#and systematically affects you the same way as your peers and having to realize you are in some ways participating in your own oppression

[cheesey-rice]

And also I think I found it harder to understand/be sympathetic towards ambrosius when I read the comic but like having him and ballisters relationship shown up front is so important in adding just these Stakes of kind of showing what they had, and like the idea that you can survive in this institution with just this one person as your pillar of support but that it's also something that can exist without that system in a different context and having to rediscover that..... Hmmmnmm

[dreamwithoutreason]

Really need people to understand that there is a difference between your diagnosis being stigmatized (what usually happens with mental illness) and your diagnosis resulting in you being subjected to ableism (disability) because those two things are a bit different and the distinction is important.

I want to start by saying that I am in no way attempting to minimize the struggles that mentally ill people face. I am mentally ill and have depression, anxiety, and ADHD as well as a physical disability, Cerebral Palsy. The line between the struggles of people with mental illnesses and the struggles of disabled people is thin but there is still a line. I just want to highlight some of the ways that disabled people are especially discriminated against in a world built and run by abled people and how that can be different from how mental ill people experience alienation or stigmatization. These differences are also why I think that comparing a mental illness to a disability can be problematic. I am, however, also aware that there is overlap and that some diagnoses can be considered to have a foot in both arenas, this is in no way meant to be a hard and fast rule. I also don't claim to speak for the entire disabled community but a lot of the things under the ableism list are things that I've experienced myself which is the place that this post is coming from. I want people to realize that ableism is more than stigmatization and that it is engrained in the world that we live in.

Stigmatization comes from people misunderstanding your illness and how seriously it can impact you and your life. I would consider stigmatization to be things like:

People using your diagnosis as an insult or joke, further stigmatizing it. Ex: When ppl say things like "I'm so ocd" or "I'm so bipolar"

People ignoring your symptoms or attributing your symptoms to your character. For example, instead of recognizing the symptoms of your illness like executive dysfunction, someone might just call you lazy.

General lack of understanding or sympathy towards mentally ill people

Lack of accurate representations of mental illnesses in media. Most of the time the character with the mental illness is made to be the villain or antagonist. Once again, very stigmatizing and gross.

Also, for both mentally ill and disabled people it can sometimes be difficult or expensive to get the right medications you need.

Examples of everyday ableism and systematic ableism that's ingrained in our society which particularly affects disabled people include:

Someone using derogatory language to belittle and degrade your existence as a person. It positions you as less than. Can often be a targetted, direct attack at a disabled person. Ex: the r slur, words like "cripple", and using "deaf", "blind", or "disabled" as insults.

Mocking the way someone walks, moves, speaks, or exists as a disabled person.

No one taking you seriously because you are disabled/being subjected to infantilization. People assuming that you can't do anything for yourself.

Able-bodied people assuming the needs of a disabled person without asking them. Often this comes from a place of trying to be helpful but make sure you always ask what you can do to accommodate someone before assuming what they might need help with because it can be infantilizing

Example: I've had a lot of people assume that I need help putting on a jacket or getting my shoes on so they automatically start helping me with it and they basically end up treating me like a child because they assume that I can't do something.

People touching you or your equipment or mobility aids without your consent. Mobility aids can be like extensions of our body so do not touch them without our permission. This urge to violate a disabled person's space comes from the subconscious assumption that disabled people don't have their own autonomy.

Example: many times when I was a full-time wheelchair user people would come up behind me and just start pushing my wheelchair without asking or saying anything. Their intention was to help me get where I was going but it was very jarring to suddenly start being pushed without asking.

Being denied a job because you are disabled.

Job applications including physical ability requirements for non-physical or desk jobs to discourage disabled people from applying. Ex: "must be able to lift [x amount] of pounds"

Being denied the accommodations you need to be able to function in a school/work/home/other environment.

Lack of captions or audio descriptions

Being expected to work and move at the same pace as your peers all of the time.

Constantly feeling the need to "prove" yourself to the abled majority.

The idea that being abled is the ideal and that you need to do everything in your power to try to be as close to abled as possible. The idea that you shouldn't be comfortable with your disability. The notion that being disabled cannot be a whole or fulfilling identity.

A good example of this that people don't often think about are the viral videos that are like "Sally worked for months so that she could [struggle] to walk down the aisle at her wedding! Isn't that sweet?" Or the videos of kids feeling pressured to walk across the stage at graduation. These videos imply that struggling to perform ability is somehow better than being comfortably disabled.

The idea that disabled people can't be desirable, attractive, or sexy. The idea that they don't make good romantic partners.

Using disabled people as inspiration porn. This happens a lot with viral videos of disabled people where the comments amount to "if they can live with a disability, then you have no reason to complain about your life!" Disabled people do not exist to inspire you.

Also another personal example but one time in gym class I did more push ups than a girl who was able-bodied so she got all defensive and said "well if she can do that many then I'm gonna do more!" Like girl.... anyways...

Having to jump through a million hoops to get disability benefits. Or being denied disability benefits for arbitrary reasons.

Also once you get disability benefits it's barely anything. Also when you're on benefits you're not allowed to save up money and if you get married you lose benefits. I could make a whole other post about how disabled people are expected to live off of nothing but...

MOBILITY AIDS ARE SO EXPENSIVE HOLY SHIT

The world was built by and for able-bodied people. Architectural/environmental ableism occurs when there are no ramps, no accessible bathroom stalls, no elevators, no disability parking spaces, and/or no space for wheelchairs/mobility aids in public places.

This also happens a lot with public transportation. When I tried using the metro with my friends in DC, I had to have a security guard help me get down the escalator because there wasn't an elevator nearby. Right before I got on it, I saw a man force his wheelchair onto the escalator.

A smaller example but it can be as small as there not being a sidewalk ramp. One time I couldn't even cross the street because there was no sidewalk ramp and I was in a wheelchair. Once again, the world was built by able-bodied people.

Eco-ableism. It's when disabled people aren't considered when it comes to environmental activism. The best example of this is the straw debacle that happened last year. Every abled person and their mama wanted to complete ban plastic straws without acknowledging that a lot of disabled people need to use blendable, flexible plastic straws.

Another example that I've witnessed myself has been with automatic doors. I've had to tear down signs at my university that were put on automatic doors that said "save a polar bear, use the other door". Stop blaming disabled people's survival for environmental issues and blame big corporations.

Almost a complete lack of disability representation in media. Disabled kids don't have many people who they can look up to. I know I didn't have any.

The ableism that comes from abled parents of a disabled child.

For years I was told inaccurate information about my disability by able-bodied people, including my mother. It was only when I started researching my disability myself that I actually began to understand it.

Related to the previous point, lack of information or knowledge about certain disabilities

People assuming that just because someone is in a wheelchair that they can't move their legs or walk. This feeds into the idea that disabled people are "faking" their disability. The idea that someone is "faking" can lead people to be attacked or have people tell them that they don't "deserve" things like benefits or parking spaces.

People who straight up pretend they don't see us. I've had so many people try to cut me in line over the years just because they didn't think I would say anything or wanted to pretend they didn't see me.

I have friends who have delayed speech as part of their disability. If you know someone who has delayed speech or a stutter, don't fucking cut them off or try to finish their sentences for them. It's super rude and disrespectful.

DON'T FUCKING SAY THE R WORD. DON'T SAY IT! DON'T SAY IT EVEN IF YOU ARE DISABLED! THE R WORD IS SO ABLEIST AND STIGMATIZING STOP SAYING IT! DON'T PUT IT IN YOUR WRITING EITHER!

Lastly, about half of people killed by police have some sort of disability or mental illness. Disability is intersectional and it's important when talking about things like the BLM movement, women's rights, lgbtq+ rights, etc.

Hope this helped you learn something about ableism and how prevalent it is!

[certifiedskywalker]

Hear Me Out - Diego Hargreeves

Anonymous said: Could you do a fic where the reader is number 8 and they and Diego have something going on like Alison and Luther. Maybe the reader doesn’t realize it

(Sorry that this is sooo long, I guess it could be considered a slow burn??? In a one shot??? I dunno. I hope you like it!)

Reginald Hargreeves was not the only person that had taken an interest in the spontaneous births that racked the planet on that fateful day in 1989; but he was the only billionaire which was why William Whackerman could only collect one child. He was in his seventies when he ‘adopted’ you and a heavy smoker. Despite his less than glamorous health habits, Mr. Whackerman, as he entreated you called him, maintained his fatherly figure for the next seventeen years of your life. Which compared to the years that followed, were quite content.

After Mr. Whackerman’s death, a sudden but not-so-shocking heart attack, you were sent to a special school. Only, the Umbrella Academy wasn’t just simply a school. It was also a messed up, backwards excuse of a family. Reginald was only present during missions and paid little mind to you, his ‘new number eight’, for your powers had not been hardened by training his own children had been forced to endure. 

He simply stapled you on the end of the numerical order and left you with Vanya. Although, you didn’t quite mind the quiet girl’s company. She told you about Fives, how Father hadn’t been quite the same after he had vanished, but also talked to you about books and art; things to find hope in that Mr. Whackerman had neglected to foster. Through the next years of your life, Vanya had become a steady river of companionship; her and Diego. The prized knife slinging, living weapon of Reginald’s little army had taken an interest in you from the moment you had arrived.

While he didn’t talk much, which was due to a stutter you had learned about by accident. You had walked into his room when you were still finding your way around the monstrously large house. He had been standing before a mirror, eyes locked with his reflection’s as he stuttered out a sentence full of ‘ms’ and ‘ws’. He had been so angry and caught off guard when you saw him that he was shocked into silence.

“It’s okay, Number Two,” you still hadn’t been properly introduced as Grace was out of commission for repairs, “just take it slow. You’ll find the words.”

 You had stayed with him until he broke the silence. “It’s Diego. M-My name is Diego.”

And that had been the start of it all. At meals, you sat yourself between Diego and Vanya to enjoy the horribly daunting quiet. Even with no words exchanged, a silent knocking of sneakered feet against each other told Diego you enjoyed his company and vice versa. Despite being in your teen years, your relationship had been so juvenile; never once had it stepped over childish affection. 

Diego would parade his growing collection of knives, how to aim just right but too nervous to get too close to show you how. Granted, your powers lacked the refinement and accuracy of Diego’s so many knives had clinked to the stone ground of the courtyard. With pink cheeks, he would always tell you that you did well.

Some nights, you would both camp out in the courtyard, peer up at the stars at you traded dreams like sweets in the darkness. You swore never to use your powers on Diego unless he told you that you could.

“W-What can you do?” You shifted beside him, turning to keep your eyes off of him.

“If I stare at you long enough, I can hear your thoughts. But I have to stare for a while which is why your dad won’t let me go with you on missions.” Diego must have sensed your disappointment for he had been quick to console you.

“Missions aren’t that fun anyway,” a lie, you both knew it, “plus it’s a sibling thing.” You remember smiling and knocking your shoulder against Diego’s. Even at seventeen he had been muscular and barely moved at the contact.

“I’m not your sibling?” You teasing had made Diego shift at your side as your teasing made him uncomfortable. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to press, I-I-”

“It’s alright, Y/N,” Diego had murmured but you could see with ease the dejected look in his eyes. “I’m glad you’re not really a sibling ...Father...being his child isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Allison makes it work, with the magazines...I-I...can’t.”

You knew better than to press Diego and instead, you stayed at his side until the sun rose. Pogo had wandered out by then, water can in hand to tend to the flowers. He found you and Diego asleep, slumped against one another like rag dolls. The smiling chimp woke you both, sent you off to your rooms where you silently exchanged more chit-chat.

Outside of superpowered abilities and late night conversations, the two of you would communicate through the shared walls of your room through a secret language of knocks. Throwing an eighth child into the mix had disturbed any sense of order maintained by Reginald and with Klaus growing wilder by the day, it seemed the man had given up on some of his children; this included the systematic arrangement of rooms. In those sweet days, two and eight were neighbors, just like one and three. 

But like everything good, it came to an end. Although, you figured you had brought the end with you. The older you and the rest got, the harder Reginald tried to choke out your freedom. After Ben died, Klaus left to go...somewhere. No one was quite sure where but one day you all woke up and he was gone. Then Vanya, as soon as she got into college, she left and begged for you to come with. 

“What about the others?” Vanya had frowned then, tears had spilled down her cheeks. The Umbrella Academy had never been home for her, for you it barely sufficed. Yet you had found some solace in the patchwork family that had taken you in and chose to stand behind with a promise you would join Vanya when you felt ready to leave.

 That time came far more swiftly than you had expected. On that very night, you wandered through the house in search of Diego. You couldn’t stand the thought of leaving him behind. Although it seemed that Diego hadn’t felt the same way. 

When you stepped into the den, Diego was nowhere in sight. Grace had been idle in the kitchen, sat at the table with a cross stitch uncompleted in her grasp.

“Where’s Diego? Grace?” The blonde android, the mother of the child you had grown to call you closest friends. Beady, loving eyes met your gaze with a cherry-red smile.

“My little bird has left the nest,” she said and you noted how her programmed grin fell for the slightest second. “He’s gone.”

“You mean he’s just out, right? He’s no-”

“He left,” Grace said, the mechanics under the synthetic skin stalled, which gave her lips an almost human quiver. You felt your own resolve as it dropped and wet tears fell down the slopes of your cheeks. The memory of Grace reaching out and you pulling away was stuck in your mind as you packed your belongings. No there was nothing keeping you there.

So you left that next morning, bid Grace and Pogo ado with tight hugs. If the android woman hadn’t been programmed to smile, you would have sworn her lips were not as upturned as they were normally.

“Do promise you’ll visit and bring Miss Vanya back with you,” Pogo entreated, beady brown eyes pleading. You grabbed his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze with your silence. Pogo seemed to understand the quiet exchange and you gave the foyer of the Umbrella Academy one last look. Up the stairs on the landing, you made out the silhouette of Reginald watching on but not daring to give you a proper farewell.

