Spiral of Silence

The spiral of silence theory (Maibach et al., 2016) posits that humans are less willing to express their opinions when they believe that they are not shared by others, and this unfortunately influences public opinion.

Specifically, the perception that one’s opinion is unpopular tends to inhibit or discourage one’s expression of it, while the perception that it is popular tends to have the opposite effect. Developed by German survey and communication researcher Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann in the 1960s and 1970s, the spiral of silence theory more broadly attempts to describe collective opinion formation and societal decision making regarding issues that are controversial or morally loaded.

According to the spiral of silence theory, most people have a natural and mostly unconscious fear of social isolation that prompts them to constantly monitor the behaviour of others for signs of approval, or disapproval. People also issue their own “threats” of isolation—mostly unconsciously—through behaviour such as criticizing someone, turning away from someone, scowling at someone, laughing at someone, and so on. To avoid isolation, people tend to refrain from publicly stating their views on controversial matters when they perceive that doing so would attract criticism, scorn, laughter, or other signs of disapproval. 

Conversely, those who sense that their opinions will meet with approval tend to voice them fearlessly and at times vociferously. Indeed, speaking out in such a way tends to enhance the threat of isolation faced by supporters of the opposing position, reinforcing their sense of being alone. Thus a spiraling process begins, the dominant camp becoming ever louder and more self-confident while the other camp becomes increasingly silent.

Talk to your friends, Talk to wrong numbers, everyone!

The secret to small talk is putting yourself out there, being open, genuine, and vulnerable in your desire to connect with others. This is more important than managing every interaction perfectly.               

                "Well, if this means opening your door to those in need,

                those in pain,

                caring for them, listening to them,

                if this is practicing medicine, if this is treating a patient...

                then I am guilty as charged.

                Transference is inevitable...

                Every human being has an impact on another.

                Why don't we want that in a patient/doctor relationship?

                A doctor's mission should be not just to prevent death...

                but also to improve the quality of life.

                That's why you treat a disease, you win, you lose.

                You treat a person, I guarantee you, you win, no matter what the outcome.

                Don't let them anesthetize you. Don't let them numb you out to the miracle of life.

                Always live in awe of the glorious mechanism of the human body.

                Let that be the focus of your studies and not a quest for grades...

                which'll give you no idea what kind of doctor you will become.

                Don't wait till you're on the ward to get your humanity back.

                Start your interviewing skills. Start talking to strangers.

                Talk to your friends, Talk to wrong numbers, everyone."

~ Robin Williams, Patch Adams (1998)

299.00 (F84.0)

Autism is a lifelong neuro-developmental disability that affects the development of the brain in areas of social interaction and communication. People with autism have difficulties in communicating and forming relationships with people, in developing language and in using abstract concepts. It also impacts on their ability to make sense of the world around them. It was first described by Leo Kanner in 1943. The following year in 1944, a German scientist named Hans Asperger describes a "milder" form of autism now known as Asperger's Syndrome. It wasn't until 1994 that Asperger's Syndrome was added to the DSM, expanding the autism spectrum to include milder cases in which individuals tend to be more highly functioning.

 

Over the years, the definition, classification and diagnostic specifics of autism have undergone many significant changes. In 2013 the DSM-5 folded all subcategories of the condition into one umbrella diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Asperger's Syndrome is no longer considered a separate condition. The severity levels for Autism Spectrum Disorder, 299.00 (F84.0) from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) are outlined below.

Level 3: "Requiring very substantial support"

Social communication: Severe deficits in verbal and nonverbal social communication skills cause severe impairments in functioning, very limited initiation of social interactions, and minimal response to social overtures from others. For example, a person with few words of intelligible speech who rarely initiates interaction and, when he or she does, makes unusual approaches to meet needs only and responds to only very direct social approaches.

Restricted, repetitive behaviours: Inflexibility of behaviour, extreme difficulty coping with change, or other restricted / repetitive behaviours markedly interfere with functioning in all spheres. Great distress / difficulty changing focus or action.

Level 2: "Requiring substantial support"

Social communication: Marked deficits in verbal and nonverbal social communication skills; social impairments apparent even with supports in place; limited initiation of social interactions; and reduced or  abnormal responses to social overtures from others. For example, a person who speaks simple sentences, whose interaction is limited  to narrow special interests, and how has markedly odd nonverbal communication.

Restricted, repetitive behaviours: Inflexibility of behaviour, difficulty coping with change, or other restricted / repetitive behaviours appear frequently enough to be obvious to the casual observer and interfere with functioning in  a variety of contexts. Distress and / or difficulty changing focus or action.

