DL Phenylalanine & Relief of Chronic Pain Syndromes

https://www.afpafitness.com/blog/dlpa-natural-relief-for-chronic-pain

This is an older article about DL Phenylalanine from 2013, focusing on its capacity to help chronic physical pain as well as mental & emotional pain,

Here is 2 quotes that I find really superb 💗🙌

“DL-phenylalanine. Recent empirical studies have documented the efficacy of utilizing this essential amino acid for the control of such chronic and/or acute pain syndromes as lower lumbar back pain, joint pains resulting from rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and other usage stresses; migraines; severe premenstrual spasms; neuritis; neuralgia; and postoperative conditions.

Thus, scientific research has demonstrated that relief from the above pain syndromes is available without the necessity of taking any radical measures, simply by supplementing one’s present diet with this spectacular combined form of phenylalanine.”

“There are three forms of phenylalanine: L; D; and DL. The L form is the most commonly occurring type. The brain utilizes this substance as a precursor to produce norepinephrine (NE). It helps one’s brain restore the depleted stores of NE. For it is well known that stress and overwork tax one’s "brain-well" of NE levels thus leaving one feeling mentally "drained." With the conversion of phenylalanine and another amino acid (tyrosine), vital to this process, the brain’s well of NE can be refilled. As Durk Pearson/Sandy Shaw explain, "You can literally refill the storage pouches on your nerves by using - phenylalanine. Large amounts of vitamin C and B6 are required for the conversion of phenylalanine and tyrosine to NE.(1)”

L-Tyrosine

https://www.bulletproof.com/supplements/aminos-enzymes/l-tyrosine-supplement-benefits-dosage/

I love Tyrosine & I have used it occasionally to powerful uplifting effect BUT it is so powerfully capable of uplifting mood Bipolar sufferers need to be very cautious & self observatory to use it regularly. It’s amazing & I’d be remiss not to give it a mention for low mood, depression & cognitive problems.

DLPA is a ready precursor to Tyrosine plus other neurotransmitters & I feel much much safer using DLPA on a daily basis or as needed.

As the article explains, among other things, there is a Thyroid affective element to Tyrosine as it is a precursor of Levothyroxine. (As such, so would DLPA be, logically).

To quote “ Tyrosine is also a precursor to levothyroxine, a thyroid hormone that’s low in people with hypothyroidism or Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. It seems reasonable to think that tyrosine would be great for you if you have an underactive thyroid, but that might not be true.

In mice, tyrosine replenished thyroid hormones that were low due to stress.[9]But in humans, there’s no evidence that tyrosine improves thyroid function. In fact, some hormone doctors report that patients who take tyrosine see a further decrease in thyroid function. In theory, that could happen because tyrosine boosts norepinephrine, which regulates thyroid hormones and is already often too high in people with hypothyroidism.[10]

If you have concerns, talk to your doctor before taking tyrosine.”

There is apparently a bit of a low Thyroid epidemic afoot so I thought to highlight this info.

How to Recognise BPD

This is a really great summary in my opinion. Having the 2 conditions with Bipolar has been like having big huge tides, in & out, high & low that last for months whist simultaneously high winds & daily storm conditions wreck small boats & drown their strewn crew in frothing waters.

How To Recognize Borderline Personality Disorder

By: Sarah Fader 

Updated March 05, 2020

Medically Reviewed By: Whitney White, MS. CMHC, NCC., LPC

Many people find borderline personality disorder hard to understand. A common question is 'On the borderline of what?' The meaning of the name isn't as obvious as with some personality disorders, like antisocial or avoidant. The best way to understand borderline personality is to examine the DSM-5, the current diagnostic manual for mental disorders.ders.

Source: rawpixel.com

What Is the Borderline in BPD?

The term 'borderline' in BPD is an early name given to the disorder as it was understood when it was first described in 1938. People with borderline personalities were thought to be on the borderline of a treatable neurosis and the psychotic disorder schizophrenia.

However, since the 1970s, further investigation into the disorder has revealed that this old name is inadequate to describe it. The name still stands, but the debate continues in the psychiatric community. The most important thing to remember about borderline is that it is an old, outdated term that simply hasn't yet found its replacement.

