Interestingly, the first part of this blog "The Demise of Guys" has beat out all the porn laden posts. This may just mean I have more female readers, than males, not sure. In an effort to please, here are some more thoughts on the topic.
Today I had an interesting movement forward in my inner development. I have always been a little reactive with money, I will spare everyone all the history and details. Let's just say when I don't have money my self esteem plummets. I feel unworthy. I will tend to sabotage any relationship I am in because I think that as a man I need to have money for someone to be attracted to me. When the money goes away so too does my ability to think I have value in a relationship.
I have been working on looking at that inner voice, key as money comes and goes and in my profession there are periods of wealth and periods of drought. It is during these periods of drought that anger creeps in. "I am a successful doctor, I am not supposed to have these issues". Well, surprise they are here for us all. I am learning that money ebbs and flows and my value in a relationship does not have to ebb and flow in that tide.
So today I had a big, annoying financial surprise first thing in the morning. In the past two months I have multiple smaller annoying financial surprises, so this one should have been the topper! But alas, my mind was calm and blank! I calmly called the appropriate parties and did what I could to resolve the situation, then I let it go! Deep inside I knew that everything would work out. (It always does) Only this time I did not loose a ton of energy complaining and berating myself. (Oh to be a fly on the wall of my mind!) I had pure action with no reactivity in my mind about the whole thing! I think I may have finally decoupled my sexual attractiveness from the mythical number that says how much monetary value I own.
The irony of the whole situation is that I make good money, I have a rich life, and for the most part I am able to do what I want. (And tend to do so whether the money exists or not!) So how did it get so tied in with my ability to feel safe in a relationship? The answer is probably pretty obvious, it was socially programmed in at a young age.
Ok, get to the Penis dialog part... The real reason you are reading this. I have you by the dopamine receptors! (See prior blogs if you don't know what I am talking about)
This situation got me thinking about guys and their demise. I wonder how many guys associate their value with their net worth? I suppose it is similar to girls basing their value in a relationship on their sexual attractiveness or breast size. It is amazing to me how long that programming has lasted as I have not had a TV in years and like to think of myself as relatively sheltered from media and popular culture where those messages are blaring constantly.
The feminist revolution va-jayjay monologues and all have been good for both men and women. However, as social standards are shifting, I think a penis dialogue (thanks Dr. Brandies) is needed. After all, what is the good of a feminist movement with no enlightened males to enjoy it with? Ok, that was pretty hetero of me, but yes this affects my lovely lesbian friends as someone needs to make high quality sperm so you too may have babies. Here are the topics I would suggest for the dialogue:
1. It is a double standard to want economic equality for women while still expecting men to make more.
2. Your sexual attractiveness is not coupled to your pocketbook or breast size.
3. Zero tolerance for sexually abusive comments or actions no matter what she is wearing/doing. To be enforced by both sexes.
4. Role of media in perpetuating stereotypes of both sexes that are not desired.
Ultimately I think the uncoupling of the demise of guys is do give them a place at the discussion table. What do you guys think?
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
In Defense of the 1%
Yes folks, after much consideration and analysis of the situation I have decided that I am wrong about the 1% and especially the 0.001% who own the large banking conglomerations. First of all I would not be a doctor today without them after all it was their large banking conglomerates (in this case Bank of America) that were able to loan me the extra money I needed to complete both undergrad and medical school. After all it would be ridiculous to expect that the government or anyone else give or loan me the money to go to school. That would be socialism. No hand outs needed here as it is my place as someone from the underclass to support the banking elite. In fact I am now part of the 0.00001% that have been allowed to really rack up a massive debt making me one of the poorest people I know. I completely take the blame for this, for when my soul was entering my body I did not choose a wealthy set of parents which would have facilitated easier financing of medical school and thus helping me become a better contributor to society.
After much sleepless nights, I am ashamed to say I am a terrible contributor to society. I am much more of a job killer than Romney! As I survey the possessions in my house I realize that I don't even have a TV. I worry about this at night, that some night federal agents will break down the door to my apartment and arrest me for such an un-American activity of not owning a TV. To mitigate this internal terror, I watch the Stephen Colbert show on Comedy central's website and avoid getting my news from Al-Jazeera despite Hillary Clinton's assertation that it is "real news". (I think it is a set up!) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/03/hillary-clinton-calls-al-_n_830890.html And I definitely avoid the program "Democracy Now" with Amy Goodman! It should have been called "Commie-Socialism Now" with Amy Goodman. However, my biggest beef (nice American word) with these two media outlets is that they do not enrich my favorite media moguls or their banking buddies. Thank God Comcast has put its foot down and refuses to give Al-Jazeera a channel in the U.S. And what about Rupert Murdock, Ted Turner, Sumner Redstone, who have much to loose with these media outlets that don't make revenue with advertisements?
Without Advertising how will you strip away my self worth and sexuality and then sell it back to me? I won't know which pill to cajole my doctor to give me to make me happier. I won't know which penis-pill will resurrect me after years of internet porn. I won't know which car to buy when I have my midlife crisis. Advertising helps us all as it gives us reasons to purchase all kinds of things that we don't really need and thus creates massive amounts of jobs. For the Chinese. But that's ok since it is still the big banking conglomerates and stock market folk that benefit.
