Friday, October 9, 2009
Heterochromia
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Are You Right Brained or Left Brained?
do you see the girl turning clockwise or anti-clockwise?
If you see the girl turning clockwise, then you are right-brained.
If you see the girl turning anti-clockwise, then you are left-brained
Most of us would see the dancer turning anti-clockwise, though you can try to focus and change the direction; see if you can do it.
LEFT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses logic
detail oriented
facts rule
words and language
present and past
math and science
can comprehend
knowing
acknowledges
order/pattern perception
knows object name
reality based
forms strategies
practical
safe
RIGHT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses feeling
"big picture" oriented
imagination rules
symbols and images
present and future
philosophy & religion
can "get it" (i.e. meaning)
believes
appreciates
spatial perception
knows object function
fantasy based
presents possibilities
impetuous
risk taking
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Schizophrenia
Psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin was the first person to separate schizophrenia from other types of mental illness. He called it 'dementia praecox', and it was later renamed 'schizophrenia'.
three diagnostic criteria must be met:
Characteristic symptoms:
-Delusions
-Hallucinations
-Grossly disorganized behavior just like, dressing inappropriately, crying frequently or catatonic behavior
-Negative symptoms—affective flattening, or lack or decline in emotional response, lack or decline in speech, or lack or decline in motivation
If the delusions are judged to be bizarre, or hallucinations consist of hearing one voice participating in a running commentary of the patient's actions or of hearing two or more voices conversing with each other, only that symptom is required above. The speech disorganization criterion is only met if it is severe enough to substantially impair communication.
Duration: Continuous signs of the disturbance persist for at least six months. This six-month period must include at least one month of symptoms (or less, if symptoms remitted with treatment).
There are drugs that can be given to treat schizophrenia. These drugs cannot cure schizophrenia, but they can control the symptoms. Drugs called anti-psychotics are good for the positive symptoms, but do not seem to help the negative symptoms go away. In fact, some of the drugs for the positive symptoms may make the negative symptoms worse.
Many people with schizophrenia can live good lives. Taking medicine is important to prevent relapses (symptoms coming back). The majority of people recover fully or learn to live a normal life. A small number of people who have schizophrenia will never fully recover
St. Elizabeth's Hospital. Wall of room in Ward Retreat 1. Reproductions made by a patient, a disturbed case of dementia praecox. Pin or fingernail used to scratch paint from wall, top coat of paint buff color, superimposed upon a brick red coat of paint. Pictures symbolize events in patient's past life and represent a mild state of mental regression. Undated, but likely early 20th century.
Louis Wain was an English artist best known for his drawings, anthropomorphised large-eyed cats and kittens. In his later years he suffered from schizophrenia, which according to some psychologist, can be seen in his work
H. G Wells said of him, "He has made the cat his own. He invented a cat style, a cat society, a whole cat world. English cats that do not look and live like Louis Wain cats are ashamed of themselves."
click this to see his drawings
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Megalomania
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Ambidextrous
Michelangelo (1475-1564) was a multi-faceted genius like Leonardo da Vinci. He often painted with both hands. When one got tired, he switched to the other. British artist, Sir Edwin Henry Landseer (1802-1873) could draw with both hands simultaneously -- a horse's head with one hand and a stag's head with the other. He taught drawing and etching to Queen Victoria who was a lefty that became ambidextrous.
Fleming, Einstein and Tesla were all ambidextrous. Benjamin Franklin was also ambidextrous and signed the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution with his left hand. U.S. 20th president, James Garfield was a well educated backwoodsman born in a log cabin. Although he could write with either hand with equal ease, he could also write Greek with his left hand and Latin with his right hand simultaneously! Harry Kahne demonstrated his mental dexterity in 1922 by performing several mental operations simultaneously. While one hand was writing mirror language, the other hand intermingled upside down and backward letters.
How to Be An Ambidextrous:
- Practice with everything you do. Hold your glass with your non-dominant hand, open your door, hammer a nail, brush your teeth, shave, etc. Switch your mouse buttons, too. Try to remember to use your opposite hand with the small things.
- Give yourself the same patience you'd give a child learning how to do open a can of soup, unlock the door, and so on.
- Start doing things in tandem: Swirl 2 glasses of water with both hands simultaneously. Throw 2 wads of paper at the same time, catch 2 balls, "wax on, wax off." Feel what it's like to use both hands at the same time. Strive towards achieving balance in your arms and hands.
- Start writing or drawing with both hands. Tack down some paper and start drawing butterflies, vases, symmetrical objects, write words, letters, shapes, or whatnot. Although your writing will be awful at first, write a couple lines every day from the start.
- Write Zig-Zag/Like a DotMatrix: To take this all to the next level, write from left-to-right (normal direction) with your right hand, and from right-to-left with your left, writing backwards sentences that look correct when held up to a mirror. This is useful because righties are used to writing "from thumb to pinkie", and may write more naturally with their left hand while writing backwards.
- Learn juggling. Three and four balls. A great way to train your weaker arm.