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Adventures in Psychotherapy Continued

Post 1

Willem

I'm still working on figuring myself out. Currently I'm reading a book called 'In Search of the Human Mind'. It is about human psychology in general, not just abnormal psychology. Anyways I am reading interesting things about arousal. Arousal in the psychologic sense means being in a state of heightened activity of the autonomic nervous system, with the reticular activating system of the brain stem and the endocrine system being activated.

Basically humans can have naturally high or low or intermediate levels of arousal. People with low natural levels of arousal will seek out arousal from the environment - they will seek excitement. People with naturally high levels of arousal will be much less excitement seeking. They have enough excitement in themselves, so to speak.

I am definitely one of those. I function great in quiet and isolation. My brain is extremely active always. I am pretty much incapable of being bored.

When outside activity levels are high in fact I get overstimulated. In crowds and busy, noisy situations I can get very confused and if I experience this for long I get drained and my nerves become frayed.

But ... this is not to say I don't seek excitement! It's just that I have an immense amount of excitement right inside me. I do go for adventurous things such as bird watching explorations, mountain climbing, and listening to very loud heavy metal music. I just need to ration this. During these periods of stimulation I actually ingest incredible amounts of information and experience over the course of brief periods. I need some time afterwards to cope with and digest everything.

My paranoid schizophrenia has been said to be due to my brain having too high levels of dopamine. I wonder if this could be linked to the overall high levels of internal arousal?

During the times I went overtly crazy (technically termed, experienced psychotic breaks) my mind was buzzing along at breakneck levels. It went beyond what I was able to rationally process. I regularly had times where I went days without sleep. My brain was producing ideas beyond what I could actively evaluate ... I am sure this is why I became delusional.

Keeping myself sane lately has meant for me, most of the time, keeping myself very calm, using medication to tone my brain down a bit, and having a very predictable, boring life, as I said going for the exciting stuff in short and infrequent periods.

Anyways I could say more and probably will later ... for now this is something interesting to me to think about.


Adventures in Psychotherapy Continued

Post 2

cactuscafe

Hullo Willem!

This is a very interesting read! Thanks for sharing.

That sounds like my kind of book. Who's the author? I've read a lot of books about the mind, and psychology.

I know what you mean about heightened states. When I was younger I used to think that I was selling out if I wasn't in a heightened state a lot of the time.

These days I prefer to live a quiet life, getting quieter by the day, smiley - rofl, because the essence is there inside me, like an integration. I don't have to arouse it by climbing Everest barefoot, or walking a tightrope over the Grand Canyon. smiley - rofl. Speaking metaphorically of course, smiley - rofl.

It's good that you know your limits, you seem to have a very clear insight into your particular situation. It's good to be able to express it so concisely.

smiley - redwine

cc smiley - kiss






Adventures in Psychotherapy Continued

Post 3

Willem

Hi Cactuscafé! Glad you liked this read. The author of the book is Robert J. Sternberg: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Sternberg

Did you know Sternberg is my middle name?


Adventures in Psychotherapy Continued

Post 4

Elektragheorgheni -Please read 'The Post'

Was that a family name on your mother or father's side of the family, Willem? Or can that be a first name in South Africa?


Adventures in Psychotherapy Continued

Post 5

Willem

As far as I know, this has never been a last name or a first name over here ... as a middle name I only know it in myself and my uncle, my father's eldest brother. (Of course my grandfather as well and presumably his father and other ancestors). It's a German name, usually surname, going back to the fourteenth century at least.


Adventures in Psychotherapy Continued

Post 6

Elektragheorgheni -Please read 'The Post'

smiley - cool I thought it sounded German rather than Dutch.


Adventures in Psychotherapy Continued

Post 7

Elektragheorgheni -Please read 'The Post'

Just found this regarding Jim Crow:

Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia - Big Rapids, Michigan

Perhaps the most intentionally un-PC of all museums, the Jim Crow Museum at Michigan’s Ferris State University houses more than 9,000 offensive artifacts of anti-black memorabilia. Relics include cartoons, signs, and products dating from the Civil War to the present. Ku Klux Klan materials make up an important part of the collection, but so do items — such as mammy figurines and Sambo clocks — culled from the lives of everyday racists. “I collect this garbage because I believe, and know to be true, that forms of intolerance can be used to teach tolerance,” curator David Pilgrim has said.

from:

http://www.yahoo.com/travel/10-very-un-pc-museums-91979128337.html


Adventures in Psychotherapy Continued

Post 8

cactuscafe

Ah, thanks Willem, about the book info! Interesting name, indeed.

Middle names are a curious thing, are they not? How do we inhabit our middle names? How do they affect our lives? Are they as important as first names? Can we become our first name?

And then there's surnames. Well, that's interesting, because I got married and changed mine. I don't really feel like any of my names, but I like them all these days. Even my middle name. Which I won't publish here, unless you give me a lifetime's supply of cheese sandwiches, and a gold watch.

When I was younger I wanted to be called Spike. Or Jet. Something androgynous and interesting. These days I'm glad I'm not Spike. Doesn't really suit a middle aged lady. smiley - rofl

smiley - redwine

Jim Crow eh? Blimey, that's a controversial musem. That's a good way of looking at things though, the quote from the curator. I like that kind of lateral thinking.


Adventures in Psychotherapy Continued

Post 9

Milla, h2g2 Operations

I thought your first post made such a lot of sense! Both that high baseline levels of "excitment" or arousal may be connected to your psychotic episodes, and that you are medicating to dampen this excitement, as well as limiting stimulation in order to cope better.
To me it sounds like lots of progress.

smiley - towel


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