Archive for the ‘Psychology’ Category

It sits there, staring at you, daring you not to eat it.

We have to eat to live, to grow, no two ways about it.  But now there is even more evidence that what we eat not only affects our energy levels and body composition – some nutrients can affect our brain in ways that emulate the changes associated with drugs of abuse.   Read the rest of this entry »

Much of what we do is automatic – it has to be because we can only remain vigilant for so long.

Research at the University of Pennsylvania used Magnetic Resonance Imaging to look at brain activity during sustained attention and found that, over time, our ability to maintain focus, recognize important events and make decisions declines.  Simply put: we’re limited as to how long we can concentrate.

Likewise, self-control is like a muscle – it can be exhausted, it requires rest to return to full strength, and can even grow stronger with exercise.  Our ability to concentrate is an important part of self-control, and it is also limited.  The take-home message is to be conscious of our limited ability to maintain vigilance; plan ahead, create a structured program we can follow fairly easily, and allow ourselves time away from temptation by limiting the choices we have available.

No need to try white-knuckling it all the time – your brain is working against you.  In time, our new plan will become as automatic as the old one.

Recent research dealing with the ability to self-regulate recognizes that, on a physiologic level, men are able to alter brain chemistry (so to speak) to better control food cravings (and thus be more likely to be successful) with weight control…

See:  Men Suppress Food Cravings Better Than Women (Scientific American)

Looking for a sensitive new-age makeover?  Problem solved!

New nasal spray made with oxytocin, the ‘cuddle hormone,’
could make men more sensitive

Is it really necessary that we display “levels of sensitivity usually found in females”?  Should we all be the same?  Perhaps male sensitivity is expressed in different ways.

Just as testosterone does not MAKE us aggressive, less oxytocin does not MAKE us insensitive.  We can cultivate this characteristic in a manner that is consistent with our maleness by developing our Alpha attitude.

Over the last two years, many of us have been going through rather tough times. The media tells us that things are getting better and I believe whole heartedly that things will, but this is yet to be seen and is ultimately out of our control. This is all the more reason why is is vital that we each gain as much contol over our lives as we possibly can. The last few words in that last sentence are the key words;… Read the rest of this entry »

Read: Can the Peace Drug Help Clean Up the War Mess?

At a conference last weekend, researchers reported positive results on the effectiveness of MDMA in relieving PTSD and talked about psilocybin in reducing stress in late-stage cancer patients.

…Despite months of talk therapy, the nightmares continued, and Bledsoe grew desperate. Then “something almost miraculous” happened, he says. An online search brought him to a unique study of the banned drug MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine), well known as the street drug ecstasy. The 21-patient study, sponsored by the nonprofit Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), launched in 2004 as the first U.S. clinical trial of a psychedelic drug in 35 years.

After several bond-building sessions with psychiatrist and study leader Michael Mithoefer and a co-therapist, Bledsoe swallowed a white tablet, donned eyeshades and reclined in Mithoefer’s comfortable Charleston, S.C., office. Over the next eight hours, Bledsoe revisited the explosion and recounted the trauma to Mithoefer. After two more MDMA-assisted psychotherapy sessions, Bledsoe says his PTSD symptoms were “completely eliminated.”