Your childhood with Mr. Whackerman and your teenage years spent with the Hargreeves somehow even out your feelings on family. Living with Vanya also helped in that respect. You helped make ends meet between shifts at a local cafe and Vanya’s orchestra work. When she decided to publish her autobiography, you were both content; despite the pages of her writing adding a final flourish to an end of a peaceful chapter.

“He’s dead,” Vanya said, prompting you to look up from the table wedged between the living room and kitchen. With a furrowed brow you peered at her with her soaked hair and drenched clothes. The case of her volin hung loosely in her hand, droplets of rain still rolling off of the side.

“What? Who?” You stood up from your seat and closed your book. Vanya’s already dark brown eyes resembled shadows, glancing slowly around your face. Moth-like, Vanya’s limbs fluttered inside the apartment, the door still open behind her as she wandered in towards the light. The lines in her face were more defined as were the tear trails on her moistened cheeks.

“My father...”

It had been nearly a decade since either you or Vanya had stepped foot inside the Umbrella Academy. The brick building loomed, more nightmarish now than in your own childhood. Vanya stood at your side, small hands curled into tight fists. She too was feeling the whirlwind of emotions that had swept you along as well. 

“It’s alright,” you said, but Vanya’s gaze remained trained on the door. “You took your medication today right?” 

Vanya nodded in response and it seemed that the mention of her routine grounded her enough to speak. “I don’t think it’s going to help much though.”

“We won’t ever know if we don’t go inside,” you pointed out. The reality of your words pulled Vanya’s eyes to yours. “You ready?”

“No,” she replied and stepped forward to open the door. 

The grand entrance hall was wholly unchanged. Looming statues that resembled more gargoyles than any other loving beast were the first faces to greet you. Persian rugs laid under a centerpiece table that held flowers, ones cared for by Pogo evident by the crispy, vibrant petals. The same chill that had rolled over your shoulders when you first moved in to the academy gripped you then with boney fingers tight. If the place wasn’t haunted before, you were certain Reginald wandered about the hallways now. 

“Is it me or does it-”

“Vanya? Y/N?”

The voice, while odd having not heard it in so long, comforted you in some irrational way. Spinning on your toes you turned to meet the mournful gaze of Allison as she stepped towards you. Her curls cascaded perfectly over her shoulders in the way that, when you were teenagers, never failed to strike you with awe. 

“Hi,” Vanya greeted, breaking the slight silence that had gathered. She stepped towards Allison and fell into what, from your eyes, seemed like a strained sibling hug. Part of you was glad your father, Mr. Whackerman, had only adopted you out of the forty-three children born. The thought of having such a stiff family relationship set you on edge.

“It’s so great to see you,” Allison said as she pulled away from the half-hearted embrace. When her eyes found yours she added, “to see you both.”

“I’m sorry, for your loss,” you said and tried out a bittersweet smile on the girl labelled ‘number three’. She returned the gesture and sighed.

“Father would be happy to see you here, Y/N,” she turned back to Vanya, “and you.” You bit the inside of your lip to keep from scowling. You knew that Allison was trying to be kind but to lie so obviously made you want to cringe. Vanya, ever stoic, remained silent. “I think Klaus is here if you want to-”

“She shouldn’t be here.” A low, gravelly voice interjected followed by the sound of heavy boots clunking down the stairs. “She should-”

The repeated message with the same eerily cold sentiment was cut short. A familiar pair of dark brown eyes landed on your form and you swore it was as if you and Klaus had traded powers. The dead memories of the Diego you knew danced before you, bleed into your mind like a freshly opened wound. 

Scars on his face showed his age more than even the slight bags under his eyes. He looked as if he hadn’t sleep soundly in a year, only napping for a few minutes here and there to keep himself afloat. Even with the stumbling step Diego took in your direction, he moved as a shadow; all dark and watchful with the eyes to match. Despite everything, he was still the Diego you had known when you were younger. 

If you had stared into his eyes any longer, you were certain his thoughts would fold open like the pages of the book that had driven the wedge further between you.

“Diego,” Allison’s voice cut through the tension that had amassed suddenly in the room. “Be nice, please.” His brown eyes pulled away from your gaze to glance at his sisters. Vanya didn’t dare to make contact with him. Her book had turned Diego’s feeling sore. 

“She shouldn’t be here,” he said again, not as harshly this time. He turned to hold your gaze once more and you swallowed hard. “Not after everything.”

With that, the boy turned man ascended the stairs to the upper level of the mansion. You watched him go, wondering what would have happened if you had found him before he left all those years ago. The thought normally made you bitter, angry because friends don’t leave each other behind; but watching him leave again made your heart ache with some horrible sadness.

“He’ll come around,” Allison’s voice once again broke through the silence. “Y/N, you should try talking to him. Diego was closer to you than any of his siblings, any of us.”

“He doesn’t seem in the talking mood,” you countered. Allison’s frown deepened and she nodded in agreement. 

“Where...Where’s Pogo?” Vanya asked, mouse like features darted around in search for the kind, ape butler. 

“He’s…..around,” Allison raised her hand and referenced the entire building, “I’ll go to find him. I’ll be right back.” Her heels clacked against the wooden floors, leaving you and Vanya in her wake. You spared a glance at the brown haired girl who was wandering into the family room, the sliding door pushed aside. 

Aside from new, antique looking furniture, the room felt unchanged. The beady eyes of mounted animals, prizes from Reginald’s many hunting expeditions, watchful as every, seemed to study you as you and Vanya stepped inside. A lifeless fireplace loomed beside a vast wall of book shelves that pulled Vanya to them almost instantly. The pages, magnets really, coaxed Vanya’s metallic eyes to one book in particular. 

“You gave him a copy?” You leaned over and caught sight of Vanya’s own book in her hands. Vanya’s lips parted with a readied reply when the padding of feet hit your ears.

“Miss Vanya, Y/N, how good it is to see you both.” Pogo gave you both a chimp smile before hugging Vanya then yourself. “I see you found your book.”

“Did...did he ever read it?” You heart broke at Vanya’s question and even more so at Pogo’s answer.

“To the best of my knowledge, I fear not,” he rested a soothing hand on Vanya’s arm. “He loved you, in your own way. You too, Y/N.” You couldn’t help but scoff. Not being in the original seven had given you an outside perspective.

“He hardly knew my name, except my last one,” you quipped sharply. Pogo gave you a saddened smile. Nothing said to him seemed to hurt him and you instantly felt guilty about your tone. 

“Yes, Y/N Whackerman,” Pogo turned and squeezed your hand. “Different names do not change the effect you had on the Hargreeves family. He loved you all.

“Like you said,” you frowned, “in his own way.”

“And that’s the problem,” Vanya murmured. At a loss of what to say, Pogo hung his head quietly. You couldn’t help but wonder what he was going to do now. Stay and look after the house? Move out, and if so, where? Reginald had never talked about back up plans; the man thought he was immortal. 

“You know, Diego suffers from this same idea,” Pogo explained, “perhaps you can find solace in one another during this time.” You felt your jaw clench while Vanya gave the butler a weary look. “I know he would enjoy speaking to you, Y/N. The two of you were close.”

“Well, we’re not kids anymore,” you replied lowly. 

“That may be true, however, like I said, you had a deep effect on him, this family. Have faith in yourself.” Pogo’s words left a sour taste on your tongue. One that reeked of rotten regret and bitter grief. You could have reached out, made plans with Diego, any of the siblings really, but you hadn’t. Instead you let yourself be hurt by Diego’s wordless, goodbye-less departure, and only spoke to Vanya. Your powers fell into disuse and you feelings numbed.

Vanya went back to pursuing the array of volumes and novels on the shelves when Pogo trailed off, out the room to address a stumbling sound that sounded too much like Klaus to be good. The stuffiness of the family room, if you could even call it that, drove you back into the foyer. Your feet developed minds of their own as they guided you up the dark oak stairs. Fingertips trailing along the polished handrail, you could remember the speck of  hope that had swelled in your gut when you first arrived at the academy.

That seed had bloomed with wilted leaves and lackluster colored petals. The only ray of sunshine you saw was Vanya’s company and Diego’s friendship. You had to learn to grow without the latter. Never once did you think about returning, only in your nightmares, but here you were. After you trudged up the steep stairs, you found yourself in the hallway that defined your last few adolescent years. 

The first room on your right, the one that had been yours, was shut tight. You and the rest of the kids in the academy had switched rooms so many times that you were surprised when you could remember which door led to who. Across the hall’s creaky floor boards lied Vanya’s door and horribly cramped living space; it would be evil to consider it a bedroom. 

“Well, long time no see.” You barely heard Klaus over the noisy wooden floors but the sass was unmistakable. You turned to see him, taller than you remember with a rather eclectic manner of dress. 

“Yeah, it has been,” Klaus smiled and opened his arms. You met him in the middle in a tight hug, one that was rarely shared in your youth. “How have you been, Klaus?”

“Oh, you know,” Klaus pulled away with a lazy grin, “fantastic. Daddy’s dead!” He raised his hand in a partying gesture and coaxed a slight smile to your lips. 

“Morbid much?” Klaus only shook his head and dismissed the question.

“I am the one that sees dead people,” he teased as he started to walk past you, “Diego’s around here, by the way.” You turned to meet his green eyes and Klaus wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Just thought you would want to know.”

In silence, Klaus disappeared down the hall and soon, out of sight. Swallowing hard, you turned and looked down towards the rest of the doors. It was eerily quiet, all the way down to Luther and Allison’s bedroom doors. With you lips pressed tightly together, you continued down the hall. That was, until, you noticed Diego’s bedroom door slightly ajar. A childish curiosity drove you towards it and it felt like you were falling into an old habit.

Your breath caught and heart thundered in your chest at the sight. Notches in the walls where, in anger, Diego had flung knives. You had witnessed many of them firsthand, late at night while Diego ranted about his father’s training. The distant memories seemed so close now as you traced your fingers along the divets. They were the only things in the stark room that still held hints of Diego.

Despite the open door, it seemed that Diego hadn’t stopped in to relive the times you were both close. You, on the other hand, lingered. You sat on the edge of his bed which had been stripped of the dark sheets he used to like. The bare mattress was far from comfortable, but you leaned back anyway. Your body bounced slightly, the top of your head brushing against the head board. A smile spread across your lips at an echo of a memory.

To give voice to it, you lifted a hand that curled into a slight fist. Gently, you rapped your knuckles against the wall. A dull knock sounded, requocheted through the room and filled your ears with a strange sense of emptiness. Long nights of back and forth with Diego, communicating solely through thuds on the shared wall.

Another knock echoed, replying to your greeting so quickly that it shocked you. You sat up in the uncovered bed with a shocked jolt. Staring at the wall, you waited. After a minute of silence, the same knock repeated with an added question. Are you still there?

Quietly as you could, you wandered out of Diego’s old room and back out into the hallway. Your bedroom door was still closed but, after a pregnant pause, you pushed it open. Blank walls greeted you with empty stares just as Diego’s darkness filled the room. He laid on the bed, only to sit up to face you as you entered. 

“Guess we still know the code,” he quipped and you felt your heart twinge. 

“I guess so,” you murmured in reply. Your eyes never left Diego as he shifted against your old bed. The temptation to stare, to read this thoughts rushed over you like a wave. Luckily you broke through the surface and tore your eyes away; only for a moment though. Black, long sleeved shirt and pants obscured most of him, but as you studied him, you realized something else entirely. “Are you bleeding?”

“What?” “Is that blood?” Taking a step towards him, you gestured to his side. Diego’s shirt clung tightly to his abdomen, visibly damp. His dark eyes flicked from you to to his side and back again.

“N-no.” The stutter would have been endearing, to some part of you it was, but fear rose up in your throat to choke it out. Without a word, you stepped towards him. Diego jerked back from your extended hand and reaching fingers. “Y/N.” 

“Just stop,” you snapped and it seemed to shut him up. Carefully, your crooked your fingers up and hiked up the hem of his black shirt. The wet peeling sound the fabric made as you pulled it up from his flesh made your skin crawl. A gash on his side, too blunt to be from a knife, was carved under his shirt. 

“I’m fine, it’s just a graze.”

You gave him a wild look, “you’re fine? Bleeding isn’t fine.” Diego let out a huff in response and you let the fabric fall back into place.

“I’ll get Pogo to take a look at it,” you said, starting towards the door.

“Don’t, Y/N, I got it. I’m fine.” He stood up, apparently too quickly as he winced, his eyes squeezed shut to stifle the pain. 

“Yeah, sure,” you grumbled, “you’ve never been good at lying.”

“Then see the truth.” Just as your hand reached for the door knob, Diego’s words sunk in. That current of your powers seemed to sweep you under the water of temptation, swirled you around until your eyes found Diego’s. He stood straight, stiff, as he stared into your eyes. 

“Diego-”

“You said that you wouldn’t, I’m saying that you can. Do it.” You averted your eyes to the floor to hide your intrigue.

“Don’t be such a child,” you whispered before looking up at Diego once more. “Just let me help you, okay?”

“I’ve never been good at lying, like you said, or talking. That includes asking ...asking for help. You know that.” You furrowed your brows and shook your head.

“That’s your problem,” you replied, “I’m not going to read your thoughts and fix it.” Diego took a step towards you and you felt your heart begin to race. You hadn’t looked away from him and specks of his thoughts were already filling your mind.

“I’m not telling you to fix m-me,” Diego mumbled, “I’m asking to you hear me out, listen to the things I can’t explain.” The streak of honesty that stemmed from Diego shocked you but not as much as the thoughts from his mind that were filtering into your own. 

“You’re hurting,” you murmured and Diego seemed taken aback. “You side...it’s not that. Something else.” Images of you as a child raced by your head, the rest of the Hargreeves siblings, then you again. Smiles, laughing, Diego stuttering in front of his mirror.

