[lou_lou]

http://www.fi.edu/brain/stress.htm

Renew - Stress on the Brain
Those aggravating things that go wrong in the day and those irritating things that go bump in the night – disrupting routines and interrupting sleep – all have a cumulative effect on your brain, especially its ability to remember and learn.

As science gains greater insight into the consequences of stress on the brain, the picture that emerges is not a pretty one. A chronic overreaction to stress overloads the brain with powerful hormones that are intended only for short-term duty in emergency situations. Their cumulative effect damages and kills brain cells.


go read there is so much to learn -

[steffi 001]

I can pinpoint the day,the time,the cause when my head felt as if it would explode....firecrackers were going off inside my skull...and I am sadly aware of the reason behind the hugest amount of stress I have ever been subject to.
I choose not to go there...I have had to shelve it...or I truly wouldn`t survive.
How do I know? Both my mum and I [she was going through this trauma with me] presented similar symptoms within weeks of one another.
She was diagnosed with PD.I was considered too young ...apparently.It wasn`t even in the equation.
But 5 days before my mum died,I quietly asked her if she thought I had what she had..PD.
She turned and looked me straight in the eye and said reassuredly,and profoundly...of course not!!! Don`t be silly.

5 days later she was dead.A hospital blunder I think.
Only a few weeks later I was diagnosed with parkinsons.
I don`t know if I am sad or relieved that she never knew...

"hey mum....you weren`t often wrong...but this time..."
Well...

An excellent warning Tena..thank you so much.
And if any of you were wondering why I always seem to try to inject some humour into my posts...it is my concerted effort to do what I should have done many years ago.
Say "Sod it" It aint worth the stress"

Bless you for reminding us.
x

[RLSmi]

is a concept I had not heard of until about 25 years ago when an expert in "learning to listen" taught a week-long course at our church.

The seminar was presented to those of us who wanted to learn how to minister to others with deep emotional pain. He taught us that it is so difficult to listen to another tell about their pain because that process invariably causes the listener to vividly recall their own deep pain.

A reasonably well-adjusted person will put themselves in that position only with great care and deep concern for that person.

I think that is what regularly happens on these forums, and I'm most grateful for this gift and resource!

Robert

[BEMM]

It is probably 'stress and the body' and not only stress and the brain. Stress can/will make you ill somewhere, stress will affect your body and not just your emotions. Stress makes you vulnerable to illnesses that your system might have been able to fight off, if it had not been worn down by stress.

birte

[steffi 001]

...just how many selfless people there are on this forum,and all going through daily grinds themselves.What is it all about? People putting their own pain and hurt on one side in order to help and support another person?
And I don`t believe that we need to have an illness ourselves in order to be there for others.It is basic empathy from one person to another.

And yet,those who suffer greatly are so ready to be crutches for others.

What do you reckon gives us all a dose of caring? Does it come from our upbringing,is it instilled in us,apparent when we are born? I know for sure that you can`t teach it to someone who doesn`t want to "feel" the pain someone else is going through.Neither does it seem to work by "example."

It is as if they are missing that one piece of the jigsaw puzzle that completes a person..and I MEAN TOTALLY MISSING IT.

What a lovely thing for your church to try and do...to focus on the suffering of others by way of a course.Guess you may be able to teach it after all.


Anyhow...sorry Tena...didn`t mean to sway the main focus of the thread.Just got me thinking that`s all...

Just something very close to my heart right now.
xxx

[reverett123]

One effect of chronic stress is an increase in inflammation leading to increased permeability of the BBB and so on.

Earlier threads have shown that many (actually most) of us had unusually stressful childhoods and carried a lot of pain even as adults. (Heck, in this forum alone we could have our own AA chapter That kind of pain seems to either make you bitter or sympathetic to others' pain. Add in the introspection of coming face-to-face with PD and you come up with a bunch of pretty nice folks who really do care about the other guy's worries about his tremor even though their own legs didn't work too well today. It is as much blessing as curse in many ways if you think of life as a journey toward enlightenment of some sort.

I once saw a painting of the remnants of Napolean's soldiers making their long, painful journey back to Paris. A small group, bandaged and torn, holding each other up as they struggled along. Simultaneously one of the saddest and most uplifting paintings I ever saw.

[BEMM]

So do any of you know of a single selfish, uncaring, cold hearted person with PD?
I wonder...is there cause or effect?

[made it up]

I find it easier to "talk Parkinsons" with others who have P.D.
We seem to speak the same language.
I usually manage to keep my trap shut to non Parkys as they often have no idea what they're talking about.
I know I know they mean well but I can do without having high blood pressure and smoke coming out my ears as well as P.D. listening to their remarks so consequently they usually can't get past "I'm well thanks."
Oh, and yes Birte we're all nice people.....definitely!
Cheers,
Lee

[olsen]

Report of a study done by Andrea Danese of King's College London from "Science News" Feb. 3, 2007(original article appears in the Jan 23, 2007, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science--very prestigious journal):
"child abuse heralds adult inflammation" . article states: "New findings from a long-term investigation indicate that child abuse leads to a potentially dangerous disruption of the body's stress response in adulthood. previously abused individuals display elevated blood concentrations of inflammatory substances that fight infections and repair damaged tissue..."

the research group studied 866 individuals born in Dunedin, NZ, between April, 1972 and March, 1973. medical and psychological testing occurred at regular intervals from ages 3 to 32.

thru home observation and reports from parents and children, 83 participants were identified as having suffered abuse or serious traumas by age 11--including maternal rejection, physical abuse, sexual abuse and 2 or more changes in child's primary caregiver.

At age 32, those participants identified as having been abused had markedly higher concentrations of 2 inflammatory substances, C-reactive protein and fibrinogen, than unabused participants. Abused participants also had elevated white blood cell counts

the researchers accounted for other inflammation promoting factors --ie low birth weight, alcohol use or tobacco use.

[lou_lou]

Originally Posted by steffi 001

I can pinpoint the day,the time,the cause when my head felt as if it would explode....firecrackers were going off inside my skull...and I am sadly aware of the reason behind the hugest amount of stress I have ever been subject to.
I choose not to go there...I have had to shelve it...or I truly wouldn`t survive.
How do I know? Both my mum and I [she was going through this trauma with me] presented similar symptoms within weeks of one another.
She was diagnosed with PD.I was considered too young ...apparently.It wasn`t even in the equation.
But 5 days before my mum died,I quietly asked her if she thought I had what she had..PD.
She turned and looked me straight in the eye and said reassuredly,and profoundly...of course not!!! Don`t be silly.

5 days later she was dead.A hospital blunder I think.
Only a few weeks later I was diagnosed with parkinsons.
I don`t know if I am sad or relieved that she never knew...

"hey mum....you weren`t often wrong...but this time..."
Well...

An excellent warning Tena..thank you so much.
And if any of you were wondering why I always seem to try to inject some humour into my posts...it is my concerted effort to do what I should have done many years ago.
Say "Sod it" It aint worth the stress"

Bless you for reminding us.
x

Dear Steffi,
thank you for your gift of music -that you have, and shared with us!
and daer micheal, thank you for helping our dear steffi,
God bless you both...