Shit! A car. I don't have a car. I did have one, but it doesn't count. I bought it used with cash and so I never benefited the banks or auto industry with my purchase. Besides it was one of those fuel efficient Japanese models that rarely breaks down. Talk about a job killer! I think the best car to buy would be a Chevy Volt. American made, sort of enviro, but still burns gas, is expensive (so I can take out a loan from my fav bank), and uses electricity so I can support my local coal plant, nuclear plant, and hydroelectric dam. It is an equal opportunity employer for the entire energy sector! I will definitely not be taking the large tax break from purchasing this car because I believe in a free market with no government intervention or hand outs.
Supporting the banking elite has been a long tradition in my family and a tradition that I intend to keep. You see, four generations ago we were slaves in Barbados growing sugar to make the bankers and investors in England rich. Man did they love the sugar in their tea! Loved it so much they went to great length to get it! Finance a big boat, sail to another continent, buy a bunch of people, put them back on boat, sail to another continent half way around the world, make them grow sugar cane, then haul it back. Like it was cocaine! Thank God we have Federal Express now! Alas, I am glad this all happened because I loved watching Prince Williams wedding. How I fantasized that it was me standing across from Princess Kate! How else would the royal family make enough money to throw such a lavish wedding for Prince William generations later without working were it not for the broken backs of my family and fellow plantation family? (The wedding which, by the way, generated tremendous TV ratings and advertisement revenue!)
The bankers deserve our undying support. For who else could dream up such a system where you can loan money out in a 9 to 1 ratio and make the people pay you back with real money. Where 9 of the 10 dollars you created out of thin air! Brilliant! I would like to contact the Nobel committee and nominate the Bilderbergs, Rothschilds, and Chases for the 2012 Nobel Prize in Economics! (They will likely be disappointed in the return as the prize is only worth $1.46 million and they will have to split it 3 ways. Maybe the Nobel Committee can make an exception in this case and give them each $1.46 million)
I don't approve of welfare, the government should have given my mother a loan. If she could not pay it back after going to nursing school with 4 kids, then her kids should have to pay it back. I am happy to say that the 1/4 of the welfare I owe will likely get paid in its entirety with interest this 2011 tax season. Thus avenging my share of the welfare debt my family owes this country! Now for my slacker sisters, they will have to continue working their 2-3 jobs to get by. But that is what they get for not being "job creators".
My biggest defense of the 1% is that they can't help it. The rest of us get our dopamine fix from mundane things like eating, sex, lottery tickets, and trying something new. They get their dopamine fix off Power. Now how are you supposed to wean someone off of Power? Clearly it is not money giving them the dopamine hit as they have all of it and can buy anything they want. This is a truely dangerous situation. If you can't get life motivating dopamine from money and buying new things, than all you are left with is Power. I feel bad for them. After the withdrawal kicks in from buying yet another Bentley, and there is nothing left to buy, and no more money to consolidate, no more corporations to take over.... then all there is left is to consolidate Power. Furthermore, their is no treatment center for them. We have every other kind of addiction center, but no Power Anonymous!
The worst thing about being a 1%er.... You have problems money can't solve! The least the government should do is to help these large corporate owners mitigate some of these problems. Like pesky protesters. So you see, only Corporations should get welfare form the government as it is them who are creating all our jobs through their illness! Without these jobs we would have not tax base. And their illness has no treatment! No one has ever done a research study for them to see how to mitigate the hole in the soul that allows one to do just about anything to get Power.
So until we come up with a viable treatment plan for the 1%, we should all just shut up, shop, and pay our taxes. For we are blessed with problems that money would solve.
After much sleepless nights, I am ashamed to say I am a terrible contributor to society. I am much more of a job killer than Romney! As I survey the possessions in my house I realize that I don't even have a TV. I worry about this at night, that some night federal agents will break down the door to my apartment and arrest me for such an un-American activity of not owning a TV. To mitigate this internal terror, I watch the Stephen Colbert show on Comedy central's website and avoid getting my news from Al-Jazeera despite Hillary Clinton's assertation that it is "real news". (I think it is a set up!) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/03/hillary-clinton-calls-al-_n_830890.html And I definitely avoid the program "Democracy Now" with Amy Goodman! It should have been called "Commie-Socialism Now" with Amy Goodman. However, my biggest beef (nice American word) with these two media outlets is that they do not enrich my favorite media moguls or their banking buddies. Thank God Comcast has put its foot down and refuses to give Al-Jazeera a channel in the U.S. And what about Rupert Murdock, Ted Turner, Sumner Redstone, who have much to loose with these media outlets that don't make revenue with advertisements?
Without Advertising how will you strip away my self worth and sexuality and then sell it back to me? I won't know which pill to cajole my doctor to give me to make me happier. I won't know which penis-pill will resurrect me after years of internet porn. I won't know which car to buy when I have my midlife crisis. Advertising helps us all as it gives us reasons to purchase all kinds of things that we don't really need and thus creates massive amounts of jobs. For the Chinese. But that's ok since it is still the big banking conglomerates and stock market folk that benefit.
Shit! A car. I don't have a car. I did have one, but it doesn't count. I bought it used with cash and so I never benefited the banks or auto industry with my purchase. Besides it was one of those fuel efficient Japanese models that rarely breaks down. Talk about a job killer! I think the best car to buy would be a Chevy Volt. American made, sort of enviro, but still burns gas, is expensive (so I can take out a loan from my fav bank), and uses electricity so I can support my local coal plant, nuclear plant, and hydroelectric dam. It is an equal opportunity employer for the entire energy sector! I will definitely not be taking the large tax break from purchasing this car because I believe in a free market with no government intervention or hand outs.