“Y/N,” his child voice echoed within the remembered thought, “I-I love y-you.” Then your face again, through a window talking to grace. The sound of rain pattering, the night Diego left he had hesitated on the doorstep to the academy. Regret, you felt his regret so strongly. It was then you forced yourself to tear your eyes away from Diego. 

You stared at the floor and waited for your own thoughts to return to you. As Diego’s feelings and thoughts bled away, you managed to look up. His dark eyes were wide, jaw clenched tightly as he lips pressed into a firm line. 

“Why didn’t you say goodbye?”

“Keep looking,” he pressed and you shook your head.

“No, I need you to tell me.” Diego groaned at your persistence and stared at you, visibly displeased.

“I’m not good at talking,” Diego reiterated, “you know that. I...knew if I went back to talk to you I would never leave. I would have stayed here, with you, gone anywhere and…”

“I wasn’t going to stay,” you slipped in as Diego trailed off, “I wanted you to come with me.” Diego met your gaze and you saw the sadness there.

“But would you have loved me like I love you?”

It was a question you knew the answer to. You had known it since you were young and thought things could be perfect. Those nights when you and Diego would stay awake for hours on end talking, you could feel the truth. You were just so young and confused and every relationship you had ever had was for your powers alone. Yet this was the first time Diego had ever asked you to use your powers. He was not Mr. Whackerman or Reginald Hargreeves; Diego was good, not perfect but good.

“Yes, I would have. I can,” you rephrase and you saw something in Diego snap. Some twig part of him broke into splinters into your hands as he stepped towards you one more time. There was less than a foot of space between you and you reached a hand for his. 

“I wish I could read your mind,” Diego said and you felt your heartache a little. 

“You don’t have to,” you murmured and gave his hand a squeeze. “You don’t have to, you know.” Diego’s knitted brows relaxed and he leaned down gently. The tip of his nose brushed against yours lightly, tantalizingly close. You could feel the pressure mounting, the feeling of his lips a thought away when there was a knocking at the door.

“Diego? Have you found dad’s-oh! Y/N, hi. I didn’t know you were here.” Diego sighed heavily and his head dropped when you turned to face Luther in the doorway. He was broader, shoulders larger than you remembered.

“Hi, Luther,” you greeted with a tone that read clear with annoyance. As always, Luther seemed to be above that and continued on.

“We’re going to meet in the family room downstairs soon. Diego, can you come to dad’s room with me?” You looked to Diego at Luther’s question and saw dejection in his features. 

“Yeah, yeah. Okay, I’ll be there in a second.” Luther nodded and ducked back out into the hallway. Diego grumbled and you smiled at him softly. 

“Go,” you squeezed his hand once more, “he won’t stop unless you go.” Diego frowns and lets go of your hand. “Make sure to get Pogo to check your side, alright?” Diego rolled his eyes and you shook your head.

“We’ll talk later?” He asked as he pushed open the door of your old bedroom. 

“Yes,” you replied and Diego nodded. You could have sworn that he smiled but he was gone too fast for you to be certain. Diego wasn’t perfect, far from it, but he was good; and that was good enough for you.

[ryanfoell-blog]

Research Project - Final

Introduction Society as a whole is declining in mental wellness. This claim may seem dramatic, but in 2018, The New York Times analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHNES) and discovered that in 2010, 15.5 million individuals were taking [antidepressants] for at least 5 years and by 2018, almost 25 million adults had been taking them for at least 2 years. This rate nearly doubled in just eight years (Carey and Gebeloff, par. 4). The World Health Organization defines mental wellness as, “a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community” (WHO website). We can see from the data from the NHNES a dependency on pharmaceuticals, specifically antidepressants. This shows a lack of mental wellness due to the need for external aids to “cope with the normal stresses of life.”            The internet has allowed us to feel connected with our peers more frequently and intimately than any other time in the history of the world. However, this artificial connection has taken away from the meaningful daily connections we have through social interactions and experiences. Due to the lack of meaningful connections, we can see depression becoming more prevalent in society. While depression is frequently treated with pharmaceuticals (as evidenced by the NHNES), it could be argued that there is a better solution. Depression and other social disorders should not be remedied primarily with pharmaceuticals; rather, they should be primarily remedied with meaningful connections and positive social interactions. It is with the meaningful connections in mind that one should study the effects of social solutions to depression in adults. Literature Review Hides, Leanne, Sharon Samet, and Dan Lubman. “Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) for the treatment of co-occurring depression and substance use: Current evidence and directions for future research.” Drug and Alcohol Review 29 (2010): 508-517. Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) is a type of psychotherapy that focuses on changing the mindset of the patient in order to produce improved mood and coping strategies for the stresses of life. In 2010, Leanne Hides, Sharon Samet, and Dan Lubman published an article investigating prior research regarding CBT “for the treatment of co-occurring depression and substance use.” While no primary research was performed, Hides et al. evaluated over 50 other studies and found 12 to be credible sources of primary research. Through thorough analysis, it was found that CBT works, but hasn’t shown to be better than other forms of psychotherapy treatment. The conclusion made by the researchers was that variables that mediate treatment outcomes must be defined and identified more specifically in order for CBT to be beneficial. It was also found that CBT hasn’t been applied to patients over a long enough period of time to determine efficacy. While Hides, et al. did extensive research and found underwhelming support for their thesis, this shows the potential for other methods of behavior therapy to be effective for treating patients diagnosed with depression. I propose that meaningful experiences could prove more beneficial than CBT, because it specifically addresses the four factors of mental wellbeing as defined in my proposal (“a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community”). However, it could also be said that CBT combined with experience-based therapy would be even more successful in the long run. Hari, Johann. Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression - and the Unexpected Solutions. Bloomsbury Circus, 2018. This book talks about the author's experience taking antidepressants for his depression. Many people that are depressed are told that they have a chemical deficiency of serotonin in their brain and are prescribed SSRI medication to help this chemical imbalance. Although this is sometimes it actually is a chemical imbalance in the brain, medication is not always the best way to treat depression, in fact, this can be harmful to the person and their brain if this solution is the only option presented. Johann covers the many different causes of depression and mental illness and also covers some of the potential solutions to the mental health crisis that is happening in today’s society. He talks about the dramatic differences between the environment in which someone becomes depressed and how to avoid those circumstances. This book and source will assist my research in exploring the solution to treating depression and other illnesses such as PTSD, anxiety disorder and addiction. My hope is that this source will help connect the audience to the research emotionally because I think that this is something that we should all care about because we are all at risk of facing these mental health disorders. The same way that we take care of our body and our physical health we need to also take care of our mental and emotional health. Johann does a good job applying these topics to our everyday lives and also provides some inspiration. Jonasson, Cajsa. “Using Intensive Longitudinal Data to Study Treatment Effects in Patients with Major Depression: A Systematic Review.” Journal for Person-Oriented Research, vol. 5, no. 1, Dec. 2019, pp. 17–26., doi:10.17505/jpor.2019.02.            In this Journal article, it is discussed the different methods and options for treating mental illnesses like depression. Cognitive-behavioral Therapy, Exercise, Diet and sleep all are huge contributors to our mental state. I believe that this journal will support my thesis because Cognitive-behavioral Therapy (CBT) has been shown to be one of the most effective ways to treat depression. I think that this journal is a good demonstration of the options and measures that should be taken when treating and diagnosing someone with moderate or mild depression or anxiety. Some of these feelings are very natural and all humans will, at some time or another, feel these emotions. The emotions only become a problem when they begin to affect the thought process of the person and the decisions that are made by the person in this mental state. Frequently these thoughts and decision patterns are unhealthy for the individual. This journal will explore the methods that can be used hand in hand with SSRI medication and well and without medication, depending on the doctor's recommendations for the individual. I think that this information will support my research because it isn’t selecting one method of treatment. It explores the combination of treatments that can be customized to fit the individual needs of a patient. The peer-reviewed discussion shows that many people in the scientific community have had the discussion and therefore has diverse information that can be drawn from to help support my research. I believe that the combination of these methods is what makes this source important to the research. Peterson, Jordan thoughts on antidepressants; diet change cured depression, autoimmune disease and depression. Joe Rogan Podcast. Jordan Peterson is a clinical philologist that has dedicated most of his career and practice to the treatment of depression. In this podcast, he explains to the podcast host Joe Rogan that there are many different causes of depression and how there are things in life that go wrong in our lives and they can strongly affect the ways that we see the world. The view that someone has towards the world can then strongly impact the mood of said person. Dr. Peterson brings up a variety of questions that we can ask our selves to determine whether or not we are predisposed to depressive feelings or if the influences in our lives are what is causing the problems people could face in depressive states. Examples of some of the questions that he asks are “Do you have friends? Do you have an intimate relationship? Do you have a reasonable career? Are you as educated as you are intelligent? Do you have something useful that you like to do outside of work? Do you have a drug or alcohol problem? Are there any other behavioral issues? If you are sick, do you do what is necessary to get better? Are you working towards your own personal goals?” As these questions are presented I believe that if someone struggling with depression is able to honestly answer these questions, I believe that they will have a much better understanding of where they stand with their mental illness. Dr. Peterson shows that through the answering to these questions people can slowly diagnose their main source of depression and then work to improve that aspect of there life and in doing so lessening the feelings of depression and long term find the joy and happiness in life that we all seek. Counter Argument R. L. Carhart-Harris, M. Bolstridge, C. M. J. Day, J. Rucker, R. Watts, D. E. Erritzoe, M. Kaelen, B. Giribaldi, M. Bloomfield, S. Pilling, J. A. Rickard, B. Forbes, A. Feilding, D. Taylor, H. V. Curran, D. J. Nutt. Psilocybin with psychological support for treatment-resistant depression: six-month follow-up. 8 November 2017. Psychedelic therapy is a very uncommon treatment method in the United States because many of these drugs have been illegal for many years and performing research and studying them would be highly illegal and risky for anyone wanting to participate. In recent years the government has allowed small clinical trials to take place to try and find positive medical use for these frequently misunderstood drugs. This article states, “Recent clinical trials are reporting marked improvements in mental health outcomes with psychedelic drug-assisted Psychotherapy” although it is difficult to draw any firm conclusion on the effectiveness of these psychedelic drugs, these studies show that further research could be very worthwhile in the treatment of depression and Post-traumatic stress disorder. The study performed was only with a group of twenty patients, six females, and fourteen males. Everyone was given two doses of psilocybin 7 days apart in a “supportive setting” depression symptoms were evaluated from 1 week to 6 months post-treatment. The treatment was mostly well-received. One of the most interesting things about this study was “No patients sought conventional antidepressant treatment within 5 weeks of psilocybin. Reductions in depressive symptoms at 5 weeks were predicted by the quality of the acute psychedelic experience.” Although the research is severely limited by sample size and length of post-treatment follow up the results still justify further study because the majority of patients experienced a positive improvement in depression symptoms over the period of 6 months post-treatment. Hypothesis            Based on the World Health Organization’s definition, we see there are four factors that contribute to mental wellness. Realizing one’s potential, coping with normal stresses of life; ability to work productively and fruitfully, contribution to the community. I predict that if we “prescribe” a social experience that focuses on one or more of these four factors, we will see less dependency on pharmaceuticals, namely antidepressants, to treat depression. Problem and Purpose As we grow to understand how depression and mental wellness impact our lives, we can see why it is so important that we address them. The ease of taking a pill (a perceived solution) can dilute the complex nature of depression and mental illness as a whole. It is because of this, alternative treatments are being overlooked as viable options. “Originally intended for short-term care and episodic mood problems,” we now see that society has now veered towards open-ended use of anti-depressants (Carey and Gebeloff, par. 13). This dependence on anti-depressants must be minimized in order to address the deeper psychological needs of an individual.            In addition, depressed individuals will find relief and confidence to reestablish meaningful connections through the four factors of mental wellness. All of this can be done, without the negative side effects of an anti-depressant. A redirection of treatment for depression would have infinite benefits to society as a whole. As individuals properly address the needs of their mental wellness through meaningful connections, they will, in turn, help others merely by association. Not only will they be able to cope with the “normal stresses of life” but also as they realize their potential, work productively, and contribute to the community, they will be an example to those within their circle of influence. The benefits are limitless. Conclusion Mental illness and depression are so multi-faceted and nuanced, that one might feel it is too difficult to address. However, the scientific community should seek out the proper and healthiest methods for treating depression in any form. Not simply the quick-fix of a pill. Especially when long-term happiness is the ultimate goal for those seeking relief. When the proper methods of treatment are applied, patients will begin to experience freedom from the bonds depression and mental illness. Depression and other social disorders should not be remedied primarily with pharmaceuticals; rather, they should be primarily remedied with meaningful connections and positive social interactions. As we do our best to remedy these issues through social solutions, the people that continually suffer from depression will be able to realize their personal potential, cope with normal stresses of life; have the ability to work productively and fruitfully, and contribution to the community in a meaningful way. While one solution may work for some, the diversity of those who suffer from depression proves that we need diverse solutions for this epidemic that is infecting the lives of adults. Meaningful connections and positive social interactions can be the catalyst for a societal transformation towards mental wellness and long-term happiness.

[squeaktown-blog-blog]

A woman’s body

*in assimilation with Amanda Lovelace’s beautiful collection of work: The witch doesn’t burn in this one*

I am spending my community service year safely sequestered in the Internal Medicine wards. Now don’t think that safe means easy, it’s just that this specialty suites me. I get to solve puzzles and use my knowledge to fire perfectly aimed treatment arrows into the bullseye of a diagnosis. Often the target is moving or there are so many comorbities that clay pigeon shooting might be a more accurate analogy. But regardless of how complicated the medical conundrum, my brain loves the process - the systematic and finely calibrated takedown of a problem gives the old grey matter a victory smirk.