What Is a Personality Disorder?

The first part of the borderline personality disorder definition you need to remember is that it is a personality disorder. All the traits and behaviors that accompany BPD are rooted in the personality.

About 30% of people who need mental health care have one or more personality disorders. Someone with a personality disorder has problems with their self-concept and trouble relating to other people in healthy ways. Anyone might have thoughts or behaviors that typify a personality disorder. If these behaviors only happen once or rarely, they are not a part of a disorder, but might instead be a reaction to a situation. That's because the personality is fixed even when circumstances change. Successful treatment of personality disorders is possible. It doesn't cure the disorder but can dramatically reduce its symptoms.

What About Borderline Personality?

Borderline personality disorder is one of 9 types of personality disorders. To fully define borderline personality disorder, you need to include the specific thoughts and behaviors that go along with this personality disorder. The two basic types of problems associated with BPD are an unstable sense of self and dysfunctional interpersonal relationships. Both components of the disorder show up in thoughts and behaviors.

Unstable Sense of Self

Poor Self-Image - People with BPD don't see themselves as others do. Their self-concept may be extremely distorted and is usually negative. They usually have periods of high self-confidence followed by periods of low self-esteem

Trouble Directing Yourself - If you have borderline personality disorder, you probably have trouble making concrete plans and following through with them. Your career path may be a jumble of false starts and lengthy detours. You may tend to let others or circumstances determine your course in life, because you don't stick with one goal to its completion.

Impulsive and Self-Damaging Behaviors - Dangerous behaviors are common with BPD. The person with this disorder might drive recklessly, go on wild spending sprees, have unprotected sex, abuse drugs and/or alcohol, binge eat, or impulsively take part in any other dangerous behavior. They may also threaten, attempt suicide, or engage in self-harm.

Source: pexels.com

Intense and Quickly-Changing Moods - Unlike familiar mood disorders such as bipolar or schizoaffective, borderline personality disorder features intense moods that nearly always change in a few days or even hours. Many people with BPD also suffer from anxiety, depression, or both.

Feeling Empty or Angry - A pervasive feeling of emptiness often goes along with BPD. Anger can also boil up quickly, and the person with borderline personality disorder usually has a tough time controlling it. The thing the person becomes angry about may be quite trivial to anyone else, but to him or her it's enough reason to become angry and hostile.

Paranoid Thoughts When Stressed - Paranoia can be a problem. It typically comes up only when stressed. However, because of poor self-esteem and interpersonal problems, stress may occur more often.

Dissociating When Stressed - One of the most extreme manifestations of BPD is the dissociative state that can happen when the person is under stress. They can lose touch with reality and even see themselves as if from the outside.

Interpersonal Difficulties

Abandonment Issues - People with borderline personality typically fear abandonment to such a degree that they are desperate and even panicky in their efforts to avoid it. Efforts to avoid abandonment can often lead to the very relationship loss they hope to avoid.

Unstable Relationships - For someone with BPD, relationships are both intense and unstable. This is partly due to experiencing the relationship in extreme terms, as the person vacillates between idealizing it and criticizing it. Another problem with relationships is that fear of abandonment leads to clinginess or pushing others way to avoid eventual rejection.

Anger Management Problems - Since extreme, sudden, and frequent anger is often a part of borderline personality, those who haven't learned how to control their anger can get into trouble. They may get into physical fights to the extent that their actions constitute assault. Criminality related to anger isn't uncommon.

Of course, the excessive anger isn't conducive to healthy interpersonal relationships such as marriage or parenthood. Those with BPD may get over anger quickly, but in some cases, this is after damage is already done to relationships.

Misinterpreting Facial Expressions - Borderline personality disorder features a tendency to see negative emotions where others don't. The person they are interacting with may not be expressing any emotion at all, but people BPD tend to see sadness, disgust, anger or fear when they look at another's face. This almost invariably leads to further interpersonal problems, because they base their behaviors on faulty interpretations.

