Gun Control, the “Mentally Ill” and the Money

Dear Reader, As a result of the Parkland, Florida massacre, I am re-posting this blog and two  other related blogs.

Elliot Rodger, a 22-year-old man, went on a deadly rampage in Southern California that included stabbings and shootings and left six people dead and 13 wounded. His mother had called 911 to inform authorities that her son had posted alarming videos online, but in April, Rodger persuaded the sheriff’s deputies that he was not a threat to himself or to others. In his manifesto, “My Twisted World: The Story of Elliot Rodger,” he wrote he feared he’d be found out if the police had searched his room and felt relief when they left.

What we can garner from this tragedy is that violence is often unpredictable, and adding to the complexity, as Rodger’s case substantiates, it is difficult to prevent even in the face of detailed warning signs.

To target the “mentally ill” is counterproductive. Studies show that stigmatization of mental disorders—an unfortunate focus of the media—doesn’t encourage but, instead, prevents people from seeking and obtaining treatment. 

The focus on mental illness demonstrates that the conundrum of gun violence continues to elude us. Targeting the mentally ill to avoid mass shootings is similar to burning witches at the stake: The red herring of “witches” and “mental patients” sidesteps the examination of society’s ills.

In spite of the focus of the media on the “mentally ill,” only five percent of the violence is attributed to people suffering from depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder (Opinion by Courtney Anderson) [where is this from? include link.].

In our society, the matter relates to money, power and control. Many people profit from the manufacture, sale and trafficking of guns and ammunition. And unfortunately, politicians and political systems depend on this financial support.

Another justification for gun ownership is the right to bear arms. This centuries-old principle stems from when our young country was fighting for its independence from England.

At this point in time, America, the land of opportunity, empowers people to kill many innocent people in seconds. As The New York Times reported, “Three semiautomatic handguns, along with 41 loaded 10-round magazines—all bought legally at local gun stores—were found in [Rodger’s] car.”

Here are some enlightening gun-related statistics:

• With the most guns per head in the world, the U.S. has the highest rate of deaths from firearms. (S. Boseley, the Guardian, 2013).
•  Japan the developed world’s least firearm-filled, had 11 deaths, fewer than those killed at the Aurora shooting alone.  (M. Fisher, The Atlantic, 2012).
• States with more gun laws have less gun violence; 42% lower than those states with the fewest laws.  (USA Today, 2013).   
• The annual cost of gun violence in America is estimated to be $100 billion. (P. Cook and J. Ludwig, Gun Violence: The Real Costs).

Writing in The New York Times, Nicholas Kristoff has provided some brutal statistics on the demographics:

• Every two months, more Americans die in gun violence than in the 9/11 attack.

• We lose some 2,800 children and teens to guns annually.
•   More than twice as many preschoolers die annually from gun violence in America as law enforcement officers are killed in the line of duty.

It is a great irony that guns and bullets that kill more rapidly that any pill (for which a prescription is needed), can often be more easily obtained. (drsimonsays.blogspot, Dec. 2012). 

As a solution, I recommend giving psychological tests to everyone applying for a gun license and selling weapons (and amount of ammunition) that are only necessary for the individual’s purpose.
Additionally, we need to cut down on gun manufacturing and sales and crack down on gun trafficking.

Each mass killing causes tragic and needless loss, as it adds another piece to this complex puzzle. Hopefully, we’ll soon realize that a solution is necessary and work to put these safeguards in place.

Dear Reader,  Your comments are welcome. jsimon145@gmail.com

Dear Reader

Dear Reader, Thank you for your loyal readership. As of this week, I’ll be writing with less frequency. Kindly continue to check in periodically for a new post.

Appreciately,

JS

Seasonal Awareness

The September equinox is only a few days away, with the official onset of autumn bringing shorter days, cooler temperatures, changes in humidity, fewer mosquitoes, more flu. Some of us look forward to summer’s passing, while others despair it.

The writer, E.B. White is clearly of the latter persuasion. In his classic tale, Charlotte’s Web, Mr. White writes:

    The crickets sang in the grasses. They sang the song of summer’s ending,

    a sad,  monotonous song. ‘Summer is over and gone,’ they sang. ‘Over and gone.

