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iacon-stargazer · 5 years

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The History of Optimus Prime

The Prime known to future generations only as Thirteen is Orion and Optimus in his truest form, the pure and unmarred essence of his spark. The final fragment of Primus's power, and the closest to the Creator’s own frequency—close enough to face Unicron in his place, to perform the potentially self-sacrificing act of sending them both to stasis via the proximity of their sparks.

There's no resentment over the very real possibility of himself never awakening, no regret. He hasn't yet learned such concepts. He's kind, honest, loving, and fair—to others and himself equally. He's the mediator, and with remarkable success keeps the peace between the range of personalities more extreme than his own.

The battle with Unicron changes things, however. They can no longer be truly said to have a single creator, for even as they succeeded, the touch of chaos left its mark upon them all. No more than a seed at first, it reacts uniquely as it takes root in each of them through the events that follow.

As Optimus watches the family he knew fall apart despite his best efforts to perform his treasured duty, his own seed of darkness germinates—a subtle self-blame flickering through his confusion, a sense that he's just not trying quite hard enough, that he could do better. It's small though, for his knowing that he is doing what he can and always has done.

In the end, it doesn't matter. Liege Maximo, the glib and cunning one of the group, spreads discord until, in a great crest of tragedy, Megatronus accidentally slays Solus in a moment of blind rage. The brothers are devastated, Megatronus not least of all, and he takes up a cloak of banishment, changing his name to "The Fallen". Chaos descends as remainder of them fight, and never before has Optimus felt more helpless.

His grief waters his seed of darkness, and it grows into a gripping pain—an emotional pain the likes of which his young and innocent spark has never before experienced. Lost, suffering, and helpless, when Onyx descends into the Well for the proximity to Primus to keep his spark alive when his fatally wounded frame cannot, and Micronus goes to accompany him, Optimus chooses to join them—not for the peace of that quiet and slow realm, but to step into the Allspark itself.

"To better understand the new generation, to better be able to help them." Such reasoning bears a heavy weight. Where he has failed his siblings he's determined not to fail again. The possibility for a second chance in a fresh life brings the relief of hope to lighten the guilt and grief he carries. To leave behind and forget his remaining siblings aches, but he can be of more use if he lets himself be reincarnated. He will try harder, do better, and succeed where he has failed before. Informed of this decision, Alpha Trion, the record keeper among them, redacts Optimus’s name from the Covenant of Primus, their great record of history—leaving the Optimus Prime of this age to be remembered simply as “Thirteen”.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And so Orion Pax emerges. A young mech with the same instinctual sense of goodness, an insatiable curiosity for the world in which he lives, and an unusual interest in its history. Alpha Trion watches over his reborn younger brother, offering him council as well as he can as a friend and mentor.

Orion seems to always have a persistent sense that he's missing something, forgotten something... that there's some purpose to his life that he's forgotten. It's a subtle sense of not-quite-satisfaction, something nagging for him to remember, but always just beyond his reach. He eventually forgets it—or perhaps simply grows so used to it, he ceases to notice.

Until, during his work archiving, he runs across a speech delivered by a rising gladiator in the Pits of Kaon. A gladiator who has named himself after The Fallen of the Thirteen.

As Orion's optics open to Cybertronian society's darker underbelly, so too does something deep inside of him seem to wake up. He takes action, contacts the gladiator, and begins to stand for him, beside him, aiding and reaching out to others in his own ways to bring equality to Cybertron. Despite all odds, they have hope. With this gladiator—named after Megatronus, but sharing as well all the cunning eloquence of Liege Maximo—he has a chance to succeed where his past self has failed.

If only it were that easy.

Megatronus, now with his self-chosen name clipped to Megatron—a far more self-empowered move than his namesake's change—is furious when the council (with perhaps some suggestion from Alpha Trion) offers the goal he's been seeking, a mantle of leadership in the form of Primehood, to Orion instead of himself. It doesn't matter that Orion refuses it. But Orion will make it matter, prove the truth of his intentions; he can do this...

Then in a sudden turning point, light is brought in to shine upon everything this karmic successor to Liege Maximo has kept hidden from him. It's a voluminous and black reality. The peaceful protestor has been a front, as deep beneath he has lead his truest followers to strike out in anger and violence, committing terrorist attacks that sometimes bring down not only the senators they so hate, but any number of innocent bystanders caught in the blazes.

This is the true test for Orion now. He must break through the devastation of his trust and step forward, rise above and bring them back together onto common ground.

He'll give Megatron another chance.

He tries.

It's not enough.

War is not likely. It's imminent. Feeling no other choice, Orion accepts the title he's been offered, and, fighting through the hurt of betrayal, tries to step into the role he seems to be needed in now, as a leader.

They call him “Optimus Prime.” Something about the name feels familiar, but other parts of him still resist it. He’s no Prime; he does not hold the Matrix. His decision to take the title nonetheless is one of pragmatic necessity; he needs the influence if he’s to make changes from within, and doing so is all the more urgent with Megatron as an enemy. Previously he’d hoped to support and council from the sidelines, as Megatron’s flame of passion was much more suited for leadership than his own quiet justice, but there’s not so much room for choice left for him now. Only he can do this, and so he must.

To lead in war is a great and terrible struggle, a nightmare come to life. He has to stay strong despite the weight of grief and responsibility for every warrior lost upon him. Megatron’s methods grow ever darker and more extreme as it drags on, grinding down Orion’s—no, Optimus’s, technically—hopes of changing his mind ever further, though still he does not give up. The mech he knew has to be in there somewhere still.

Even when Megatron poisons Cybertron’s very core.

Orion—Optimus—makes the journey down to save it himself. He must remove the taint of dark energon, protect the Allspark from its contamination and Megatron’s sinister goals....