Every day I am grateful that the body that carries my brain is strong enough to keep me on my feet and perform diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. You have to put your back into it even though physicians are widely regarded as more cerebral than practical.

I don’t often think of it as a woman’s body because in the Medical wards I am a doctor and ‘The Doctor’ is asexual. There is a power in that asexuality. A strength in knowing that I am no less capable or deserving of respect than a man because of the shape and size of my body. This mindset helps me to personify a role that was traditionally exclusively reserved for men. It’s important that I see myself as an equal to my male colleagues because it sets the tone for how my patients and peers respond to me. I still get the occasional, ‘Don’t get ahead of yourself, little missy,’ or ‘Why’s a pretty little thing like you trying to do a job like this?’ but it’s easy enough to brush off. At some point every misogynist will be confronted by a woman who will grudgingly force him to admit that she’s a boss - and that accolade has no gender.

On a recent night shift I found myself mulling over the fact that the only specialties that remind me during each and every patient interaction that I am female are Psychiatry and Obstetrics and Gynecology.

I have treated many psychotic patients in my time and this shift was no different. Of these many psychotic patients, the vast majority are men. I am completely aware that one cannot expect a psychotic patient to adhere to social norms or even feel regret over violating boundaries. But the unnerving sensation of eyes freely and unashamedly roaming over my body and lingering over the areas that make me female constantly reminds me that I am not as safe in this specialty as my male colleagues. It is a strange kind of sexual assault in that I am expected to brush it off to honor my duty and treat the very person who is undermining me. I won’t go into the obscene catcalling or attempts to invade my personal space. This specialty triggers the hairs on the back of my neck. I am not ‘The Doctor.’ I am a woman in a throng of unpredictable strangers so disconnected from reality that they cannot be held responsible for their actions. It makes me feel threatened and exposed and reduced to nothing but the body I wear. I never feel at my best with these patients because unsurprisingly, I cannot do my job well when I am afraid.

Obs and Gyane on the other hand gives me fear of a completely different flavor. During the call that inspired this essay I had just finished up admitting a few psychiatric patients in casualty before finding myself assisting a male doctor in four back to back Caesarean sections. I quickly noticed that he was an experienced surgeon who preferred to use his hands rather than a surgical blade to separate the planes of the abdomen and only utilized the knife when absolutely necessary. This technique causes less bleeding and allows the tissues to knit back together more easily. It also helps us to bust the baby out of its uterus jail faster. Sounds good, right? All I could think while I watched this excellent surgeon was that this must be exactly what it looks like when a butcher uses his hands to rough up a slab of meat. And how sorry I was for the woman whose body was being ripped apart. My own abdomen started quivering in sympathy - I saw myself and my own woman’s body on that table. Four times in a row.

This uncomfortable fear-tinged empathy started hitting me when I rotated through Obs and Gynae as an intern. Every miscarriage, breast/uterine/varian/vulva cancer, infertility or hysterectomy case would tie me up in knots and paralyze me long after the patients had left my ward. I’m not more special than these woman. I have all the same parts. I was reminded every day that I am also just a woman sitting at a cruel universal roulette table. You get drafted into the game as soon as you solidify your 46 XXs- the fact that I am ‘The Doctor’ doesn’t exempt me. My number could be up tomorrow.

I wasn’t initially sure why it felt so important for me to get these feelings down after that call. The Internal Medicine wards had protected me from this particular brand of uneasiness for so long that I felt guilty and soft shelled for even allowing thoughts of my gender to affect my performance at work. I realized that I was preparing a testimony to defend myself. As if a tribunal would be ready and waiting to lay down a sentence for my self-indulgence. And it wouldn’t just be men banging that gavel. The women who had fought so valiantly to secure my opportunities in this field would shake their heads and condemn me for my weakness.

The privilege of possessing a woman’s body is a complicated one. You could be lauded for your mind but still coveted for your form. Undermined for your sex and dismissed from hand as easily as an eyelash wish. Invisible in your details but cast onto a giant screen as a shapely silhouette free for anyone’s eyes.

I went to work the next day and forgave myself my trespasses. Because no matter how afraid I was I never turned a way from a patient. I was more than my weakness. And a woman is more than her body.

[morsmordrehasbeensaved]

CONGRATULATIONS JOSIE, YOU HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED AS BARTEMIUS CROUCH JR. WITH THE FACECLAIM OF BILL SKARSGARD!

Josie, all of us admins here absolutely loved your application! In particular, we loved the detail put into his character traits, as well as your interpretation of his relationship with his mother. The headcanons were a nice touch as well! Barty freaks me out, but I mean that in the best way possible! I’m so excited to see Barty on the dash. Welcome to Morsmordre, Josie. We are so happy to have you!

Check out our acceptance checklist right here on what to do next!

♔ OUT OF CHARACTER INFO ♔ NAME/ALIAS:

Josie.

AGE:

23.

PREFERRED PRONOUNS:

She/Her.

TIMEZONE & ACTIVITY:

EST – activity would be a 6 out of 10. I try my best to be online as often as I can, but I have a full-time job that takes a lot out of me as well.

TRIGGERS:

REMOVED.

ANYTHING ELSE:

REMOVED. Request approved.

♔ IN CHARACTER INFO ♔ FULL NAME:

Bartemius Crouch Jr. However, calling him Bartemius could land you on the wrong end of a hex. Only his father calls him Bartemius, you see. Barty is muchsafer.

BIRTHDAY AND AGE:

April 14, he is 16 years old.

PRONOUNS:

He/him.

SEXUALITY/ROMANTIC ORIENTATION:

Barty is asexual and biromantic. While he can handle physical affection, he much prefers a match of the minds and needs no physical contact to reassure him of his relationship with anyone.

EXTRACURRICULARS:

I love him in Knitting Club, though if possible could we add him to Chess Club? He enjoys showing off his intelligence and especially enjoys beating blood traitors and befriending possible allies.

PERSONALITY TRAITS:

POSITIVE (+): Intelligent, Perfectionist, Driven

Intelligent - Barty was placed in Ravenclaw for a reason and that was because the hat immediately saw the desperation for knowledge and thirst for learning as soon as it was placed upon his head. His mind moves at an incredibly fast pace, taking in situations and details and calculating the right actions in reply to this. He sees through facades and anything of the like with ease – and has long since put school work and the frivolities that come with it aside as irrelevant.

Perfectionist - Never a detail unseen, never a stone left unturned, Barty’s keen mind has never allowed for anything other than perfection. He works systematically, mentally categorizing new information for later use (his eidetic memory is a big help with this, too) – and makes sure there is never any flaw to be found in his works. Another positive aspect of this is that Barty can always sense whenever there is anything off when it comes to others, he picks up on lies and mistakes easily because he always remembers the little things.

Driven - There was a second of doubt from the Sorting Hat when it came between the choice of Ravenclaw and Slytherin. It could sense the ambition inside of him, the determination to become something even greater – in the end, his intelligence won out, but being placed in the house of Eagles did not quell this part of his personality. Barty enjoys improving himself, driving himself to become smarter, better and stronger. He was well aware his genius was above most of his peers from a young age on, but still, he pushes for more.

NEGATIVE (-): Obsessive-compulsive, Desperate, Manipulative

Obsessive-compulsive - The negative side to his perfectionism shows through in this side of his personality. He needs everything orderly, neatly sorted and coordinated the way he wants it to, or the chaos messes up his mind – it pushes him towards something that could almost be classified as madness. Barty absolutely cannot stand when things are unorganized, messy and chaotic, it makes him feel like he’s losing control – like he’s losing the grip on his sanity, and sometimes, that might actually be the truth.

Desperate - His father always seemed so disappointed in him, nothing Barty did was right, nothing Barty did was good. Compliments were rare in the Crouch household, but he craved them more than he did air. His mother, sweet as she was, tried whatever she could to satiate her son’s need for his father’s – his namesake’s – affection, but it did not work. Only last year did he find someone who’s praise was good enough to replace that of his fathers’, a man who branded him with a mark on his forearm and fed into his madness. He will do anything, anything at all, to please his Dark Lord.

Manipulative - Barty has always found it easy to toy with his peers. He could see through their petty little games and start one of his own, where he pulled the strings and have them dancing like puppets. While it is not something he occupies his days with, these manipulations are something he occasionally enjoys when he’s bored, running plays and watching the reactions they gave, things he could use in the future, the information he gathered. Ironically enough, something that has always been nothing but a game to him has quickly become one of the skills the Death Eaters find very promising in Barty.

BIOGRAPHY:

Bartemius – or Barty as he was affectionately known by his mother was born to a slightly dysfunctional family, of which became very apparent as he grew up. Whilst doted upon by his mother, and he to her his father was someone that had always been cold, distant – almost as if he had expected more of his son, and his only heir. Within this household, Barty came to be aware of the phrase that he as a child was to be seen but not heard. It was almost as if his father had been disappointed by the child he had, that he wasn’t good enough.

This affected him so much as a child that he strove to reach his father’s attention in any way possible. Encouraged by his mother, Barty began to work studiously in his work, reading any and all old textbooks that his father contained in his library so that he could become a son that his father was proud of, so that he would be acknowledged more than just Bartemius Crouch Junior; that he would be recognised by his father to be someone he was proud of. Unfortunately, this seemed to not be the case when he seemed to not reach his father’s attention even at the young age of five when he seemed to be displaying a natural talent for wandless magic.

His mother, on the other hand, showered him with praise. Whenever he picked up a new language, she let him babble on for days, listening intently to every word rolling off his tongue. Whenever he learned to play a new instrument, she clapped loudly, much to the annoyance of his music teacher. Whenever he showed a new piece of magic, she watched on with bright eyes, amazed by her son’s prodigy. Fiona Crouch absolutely adored her little Barty – and some part of her resented her husband for not doing the same, which was evident in the heaps and heaps of owl’s she sent him. Begging him to come to a recital, to read the recipe for a Potion he’d reinvented, anything at all. He never replied.

Fiona blames her husbands’ negligence for the attraction Barty quickly grew towards the Dark Arts. Even before Hogwarts, he had put aside normal spellwork and turned his eager eyes towards forbidden things; curses, hexes, and potions that harmed instead of helping. He’d whispered the word ‘Imperio’ at the neighbors’ boy when he was only ten, having him take the blame for a mess he’d caused. He’d screamed ‘Crucio’ at a rat, hiding in their cellar at home, his curiosity to see how the animal would react to pain like that too strong to overcome. There was only one Unforgivable he saved – one he refrained from casting until he could use it on the person who deserved it most. Despite the eagerness for his praise and love, the Dark Arts had unleashed in him the strong desire to kill his father.

There was not much mentionable for his first six years at Hogwarts. Barty was well above his peers when it came to his studies, he didn’t care much for social activities, and there was rarely anyone worth his time when it came to friendship. The only thing that pulled him through the bore that was school came with the approach of Lord Voldemort. A cousin from his mothers’ side had first come to Barty with a promise to be more, to stand above others and step on those of filthy blood. He’d never paid pureblood supremacy much mind before, but as soon as they started whispering in his ear, he quickly agreed with their views. In fact, it was one of the few things he felt strongly about since – though from the moment he met the Dark Lord, he knew that he would agree with anything that left this man’s mouth.

His mother had a faint expression of disappointment as soon as she realized what her son was getting himself into, especially with his fathers’ profession. It were mostly worries that crossed her mind, not wanting to see her precious Barty hurt. Fiona had learned to keep her lips sealed, however. She loved her son, and if this was the path that made him happy, that made him feel content in his life, she would not stand against it.

In Voldemort, Barty found more of a patriarchal figure than his own father had ever been to him. No one’s praise had ever been good enough to satiate his need before, but whenever this man told him ‘well done, Barty’ – he finally felt it. Satisfaction.

ADDITIONAL INFO:

Some more traits are:

Analytical (+), Cynical (-), Intrinsically Motivated (+/-), Intuitive (+), Sneaky (-), Systematic (+/-).

Songs I associate with Barty:

MUSE ––– MADNESS / THE PRETTY RECKLESS ––– MY MEDICINE / WOODKID ––– RUN BOY RUN / HOZIER ––– ARSONIST’S LULLABY / BLUE FOUNDATION ––– EYES ON FIRE / STEPHEN ––– CROSSFIRE / X AMBASSADORS ––– UNSTEADY / JRY ––– PRAY / HALSEY ––– CONTROL / ST VINCENT ––– ANTIDOTE / CIVIL TWILIGHT ––– HOW’M I SUPPOSED TO DIE / DAVID BOWIE ––– LIFE ON MARS.

Some headcanons:

ONE ––– In the summer before the start of his Third Year, he developed a tic of sorts. It was uncontrollable and unmanageable and the harder he fought it, the worse it became. His mother pretended she didn’t notice it and his father tried not to appear as visibly disgusted as he was by it. While it gets worse when he is around his family, it is still present every day in Hogwarts.

TWO ––– His OCD reached a meniscus, bubbling over into an obsession with the number five. He has to shake people’s hands five times, nod his head five times, shut his wardrobe door five times, and every night before bed he has to tap his wand against his bedside table. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

THREE ––– Since the start of this school year, Barty has decided to break off all contact when it come to his father. He stopped writing him letters, and made sure to tell his mother to do the same. The worst part about this is that it seems the lack of interaction hasn’t even been noticed.