Supps link in sidebar

Just a note, I noticed that many of my links to my supplements that I use are to Nootropics Expert. This was laziness, I’d preferred the highly cohesive information at Self Hacked.com but they demanded a paid subscription after a couple of, brilliant might I add, articles.

Nothing wrong with Nootropics Expert whatsoever but I realise that as a website it might feel intimidating to some people. 

Do your due diligence, do your own research on websites you feel confident about. Despite unpatentable substances rarely having any large scale research funded benevolently by big pharma behind them, you will often find that comments alone on a supplement page will garner much helpful info from users. 

Everybody is different. Depression has different causes & expression & experience in different people so necessarily the remedies will vary. Never give up! There is so much to try. 💗💕🙌🙌

So, Selective Agoraphobia

That’s what I’ve got. I can stick to my routine, go out twice a day into wilderness preferably, with a dog on each side, but doing anything out of routine seems to completely flummox my synapses & I get disassociation, brain fog, confusion……..all of which ends up with frustration, self pity & possibly tears before I remember to engage a super self soothing skill set & maybe take a hearty Gaba promoting something or other. I still can't go out but the day can be at least somewhat salvaged.

It’s always in the summer, its so much worse in the summer. The feeling that one could go out, that the weather is not prohibitive to leaving the house so logically this is when it would be worse. In fact good weather calls you outside, insistently, pressure that becomes unbearable. I become phobic of my own tiny garden, the bridge to the other world, the sounds of other people, so many people, so nearby, moving around in the good weather, starts to make me nauseous.

I remember endless summers in darkened rooms crying, suicidal, not eating when no-one cared or called throughout my 20’s & 30’s. Being very poor, relentlessly poor, like a distinguishing hallmark of unworthiness, poverty was endlessly unbeatable as a single mum in minimum wage jobs that I hated in extremis.

I have some quite serious historical abandonment issues from relationships but more importantly I lost most of my friends when I necessarily gave up alcohol & coffee bars when I was 40 & had been wrongly told there was nothing wrong with me by a Psychiatrist. Terrifically confused, self preservation drove me to socially withdraw to see more clearly what this incredibly unstable substance that I was made of did without all these impacts from other people, my life had become just one big trigger orgy. A festival of Amygdala Hijack. So I stayed home, I learnt harp, I got the dogs. I had a tiny social circle. I was officially self employed on some benefits hardly earning anything, when you could still do that. (you can't now)

I lost some friends due to my erratic & unpredictable behaviour, I lost some friends after it became clear they were taking some serious advantage of me & my children & I lost the rest after diagnosis, some because it was too scary to have been long term friends with a properly tagged as mad person & worse, some because they did not believe in or value my diagnoses & felt I was making far far too much out of my looooong term inability to be well.

I feel honour bound to acknowledge at this point the many friends that are not here now, most of whom suffered what can only be described as serious mental health issues with addiction issues. Mostly undiagnosed.

Perhaps im not being entirely being fair, being older is definitely a factor, everyone gets less social & more discerning as they get older. Embracing my introvertion has been a relief, the rich inner world of the INFP is a good description, athough becoming overrun by misanthropy is an ever present danger.

After all, all the bad stuff happens mainly away from the house & when other people are there.

So, this was me yesterday failing to leave the house dressed for the beach in shorty wetsuit & leather jacket…… I need need need a less agoraphobic friend, any gender, who wants to swim/kayak/paddleboard, is musical, must like collies, could have ruminant type animals, has practical capacity like in decision making, emotionally steady & able to leave the house when it's sunny. Kind. Well theres a solstice wish list.

;) Happy Solstice

Luminous string vest dress for the over 50's? Hmmm, yo punk ass hippy chick Gran.

(yes, I do look ok, i don’t look panic stricken, it’s deceptive, isn’t it, invisible illness, I still thought I might be able to leave at the house this point.)

Bacopa Monneri - Brahmi Herb

https://draxe.com/nutrition/bacopa/

Dopamine regulator, adaptogen, all round brain & nervous system helper & healer of yore. I really love Bacopa particularly in the more targeted form of the standardised extract Bacognize.

