Ready to study...
Focused... nothing can stop me now!
I am one with my books!
Good study session!
mediscribbles
Search This Blog
Monday, 4 February 2013
Wednesday, 24 October 2012
Killer trees
I am poised
behind the gurney. My goal? To jab the Mr. Skosana with (hopefully) a whopping
dose of tranquilizer. Not for the first
time I long for one of those dart guns which lucky game rangers use to fell angry
rhinos. There are a few obvious drawbacks. Firstly, psychotic patients tend to be smaller and more nimble than galloping rhinos. Secondly, my coordination skills leave much to be desired.
A few minutes later and Mr. Skosana
is sedated and doing his best impression to look harmless, contentedly nibbling at his restraints. His main problem, it would seem, is a
scourge of stalking trees. I nod seriously. I think back to that excellent
chapter on managing tree paranoia we did in medicine. Not. Time to improvise.
The
agreement strategy: Reality doesn’t seem to be an option (and is anyway highly
overrated in most cases). Google ‘management of killer trees’. Bingo! Avoidance. Not too many trees loitering about at
Bara so he’s probably safe for now. Best to be rid of indoor plants (probable co-conspirators). I recommend a few sacrificial offerings of fertilizer.
The rational
approach: I rapidly run out of killer tree strategies. A chainsaw? I indulge in
a little fantasy of Mr. Skosana sprawled under a hefty oak. A brief stroll down the lane of logic leads to
the only plausible explanation: Mr Skosana exists in a hateful herbaceous parallel universe. I try half heartedly to talk him over into my one but we've got killer people over here. Think he's better off with the trees.
Drugs FFS: Prescribe. Prescribe. Prescribe. Ah.
The joy of antipsychotics. The screaming seems to have dimmed. Maybe trees just
don’t like all the shouting? I’m in full agreement. At least I have the
comforting delusion of treating him.
Monday, 18 June 2012
If the voices talk to you, should you talk back?
If someone really is hearing voices (called
auditory hallucinations, not your mother-in-law) there’s a whole scientific
community debating how best to handle it. My brother is a ventriloquist so
obviously I can see how talking back could lead to a career.
If you’ve ever been around someone with
mental illness, a head injury or dementia you’ll know just how awkward the
whole thing is. Should you tell granny that Uncle Bob is actually dead? For me
it depends how many times I have to tell them.
For those living with schizophrenia or a
large bump to the head, they may well know that the ‘voice’ or ‘person’ isn’t real.
But its still chatting away to them. Previously we told patients to ignore the
voices – play scrabble, watch TV, read a book.
I delighted to hear (no, just read
actually) that this is all changing. Patients are encouraged to challenge the
personalities (usually depressing, self-destructive rather nasty creatures)
rather than ignoring them. Specialists are worried it may give the voices more
power – make them more ‘real’. But I guess that’s easy if you’re not the one
with the psycho living in your head!
A fascinating account from a guy with
paranoid schizophrenia explains how the negative voices have become less
frequent since he started addressing them. http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/apr/04/mental-health-health-and-wellbeing
I know Martha Beck advocates giving them
names (she calls her negative alter-ego ‘Fang’ and anything coming from ‘Fang’
is not to be believed).
More problematic –the guy now has a new
young, friendly voice which also chats to him. He’s a teenager who is ‘mischievous
and funny’. Technically this is not a good sign – he’s hearing voices. But if
you’re going to hear them, might as well get them to make you laugh. I wonder
if he’s considered getting a puppet?
Thursday, 17 May 2012
Lizard pill anyone?
The headlines this
week are doctors muttering about the FDA’s decision to approved a new
antiobesity drug called “Qnexa.” Qnexa is a combination of an already existing
weight loss drug - phentermine and topiramate, an antiseizure agent – which is
fondly knick-named ‘the stupid pill’ for some if its special side effects –
forgetfulness, clumsiness and reduced overall braininess.
This has
been followed up with a recent chemical breakthrough. A drug made from the
saliva of the Gila monster lizard is the new treatment for chocolate cravings
(no, we can’t imagine how they discovered this). Maybe if
you take Qnexa you’ll be silly enough start swallowing lizard venom?
Sunday, 6 May 2012
Go getters are just after their next 'fix'
Slacker or go-getter? Apparently
it’s all about how much you’re willing to do for dopamine. A study published in
the Journal of Neuroscience used a brain
mapping technique compare slackers vs go-getters
.
It seems that some of
us are hardwired to release rewarding amounts of dopamine while others are not.
Dopamine is the reward neurotransmitter essential
for survival. It wires us to do things like eat, drink and propagate the
species. It’s also the neurotransmitter
associated with addiction (we’ll do anything to get a ‘fix’ of dopamine).
Using a brain mapping
technique called positron emission tomography (PETscan), the researchers found
that "go-getters" release higher amounts dopamine in areas of the
brain known to play an important role in reward and motivation. Slackers don’t.
Go getters will therefore continue to work
hard so that we can get their next dopamine dose.
The bottom line is you should be demanding
some neurochemicals to go with that pay rise.
Tuesday, 1 May 2012
The myth of multitasking
In a world of multimedia overload, maybe you’ve
found yourself, reading a magazine, watching TV and scrolling through smses. We’re
all guilty of it - media multitasking. But apparently we’re not very good at it.
In a recent study a group of researchers cornered some college students
over a month, monitoring their media use. The findings showed that multitasking
often gave the students an emotional boost, even when it hurt their cognitive
functions, such as studying.
The study coordinator concluded that while we may believe multitasking
makes us more productive, we’re all swallowing one big lie. What multitasking
does do is boost our mood. Apparently the satisfaction of multiple jobs done is
better than a job well done. Multimedia
keeps us happy and that’s why we keep doing it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)