    Over and gone.’ Summer is dying, dying.’

    The crickets felt it was their duty to warn everybody that summertime cannot

     last  forever. Even on the most beautiful days in the whole year—the days

    when  summer is changing into fall—the crickets spread the rumor of sadness

    and change.

These seasonal changes affect everyone to a greater or lesser degree: our bodies, minds and feelings (spirits).  Our internal clock, governed by the central nervous system, operates on a circadian rhythm that is geared to hours of light and dark, as well as heat and cold, which impact mood, mental alertness, hunger, and heart function.

To some extent, we’re vulnerable to our genetic constitution. People living in cold climates have been shown to have a gene mutation that directs a larger portion of excess calories to generating body heat. Of course, these individuals are more likely to be miserable in hot weather.

Since we’re entering the cooler seasons, I’ll speak about adverse effects of the winter months.

Light influences our vitamin and hormone production. With fewer hours of daylight, we produce less Vitamin D, and lowered amounts of this vitamin, can lead to tiredness. Greater production of melatonin, the sleep-inducing hormone, heightens fatigue in susceptible individuals. The production of serotonin, the hormone responsible for mood regulation, diminishes, causing depression in some.

An extreme response to these physiologic changes is SAD, or seasonal affective disorder. In Florida, only 1.4% of people experience classic symptoms of depression with the onset of fall and winter, versus 9.9% in Alaska. (A rare person experiences these same symptoms with the beginning of the warmer months).  Treatment with light therapy and/or antidepressant medication may be essential for some of these individuals.

The rare condition of Raynaud’s disorder is a bodily reaction to the cold in which the blood vessels of the fingers and/or toes constrict and block the blood flow to cause pain and discoloration, or in extreme cases, gangrene.

With these hormonal changes, we may feel less motivated to move and more tendency to over-eat. Exercise can help by increasing our endorphins, the natural chemicals that can lift our moods.

 The key is to become aware of how the season affects us, and to take action that will  maintain our equilibrium.

Here are a few examples of people who developed strategies for combating the adverse effects of colder weather: Mr. P. learned that he felt better when he resisted the temptation to eat carbohydrates like pastries, and instead, planned a diet with oatmeal, grains, beans and fruit.

Ms. K. struggled with lethargy and motivated herself to walk a mile or two every day by rewarding herself with a body massage.

Mr. Q. lifted his depressed mood by looking forward to a trip he planned to take to a warm climate during the middle of winter.

Ms P. joined a book club that stimulated her to read and meet new people.

Ms. L. cheered herself by wearing soft, warm, colorful clothing.

Conclusion: Adapting to seasonal changes calls for our awareness of the season’s effect on us and perhaps taking some action to maintain our sense of well-being.

Dear Reader, Please share your experiences of steps you take to adapt to the seasonal changes.  jsimon145@gmail.com

Frustration Tolerance and Us

In writing a blog, my goal is to find a new and unusual take on a commonplace topic about which much has already been written.

Frustration tolerance seems to be a particularly relevant because President Trump manifests so little of this quality essential for coping with life’s challenges. He doesn’t tolerate differences in opinion from his advisors and fires dissenters, them, he doesn’t take advice that he doesn’t like.

Although Trump’s ultimate impact on us, our nation, and our world can’t be determined, the situation has called for an increase in frustration tolerance from many of us concerned citizens.

As most of us know, life involves varied and frequent kinds of frustration that we can’t avoid, from delaying gratifications to negotiating with others.

According to Dr. Albert Ellis, the father of rational emotive therapy, frustration leads to distress and unhappiness, and conversely, the ability to tolerate frustration leads to relative contentment.

Individuals who suffer from low frustration tolerance, don’t tolerate unpleasant feelings or stressful situations.  They have trouble accepting reality, and think the world should conform to their expectations. These expectations lead to an increased sense of frustration.

An intact nervous system is the required equipment for handling frustration, and ideally, we learn to tolerate frustration in our developmental years. Many factors affect this ability, including mood disorders like depression, bipolar disorder, as well as attention deficit disorder, addictions and diseases of the nervous system, like dementia.

Common problems arise from the belief that we must never experience and therefore avoid it, or that we must always contain it. Either extreme leads to problems.