Glycine

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/sleep-newzzz/201902/4-sleep-benefits-glycine

I don’t use Glycine myself, i often find that supplements that purportedly increase Serotonin do not suit me, including 5HTP & SAMe. That would make some sense, as very often it is the SSRI given for depression that causes a problematic high that results in hospitalisation but also finally diagnosis for undiagnosed Bipolar sufferers. I find Serotonin facilitating supplements agitating.

See Also

https://draxe.com/nutrition/glycine/

L Theanine

https://draxe.com/nutrition/l-theanine/

Not one of mine but yet another well researched individual Amino Acid that give much relief for a wide range of mental health & nervous system disregulation issues including Anxiety & Insomia

Taurine

https://bebrainfit.com/taurine-benefits/

Again, I may have linked this brilliant article but it’s so good I think I’ll link to it twice

Neuroprotective, anti anxiety amino acid Taurine.

In healing long term Amygdala hijack caused by damaged nervous system due to trauma, genetic predisposition, faulty parental modelling, inadequate diet, environmental toxins of all flavours; psychological, physical, psychic insults.

Awesome for Bipolar, ADHD, OCD, Autism & Epilepsy also dementia, Alzheimer’s Parkinson’s

DL Phenylalanine

I’ve already posted this article but it’s such a great article on DLPA so I’m putting it out again - I agree with the author, it’s a life changing supplement. Some of us need substances to correct neurotransmitter imbalances which were caused by nervous system damage. 

For relief of low mood, depression & corresponding low physical energy DLPA is second to none.

https://www.optimallivingdynamics.com/blog/the-best-amino-acid-for-depression-anxiety-and-pain-dlpa-phenylalanine-supplement-brain-mental-health-benefits-dosage-foods-buy-adhd-tyrosine-uses-opiate-addiction-withdrawal-dopa-mucuna

I Dreamt

I woke up one day this week in the middle of a vivid & pleasantly tactile dream in which a younger Rowan Atkinson was getting off with me in a pub. Yes, it was lovely. Inexplicably Hugh Grant was also there & was apparently also a potential squeeze in the dream, so it was a rather win win situation especially seeing as Rowan was one of my very earliest crushes in my teens

In basic dream interpretation this is either contact with an unexpressed part of yourself, wish fulfilment or trauma processing, or possibly all 3 simultaneously, these would constitute the 3 basic dream purposes if you are not an actual Oracle so is this then like being visited by the Holy Ghost in comedy terms? I was only joking when I said I might do comedy……

I loved him on ‘Not the Nine O’Clock News’ when i was a youngster.

This legendary historical artifact still does it for me 💗 and the skit is not bad… 😉

So I Said to my Amygdala

https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/unagoraphobic/201503/so-i-said-my-amygdala

https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/unagoraphobic/201410/apply-buddha-brakes-your-startle-reflex-0

2 great articles by Unagoraphobic Hal Mathew at Psychology Today

👍

The 4 Reasons You FEEL LOST & How To FIND YOURSELF! | Gabor Mate & Ranga...

Lovely conversation - Gabor Mate & Rangan Chatterjee

"Gabor Maté, one of the world’s most revered thinkers on the psychology of addiction, his radical findings based on decades of work with patients. We now live in a culture that doesn’t meet our human needs. We delve into how our emotional stress can translate into physical chronic illnesses. Loneliness and a lack of meaningful connection are on the rise, as are the rates of autoimmune disease and addiction."

Good Shepards

I am lucky enough to live in a incredibly beautiful small rural location surrounded by farmland & woodland. We had a tenant farmer very near me, on my patch really, he was trialling some progressive husbandry with old breeds of sheep & cows.

He was eventually run off the land by persistent harassment from the same person who led a bullying campaign against me 5 yrs ago.

He lost sheep to local dogs, as do all farmers sometimes. My dogs were welcome on his land with his stock because they are 100% responsible around farm animals. They are direct descendant farm collies & the DNA conditioning is strong. The sheep literally used to move into a group looking for instruction when we entered the field & when the boys kept their heads down & moved gently they quickly resumed their grass munching.

