New brain cells

In the March issue of Scientific American there is an article about learning in rats. These days you read things, in contrast to what was said in the past, about animals being able to grow new brain cells. In this article they claim to have shown that rats grow new cells, or at least preserve cells that newly arise, due specifically to learning. (I suppose they had to kill the rats to identify the new cells in their brains.) And the "slower" rats, or those challenged very seriously relative to their limits, grew or preserved more new cells than smarter, quicker-to-learn rats, or those whose tasks did not challenge them as much. That is, if they managed to learn at all.

So maybe I should stick with the therapist who presents me with so many challenges, the one that seems to me not to have much insight, rather than trying to find one that matches me better; maybe in the process of trying to cope, I will grow enough new cells so that I will come out with the same number as regular people already have...

But -- the stress is terrible.

What does stress do to the brain cells?

Too simple a question. How much stress? Compared to what?

There have been news articles on this kind of subject recently, maybe in DocJohn's blog, although I don't see one now.

I'm talking about your brain cells Pachy!

Depends on the level and nature of the stress. And no autopsy has been performed yet, so I cannot see what has happened to the cells. I can only guess that at times some of them die. Or maybe they just get overwhelmed and refuse to respond, or start to fire at random.

I'm not asking for a scientific answer. You write that maybe you will grow more brain cells by being frustrated by your therapist but then you mention if you do this your stress level will be high. So my question is, so you grow more brain cells because of the frustration but if you will have higher levels of stress what will that do to your brain cells. So I guess my real question is why put up with the stress? What keeps you from finding a new therapist?

As with Einstein, scientists were surprised that his brain was smaller than normal. But the elctrical activity was exceptionally active. Proving it is not the size of the brain, but how it is utilized. Negative thought prossesses detract from constructive ones.And it is therapists that help reprogram the mind to concentrate on positive thought.

Fear. And I have been told in the past that moving from one therapist to another is a sign of illness/badness. In other words, maybe my dissatisfaction with a T is "my fault" -- not the therapist's. And in line with my experience as a child, I anticipate that wanting to change T's will offend the T, and I will get smashed as a result. Don't tell me this is foolish or "distorted" thought. Was it distorted when I was a child? Is the situation different in that respect now? How do I know it is, how do I know when it is not?

I am acutely aware of how unreliable my thinking is. I cannot depend on myself.

And how many therapists are there who really understand, anyway? I have not met any. Do they understand what I mean by "thought blockage" or "thought contra-diction"? Do they understand when I try to explain "listening"? I did not understand that when I was younger. I thought I was listening. I was not listening to someone else. I was not willing to hear what they said when it seemed "wrong". When I try to explain I get a blank -- as though it is something entirely beyond their experience, or something beyond their wanting to know about it.

..........

Hi Pachy,
So glad no autopsy has been done as yet!

I think that all the new developments in the field of neuroscience are fascinating and give us more hope than ever before, for illnesses that once were chalked up as life-ending (so to speak). The idea of brains regenerating and growing new cells is so exciting. However, I think this is a relatively slow process and if I really thought I couldn't make progress with my T then I would move on now rather than wait. (I know, I know, easier said than done.......)

Listen, the idea of parenting is to be a "good enough mother." If your therapist isn't a "good enough mother" then by all means consider changing. I don't think it's a question of fault....it's a question of what is called "goodness of fit." Sometimes two people don't communicate all that well for any number of reasons and it's not anyone's fault per se, rather it's just as if they speak different languages.

On the other hand, if you have just figured out a way or path toward communicating with your current T, then go for it! Either way it feels like this is a big step and you have made progress. Good show!

Not well, but changing them is not under my control, except excruciatingly slowly.



What I mean by "contra-diction" is that, within my mind, a thought that I start to have, at times gets immediately opposed by a counter-thought or argument or criticism ("spoken-against"). I think these counterthoughts are relics of my childhood, and of other instances in the present time or more recent times, in which no one seems to be able to listen to me without comment or attempts to "correct". As a result, my train of thought is interrupted, and I cannot carry it to completion, cannot explain what it is, cannot think clearly about it, cannot defend myself when asked to do so. It is similar, I feel sure, in some ways to schizophrenic thought processes, in which one almost hears voices of other people, arguing, criticizing, opposing anything one tries to do. I know of few mental health professionals who make the effort to try to understand what schizophrenic thought is, why it is; all they seem to want to do is discount it, suppress it, devalue it.

Yeah, the question is, is he a good enough mother, or a mother-******. I cannot decide for sure.

Here's a link to one review by DocJohn:

http://psychcentral.com/news/2009/02...gene/4283.html

In general, stress will cause reversible strain on any system, if the stress is not too great; if it is more than that particular system can handle, more-or-less permanent strain will develop. That is how stress results in "mental illness". If you stretch a rubber band, and then let go, it will snap back to its original position -- unless you have stretched it too far, and it breaks. Then you have a big job getting it back together.

As far as brain cells are concerned, I imagine that cell pathways or connections will develop that reinforce bad coping mechanisms if the strain is too great, or maybe some brain cells will atrophy and die. Good coping will strengthen healthy signal pathways amongst brain cells (neurons).

I beg to differ, but then you qualified that statement..... What is wrong with going slowly?????????

Maybe stronger boundaries are in order to keep what others are doing at a far enough distance from you so that what they do doesn't affect you? Do you get any power from your anger to give you some stronger boundaries?

"stronger boundaries" -- they build slowly.

Of course! Anything durable takes time to build! Are you familiar with the Bradford Pear tree? People like them because they grow fast BUT the wood is weak from growing fast so a storm can break them up very easily........