Supporting the banking elite has been a long tradition in my family and a tradition that I intend to keep. You see, four generations ago we were slaves in Barbados growing sugar to make the bankers and investors in England rich. Man did they love the sugar in their tea! Loved it so much they went to great length to get it! Finance a big boat, sail to another continent, buy a bunch of people, put them back on boat, sail to another continent half way around the world, make them grow sugar cane, then haul it back. Like it was cocaine! Thank God we have Federal Express now! Alas, I am glad this all happened because I loved watching Prince Williams wedding. How I fantasized that it was me standing across from Princess Kate! How else would the royal family make enough money to throw such a lavish wedding for Prince William generations later without working were it not for the broken backs of my family and fellow plantation family? (The wedding which, by the way, generated tremendous TV ratings and advertisement revenue!)
The bankers deserve our undying support. For who else could dream up such a system where you can loan money out in a 9 to 1 ratio and make the people pay you back with real money. Where 9 of the 10 dollars you created out of thin air! Brilliant! I would like to contact the Nobel committee and nominate the Bilderbergs, Rothschilds, and Chases for the 2012 Nobel Prize in Economics! (They will likely be disappointed in the return as the prize is only worth $1.46 million and they will have to split it 3 ways. Maybe the Nobel Committee can make an exception in this case and give them each $1.46 million)
I don't approve of welfare, the government should have given my mother a loan. If she could not pay it back after going to nursing school with 4 kids, then her kids should have to pay it back. I am happy to say that the 1/4 of the welfare I owe will likely get paid in its entirety with interest this 2011 tax season. Thus avenging my share of the welfare debt my family owes this country! Now for my slacker sisters, they will have to continue working their 2-3 jobs to get by. But that is what they get for not being "job creators".
My biggest defense of the 1% is that they can't help it. The rest of us get our dopamine fix from mundane things like eating, sex, lottery tickets, and trying something new. They get their dopamine fix off Power. Now how are you supposed to wean someone off of Power? Clearly it is not money giving them the dopamine hit as they have all of it and can buy anything they want. This is a truely dangerous situation. If you can't get life motivating dopamine from money and buying new things, than all you are left with is Power. I feel bad for them. After the withdrawal kicks in from buying yet another Bentley, and there is nothing left to buy, and no more money to consolidate, no more corporations to take over.... then all there is left is to consolidate Power. Furthermore, their is no treatment center for them. We have every other kind of addiction center, but no Power Anonymous!
The worst thing about being a 1%er.... You have problems money can't solve! The least the government should do is to help these large corporate owners mitigate some of these problems. Like pesky protesters. So you see, only Corporations should get welfare form the government as it is them who are creating all our jobs through their illness! Without these jobs we would have not tax base. And their illness has no treatment! No one has ever done a research study for them to see how to mitigate the hole in the soul that allows one to do just about anything to get Power.
So until we come up with a viable treatment plan for the 1%, we should all just shut up, shop, and pay our taxes. For we are blessed with problems that money would solve.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Love on the Brain or the Brain in Love
Happy Valentines day special. Those of us in partnerships are likely out at some overcrowded restaurant right now getting lousy service. Some of you are getting DOWN. The rest of us are wishing we were getting down. Me, I am writing this blog and researching the neuroscience of love.
Anthropologist Helen Fisher placed people in love in a functional MRI and found the same pattern as when one is having a rush from cocaine. She claims that three brain systems are working with respect to love. We are designed to look for variety (hence the overwhelming popularity of porn (see prior post)), but that romantic love serves the purpose of "focusing our mating energy on just one individual at a time". Attachment serves the purpose of "allowing us to tolerate that person long enough to raise a child as a team". I would summarize this in 3 words eye candy, obsession, and submission. Ok, that was 4 words. Just kidding... the three concepts are lust, romantic love and attachment.
http://www.ted.com/talks/helen_fisher_tells_us_why_we_love_cheat.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/helen_fisher_studies_the_brain_in_love.html
I was glad to hear her dispel the myth that men cheat more than women... "who do you think they are cheating with... do the math!" The divorce rate in America is actually declining according to Fisher, however, it may be due to younger couples are less likely to get married and when they do they are older and more mature in their choices. She thinks this is an opportune time to make good marriage. Best case is when you lust, have romantic love, and attachment to the same person.
She then ends with a commentary on antidepressants. Pervasive in our society, and used long term. If you raise serotonin you suppress dopamine. This kills romantic love, orgasm, and the ability to form stable attachments as they are all mediated by the dopaminergic systems. I definitely agree with her on this point based on my observations with my patients. I treat many mood/mind disorders in my clinic and have found this to be true. They feel Ok, but they don't feel that deep urge to merge with another.
Love hurts, a good song and a common song theme. Love and pain pathways go together. When we fall out of love dopamine levels plummet and you go through withdrawal. Just being dumped, you end up loving them harder according to these functional MRI studies, you crave them even more! You may even take more risks to get their love at this point. Try something novel and risky to get them. At least you will get some dopamine from this. Sound familiar? Love is something we need and it can become an addiction. Fisher thinks that love is the most addictive substance on earth. I agree with her and can cite personal experience! I will decline to tell the stories here, but those of you who know me well have experienced the over the top creativity elicited from my dopamine highs! Never a boring moment with me around...
