Tag: mind

When Setsuko Harmon was in her early 70s, the doctors told her that she wouldn’t live for more than six months. She had stage 4 colon cancer. Her husband, Bob, dropped everything to care for his beloved wife. 

Doctors recommended chemo solely for quality of life; it was not intended as a cure in a case that should have been fatal. But after two years of chemo treatments, Setsuko’s tests came up empty. She was cancer free.

Attitude is everything, they say. The Harmons’ adult daughter, Christine Stone, believes that it was her mom’s endless optimism that saw her through to health. “She just always had such a good attitude and was smiling like nothing was wrong,” Stone told People magazine. “Because to her it wasn’t.”

Setsuko never knew that she was in treatment for cancer. Or, if she did, she quickly forgot. Setsuko, you see, is in the middle stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

“She knew she didn’t feel good and that she was losing her hair, but she didn’t understand that she was sick because of the Alzheimer’s,” Stone said. “And I actually think that really helped her recover.”

Dementia can be hell on patients and their families. It’s torture to watch a parent’s mind slowly fading into the ether. But sometimes—as in Setsuko’s victory over cancer—Alzheimer’s can establish conditions for wonderful outcomes, too. Stone really realized that when she got pregnant.

Stone is a 38-year-old office manager who lives with her husband in Florence, South Carolina. They were overjoyed when they learned they were expecting a child. She couldn’t wait to tell her mom. 

Setsuko is thrilled at the idea of becoming a grandmother. And she’s thrilled again each time Stone tells her the news.

“I can tell her and two to five minutes later she won’t remember,” Stone said. “It’s like watching a kid at Christmas wake up and see his presents over and over again, because each time she gets so excited… When I give her the pregnancy news she claps and smiles each time and asks which month the baby is due. It’s very bittersweet.”

Bittersweet is just the word. Setsuko‘s journey through Alzheimer’s disease has been harrowing for her entire family. Fortunately, her bright spirit and positive attitude remain intact—even if her husband of many years has to face daily reminders that his wife is slowly drifting away.

“They are still very much in love,” Stone said, describing her parents’ relationship. “So it’s been really hard on my dad to see her when she puts things from the refrigerator into cabinets and they spoil or she pulls open every drawer in the house.”

There’s still so much to look forward to for Stone and her parents. Soon her baby will arrive. Stone lives for the day that she presents her mother with a sweet grandchild.

“I expect her not to remember her, but I know when my mom meets my daughter she’s going to get excited every single time,” Stone said. “It’s sad, but it’s not sad, because she will be just as excited to meet her over and over again.”

Being cheated on is one of the worst feelings in the world. The pain caused by the rejection and the lying can be devastating and life altering. Although this is an awful experience to go through, it turns out that women can actually benefit from being cheated on.

The pain of cheating is made worse when the man starts a new relationship with the woman he was cheating with. It can make the woman who was cheated on feel like a complete loser and like she is inadequate.

Some new research, however, is showing that there are actually some positives that come from losing a cheating partner. If you’ve had your heart broken by a lying partner, there is some light at the end of the tunnel.

A recent study from researchers at Binghamton University found that women who are cheated on actually “win” in the end, even if they feel like losers in the short run. That’s because once a woman gets over the anger and grief that comes from being cheated on, she learns important lessons that actually make her more resilient. The benefits translate to stronger relationships in the future.

The study was done via anonymous surveys of 5,000 people that asked about their attitudes after being cheated on. These people came from all over the world, representing 96 countries and all races, ethnicities, and religions. It turned out that going through this made women better partners in the future and made them less likely to suffer a similar fate again.

When a woman is cheated on, she undergoes a period of deep self-reflection. She also reflects on her mate and the relationship. From this reflection, she’s able to identify certain traits that may have indicated that this person was prone to cheating.

Most women eventually come to realize that no man should make them feel this awful, so they avoid those traits in the future. In other words, women now know what to avoid when picking a new partner. This is called “mating intelligence,” and it’s vital for someone looking for a long-term relationship.

It also has positive effects in other areas of life. When a woman is cheated on, she learns how to reach out for help and she learns that she’s not alone. This can foster interpersonal relationships with other women that can lead to greater personal fulfillment.

The flip side is that the woman who “won” the man actually comes out the loser. She now has a partner who has shown that he’ll lie and deceive his partner and is prone to sleeping around. This woman will ultimately go through the same heartbreak as the original girlfriend. She may see some positive short-term benefits, but in the long run, she’s sure to come out a loser.

Although it’s perfectly natural to go through a period of depression when you’ve suffered infidelity in your relationship, that pain can lead to growth. Use that time for self-reflection and you may find that being cheated on was one of the best things that’s ever happened to you.