[tak4hir0]

AI Is Eating Software deepkapha.ai By Martijn van Attekum, Jie Mei and Tarry Singh Introduction Marc Andreessen famously said that “Software is eating the world” and everyone gushed into the room. This was as much a writing on the wall for many traditional enterprises as it was wonderful news for the software industry. Still no one actually understood what he meant.  To make his point he stated this example: "Today, the world’s largest bookseller, Amazon, is a software company — its core capability is its amazing software engine for selling virtually everything online, no retail stores necessary. On top of that, while Borders was thrashing in the throes of impending bankruptcy, Amazon rearranged its web site to promote its Kindle digital books over physical books for the first time. Now even the books themselves are software." Marc Andreessen This was 2011.  Marc Andreessen TechCrunch Interestingly, Andreessen also said the following: "I, along with others, have been arguing the other side of the case...We believe that many of the prominent new Internet companies are building real, high-growth, high-margin, highly defensible businesses." Marc Andreessen (Read the full blog article at his a2z VC fund) Little did Andreessen envision that the same software industry could be at risk of being eaten. Fast forward to 2019 and the very same software industry is nervous. Very very nervous! And the reason is AI. Especially for those who haven’t bulked up their AI warchest.  Acceleration Wave (2009 - 2019) - When Software Started Eating the World Andreessen was right.  The companies that embraced software in 2011 are the current market leaders in their respective fields, and the top 5 market capitalization companies worldwide in the second quarter of 2019 are all offering some type of software solutions (ycharts.com).  Concurrently, the period since 2011 has shown an unprecedented growth in the developments in AI. Although several key ideas about AI have been around for long, a number of processes have accelerated their potential use. First, computing power, in particular for specialized AI chipsets, has vastly increased. Second, the amount of training data for AI algorithms is exploding with the advent of data lakes and a fully connected internet-of-things world, expanding AI domains and decreasing the costs to train algorithms. Third, a large number of technological bottlenecks (such as vanishing gradients) have been solved over the last few years, massively increasing accuracy and applicability of existing algorithms. Lastly, the decrease in costs for cloud storage and computing plus the facilitation of distributed collaborative working, made combining highly specialized knowledge easier than ever before.  The extent in which Andreessen’s cherished software companies are weaving AI into their products is however often limited. Instead, a new slew of start-ups now incorporates an infrastructure based around the above mentioned AI-facilitating processes from their very foundation.  HyperAcceleration Wave (2019 - 2030) - AI Has Started Eating Software Driven by an increase in efficiency, these new companies use AI to automate and optimize the very core processes of their business. As an example, no less than 148 start-ups are aiming to automate the very costly process of drug development in the pharmaceutical industry according to a recent update on BenchSci.  Likewise, AI start-ups in the transportation sector create value by optimizing shipments, thus vastly reducing the amount of empty or idle transports. Also, the process of software development itself is affected. AI-powered automatic code completion and generation tools such as TabNine, TypeSQL and BAYOU, are being created and made ready to use.  Let’s quickly look at a few example applications of this hyperacceleration wave: Automating the coding process by having TabNine autocomplete your code with AI! DeepTabNine Tabnine It is trained on around 2 million files from code repository GitHub. During training, its goal is to predict each token given the tokens that come before it. To achieve this goal, it learns complex behaviors, such as type inference in dynamically typed languages. Once Deep TabNine developers realized the parallel between code and natural language processing, they implemented the existing GPT-2 tool which uses the Transformer network architecture. The inventor of this tool is Jacob Jackson, an undergraduate student and ex-OpenAI intern who quickly realized this idea and created a software tool for it. Getting answers to any question about your medical data As AI will create the query to get the answer for you! Here, a group of medical researchers created a tool that you can ask literally any questions on medical data and the AI generates a customized SQL query that is then used to retrieve the relevant data from the database. Speech Text to Generating Database Query automatically Question to SQL Generation It's called Question-to-SQL generation. They used RNN (a form of deep learning, an AI on steroids for text analytics) with Attention and Point-Generator Network. For those more inclined to exploring the technical part of this feel free to read their research here and software code here. So is it time the armies of database administrators (DBAs) to go home? Creating a beautiful website based on your sketch While AI translates your sketch into code! Want to build your website quickly? All you need to do is sketch it and this platform will use AI to create software code like html, css and js code ready in vue.js instantly. Sketch to create a website with AI Zecoda Easy, huh? Just input your sketch and voila! your website pops out at the other end! Find out more about this platform here. These are just a few examples of how AI is increasingly encroaching all parts of software development and eliminating mundane tasks of coding and programming rapidly! This is due to the motivation to automate the process of numerical analysis, data collection and eventually, processing and relevant code production. Researchers have higher-than-ever awareness and knowledge to infiltrate each and every problem at all levels with AI-powered software, from day-to-day anecdotes such as: Which kind of cookies shall we recommend to a customer given their shopping preferences? To large-scale, manufacturer’s dilemma, for example: How do we automate the production line in an individualized yet systematic manner? And finally, to the processing of building smarter, easier-to-use software that may even write code for you. Apart from assisted decision making, diagnostic and prediction, work of AI researchers and influencers have led to a hyperacceleration wave: Software powered by AI does not only achieve performances comparable to the human level, but creates something that would challenge an average person’s imagination and perception of their own abilities. A person can no longer tell apart the fake celebrity faces generated by generative neural networks from the real ones, or need not remember the name of every function they will use when writing a script. Imaginably, the wide application domains and near-human performance of AI-powered software will cause a paradigm shift in the way people deal with their daily personal and professional problems. Although some of us are pessimistic about, or in some extreme cases, consciously avoiding a world with overwhelming AI-powered software, there is not so much room for an escape. Amazon, Google, and even your favorite neighborhood florist, are actively (and sometimes secretly) using AI to generate revenue. Face it, or be left behind.   What would you do if you were BMW today? "At this point, no one can reliably predict how quickly electromobility will progress, or which drive train will prevail... There is no customer requests for self driving BEVs. (electric vehicles)" CEO, BMW A classic trap most big enterprises with established business fall for is getting micro-focused on existing business segments while losing sight on the slowly eroding economic and business climate. Tesla's story as an electric car is known to all but many may not know that it is the self-driving feature and the heavy use of AI in both software and hardware where the secret sauce lies. They have already driven 10 billion electric miles and the cars are collecting all the more data to disrupt not just the automotive markets but its adjacent markets in manufacturing, servicing, sales and in general mobility. Tesla's AI is eating all other automotive industry's business. A few weeks later after his annual address, the BMW chief had resigned. CEO's and executives who however do wish to proactively adopt AI should do the following 5 things Concluding thoughts 1) Have your AIPlaybook Ready Last year I did a keynote panel together with a few industry peers and I was asked if AI could eat software and I said "Yes". Take a listen. Any company that is not in possession of its AI Playbook, that is not armed with data, algorithms and machine learning models, is certainly going to find itself in serious quandary. An example of an AI playbook is to assess your firm's maturity thoroughly and plan for ROI driven projects. AI Playbook deepkapha.ai 2) Upskill and/or hire a (good) data science team Upskilling your staff to be able to drive your AI transformation is the key to success for any organization aspiring to become an AI company. We've advised several large-scale data-intensive projects and here are a couple of key arguments that executives should take to heart. In a couple of years embracing AI is not a matter of trend riding, but survival; To survive an era in which AI is dominating both market and software, CEOs and executives need to level up their mindset for successful adoption and application of AI within their enterprise, for which they either have to upskill or find a good data science team; Know your game: A good team helps you understand how AI will make your company survive; Examples are abundant in the industry and it is key for companies to pay attention to latest trends and launch several smaller projects to extract out the key projects that can be industrialized at scale. 3) Develop Algorithms & Execute Your Data-Play From Day 1 Upgrading your technical infrastructure that can develop the latest AI algorithms, process large quantities of heterogenous datasets, build and train both industry benchmarked and novel AI models is an important first step. Once that is established it is very critical to develop meaningful dialog channels to envision and dream project ideas that are pain killers and dive directly into solving those problems with data. Finally, executing from Day 1 on the "good-enough" data models and algorithms is where a true AI company can define its momentum and gain sizeable lead from its nearest competition. 4) Implement a distributed knowledge structure As access to the right data is a key to valuable AI solutions, ensuring access to data generated or acquired within the company and outside will be of crucial importance. Following this realization, pharmaceutical companies are starting to create central repositories of the data gathered in their clinical trials. Consequently, their data science teams will have access to a structured knowledge database they can use to train AI algorithms.  A second way to ensure the distribution of knowledge, is to set up a distributed collaboration structure. With the advent of software mimicking group processes from setting schedules, having meetings, or doing a brainstorming session, integration of knowledge and expertise should no longer be limited by geographical location. 5) Tap into AI start-ups with relevant knowledge Andreessen’s example of Disney buying Pixar in order to stay relevant has paid off for Disney, which sold for over 8 billion dollar in movie tickets this year, making Disney the second biggest media company (Forbes). Yet the latest developments suggest AI could also optimize movie-making processes. Moreover, as Disney is creating a consumer platform with Disney+, AI might form the necessary basis to ensure optimal usage of the data generated by this platform. When not wanting to build data science teams from scratch, collaborating with or taking over relevant start-ups might again be necessary for companies such as Disney to stay competitive. So yes, AI has started eating software. What are you going to do? ___________________________________________________________ About contributing authors Martijn v Attekum MD (Oncology) and PhD Dr. Martijn Van Attekum (MD, PhD) works as a data scientist in biomedicine at the University of Cologne. He is an experienced project manager and writer, and is skilled in genomics, oncology, and machine learning. As Visiting AI Researcher at deepkapha.ai he participates in ground-breaking deep learning projects on medical image analysis. In his free time, he is very much attracted to everything the mountains have to offer, such as climbing, hiking, and mountain biking. Jie Mei PhD Computational Neuroscience Dr. Jie Mei is a computational neuroscience researcher who has completed her studies at the Ecole normale supérieure and Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin. She is currently based in Edmonton, Canada and is responsible for the growth of AI research department within deepkapha.ai and its companies. Her research interests include computational neuroscience, neurorobotics, machine learning and data analytics in healthcare and medicine. She is also an active startup advisor.

[millennialdemon]

I mean... we have to Go There eventually, even though I’d like to assume most people have already written about this plenty because it’s likely to become a major theme in the show and is a main conflict of sorts just in the first few episodes...so I’ll focus on how its reacted to diegetically and perhaps give a baseless prediction. 

So students are colour-coded according to their grades/skill, and based on whether they’re blue (best), yellow (pretty good), or red (Bad, Dropout Boys), their literal quality of life at the school changes. 

The quality of their meals, the quality of their building and rooms and likely dorm situation (I have have a feeling Blues don’t have to room with 2 or 3 other people on bunk beds) is wildly different depending on... grades/skill as determined at the entrance exam? Though, as a character pointed out, if that’s fully true it doesn’t make much sense for Judai to be in Red because he beat a literal teacher at the exam but, idk. Maybe because he was late (not late enough to not be admitted though...)? Maybe spite from the higher ups? No idea really. 

Anyway... I have a bit of a bad feeling about how this obviously fucked system will be utilized speaking to characters and themes - the impressions of Red students so far is that Judai is the only one who simultaneously “can’t accept this” in regards to not being allowed to even access certain facilities at the school, but be totally content with the poor conditions 95% of the time. His dueling the Blue students is also an entirely personal venture to him because he just loves dueling and having a challenge and he does not feel at all inherently devalued or doubtful in himself having been put in Red - his battles have, really, nothing to do with the class division to him, even if the Blue students he battles are uppity about it and try to “teach him a lesson” that he never even considers and hasn’t had to, because he’s so skilled and on their level anyway. 

To Judai, being Red means... nothing to him, really. And he’s able to shrug it off unlike the other students there because he knows he’s not... really, on their level. He doesn’t think less of them, and doesn’t seem interested in “proving he should be in Blue”, he’s just content somehow that he... has to go out of his way and break school rules to the point of risking expulsion, to battle good trainers in the Blue class after hours. Umm. 

The way Judai isn’t affected by the caste system that is uhh the central conflict so far and some off-handed comments along the lines of “Why is everyone so miserable?” and just generally not feeling much of an urge to Prove HImself makes me suspect this will be a “Just change your mindset and you’ll succeed the same as everyone else, despite not having access to the same resources, not being fed as well, not being given Basic Respect even in classrooms, and having to return to mediocre living conditions after each generally shitty day at school!”

I hate that shit, to be honest. Miss me with that Mad Is Bad line of thinking and let people (particularly kids, in academia no less) being mistreated react as they please and as they should. Not to mention that I’m only 3 episodes in but I already think the whole concept would be more compelling if:

Judai was placed in Blue like he should be based on skill and his mindset that is profoundly unaffected by class differences - which is pardon the sjw voice, pretty privileged and is kind of making me not like him very much - and have him act pretty much the same passive “there’s no inequity between duelists!” way he ridiculously does canonically, until he slowly realizes how cruel most of the other Blue students are towards him for “getting in by chance and luck”, and begins understanding the struggle of being in a lower class and actually does things to change his own mindset, change his peers mindset, and actual better the school environment from a position where it makes sense. Judai is still underestimated by Blue peers and maybe via those feelings he can reflect on how much harder it must be to in an even worse position than him. 

Judai is still a student in Red, but instead of being really strong and skilled and having no tangible doubts about that, he fails in the way of dueling fundamentals. So he flubs in school, but is skilled in his own unorthodox way and is treated as if he “isn’t really skilled and is just lucky” or something by higher ups and teachers.

Judai is still a student in Red, and is traditionally strong and skilled, but he like... thinks. And is unhappy about the situation and empathetic towards his peers. And speaking of this, in episode 2 when Judai is #called out to battle illegally with a blue student at midnight, it got me thinking about how rad it would be if students who are sick of this systematic disadvantage bullshit made a group that plans these kinds of illegal events to duel as equals as their own way to #stick it to the man and foster respect for each other and have fun dueling new students whose styles and techniques they haven’t been able to see in the separated class environment. 

All in all thus far I’ve just been disappointed with the entire premise and don’t understand why Judai is the protagonist, if not to eventually serve as a Just Believe In Yourself! type in the face of ridiculous adversity which I hate... As my good friend Nessa put it: “like, mayhaps? you're able to be Happy Despite The Odds because the odds don't effect you.” 