All these insights may point to why abused women may stay with their abuser, they may be addicted to them. I have not found a study on this yet, but would love to test this hypothesis. Unfortunately the most current example in my mind is the late Whitney Houston. Why would such a talented, wealthy, and successful woman stay with Bobby Brown? Love, and likely dopamine. I cried today after listening to her song "I will always love you". It was not the words, it was the energy, that song shifts energy. Or maybe it completely captured my emotional state. Transcendent. Criticise her all you want, that album went 4X platinum, she touched more people than any of her critics. Released my stagnant emotions better than any acupuncture treatment. That is the power of music. I would love to watch my brain on music. Music is medicine, and likely could be an addiction... ever play a song over and over... just like rats pressing the lever for cocaine... "and IIIIII willllll allllllways love yyooooooooooouuuuuu" I get a dopamine hit off that one! I am also suspecting that all these singers get dopamine dis regulation from channeling those songs from the collective unconscious. They get hooked on all kinds of stuff trying to re-balence their brain chemistry. Check out Steven Tyler's (how is he still alive? Angels according to him) biography for an inner look at dopamine gone wild. All that coke, women, amphetamines, you name it... The biggest high for him? Writing songs and singing them in front of thousands of people. Makes me wonder about the dopamine plummet as they loose the spotlight. And all the pharmaceutical crap they are put on to treat it.
For those reading these blogs, clearly I am obsessed with dopamine right now. The reason is simple. Patients coming in with dopaminergic problems are hard to treat and I see alot of them. There is no reductionist way to treat this, no magic pill to shift this balance. Educating patients is costly due to time involved. I wonder how the dopaminergic system evolved and why is it so hard to treat? I suspect it is because this little neurotransmitter may be the link between the mind and spirit. When we don't treat it well the results can be, well, heartbreaking. RIP Whitney. Comments and treatment ideas are much appreciated.
Anthropologist Helen Fisher placed people in love in a functional MRI and found the same pattern as when one is having a rush from cocaine. She claims that three brain systems are working with respect to love. We are designed to look for variety (hence the overwhelming popularity of porn (see prior post)), but that romantic love serves the purpose of "focusing our mating energy on just one individual at a time". Attachment serves the purpose of "allowing us to tolerate that person long enough to raise a child as a team". I would summarize this in 3 words eye candy, obsession, and submission. Ok, that was 4 words. Just kidding... the three concepts are lust, romantic love and attachment.
http://www.ted.com/talks/helen_fisher_tells_us_why_we_love_cheat.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/helen_fisher_studies_the_brain_in_love.html
I was glad to hear her dispel the myth that men cheat more than women... "who do you think they are cheating with... do the math!" The divorce rate in America is actually declining according to Fisher, however, it may be due to younger couples are less likely to get married and when they do they are older and more mature in their choices. She thinks this is an opportune time to make good marriage. Best case is when you lust, have romantic love, and attachment to the same person.
She then ends with a commentary on antidepressants. Pervasive in our society, and used long term. If you raise serotonin you suppress dopamine. This kills romantic love, orgasm, and the ability to form stable attachments as they are all mediated by the dopaminergic systems. I definitely agree with her on this point based on my observations with my patients. I treat many mood/mind disorders in my clinic and have found this to be true. They feel Ok, but they don't feel that deep urge to merge with another.
Love hurts, a good song and a common song theme. Love and pain pathways go together. When we fall out of love dopamine levels plummet and you go through withdrawal. Just being dumped, you end up loving them harder according to these functional MRI studies, you crave them even more! You may even take more risks to get their love at this point. Try something novel and risky to get them. At least you will get some dopamine from this. Sound familiar? Love is something we need and it can become an addiction. Fisher thinks that love is the most addictive substance on earth. I agree with her and can cite personal experience! I will decline to tell the stories here, but those of you who know me well have experienced the over the top creativity elicited from my dopamine highs! Never a boring moment with me around...
All these insights may point to why abused women may stay with their abuser, they may be addicted to them. I have not found a study on this yet, but would love to test this hypothesis. Unfortunately the most current example in my mind is the late Whitney Houston. Why would such a talented, wealthy, and successful woman stay with Bobby Brown? Love, and likely dopamine. I cried today after listening to her song "I will always love you". It was not the words, it was the energy, that song shifts energy. Or maybe it completely captured my emotional state. Transcendent. Criticise her all you want, that album went 4X platinum, she touched more people than any of her critics. Released my stagnant emotions better than any acupuncture treatment. That is the power of music. I would love to watch my brain on music. Music is medicine, and likely could be an addiction... ever play a song over and over... just like rats pressing the lever for cocaine... "and IIIIII willllll allllllways love yyooooooooooouuuuuu" I get a dopamine hit off that one! I am also suspecting that all these singers get dopamine dis regulation from channeling those songs from the collective unconscious. They get hooked on all kinds of stuff trying to re-balence their brain chemistry. Check out Steven Tyler's (how is he still alive? Angels according to him) biography for an inner look at dopamine gone wild. All that coke, women, amphetamines, you name it... The biggest high for him? Writing songs and singing them in front of thousands of people. Makes me wonder about the dopamine plummet as they loose the spotlight. And all the pharmaceutical crap they are put on to treat it.
For those reading these blogs, clearly I am obsessed with dopamine right now. The reason is simple. Patients coming in with dopaminergic problems are hard to treat and I see alot of them. There is no reductionist way to treat this, no magic pill to shift this balance. Educating patients is costly due to time involved. I wonder how the dopaminergic system evolved and why is it so hard to treat? I suspect it is because this little neurotransmitter may be the link between the mind and spirit. When we don't treat it well the results can be, well, heartbreaking. RIP Whitney. Comments and treatment ideas are much appreciated.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Getting your oxytocin fix?
