[Cheiron]

[NOTE: this is just my own observations and readings on this stuff, I am not an authority on it, being neither a qualified doctor or psychiatrist, so… But I hope I at least give an adequate overall picture .. and you can study more about it yourself, and please correct me if you know something is wrong]


Stress is a very big problem in modern society. There is good stress and bad stress of course, but a lot of people find their ordinary day filled with bad stress... it feels like a long struggle trying to cope with situations that feels like "attacks"... Actually a recent study showed that for each person killed in a car accident, 4 people die of stressrelated issues !

Now, I'm not saying it's just a matter of a person learns to cope with it, let's face it many of us DO have a crummy job, idiotic bosses, trouble with the husband/wife, impossible kids etc.... BUT...learning a little bit about how your brain works can actually make you cope a little bit better, if you can't change it all at once. It can also make you realize alarm signals before it is too late and maybe do something about it.

There are five different chemicals that your brain produce on it's own that affects your mood and well-being... they are called neurotransmitters and those drugs are mostly produced in center of your brain and released, greatly influencing your brain emotionally as well as your body physically.

Adrenalin

Adrenalin is a “fight-or-flight” or “combat” drug. It is released from center of brain during situations where you register you have to be alert and ready. You get tense and focused and get a so-called “adrenalin-kick”, your eyes expand to a more panoramic view, your heartbeat goes up, bloodflow runs faster. In short it is your brains own way to produce speed.
Now, adrenalin is important for handling situations, say in a dangerous situation or at work where boss comes with a job for you or whatever…. But too much adrenalin for too long is bad, if having it for too long you get stress or even physical distress… a way to control it is the next natural drug your brain produces…..

Endorphin

Endorphin is your body’s own “morphine”, it’s a “feel good” drug. It’s especially associated with physical activity… e.g. a marathon runner that hits the wall… pain getting too much… then suddently…. It feels good. Some prolly have tried a “runners high”… that’s endorphin for ya. People that “enjoy” the fight, the running, the tough work assignment, having fun while handling a lot of stuff…. They are all producing endorphin, which produces easily and spontaneously in your brain. A trick is to take deep breaths through the nose. Place your finger at your bellybutton and about 5 cm below that is actually the center of your body… breathe in deeply and feel the navel and point below expanding… that will relax you and produce endorphin.

Serotonin

Serotonin is another story. Unlike endorphin or dopamin we don’t have easy tricks to produce it. It is produced in neurons in the brain stem and when the serotonin molecules connect with brain neurones it raises your overall level of feeling well. It is the brains “happy” drug…. It is decisive for if we feel happy or sad, it also decides wether you are acting extrovert or introvert …. Like if you walk on a beach in the sun and you feel happy.
It is not easily produced, but stuff like falling in love is a good example of a serotonin rush. Sunlight is maybe the best thing for inducing serotonin to raise your overall happiness level.

Dopamin

Dopamin is the brain’s “reward” drug…. It is released when we really feel successful. When we go: “YEAHHHHH I DID IT!!!” doing something we really like. For the gambler it might be getting into the casino, for the drug addict it might be getting his fix…. But that is not where we want to go. You can get a dopamin rush doing stuff you really like in a good way … challenges etc.
The challenge creates adrenalin… and if successful you end up with a dopamin rush. Use the dopamin experience by taking a minute breathing deep and feeling proud of yourself… and remember it… that is useful for you in your daily life to remember success.

Oxytocin

Now, we can’t be in the dopamin, adrenalin or serotonin bath all the time… it is important to be able to relax, get all the way down to earh, and here oxytocin comes in. It is usually associated with pregnancy, but it does other stuff. It makes you relax.
When you get home from a busy day you need to calm down and take a breather, so… you need more oxytocin in your bloodstream.
And there are at least two ways to do that… look into the eyes of a person you like (your kid e.g.)… or try this: start to yawn by opening your mouth and raise inner upper back of your mouth … repeat it… and you will start to yawn actually… it also affects other people… if we see someone yawning… we yawn… and doing this … you can start yawning on command, releasing oxytocin and feel relaxed.

Well…(making a big yawn) that was it so far….I hope you find it interesting.
_________________
Cheiron
______________________________
"Any scientist with respect for himself should start
the day by rejecting his own pet hypotheses".
(Konrad Lorenz)

"Wir müssen wissen
Wir werden wissen"
(David Hilbert)

[Flexie]

Well Cheiron I couldnt agree with you more about stress being a very big problem in society.