I realize it’s super early to assume that, and hey! Maybe Judai will eventually get righteous and angry and band together with his Red peers so they can unapologetically work to beat the system, abolish it all together, and demand respect from students and staff! That would be great. But I have a feeling, based on what I’ve seen in other anime that use “Elite Schools” like this, that that won’t happen. But... fingers crossed, regardless. For now. 

[ortizrachel94]

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[shirlleycoyle]

Keep your distance from COVID-19 misinformation

This is the first blog post by student science writer Mary Magnuson.

It’s easy for anyone monitoring the pandemic through months of 24-hour news cycles to pick up on false information or conspiracy theories.

We talked to University of Wisconsin–Madison experts to figure out why global events like the COVID-19 pandemic might give rise to this on social media – and how to avoid sharing false information.

As the pandemic continues to affect people around the globe, conspiracy theories about the virus have spread through social media and the internet — the notable one a 26-minute long video called “Plandemic.”

In this video, a discredited scientist shares debunked conspiracies about how a group of elites used the virus and potential vaccines for profit. The information in the video was deemed markedly false by experts, and sites like YouTube, Facebook and others worked to take down every iteration of the video.

A protestor in Ohio wields a sign referring to at least one common COVID-19 conspiracy theory and a popular source of misinformation. Source: Flickr user Becker1999

But questions remain. How do conspiracies like this spread, especially in times of uncertainty, like a pandemic? And what can we do to stop them?

Two UW–Madison professors, Dietram Scheufele and Ajay Sethi, helped provide some answers. Scheufele works in the Department of Life Sciences Communication (LSC), where he studies public attitudes around science and science policy. Sethi works in the School of Medicine and Public Health, where he studies the spread of infectious diseases.

How does what you typically study inform your expertise during the pandemic?

Scheufele: A lot of our work with the scimep group here in LSC tries to figure out how we all make sense of complex emerging science that we — in most cases — know little about. COVID-19 is exactly that. Not only are most of us not experts in virology, epidemiology or public health, but the science on COVID-19 is very much in flux, with new findings constantly proving yesterday’s science wrong.

Sethi: I’m an infectious disease epidemiologist. My research focuses on factors associated with the transmission and natural history of infectious diseases, including HIV and healthcare associated infections. Although I have not previously studied coronaviruses, common methods used in infectious disease epidemiology can be applied to the study of most if not all pathogens.

How do I know if the information I’m reading about COVID-19 is accurate and trustworthy?

Scheufele: The fact that much of the science on COVID-19 is far from conclusive at this point doesn’t mean that there is not good expert advice to go by. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), WHO (World Health Organization) and many other organizations are maintaining websites devoted to COVID-19. Those include advice and best practices related to wearing masks, social distancing, if it’s safe to get takeout, etc.

In spite of the bad rap they sometimes get, social media are also a great tool for learning from some of the best experts on COVID-19. Journalists like Helen Branswell or Maryn McKenna (who have actually been both science writers in residence here at UW) have spent their careers writing on and researching infectious diseases and routinely share their work on Twitter. I follow them there not just for their own work, but also because they do a great job vetting and contextualizing the constant stream of information that’s coming our way on corona.

Ajay Sethi

Sethi: First, it is important to recognize that there is a lot of new information about COVID-19 coming out all the time. New knowledge learned is subject to change as the science and study of COVID-19 advances. So, what we thought was true yesterday is not necessarily so tomorrow. That can make it challenging to know whether what you are reading about COVID-19 is accurate. It’s important to evaluate the source to be sure it is reputable and unbiased. Look for peer-reviewed information when possible. When reading information found on a website, I suggest evaluating the website for its credibility, and there are a number of checklists and tools available to do that.

What determines what information people are drawn to consuming and sharing?

Scheufele: That’s a complicated question. We live in a time that is very paradoxical when it comes to the information we all receive. On the one hand, the internet has made it easier than ever before to find the best information quickly, no matter where we are and with little effort. What would have required a trip to the Library of Congress even just 25 years ago, is now one click and a couple of swipes away on our smartphones. On the other hand, apps and algorithms have also made it easier than ever before to avoid any information we don’t want to see or that doesn’t fit our worldview.

Sethi: We are all susceptible to living in bubbles, and getting comfortable in our echo chambers. It can be human nature to surround ourselves with people and ideas that confirm what we believe to be true about the world, which in turn makes us feel good about ourselves and reinforces our worldview.

Are outbreaks like this especially ripe for conspiracy theories?

Scheufele: There’s little systematic evidence that we’re seeing more or fewer conspiracy theories on COVID-19 that we normally do. Of course, it seems like they’re everywhere, but we also need to realize that there is very little news other than COVID-19 right now, and we’re all spending a lot more time online and on our phones than we usually do. But looney ideas like the idea that the Gates Foundation is promoting vaccines for population control or economic gain have been around for years. COVID-19 has just given them new visibility.

But it’s also important to keep in mind that this is a time with almost unprecedented uncertainty and unpredictability for most of us. We have little control over the emergence of viruses like COVID-19. We don’t know what our future holds. And there is no good way out of the crisis that doesn’t require disruptions to our way of life. As a result, it is not particularly surprising that many of us are trying to find ways of making sense of this highly uncertain and deeply unpredictable situation. In the 1940s, social psychologists Fritz Heider and Marianne Simmel showed clips of animated geometric shapes to participants, only to find that many of them attributed human characteristics, motivations and intentions to what were randomly moving circles and triangles. That human tendency to attribute structure and meaning to fairly random sets of events is also what explains the intuitive appeal of movies like “Plandemic”: They give the appearance of meaning and convey a sense of control during a deadly pandemic which likely emerged somewhat randomly, and that has left us with limited control over the spread of a deadly virus.

Sethi: Yes, and there are many examples in history. During times of uncertainty and fear, we can have feelings of losing control. Denialism can also be a reaction. To make sense of stressful situations that develop suddenly with no signs of going away, like the COVID-19 crisis, we may be drawn to explanations to help us feel better about the realities of what we are facing.

I am not a psychologist by any means, but I read research related to the psychology of adopting and perpetuating conspiracies to include in my course, Conspiracies in Public Health. I also find it is useful to read the literature to keep myself from adopting misinformed views.

Why does misinformation about the virus spread so quickly?

Scheufele: There’s little social science that suggests that misinformation about COVID-19 spreads any faster or slower than correct information. In fact, I think we need to be very careful about how we talk about misinformation.

Of course there are things that are clearly wrong. Neither snorting cocaine nor injecting bleach will cure or prevent corona. And they were debunked pretty quickly on both social and legacy media.

What makes things more complicated for science during the current pandemic is what I would call the corona Catch-22: In the public arena, we can only get predictive modeling or mitigation right, but not both. The more successful we are at mitigation, the more inaccurate initial models will appear in hindsight. In other words, looking back people will think that initial models of how COVID-19 would spread had it wrong, precisely because those models encouraged the right policies that helped us avoid worst case scenarios.

The second problem is that there is little settled science on COVID-19. Much of the scientific work on the virus, its spread, and the effectiveness of different interventions is in flux, to say the least. New science constantly proves previous findings wrong. And that’s the way science is supposed to work. It’s supposed to self-correct and iterate toward the best possible explanations. During normal times, that’s just fine. Science plays out over long periods of time, with policy following in due course. For COVID-19, science and policy are emerging at the same time and with breakneck speed. This raises two problems: (a) The uncertainties surrounding science and policy end up overlapping in public perception, and science gets blamed for the inevitable missteps of public policy. (b) Battling misinformation on COVID-19 with science that itself might turn out to be wrong is not a winning proposition for the scientific community. We wrote about that here.

What should I do if someone I know shares or promotes misinformation or a conspiracy theory about the virus?

Scheufele: Debunking is a double-edged sword. It typically requires repeating and — especially on social media — giving additional visibility to misinformation. Some research suggests that this can reinforce rather than debunk inaccurate beliefs or even conspiracy thinking. This doesn’t mean that there is no value in pointing your friends or social media contacts to Snopes.com or any credible resource that debunks misinformation. The idea is to do it in a way that’s constructive, and to keep in mind that we’ve all shared misinformation at some point, even if we don’t remember it.

Twitter post with false (but kind of believable) information

But all of that is based on the assumption that we’re sharing misinformation because we cannot tell that it’s fake. And sometimes that is true. But often, we share information without checking because it fits what we already believe. If I don’t like Trump, I am motivated to find information that makes him look bad. There was a Tweet about President Trump saying that “HUNDREDS of Governors” were calling him that made the rounds on my social media feeds recently, and was retweeted by many of my academic friends. It was fake of course, and a 3-second Google search would have shown that. So, it’s not that people couldn’t tell it was fake. They didn’t care, because it so perfectly fit their expectations and prior attitudes on Trump. One of our doctoral students and I wrote about many of those motivations that often make us believe in misinformation on an open-access article in PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences).

  Sethi: I think it depends on your comfort level and how well you know the person. Some people might choose to avoid confrontation, which is understandable. If their actions cause your blood pressure to go up, it would be best to calm yourself down before saying anything. I also think it’s important to re-visit why you disagree with what they shared just to make sure you have your own facts straight. Things are rarely clear-cut.

So, after all that, if you decide to engage with them, I think it starts with active listening. As an aside, for a while after college (a long time ago!), I was a volunteer crisis counselor. So, my own instincts were formed from that training and experience. I’m no expert, but again, I know listening is important. So is asking questions. And then listening some more. Understand where they are coming from. Identify shared interests and emotions. You may or may not choose to volunteer your own views on the subject. It depends if you are asked for them and if you have established trust with them. That can take time to build, maybe many conversations. Avoid launching into explanations or proving how knowledgeable you are. It causes people to stop listening.

Science is filled with uncertainty, while misinformation often promotes concrete “facts” and “solutions.” Is there a way responsible science communication can achieve both?

Sethi: Understand your audience each time and start by asking what people want to learn from you. Go from there. Always be honest about what you know and what you don’t know. Be consistent, and don’t overstate findings. Learn to communicate nuance artfully. Avoid “dumping” information on people.

What can governments or corporations do to halt misinformation or conspiracies? In an ideal society, what should their respective roles be to curb conspiracies?

Sethi: All institutions have to decide when the spread of misinformed opinions and conspiracies require intervention. It’s important to respect people’s autonomy and rights to express themselves, but we should not tolerate the proverbial “shouting fire in a crowded theater.” I have my ideas as to where to draw the line and what institutions could do, but when I begin to apply them situation-to-situation, I realize it’s not an easy problem to solve.

What role does higher education play in creating citizens equipped to evaluate information? How will the pandemic inform your teaching going forward?

Scheufele: My colleague Dominique Brossard has written extensively on the idea of deference toward scientific authority. Why do we have faith in experts? What is it about science as a way of producing knowledge that makes us follow it more than other ways of knowing? Is it peer review? The scientific process? Her work shows nicely that our faith in scientific institutions is strongly related to K-12 and even K-16 schooling. In other words, education is partly about learning facts, but those facts change over time, especially for COVID-19. Instead, the power of education comes from building faith in science as our best way of knowing.

We actually talk about that in my large undergraduate lecture course in Science, Media and Society. It enrolls students from five or six different colleges at UW who major in genetics, politics, business, engineering, and communication, to just name a few. And COVID-19 already ended up being a large part of this past semester, even before we shifted to online teaching after spring break. How do we all make sense of this global pandemic? How can societies navigate very difficult trade-offs between economic considerations, public health, and individual rights as we’re trying to contain its spread? And what does it mean for Google to work with government and academia to track citizens’ cell phones to model and monitor new infections? LSC 251 going to be offered again this summer and the fall, and I am pretty sure that COVID-19 will be a permanent and probably growing part of what we’ll be talking about.

Sethi: Institutions of higher education are places where ideas and knowledge are learned and exchanged. It’s where “sifting and winnowing” occurs. It begins with teaching and reminding ourselves how to be objective, curious learners.

I began teaching Conspiracies in Public Health three years ago because I grew increasingly concerned about the unraveling of longstanding public health achievements and how previously innocuous topics suddenly became hot button issues. Learning about popular and less popular conspiracies is not the focus of the course. I created the class so that students could explore the psycho-social basis for conspiracy thinking and develop or refine their skills in listening and talking to people with differing views on health and public health topics. Misinformation and conspiracies about COVID-19 provide opportunities for me to fortify the class with contemporary material and opportunities for students to draw connections between course content with what we are reading in the news every day.

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Keep your distance from COVID-19 misinformation syndicated from https://triviaqaweb.wordpress.com/feed/

[ryanfoell-blog]

Annotated Bibliography – Final Draft

Hides, Leanne, Sharon Samet, and Dan Lubman. “Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) for the treatment of co-occurring depression and substance use: Current evidence and directions for future research.” Drug and Alcohol Review 29 (2010): 508-517.

Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) is a type of psychotherapy that focuses on changing the mindset of the patient in order to produce improved mood and coping strategies for the stresses of life. In 2010, Leanne Hides, Sharon Samet, and Dan Lubman published an article investigating prior research regarding CBT “for the treatment of co-occurring depression and substance use.” While no primary research was performed, Hides et al. evaluated over 50 other studies and found 12 to be credible sources of primary research. Through thorough analysis, it was found that CBT works, but hasn’t shown to be better than other forms of psychotherapy treatment. The conclusion made by the researchers was that variables that mediate treatment outcomes must be defined and identified more specifically in order for CBT to be beneficial. It was also found that CBT hasn’t been applied to patients over a long enough period of time to determine efficacy.

While Hides, et al. did extensive research and found underwhelming support for their thesis, this shows the potential for other methods of behavior therapy to be effective for treating patients diagnosed with depression. I propose that meaningful experiences could prove more beneficial than CBT, because it specifically addresses the four factors of mental wellbeing as defined in my proposal (“a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community”). However, it could also be said that CBT combined with experience-based therapy would be even more successful in the long run.