There’s something more for him waiting down there. A destiny for him to take on, for only he can do this, and he is needed.

~~~~~

Optimus often clashes with the Matrix, especially at first. However, his will is strong and his ideals rarely compromised. He does recognize, however, that his personal desires are a hindrance. For all that he values individuality, freedom, and choice, he realizes that for others to have that, it’s necessary for him to sacrifice his own. And so as well as he can, he does.

Whereas Orion had once been a relatively emotionally well-adjusted individual, always acknowledging and looking for outlets for his own feelings even if he refrained from expressing them for the sake of others, Optimus begins to repress those of his that hinder him from his duty. At first it is only telling himself he doesn’t have the luxury of dwelling on them just then, but gradually it shifts to the point where he is only subconsciously aware of them until they grow too strong for him to avoid.

He finds outlets, still, in solitary drives and meditations, when those times arrive. Far more rarely does he indulge in the sorts of music he turned to as Orion, and several subjects cease appearing in his journaling.

It builds up, over the vorns, the weight he bears upon him. So many small pains blend together, dulling and numbing in their acuity. His spark never hardens, though, only endures.

Guilt weighs the heaviest of all, and pushes his martyristic complex all the further. He recognizes the importance of the role he plays—too important for him to ever waver from it—but at the same time, he still refuses to hold his life above that of any other. To let any soldier perish for him would weigh too heavily on him, and so it’s easier for him to offer up his own life as the first alternative, even if that would leave everyone else stranded without him.

They would be strong enough to manage with him gone, he tells himself.

But his duty is essential and he cannot pause from it, because they need him.

Even his subconscious cannot allow him to recognize the contradictory logic, because he has stood for these ideals so long. The pillars of his identity are forged from these principles, of his duty to those he must protect. Iron-cast and fortified, they hold him up when everything inside is saturated with guilt, pain, and regret he cannot afford to delve into. He cannot question himself anymore, because those pillars, that idea that they need him both holds him up and holds him back.

By the end, his existence is little else.

When Cybertron is restored, and his quest points him to death, the actualization is a relief. It pains him to leave those he cares for behind, but he’s needed, for one last thing. That moment, as he dives into the Well and releases the Matrix and the Allspark with it, the need for him is fulfilled.

He’s done his part.

The pillars dissolve, and he’s free.

#;{backstory}#;{headcanon}#;{long post}#tw suicide mention #{{just to be safe}}#{{it's no more than canon stuff though}}

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harmonyusinc · 4 years

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How to Improve Your Sleep Naturally

These days, a lot of people are experiencing increased anxiety and, as a result, struggling to get enough sleep at night. Anxiety can disrupt sleep patterns, lead to nightmares, and even make it harder for you to feel well-rested when you wake. Fortunately, you can take advantage of several tricks that can help naturally improve your sleep and leave you better prepared to face all the challenges associated with your day.

1. Turn your bedroom into a sanctuary.

If you're struggling to get adequate sleep at night, start by reducing potential distractions in your bedroom and turning it into a sanctuary. Your bedroom should be a place of peace and relaxation: a place you can go and count on sleeping soundly. Try some of these strategies: Reduce clutter throughout your bedroom. Excess clutter serves primarily to increase your overall stress levels--and never more so than in your bedroom. Clutter triggers the brain to be overstimulated and feel as though your tasks are never fully done. Unfortunately, all too often, the bedroom becomes the catch-all for all those items that don't have a place throughout the rest of the house--especially if you know you have company coming. Spend some time cleaning up the excess clutter in your bedroom, and you may just discover that you get a better night's sleep. Make it darker. Invest in blackout curtains for your windows, especially if you have inconvenient streetlights or security lights that increase the light within your bedroom even in the middle of the night. You can pull those curtains back during the day to let in natural light, then drop them at night to make your home as dark as possible. Purchase fantastic sheets and comfortable pillows. Upgrading your mattress can help you get a better night's sleep, but it can be an expensive alternative. Comfortable sheets and great pillows, on the other hand, are often a less-expensive alternative to improving your night's sleep. Choose sheets that fit your needs: while some people prefer 100% cotton, high thread count sheets, others may be more comfortable with jersey sheets--or, in winter, you might prefer flannel. Experiment with comfortable, highly-recommended sheets and find a set that you love. Choose decorations carefully. Choose decor that helps both you and your partner relax. Commit to making your bedroom a true sanctuary for both of you: you should both agree on any decor that you use in the bedroom.

2. Set your bed aside for only sex and sleep.

Your bed should have two primary purposes: sex (or masturbation) and sleep. When your brain only associates those two activities with your bed, you're less likely to toss and turn long after you settle into bed for the night. Once you're in your bed, resist the urge to scroll for just a little longer on your phone or to watch TV in bed. Instead, turn the lights off, turn your devices off, and go to sleep. Over time, your brain will learn to associate your bed with just sex and sleep, which will make it easier for you to "turn off" and get some rest.

3. Have sex before bed.

Sex--especially if you reach orgasm--can improve the overall quality of your sleep substantially. Encourage your partner, if you have one, to make it an earlier night, or head off to bed on your own for a little solo fun. If you've struggled to fall asleep, orgasm can help trigger the production of hormones in your brain that will make it easier for you to relax and, ultimately, for you to fall asleep. Try: Committing to trying something new. Playcards, for example, can give you a range of new things to try each night. Check out one card, either with your partner or on your own, each evening. Using a vibrator. Whether you prefer Crescendo, Tenuto, or Poco, the MysteryVibe line offers plenty of options that will make it easier for you to reach orgasm--often in a hands-free way. Each vibrator offers several powerful motors with multiple intensities and vibration settings, which combine to deliver an amazing orgasmic experience. Experimenting with lube. Anxiety can make it difficult for women to produce enough lubrication, which can, in turn, make it harder to enjoy sex. Options like Almost Naked Organic Personal Lubricant, however, can make it much easier for you to enjoy sex and, ultimately, to achieve orgasm. Simply enjoying your partner's body. When you're feeling stressed and anxious, it can be hard to get excited about sex--and that anxiety can, in some cases, block you from achieving orgasm. Instead of feeling as though you have to commit to orgasm, however, simply enjoy your partner's body. Touch one another and relax. Enjoy the connection with one another. You may discover that this makes you more likely to enjoy sex--or it may simply help you relax and fall asleep as you enjoy being close to your partner.

4. Keep to your usual sleep routine as much as possible.

During times of extreme change or anxiety, it's easy to let your sleep patterns start to slip outside the norm. Some people sleep more during the day out of boredom or out of a desire to escape their current circumstances as much as possible. Others may struggle to convince themselves to go to bed at night. The more your sleep patterns change, however, the harder it can be to fall asleep. Instead, try maintaining a normal waking and sleeping routine. Get up around the same time every morning, even on weekends. Try to avoid staying up extremely late at night, even over the weekend. The more you maintain your usual sleep habits, the more likely you'll be to fall asleep normally when you slip into bed at night.

5. Turn off electronics at least an hour before bed.