I just watched a fascinating TED talk that got my little brain going... It was by Paul Zak a neuroeconomist. A what? A neuroeconomist, he studies the molecules involved with making certain decisions, especially those relating to money, morality, and other human interactions. http://www.ted.com/talks/paul_zak_trust_morality_and_oxytocin.html
Oxytocin is most famously known for stimulating uterine contractions during both orgasm and childbirth. (The drug Pitocin is used to induce labor and slow post partum hemorrhage by this mechanism) Studies are now being done looking at its role in pair bonding, trust, decision making, maternal behaviors, and psychopathy. Oxytocin appears to encourage trust by inhibiting the amygdala, the fear and strong emotion processing center of the brain. Empathy as it turns out is very related to oxytocin secretion.
I have been interested in oxytocin since my many readings on pheromones. Many of you probably remember all my papers and rants about pheromones in med school. My interest in pheromones started in high school, there was a specific girl who's smell drove me wild. I could smell her when she entered the room! After a session of massaging each other's feet, I felt absolutely bonded to her. I had eyes for no other after that, for years! In retrospect my little juvenile brain was reacting to the potent combination of her pheromones and my release of oxytocin from her touch! (first time I was touched by a girl for a prolonged amount of time)
It was interesting to hear in Paul Zak's talk that using social media spikes oxytocin. Connecting to other people in any way sexual or not seems to drive up oxytocin levels. People who release more oxytocin are happier in studies. Those 5% in the population who do not tend to be psychopaths. Which begs the question as to whether oxytocin may be used to rehabilitate criminals.
There is also some evidence that one of the long term consequences of those of us who have been sexually abused have dysregulation in the oxytocin system. They tend to not like being touched and have trouble trusting those touching them. Oxytocin based treatments, may be a key to recovery.
Autistic children are now being treated with oxytocin and are exhibiting more socially appropriate behavior post treatment.
Oxytocin may also ameliorate some symptoms of addiction and is being investigated for treatment. Interestingly, MDMA "Ecstasy" gets its affects from its interaction with the oxytocin system.
I of course have to put a line in here about oxytocin and porn. Yes, men can become "bonded" to their porn. Many porn sites are moving to the model with private chat rooms, etc so it feels more like a relationship, more likely to release oxytocin and create a bond in addition to the massive hit of dopamine that one gets. Here is what guys who gave up porn report... http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/cupids-poisoned-arrow/201202/guys-who-gave-porn-sex-and-romance
I also wonder if some of the antisocial behavior elicited by the 1% could be ameliorated by treatment with oxytocin? Can someone take one for the team and stimulate Dick Cheney's nipples?
Top ways to get oxytosin
1. Hugs, Paul Zac recommends 8 per day
2. Nipple stimulation (and yes it works for males as well, I uh, looked it up)
3. Massage (unfortunately not for the masseuse)
4. Philanthropy- give something away
5. Fall in love (not lust, that is dopamine driven, real love)
6. Any healthy touch, holding hands, ect.
7. Orgasm with a partner (it is theorized that this may be why orgasm by one's self is not quite satisfying)
Oxytocin is most famously known for stimulating uterine contractions during both orgasm and childbirth. (The drug Pitocin is used to induce labor and slow post partum hemorrhage by this mechanism) Studies are now being done looking at its role in pair bonding, trust, decision making, maternal behaviors, and psychopathy. Oxytocin appears to encourage trust by inhibiting the amygdala, the fear and strong emotion processing center of the brain. Empathy as it turns out is very related to oxytocin secretion.
I have been interested in oxytocin since my many readings on pheromones. Many of you probably remember all my papers and rants about pheromones in med school. My interest in pheromones started in high school, there was a specific girl who's smell drove me wild. I could smell her when she entered the room! After a session of massaging each other's feet, I felt absolutely bonded to her. I had eyes for no other after that, for years! In retrospect my little juvenile brain was reacting to the potent combination of her pheromones and my release of oxytocin from her touch! (first time I was touched by a girl for a prolonged amount of time)
It was interesting to hear in Paul Zak's talk that using social media spikes oxytocin. Connecting to other people in any way sexual or not seems to drive up oxytocin levels. People who release more oxytocin are happier in studies. Those 5% in the population who do not tend to be psychopaths. Which begs the question as to whether oxytocin may be used to rehabilitate criminals.
There is also some evidence that one of the long term consequences of those of us who have been sexually abused have dysregulation in the oxytocin system. They tend to not like being touched and have trouble trusting those touching them. Oxytocin based treatments, may be a key to recovery.
Autistic children are now being treated with oxytocin and are exhibiting more socially appropriate behavior post treatment.
Oxytocin may also ameliorate some symptoms of addiction and is being investigated for treatment. Interestingly, MDMA "Ecstasy" gets its affects from its interaction with the oxytocin system.
I of course have to put a line in here about oxytocin and porn. Yes, men can become "bonded" to their porn. Many porn sites are moving to the model with private chat rooms, etc so it feels more like a relationship, more likely to release oxytocin and create a bond in addition to the massive hit of dopamine that one gets. Here is what guys who gave up porn report... http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/cupids-poisoned-arrow/201202/guys-who-gave-porn-sex-and-romance
I also wonder if some of the antisocial behavior elicited by the 1% could be ameliorated by treatment with oxytocin? Can someone take one for the team and stimulate Dick Cheney's nipples?
Top ways to get oxytosin
1. Hugs, Paul Zac recommends 8 per day
2. Nipple stimulation (and yes it works for males as well, I uh, looked it up)
3. Massage (unfortunately not for the masseuse)
4. Philanthropy- give something away
5. Fall in love (not lust, that is dopamine driven, real love)
6. Any healthy touch, holding hands, ect.
7. Orgasm with a partner (it is theorized that this may be why orgasm by one's self is not quite satisfying)
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
The Demise of Guys
Interesting TED talk entitled "The Demise of Guys" by Phillip Zimbardo. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FMJgZ4s2E3w#!