Gym apparel can greatly vary in price. From the $5 low-end gym shorts to designer workout tops that can cost upwards of $85, there’s no shortage of options no matter what your price range might be. But does your gym apparel influence how much you work out? Research suggests it might.
Researchers at Northwestern looked into whether our clothing impacts our mood and behavior. What they found in their 2012 study was that yes, our clothing does impact us in major ways.

The concept is called “enclothed cognition.” They tested it by dividing people into two groups: one group was given a lab coat for the study, the other group was allowed to wear street clothes. They were then given attention-related tasks. Those in the lab coats performed much better because they were dressed like actual scientists.
It turns out that if we prescribe certain attributes to the clothes were wear, we’re more likely to adopt those attributes to ourselves. If you’re looking to get in shape, that means you may want to invest some nicer workout clothes.

People who wear expensive, fashionable workout clothes, something like Lululemon, look like they are regulars at the local gym. Because they look the part, they’re more likely to actually go to the gym to workout.
Luckily, fashionable workout clothes are becoming less and less expensive. Clothing manufacturers want people, women especially, to feel comfortable wearing their workout clothes to the store as well as the gym. This allows women to look like someone who loves to workout, even if that’s not always the case.

The more a woman wears these workout clothes, the more likely she’s going to actually hit the gym. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts — because the woman wears clothes that make her look like an exercise fanatic, she then becomes an exercise fanatic.
The key to finding the right workout clothes may not be price so much as it is about feeling confident in how you look. Brands like Lululemon can help you feel confident because of the message that brand sends to the world, but it can be any workout outfit that gives you the motivation to hit the gym.

The flip side of this is that if a woman doesn’t feel confident about her clothing or her looks, she’s far less likely to return to the gym. Fitness classes are far more fashionable than they were even a decade ago. If a woman walks in and looks out of place, that’s a sure sign that she won’t be back again.
Researchers do caution that a person shouldn’t just run out and buy a completely new wardrobe. If you try to change too much too quickly, the change won’t really take place. Instead, start small and try to work these new clothes into your regular lifestyle. Over time, add more to see if your personality changes with your wardrobe.

If you’ve been trying to get in shape and just can’t seem to find the proper motivation, try to add some cute workout clothes to your closet. It could just be the catalyst you need to start regularly hitting the gym.

Everyone knows that exercise is vitally important to overall health. Unfortunately, many of us can’t seem to find the time or the motivation to actually do it. That’s a problem because regular exercise can substantially lengthen our lifespans. If you’re someone who just can’t seem to find the motivation to become more active, here are some tips that can help you fall in love with fitness.

First, you should know just how much exercise you need and what type of exercise you should be getting. Doctors typically recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week. A common, simple exercise that meets this requirement is a brisk walk. You don’t have to run wind sprints or break a major sweat, just walk at a steady pace.

That 150 minutes translates to 30 minutes of brisk walking five times a week. It’s fine if you split that up into 15-minute sessions, 10-minute sessions, or 100-minute sessions. Just make sure that you’re getting at least 150 minutes each week in order to reap the health benefits.

You’re probably imagining how you’re going to fit this fitness regimen into your lifestyle, considering it another burden or chore you have to commit to daily. However, this is the wrong mentality. If you’re struggling to find the motivation, switch up your exercise routine until you find something you like. 

Maybe you love walking. If you do, great. If not, try to find something that’s yours. Some people do yoga, some use the elliptical, some swim while others play racquetball or go for a bike ride. There’s no shame in trying out different activities until you find one that really resonates with you and your personal fitness journey.

If you can do this activity with a friend or family member, even better. Studies have shown that people who work out with a partner tend to stick with it longer than those who go at it alone. Try to find someone at your fitness level to help you stay motivated.

Once you and your partner have found your activity, don’t compare yourselves to other people while you’re working out. Some people become intimidated by those who are in shape or feel embarrassed to be huffing and puffing when it seems second nature to others. Don’t worry about it! Most people are actually incredibly encouraging when it comes to motivating those around them who are trying to get back into shape.

Don’t forget that everyone was a beginner once and that if you stick with it, you will see improvement. Before you know it, you’ll be the envy of the beginners just starting out on their fitness journeys.

The next thing you’ll want to do is be realistic about your weight loss goals. The biggest hurdle many people face is that when they don’t see results right away, they simply give up. This is a major mistake. Don’t focus on the number on the scale, just focus on getting your exercise. If you’re eating right and sticking to your fitness routine, you’ll begin to lose weight eventually. Don’t get discouraged if it takes longer than you’d like.

Finally, focus on the health benefits. Regular exercise lowers your risk for heart attack and stroke, the number one and number five killers of people in the United States. Exercise has also been shown to improve mood and mental acuity. Those who exercise regularly tend to live about seven years longer on average than those who lead sedentary lifestyles, regardless of weight. If you focus on these health benefits, it won’t seem like a chore to incorporate exercise into your chaotic weekly schedule; in fact, you’ll be happy to find time for it.