The blue light emanating from your favorite electronics, including your cell phone and the television, tells your brain that it's time to be awake. That light mimics the natural light your brain is exposed to when you go outside during the day--and its continued production tells your brain that the day isn't over yet. Turn off your electronics and engage in other activities. Play a board game with a loved one instead of video games. Read a book. Talk to a loved one. By avoiding that blue light as much as possible, you signal your brain that it's time to wind down and get a good night's sleep.

6. Get more natural light during the day.

While you don't want blue light during the evening, when you're winding down and getting ready to get some sleep, you do want to get as much natural light as you can during the day. Often, people suffering from anxiety may be more likely to fall asleep for brief periods during the day, which in turn makes it difficult to sleep at night. During the daytime hours, commit to getting as much natural light as you can. Try: Opening the blinds and curtains and letting natural light in through the window Getting outside and moving, especially in the fresh air Spending time outside, just sitting in nature and focusing on it instead of on your devices

7. Create a sleep routine.

Just as you want your body to associate climbing into bed with time to fall asleep, you can create a routine that helps you settle down at the end of the evening. Scrolling social media not only exposes you to blue light, but it can also increase your anxiety and leave you worrying about friends and loved ones, frowning at the news, or comparing yourself to those oh-so-perfect parents that always seem to post their best pictures when you're feeling your worst. Instead, create a bedtime routine that helps increase serenity and make it easier for you to fall asleep. You might try: Meditation. Focus on positive things, rather than dwelling on the negative. Think about ways to transform and expand your life or how you want to improve your outlook in the future. Stretching. Light yoga or gentle stretching shortly before bedtime can make it easier for you to relax and fall asleep. By releasing some of the tension in your body, you can both make it easier to fall asleep and improve the quality of your sleep when you get there. Enjoy a warm drink. Avoid caffeine late in the evening. Instead, try drinking milk and honey or tea without caffeine. These warm drinks can help settle you down and prepare you for bed. Taking a warm bath or shower. The warm water can help relax you. You can even take your Crescendo into the bath or shower to combine elements that can help you fall asleep! We might not be able to offer a cure-all for your ability to fall asleep at night, but MysteryVibe can provide products that will make it easier for you to relax. Check out our line of amazing vibrators designed so that you can tailor them to your body's needs. Read the full article

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jerrytackettca · 6 years

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How Could Routine Nasal Surgery Increase Risk for Anxiety and Suicide?

Imagine feeling like you're suffocating every minute of the day. No matter how big a breath you take, you still feel like you can't get enough air. This is the reality for people suffering from empty nose syndrome (ENS), a complication of nose or sinus surgery.

Despite the condition being a horrifying reality for an untold number of people, it remains controversial, with some otolaryngologists (ear, nose and throat physicians) brushing it off as purely psychological.

However, ENS is becoming an increasingly recognized complication of sinus surgery, one that may occur in up to 20 percent of cases following a procedure known as turbinate resection.1 With no known cure, and the condition so severe that sufferers cannot even gain respite while they sleep, some describe it as a "life worse than death"2 — and many have committed suicide as a result.

What Type of Sinus Surgery May Lead to Empty Nose Syndrome?

People with a deviated (or bent) septum may suffer from nasal congestion and chronic sinus infections, leading their physician to recommend septoplasty and turbinate reductions to aid in opening the nasal passage. A septoplasty aims to straighten a bent or deviated nasal septum, which is the divider separating the two sides of the nose.

A turbinate reduction, or turbinectomy, (which is also sometimes recommended for sleep apnea) seeks to reduce or remove the curved structures sticking out from the side of the nose. These can be enlarged for various reasons, such as allergies or sinus inflammation. It is this loss of tissue that may cause some people to feel as though they can't breathe, despite having clear nasal passages.

Each side of your nose contains three sets of turbiantes (a low, middle and high). The low, or inferior, turbinate is most often the one that's reduced or removed, and physicians may use a variety of procedures, ranging from cauterization to radio frequency, to do so. The amount of turbinate that's removed also varies by case and physician, with some removing the bottom third and other removing a bit off the top.

It's a common procedure. In the U.S., an estimated 600,000 people undergo sinonasal procedures every year, which includes septoplasty, turbinate surgery and others.3 By some measures, turbinate reduction is said to be "the most common procedure in rhinology."4 In many cases, the procedure works, leaving patients to breathe easier. But in some people ENS is the agonizing result.

9 Symptoms of Empty Nose Syndrome You Should Be Aware Of

The primary symptom is a feeling of nasal obstruction, or the sensation of suffocating, difficulty breathing or breathlessness. Some people feel they have an "empty nose" while others may report the following, which may develop immediately after surgery or not until months or years later:5

Sensation of excessive airflow

Lack of sensation of nasal airflow

Hypersensitivity to cold air

Hyperventilation

Headache

Nasal pain

Nasal dryness

Difficulty falling asleep

Fatigue

The physical symptoms give way to a debilitating condition that often makes daily living difficult, and carries with it significant psychological symptoms as well. Anxiety is common, as is depression, with one study finding ENS sufferers experienced a 62 percent reduction in productivity at work and a 65 percent reduction in productivity in all other activities.6

Writing in the Huffington Post, Barbara Schmidt, who developed ENS in her 20s after a routine sinus procedure for chronic sinusitis, lives in a constant state of anxiety and described the condition this way:7

"Immediately after my procedure, I experienced a lack of air resistance when breathing and speaking, making these activities that ordinarily came naturally and effortlessly entirely exhausting. I needed to exert great effort simply to project my voice, and for decades I had to catch my breath after speaking just five or six words.

… Although I was in fact breathing and getting oxygen, my brain was no longer made aware of it, so it communicated to my body that it was suffocating, triggering an unremitting fight/flight response … my brain, perceiving suffocation, woke me up every night by generating nightmares when I drifted off.

… The suffering didn't end there: dehydration, dry eyes, ear and facial pain, and the jarring sensation of cold air piercing my lungs whenever I was in an unheated area were miserable, yet mere nuisances compared to the agony of never being allowed to enter into the deeper, restorative levels of sleep ― a torment that's been used as a torture tactic in war."

Still, there was more: Restlessness and simultaneously feeling exhausted yet wired. Unable to focus or articulate. Not sensing air all day, hyperventilating. The brain shocking the body day and night in a desperate attempt to escape the misperception of suffocation. The continuous coursing of stress hormones catabolizing the body, breaking down precious tissues. Constant, agonizing fear."

What Causes ENS?

Turbinates are involved in a number of processes that regulate your breathing. This includes making cold air feel warmer when it's inhaled, swelling and shrinking in size to regulate airflow through your nose, and controlling the amount of heat or liquid lost when exhaling.8

"Physiopathology remains unclear," researchers wrote in the European Annals of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Diseases, "but probably involves disorder caused by excessive nasal permeability affecting neurosensitive receptors and inhaled air humidification and conditioning functions. Neuropsychological involvement is suspected."9

Likewise, in the journal Current Allergy and Asthma Reports, it's explained, "Little is known about the pathogenesis of ENS, though it is speculated that anatomical changes leading to alterations in local environment, disruption of mucosal cooling, and disruption of neurosensory mechanisms are strongly implicated."10