In it he goes through some of the reasoning for the declining performance of males in a variety of aspects. Guys are 30% more likely to drop out of school. Girls outperform guys in all academic aspects from elementary school to grad school. There is now a 10% difference in # of guys getting undergraduate and graduate degrees compared to girls.
According to Zimbardo the cause is excessive internet use, porn use, and video game use. He has coined this as "Arousal Addiction". This is so pervasive that the porn industry has now become the fastest growing industry in the U.S. Made me think of more guys sitting at home watching porn while girls go out and get porn jobs. An irony given the current economic situation.
Constantly being programmed for high arousal leads to poor performance in the classroom and an ADD or ADHD label. Lack of interest in real women I would call ADD in the bedroom or ADD-B rather than ED for Erectile Dysfunction.
Many other authors are talking about how growing numbers of women are opting out of marriage, especially the more education they have had. The data is not entirely clear what is driving it other than possibly a shortage of eligible men for these women that meet their similar demographic criteria. Many more are predicting that this will get worse as the economic downturn has affected males in greater numbers than females.
Many of the commentators on the video also cite the growing confusion in the roles males play in society. I agree with it. We are being simultaneously told "Be a man" and then being told it is not ok to display masculine traits. Growing up, I felt like I continuously consciously and subconsciously getting the message that being a male was not ok (and definitely being a dark skinned male was downright criminal!).
The book "The Decline of Males" by Lionel Tiger (great name! very manly!) has a section where he links the drop in sperm and testosterone counts in males in the first world to the fact that they are perpetually exposed to pheromones of pregnant women. Males normally have a drop in sperm counts and testosterone when their partner is pregnant, or they are around lots of pregnant women. Now with the oral birthcontrol pill, they are constantly around many pregnant women. No wonder they want to be by themselves and play video games or watch porn! J/K
The article “Are Men Necessary?” in The Economist December 23, 1995-January 5, 1996 issue has data on how sperm are affected by some chemical components in plastics. These components encourage the production of estrogen, which causes the birth of feminized offspring with small testicles and low sperm counts. Another article in March 11, 1996 issue of U.S. News and World Report entitled “Investigating the Next ‘Silent Spring’: Why Are Sperm Counts Falling So Precipitously?” discusses decreases in sperm concentration and motility as well as the quadrupled rate of testicular cancer in industrialized countries post World War II.
A study cited by CNN correlates this drop in sperm counts and testosterone levels with agricultural chemicals (http://www.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/11/11/sperm.quality.ap/index.html). Men in a rural agricultural setting had far lower sperm counts and motility than men in cities. The data is very preliminary and the scientists are now trying to find if agricultural chemicals may be the factor.
What if this is really happening? What if sperm counts and testosterone levels are dropping due to chemicals that act as estrogen mimickers or estrogen stimulators in our environment? What if girls are having their periods earlier by the same mechanism? Increases in breast cancer? The studies for these topics go on and on providing substantial evidence for the hypothesis that chemical contamination of our food, water, and environment is decreasing our fertility and increasing rates of cancer.
Furthermore, there are many social considerations of low testosterone levels (What if men lose their aggressiveness? Want to get asked out? Comments ladies at SU, Bastyr?) Oddly enough, the decrease in fertility may provide a “solution” to the overpopulation problem if sperm production continues to fall.
I find this all very problematic since from a strictly biological point of view, the meaning of life is to reproduce successfully and ensure future generations of your genetic lineage. (Just think of all the time we spend each day doing things to ensure our eventual reproductive success…wear stylish clothes, earn money, consume, learn pick up lines, buy Viagra®, and wear cockroaches, as their wings provide an excellent shade of red for the lips!)
What's a guy to do? No jobs, poor economy, porn wrecking his brain, sperm going awol, and those crazy people at Monsanto continue to wreck the food and water supply. Better go buy a gun, stockpile food, and download a cashe of porn to the hard drive!
Stay tuned for my next film (after "The Thirty Year Old Internet Porn Virgin") called "Save the Males, an endangered, but potentially useful species".
In it he goes through some of the reasoning for the declining performance of males in a variety of aspects. Guys are 30% more likely to drop out of school. Girls outperform guys in all academic aspects from elementary school to grad school. There is now a 10% difference in # of guys getting undergraduate and graduate degrees compared to girls.
According to Zimbardo the cause is excessive internet use, porn use, and video game use. He has coined this as "Arousal Addiction". This is so pervasive that the porn industry has now become the fastest growing industry in the U.S. Made me think of more guys sitting at home watching porn while girls go out and get porn jobs. An irony given the current economic situation.
Constantly being programmed for high arousal leads to poor performance in the classroom and an ADD or ADHD label. Lack of interest in real women I would call ADD in the bedroom or ADD-B rather than ED for Erectile Dysfunction.
Many other authors are talking about how growing numbers of women are opting out of marriage, especially the more education they have had. The data is not entirely clear what is driving it other than possibly a shortage of eligible men for these women that meet their similar demographic criteria. Many more are predicting that this will get worse as the economic downturn has affected males in greater numbers than females.
Many of the commentators on the video also cite the growing confusion in the roles males play in society. I agree with it. We are being simultaneously told "Be a man" and then being told it is not ok to display masculine traits. Growing up, I felt like I continuously consciously and subconsciously getting the message that being a male was not ok (and definitely being a dark skinned male was downright criminal!).