This just in, y’all: TV and Hollywood films are not the best place to get facts about mental illness (or probably anything?) Whether you’re basing the entirety of your perception of eating disorders on a Lifetime series or you think you know everything there is to know about schizophrenia because you’ve seen A Beautiful Mind three times, you should be aware that you do not have the full picture.

Stereotypes being perpetuated through popular media is nothing new. Edify yourself, and read on for eight psychological “facts” about mental illness we’ve been fed by television and movies:

People with Tourette’s syndrome cuss all the time.

When you hear Tourette’s syndrome, you probably think of one particular feature for which it’s become famous: letting out strings of extremely offensive curse words, usually at inopportune times. For an example, you could watch this YouTube clip of this dude in a courtroom from a 1989 episode of the television series LA Law.

Contrary to popular belief, though, swearing isn’t always a feature of the neurological disorder. “[T]his only occurs in about 1 in 10 children with Tourette’s syndrome,” according to Patient. (The condition develops in people between ages 2 and 14, typically around age 7.)

As Patient also notes, “it must be emphasised that if this occurs, the child cannot help swearing. It is not a reflection on their moral character or upbringing.”

Other tics include eye blinking, touching or smelling objects, head jerking, repeating observed movements, shoulder shrugging, stepping in a certain pattern, eye darting, obscene gesturing, nose twitching, bending or twisting, mouth movements, or hopping.

You can talk yourself out of schizophrenia. 

A Beautiful Mind is a moving depiction of an incredibly gifted mathematician, John Nash, whose life is altered indelibly by schizophrenia. Although the biopic’s plot does in some ways work against the stereotype of schizophrenics as always violent and erratic, it’s still not the whole story for most people who suffer from the illness.

“Regardless of the biographical exclusions, John Nash, in reality and in the movie, is unlike other schizophrenic patients,” Roberto Gil writes for In Vivo: News from Columbia Health Sciences. “He has a superior intellectual capacity, while most schizophrenic patients suffer from impaired cognition.”

Additionally, Nash is depicted as eschewing medication and instead reasoning his way out of his hallucinations. Gil notes:

“Deprived of medications and treatment, many schizophrenics lose, if they ever had them, jobs, family, friends, financial stability, and homes. It is not just a coincidence that homelessness is so common among schizophrenics. The real and fictional Dr. Nash kept ties with professionals, family, and friends because they were very tolerant of his symptoms.”

Treatment is evil.

The conversation about overmedicating is one certainly worth having, specifically in a culture that pathologizes the natural complexity of human emotion, often in gendered ways. But there remains a major dearth of misinformation about mental illness and its treatments, which results in many people who would greatly benefit from medication never receiving help.

One of the more damaging misconceptions is that medication is only for the weak. On par with this is the idea that medication fundamentally changes who you are. As Angelica Jade Bastién writes in Vulture:

“Out of all the tropes on this list, this is the most dangerous. Treatment varies from person to person, of course, but the idea that medication robs you of your personality is odious. Contrary to what’s often shown on TV, psychiatrists and mental-health professionals aren’t manipulative villains or incompetent caregivers.

“These claims contribute to the fear that prevents people from finding the right treatment. In recent decades, TV shows like Monk, Pretty Little Liars, Ally McBeal, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer have all contributed to this trend.”

OCD sufferers are all terrified of germs.

Obsessive compulsive disord
er (OCD), for those who don’t actually know someone with the disorder (and perhaps some who do), is synonymous with a fear of germs, an obsession with order and cleanliness, and a propensity for counting.

Although these traits certainly do show up in some OCD sufferers, this is only a very superficial understanding of the condition, which is defined by unfounded anxieties that can attach themselves to any topic and resultant attempts to quell that anxiety through irrational compulsive behaviors or rituals.

There’s nothing off-limits to OCD. Often, fears will be related to ideas that fundamentally threaten an individual’s sense of identity—for example, the fear of killing someone you love, the fear of molesting a child, or the fear of having a sexual orientation that runs counter to who you’ve always believed yourself to be.

Depictions of characters such as the protagonist of the award-winning show Monk, whose fears include germs, needles, milk, death, snakes, mushrooms, heights, crowds, and elevators—focus more on external behaviors without taking a deep dive into the OCD sufferer’s inner world. Plus, as Dr. Suck Won Kim, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Minnesota, tells the Chicago Tribune regarding Monk’s fears:

“Those are phobic disorders. They’re not related to OCD at all. Many of them are forms of agoraphobia. I’ve seen over 2,000 patients with OCD, and none of them has complained of having trouble going on an airplane.”

Sociopaths eat brains.

Speaking of tropes that perpetuate negative views of mental health professionals, Hannibal Lecter is a cannibalistic psychiatrist—fun! The protagonist of The Silence of the Lambs is perhaps our favorite psychopath. Er, sociopath?