It's a paradox of sorts, because while expanding the nasal pathways by reducing turbinates would theoretically seem to make breathing easier, one study that compared nasal aerodynamics before and after nasal surgery revealed a 53 percent reduction in flow resistance along with "radical redistribution of nasal airflow, as well as dryer and colder nasal microclimate for the postoperative case."11

As for why ENS develops in some patients but not others, only hypotheses exist. One suggests climate may be a factor, with turbinectomy in warmer, humid clients not resulting in as many reported instances of ENS. Other hypotheses suggest ENS may be the result of sensory nerves in the surgical area not regenerating properly or perhaps due to surgical methods that damage nerves more so than others.12

It's also likely that the way air flows through an individual's nose also plays a role, so much so that researchers at Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center are using 3D technology to design models to test surgery outcomes prior to the procedure. Using a computer model, they can simulate the removal of tissue to determine how it affects air flow, which could help surgeons be better prepared prior to surgery.

"Because the sinuses are surrounded by the brain and the eyes, you have be very precise, within millimeters," otolaryngologist Dr. Alex Farag said in a news release.13 In addition to ENS, other risks of sinus surgery include losing sense of smell or taste, for instance.

Are There Treatments for ENS?

Prevention is by far the most important strategy for avoiding ENS, which is why, if you're considering nasal surgery you should carefully weigh the benefits versus the risks before making a decision. At the very least, if you do undergo surgery, be sure the most conservative surgical techniques are used.14

"Ultimately, prevention of this feared complication through turbinate-sparing techniques is essential," the Current Allergy and Asthma Reports researchers wrote.15 That being said, if you or someone you love has had nasal surgery and is struggling with ENS, there may be some helpful treatments, including "mucosal humidification, irrigations and emollients" as well as surgery to reconstruct the turbinates using implants.

At least one study found that surgical treatment of ENS improved depression and anxiety,16 along with other symptoms. However, there's still much to be learned about which types of implants and placements work best.

"Recent studies have revealed that surgery may result in clinical improvement in patients with ENS but that it does not guarantee improvement in all patients, and insufficient evidence is available to favor any particular implant material," according to a study published in the Journal of International Medical Research.17

In some cases, people with ENS may also benefit from treatment to address individual symptoms, such as hyperventilation, which may be improved via respiratory rehabilitation.18 In Schmidt's case, she sought holistic treatment using Ayurveda, dietary changes, yoga, meditation and conscious breathing, as well as stress mitigation and careful attention to temperature and humidity in her environment.

In addition, she received injections of platelet-rich plasma and stem cells through Dr. Subinoy Das, CEO and medical director for the U.S. Institute for Advanced Sinus Care and Research, which is intended to stimulate new nerve and blood vessel growth and tissue remodeling of the turbinates. According to the U.S. Institute for Advanced Sinus Care and Research, they've had a greater than 75 percent improvement rate with these therapies.19

Alternatives to Surgery for Sinusitis and Sleep Apnea

ENS is iatrogenic, i.e., caused by a medical treatment, diagnostic procedure or physician. This means it's entirely preventable by avoiding nasal surgery. If you're struggling with the symptoms of a deviated septum, including chronic sinusitis, the following natural remedies may help:20

Drink hot liquids — Sipping on hot tea, bone broth or soup may help relieve congested nasal passages.

Breathe in steam — Inhaling steam helps reduce the inflammation of your nasal tissues, allowing your breathing to return to normal.

Stay hydrated — Drinking plenty of water may help reduce the pressure in your sinuses, which decreases the inflammation in your nose.

Use a warm compress — The warmth from a hot compress may help relieve the pain and inflammation in your nasal passages.

If you're considering turbinate surgery due to sleep apnea, there are also nonsurgical options to consider including continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), a special type of sleeping mask that mechanically restores your breathing by using air pressure to open your airway. Other potential treatment options include:

Buteyko Breathing Method — Named after the Russian doctor who developed it, the Buteyko technique can be used to reverse health problems caused by improper breathing, including sleep apnea.

Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy — Myofunctional therapy involves the neuromuscular re-education or repatterning of your oral and facial muscles. It includes facial and tongue exercises and behavior modification techniques to promote proper tongue position, improved breathing, chewing and swallowing. Proper head and neck postures are also addressed.

Oral appliance — If your mild to moderate sleep apnea is related to jaw or tongue issues, specially trained dentists can design a custom oral appliance, similar to a mouth guard, that you can wear while sleeping to facilitate proper breathing.

from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2018/12/20/empty-nose-syndrome.aspx

source http://niapurenaturecom.weebly.com/blog/how-could-routine-nasal-surgery-increase-risk-for-anxiety-and-suicide

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jakehglover · 6 years

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How Could Routine Nasal Surgery Increase Risk for Anxiety and Suicide?

youtube

What Type of Sinus Surgery May Lead to Empty Nose Syndrome?

9 Symptoms of Empty Nose Syndrome You Should Be Aware Of

Sensation of excessive airflow

Lack of sensation of nasal airflow

Hypersensitivity to cold air

Hyperventilation

Headache

Nasal pain

Nasal dryness

Difficulty falling asleep

Fatigue

What Causes ENS?

Are There Treatments for ENS?

Alternatives to Surgery for Sinusitis and Sleep Apnea

Drink hot liquids — Sipping on hot tea, bone broth or soup may help relieve congested nasal passages.

Breathe in steam — Inhaling steam helps reduce the inflammation of your nasal tissues, allowing your breathing to return to normal.

Stay hydrated — Drinking plenty of water may help reduce the pressure in your sinuses, which decreases the inflammation in your nose.

Use a warm compress — The warmth from a hot compress may help relieve the pain and inflammation in your nasal passages.

Buteyko Breathing Method — Named after the Russian doctor who developed it, the Buteyko technique can be used to reverse health problems caused by improper breathing, including sleep apnea.

from HealthyLife via Jake Glover on Inoreader http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2018/12/20/empty-nose-syndrome.aspx

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thesleepstudies · 7 years

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Nightmares vs. Night Terrors – what’s the difference and what can you to stop both?

Today we’ll be talking about one of the most misunderstood subjects in the sleep arena - the difference between nightmares and night terrors.

We’ll first address nightmares and the reasons behind them, then explain how they are different from night terrors and finally, offer some actionable tips on how to stop both.

Nightmares

Nightmares can be extremely unpleasant, because the anxiety compromises your sleep quality. This can lead to a state of chronic fatigue and constant mental tension.

It’s a serious problem for some people but to stop them, you first have to understand the reasons behind the issue.

Understanding nightmares

If you feel alone with your problem, you can let out a sigh of relief. Nightmares are common because our brain is overburdened by the sheer amount of information it receives during the day.

It’s a common misconception to associate nightmares with children only and believe that they simply disappear in adults. For some people they don’t, they go on through the teen years to adult life.

For most people this is not a big problem - most of us will have nightmares every once in a while but , depending on which statistics you look at , between 2 and 8% of adult population will experience chronic and recurrent nightmares.

The primary characteristics are very realistic images and emotions that tend to accelerate your heart rate or even wake you up.

At times, you’ll simply wake up and realize that you just had a nightmare but you won’t be able to remember it. The more stressful scenario is that you wake up and remember every detail of the horrible dream, and if it’s especially vivid, you can find it difficult to forget the terrifying images.