The book "The Decline of Males" by Lionel Tiger (great name! very manly!) has a section where he links the drop in sperm and testosterone counts in males in the first world to the fact that they are perpetually exposed to pheromones of pregnant women. Males normally have a drop in sperm counts and testosterone when their partner is pregnant, or they are around lots of pregnant women. Now with the oral birthcontrol pill, they are constantly around many pregnant women. No wonder they want to be by themselves and play video games or watch porn! J/K
The article “Are Men Necessary?” in The Economist December 23, 1995-January 5, 1996 issue has data on how sperm are affected by some chemical components in plastics. These components encourage the production of estrogen, which causes the birth of feminized offspring with small testicles and low sperm counts. Another article in March 11, 1996 issue of U.S. News and World Report entitled “Investigating the Next ‘Silent Spring’: Why Are Sperm Counts Falling So Precipitously?” discusses decreases in sperm concentration and motility as well as the quadrupled rate of testicular cancer in industrialized countries post World War II.
A study cited by CNN correlates this drop in sperm counts and testosterone levels with agricultural chemicals (http://www.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/11/11/sperm.quality.ap/index.html). Men in a rural agricultural setting had far lower sperm counts and motility than men in cities. The data is very preliminary and the scientists are now trying to find if agricultural chemicals may be the factor.
What if this is really happening? What if sperm counts and testosterone levels are dropping due to chemicals that act as estrogen mimickers or estrogen stimulators in our environment? What if girls are having their periods earlier by the same mechanism? Increases in breast cancer? The studies for these topics go on and on providing substantial evidence for the hypothesis that chemical contamination of our food, water, and environment is decreasing our fertility and increasing rates of cancer.
Furthermore, there are many social considerations of low testosterone levels (What if men lose their aggressiveness? Want to get asked out? Comments ladies at SU, Bastyr?) Oddly enough, the decrease in fertility may provide a “solution” to the overpopulation problem if sperm production continues to fall.
I find this all very problematic since from a strictly biological point of view, the meaning of life is to reproduce successfully and ensure future generations of your genetic lineage. (Just think of all the time we spend each day doing things to ensure our eventual reproductive success…wear stylish clothes, earn money, consume, learn pick up lines, buy Viagra®, and wear cockroaches, as their wings provide an excellent shade of red for the lips!)
What's a guy to do? No jobs, poor economy, porn wrecking his brain, sperm going awol, and those crazy people at Monsanto continue to wreck the food and water supply. Better go buy a gun, stockpile food, and download a cashe of porn to the hard drive!
Stay tuned for my next film (after "The Thirty Year Old Internet Porn Virgin") called "Save the Males, an endangered, but potentially useful species".
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Internet Porn Virgin
So my previous post "The Case Against Porn" was quite the hit garnering a record number of hits for me in a short amount of time. In observing this process I learned a few things:
1. You all are very, VERY interested in the topic of Pornography.
2. You all are very scared to write any comments about the topic.
3. You all have no problem calling me or talking to me in person about said topic.
4. There was very little interest in my lets save the world blog "The Case for Action: The world needs us now" that was released 20 min prior to "The Case Against Porn". (4x more views and multiple forwards)
5. Several of you thought I should market myself as "the Porn Addict Doc" and make my millions.
6. .XXX website domain names are expensive, I learned this tonight after buying a website for another soon to be blogged about project. No it is not a porn site... let's just say .com was much cheaper than .xxx for the same name. $8.99 versus $78.99.
7. Multiple females admitted to me that they enjoy porn... They shall remain unnamed. But for the right price I could make a list. (For the right price I can keep you off the list too!) J/K everything will be kept in strict confidentiality as you all were to chicken to comment on the blog.
8. No on argued in favor of Porn. So maybe I will do one... "The Case for Porn".
9. One of you thought I should produce "free range, organic, grass fed, loving Porn" and make my millions.
10. One of you claims to be an internet porn virgin (yet clicks and reads the blog), yes they are in the U.S., yes, they have access to the internet, they even have several degrees. For now I am calling bull$hit, but consequently I am now looking for venture capital to fund my inaugural production "The 30 year old internet porn virgin". I am casting Christina Ricci in your role unless you want to out yourself and play with yourself. I mean, play yourself.
1. You all are very, VERY interested in the topic of Pornography.
2. You all are very scared to write any comments about the topic.
3. You all have no problem calling me or talking to me in person about said topic.
4. There was very little interest in my lets save the world blog "The Case for Action: The world needs us now" that was released 20 min prior to "The Case Against Porn". (4x more views and multiple forwards)
5. Several of you thought I should market myself as "the Porn Addict Doc" and make my millions.
6. .XXX website domain names are expensive, I learned this tonight after buying a website for another soon to be blogged about project. No it is not a porn site... let's just say .com was much cheaper than .xxx for the same name. $8.99 versus $78.99.
7. Multiple females admitted to me that they enjoy porn... They shall remain unnamed. But for the right price I could make a list. (For the right price I can keep you off the list too!) J/K everything will be kept in strict confidentiality as you all were to chicken to comment on the blog.
8. No on argued in favor of Porn. So maybe I will do one... "The Case for Porn".
9. One of you thought I should produce "free range, organic, grass fed, loving Porn" and make my millions.
10. One of you claims to be an internet porn virgin (yet clicks and reads the blog), yes they are in the U.S., yes, they have access to the internet, they even have several degrees. For now I am calling bull$hit, but consequently I am now looking for venture capital to fund my inaugural production "The 30 year old internet porn virgin". I am casting Christina Ricci in your role unless you want to out yourself and play with yourself. I mean, play yourself.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Friday, February 3, 2012
The Case for Action: Our world needs us now!