Level 1: "Requiring support"

Social communication: Without supports in place, deficits in social communication cause noticeable impairments. Difficulty initiating social interactions, and clear examples of atypical or unsuccessful response to social overtures of others. May appear to have decreased interest in social interactions. For example, a person who is able to speak in full sentences and engages in communication but whose to-and-fro conversation with others fails, and whose attempts to make friends are odd and typically unsuccessful.

Restricted, repetitive behaviours: Inflexibility of behaviour causes significant interference with functioning in one or more contexts. Difficulty switching between activities. Problems of organization and planning hamper independence.

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'If they can't learn the way we teach, we teach the way they learn' ~ O. Ivar Lovaas 

The McGurk effect

A phenomenon that occurs when a speech sound does not match the shape of the lips producing it, as when the sound corresponding to the usual pronunciation of the word gay is dubbed on to a video image of a person uttering the word bay, causing the listener to hear a word intermediate between the two (day).

The effect shows that the visual channel conveys important information not just to deaf people but also to listeners with normal hearing. For those with minor hearing loss, speech reading can be a very valuable way to maximize the hearing they still do have. Also, this reveals more about why watching the mouth is so important in intense language learning.

The phenomenon is named after the Scottish psychologist Harry McGurk (1936-98) who co-authored the first article on it, entitled 'Hearing Lips and Seeing Voices' in the journal Nature in 1976.

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Perspective

I love this story from Irvin D. Yalom.

 

One of his patient's with breast cancer who throughout adolescence had been locked in a long, bitter struggle with her naysaying father. Looking forward to some form of reconciliation, she looked forward to her father driving her to college; a time she would be alone with him for several hours. The trip turned out to be a disaster. Her father behaved true to form by grousing at length about the ugly, garbage littered creek by the side of the road. She on the other hand saw no litter whatsoever in the beautiful, rustic, unspoiled stream. She found no way to respond and eventually, lapsing into silence, they spent the remainder of the trip looking away from each other.

 

Later, she made the same trip alone and was astounded to note that there were two streams - one each side of the road. ''This time I was the driver'', she said sadly, and the stream I saw was as ugly and polluted as her father had described it. But by the time she had learned to look out her father' window, it was too late - her father was dead and buried.

 

Yalom remarks that the story remained with him, and on many occasions he has reminded himself and his patients, 'Look out the other's window'. Try to see the world from another's perspective.

 

It's so relevant to many things in life such as empathy and honing our compassion for others. I think it's just awesome, and makes me want to delve into more of Yalom's writings.

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Alzheimer's Disease: A Death of 1000 Subtractions

Every 4 seconds someone is diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease; a slow fatal disease of the brain affecting 1 in 10 people over the age of 65. It's the most common cause of dementia affecting over 40 million people worldwide, and yet finding a cure is something that still eludes its researchers today.

 

Doctor Aloysius Alzheimer, a German psychiatrist first described the symptoms in 1901, when he noticed that a particular hospital patient (Auguste Deter) had some peculiar problems; including difficulty sleeping, disturbed memory, drastic mood changes, and increasing confusion. When the patient passed away, Dr Alzheimer was able to do an autopsy and test his idea that perhaps the symptoms were caused by irregularities in the brain's structure. What he found beneath the microscope were visible differences in brain tissue; in the form of mis-folded proteins called plaques; and neurofibrillary tangles. Those plaques and tangles worked together to break down the brain's structure.

 

Plaques arise when another protein in the fatty membrane's surrounding nerve cells get sliced up by a particular enzyme, resulting in beta-amyloid proteins, which are 'sticky', and have a tendency to clump together. That clumping is what forms the things we know as plaques. These clumps block signalling and therefore communication between cells; and also seem to trigger immune reactions that cause the destruction of disabled nerve cells.

 

In Alzheimer's Disease (AD), neurofibrillary tangles are built from a protein known as tau. The brain's nerve cells contain a network of tubes that act like a highway for food molecules - among other substances. Usually, the tau-protein ensures that these tubes are straight, allowing molecules to pass through freely. But in AD, the protein collapses into twisted strands or tangles, making the tubes disintegrate - obstructing nutrients from reaching the nerve cell, and leading to cell death.

 

The destructive pairing of plaques and tangles starts in a region called the hippocampus - which is responsible for forming memories. This is why short-term memory loss is usually the first symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease. The proteins then progressively invade other parts of the brain, creating unique changes that signal various changes of the disease.
 