Inability to tolerate frustration leads to all kinds of social isolation and/or addictions. In my practice, I’ve seen the dire consequences of acting out of a sense of frustration. For example, Mr. Y. expected others to live up to his own standards. When they disappointed him, he cut off all contact. Needless to say, he has ended up without any friends.

On the other hand, Ms. W., unaware of her level of frustration, which then reached an intolerable level, screamed at her boss and lost a coveted job.

What matters is awareness. When we are aware, we have choices that grant a sense of control about to handle a given situation.

A great asset is the ability to tolerate frustration and discern how to manage it: what to tolerate, what we can change about the situation and when we can do so, when to change our attitude, when to distance ourselves (many of us limit our exposure to the news, for instance) or even walk away.

We live in frustrating times. Lyrics of the popular song,  “Mutual Admiration Society” today could be appropriately modified to: “We Belong to a Mutual Frustrating Society”. Trump is frustrated by the limitations and rules that apply to a democratic presidency, and in frequently pushing the envelope of his office, he frustrates many of us.

Conclusion: More than ever before, life calls for tolerance, self- awareness, and  frustration tolerance.

Dear Reader, I look forward to your comments.

jsimon145@gmail.com

Our Memories: Our Selves

I began to research this post because I was curious about the enormous variability of what anyone remembers and forgets. The memory seems to be very fickle and  yet is vital to who we are, a major part of our identity. If we could not remember past events, we could not learn or develop language, relationships, or identity.

Over the years, I’ve noticed how our memory is affected by anxiety, depression, negative thoughts like self-hate, anger and rage. In brief, our emotions noticeably affect our recall.

Furthermore, as people get older, many are concerned, but don’t want to hear about, memory loss. Presumably, they don’t think there is anything they can do about it, or if there is, it would require too much effort.

Researchers have been studying the subject of memory and its loss for years. Learning ways to prevent memory impairment is important, especially with longer expected life spans and the increasing prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease, a terrible malady that entails the loss of personhood in a gradual, downhill course. (Mercifully, we now have medications that retard the process.)

Thanks to the relatively recent fMRI (magnetic imagining of the brain in action), portions of this organ involved in memory storage and retrieval have been identified, although no specific cells and synapses can yet be connected to a specific memory. Nor do we yet know if every memory exists forever in the mind of the individual, stored somewhere in the brain.

In reviewing the topic, I’ve corrected some of my misperceptions and found hope. Our minds and memories are never static, as had been previously thought. In addition, a memory is altered each time it is recalled. (another meaning for the saying, “You can’t step into the same river twice.”) Memory formation includes encoding, or the storage of information, recall or retrieval, and consolidation. A July 1 article in the New York Times discusses the advantages of forgetting (also referred to nowadays as “retrieval failure.”)! Knowledge actually deepens as the individual attempts to retrieve the memory. This process, known as reconsolidation, was first described years ago by the German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus.

in The Brain Book, Peter Russell says that memory is not like a container that gradually fills up, but more like a tree growing hooks onto which the memories are hung. Everything we remember creates another set of hooks on which more new memories can be attached. So the capacity of memory keeps on growing. The more we know, the more we can know.

Memory can be remarkably enhanced as Joshua Foer relates in his entertaining 2011 book, Moonwalking with Einstein:The Art and Science of Remembering Everything, in which he tells the exciting journey of how he trained his “mediocre” memory to win the U.S. Memory Championship. Great memories are learned. We remember when we pay attention, find colorful associations, are deeply engaged, and find meaning in what we’ve learned. He concludes that memory champions aren’t smarter, but rather practice elaborative encoding, finding meaning through memory palaces, or colorful, raunchy scenes to which huge amounts of data can be pinned.

In the course of his story, Foer writes about fascinating cases of people with loss of memory and those with extraordinary memory. Reassuring to note:  A superior memory for everything isn’t necessarily an advantage. In The Mind of a Mnemonist: A Little Book About a Vast Memory, A.R. Luria writes about S, a man who remembered every detail. Because he wasn’t able to sort out essential from non-essential information, he couldn’t hold a job. In other words, to make sense of the world, we have to filter our perceptions and to some degree, release our immediate memories.

