From the Archives: Man as an Island

One of the features of humankind that has long been thought to be unique to us is the theory of mind.  This is our ability to deduce what another might be thinking, a critical base for such behaviors as for empathy, socialization, even battle and strategy.  It is so prevalent and so innate that we often do it without realizing it, anthropomorphizing machines, televisions, the computer, animals, even the clouds and the waves.  Imagine a world where no one did this.  Imagine for a minute not even realizing that the people you interact with daily have their own minds inner workings and dealings.  This is the world of Asperger Syndrome.

 

  

Points of Interest, #23

Now an entire week is come and gone and I am about to break my one remaining unbroken blogging rule, putting two point of interest posts back to back with no actual original content in between.  Sadly, I feel guilty about this.  It’s irrational, no one is paying me.  This is my online journal, where I practice a supposedly enjoying hobby of putting my thoughts in ink, well actually, in pixels, as it were.  Guilt is the enemy of anyone who ever suffered depression and is not much of a gift in this sace.  I know I am just being compulsive.  The funny thing is, I am also compulsively drinking in other blogs, and spend more time writing their praises than anything of my own.  However, the bright side is, it keeps me writing, and this week there has been so much to write about.  Here are the gems I collected wandering the ethernet this week.

Man as an Island

 

One of the features of humankind that has long been thought to be unique to us is the theory of mind.  This is our ability to deduce what another might be thinking, a critical base for such behaviors as for empathy, socialization, even battle and strategy.  It is so prevalent and so innate that we often do it without realizing it, anthropomorphizing machines, televisions, the computer, animals, even the clouds and the waves.  Imagine a world where no one did this.  Imagine for a minute not even realizing that the people you interact with daily have their own minds inner workings and dealings.  This is the world of Asperger Syndrome. 

Modern medicine for manipulation of the mind

  It turns out that trust is chemical, at least according to modern neuroscience and research into oxytocin.  Oxytocin is a hormone produced by the neuron part of the pituitary gland that has long been known to strengthen uterine contractions in childbirth and to start milk production in breast feeding.   More recently, scientists have started to understand its role in brain and behavior with key role in trust.

Depression, My story part four- Fight the Power

  As I recovered from depression, I discovered a whole new ailment, anxiety.  One of the first side effects the medication gave me was panic attacks.   I had a lot on my plate, really.  I had to toe the line, with no relapses.  I worried incessantly about the future.  I worried about my patients.  I worried about the rumor mill surrounding me.  I worried about the impressions, fair or otherwise, that others had of me. I worried about stigma.

Depression, my story part three- Acceptance

   So here is the funny thing, I was told I was depressed, and I didn’t believe it.  I took a kazillion question test, scored 98/100 on the depression scale, and I didn’t think I was depressed.  I mean, aren’t all residents tired?  Don’t all residents do nothing but eat work and sleep?  I was not suicidal, hadn’t even had the thoughts. 

Depression, my story part one- The Pretender

    I have always been shy, well, not just shy, but painfully, exceptionally, extraordinarily shy.  I have a deep, irrational fear of rejection, the technical term is social phobia.  One on one, given time to feel out absolutely no threat, I can interact with others very well.  In a new situation, or particularly with groups, I am paralyzed.  It has haunted and hamstrung me most of my life, but never at anytime more than when I decided I might have the ability, the drive, and the heart to be a physician.