strong one on the medicine, brain, and soul internet and I had to leave out an unusual number of posts.  Without futher delay I present only the best of the blogosphere (IMHO)- 

Points of interest 4/5

I just wanted to announce that the twice monthly Brainblogging carnival is out and excellent as always, moving beyond the neuroscience into more personal psychosocial side of the brain. It seems I am becoming a something of a regular contributor there, which is both flattering and humbling. Many thanks.

Also this weekend is time for the semiannual conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, something of a spiritual feast for myself as we Mormons get to hear from those we hold to be living prophets and apostles proclaim God’s message to us today. Any interested are welcome to listen in. I have also found it is sometimes interesting to get other’s reactions at the LDS Bloggernaccle various open threads found here, here, here, and here.

Here is the remaining best of the web in what has been a very, very interesting week, especially for you, the reader.