(There is debate about the distinction between a sociopath and a psychopath, but according to one person on the internet, there’s no diagnostic difference. We’re certainly not mental health professionals, but for the sake of simplicity, let’s just use the term interchangeably in this section.)

But is Lecter even really a psychopath? According to health, science, and tech reporter Rachel Feltman, no.

On top of that, despite what years of ingesting way too many MSNBC specials would suggest, doing something completely heinous like eating brains isn’t even a prerequisite for being a psychopath. As Feltman points out in Quartz:

“Sometimes, a psychopath can look a lot like your friendly neighborhood neuroscientist; James Fallon made headlines when he accidentally diagnosed his own brain scan as showing psychopathic features. After further research and self-evaluation, Fallon categorized himself as a ‘pro-social psychopath’—one who can keep his behavior within socially-acceptable bounds, despite not feeling true empathy for others. …At the end of the day, though, he’d ‘rather beat someone in an argument than beat them up.'”

Dissociative personality disorder is just like “Fight Club.” 

Apparently, there’s a whole lot of confusion about this illness, which is used to be called multiple personality disorder but is now referred to as dissociative disorder. Even the professionals are a bit unsure. As psychiatrist Jason Hunziker tells University of Utah health sciences radio The Scope:

“There is so much controversy, even in the mental health industry about dissociative identity disorder. There are those that swear by almost the Hollywood version of what this looks like. And then there are others who say people clearly use dissociation to help protect themselves, and that’s kind of where I fall in line. I think that people use that mechanism to get out of a stressful situation, and they then have a different personality style that interacts with you during those moments that [their] real self is not present.”

According to one Cracked contributor, Fight Club doesn’t get it right, either. “Those with [dissociative] identity disorder don’t just wake up and realize they’ve been living as another person,” they write. “They always know about the other personalities, and don’t black out and live as another person. Amnesia and fugue states do happen, but what you see in movies is writers combining them to suit their narrative.”

Mentally Ill = Violent

Speaking of Fight Club, let’s talk about the other popular myth surrounding mentally ill people: They’re all violent. It just ain’t true.

“It will surprise most people—and disappoint Hollywood—but the fact is that the mentally ill are rarely violent and contribute very little to overall violence in the United [States],” Richard A. Friedman writes in Alternet. “It is estimated that only 3 percent to 5 percent of all violence in the country can be attributed to mental illness.”

Those who are much more likely than mentally ill folks to be violent are people who misuse drugs or alcohol. “The fact is that you have far more to fear from an intoxicated businessman in a suit than from a homeless schizophrenic man muttering on the street corner,” Friedman writes.

“People with no mental disorder who abuse alcohol or drugs are nearly seven times as likely as those without substance abuse to be violent, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.” (Then again, wouldn’t drug and alcohol abuse imply addiction, and isn’t addiction a mental illness?)

You can get over an eating disorder in a few days. 

We can all agree that ‘90s television and culture have taught us a lot—like, for example, how to wear a denim hat every day for an entire summer with few or no social repercussions. (Mom, how did you let this happen?) What it did not teach us was how to recognize or treat an eating disorder.

Many have called into question the depiction of disordered eating in D.J. Tanner from Full House. In season four, D.J. begins starving herself to try and look thinner for an upcoming pool party, and then, within just a handful of episodes, the problem magically disappears. One viewer summarizes the nearly instantaneous resolution to the problem, which comes—surprise—during one of Full House‘s famous heart-to-hearts:

“…Danny tells D.J. that people come in all shapes and sizes, and that he himself struggled with body image issues growing up because he was so tall and skinny. Oh yeah, Danny, being a tall thin white man is a real hill to climb! Poor Danny! So anyway, Danny tells D.J. that it’s what’s inside that counts and that her friends shouldn’t judge her for looking terrible in a bathing suit and I guess that if more dads gave that same brief, ill-conceived speech then anorexia wouldn’t be such a problem.”

What Full House misses is that an eating disorder is a deadly mental illness that sufferers often struggle with for life, even with professional help. Heart-to-hearts are kind of beside the point.

Dementia is one of the worst health conditions a human being can face. It robs us of our ability to function, muddles our cherished memories, and can eventually become terminal. While there is, unfortunately, no known cure for dementia, there are ways to slow its progress. Here are some warning signs that all women should be aware of. If you notice any of these symptoms, talk to a medical professional as soon as possible.

1. Short-Term Memory Loss

We all have moments when we struggle with our short term memory. Things like forgetting why you walked into a room, where you just set down your car keys, what that person just told you their name was, and other similar short term memory issues happen to us all.

However, this memory loss becomes a serious problem when situations like the ones mentioned above happen multiple times throughout the day. If you find that you’re becoming more and more forgetful, this could be an early sign of dementia.

2. Difficulty Choosing Words

Language skills come naturally for most people. Because it’s so natural, we often speak without really thinking about the words we choose. When someone has to stop mid-sentence to find the words they want to use, that’s a warning sign.