The big Highland cattle were also completely relaxed around us. That’s a compliment.

Just filling in a picture really. Things are never clear cut. 

This is a very very wealthy area. It was very progressive back in the day. Certainly when I moved to Devon nearly 30 yrs ago it seemed very progressive from the Midlands whence I had come.

I guess it still is but the wealth has taken over completely IMO- they want Camden in the green & ladies who (bitch over) lunch not any real social justice & equality. Why would they.

Just commented on Twitter re: an over paid media anchor man belittling on the street those in low paid, low status work. It made me connect the fact that the low paid jobs are ONLY low status because they are paid too little to exist on. It’s like a conscious decision by the system to keep the poor feeling bad about themselves & it works.

People with low self esteem don’t fight for rights they don’t think they deserve. Needing benefit handouts to survive ‘in work’ is the most degrading & humiliating position in life I can think of. Then Establishment MSM further persecutes benefits recipients despite the fact that the benefit is actually to the employer not the bottom of the food chain dehumanised person.

I’d rather do actual prostitution (if I was 24) than work in Lidl’s if it actually paid the rent, as I believe the modern genre Cam working apparently does, as is regularly advertised in the MSM commentary about it.

Hmmm 

I lied

Of course I will talk about the dogs again, probably loads, they are a huge part of my life, as have been all the difficulties I've had with them.

I am currently dealing with 2 pretty tough, serious scenarios ongoing that I am unable to share publicly at all  - so if I vent about the dogs too much bare in mind that I can't vent about some heavy stuff that is happening & has been happening for a while. 

That is all.

Meanwhile, I'm astonished to discover that I have bought a plant that if I propagate it i need express permission from 'its creator' & a licence......

Speechless

No really, I didn't know about this

I can't quite believe it.......

how the hell have we come to this?

My Community Commitment

OK - Sorry about this - after this I'm not going to talk about this anymore - I'm just clearing my brain space, this is interfering with sleeping now. I will share any creative acts of riposte with you but only if they are funny enough.

I will not be persecuted for having a broken nervous system.

I will not be persecuted for having an extreme startle reflex.

I will not be persecuted by complete strangers because of gossip, lies & half truths.

I have downloaded poster making & photo editing software with which to enjoy humiliating gossip perps humorously.

This is us - we are good people, we are under control. These 2 guys are literally the biggest loves of my life & they are really really old now.

So I've had 2 incidents of abuse & bullying from strangers in 2 weeks from, I think, the same 'group' - last time this happened was in 2016/2017 when I had complete strangers gesticulating & shouting at me from their windows for passing on the pavement & other complete strangers telling me that "we know where you live".

Last time, the Community Police stepped in on my behalf & the weird attacks subsided. So now a new group have picked up the idea that I am being a huge problem to the community, that I should not be allowed to have dogs, that my dogs should be put down. This is what is being said to my face. 

Well, go fuck yourself.

I will not bother the Community Police this time as I am not as ill now as I was in 2016 - I am not scared of any of you, not in the least.

We have a reaction to dogs we do not know & we have also have some dogs we don't get on with, which I believe is normal. 

That is to say - we bark - Connor lunges at Dylan, that's our startle reflex, that's it, if the dogs get a chilled minute to look & sniff the air then all will go well, your dog is now known to us & next time will be significantly better, most likely a non event.

Completely separate from the aforementioned bullying, I had an incredibly ignorant couple, LockDown dog owners, abuse me in the street in February because I asked for space because my dogs were reacting as they approached at speed. They ignored all my requests to give me some space, which I then described as 'stupid' - the vicious shouting abusive man then completely invaded my physical space pressing himself up against me - no mask - spitting saliva in my face calling my dogs vicious as he spat - his thigh right next to Connors muzzled face, who did not react one iota, demonstrating who the actual dumb animal was in the situation.

Asshole. Entitled public school misogynistic asshole. Inherited wealth does seem to rot your basic capacity for humanity doesn't it...... but perhaps that's a whole other blog piece.

We are under tight control & nobody else is at any risk.

I might get shaken around & my nerves take a battering but nobody else is at any risk.

