Our brains..... - SoberRecovery : Alcoholism Drug Addiction Help and Information

***Morning Glory*** · 08-19-2003, 04:19 PM

Our brains cannot tell the difference between what is real trauma and what is imagined trauma. So when we think about something that might happen we experience it as if it has happened.

So don't let your worry take you there

2stop · 08-19-2003, 06:57 PM

Makes sense.....kinda?

But wouldn't the extra adrenaline/physiological surge of chemicals that come with crisis be much more severe and pronounced...thereby in some sense "telling" our brain through chemicals that the trauma is "real"..not being argumentative here, just a very interesting subject and I do believe our self-talk can influence chemical structure...just thought I'd share my thoughts.

***Morning Glory*** · 08-19-2003, 08:05 PM

Yes but, you have the extra adrenaline just from thinking something might happen. Like when you are driving. I do believe the thought process comes first and then the rush of adrenaline. Not visa versa. That may be what you are saying. Another thing that people with PTSD do is take a worry to the limit by thinking through the entire imaginary crisis. Example: Your teenage son is leaving in his car and you are afraid he may get in an accident. You then proceed to create the accident in detail and live through it as if it really happened. Funeral and all. This is a common symptom of PTSD. Positive self talk at that point is good to bring you back to the present. Something like " Everything is ok right now. There is nothing to worry about. I'll worry about it if it happens"etc.

We have a habit of playing stories in our minds over and over. Then we worry more and play them again because we are worried. Vicious circle.

2stop · 08-19-2003, 08:44 PM

You are so right about playing stories over and over in our minds....man, but good news! I have been able to catch myself much more and stop the train wreck!!!~

Not always, but progress is progress..and I am getting excited about actually having a life worth living!!!!!!~

SkyIsFalling42 · 08-19-2003, 09:03 PM

Morning Glory..you understand us so well. I am so glad you are here. I know all that you have said here has hit the nail right on the head.
I did not know until I read the other post that PTSD was grouped as an anxiety disorder.
My mom does the "real-not real" scenerio so much she can hardly live her life. She carries around so much stress all of the time that she cannot take one more thing. I do it also.
It had seemed to me that i did this to prepare myself for the worse that could happen. Instead it prepared me for a nervous collapse.

***Morning Glory*** · 08-19-2003, 09:11 PM

The psychologist that I work with told me that Buspar is good for this and suggested it. I'm going to try it the next time I see the doctor. He said there were no side effects and it was easy to quit taking.

2stop · 08-19-2003, 09:13 PM

I have taken Buspar before, I quit because it aggravated my migraines..but other than that there really wasn't any side-effects...Good luck MG, I have heard some say it really helped them!~

SkyIsFalling42 · 08-19-2003, 09:14 PM

It was so hard for me to take anything...I cried when I took the 25 mg of zoloft..I was so scared. Now i am taking 150 mg a day. I am so afraid of switching meds and stuff. I still get awful headaches at times..I have had them the past few days. Please let me know how the Buspar works for you.

***Morning Glory*** · 08-19-2003, 09:16 PM

I will Sky. I also think it is one that you can take with the zoloft. I don't plan on quitting my prozac.

SkyIsFalling42 · 08-19-2003, 09:19 PM

Thank you MG. This statement is still blowing me away!! I have never thougth of it this way before..man what we DO to ourselves!!!

"Our brains cannot tell the difference between what is real trauma and what is imagined trauma.":p

2stop · 08-21-2003, 11:19 PM

..my brain has taken a vacation! I was telling myself earlier "I am going to Lose it!!" WEll, by golly it didn't know I was just kidding and it up and left me!!!!..please don't return to owner if found..!

I am applying for an improved, updated version with memory capabilities!!!

Seriously, how do ya a ll handle memory loss? It's driving me nutty lately. I have read there are brain "exercises" MG..you know of any brain exercises? Would just simply trying to memorize lists work..or do you know if there are other ways to train the brain? Just wonderin.

Love ya all!!!!!!

***Morning Glory*** · 08-21-2003, 11:55 PM

This is my theory

We have to process more information than "normal" people do. We think about every little detail of every little thing. Then we work it over about a million times. We think about the past constantly, the stuff that's going on today and then every possible scenario that could happen in the future. At the same time we are always on high alert as if we were in enemy territory and our lives depended on it. Also at the same time we are watching TV, typing on the computer and talking to family. We also tend to solve everyone elses problems too.

