Madness Redefined - World Science Festival 2012
The notion of a “tortured genius” or “mad scientist” may be more than a romantic aberration. Mounting studies have established that bipolar disorder and schizophrenia correlate with high creativity and intelligence. Join leading researchers as they examine the shifting spectrum between brilliance and madness.
(Source: worldsciencefestival.com)
If people are standing up and saying something about, “That’s so gay,” then I think something needs to be said about, “Stop being so bipolar.” It’s not even the majority that has full-blown type I manic depression, which is the stereotypical “freak out at every little thing”. A lot of people actually belong to the classification of either type II bipolar disorder or cyclothymia. But whether our manic episodes are out of control or just occasional, the depression we also face is real.
How would you like to be mocked if you were going through a really tough time in your life? What if that was all you ever felt in life? And when people tell you to suck it up it just made you so angry for how ignorant they are to your pain? And every time you tried to defend yourself you’d get stuck in a circular argument about how crazy you are?
Bipolar people are allowed to feel, and calling us crazy or psycho for exhibiting any negative emotion, whether it’s a full-blown mania episode or just being pissed about something like any normal teenager, is extremely dehumanizing. I can’t even describe how I feel when my sister calls me crazy for getting pissed occasionally. Like I’m stripped of all my basic human rights. Worse than shit. Worse than dirt. Worse than nothing. I can’t even come up with the words to allow you to comprehend how it feels because these phrases are used so often. But I can tell you, the torment has brought me to dark places.
So if all the media attention to bullying is “working” so far, how about we take an angle on teens with mental illness that get bullied? We deserve to be respected. Because we didn’t choose this. But we have to deal with it. It’s only right if we get the respect we deserve, too.
Avocado
Aside from being the highest source of tryptophan, avocados are also one of the richest sources of protein, folate, and the heart-friendly omega-3 fatty acids.
Sapote
The flavor of the mamey sapote, also known as marmalade plum, is described by some as a combination of pumpkin, sweet potato and maraschino cherries with an avocado texture. Should you find some, make it into milkshakes or eat as is to help boost your mood and give your body the bone-fiendly calcium.
Guava
Guavas are the perfect snack for pregnant women. It is packed with potassium which helps prevent leg cramps; folate which prevents neural tube problems for the developing and baby, and tryptophan to help prevent postpartum depression.
Tamarinds
Have you tried eating a nutritious candy? The tamarind is a very healthy fruit that can be consumed in dozens of ways including being made into candies. Enjoy their sweet and sour taste and provide your body not only with tryptophan but also with a rich amount of thiamine, magnesium, potassium, iron and calcium.
Apricots
Apricots are important fruits in Iran where they are called Zard-ālū. Their scientific name Prunus armeniaca (Armenian plum) came from the belief that they are native in Armenia as they are known in the place during ancient times. Apricots are also excellent sources of vitamins A and C and a very good source of potassium and fiber.
Kiwifruit
The kiwifruit is the highest source of folate and vitamin K. In addition to tryptophan which aids restfulness, it also helps relax your nerves and muscles by loading up your body with magnesium.
Plantains
Plaintains have higher tryptophan content than their non-cooking relatives, the sweet bananas. The same with their blood pressure slashing potassium.
American Persimmons
The American persimmon can provide the body with more than 100% of the DV of vitamin C, higher than the Japanese ones. It is also rich in iron, one of the nutrients which helps boosts your energy levels.
Elderberries
Looking for other natural sources of fiber? Elderberries are one of the fruits loaded with dietary fiber. Pop them into your mouth for additional supply of vitamins A, C, and B6.
Soursop (Guyabano)
The delicious flavor of the soursop alone can already lift your mood. What with a taste that has been described as a combination of strawberry and pineapple with sour citrus notes contrasting with an underlying rich flavor reminiscent of coconut or banana. Chill before eating!
128. Effects of Stress on Cognition
Some short term stress can be good, but long term can be bad. One benefit of short term stress is that it improves your memory, but the long term effects of prolonged stress can damage it.
With this site you can:
- Unload Emotional Baggage: Take a minute to unload whatever’s been bringing you down. Big or small, doesn’t matter. Sometimes it just helps to get it out there and know someone heard it.
- Help Remove Someone Else’s Emotional Baggage: Take a minute to read about someone else’s issues. Then choose a song to help get them through the pain. We’ll send it along to them.
It’s pretty cool!
(Source: healthylivingforyou)
Mental health is just as important as physical health! Don’t let it take the back seat! (Why does that make me think of Rebecca Black?!)