Our brain is the most powerful organ in our body, and its delicate nature leaves it vulnerable to many types of damage and disease. Hugely complex, 100 billion neurons passing signals to each other via 1000 trillion synaptic connections, it continuously receives and analyzes sensory information of high-order thinking, learning and memory that give us the power to think, plan, speak, imagine, dream, reason and experience emotion. The brain occupies 2% of body’s mass but uses up a fifth of all the oxygen that we breathe, and a quarter of all the glucose. Foer emphasizes that in terms of energy, the brain is a most expensive piece of equipment.

Conclusion: Nurturing this vital organ, the house of our functioning and our identity, is essential. Good nutrition and mental gymnastics, like crossword puzzles, card games, reading and writing, stave off memory loss and even Alzheimer’s disease. Memories are malleable and our ability to enhance them is available to any and all of us.

Dear Reader, I welcome your thoughts. jsimon145@gmail.com

Robots and Us

Question: Why should a psychiatrist devote a blog to discuss robots and artificial intelligence?

Answer: More and more, computers, including those with a bodily presence like robots, disrupt aspects of our daily lives.  As the technological evolution marches on, so does change, which occurs at an increasingly accelerating rate, unnerving many of us, and causing symptoms of anxiety, fear and depression.

According to a June Psychology Today article, AI will affect our identity, our sense of privacy, notions of ownership, our patterns of shopping, the hours of work and leisure, our skills and careers and interpersonal relationships, if doesn’t already.

Transformations are occurring in every industry:  In his August 2 New York Times editorial, Tom Friedman states AI can analyze (see patterns that were always hidden before); optimize (tell a plane which altitude to fly each mile to get the best fuel efficiency); prophesize  (tell you when your elevator will break and fix it before it does); customize (tailor any product or service for you alone) and digitize and automate just about any job.

So, on the positive side, computers can perform amazing feats and improve our lives.  In the field of medicine, they do as well or better in diagnosis and prognosis. They can detect the spread of breast cancer into lymph nodes with accuracy comparable to pathologists. They can report changes of diabetes in images of a patient’s retinas. They can diagnose tuberculosis in chest x-rays with the accuracy of a radiologist.

To the dismay of many of us, they can imitate us to the point that we can’t distinguish them from us and in the future, they will become even better at fooling us; Sony is working on the ability of robots to simulate human emotions.

Eventually, they may be able to take over some tasks of the psychotherapist. Although this humane capacity is perturbing, after working with some well-meaning parents who haven’t been taught or learned parenting skills, I have envisioned that robots could help teach parenting skills and basic principles of child psychological development to benefit us all.

According to a survey by The Financial Times, one-half of computer scientists say that AI will outsmart humans by 2040, while 90% expect the task will be accomplished by 2075.

Most experts now agree about the ability of AI to develop the power to destroy us.  The risks of AI concern inventor Elon Musk, theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and Microsoft co-founder Steve Wozniak and computer scientist Ray Kurzweil.

Disaster could occur in the following scenario: AI, programmed to accomplish a geo-engineering project, develops a destructive method and, instead of helping, wreaks havoc with our ecosystem. Human intervention to stop it, could be perceived as a threat, at which point the robot might turn against us and attack.

On the other hand, computer scientist, Dr. Jurgen Schmidhuber, has a slightly sunnier view. In his opinion, AI will outstrip our intelligence by 2050, but he doesn’t think these genius computers will pay attention to us. They will see “little point in getting stuck to our bit of the biosphere. They will want to move history to the next level and march out to where the resources are. In a couple of million years, they will have colonized the Milky Way.” Furthermore, he doesn’t think they will enslave us, because we’d make bad slaves for an entity that could build robots far superior to us.

“They will pay about as much attention to us as we do to ants,” he adds.

He offers advice that few could or would debate: He tells his two daughters: “Just prepare to learn how to learn.” As computers take over old jobs, new jobs like professional video gamers and YouTube stars emerge.

Speaking historically, he sees two possible solutions for us humans: to collaborate or compete.  In his opinion, when we encounter this fork in the road, collaboration wins out.  He appears to be the optimist among computer experts as Dr. Steven Pinker, author of The Better Angels of Our Nature, is the optimist among psychologists.