The last couple weeks have been good for activism. Protesters won several battles: the Susan G Komen foundation reversed a decision where it had decided to pull funding of breast exams from Planned Parenthood, PIPA and SOPA at least temporarily derailed, Keystone XL pipeline also temporarily dismantled, Health and Human services is now allowing Naturopathic physicians to serve in the Indian Health Service, the Obama administration has stated that it will begin investigating the banks that played a role in the economic and mortgage crises, Washington state is now licensing gay marriage. It has been a nice respite after months of gloomy news!
Much of the pressure for these changes has come from online petitions such as Credo http://www.credoaction.com/ and move on http://front.moveon.org/ . These groups have made it extremely easy to add your name to a plethora of online petitions, usually just one or two clicks. Great for busy folks that want to help but are busy working hard to pay banks for a variety of debt.
Two upcoming battles of utmost importance need to have mass action:
1. Overturning the Citizens United ruling which has allowed corporations to give money to political campaigns due to being ruled that they too are people (ridiculous i know!).
2. Banning Natural Gas fracking, it will not solve our energy independence needs and will likely contaminate the water supply for millions of people. Please see Josh Fox's "Gasland" http://www.gaslandthemovie.com/whats-fracking for a look at how this is a catastrophe in the making.
In honor of those who have gone before and made changes so I can enjoy drinking from the same fountain as everyone else, sit where I like on buses, attend medical school, date who I want, and have reasonable work hours and safe working conditions; I have decided to begin taking action against the things in the world that need rapid change. Some changes I have made are big, I am 9 months car free. Other changes small. I no longer bank with corporate banks. I have paid off my credit cards and have not payed a dime of interest to them in 6 months. I have solar powered lights for reading at night. I walk to work. I am attempting to make 25% of my Internet time productive, rather that passive consumption, this blog is part of that project. Every time I hear a negative news story I try to do something small to affect change, even if it is only signing a petition.
These changes have enabled me to feel empowered in my situation and have begun encouraging my patients to do the same. You begin to feel less depressed about things and you can sleep at night. Action releases the pent up emotion that gets trapped in your body from reading about and experiencing that world around us. For all the negative news that is around us, there are masses of people working on the solutions to all of our problems. Join them and support them! You will become a part of a movement bigger than yourself. Anger is good when used well as it creates energy from within that can be used to evoke change. It is two sided in that it can destroy when out of place or context.
Sometimes change is about where we put our money. Stoneyfield farms is now in Walmart because it is now profitable to do so. Vote with your pocket book. Avoid companies with known problems. I have a retirement plan that does not invest in guns, oil, banks, ect. A bulk of it is in alternative energy technologies. If you have a retirement plan and you have not specified it, you likely are investing in things that you may not wish to be.
I will now end with one of my favorite quotes from Chief Seattle; "This we know: the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web he does to himself."
Let's turn this thing around... Together we can create a society, economy, and planet that works for all. But only if we act. Now. It is time.
Much of the pressure for these changes has come from online petitions such as Credo http://www.credoaction.com/ and move on http://front.moveon.org/ . These groups have made it extremely easy to add your name to a plethora of online petitions, usually just one or two clicks. Great for busy folks that want to help but are busy working hard to pay banks for a variety of debt.
Two upcoming battles of utmost importance need to have mass action:
1. Overturning the Citizens United ruling which has allowed corporations to give money to political campaigns due to being ruled that they too are people (ridiculous i know!).
2. Banning Natural Gas fracking, it will not solve our energy independence needs and will likely contaminate the water supply for millions of people. Please see Josh Fox's "Gasland" http://www.gaslandthemovie.com/whats-fracking for a look at how this is a catastrophe in the making.
In honor of those who have gone before and made changes so I can enjoy drinking from the same fountain as everyone else, sit where I like on buses, attend medical school, date who I want, and have reasonable work hours and safe working conditions; I have decided to begin taking action against the things in the world that need rapid change. Some changes I have made are big, I am 9 months car free. Other changes small. I no longer bank with corporate banks. I have paid off my credit cards and have not payed a dime of interest to them in 6 months. I have solar powered lights for reading at night. I walk to work. I am attempting to make 25% of my Internet time productive, rather that passive consumption, this blog is part of that project. Every time I hear a negative news story I try to do something small to affect change, even if it is only signing a petition.
These changes have enabled me to feel empowered in my situation and have begun encouraging my patients to do the same. You begin to feel less depressed about things and you can sleep at night. Action releases the pent up emotion that gets trapped in your body from reading about and experiencing that world around us. For all the negative news that is around us, there are masses of people working on the solutions to all of our problems. Join them and support them! You will become a part of a movement bigger than yourself. Anger is good when used well as it creates energy from within that can be used to evoke change. It is two sided in that it can destroy when out of place or context.
Sometimes change is about where we put our money. Stoneyfield farms is now in Walmart because it is now profitable to do so. Vote with your pocket book. Avoid companies with known problems. I have a retirement plan that does not invest in guns, oil, banks, ect. A bulk of it is in alternative energy technologies. If you have a retirement plan and you have not specified it, you likely are investing in things that you may not wish to be.
I will now end with one of my favorite quotes from Chief Seattle; "This we know: the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web he does to himself."
Let's turn this thing around... Together we can create a society, economy, and planet that works for all. But only if we act. Now. It is time.
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