(Source: biu-biu)
“If you deny me in front of your friends I will deny you in front of my father”
Faith generally helps with reaching optimal mental health. :) You don’t necessarily have to be a specific religion, as long as you believe in SOMETHING. But I do believe in God.
(Source: clappingmustache)
(Source: kevesia)
Many people struggle, or completely avoid, dealing with their angry outbursts. We all experience this negative emotion, but how does one deal with it or redirect such anger in a healthier way?
- Re-channel anger through positive and productive activities such as painting drawing, or sewing. However, if a more physical approach is needed, hammering, cleaning, or exercise such as running have proved to work just as well.
- Go and hide away alone and cry it out if you need to. Often times anger is just a mask for something else such as sadness.
- Call someone and talk about it to them. Generally people are more understanding if they weren’t directly involved.
- Write down exactly how you’re feeling. Let it all out. No one else needs to see it, and you could even throw it away in order to help yourself move on from the negative into the positive.
- Punch into a pillow (not a concrete wall), or even count to ten.
Remember: Becoming angry with people is completely normal, and is even more common among people you spend the most time with. In order to clear the air you must let the emotion out and recognize it. Suppressing an emotion will allow it to linger on and subconsciously affect your relationship with other people, which lowers social health.
Source: Glencoe Health: A Guide to Wellness (8th Edition, Glencoe/McGraw-Hill)
First off, it is important that you can identify just what is scary to you along with the people who you may confide in for comfort in dealing with such fears by providing you with a fresh, encouraging, and positive outlook. After all, if you don’t really know what you’re afraid of, how can you deal with it? (Trust me, I know people that seriously do not know what they’re afraid of, they’re just afraid.)
If you are unable to deal with fear on your own, the help of another can assist in finding a constructive way to overcome, or at the least lessen, your fear. (Or suggest to you another resource.) Everyone has had their fears and it’s nearly guaranteed that you’ll continue to find certain things scary or “too different” in your life. Therefore, it is crucial for one to learn how to properly handle fear in order to have positive mental and emotional health.
The Benefits of Laughter
Physical Health Benefits:
- Boosts immunity
- Lowers stress hormones
- Decreases pain
- Relaxes your muscles
- Prevents heart disease
Mental Health Benefits:
- Adds joy and zest to life
- Eases anxiety and fear
- Relieves stress
- Improves mood
- Enhances resilience
Social Benefits:
- Strengthens relationships
- Attracts others to us
- Enhances teamwork
- Helps defuse conflict
- Promotes group bonding
:)
Okay. So on my previous post I said I’d look for my measuring tape after I finish typing that post. Yeah. See, one thing I noticed after living with my dad for a week is this. My things don’t disappear at his house. I mean really? I set something in a specific place for 5 minutes. Just 5 minutes. And my mom moves it. “MELISSA GET YOUR SHIT OUTTA HERE!!!” What, seriously? Do I have to have a huge backpack to carry every single object I own at every second of the day? I mean DAMN!
Stresses me out just a bit. Especially since I did all that work of posting that and now I don’t have measurement data to go with it. Fantastic.
So my suggestion to you guys… If you have a choice of living with people, pay attention to that. Because that is seriously stressful and detrimental to health. (Stress does so many bad things to your health. Avoid at all costs!!!)
Man. I just changed my religious status on Facebook (finally, it was just blank for a long time) and then I rewrote my about me. Now I am listed as Christian - Catholic. :) It makes me feel good to have faith. It really does. I know it may be something as trivial as an online social network… But I’ve just kept it to myself and only a few people for now so yeah! Now… What did I write as my new about me?
Trying to find a way to still stay true to my old ways while still keeping my heart open to new ones. I know it’ll be hard, but I must give myself and others this opportunity. It’s the right thing to do.
I was the girl that would shove truth in your face… Even if it made you bleed just to make my point. Sometimes I realize I lost my sense of understanding in that and I want to change myself to make it right. I think I clenched my teeth to hard and had too much control. Well, I thought I was in control, at least. I wanted control. Maybe I wanted to be cool, different… Something people were afraid to be… Honest.
Well, I can still be that. But in a different light. Where I can see where other people are coming from and consider their perspectives. Look at my mistakes, learn from them. Swallow my pride and say, “Yes, that was me. Now look at who I am now.” Because yes, people can change. I guarantee I will slip up. Do something of habit I did in the past. But what am I, a robot?
Believe in me, okay? It takes a team.