I have so much going on in my brain that I can sit on rearranged furniture for 2 weeks before I notice I'm sitting in a different place.

My suggestion would be to leave yourself notes in a place where you'll be able to find them.

Hugs,
MG

Josie · 08-22-2003, 12:16 AM

M.G.,

Well, that was quite a theory and you
have just described my everyday life.

I don't wish this on anyone, but I am
relieved I am not alone.

I call it odd duck syndrome.

And the forget thing....my boss called me at home tonight and I said "now what did I forget"?

I have been writing myself notes

Hugs,

***Morning Glory*** · 08-22-2003, 12:24 AM

We will call this the odd duck syndrome from now on, lol.

2stop · 08-22-2003, 12:26 AM

Hmmm. Place notes where I can easily find them? I'll have to stick them to my forehead and stand in front of the mirror all day!!

*LOL*

{{HUGS YA ALL}}~

***Morning Glory*** · 08-22-2003, 12:28 AM

Then make sure you write them backwards

SkyIsFalling42 · 08-22-2003, 12:28 AM

MG
You got it!! My man said soemtimes he feels like tripping me as i go by to get my attention!!

Its awful.
And we were driving down the road talking a couple weeks ago..i was trying to explain some to him. So I started saying everything i seenand thought out loud and just kept going for a while. He was smoking and needed a new fuse by the time I was done. How exhausting our lives are!!
I tried writing notes..and then went to tieing strings around my finger to remind me to look at the notes..and then I couldnt find a pen to write the notes..started looking for one and wondered what happend to my cigarretts by the way..and just kept going until days later i realized that i had a string tied around my finger for some reason..and it had turned black and had no circulation...oh well..such is life..what was i talking about??

2stop · 08-22-2003, 12:31 AM

*LOL* MG~ You're right! I must "remember" to write it backwards.!!!!

***Morning Glory*** · 08-22-2003, 12:33 AM

Thinking about thinking is giving me anxiety.

SkyIsFalling42 · 08-22-2003, 12:33 AM

oh yeah..write it backwards

08-19-2003, 04:19 PM	#1 (permalink)
*Morning Glory* Administrator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: CA Posts: 10,122 Blog Entries: 2	Our brains..... Our brains cannot tell the difference between what is real trauma and what is imagined trauma. So when we think about something that might happen we experience it as if it has happened. So don't let your worry take you there

08-19-2003, 06:57 PM	#2 (permalink)
2stop ~Author of My Life~ Join Date: May 2003 Location: Doing what I thought I couldn't.... Posts: 4,794	Makes sense.....kinda? But wouldn't the extra adrenaline/physiological surge of chemicals that come with crisis be much more severe and pronounced...thereby in some sense "telling" our brain through chemicals that the trauma is "real"..not being argumentative here, just a very interesting subject and I do believe our self-talk can influence chemical structure...just thought I'd share my thoughts. __________________ Many Hugs and Hope too, Tammie "Think of all the beauty still left around you and BE HAPPY." ~Anne Frank~ "Things do not change, WE change." ~Henry David Thoreau~

08-19-2003, 08:44 PM	#4 (permalink)
2stop ~Author of My Life~ Join Date: May 2003 Location: Doing what I thought I couldn't.... Posts: 4,794	You are so right about playing stories over and over in our minds....man, but good news! I have been able to catch myself much more and stop the train wreck!!!~ Not always, but progress is progress..and I am getting excited about actually having a life worth living!!!!!!~ __________________ Many Hugs and Hope too, Tammie "Think of all the beauty still left around you and BE HAPPY." ~Anne Frank~ "Things do not change, WE change." ~Henry David Thoreau~

08-19-2003, 09:03 PM	#5 (permalink)
SkyIsFalling42 Big kitty nose hugs Join Date: May 2003 Location: Center of The World Posts: 1,261	Morning Glory..you understand us so well. I am so glad you are here. I know all that you have said here has hit the nail right on the head. I did not know until I read the other post that PTSD was grouped as an anxiety disorder. My mom does the "real-not real" scenerio so much she can hardly live her life. She carries around so much stress all of the time that she cannot take one more thing. I do it also. It had seemed to me that i did this to prepare myself for the worse that could happen. Instead it prepared me for a nervous collapse. __________________ Love In Spirit, Sky Where my heart is....... http://Writing.Com/authors/skyisfalling02 "Never Give In, Never Give In, Never Give In, Never, Never, Never." ~~Sir Winston Churchill~~