This is especially true if someone is struggling to recall common words or a word that they use all the time. If you find that you’re rummaging through your brain for words you use daily, talk to your doctor right away.

3. Problems With Concentration

Focus and concentration actually require higher-order brain function. They seem second nature, so we don’t normally think of them that way. When someone has dementia, however, focus and concentration become extremely difficult.

If you find that you’re having difficulty making plans, are struggling with numbers, or realizing that following your favorite TV show or favorite game is harder than ever, that might be a sign of dementia.

4. Difficulty Understanding Time

Time is something we take for granted. It’s natural to us to understand the function of time and its role in our lives. People with dementia lose the concept of time.

Often, those in the early stages of dementia will lose track of time, their mind wandering off without paying attention to the clock. If you find that time is passing by very quickly or you that you’re having difficulty measuring time in your head, you should speak with your doctor.

5. Difficulty Recognizing Where You Are

Like time, we often take spatial relationships for granted. We know our homes, our workplaces, and other familiar spaces like the back of our hands. With dementia, these common places suddenly become foreign.

If you find that you don’t recognize rooms in your home, forget how to get to work, or easily forget where you are, that could be due to a decline in mental function.

6. Lethargy

People in the early stages of dementia often have depression over their condition. This depression can eventually lead to lethargy.

This in and of itself is not a sign of dementia, but when combined with other factors, could be. If you’re lethargic and depressed, talk to a doctor to try to identify the underlying health problem causing it.

Testosterone is a male sex hormone that plays a key role in the development of male reproductive tissues. Women’s ovaries also produce a small amount of testosterone, but typically, men possess seven to eight times more testosterone than their female counterparts.
The presence of this hormone is one of the reasons why there are a number of differences between the sexes, but it has been difficult to study how male and females brains respond to the presence of testosterone.

Two new studies, though, show that an increased presence of testosterone in females can literally change the way their brains work.

Dutch researchers with Utrecht University studied the effects of one-time doses on women’s “cognitive-empathetic abilities.”

These scientists studied the changes in their subjects ability to read emotions by administering what’s called the “Reading the Mind in Eyes Test” (RMET). This exam asks subjects to judge the emotions of others just by looking at pictures of those people’s eyes.

The subjects were given the RMET before and after being given a “single administration of testosterone”—using a control group, of course—and the researchers observed the subjects’ brain activity as well.
The scientists observed that the testosterone “significantly altered connectivity” with the parts of the brain in charge of “integration and selection of sensory information, and for action preparation during cognitive empathic behavior.”

Essentially, their research boiled down to the fact that “testosterone can impair emotion-recognition ability.”

Another European study observed the effects of testosterone in patients undergoing female-to-male gender transition

Dr. Kamilla Miskowiak of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology summarized the study:
“It is well-known that language development differs between girls and boys and that this is related to gender-related differences in brain maturation. However, this intriguing neuroimaging study of transsexuals before and after their female-to-male gender reassignment suggests that even adult men and women differ in brain structure within regions involved in language and speech. In particular, female-to-male gender reassignment resulted in local brain matter decrease within language processing regions, which may explain why verbal abilities are often stronger in women.”

In short, giving females testosterone can change the way their brains process language.

Don’t draw too many conclusions from this research, though.

In 2015, Slovakian doctors performed a comprehensive study of studies, “On the effects of testosterone on brain behavioral functions.”
These doctors point out that it’s difficult to draw broad conclusions from these studies, noting, “that it is a hot topic of interest.”
The many and varied studies have administered testosterone differently, have observed various variables, and have examined a wide array of subjects. Essentially, these Slovakian scientists warn that each study may demonstrate an “association or correlation but not a causal relationship of testosterone effect on behavior.”
“Nevertheless…” they concede, “testosterone seems to affect brain functions.”

“Most of the published literature agrees on the fact that testosterone is anxiolytic, antidepressant and improves spatial abilities. But this picture is oversimplified. Many variables add to the complex interactions between testosterone and the brain.”
So, does the presence of testosterone cause men to have a harder time gauging emotions than women? It probably plays a role, yes.
Does a smaller amount of testosterone make women better at developing language and communication skills? Perhaps that is a very real factor.

What the team from Slovakia insists on pointing out, though, is that “small studies can only describe a very small window of the whole complex physiology.”
We’re still learning about human physiology and it will take a long time and more consistent, peer-reviewed and confirmed studies before we have a firm grasp on exactly what role testosterone plays in our brains.

There’s a pretty good chance that you have a parasite in your brain.

Don’t let it freak you out or anything—after all, you’re not alone. About 30-50 percent of people have been exposed to Toxoplasma gondii, the protozoa that cause a condition called toxoplasmosis.

T. gondii is so common, in fact, that doctors often warn pregnant women to take precautions to prevent infection. The parasite can present serious issues for immunocompromised persons, and because it can infect just about any warm-blooded animal, it’s not going away anytime soon.