Hari, Johann. Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression - and the Unexpected Solutions. Bloomsbury Circus, 2018.

This book talks about the author's experience taking antidepressants for his depression. Many people that are depressed are told that they have a chemical deficiency of serotonin in their brain and are prescribed SSRI medication to help this chemical imbalance. Although this is sometimes actually a chemical imbalance in the brain, medication is not always the best way to treat depression, in fact, this can be harmful to the person and their brain if this solution is the only option presented. In this book, Johann covers the many different causes of depression and mental illness and also covers some of the potential solutions to the mental health crisis that is happening in today’s society. He talks about the dramatic differences between the environment in which someone becomes depressed and how to avoid those circumstances. This book and source will assist my research in exploring the solution to treating depression and other illnesses such as PTSD, anxiety disorder and addiction. My hope is that this source will help connect the audience to the research emotionally because I think that this is something that we should all care about because we are all at risk of facing these mental health disorders. The same way that we talk about care of our body and our physical health we need to also take care of our mental and emotional health. Johann does a good job applying these topics to our everyday lives and also provides some inspiration.

Jonasson, Cajsa. “Using Intensive Longitudinal Data to Study Treatment Effects in Patients with Major Depression: A Systematic Review.” Journal for Person-Oriented Research, vol. 5, no. 1, Dec. 2019, pp. 17–26., doi:10.17505/jpor.2019.02.

         In this Journal article, it is discussed the different methods and options for treating mental illnesses like depression. Cognitive-behavioral Therapy, Exercise, Diet and sleep all are huge contributors to our mental state. I believe that this journal will support my thesis because Cognitive-behavioral Therapy (CBT) has been shown to be one of the most effective ways to treat depression. I think that this journal is a good demonstration of the options and measures that should be taken when treating and diagnosing someone with moderate or mild depression or anxiety. Some of these feelings are very natural and all humans will, at some time or another, feel these emotions. The emotions only become a problem when they begin to affect the thought process of the person and the decisions that are made by the person in this mental state. Frequently these thoughts and decision patterns are unhealthy for the individual. This journal will explore the methods that can be used hand in hand with SSRI medication and well and without medication, depending on the doctor's recommendations for the individual. I think that this information will support my research because it isn’t selecting one method of treatment. It explores the combination of treatments that can be customized to fit the individual needs of a patient. The peer-reviewed discussion shows that many people in the scientific community have had the discussion and therefore has diverse information that can be drawn from to help support my research. I believe that the combination of these methods is what makes this source important to the research.

HIDES, LEANNE, et al. “Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) for the Treatment of Co-Occurring Depression and Substance Use: Current Evidence and Directions for Future Research.” Drug & Alcohol Review, vol. 29, no. 5, Sept. 2010, pp. 508–517. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=s3h&AN=63544748&site=eds-live.

         The high rates of co-occurring depression and substance use and the negative impact of this on illness have been well established. Despite this, few clinical trials have examined the efficacy of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). This paper systematically reviews these clinical trials, with the aim of providing recommendations for how future research can develop a more robust evidence base for the treatment of these common mental illness patterns. Is Cognitive Behavior Therapy the most productive way to treat depression and anxiety? If so, what are the other alternative treatment options? Why is there such a large divide between the people that believe in CBT and people that believe in pharmaceutical therapy? In my research, I plan to address these questions and get down to the root of the discussion of addiction and its relation to mental illness. Recovery may be understood as an outcome (an end state where symptoms, impairments or substance use have resolved) or as a process (hopeful and individually determined efforts to pursue goals despite current symptoms, impairments, or substance use). This study examined the public understanding of this difference because public attitudes can influence perspectives and interactions.

Corrigan, P. W., Qin, S., Davidson, L., Schomerus, G., Shuman, V., & Smelson, D. (2019, June 27). How Does the Public Understand Recovery From Severe Mental Illness Versus Substance Use Disorder? Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal. Advance online publication.

         This journal speaks of the relationship between mental disorders and substance abuse disorders related to addiction. I believe the conclusions that were made in this paper show that the same people that seem to suffer from mental illness tend to also struggle with substance abuse. As my research unfolds I find a more balanced approach to the research. I am now less inclined to believe that antidepressants are bad 100% of the time. When someone is suffering from depression or is drowning in addiction it is difficult to get them to think clearly and function in the real world. It's very possible to be depressed and high functioning with everything in your life going great. It’s important to remember that mental health and depression are very dangerous and can lead to suicide. The point that I am trying to make in saying that is it is impossible to help someone if they’re dead. Antidepressants are a tool to help people say alive and see life more clearly so that they can get their shit together and eventually not need the medication. I hope that in this research I can clearly articulate what is most important when discussing this topic. Human life is the most important and anything that helps people live a happy and fulfilled life. All of the different methods of therapy are good because they preserve human life. I do believe that some ways of treatment are better than other methods but regardless I believe that they are used with the same purpose.

Jordan Peterson: thoughts on antidepressants; diet change cured depression, autoimmune disease and depression. Joe Rogan Podcast.

Jordan Peterson is a clinical philologist that has dedicated most of his career and practice to the treatment of depression. In this podcast, he explains to the podcast host Joe Rogan that there are many different causes of depression and how there are things in life that go wrong in our lives and they can strongly affect the ways that we see the world. The view that someone has towards the world can then strongly impact the mood of said person. Dr. Peterson brings up a variety of questions that we can ask our selves to determine whether or not we are predisposed to depressive feelings or if the influences in our lives are what is causing the problems people could face in depressive states. Examples of some of the questions that he asks are “Do you have friends? Do you have an intimate relationship? Do you have a reasonable career? Are you as educated as you are intelligent? Do you have something useful that you like to do outside of work? Do you have a drug or alcohol problem? Are there any other behavioral issues? If you are sick, do you do what is necessary to get better? Are you working towards your own personal goals?” As these questions are presented I believe that if someone struggling with depression is able to honestly answer these questions, I believe that they will have a much better understanding of where they stand with their mental illness. Dr. Peterson shows that through the answering to these questions people can slowly diagnose there the main source of depression and then work to improve that aspect of there life and in doing so lessening the feelings of depression and long term find the joy and happiness in life that we all seek.

 Benedict Carey and Robert Gebeloff, Many People Taking Antidepressants Discover They Cannot Quit. New York Times 7, April 2018

         In this article, Carey and Gebeloff speak on the topic of antidepressants and how it is frequently used in society today and how many people struggle with mental illness to the point where they are in need of chemical intervention via antidepressant medications. Some examples of these medications are citalopram (Celexa), escitalopram (Lexapro), fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem, Selfemra, Prozac Weekly), fluvoxamine (Luvox), paroxetine (Paxil, Paxil CR, Pexeva), sertraline (Zoloft), vortioxetine (Trintellix, formerly known as Brintellix), vilazodone (Viibryd). As referenced in this article. Their study has some flaws and shortcomings because of the length of the studies were not long enough. One of the studies they referenced for the long term use of antidepressants only continued for two years witch is not a long enough study to be considered the long term. This article states “studies suggested that “maintenance therapy” — longer-term and often open-ended use — could prevent a return of depression in some patients, but those trials very rarely lasted more than two years.” This shows the lack of usable evidence in this study because it wasn’t fully performed to be able to draw scientific evidence. I believe that this article proposed a variety of scientific evidence that would be beneficial to learn more about the effects of antidepressants on individuals and society as a whole. I would also propose that there might not be sufficient evidence that supports the claim that everyone that feels depressed should be taking these drugs. There are so many other different things that contribute to someone’s mental state than just sadness alone. I believe that this article should have done a better job of performing these studies to present a well-rounded point of view on the ideas behind the treatment of mental illness.

Mahdi, Azadi Mohammad; Gholamreza, Manshaee; Mohsen, Golparvar, Comparison of the Effectiveness of Mobile Social Network-Based Mindfulness Interventions, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Mindfulness Group Therapy on Depression, Anxiety, and Stress among Type II Diabetic Patients.

         This study explores the effectiveness of mindfulness group therapy in the treatment of depression, anxiety and stress disorders among patients with type ii diabetes. This study was conducted on 80 patients with a three month follow up. There were two groups, one was the experimental group and the other was the control group. The experimental group attended eight, one hundred and twenty-minute group therapy sessions with 45 minutes of mindfulness exercise performed for eight weeks. This study addresses a variety of different types of therapies that could be used in the treatment of depression, anxiety, and stress. Some of these different methods of therapy include Cognitive Therapy, Social Networking, Mobile Applications, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Group Psychotherapy, Mindfulness therapy, and Psychological Well-Being therapy. I will only be addressing the effects of group therapy and depression in this study. The results of this study were conclusive in that all types of therapy demonstrated a reduction in depression, anxiety, and stress among ninety-five percent of the patients that participated in this study. The conclusion of this study was that all therapy seemed to reduce the bad symptoms of these mental illnesses. When looking at the data I believe that this study doesn’t prove that these specific types of therapy are the best solution to depression but I believe that the simple act of therapy can be effective because you are forced to address the symptoms of depression regardless of the cause. It is my belief that as people focus on self-care and self-improvement they will show a reduction in depression because they are able to identify the things in their life that may be causing the feelings of depression and address in fixing them accordingly.

R. L. Carhart-Harris, M. Bolstridge, C. M. J. Day, J. Rucker, R. Watts, D. E. Erritzoe, M. Kaelen, B. Giribaldi, M. Bloomfield, S. Pilling, J. A. Rickard, B. Forbes, A. Feilding, D. Taylor, H. V. Curran, D. J. Nutt. Psilocybin with psychological support for treatment-resistant depression: six-month follow-up. 8 November 2017.

        Psychedelic therapy is a very uncommon treatment method in the United States because many of these drugs have been illegal for many years and to research and study them would be highly illegal and risky for anyone wanting to participate. In recent years the government has allowed small clinical trials to take place to try and find positive medical use for these frequently misunderstood drugs. This article states, “Recent clinical trials are reporting marked improvements in mental health outcomes with psychedelic drug-assisted Psychotherapy” although it is difficult to draw any firm conclusion on the effectiveness of these psychedelic drugs, these studies show that further research could be very worthwhile in the treatment of depression and Post-traumatic stress disorder. The study performed was only with a group of twenty patients, six females, and fourteen males. Everyone was given two doses of psilocybin 7 days apart in a “supportive setting” depression symptoms were evaluated from 1 week to 6 months post-treatment. The treatment was mostly well-received. One of the most interesting things about this study was “No patients sought conventional antidepressant treatment within 5 weeks of psilocybin. Reductions in depressive symptoms at 5 weeks were predicted by the quality of the acute psychedelic experience.” Although the research is severely limited by sample size and length of post-treatment follow up the resulting stuff justifies further study because the majority of patients experienced a positive improvement in depression symptoms over the period of 6 months post-treatment.

[dinakaplan]

4 Powerful Herbs Proven to Reduce Stress Levels at Home and Work

Do you want to find natural stress remedies that work for you? Here are four herbs to reduce stress levels at home and work.

As you no doubt know all too well, we live in a chronically stressed culture. Most of us exist in a state of near-constant overwork and overwhelm.

And all this stress is taking a serious toll. An estimated 90% of all visits to primary care doctors are for stress-related complaints.

Some stress can help you, by driving you to heightened alertness or intensity of focus. But too much stress can cause serious damage to your health — from contributing to weight gain to damaging your heart and making you look older. Stress can also affect how you feel physically and mentally.

Plus, chronic, or lasting, stress is linked to every chronic disease because it lays the foundation for inflammation and other health ailments.

You can’t avoid all the stress in your life. So, what’s the solution? How can you cope and not let all the little things, or the big ones, get you down?

You have more power over your stress than you may realize. Life isn’t only about what happens to you — it’s also about how you respond. The right herbs can be a potent tool to help you calm the stresses and enjoy more resiliency.

Why Herbs Can Be An Easy and Effective Solution to Fight Stress

An herb is a plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers that people use for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume. In the modern world, people use the word “herb” to refer to a plant that’s used for healing or medicinal purposes.

For centuries, people in many cultures around the world have used a variety of herbs to fight stress. And, as you’ll see below, science is beginning to prove the remarkable powers of some of these plants.

How Adaptogens Can Give You Calm and Clarity

Adaptogens promote balance in many systems of your body. Remarkably, they can calm you down and boost your energy at the same time, without over-stimulating you.

While some adaptogens work quickly, most work over time and have cumulative benefits. Some people take them daily for months before getting the full effects.

Ashwagandha — An Adaptogenic Herb Proven to Ease Stress and Energize Your Body

Used in Ayurvedic medicine for over 2,500 years, ashwagandha is also known as winter cherry and Indian ginseng.

People often use this herb to help balance fatigue, exhaustion, stress, depression, and nervous tension.

In addition, it has the power to lower inflammation and fight infection.

What Science Says About Ashwagandha

Research is now proving the abilities of ashwagandha to ease anxiety and reduce feelings of stress.

In a 2012 study published in the Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, patients were given 300 mg of ashwagandha root extract twice a day for 60 days. What happened? The participant’s scores of perceived stress dropped by 44% and their levels of the stress hormone cortisol (which goes up when stress levels are high) decreased by almost 28%.

Then, in 2014, a systematic review of five controlled studies involving humans found that this herb significantly improved anxiety and stress levels.

How to Use Ashwagandha in Your Life

If you’re feeling fatigued or burned out or like you need to relax and get some sleep, ashwagandha may be able to help.

Finding products made with ashwagandha root is typically best.