08-19-2003, 09:13 PM	#7 (permalink)
2stop ~Author of My Life~ Join Date: May 2003 Location: Doing what I thought I couldn't.... Posts: 4,794	I have taken Buspar before, I quit because it aggravated my migraines..but other than that there really wasn't any side-effects...Good luck MG, I have heard some say it really helped them!~ __________________ Many Hugs and Hope too, Tammie "Think of all the beauty still left around you and BE HAPPY." ~Anne Frank~ "Things do not change, WE change." ~Henry David Thoreau~

08-19-2003, 08:05 PM	#3 (permalink)
*Morning Glory* Administrator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: CA Posts: 10,122 Blog Entries: 2	Yes but, you have the extra adrenaline just from thinking something might happen. Like when you are driving. I do believe the thought process comes first and then the rush of adrenaline. Not visa versa. That may be what you are saying. Another thing that people with PTSD do is take a worry to the limit by thinking through the entire imaginary crisis. Example: Your teenage son is leaving in his car and you are afraid he may get in an accident. You then proceed to create the accident in detail and live through it as if it really happened. Funeral and all. This is a common symptom of PTSD. Positive self talk at that point is good to bring you back to the present. Something like " Everything is ok right now. There is nothing to worry about. I'll worry about it if it happens"etc. We have a habit of playing stories in our minds over and over. Then we worry more and play them again because we are worried. Vicious circle.

08-19-2003, 09:11 PM	#6 (permalink)
*Morning Glory* Administrator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: CA Posts: 10,122 Blog Entries: 2	The psychologist that I work with told me that Buspar is good for this and suggested it. I'm going to try it the next time I see the doctor. He said there were no side effects and it was easy to quit taking.

08-19-2003, 09:14 PM	#8 (permalink)
SkyIsFalling42 Big kitty nose hugs Join Date: May 2003 Location: Center of The World Posts: 1,261	It was so hard for me to take anything...I cried when I took the 25 mg of zoloft..I was so scared. Now i am taking 150 mg a day. I am so afraid of switching meds and stuff. I still get awful headaches at times..I have had them the past few days. Please let me know how the Buspar works for you. __________________ Love In Spirit, Sky Where my heart is....... http://Writing.Com/authors/skyisfalling02 "Never Give In, Never Give In, Never Give In, Never, Never, Never." ~~Sir Winston Churchill~~

08-19-2003, 09:16 PM	#9 (permalink)
*Morning Glory* Administrator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: CA Posts: 10,122 Blog Entries: 2	I will Sky. I also think it is one that you can take with the zoloft. I don't plan on quitting my prozac.

08-19-2003, 09:19 PM	#10 (permalink)
SkyIsFalling42 Big kitty nose hugs Join Date: May 2003 Location: Center of The World Posts: 1,261	Thank you MG. This statement is still blowing me away!! I have never thougth of it this way before..man what we DO to ourselves!!! "Our brains cannot tell the difference between what is real trauma and what is imagined trauma.":p __________________ Love In Spirit, Sky Where my heart is....... http://Writing.Com/authors/skyisfalling02 "Never Give In, Never Give In, Never Give In, Never, Never, Never." ~~Sir Winston Churchill~~

08-21-2003, 11:19 PM	#11 (permalink)
2stop ~Author of My Life~ Join Date: May 2003 Location: Doing what I thought I couldn't.... Posts: 4,794	Brain on the loose!!! ..my brain has taken a vacation! I was telling myself earlier "I am going to Lose it!!" WEll, by golly it didn't know I was just kidding and it up and left me!!!!..please don't return to owner if found..! I am applying for an improved, updated version with memory capabilities!!! Seriously, how do ya a ll handle memory loss? It's driving me nutty lately. I have read there are brain "exercises" MG..you know of any brain exercises? Would just simply trying to memorize lists work..or do you know if there are other ways to train the brain? Just wonderin. Love ya all!!!!!! __________________ Many Hugs and Hope too, Tammie "Think of all the beauty still left around you and BE HAPPY." ~Anne Frank~ "Things do not change, WE change." ~Henry David Thoreau~