Ultimately, nightmares are detrimental to the quality of your sleep, which leads to physical exhaustion and mental tension.

Experiencing the problem on reappearing basis can have adverse effect to other areas of your life and lead to long-term health problems.

So, if you are one of those people who suffer chronically, you’ll want to read on and fully understand the reasons behind the terrifying experience and what you can do to stop it.

Nightmares vs. night terrors - what’s the difference?

While most people won’t to know how to precisely describe the difference between a nightmare and night terrors, they are two completely separate types of sleep disturbance.

Nightmares typically occur in the second part of the night, closer to the morning hours. They go hand-in-hand with dreaming and intense imagery.

The content of the dream varies from person-to-person, but there are some common nightmares, the most frequent ones are being chased or falling..

People who lived through a traumatic event re-experience it in the form of nightmares.

Night terrors

Night terrors of cure in the phase of deep sleep and are therefore more frequent during first few hours of sleep.

They are experienced as an intense feeling of fear with no accompanying dreams.

The sleeper will often move or rise to a sitting position, which can wake them up.

Generally, people experiencing night terrors will not remember what the experience was.

So, to summarize, the response to the question of "nightmares vs. night terrors" and the difference between the two comes down to presence of dreams/imagery or lack thereof.

Should you be worried?

It’s only common sense to be aware of the fact nightmares can be a symptom of a more serious problem.

In most cases, they will appear spontaneously as a result of our brain “crossing” one of its many wires.

“Spontaneously means” that there is no underlying reason and the most probable cause our psychological problems like anxiety, depression and stress. If a person’s life has been interrupted by a significant event traumatic in nature, such as the loss of a loved one or an accident, there will be more likely to face the issue.

The takeaway here is that an occasional nightmare happens to most of us, but if the problem persists, you should talk to a physician to check whether there is an underlying issue like sleep apnea or a restless legs syndrome.

Lastly, there is a growing body of evidence speaking towards the fact that there is such thing as being genetically predisposed to having nightmares, so talking to your parents about it is a smart idea.

If nothing else, it will put your mind at ease if you do establish that the problem runs in the family.

Preventing or stopping nightmares in different scenarios will

Addressing the underlying problem

If you nightmares are a result of problems like sleep apnea, the focus should be on the underlying issue and not the dreams that follow the pathology.

If the underlying reasons are psychological in nature, like depression and anxiety, both problems should be addressed at the same time.

While you battle your way out how to the psychological problems, you can ask your physician about the sleep problem and they will probably be able to help, either by recommending some over-the-counter sleep aids like melatonin or prescribing some sleep medication (if the problem is more severe).

In the latter scenario, most practitioners prescribe Prazosin, which is a drug commonly used to help people suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome, but it’s also known to help with nightmares.

Avoid eating before bedtime

A meal before bedtime can be a trigger, because food stimulates your metabolism and sends your brain a signal to be more active.

Even snacking is not recommended, especially if the snack is rich in sugar.

Do your best to reduce tension

Stress is a common cause of nightmares, so take the time to relax and make a conscious decision to design a quiet, soothing sleep environment.

Your bedroom should be an oasis of relaxation and an escape from your daily concerns.

Yoga and meditation are two great activities for tension relief and soothing of both body and mind.

Even if you never did it before, consider taking courses or just practice yoga a few minutes every day in the comfort of your home.

Other activities such as reading, knitting or a simple walk can go a long way towards relieving your tensions. The rule of thumb here is that the activity should be something you enjoy, something that takes your mind off of everyday problems and worries.

Doing something along those lines and then following it up with a hot bath before bedtime can do wonders to help you unwind after the hassles of a stressful day.

Medication can cause nightmares

If you notice the pattern of increased frequency or vividness of nightmares when you take certain medication, talk to your doctor about it and explore that as a potential cause.

Antidepressants and some drugs for high blood pressure are often the culprit. The good news is that we all respond in a different way to different types of medication and your doctor might be able to help by switching to something that was still address your primary concern without causing the stressful night experience.

Another scenario here can be an increase or decrease in the dosage of the medicine you’re already taking, in which case the bed dreams should go way as soon as your body adjusts to the new doses.

The spiral of sleep deprivation and nightmares

The connection between lack of sleep and nightmares is similar to the question about the chicken and the egg.

Sleep deprivation can disturb your brain in ways that can cause bad dreams and vice versa.

If this is the case the problem should be addressed holistically.

The place to start is your bedroom

It’s not news that a clean, uncluttered bedroom will with minimal distractions makes for optimal sleep environment.

Apart from minimizing the clutter, make sure that the bedroom is completely dark.

When it comes to temperatures, the rule of thumb is to aim for an environment that’s not too cold or hot.

It is worth mentioning that most people sleep better in the cold and this is congruent with what happens in our bodies as we fall asleep.

As we’re dozing off, our body temperature lowers and the space you sleep in should make that process easier.

For optimal sleep, the recommended temperature suggested by science is in the range of 60 to 67°F.

Your mattress and linen

If you’re still sleeping on that old, dingy mattress you should consider the possibility of that being one of the contributing factors.

Your mattress of choice should not only be adjusted to what feels comfortable but to your body type as well.

For heavy people, a good mattress will be well-balanced between support and comfort.

The goal here is to address issues that might be keeping your spine muscles working through the night trying to avoid any nerve damage. This tends to happen if you’re a heavy person and choose a mattress that lacks in support, like one made of low density memory foam - you can read more about choosing a good mattress for heavy people here.

Your pillow working with your mattress

The point we made about aligning your spine also applies to choosing a pillow that works for you.

If you’re a big person and go with a thin pillow, the chances of developing Mac and back pain problems increased dramatically. That also applies to the mesomorph body type, especially if your exercise regimen includes lifting weights and you are very muscular.

For a muscular body, a higher pillow will give the person enough elevation in the head area so that the shoulder doesn’t get in the way.

Bedroom is for sleep

You would think that this is an oversimplified statement, but it’s the nature of the modern life that causes the problem.

We tend to take our work with us into the bedroom. Apart from the stimulation that doesn’t allow you to relax, there’s also a secondary issue that follows.

If you bring work into an area that’s supposed to be dedicated to sleep, you may soon find yourself associating the room with stress.

The confusion surrounding physical activity

A physically fit person will generally sleep better.

We feel like there’s no need to make a special plant of physical activity to address sleep problems. The rules here are similar to what is generally considered a healthy lifestyle.

The one thing that would like to stress is exercising before bedtime. It’s a huge no-no because exercise causes your blood to rush through your body, making your brain more alert and active.

An active brain will be more difficult to soothe when you’re trying to get your ZZZs.

As a rule of thumb, avoid exercising 3 to 4 hours before bedtime. This should give your rushing blood enough time to go back to the state of stasis.

Caffeine

The issue of caffeine disturbing your sleep patterns has been rehashed so many times that you probably want to instinctively skip this part of the article.

Before you do that, let us just say that what we’ll offer here is a different, more precise take on the caffeine issue.