Some ways to use this herb:

Made into tea

As a capsule or tablet

In a liquid extract or tincture

As a powder, which you can add to foods and beverages

People have used ashwagandha traditionally in India in a powder mixed with warm milk, taken about an hour before bed. Ashwagandha is also often added to golden milk recipes made with turmeric. You can make plant-based versions of golden milk with unsweetened non-dairy milk and ashwagandha powder.

While taking ashwagandha is considered safe for most people, some health professionals advise against taking it if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding.

Tulsi, or Holy Basil — An Adaptogen Herb You Can Take Daily to Help Your Body Respond to Stress

Tulsi, also known as holy basil or “the queen of herbs,” is commonly used in Ayurvedic medicine, and is a member of the mint family.

This plant is a powerful antioxidant. While people have used it for a variety of treatments, it’s most significant potential might be for stress-relief and relaxation.

People who take it often report that it gives them a calming energy and a general sense of well-being.

Tulsi has also been found to help regulate your blood sugar and support heart health.

In traditional healing systems, people have often taken this herb over a lifetime to increase vibrant health and longevity.

What Science Says About Tulsi

In a 2012 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study published in the international, peer-reviewed journal Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 158 highly stressed individuals received either a placebo or holy basil.

After six weeks, the holy basil group reported improved symptoms of general stress 39% more than the placebo group.

Symptoms, such as frequent feelings of exhaustion, forgetfulness, and sleep problems decreased significantly. And participants reported no adverse effects.

Another 2008 study published in the Nepal Medical College Journal involved patients with generalized anxiety disorder. Researchers found that 500 mg of holy basil twice daily significantly reduced anxiety and associated stress, depression, and inattention in participants.

Further evidence is mounting that tulsi can address physical, chemical, metabolic, and psychological stress. It has been found to protect organs and tissues against chemical stress from industrial pollutants and heavy metals and against physical stress from prolonged physical exertion and exposure to cold and excessive noise.

The University of Maryland Medical Center recommends tulsi for people who have post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Getting specific, the Center recommends 400 milligrams of tulsi daily to help fight stress and to support adrenal health.

How to Use Tulsi in Your Life

Use tulsi regularly to help balance your body and support its response to everyday stressors.

Some ways to use this herb:

As a tea (I particularly love Organic India tulsi products)

In cooking

As a capsule or tablet

In a powder form

According to herbalist Rosalee De La Foret, tulsi may have an antifertility effect. Therefore, pregnant women or couples who want to conceive shouldn’t take this herb.

How Nervine Herbs Support Your Nervous System

Most nervine herbs are gentle and support relaxation. (By contrast, a few nervine herbs, such as coffee and peppermint, have stimulating qualities.)

Relaxing nervine herbs support the nervous system and reduce overactive stress responses by returning the body to a resting phase.

These herbs may be helpful for a variety of problems, such as relieving normal muscle tension, wakeful nights, and occasional worries.

Lemon Balm — A Nervine Herb with Powerful Relaxing and Mood-Boosting Benefits

A member of the mint family, lemon balm has been studied for its anti-anxiety effects. For thousands of years, people have used it medicinally. And today, it’s often combined with other calming herbs, such as chamomile, valerian, and lavender.

With its citrusy notes, the scent and the delightful taste make it an enjoyable way to soothe and boost your mood.

What Science Says About Lemon Balm

Randomized, double-blind research published in 2004 in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine gave participants a single dose of lemon balm (300 mg or 600 mg) or a placebo. After an hour, those taking the higher dose reported reduced stress and improved calmness and alertness.

In another 2011 study, 20 adults with moderate anxiety and insomnia were given 300 mg of lemon balm twice per day for 15 days. Researchers found the lemon balm reduced anxiety and related symptoms by as much as 18% and decreased insomnia by 42%. And they observed no adverse effects.

Lemon balm is also able to effectively increase GABA activity in the brain. Your brain uses the neurotransmitter GABA to prevent over-excitement and achieve balance. It helps keeps our stress levels low and plays a role in sleep.

How to Use Lemon Balm in Your Life

For most people, lemon balm is considered safe to take daily. Some health practitioners even recommend using it to soothe teething children. Many people use it to improve their mood and stress levels, as well as for anxiety or seasonal affective disorder.

Some ways to use this herb:

As a tea

In tinctures or syrups

In cooking and baking

Lemon-balm infused water

If you have leaves from this plant, you can simply rub a leaf between your fingers to absorb some of its essential oils aromatically. Fresh lemon balm has its own special benefits, and it’s easy to grow in containers.

Curcumin — An Herb Component That Can Boost Your Mood and Help Offset the Impact Stress Has on Your Body

Curcumin is the most active compound in the turmeric root. You’ve probably heard about the vast range of health benefits curcumin and turmeric can provide. In fact, here are 600 reasons turmeric may be the world’s most important herb.

But you may not be aware that this magical herb can help relieve stress and anxiety.

What Science Says About Curcumin

Amazingly, curcumin has been found to reverse harmful brain changes induced by chronic stress.

Human studies are also showing its potential to fight stress. A 2016 study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology showed that taking 500 mg of curcumin twice daily, with fenugreek, considerably reduced stress, anxiety, and fatigue while significantly increasing the quality of life in people suffering from extreme occupational stress.

In another 2015 study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, 400 mg of curcumin was given to healthy adults aged 60 to 85. Only one hour after a single dose, participants scored better on tasks requiring sustained attention and working memory. Continuous use for weeks improved scores on working memory and mood, including general fatigue, calmness, and contentedness.

And it can even help with PMS. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study published in 2016 in Neuropeptides, Curcumin was found to reduce anxiety experienced by women with PMS and to significantly reduce PMS-related emotional, behavioral, and physical symptoms.

How to Use Curcumin in Your Life

Curcumin is generally considered safe to take indefinitely. But unfortunately, the body isn’t able to absorb it and make use of its benefits very efficiently.

Some people eat turmeric with black pepper and a fat source, such as ghee or coconut oil, as has been done traditionally in India for many centuries to boost bioavailability. But many people find it easiest to achieve optimal levels with curcumin supplementation.

At FRN, we recommend making use of a micelle liposomal delivery mechanism because it’s been found to increase bioavailability by up to 185 times.

PuraTHRIVE offers a premium organic liposomal curcumin, combined with a number of other potent anti-inflammatories to create a product they call Curcumin Gold. (If you get it from this link, they’ll contribute a portion of the proceeds to our work and our mission: healthy, ethical, sustainable food for all. If you don’t want PuraTHRIVE to support our work, this link gives you the same price but they won’t contribute to FRN.)

Important Considerations About Herbs

Herbs can be surprisingly useful in helping you to reduce your stress at home and at work. But you can’t use herbs to singlehandedly make up for a lack of sleep, poor diet, lack of exercise, or being stuck in toxic relationships.

So, if you’re experiencing negative effects of stress, it’s important to consider not only how to recover but also what you can do to best minimize the factors that are causing you stress.

In herbal medicine, herbalists often use multiple herbs in combination with each other to achieve greater effects. You can find tea blends to reduce your stress, or you can make your own.

And keep in mind that sometimes, herbs can occasionally trigger side effects and interactions with prescription drugs. This online database can help you to find interactions between drugs and natural medicines.

A Final Word About Using Herbs to Reduce Stress

Take time to find natural stress remedies that work for you and that are backed by science. You’ll be taking action to help your body, mind, and spirit feel calmer and better able to respond to the inevitable challenges life brings.

Knowing how to use the right herbs can make a very real difference in your quality, and even quantity, of life.

Let us know in the comments. How do you use these or other herbs to help relieve stress?

[Read More ...] https://foodrevolution.org/blog/herbs-reduce-stress/

[newstfionline]

This Is The Only Type Of Brain Training That Works, According To Science

By Michael Grothaus, Fast Company, Aug. 21, 2017

There are dozens of apps and online courses that claim their “brain training” can make you more mentally agile, but there’s usually little scientific evidence to back up those claims. While the FDA does approve certain brain training programs aimed to treat specific medical disorders, such as Alzheimer’s, and the FTC goes after false advertising claims--as it did when Lumonsity made claims not supported by science--there’s also no industry body that certifies brain training programs, which is a problem for both the field and consumers, according to Dr. Henry Mahncke, CEO of Posit Science.

“Right now, there’s no group that specifically reviews brain training programs and says based on the science, these ones have been shown to work in these ways, and these other ones have not been shown to work,” says Mahncke. “It would be very helpful to people to have this kind of resource--it’s challenging for a lay person to wade through the hundreds of scientific papers and figure out which brain training programs are evidence-based and which aren’t.”

That’s why a group of Australian scientists undertook a systematic review of what studies have been published of commercially available brain training programs in an attempt to give consumers and doctors credible information on which brain training programs are actually scientifically proved to work--if any. Unfortunately, of the 18 different computerized brain training programs marketed to healthy older adults that were studied, 11 had no peer reviewed published evidence of their efficacy and of the seven that did, only two of those had multiple studies, including at least one study of high quality--BrainHQ and Cognifit. And of those, just one had multiple high-quality studies: Mahncke’s BrainHQ program.

That study, along with other similar ones, shows that most brain training only make you better at the exercises themselves, and don’t carry those gains over to your real-world concentration, productivity, or mental acuity.

But there is good news. Science does show that some brain training programs do work. So which ones? As the Australian study showed, Mahncke’s BrainHQ and competitor Cognifit actually do have a real benefit. Because both are based on brain training that is focused on improving processing speed--the speed and accuracy with which the brain processes information. Mahncke says this type of training focuses on the visual system: “You see an image in the center of your vision--for example, either a car or a truck--and at the same time, you see another image way off in your peripheral vision. The images are only on the screen for a brief period of time--well under a second. You then have to say whether you saw the car or the truck in the center of your vision, and then you have to show where you saw the image in your peripheral vision. This challenges the speed and the accuracy of your visual system. And as you get faster and more accurate, the speed increases and the peripheral vision task gets more demanding--pushing your brain further.”

As your visual system is continually challenged by these specific tests, your brain will adapt through a process known as neuroplasticity. “At its core purpose, the brain wants to resolve things. It is constantly moving from the particular to the big picture and back again,” Mahncke says. As the brain works to put the big picture together it goes through neuroplastic changes in order to do so (“neuro” = brain, and “plastic” = the ability to undergo structural changes).

These plasticity-based changes actually form new neuropathways in your brain--literally changing its shape. The new neuropathways can then be called upon to help you process stimuli beyond just the specific methods used in the brain training exercises. This is why brain training that results in neuroplastic changes works much better than simple memory “brain training” games, which may help you remember where, for example, the red card is hidden, but won’t help you remember the details from that last meeting with your client.

“We know that the brain is more plastic when brain chemicals are activated, so the design of these exercises also incorporates attentional demands, novelty, and rewards to activate those chemicals and drive the chemical and physical change that produce the better functional results,” says Mahncke. “Those brain chemicals also impact mood and learning rates. If you think about it, what you do, pretty much every waking moment, should be positively affected by a faster and more accurate brain.”

The result, as the science has shown, says Mahncke, is that people who undertake plasticity-based brain training programs “notice feeling sharper, quicker, and more able to notice the important details of everyday life--like what someone says in a noisy restaurant, or what’s happening at the edge of your peripheral vision, or what all seven digits of that phone number were.”

But what if you don’t feel like undertaking scientifically proven brain training programs like BrainHQ and Cognifit? Mahncke says that you can prime your brain for and spur it into plastic changes by challenging yourself in everyday life. Here are his four tips how to do that:

Learn a new skill that is outside of your comfort zone. “Just doing the same old stimulating thing over and over again doesn’t challenge the brain to rewire itself,” Mahncke says. “If you’ve been doing crossword puzzles for 10 years, pick something new--and really different--and work at it 2-3 hours per week, even though it will be hard. My mom started harpsichord lessons--and practiced a lot! It was great for her brain: the speed and accuracy of listening and finger movements are a good form of brain exercise--and everyone in my family enjoyed having music in the house!”

Take the long way home--and notice everything around you. Don’t want to switch up your hobbies or learn a new musical instrument? No problem, just get out there and travel. “Travel is a great way to challenge your brain to learn and change--everything from buying a loaf of bread to finding your way home is new and different. But if you can’t afford to jet to Italy as a form of brain training, then take new paths in your own neighborhood,” Mahncke says. “Find a new way to the grocery store, or the long way to your favorite park. Focus on noticing new landmarks, different sounds (and smells?) and putting together and more detailed mental map of your own neighborhood. As soon as a route gets familiar, find a new one--every few days. This engages your brain’s hippocampus--the seat of learning and memory.”

Get active and eat right. Finally, don’t forget your body. “The National Academies of Science, Engineering & Medicine recently reviewed the data and suggested three things as supported by scientific evidence--brain training (from ACTIVE specifically--not just brain games), physical exercise, and maintaining healthy blood pressure in middle age,” says Mahncke. In other words, it’s going to be harder to maintain a sharp brain if your body is diverting its energy to fighting other elements in your body, like high blood pressure. So avoid consuming too much salt and get out there for a walk or a run--and if you want to work in exercise and brain training in one go, adjust your runs every few days to let your brain discover new paths and routes around your home.

Be wary of any brain training program that makes claims that seem too good to be true. “We are at the beginning of a paradigm shift in how we think about brain health. As with any major paradigm shift in science, things may seem confusing for a while. Headlines will scream about some major breakthroughs in cognitive performance from plasticity-based brain training. This will seem to be followed within the month by headlines screaming about some other study seemingly showing the opposite. In fact, what you are experiencing is scientists rather messily trying to separate the wheat from the chaff,” says Mahncke.

“Some brain training has been repeatedly shown to work. If you sort through it, you’ll find that is a plasticity-based brain, training developed by knowledgeable and reputable experts. Other brain games have been rushed to market to make a buck, and will fail in serious trials. It’s important to realize that not all brain training is the same. Look for products designed by real experts and subjected to peer-reviewed studies, and be wary of those that spend more money on advertising than on research.”