Oh, and some studies have suggested that T. gondii can control behavior. There are some very important caveats to consider when approaching that fact, but first, let’s look at how humans come into contact with this nefarious parasite.

Nearly any animal can become infected with T. gondii, but only one animal provides the environment that the organism needs to reproduce.

That animal would be the domestic housecat. Yes, the same adorable little creature currently living in your home.

But T. gondii doesn’t always infect the housecat directly, as it’s ill-suited for that task. Instead, it typically infects their prey in a process called secondary infection.

Here’s what happens: The parasite infects a mouse, then works its way into the rodent’s brain, changing neural pathways to make the mouse seek out cats (or at least show less caution when near felines).

Cats that eat these rodents become infected, allowing T. gondii to reproduce. The protozoa find new hosts by being released via the cat’s feces (sorry, but you had to know that a story about a brain-altering parasite wouldn’t be too clean).

Humans often become infected when cleaning up after their housecats. They can pass the parasite on by not properly washing their hands before preparing food. While T. gondii can’t reproduce in our bodies, it can live for quite a while—and while it’s hitching a ride, it might change our personalities.

Various studies show that T. gondii infection can prompt behavioral changes in humans.

Some have even associated the protozoa with neurological disorders like schizophrenia. Studies like “Toxoplasma gondii–induced neuronal alterations,” written by A. Parlog et al, claim that the parasite can affect synaptic plasticity and neuronal connectivity. In other words, toxoplasmosis might literally change the way your brain works.

Another study showed that T. gondii increased levels of several chemicals in mice brains, including kynurenic acid (KYNA). That acid is linked to schizophrenia in humans. Other studies have indicated links between depression and toxoplasmosis.

If you’re looking for some good news, we’ve got some; an analysis of the massive Dunedin Longitudinal Study showed no notable link between toxoplasmosis and any personality traits, nor with rates of neurological disorders.

This obviously conflicts with the information presented in earlier studies, but as the researchers note, earlier analyses worked with much smaller sample sizes. It’s possible that the protozoa can’t control your brain—unless, of course, you’re a mouse.

Then again, that might just be what the T. gondii wants us to think.

Having memories is pretty central to being human, but there are a few that most of us are happy to forget. The pain of heartbreak, the shame of an embarrassing moment, or the fear experienced during a traumatic event are all memories that come to mind as the kind we would prefer to leave in the past.

For one very small segment of society, however, the luxury of forgetting is not an option. Read on for eight things you probably didn’t know about the people affected by highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM), a rare condition discovered in the early 2000s that makes those who have it remember nearly every detail of their lives, in some cases starting as early as 12 days after birth.

There are very few of them.

It’s kind of weird to think of all the undiscovered conditions out there offering people abilities that sound as if they’re straight out of an X-Men film.

It’s likely that until someone came forward saying they were experiencing some phenomenon and that phenomenon was then confirmed by scientists, it would never occur to most of us that these conditions were actually possible.

But we’re learning new things every day, and what we’re learning is unbelievable…until it is believable.

Somewhere around 60 to 80 people worldwide are known to have HSAM, although exact numbers are still a little murky. As Mental Floss reports: “At this time, there are only a handful of individuals in the world who have ever been diagnosed with hyperthymesia, and scientists still don’t know exactly how it works.

“Some studies have found that hyperthymesiacs [a term for those with the condition] might have variations in the structure of their brains, while others argue that it might have behavioral components. However, since so few people are diagnosed with HSAM, it’s difficult to study the condition.”

They feel things more intensely than others.

It’s possible that one of the causes for this hyperawareness of detail, specifically of internal worlds, is the predisposition to being highly sensitive.

“The other HSAMers I have met seem to share similar traits: the need for approval, seeking attention, putting themselves out there a little bit, maybe being a little sensitive to criticism and having issues with depression and closure,” hyperthymesiac Joey DeGrandis told New York magazine in an interview about his own life and his experiences with others like him.

“They are all contributing members of society and it doesn’t seem like any of us are so hindered that we’ve ceased to function like a normal person, but there is a commonality in that we seem to be a little more sensitive and we sometimes have trouble with our emotions and we can be more prone to depression and it must be related to the fact that we remember in the way we do.”

They have rich fantasy lives.

Part of the HSAM package is the intensity of experience, not only in the sense of being deeply emotionally affected by events, but also of being keenly attuned to sensory impressions.

“I’m extremely sensitive to sounds, smells and visual detail,” Nicole Donohue, an HSAMer who has taken part in many studies about the condition, tells the BBC. “I definitely feel things more strongly than the average person.”

Indeed, researcher Dr. Lawrence Patihis, who works in the psychology department of the University of Southern Mississippi studying memory of past emotions, memory of long-term relationships, memory malleability, trauma and memory, dissociation, eyewitness memory, and long-term episodic memory, found after profiling 20 people with HSAM that they scored especially high on “fantasy proneness” and “absorption.”