Instead of offering vague tips like, “don’t drink coffee in the afternoon,” we’ll go more in-depth so that you can understand what’s really going on.

Don’t hate us for what we are about to say, we’re just the messengers, but the issue is more intricate to be soled by following general advice like the one we mentioned above.

Let’s be more precise

Here is the problem - caffeine has a long half-life (5 to 6 hours). This means that the cup of double espresso at 3 PM is an equivalent to 1 cup at 8 PM.

This is the part that most people either don’t know or don’t fully understand.

It’s easy to just grab a mug of an extra large coffee and shrug it off by telling yourself that it will be long gone by nighttime.

It won’t.

It will stick around and continue to stimulate your brain through today. You might not feel it because you’re comparing it to the feeling of that initial boost it gives you.

Let us explain it on an example

What people know as a “shot” of espresso is approximately 1 lbs. and contains 63.6 mg of caffeine.

Here’s the math:

A double espresso will deliver a hefty boost of over 125 mg of caffeine.

If you drink it at, say, 3 PM there will be 64 mg still roaming your body at 8 PM.

More importantly, it means that you’ll still have about 30 mg of caffeine in your bloodstream at 1 AM.

Let’s put that into perspective

Research shows that the average American consumes about 300 mg of caffeine per day, which is 300% more than the average intake in the rest of the world.

If that sounds bad, let’s take the conversation to a more positive place and mention that the culture of heavy tea-drinking in countries like the UK brings them to the top of the list of caffeine intake.

On average, they consume twice as much as an average American adult.

That’s not an excuse

Patting ourselves on the back and taking comfort in the fact that there is “worse” out there brings us no closer to a solution.

As a conclusion, all we can say is that you should be aware of how caffeine works and its half-life but ultimately, its effects on your sleep quality will depend on how sensitive you are to it.

The alternatives

It’s easy to talk about giving up coffee but to actually do it is a whole different ballgame.

If it makes you feel any better, I have a mug full of coffee on my desk is in writing these lines.

You don’t have to go cold turkey

Does don’t so much of pleasure a person can sacrifice at the altar of optimal health. You don’t have to stop drinking coffee, but you do have to know the facts if you’re not sleeping well.The alternative to giving up coffee cold turkey is keeping that morning those in your life which, let’s face it is the one that gives us the most pleasure.

For the rest of the day you can go with alternatives that are similar in taste and texture, like Kava Kava.

It’s a beverage made of the extract of a plant, commonly found in the islands of the Western Pacific and it’s known for its anti-anxiolytic effects. The name of the beverage or originates “awa”, which is a Polynesian word for bitter.

There’s been some controversy about it and its regulation. That’s why it’s important that, if you do decide to experiment replacing coffee with, choose a good trusted brand.

A while back we did some research on the topic and came up with a list of the best cover brands for anxiety – you can see it here.

Addressing nightmares through mental imagery therapy

One of the most common approaches sleep therapists take to address severe nightmares is the technique of mental imagery.

The concept is pretty simple and it comes down to encouraging the patient to imagine an alternative end or scenario for the nightmares, especially if they’re reoccurring.

Techniques range from just imagining a more pleasant dream to writing, drawing or painting an alternative version of the nightmare.

For example, if you have a reoccurring dream of somebody chasing you, the therapy might include visualization off befriending the “chaser” or finding out that the reason for the pursuit is to deliver good news. “Provoking” pleasant dreams

This technique is also based on visualization.

Here’s how it works

Take time during the day to wind down, close your eyes, even if it’s for five minutes only, and go to your happy place.

The technique works best if you choose one happy image that you build on and add details over time.

The happy place you visualize should be isolated, something like a mountain top with a gorgeous view. The important part here is to provoke a feeling that nothing else is important and the moment is just about you on that that mountain top admiring the view.

As you practice the technique, try to make it as real as possible by adding details like sounds, smells and atmosphere.

Happy thoughts

You should make a habit of thinking about things that bring you pleasure just before bedtime.

The science behind this is solid and it’s all about the chemicals in your brain, a small dose of dopamine/serotonin might just be enough to relax.

The experience you think about can be either imaginary or a real memory but shouldn’t be stimulant.

Here’s what we mean by that

Don’t choose an experience like a game of beach volleyball that you particularly enjoyed a decade back. It might be pleasant, but the very thought of intense physical activity will cause a similar reaction in your body and stimulate you.

Instead, go with something relaxing like lying on a beach, basking in the sun and listening to the sound of the waves.

Plan your pastime

A typical person will choose to unwind over a movie or their favorite TV show.

That’s fine if your favorite show is “The Office” but can be a problem if it’s “The Walking Dead”.

The hours before bedtime should be filled with nothing but joy and happy thoughts and violent movies have no place here.

It’s all an acquired skill

If you’re reading this you might think that you can’t possibly do it all.

That’s probably true, at least not at once.

If you’re having sleep problems, they didn’t just suddenly appear at some point in your life (even if it might like it).

They are usually a result of prolonged stress and anxiety that’s been simmering without an outlet before finding its way out through your dreams.

That’s how you should approach reversing the process - take it one step at a time, don’t get discouraged if something doesn’t work and give it time.

There’s no substitute for patience.

One something as important as sleep is at stake, it’s worth it.

Sweet dreams

The post Nightmares vs. Night Terrors – what’s the difference and what can you to stop both? See more on: https://thesleepstudies.com

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alshamey · 7 years

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6 Amazing Ways Dogs Can Help Those Suffering From Depression http://yourgradgear.com/2017/10/09/6-amazing-ways-dogs-can-help-those-suffering-from-depression/

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6 Amazing Ways Dogs Can Help Those Suffering From Depression

Are you currently stuck in the mental black hole that is depression? Do you worry that your life is never going to get better and that you will never feel normal again? Maybe the words “happy” and “fun” sound Japanese for all the meaning they have left in your life. Perhaps your life has become a charade of pretending to the world that you’re okay when you actually feel empty inside.

The good news is that it is possible to feel normal again. The better news is that owning a dog is one tool that may make a huge difference in your battle against depression. Keeping in mind that therapy and/or medication should still be an important part of your journey toward feeling better, here are 6 amazing ways that dogs can help those suffering from depression.

How a dog can help

Owning a dog can provide a wide variety of both physical and mental benefits, which of course go hand in hand. Anybody who’s ever been treated for depression or another mental illness has been told repeatedly how important diet, exercise, and other healthy lifestyle choices are for improving your mental health.

Of course, those same mental health professionals don’t seem to understand how incredibly difficult it can be to make those sorts of changes when you are suffering from depression. Here are some ways having a dog can help you feel better, both physically and mentally.

-Exercise. The greatest benefit of having a dog over a cat is that dogs must be taken outside for walks. Sure, a small dog could be trained to use potty pads, and people with enclosed yards may not feel the need to take their dog on an actual walk, but all dogs (and their people) benefit from regular walks.

Getting a dog with the knowledge that it will need to be walked can be a great way to start improving your health. Plus, a lack of sunlight is proven to have a negative effect on people’s mental health, so walking a dog can force you to get outside and expose yourself to some much-needed Vitamin D.