In answer to your question "hope you find it interesting" , I certainly have and after reading the five different chemicals that our brain produces, i pondered on each one of them and situations in my life that have triggered the neurotransmitters. Its actually very interesting when you relate situations in your life to one of these chemicals. I think Im overdosing on a mix of dopamin and serotonin...

As for the oxytocin chemical....uhhh...not a good idea to try the yawning exercise at the moment seeing im at work, i dont think a bunch of lawyers sitting around yawning will look professional LOL..

The endorphin trick i have never heard of it....but will give it a try for sure...

Thanks Cheiron for sharing the information it certainly was a very interesting and informative read, it really makes you ponder


- Flexie -

[Flexie]

Ok folks...I just experimented with the yawning trick LOL....I was just talking to someone online and its amazing on how you don't even have to see a person yawn, just reading someone yawning you start yawning yourself... releasing oxytocin.

A co-worker of mine walks by me...looks at me and says hey STOP THAT.. LOL..

BTW Cheiron I just copy/pasted your post in an email and is now circulating my office

- Flexie -

[Cheiron]

[Jade]

Fully developed Central Pain can be the worst pain known to man. No doubt many would be shocked to learn that spinal injured patients with some motor ability often indicate they would sacrifice any remaining motor ability if the pain could only be stopped (see studies by Davidoff, Nepomuceno, and Britell). If observers will stop and think about that for a while when gauging the severity of Central Pain, they may be inclined to pontificate less about "keeping a stiff upper lip" and start saying, "We simply must devote the needed funds for research. To do less would be inhuman." yeah the stiff upper lip thing is a big help

"I suffer from diagnosed, and not self diagnosed i might add,Central Pain and can testify to the ineffectivness of existing pain meds.i, found these descriptions online from other sufferers.

1. " In describing my pain to doctors, relatives and friends, I feel they look at me totally unaware of what I am saying. I guess it is hard for someone to understand what it feels like to have pain that feels as though your flesh is being ripped apart or feeling
like something is ballooned till it feels as if it is going to burst or the feeling that you have just been struck by lightening and can feel the jagged strike as it hits your body or that there is a fire coal sitting in your body, red hot and as searing as a branding iron. Pain that stops you dead in your tracks and you scream in agony and no one can help, not even you. Pain that makes you wish you could die at that very moment, because it is so unbearable and you know it will stay for a minutes, hours, possibly days or weeks and when it calms down, you know it will return. You wonder if it will one day stay in that state and not ease off to a tolerable level, you are terrified that it may get worse."

2. "I'm trying very hard not to give up, but sitting is becoming so unbearable that I don't know how much longer I can hang on. I'm grateful to know, however, that there are scientists/doctors out there who are genuinely interested in researching central pain. I have no doctor who really understands how severe this pain is and when I try to explain it, I get blank stares or uncomfortable shuffling."

3. "My CPS is stroke related and my best description is "Take the worse sunburn you have ever had and triple it." I have this on all skin surfaces on my left side. From the tip of my tongue to the soles of my feet. I also have the tight skin feeling. Like your skin is too tight to fit over your body. Stress or a drop in the barometric pressure makes it worse."


Okay, so we understand that Central Pain is a serious problem. We agree that its victims desperately need help. Available painkillers do little to nothing to alleviate pain resulting from nerve injury. For many, many victims of Central Pain, existing drugs are completely ineffective.
Pain messages are carried across the gaps between nerves by chemicals called neurotransmitters. We don’t know which specific neurotransmitters carry pain signals. If we did, then we could stop pain signals from ever reaching the brain. It is an absurdly simple and at the same time a maddeningly complex problem.

You are particularly at risk of offending doctors who do not realize that Central Pain does not respond to opioids (such as Demerol or morphine), except possibly at levels of those medications which amount to sedation, and there are probably better drugs for sedation than opioids.


sorry this is so long, since this is a little bonus you can get ( not everybody does) along with your stroke, I find it very unfair to say the least and hope somone somewhere comes up with a way to block that path and stop the pain
its not fatal and i guess i should be glad of that but boy its hard to live with.


there are many more sufferers descriptions so awful that there is a warning before reading them, to suffer this and then have who you considered a friend to tell you you have a negative attitude is the last kick in the teeth. some further interesting reading tho not for the faint hearted. http://www.painonline.org/bad-fail.htm
cheers Jade (next time you get that headache just be glad the Tyenolol works)