Even the woman they’re writing about, Rebecca Sharrock—whose memories go back jaw-droppingly far—does not remember every single day of her life since birth. (She does, however, remember everything from 12 days after birth, which is, in our opinion, equally impressive.)

Many with HSAM didn’t get it until years into their lives. For example, artist Nima Veiseh didn’t begin remembering everything until one very moving experience, after which he says he could tell you anything.

The moment was “15 December 2000, when he met his first girlfriend at his best friend’s 16th birthday party,” the BBC reports. “He had always had a good memory, but the thrill of young love seems to have shifted a gear in his mind: from now on, he would start recording his whole life in detail.”

Breakups can be extra hard for them.

You know that saying about time healing all wounds? I keep a gratitude journal, and most mornings I list three things I’m thankful for. During one period following the end of a relationship, the word “forgetting” appeared several times. Imagine, though, trying to get over a breakup if you had HSAM.

As DeGrandis tells New York magazine:

“…[I]f it’s a bad breakup or unrequited love then the memories of that linger and hurt when I think about them—especially if there’s no closure. I’m thinking, What did I do? I’m forced to pick back through it. I can remember the last time I saw the person. I can remember where we were.

“I can remember a funny face they made or a thought or a feeling however fleeting or however lasting it was; I can remember those things. Even if the person ended up doing something wrong or ditches me, the initial positive memory is so strong it’s hard for me to separate: ‘How can you be this way now, when I remember you so vividly as something different?'”

Their memories often relate to their passions, but they can also cause depression.

There are certain consistencies with how folks with HSAM tend to remember the details of their lives—namely, that there is a quality of “emotionality” attached to them, as opposed to just factual details. But when it comes to which factual details they’ll remember, they’re often dependent on the personal preferences of the individual with HSAM.

In his interview with New York magazine, DeGrandis talked about something he picked up on during his first meeting with other HSAMers, for a 60 Minutes special:

“We noticed that some of us are better at remembering certain things and it aligns with passions. Marilu Henner is into fashion, so she can remember when she bought all the pairs of shoes she owns. Another was a big football fan so he remembered scores.”

There was another commonality. “The thing we all agreed on was the fact that at some point in our lives we had gone through depression, or had some form of it,” DeGrandis says. “It wasn’t so much like ‘Oh, we’re severely depressed.’ It was more that we have struggled with, or currently struggle with, feeling depressed and feeling weighed down and we believe it may be because of certain memories we are unable to let go of.”

They are typically really good with dates.

Some hyperthymesiacs’ exceptional ability to recall information about specific dates—including w
hat day of the week it was in a given year—has led many to draw comparisons to people with autism, but researchers have found no connection.

HSAMer Jill Price “can label what day of the week virtually any calendar date fell on,” reports Mental Floss. “Given a specific date, like ‘March 19, 2003,’ a 20-year-old hyperthymesiac called HK can remember that it was a Wednesday, what the weather was like, and what he did that day from getting up to going to bed.”

DeGrandis explains his superpower thusly:

“There is an algorithm you can use to figure out the day of a week, but I don’t know it and I still don’t know how to use it. It’s just a calculation that my mind does and I don’t even understand how.

“It’s very hard to explain how I get there but it’s almost like I’m standing over the year, actually looking at the whole year and then I home in on a day and sometimes I link it up to another year when that date was the same day of the week.”

They can still have false memories.

False memories are relatively common among people without HSAM. “I would even go as far as saying that memory is largely an illusion,” Julia Shaw writes in Scientific American.

“This is because our perception of the world is deeply imperfect, our brains only bother to remember a tiny piece of what we actually experience, and every time we remember something we have the potential to change the memory we are accessing.”

But, surprisingly, even having a condition defined by “highly superior” memory does not make you immune to remembering things that didn’t actually happen. The Guardian, describing the HSAM study by Dr. Patihis, writes:

“HSAM subjects were equally likely as the control group to claim words that had not appeared on a list had appeared, they showed a higher overall propensity to form false memories of a photographic slideshow, and they were equally likely to mistakenly report that they had seen non-existent video footage of the United 93 plane crash on 9/11.”

Some of the subjects with HSAM were not too happy to hear this, because “having accurate memories is central to their identities.”

Most people associate depression with an overwhelming feeling of sadness or loss of interest in everyday activities. But depression can be so much more than just that.

Depression affects more than 15 million Americans every year and is the leading cause of disability in the U.S. for people ages 15 to 45. The median onset of depression is typically 32 years, and it occurs more often in women than in men.
Even though depression is a very treatable mental illness, 80 percent of people don’t receive any treatment. Compounding the problem is that depression doesn’t present itself in the same ways in all people. Many people often miss the signs because theirs don’t seem typical.