I guarantee that most people won’t even look at it… If anyone even sees it at all. Maybe my best friend Drew will see it because I’m gonna tell him about it, haha. But who cares. It just felt good to say. :) It probably didn’t get through every single thing I wanted to say, but that’s okay. It doesn’t need to. No one is going to read it anyways, haha.
So, what is this picture? I was Googling a picture to attach to this post and I found this one blog… Sadly not a Tumblog… :’( Haha. But one I can subscribe to by email, so that’s okay! The picture is a screen capture from it.
It is a wonderful blog… Very interesting and, in fact, spiritual, but also something similar in a sense to what my blog is about. (Well, at least a few of the posts I saw, at least.) So I’m going to copy/paraphrase one of the posts right here for you! :)
How To Meditate:
1. Breathe yourself into this moment by taking slow, deep breaths.
2. Be grateful for where you are.
3. Know and repeat this sentence: “I am healthy.” (Not, “I think I’m healthy.” or “I will be healthy.” I am healthy. )
(Replace the word “healthy” with another strong adjective. E.G. “great”, “beautiful”, “intelligent”, “happy”… you get the point.)
4. Repeat daily and anytime you need to feel renewal.
As I breathe myself into this moment, I have peace and health and happiness all at once.
Now as a side note I also saw some yoga pictures while looking for a picture to go with this post… Have any of you guys ever tried yoga? I mean I’ve always wanted to try it but…
Should I ask my mom about yoga for my stress? Suggestions?
EDIT: Haha I just noticed that on the URL it says that it’s tagged peace… So the entire blog may not be about that… Alright weeell… If the rest of that blog sucks, sorry! Haha. Who knows, I guess you gotta give it a chance! (Well, you don’t have to, haha.)
I know this doesn’t have to do with physical health so much, but mental/spiritual health is a part of overall well being.
For a few years now I have been lost spiritually. Well, a bit more than a few years. You see, a lot of stuff was going wrong at my church I used to go to. So when my age was still in the single digits we just left and never went back. My mom said, “I don’t need to practice my religion in a church just because someone says so. I’m still Christian. I just practice under my own room instead.” I guess that makes sense. You don’t need to go to church to be a believer.
See, once we left I started leaning towards agnostic. I mean I was a little kid, so without proper guidance spiritually by a church I just kinda wandered off… Veered off that path… And the past few years I have regretted it. I’ve wished that I believed. Now I feel I really have much reason to do so…
For almost a week now I’ve talked about God with my best friend/boyfriend Drew, who is a Christian. He goes to church every Sunday and told me many things about how he prays and who he prays for, why religion is important to him regarding morals… For awhile it was just interesting to me. And I wanted to feel that way too.
So my reason for posting this… Last night something amazing happened. After saying goodnight to Drew a lot was swirling around my head. No, nothing bad happened while txting him. But I started thinking about spirituality… And God… I prayed. It was awkward for me, at first, I admit. I mean I haven’t prayed in years. Anything regarding religion has been awkward to me for so many years because of how I’ve felt after leaving my church. But it stopped being awkward. I felt something amazing. A feeling I have felt before, yes, but not by praying.
You see, when I hang out with Drew I get this amazing feeling… I have chronic headaches. But they seem to just disappear when I’m with him. My head is under pressure so much of the time… But I get such a huge feeling of relief when I’m with him. I felt that after praying. I thought to myself so many things at once. My scientific brain was saying, “Wow… My psyche is that powerful that letting go of my problems to a spiritual entity can make my headache go away…” but also I was thinking, “Is this God’s doing?”
I mean, it also seems like a weird correlation… That happens to me when I’m with Drew… And it happens to me when I pray or think of God. Yes, Drew is very important to me, but I don’t compare him to God. What is it then? The carefreeness I feel with him as well as when relaying my problems to God? Faith? I have no idea, I just know there must be some correlation. I don’t really care to know, all I care is that it happens, and it feels wonderful.
So today I thought about it a lot… I was thinking about what happened and about God while walking the halls… I was thinking about reading the bible while I was in the library since Drew suggested I do that…
It was just an amazing feeling. And I’m starting to believe that I am a believer.
After all, in order to be truly healthy you must have a healthy mind, body, and spirit. I have the first two elements down pat… I think I’ve finally achieved the third. I’ve never felt so spiritual, but I’m glad because in my quest to also become a better person, I think God may be able to help me with that.
First, thank you Drew for having faith in me and talking to me about it. And ultimately, thank you God. For everything.
♥ Melissa