08-21-2003, 11:55 PM	#12 (permalink)
*Morning Glory* Administrator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: CA Posts: 10,122 Blog Entries: 2	This is my theory We have to process more information than "normal" people do. We think about every little detail of every little thing. Then we work it over about a million times. We think about the past constantly, the stuff that's going on today and then every possible scenario that could happen in the future. At the same time we are always on high alert as if we were in enemy territory and our lives depended on it. Also at the same time we are watching TV, typing on the computer and talking to family. We also tend to solve everyone elses problems too. I have so much going on in my brain that I can sit on rearranged furniture for 2 weeks before I notice I'm sitting in a different place. My suggestion would be to leave yourself notes in a place where you'll be able to find them. Hugs, MG

08-22-2003, 12:16 AM	#13 (permalink)
Josie Grace Under Fire Join Date: May 2002 Location: Another world Posts: 536	M.G., Well, that was quite a theory and you have just described my everyday life. I don't wish this on anyone, but I am relieved I am not alone. I call it odd duck syndrome. And the forget thing....my boss called me at home tonight and I said "now what did I forget"? I have been writing myself notes Hugs, __________________ Josie

08-22-2003, 12:24 AM	#14 (permalink)
*Morning Glory* Administrator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: CA Posts: 10,122 Blog Entries: 2	We will call this the odd duck syndrome from now on, lol.

08-22-2003, 12:26 AM	#15 (permalink)
2stop ~Author of My Life~ Join Date: May 2003 Location: Doing what I thought I couldn't.... Posts: 4,794	Hmmm. Place notes where I can easily find them? I'll have to stick them to my forehead and stand in front of the mirror all day!! LOL {{HUGS YA ALL}}~ __________________ Many Hugs and Hope too, Tammie "Think of all the beauty still left around you and BE HAPPY." ~Anne Frank~ "Things do not change, WE change." ~Henry David Thoreau~

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08-22-2003, 12:28 AM	#16 (permalink)
*Morning Glory* Administrator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: CA Posts: 10,122 Blog Entries: 2	Then make sure you write them backwards

08-22-2003, 12:28 AM	#17 (permalink)
SkyIsFalling42 Big kitty nose hugs Join Date: May 2003 Location: Center of The World Posts: 1,261	MG You got it!! My man said soemtimes he feels like tripping me as i go by to get my attention!! Its awful. And we were driving down the road talking a couple weeks ago..i was trying to explain some to him. So I started saying everything i seenand thought out loud and just kept going for a while. He was smoking and needed a new fuse by the time I was done. How exhausting our lives are!! I tried writing notes..and then went to tieing strings around my finger to remind me to look at the notes..and then I couldnt find a pen to write the notes..started looking for one and wondered what happend to my cigarretts by the way..and just kept going until days later i realized that i had a string tied around my finger for some reason..and it had turned black and had no circulation...oh well..such is life..what was i talking about?? __________________ Love In Spirit, Sky Where my heart is....... http://Writing.Com/authors/skyisfalling02 "Never Give In, Never Give In, Never Give In, Never, Never, Never." ~~Sir Winston Churchill~~

08-22-2003, 12:31 AM	#18 (permalink)
2stop ~Author of My Life~ Join Date: May 2003 Location: Doing what I thought I couldn't.... Posts: 4,794	LOL MG~ You're right! I must "remember" to write it backwards.!!!! __________________ Many Hugs and Hope too, Tammie "Think of all the beauty still left around you and BE HAPPY." ~Anne Frank~ "Things do not change, WE change." ~Henry David Thoreau~

08-22-2003, 12:33 AM	#19 (permalink)
*Morning Glory* Administrator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: CA Posts: 10,122 Blog Entries: 2	Thinking about thinking is giving me anxiety.

08-22-2003, 12:33 AM	#20 (permalink)
SkyIsFalling42 Big kitty nose hugs Join Date: May 2003 Location: Center of The World Posts: 1,261	oh yeah..write it backwards __________________ Love In Spirit, Sky Where my heart is....... http://Writing.Com/authors/skyisfalling02 "Never Give In, Never Give In, Never Give In, Never, Never, Never." ~~Sir Winston Churchill~~

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