Do you or someone you love feel sadness and that something’s just “not right”? Here are some of the most common symptoms of depression.

You’re always tired

Executive function is the voice inside your head that gives you the motivation to do daily tasks and concentrate on making decisions. People who are depressed often exhibit signs of executive dysfunction.

It’s overwhelming for them to plan, initiate, or complete tasks. They find it incredibly hard to do even the most basic activities of daily living, such as taking out the garbage, washing the dishes, talking on the phone, or paying bills.

If you’re noticing things beginning to pile up, this may be a sign that you’re experiencing depression.

Everyone and everything annoys you.

Are you on edge lately? Is everyone annoying you, from the bank teller to your wife to the clerk at the checkout counter? Do you fly off the handle uncharacteristically quickly?

Irritability is one of the lesser known symptoms of depression, but it’s a textbook one that can typically characterized as “quick to anger, quick to tears.”

You sleep too little or too much.

Some people sleep too little when they’re depressed, and others sleep too much. Sleep disturbance is a classic sign of depression, and the key to recognizing it is to notice the change in your personal sleeping patterns.

If you normally sleep well through the night, but you notice that you’re often waking up and unable to get back to sleep, you may be depressed. If you normally require less sleep and you find yourself sleeping for longer periods of time, having trouble getting out of bed, or still feeling exhausted after you’ve had a full night’s sleep, this is also a red flag.

Eating’s an issue.

Many people overeat if they’re sad or stressed. But people with severe depression often have no interest in food or their health.

They may use carbs and fats for a short period to relieve stress, but ultimately anhedonia makes food less appealing, and executive dysfunction makes it hard to plan and get the motivation to go shopping.

You’re in pain everywhere.

Pain can make you depressed, and depression can make you feel pain. Studies show that those who suffer with chronic pain have three times the average risk of developing psychiatric symptoms, and those who suffer from depression have three times the average risk of developing chronic pain.

Depression can increase your brain’s sensitivity to pain, making you feel achy all over.

You don’t care that you look messy.

When you’re depressed, self care is often pretty low on the list. Typically anhedonia, executive dysfunction, and isolation all combine to create a person who just doesn’t feel like cleaning up.

Have you forgotten to take a shower for days on end? Have you resorted to keeping the same clothes on, not caring how they look or smell? Can you remember the last time that you brushed your hair?
Take a look in the mirror. Rebelling against society and its image obsession is one thing, but foregoing all hygiene is a sign something is wrong.

You’re hiding.

Social isolation is a clear sign of depression, especially if it’s exhibited by someone who used to be outgoing and had a lot of vigor. Even though someone who is depressed often wants to hide from everyone, it’s the last thing that they need—because “isolation breeds depression, and depression deepens isolation.”

If you notice yourself or a friend suddenly becoming MIA from the world, it’s time to take a deeper look at what might be going on.

Nothing interests you.

When people are bored or blue, they usually turn to doing things that they enjoy or to spending time with people they love. People with depression avoid them. The joy and life gets sucked out of everything, and they lack the motivation or ability to get excited.

Anhedonia is the inability to feel pleasure, and people with depression often exhibit this. It makes it hard for them to focus on everyday tasks.

You’re beating yourself up.

Temporary, pessimistic thoughts can go through any healthy person’s mind from time to time. But when they dictate the mood of an entire day it should send up a red flag that depression may to be blame.

Normally confident and optimistic people who turn negative and have self-defeating attitudes may be experiencing depression.

You’re forgetful or have trouble concentrating.

Are you having trouble remembering even the smallest things? Do you regularly lose your keys? Do you often forget to call people back? Do you not remember if you’ve been to the bank? Are you also having trouble focusing? Does composing an email or a simple grocery list cause you to feel overwhelmed?

If you answer yes to more than one of these, this may be a sign that you are depressed.

You feel numb.

You want to be upset, you want to be happy, you want to be surprised…you want to feel something, but somehow you are unable to. Feeling numb is an often overlooked—but very real—sign of depression. It gets ignored because people frequently associate depression with feelings of loss and sadness, not apathy.

But many depressed people describe a feeling of emptiness and not being able to be intimate with loved ones or affectionate with children or grandchildren.

You think about dying.

If you or someone that you know starts talking (or obsessing) about death and morose topics, it should signal that something is very wrong. If they start talking in terms of “after they’ve passed” or fixate on how others die, it’s time to worry.

Someone who talks like this may have thoughts of suicide or dying. Experts divide suicide into two categories: active and passive.
In active suicidal thoughts, people think of dying and have a plan. This is the most worrisome, and a healthcare professional or 911 should be called immediately.

In passive suicidal thoughts, a person just thinks about the process of dying and perhaps wishes it would happen to them. Common examples are hoping to die in your sleep and never wake up or wishing you would get hit by a bus on the way to work.

If you notice that someone is participating in risky behavior, it may be a sign that he or she doesn’t care anymore and needs help.