In my opinion, evolution is dialectical:  That is, thesis (or positive, the beneficial) is followed by the opposite, or antithesis (the negative aspects). Eventually, thesis combines with antithesis to merge into a new and novel synthesis.

History has worked in our favor, witnessed by our survival thus far. In the past, we’ve coped with solving the problems that have emerged with   progress: The power of antibiotics to cure has come with the creation of resistant strains of pathogens.  The benefits of nuclear energy convey the power to destroy nations and the world. Fossil fuels have powered industries but have resulted in the dangers of global warming. (The Paris Accord demonstrated the great potential of nations to collaborate, aided by environmentalist Al Gore—please see his new movie, An Inconvenient Truth— until president Trump threatened to unravel the progress).

As we have in the past, let’s hope we continue to optimize the benefits and minimize the destructive potential of new developments. At present, computer experts agree that we humans have the upper flesh and blood hand. But to maintain our superior position, we may have to collaborate to avoid programming AI to the point that it develops the capacity to destroy us and our planet.

In view of these uncertainties, we’re entitled to, and share anxieties and fears in the present and about the future. It is helpful to think of our great potential to collaborate on all levels of our existence: individual, familial, national and international.

Dear Reader, Please write to me: jsimon145@gmail.com

Let’s Make Room for Eureka Moments

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg advised this year’s graduating Harvard class to distrust “the idea of a single eureka moment”—that instance when “a lone thinker has a groundbreaking epiphany.” In a June 11 New York Times article,  Dr. John  Kounios, author of The Eureka Factor, took issue with Zuckerberg's statement and inspired this blog.

A eureka moment, also known as the  ‘aha’ experience, is a sudden solution to a baffling problem that has plagued an individual for some time. Suddenly, the answer seems to appear from thin air or nowhere at all.

The Greek word eureka actually means “I found it” and stems the days of ancient Greece, when Archimedes stepped into his bath and noticed that the volume of the water displaced was equivalent to the volume of  his submerged body.  In his joy, he raced through the streets crying, “Eureka.”

This leap of thought (also referred to as an epiphany) may change the life of an individual, a nation or even the world. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., wrote, “A moment’s insight is sometimes worth a life’s experience.”

Scientists, artists and philosophers have described their eureka moments including Isaac Newton, who elucidated the theory of gravity, Paul McCartney who composed many Beatles’ ballads, and the Buddha, who came up with an explanation for human suffering.

(In earlier writings, I’ve described one of my Eureka moments, as I broke out of my narcissistic shell to perceive that I was not indeed the center of the world. We can only pray that our president will have this kind of eureka awakening).

Why, then, did Zuckerberg debunk these moments? My guess is that he doesn’t fully grasp the experience. Certainly, eureka episodes don’t happen overnight; they’re the culmination of time spent stewing on problems.  Scientist Louis Pasteur, father of the germ theory, discoverer of vaccination and pasteurization, clearly indicated his understanding when he said, “Chance favors the prepared mind.”  In his book, Kounios details the typically long and arduous path toward the eureka experience, including the stages of immersion, impasse and diversion preceding the aha moment.

In other words, hours to years of thought and discipline may lead up to these joyful eureka moments. Much goes on in the brain beyond our conscious awareness.

Although the eureka phenomenon has been a bit controversial, now brain-imaging studies support its validity.  These moments are associated with a burst of high-frequency activity in the brain’s right temporal lobe. And the highlight is preceded by a “brain blink” signifying that the individual has been less aware of the environment.  These patterns aren’t seen during analytic thinking.

Interestingly, this brain pattern coincides with what some of today’s great minds do to foster this thinking. Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and SpaceX, cherishes moments of silence with himself in the shower. Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, spends a month by himself in a cabin. During these solitary moments, they are less aware of the environment and open the an aha insight.

Conclusion: Our minds commonly fall into the trap of either/or thinking, but to solve our problems that loom ever larger and more complex, we best embrace the full capacity of our brain that includes analytic thinking and sudden insight.  There is no downside to the uplifting experience of a Eureka moment.

Dear Reader, Please send your comments to me at: jsimon145@gmail.com