I walk for 3 or 4 miles a day, every day, all year round, in all weathers for mental health reasons.

I maintain full control over my elderly male collies at all times.

I see no-one for 99.5% of the time so forgive us if we are startled when we do but throughout the whole of that time we are fully ready for the .5% of the time when we might see someone. 

This is my Commitment to the Community

Dogs bark. Get over it.

People can be Assholes. I'll get over it.

I've got Robins

I've been blessed with a nest of Robins *right* outside my backdoor - I had a batch a few yrs ago in roughly the same place but I was very very GAD at the time & the whole experience literally felt like the Titanic sinking - 4 out of 5 of them made it though & I buried the lost one under my apple tree - I cried for days over that little bird..... I was very poorly.

Anyway I think one of the survivors has come back & there are at least 5 tiny yellow silent open beaks being fed by 2 incredibly diligent & focused adults - they choose my garden with Connor with his bullock herding mega decibel bark to protect the nest - not a cat, rat, squirrel or crow will make it past Conny. 

they are still skeletal & closed eyes & I haven't heard them yet. They are gonna be so cute! 💗

I will try & take photos of them regularly & make a post when they've fledged.

Fawn Managers

There was a lone fawn lolloping around the Dog Field earlier this week - me & my dogs performed a gentle corralling measure to encourage the fawn back towards its mum in the woods. An American lady insisted on waving a red jacket in the air to keep dogs away but was keeping the mum deer away so we waited till she'd gone & worked to manoeuvre a reunion. 

Heres photos - fawn is shiny blurry blob unfortunately so its a vibe photo set.......

Conny stayed on the lead as he has too much energy for delicate work, but both dogs respect baby animals, they even understand my love of baby birds now they are old. There was no barking, we just gently worked the perimeter & closed her off on the road side then pushed her back up to the woods. They loved it. They are really big on scenting & trailing.

it was cold & late & I had wet hair from swimming so I was wearing my Austrian Army surplus deerstalker......... 

the American tourist was amused by my hat i think

PTED - like PTSD but far less well known

Embitterment and Posttraumatic Embitterment Disorder (PTED): An Old, Frequent, and Still Underrecognized Problem

https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/511468

I think I'm starting to get this about the dogs - well both, ive had PTSD from the dogs for years & I think PTED is in my future. 

Not meaning to joke unfairly about a genuine, lesser known condition but mental health must allow humour else we would all demise from PTED

Todays Fun Fact

Gossip can be an insidious form of bullying or harassment. If the intent is to demean, propagate lies or half truths about people, or designed to hurt, denigrate and destroy reputations behind people's backs, then gossip has crossed a line into harassment.

Just Sayin - keep it up & find yourselves in court 

or otherwise 

strongly featuring in my forthcoming Music & Poetry based Sit Down Stand-Up & then Sit Down again Show, written for survivors of Bipolar/BPD.

I am told, that unbeknownst to myself *all* other dog families in the local vicinity *actively* hate me........ that must be apart from all the pet families locally who have kindly *worked* with us *positively* & in a mutually compassionate fashion to create safety for all dogs concerned. 

That involves the pet parents taking the adult role in the new relationship & speaking & behaving calmly cross pack & thus creating an environment which allows all the dogs to imagine hope of a new tomorrow, where the sun will rise on their new found friendships where lolloping, rollicking, sniffing & licking would be the norm & maybe some unexpected pregnancies..... although just friends would be fine.

But then, you wouldn't know about that would you, because none of those people are in your insidious sad & needy ladies who gossip clique.

I'm going to make some posters with all our info on for you all, with some poetry & maybe some sarcasm so that you can come along & berate us fully at your leisure - then maybe I will write a stand up show in your honour & perform it in village halls across the country sponsored by the Arts Council England & MIND Charity.

