Why does this remind me of my husband's favorite bird? Is this meme an insult to him? Perhaps to the bird?
noise dept.
DEAR READER
Mike Driver

oozey mess
No title available
Aqua Utopia|海の底で記憶を紡ぐ
NASA

blake kathryn
styofa doing anything
No title available
Claire Keane

@theartofmadeline
RMH
Xuebing Du
Jules of Nature
Today's Document
Monterey Bay Aquarium

Janaina Medeiros
hello vonnie
ojovivo

seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Spain

seen from United States

seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Canada
seen from Türkiye
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States

seen from Egypt
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Türkiye

seen from Germany

seen from Germany
seen from Australia

seen from Türkiye
seen from Türkiye
@sleepyneuf
Why does this remind me of my husband's favorite bird? Is this meme an insult to him? Perhaps to the bird?
turns out
The interaction between the trigeminal nerve (controlling jaw muscles) and the sympathetic nervous system (governing fight-or-flight responses, including pupil dilation) is a central mechanism in stress-related jaw clenching and bruxism. High-stress situations cause a cascade where the brainstem activates both systems simultaneously, leading to a "brace for impact" response that manifests as tight, sustained contraction of the masseter and temporalis muscles. [1, 2, 3, 5]
Specific Interactions in Stress
Microarousals and Clenching: Over 80% of sleep-related jaw clenching occurs during brief awakenings (microarousals) that are initiated by a surge in sympathetic activity (increased heart rate/blood pressure).
Trigeminal-Cardiac Reflex (TCR): Intense clenching can stimulate the Trigeminal Cardiac Reflex, which can lead to a sudden sympathetic-parasympathetic switch that briefly slows the heart rate, a potential, albeit paradoxical, response to stress.
Physical Feedback Loop: The trigeminal nerve receives proprioceptive data from the temporomandibular joint and jaw muscles. Intense clenching sends increased sensory feedback to the brain, maintaining the sympathetic "fight or flight" response. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Key Takeaways on Clenching
Sustained Tension: The jaw often does not just react to stress; it maintains it through a continuous feedback loop from the masseter muscles to the brainstem.
Symptoms: This neuro-physical interaction is often seen in individuals with temporomandibular disorders, leading to headaches, jaw pain, and facial muscle tension.
Management: Techniques that calm the sympathetic system (e.g., deep breathing) also serve to reduce trigeminal nerve activity, helping to relax the jaw. [1, 2, 4, 5]
Clenched teeth and severe jaw tension (TMJ disorders) can cause the pupils to be two different sizes, a condition known as anisocoria. [1, 2]
This occurs due to a neurological connection where the trigeminal nerve (which controls jaw muscles) and the sympathetic nervous system (which controls pupil dilation) interact, particularly during high-stress clenching. [1, 2]
How Clenching Affects Pupil Size
Muscular-Nerve Interaction: The masseter muscles (jaw muscles) used for clenching are connected to a network of nerves, including those regulating the eyes.
Asymmetry: If you clench more heavily on one side, it can lead to unbalanced muscular tension, causing one pupil to appear larger or smaller than the other.
Autonomic Dysfunction: Chronic clenching can dysregulate the sympathetic-adrenergic system (part of the autonomic nervous system), leading to ineffective stress responses and pupil imbalances.
Reversible: In many studies, this type of pupil asymmetry was reduced when an orthotic (bite) correction was used to align the jaw.
I love black and white cats
Lucky
Some parents with narcissistic personality disorder view their children as an extension of themselves. It's called infantilization.
interesting read!
Thursday, November 21st, 2002
6:28 pm leave it to me to cry my entire last day of teenhood. how lame. anyway, my mom is making my fav dinner ever (breakfast for dinner) so hopefully i won't cry anymore.
^ Craigslist photo
Today is Tanuki’s birthday (2004) according to a little certificate we got when we adopted him from a random lady in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Before the PS lady Tanuki lived with a family in Sunset Park.. they put an ad on craiglist & we tried to adopt him but we were away and they gave him to the lady from PS before we got home from California. She was a therapist for one of their children and they begged her to take him. They were having a baby and they wanted to get rid of Tanuki asap. When the Sunset Park family stopped answering our emails we decided to look for a different cat. And Steven found Tanuki- AGAIN, with the lady who took him in. We didn’t even know until we got there and she referred to him as Sobo, which is what the first family called him.
The first time I ever met Tanuki he bit me! He used to bite all of the time. I remember the PS lady was going to give us a ride to Bay Ridge but someone had smashed in her windshield so we took the R train home with Mr. Tan Tan.
Ps. Tanuki has a facebook & you should add him to say Happy Bday.
Happy 28th birthday, bff. We love you!
Shining eyes from 2005
Our love will always keep it real & true
my little man helps me cook belated passover dinner + he doesn’t judge when i’m in an oswald the rabbit nightgown at lunch time
I’m sorry for the Tanuki spam but I am really going to miss him 💔😭🐼
Tanuki’s work history has been spotty at best
I’ve always had Elmira-like tendencies
the ashamed rug pooper
cats and baby