That is good, Majo.

I believe it is good to work on our strong areas.
Forget about the stuff that other people want us to work on.

It took my eye several days to catch up with the magnesium supplementation.

Mari

Mayo

Keep talking about us. You can sometimes talk your way through
it. We can help you. We can do this.

If nothing else we will always be here.

Donna:grouphug::hug:

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:
:hug::hug::hug::hug::hug:

My dear friend,
Hugs and love to you
Di

Majo - brain studies, therapeutic studies, emotional regulation
 

One of the neurological differences - to my knowledge - is based on neuroanatomical studies: the prefrontal cortex in borderline pts (along with other types of overexcitable pts) is less dense than in controls. Conversely, studies on yogis and others with great skill in emotional regulation have found these individuals to have a denser prefrontal cortex than controls.

Functionally speaking, prefrontal cortex density appears to be inversely proportional to the ability to regulate emotions. Moreover, prefrontal cortex density seems to increase with the practice of disciplines such as meditation.

-------------------
I apologize if I my explanations are murky. I can try to find links to studies - I am going on memory right now. :o if I bookmarked everything I read, my computer would explode.

The bottom line is that meditation and similar activities should help with borderline.

Even though biological evidence does not prove this for now, clinical studies specifically on borderline patients do support the theory. DBT has been shown to be effective for borderline patients, in contrast to CBT. What differentiates DBT from CBT is precisely the incorporation of Eastern techniques, such as meditation, to reduce stress and improve mindfulness.

waves

thank you for this waves

The most "important" characteristics about borderline patients' brains are:

1) After specific stimuli, we experience anger for example AND, contrary to "healthy/normal" people, our AMIGDALA (a zone in the brain) remains "active" instead of turning off, turning back to basal status, what we biologically call "feedback"....

2) At the same time, our PRE-FRONTAL CORTEX simply doesnt "turn on", never activates as it should after some stimuli...

This have been demostrated with funtional MRI for example and PET tests... :o

Based on this, I now understand why I cant "control" my mind... Neurons simply wont turn on or off :rolleyes: This means in borderliners case, we cant simply focus or calm down... Because our brains simply dont react as they should haha crap :o

Sorry for not explaining this in my previous post where I mentioned why I now understand why yoga simply doesnt work for me... My eye didnt let me :o

Thank you for all the love :hug: Im trying to learn how to calm down myself even when funtionally (scientifically proved) my brain wont calm down... :o

My eye is slightly better... But still... Aaaarrggghhhh !

Hugs for everyone !

Dear Majo

Yes, I realize that the amygdala is involved. It is essentially the amygdala-PFC communication that is "broken" - but apparently this can be fixed.

The studies I mentioned relate exactly to what you state: the (in)ability of PFC to regulate (inhibit) responses to amygdala activation, and suppression of feedback. This functional failure of the PFC apparently (as shown by PET studies) correlates with lower PFC density.

The other part of what I posted - about DBT - shows that disciplines involving meditation etc do help borderline pts. However, it is not something whose success is seen after a few attempts, or even a few weeks. Usually months of therapy are needed - sometimes a few years. Here, when I asked about DBT, I was told typical time frame (to treat a borderline pt) ranges from 6 mo to 2 years.

It does not surprise me that when you try to meditate, or relax, it doesn't work. As you say, your brain doesn't know how to do that. What I was saying is that there are studies that indicate borderline brains can be trained... with time. It may be worth adding that to start seeing benefits from such disciplines as meditation, a good bit of practice is needed even for a non-borderline person.

I hope that is clearer. If not, I am sorry. It is the best I can do. I will try to find the studies. I don't have them bookmarked and no idea how I ran across that stuff or where.

waves

p.s. I am glad your eye is improving. :):hug:

It was clear all the time :)

P.S I find "funny" that brain takes "ages" to get used to something, training it is hard even when it is "healthy", so Im wondering how long would it take with BPD... :rolleyes: FML ! Haha. Oh well :o

I like this Mari... Is like "focus on the good" you know...
There is just one person with who I think I have to control somehow my temper.... :o

Im reading some books... The first book about BPD was sorta boring... Haha my luck !

Fortunately these days off the lab are doing me good...

Love and hugs for everyone reading this thread :hug:

Waves and Majo,

Yes, one could start doing breathing exercises five minutes a day and then work up to five minutes twice a day.

Mari