“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful what we pretend to be.”
—
Libra
Kurt Vonnegut
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@imambernichole
“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful what we pretend to be.”
—
Libra
Kurt Vonnegut
trump threatens the ‘mother of all wars’ during mars rx and then offers to negotiate in a meeting without preconditions during mercury rx
#ingenious
😂😭🤦🏻♀️
I look like I feel today, and the weather has been symbolic of it
When the hunter becomes the hunted
If you only wanted a woman for sex, why didn’t you pick one of the many women who are only looking for sex? Why pick a woman who is cautious, scared and injured from her past already and who only wanted something pure and true? Why pursue a woman who’s first statement to you was “I am not hook up material.” Why? I’ll tell you why: the thrill. It was the thrill of the chase and the catch and the kill, because you are an emotional predator and a sorry excuse for human life. To feign care in order to gain her trust and ignite emotions and passion in a woman you never had any intention of loving is nothing less than predatory. Maybe you’ll find that you were pursuing a beast after all, and when you shot to kill, you missed.
Taurus
Hence the divorce. Libra and Taurus, not a good thing.
I’m not absent minded - it’s the presence of my mind that makes everything else appear absent
Air Signs Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius (via astrolocherry)
Singing To Babies Calms Them Longer Than Talking
In a new study from the University of Montreal, infants remained calm twice as long when listening to a song, which they didn’t even know, as they did when listening to speech.
The research is in Infancy. (full access paywall)
Ringing in the ears and chronic pain enter by the same gate
Tinnitus and chronic pain have more in common than their ability to afflict millions with the very real experience of “phantom” sensations. Scientists noted similarities between the two disorders more than thirty years ago. Now advances in brain imaging and associated techniques have enabled researchers to begin homing in on their structural and functional bases, revealing what appears to be a central gatekeeping system implicated in both chronic pain and tinnitus. Collaborators at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Georgetown University Medical Center integrate the latest findings into a disease model of both disorders in the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences.
Tinnitus sufferers hear sounds that aren’t there, usually described as a ringing or buzzing “in the ears” even though such perceptions clearly arise in the brain. Hearing loss is often associated with tinnitus but does not adequately account for it. Furthermore, not everyone with damaged cochlear nerves or cortical auditory circuits experiences tinnitus. One hypothesis suggests that the decisive factor is whether or not a higher-level cognitive system responsible for “tuning out” negative sensory signals is working normally.
This view of tinnitus was hailed as a paradigm shift by people in the field when it was first proposed, in 2010, by Prof. Josef Rauschecker, Director of the Laboratory for Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition at Georgetown University and a Hans Fischer Senior Fellow of the TUM Institute for Advanced Study. Mounting evidence has strengthened the case, as improved techniques allow higher-resolution studies of changes in the brain.
Converging lines of inquiry
Close collaboration between Rauschecker’s lab and PainLabMunich, led by TUM Prof. Markus Ploner, has extended this research into the common ground that tinnitus shares with chronic pain. And that common ground now has an address in the brain. Structural and functional changes in the same brain circuit – including the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the nucleus accumbens – can open the gateway to both tinnitus and pain that persists long past any acute cause.
The list of techniques that have contributed to this study is long and perhaps a bit esoteric-sounding, including functional magnetic resonance imaging, voxel-based morphometry, arterial spin labeling, positron emission tomography, and diffusion tensor imaging, as well as electroencephalography and magnetoencephalography. Results from these diverse approaches – which essentially measure structural characteristics such as gray matter volume and functional properties such as network function – have been correlated with and interpreted in the light of neurochemical studies.
New insights and cautious hope
In their new paper Rauschecker and Ploner, together with postdoctoral researchers Audrey Maudoux (Georgetown) and Elisabeth May (TUM), present copious evidence that similar structures and functional systems are involved in tinnitus and chronic pain and probably play a central role in both. Significant loss of gray matter and compromised circuit function are observed in the suspected regions, with considerable overlap between neurological changes in tinnitus and chronic pain sufferers.
All of these areas are also important for evaluating and modulating emotional experiences, Rauschecker says. “These areas act as a central gatekeeping system for perceptual sensations, which determines the affective value of sensory stimuli – whether produced externally or internally – and modulates information flow in the brain. Tinnitus and chronic pain occur when this system is compromised.”
The researchers propose that this newly identified gatekeeping system determines the relevance and affective value of sensory stimuli and controls information flow along pathways associated with the so-called executive functions. The process, they say, is controlled by two major neurotransmitters, dopamine and serotonin. Damage to this system, they argue, affects the perception of sensory signals in such a way that either tinnitus or chronic pain can develop and carry on in a self-perpetuating loop.
