Do I believe in ghosts?

No.

That was quick.  Well I used to, but then I started thinking about it.  I’ve had my time of thinking about different ways of explaining the inexplicable, and have bored many friends for hours with my somewhat haphazard theories about mental magnetism, Houdini, and spiritualism.

To save yourself a similar journey I strongly suggest you listen to The Infinite Monkey Cage discussing Science and the Supernatural.
I’d love to say that the experiences of my past, of ghosts in my parents house, and phenomena on former battlefields, had convinced me of “something” beyond what could be explained by science. However, as I’ve grown older I’ve noticed that I do not “feel” the way I used to, but instead of putting this down to some loss of “power” I put it down to questioning my surroundings more, and having broader experience that allows me to explain to myself what I have (and am) experiencing psychologically and physically.

This episode of The Infinite Monkey Cage addresses why some people are more susceptible to seeing patterns in random noise, why some patterns insist on seeing the worst, or assuming something is there beyond what can be readily explained.  So give it a try and see what you think…

 

 

Going through my head

It has been a busy week, and thanks to a change in my migraines I managed to squeeze in an MRI scan over the weekend.  To make something entertaining from a medical experience seemed like a good idea, so for those of you who have ever wondered “I wonder what goes through his head?” then answer is “You!” if you watch the following video:

Update: For any who were concerned, they didn’t find anything!

The Allergen Diet

I knew I’d always had allergies, hay-fever, certain food didn’t agree with me.  Whatever, you just get on with it, take a decongestant or a painkiller when it gets bad, try to avoid being around certain plants or environments at certain times of the year, but hey it could be worse, crack on.

After much encouragement from my wife I finally plucked up the courage to go and see an allergist, and have a prick test to see if I really had a problem.  Turns out it was a good idea to get tested, as I showed reactions ranging from normal to severe to almost everything they tested me with.  At the doctor’s advice I have started a course of injections to build up my immunity to the environmental allergens, but we wondered what to do with the food allergies?

The Doc suggested two courses we could take; a long slow elimination of one allergen at a time, or a more aggressive removal of all foods I had a severe reaction to for a period of a month, and then a slow re-introduction of items one by one to see how I cope.  Being a glutton for punishment, and interested in testing my will-power and motivation I decided upon option #2 the total removal of all 3 and 4+ allergens.  So now I’m looking at a month without any of the following:

• Grains; including wheat, rye, and even rice.
• Yeast; which rules out wine, beer, and most alcohol as well as usual cooking uses.
• Dairy; including cheese, milk, butter
• Most tree nuts
• Soy
• based on the scores I should also try and limit chicken and egg yolks where possible.

This leaves me with most fruit and veg, red meat, fish, and potato vodka, rum, and tequila to drink.  I shouldn’t suffer too much then!  The tough part will be changing my cooking practices to not use butter or milk in mashed potatoes, etc.  So just for the record, on Day #1, this 6 foot tall ape descendant weighs in at 157lbs (or 11stone 3lbs for the Brits).  I don’t need to lose any weight, but I’m intrigued to see what this “allergen diet” is going to do to me.

5 ways to stay sane

Five steps to happiness

Connect

Developing relationships with family, friends, colleagues and neighbours will enrich your life and bring you support

Be active

Sports, hobbies such as gardening or dancing, or just a daily stroll will make you feel good and maintain mobility and fitness

Be curious

Noting the beauty of everyday moments as well as the unusual and reflecting on them helps you to appreciate what matters to you

Learn

Fixing a bike, learning an instrument, cooking – the challenge and satisfaction brings fun and confidence

Give

Helping friends and strangers links your happiness to a wider community and is very rewarding

You can read the full article via this link: The Telegraph “Scientists suggest five ways to stay sane”

I was interested in the findings linking mental health and debt, and also the long term impact of “feeling good” mentally and its effect on “feeling good” physically.  Using a simple mental checklist of these five items seems like a good way to try and find some balance in your mind, and I was pleased to see that I manage about four out of the five on a daily basis.

Sticks and Stones

Hurt feelings ‘worse than pain’ – BBC News

The journal Psychological Science has published an article based upon studies by Researcher Zhansheng Chen, from Purdue University in Indiana.

Michael Hughesman, a child psychologist based in Germany, agreed that it was likely that emotional pain was handled in a different part of the brain from physical pain, and likely to be longer-lasting.

He said: “There is something very intangible about emotional damage – with physical pain, you can see the bruise, but in emotional abuse there is often fear and anxiety which remains.

“If someone tells you in the playground that they are going to get you after school, then you tend to be anxious and afraid about it far more than if someone just punches you there and then.”

Chen’s only just worked this out and he studies psychology?!?

That’ll be a “No shit Sherlock!” from me.