Who knows. So many creative ideas, so little time

Pahrummphhh said the Elephant

taking stock of the fact

that the lunatics are the ones

who think they're intact

they think they are right

all the time, in their minds

no room for conjecture, deeper discernment

no time, 

I think they are twats, but its kindly inclined

I would like to swear loudly, but never mind

So in the cold harsh light of reality

&

in the cold cold light of day

the Elephant said - just fuck off, go away

Phosphatidylserine

https://livenaturallymagazine.com/better-brain-health-with-phosphatidylserine/

Struggling to find an article that I like for this supplement - this one will have to do.

I had really good results with this supplement for anxiety related insomnia a couple of years ago. It helped me establish a bedtime routine post manic episode. I only took it at bedtime & I remember really feeling it kick it within a few mins. I took it with my Lithium Orotate 5mg & it was a fab knock out combination - if you are in a particularly bad way take a tsp of your high EPA fish oil at the same time & feel your high cortisol dissolve!

Much much better than Melatonin. It’s an expensive supplement & I’m glad I don’t need it anymore, but I think it is a very good brain repair supplement.

I’ll stick in my list of good things

I like this one - Swanson Triple Strength PS but it seems to be somewhat unavailable in UK at present 

Another more general article: https://draxe.com/nutrition/phosphatidylserine

Google has mapped a piece of human brain - as you do.....

Cool!

"Mapping an entire human brain would need a data set that is a further 1000 times larger, a zettabyte, which Lichtman says is “comparable to the amount of digital content generated in a year by the planet Earth”."

"A more immediate benefit would be to explore how the cell map differs in people with mental health conditions, says Dulac. “Similar studies could be done in patients that also have some mental illness,” she says, to shed more light on how conditions like schizophrenia manifest.

Fun!
Read more: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2279937-google-has-mapped-a-piece-of-human-brain-in-the-most-detail-ever/#ixzz6x6pcVRwP

5 Positives of Living with Bipolar Disorder (Besides Creativity)

 https://ibpf.org/articles/5-positives-of-living-with-bipolar-disorder-besides-creativity/

Whilst I agree with this little list at International Bipolar Foundation website - I’m really reluctant to ascribe any positives to a disorder that, when improperly managed, results in brain damage, reduced cognitive capacity, symptoms of PTSD, long periods (years) of feeling scrambled & which is still so poorly understood & brings with it the potential risk of being badly, wrongly or harmfully medicated for extended periods.

ALSO

This fully referenced research article was really interesting - "Positive Traits in the Bipolar Spectrum: The Space between Madness and Genius"

https://www.karger.com/Article/Fulltext/452416

Dr Caroline Leaf - A Neurocycle to improve low self-esteem & lack of confidence

I'm new to Caroline & this is really great but high density info - since my big BP1 high in 2015 I have felt so fragmented - gradually gradually slowly improving, so hard to describe. Hmmm, also so many previous Highs left long term mental disarrangement as well & long depressions left similar but different brain changes.

In some ways this level of normal, everyday self help psychology feels like going to a gym when you've been in a wheel chair for 30 yrs, that's a good description, I could barely cognitise a paragraph of information without feeling overwhelmed & lost, so being capable of coming back to self-help psychology is great sign of healing.

I certainly do feel that my rather extreme experience of neglect of 2 very serious mental health conditions has resulted in low self esteem & a severe lack of self confidence. I loved her 'sense of self is not a noun its a creative process' thing - that's really helpful. I've spent so much time feeling decimated & without resources to understand what's going on.

Here's another of her podcasts I quite enjoyed. I don't know why the size has gone weird compared to the other one - there, that's my perfectionism showing..... blogger is a internet island with mysterious rules & unpredictable outcomes 

Here is her 'about me' for her Neurocycle App - what a great lady!

About Dr. Leaf.

Dr. Caroline Leaf is a communication pathologist and cognitive neuroscientist with a Masters and PhD in Communication Pathology and a BSc Logopaedics, specializing in cognitive and metacognitive neuropsychology. Since the early 1980‘s she has studied and researched the Mind-Brain connection and did some of the initial research back in the late 80s showing the neuroplasticity of the brain. During her years in clinical practice and her work with thousands of underprivileged teachers and students in South Africa and the USA as a communication pathologist and cognitive neuroscientist, she developed an original theory of the science of thought, as well tools and processes based on this research.