They stress that there are still a number of open questions, particularly in relation to potential clinical interventions. Yet they see reason to be cautiously optimistic. Better understanding could lead to standardized assessment of individuals’ risk to develop chronic tinnitus and chronic pain. This in turn might open the way for preventive action and early treatment, including for example cognitive-behavioral therapy, physiotherapy, and pharmacotherapy.
“However,” Markus Ploner adds, “better understanding might allow not only for early treatment, but also for more targeted and individual treatment with existing as well as novel strategies, such as dopaminergic therapy.” Ploner is a consultant neurologist at TUM as well as Heisenberg Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Human Pain Research.
How many scars did we justify because we loved the person holding the knife?
#gaslighting #emotionalabuse #abusiverelationship
Sorry is a good word for him.
daddy issues = not funny
being traumatized by a father figure to the point where you can’t trust any man = not funny
getting scared of men raising their voices = not funny
living your whole life wondering why your dad abused you/left with no explanation = not funny
literally stop using the phrase daddy issues
Or as I like to say, a man who is insecure and cruel enough to tell a woman she has Daddy issues, is probably the one who actually has the daddy issues.
I wish I knew this earlier
Every single one.
You are magic. Don’t ever apologize for the fire in you.
iship-usdarling, Haiku on love (via wnq-writers)
Never
No one can hate you with more intensity than someone who used to love you.
Rick Riordan, The Blood of Olympus (via puthas)
That's for sure
Let it go?
Let it go? I awoke tonight and did what I always do. I checked on my baby. Then I laid back down with those words floating around in my head. "Let the past go." Now I know this is something folks encourage for inner peace and happiness and all that, but in my particular situation I'm afraid the answer is "No." I will not let the past go. I will remember it and I will make sure others know what the past really was, because the past is why we are where we are today and the past must be learned from to shape the future. You know what really bothers me about this phrase? The one that says it to me. Funny isn't it? How often the ones urging others to let the past go, are those who've grossly mistreated the ones they're encouraging in this grand forget the past endeavor. You want me to let the past go? I'll bet you do. If I had spent over two years financially, emotionally, and verbally abusing and draining someone I'd probably just want them to "let it go" as well. I would absolutely want you to forget about it and never tell anyone that I refused to work and mooched off of you? I'd never want anyone to know that I sat on my ass using the home and utilities you were working to pay for to place and respond to ads on Craigslist personals for sex with total strangers. I would definitely want it "let go" that I forgot to mention upon entering a relationship that was supposed to be a monogamous heterosexual relationship that I did in fact also like the same sex, and would pursue it throughout said "monogamous" relationship. Because monogamous only applies when I feel like it! I mean that's something that should be overlooked and forgotten. Right? I'd never want anyone to know that when I was confronted about these issues I promised to make it right and always love and care for you and that I begged you not to end our relationship and promised to get help for my mental illness. I'd never want anyone to know that I treated the pregnant Mother of my child like dirt and caused her and ungodly amount of pain and stress while she was carrying my child. I wouldn't want anyone to know that after our child was born that I never raised a finger to help you or the baby. It should also be "let go" that it annoyed the crap out of me when you had the nerve to ask me for help. How dare you disturb my video gaming and Craigslist sex hunting by asking me to be a partner and a father! I'd hate for them to know that I didn't change diapers, clean house, or help with pets. No. People would think I was a jerk if they knew that I not only didn't help, but I also got annoyed at the sound of a crying baby and left the room or the house so I wouldn't have to be subjected to it. I wouldn't want anyone to know that I had no interest in acting like a father when I lived with my child because they might question why it is that I have such an overblown desire to act like a dad now! I wouldn't want them to know that I had violent fits of rage in which I once tried to run over pedestrians while my infant was in the car with me! No. That wouldn't look good at all! I'd probably want to leave out the part about spending any money I ever got on pot and musical equipment too, cause there's always someone else who will diaper my child! Yes. If I were the one who had done those things, I wouldn't want anyone to know either! They might think I was an asshole. In a few ways I did "let the past go." I took back my home, my life, my heart and my mind. I cut every tie possible and hardened myself to any future abuse from you, as much as was possible with still having to communicate regarding parenting. If by telling me to "let it go" you mean forget what you have done and keep quiet about it so as not to cause you any annoyance, embarrassment or discomfort, then my steadfast, stonewall of an answer for you is NO. I will not let it go.