-Meeting new people. Taking your dog for a walk or to the dog park is a great way to meet other people who love dogs as much as you do. Depression can be very isolating, so meeting people is crucial to starting the process of feeling better.

-Companionship. Everybody needs to feel loved, and if you can’t get that from humans, a dog is a great way to receive the unconditional love you may be craving. Studies have shown that companionship provided by dogs can lower blood pressure, reduce cholesterol, and lead to fewer or less severe heart attacks. Unfortunately, loneliness and depression go hand in hand, so having a pet is a great way to combat loneliness, which can help improve symptoms of depression.

-Reducing anxiety. Pets are proven to help reduce anxiety in people. Between their excellent cuddling skills and their ability to listen to your worries without interrupting, dogs can be a great distraction from the nightmare of excessive anxiety that may accompany depression.

-Routine. Dogs need a routine to be happy. They like to be fed and walked at the same times every day. It turns out, people thrive on routines as well. Once you develop a good routine for your dog, you can start adding healthy activities to your own routine, which can help speed your recovery.

-Stress relief. Petting a dog is a proven way to reduce stress levels.

What you should consider before getting a dog

-Dogs need time and attention. Your dog doesn’t care if you’re too depressed to get out of bed – he still needs walked, fed, and loved. This can be a benefit, if you need a reason to get out of bed in the morning, but you may grow to resent your dog for needing love you feel incapable of giving.

-They may be destructive. Dogs need training, guidance, exercise, and attention. Without all of these, they may become destructive. They might pee or poop in the house, chew up your favorite pair of shoes, or dig holes in the back yard. If you can’t stand the possibility of having some destruction in your life, you should seriously consider not adding a dog to your life – or at least avoid getting a young puppy who hasn’t learned the rules of the world yet.

-Taking care of a pet is a big responsibility. For some people who struggle with depression, the responsibility of caring for a pet can lead them to taking better care of themselves. For others, the responsibility of caring for another living thing when they are incapable of caring for their own basic needs can be overwhelming. You should carefully consider how you might react to having the added responsibility of caring for a pet.

-Costs can add up. Adopting a dog can cost $70-300 or more. Buying a puppy usually costs even more than that. Then you need to factor in a collar and leash, food bowls, treats, food, grooming, vaccinations and other vet visits, and various other expenses. These costs can add up quickly, especially if your dog becomes sick or injured.

It’s not fair to your dog to get matted because you can’t afford to get him groomed or be in pain because you can’t afford to take him to the vet. The first-year cost of adopting and caring for a dog can easily top $1000. If you’re on a limited income, you should think carefully before adding a dog to your family.

Should your dog be certified as an Emotional Support Animal (ESA)?

There are numerous websites that will sell you a fake certification to claim your pet is an Emotional Support Animal (ESA) in order to allow you to bring your dog onto airplanes and into pet-free housing without any fees, but these websites are all fraudulent.

There is no national registry for service dogs or emotional support animals. The only legitimate way to have an ESA is to have a certified mental health professional or a physician write a prescription for an ESA saying that your pet is part of a continuing treatment program. You should be currently under a therapy and/or medication program with the aim of improving your depression or mental illness.

While ESAs are allowed into housing and onto airplanes, they do not have all the same rights as service dogs. They are not allowed into restaurants or other businesses that forbid pets. For more on the difference between service dogs, emotional support animals, and therapy dogs, check out this article.

Other ways to help improve symptoms of depression

Of course, getting a dog shouldn’t be the only option you consider to improve your depression. Therapy and/or medication can make a huge difference in your quality of life. The trick is to find a mental health professional that you like and trust, which can be easier said than done, especially if you don’t have exceptional health insurance.

The good news is that there are many different types of therapy and tons of different medications to help you out. The bad news is that it can take a long time to figure out which treatments work best for you. It takes an incredible amount of patience, but you don’t have to feel like this forever.

You don’t need somebody else to tell you, but it’s important to mention again the importance of a healthy diet and exercise program when it comes to improving your mental health. The long-term health effects from eating, exercising, or even sleeping too much or too little can stick with you long after your mental health improves, and as they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure.

There are a number of “alternative” treatments for depression ranging from supplements to acupuncture to meditation. It’s up to you to do the research and understand the risks and benefits of each. Alternative treatments often work best in conjunction with more traditional methods of improving depression rather than as standalone treatments.

If your depression is severe enough that you are suffering from suicidal thoughts, please do not hesitate to ask for help. Call 911 or the suicide hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or visit Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

As a fellow sufferer (I have bipolar disorder with recurrent depression), I can promise you that it does get better. The key to getting better is to BE PERSISTENT about getting help. It may take a long time to feel better, but I promise you that the effort is worth it! (H/T: Help Guide, WebMD, Help Guide)

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nancygduarteus · 7 years

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How to Die

One morning in May, the existential psychotherapist Irvin Yalom was recuperating in a sunny room on the first floor of a Palo Alto convalescent hospital. He was dressed in white pants and a green sweater, not a hospital gown, and was quick to point out that he is not normally confined to a medical facility. “I don’t want [this article] to scare my patients,” he said, laughing. Until a knee surgery the previous month, he had been seeing two or three patients a day, some at his office in San Francisco and others in Palo Alto, where he lives. Following the procedure, however, he felt dizzy and had difficulty concentrating. “They think it’s a brain issue, but they don’t know exactly what it is,” he told me in a soft, gravelly voice. He was nonetheless hopeful that he would soon head home; he would be turning 86 in June and was looking forward to the release of his memoir, Becoming Myself, in October.

Issues of The Times Literary Supplement and The New York Times Book Review sat on the bed, alongside an iPad. Yalom had been spending his stay watching Woody Allen movies and reading novels by the Canadian writer Robertson Davies. For someone who helped introduce to American psychological circles the idea that a person’s conflicts can result from unresolvable dilemmas of human existence, among them the dread of dying, he spoke easily about his own mortality.

“I haven’t been overwhelmed by fear,” he said of his unfolding health scare. Another of Yalom’s signature ideas, expressed in books such as Staring at the Sun and Creatures of a Day, is that we can lessen our fear of dying by living a regret-free life, meditating on our effect on subsequent generations, and confiding in loved ones about our death anxiety. When I asked whether his lifelong preoccupation with death eases the prospect that he might pass away soon, he replied, “I think it probably makes things easier.”

The hope that our existential fears can be diminished inspires people around the world to email Yalom daily. In a Gmail folder labeled “Fans,” he had saved 4,197 messages from admirers in places ranging from Iran to Croatia to South Korea, which he invited me to look at. Some were simply thank-you notes, expressions of gratitude for the insights delivered by his books. In addition to textbooks and other works of nonfiction, he has written several novels and story collections. Some, such as Love’s Executioner & Other Tales of Psychotherapy and When Nietzsche Wept, have been best sellers.

As I scrolled through the emails, Yalom used his cane to tap a button that alerted the nurses’ station. A voice came through the intercom, and he explained that he needed some ice for his knee. It was the third time he’d called; he told me his pain was making it difficult to concentrate on anything else, though he was trying. Throughout his stay, his wife of more than 60 years, Marilyn, had been stopping by regularly to refresh his reading material. The day before, he’d had a visit from Georgia May, the widow of the existential psychotherapist Rollo May, who was a colleague and friend of Yalom’s. When he runs out of other things to do, he plays on his iPad or his computer, using them with the dexterity of someone half his age.

Many of Yalom’s fan letters are searing meditations on death. Some correspondents hope he will offer relief from deep-seated problems. Most of the time he suggests that they find a local therapist, but if one isn’t available and the issue seems solvable in a swift period—at this point in his career, he won’t work with patients for longer than a year—he may take someone on remotely. He is currently working with people in Turkey, South Africa, and Australia via the internet. Obvious cultural distinctions aside, he says his foreign patients are not that different from the patients he treats in person. “If we live a life full of regret, full of things we haven’t done, if we’ve lived an unfulfilled life,” he says, “when death comes along, it’s a lot worse. I think it’s true for all of us.”

Becoming Myself is clearly the memoir of a psychiatrist. “I awake from my dream at 3 a.m., weeping into my pillow,” reads the opening line. Yalom’s nightmare involves a childhood incident in which he insulted a girl. Much of the book is about the influence that his youth—particularly his relationship with his mother—has had on his life. He writes, quoting Charles Dickens, “For, as I draw closer and closer to the end, I travel in the circle, nearer and nearer to the beginning.”

Yalom first gained fame among psychotherapists for The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy. The book, published in 1970, argues that the dynamic in group therapy is a microcosm of everyday life, and that addressing relationships within a therapy group could have profound therapeutic benefits outside of it. “I’ll do the sixth revision next year,” he told me, as nurses came in and out of the room. He was sitting in a chair by the window, fidgeting. Without his signature panama hat, his sideburns, which skate away from his ears, looked especially long.

Although he gave up teaching years ago, Yalom says that until he is no longer capable, he’ll continue seeing patients in the cottage in his backyard. It is a shrink’s version of a man cave, lined with books by Friedrich Nietzsche and the Stoic philosophers. The garden outside features Japanese bonsai trees; deer, rabbits, and foxes make occasional appearances nearby. “When I feel restless, I step outside and putter over the bonsai, pruning, watering, and admiring their graceful shapes,” he writes in Becoming Myself.

Yalom sees each problem encountered in therapy as something of a puzzle, one he and his patient must work together to solve. He described this dynamic in Love’s Executioner, which consists of 10 stories of patients undergoing therapy—true tales from Yalom’s work, with names changed but few other details altered. The stories concentrate not only on Yalom’s suffering patients but also on his own feelings and thoughts as a therapist. “I wanted to rehumanize therapy, to show the therapist as a real person,” he told me.

That might not sound like the stuff of potboilers, but the book, which came out in 1989, was a commercial hit, and continues to sell briskly today. In 2003, the critic Laura Miller credited it with inaugurating a new genre. Love’s Executioner, she wrote in The New York Times, had shown “that the psychological case study could give readers what the short fiction of the time increasingly refused to deliver: the pursuit of secrets, intrigue, big emotions, plot.”

Today, the people around the world who email Yalom know him mostly from his writing, which has been translated into dozens of languages. Like David Hasselhoff, he may well be more of a star outside the United States than at home. This likely reflects American readers’ religiosity and insistence on happy endings. Mondays with Yalom are not Tuesdays With Morrie. Yalom can be morbid, and he doesn’t believe in an afterlife; he says his anxiety about death is soothed somewhat by the belief that what follows life will be the same as what preceded it. Not surprisingly, he told me, highly religious readers don’t tend to gravitate toward his books.

Yalom is candid, both in his memoir and in person, about the difficulties of aging. When two of his close friends died recently, he realized that his cherished memory of their friendship is all that remains. “It dawned on me that that reality doesn’t exist anymore,” he said sadly. “When I die, it will be gone.” The thought of leaving Marilyn behind is agonizing. But he also dreads further physical deterioration. He now uses a walker with tennis balls on the bottoms of the legs, and he has recently lost weight. He coughed frequently during our meeting; when I emailed him a month later, he was feeling better, but said of his health scare, “I consider those few weeks as among the very worst of my life.” He can no longer play tennis or go scuba diving, and he fears he might have to stop bicycling. “Getting old,” he writes in Becoming Myself, “is giving up one damn thing after another.”

In his books, Yalom emphasizes that love can reduce death anxiety, both by providing a space for people to share their fears and by contributing to a well-lived life. Marilyn, an accomplished feminist literary scholar with whom he has a close intellectual partnership, inspires him to keep living every bit as much as she makes the idea of dying excruciating. “My wife matches me book for book,” he told me at one point. But although Yalom’s email account has a folder titled “Ideas for Writing,” he said he may finally be out of book ideas. Meanwhile, Marilyn told me that she had recently helped someone write an obituary for Irvin. “This is the reality of where we are in life,” she said.

Early in Yalom’s existential-psychotherapy practice, he was struck by how much comfort people derived from exploring their existential fears. “Dying,” he wrote in Staring at the Sun, “is lonely, the loneliest event of life.” Yet empathy and connectedness can go a long way toward reducing our anxieties about mortality. When, in the 1970s, Yalom began working with patients diagnosed with untreatable cancer, he found they were sometimes heartened by the idea that, by dying with dignity, they could be an example to others.

Death terror can occur in anyone at any time, and can have life-changing effects, both negative and positive. “Even for those with a deeply ingrained block against openness—those who have always avoided deep friendships—the idea of death may be an awakening experience, catalyzing an enormous shift in their desire for intimacy,” Yalom has written. Those who haven’t yet lived the life they wanted to can still shift their priorities late in life. “The same thing was true with Ebenezer Scrooge,” he told me, as a nurse brought him three pills.

For all the morbidity of existential psychotherapy, it is deeply life-affirming. Change is always possible. Intimacy can be freeing. Existence is precious. “I hate the idea of leaving this world, this wonderful life,” Yalom said, praising a metaphor devised by the scientist Richard Dawkins to illustrate the fleeting nature of existence. Imagine that the present moment is a spotlight moving its way across a ruler that shows the billions of years the universe has been around. Everything to the left of the area lit by the spotlight is over; to the right is the uncertain future. The chances of us being in the spotlight at this particular moment—of being alive—are minuscule. And yet here we are.

Yalom’s apprehension about death is allayed by his sense that he has lived well. “As I look back at my life, I have been an overachiever, and I have few regrets,” he said quietly. Still, he continued, people have “an inbuilt impulse to want to survive, to live.” He paused. “I hate to see life go.”

from Health News And Updates https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/10/how-to-die/537906/?utm_source=feed

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ionecoffman · 7 years

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How to Die

Article source here:The Atlantic

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harmonyusinc · 4 years

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How to Improve Your Sleep Naturally

1. Turn your bedroom into a sanctuary.

2. Set your bed aside for only sex and sleep.

3. Have sex before bed.

4. Keep to your usual sleep routine as much as possible.

5. Turn off electronics at least an hour before bed.

6. Get more natural light during the day.

7. Create a sleep routine.

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