Pronounced neural atrophy in the AD brain

At the front of the brain, the proteins destroy the ability to process logical thoughts. Next, they shift to the region that controls emotions - resulting in erratic mood changes. At the top of the brain, they cause paranoia and hallucinations; and once they reach the brain's rear, the plaques and tangles work together to erase the mind's deepest memories. Eventually, the control centres governing heart rate and breathing are overpowered aswell, resulting in death.

 

The immensely destructive nature of this disease has inspired many researchers to look for a cure, but currently they're focused on slowing its progression. One temporary treatment helps reduce the breakdown of acetylcholine (ACh) - an important chemical messenger in the brain; which is decreased in Alzheimer's patients due to the death of the nerve cells that make it. Another possible solution is a vaccine that trains the bodies immune system to attack beta-amyloid plaques before they can form clumps.

 

My own personal interest around Alzheimer's Disease is a mixture of both fascination and abhorrence. It can afflict anyone, and does indeed become the most unwelcome of visitors to many. Alzheimer's disease has been termed ''a demographic time bomb'' (Shenk). Over 35 million people worldwide struggle with Alzheimer’s or some other form of dementia, according to the World Health Organization. Alzheimer's Disease was discovered more than a century ago, and yet it is still not well understood.

The progression from mild forgetting to death is slow and steady, and takes place over an average of 8 to 10 years. No one is immune. It is relentless, devastating for the sufferers and carers; and, for now, incurable.
 

 

 

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Jun, I. S. Y. (April, 2014)

Suffering is always hard to quantify - especially when the pain is caused by as cruel a disease as Alzheimer's. Most illnesses attack the body; Alzheimer's destroys the mind - and in the process, annihilates the very self  ~ Jeffrey Kluger

Political Persuasion

What does an elected individual do or portray that may benefit them in the run up to polling day? In election campaigns, candidates attempt to promote themselves and try to communicate a positive message to get the support of the deciding voters. Along with expressing their motives if elected, does an understanding of the voter’s mind benefit their campaign strategy? A promotion of this idea could be witnessed in a haunting statement from Adolf Hitler (1933) who remarked in his infamous literature Mein Kampf,

'' … the greater the scope of the message that has to be present, the more necessary it is for the propaganda to discover that plan of action which is psychologically the most efficient''

Political communication and persuasion may have intrigued a tyrant in Nazi Germany,  but how does modern day political messages affect the public? In political elections advertising is regularly used to communicate a candidate's message in the hope of being elected. The public are exposed to images of politicians on campaign posters, campaign buses, leaflets through their letterbox, political broadcasts and televised debates. Whether the individual is walking on the street, driving in their car or sitting in front of the TV, they will likely witness political campaign advertising in some form or another.

 

In what ways does this advertising affect the mind of a voter? In the 2008 US presidential election Barack Obama’s campaign slogan of ''Yes we can'' may have been transformed into a victorious ''Yes we did!'' (Miller, 2009).  The ‘Mere exposure effect’ proposed by Zajonc (1968), says that a repeated exposure to a particular object results in a greater attraction to that object. If this theory is applied to political advertising, you could argue that people who continually witnessed Obama's campaign signs, may have developed a preference for his slogan and thus his party in general.

However, voters are not easily fooled by familiar and attractive faces alone (Mattes et al., 2010). First impressions of a political candidate can also be important. Primacy effects refer to people's tendency to assign more importance to the first information we learn about a person. Research suggests that a candidate who arouses positive feelings in a voter at an early stage, may have a heavy bearing on the day citizens go to the polls. Research from Abakoumkin (2011) highlighted the relationship of primacy effects in the ballot order of candidate's names and election outcomes. According to the author, those candidates listed earlier on a voting list may have had an advantage over those listed afterwards.

Contrary to these primary effects are recency effects, the enhanced memory of recently learned information. Can recency effects have an impact in how they influence vote decision? On October 24th 2011, in the race for the Irish Presidency, allegations were made against front runner Sean Gallagher that he received a €5,000 payment from convicted fuel smuggler Hugh Morgan. An argument could be made that recency effects of the allegations played a role in Mr. Gallagher losing votes and not being elected President. The recency effects coupled with this revelation may have removed feelings of trust and popularity among the Irish electorate.

Popularity and liking is also psychologically important for creating an association with a person. In his book 'Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion', Cialdini (2007) says that people tend to comply with the requests of someone they know and like (p. 167), with other researchers arguing that the likeability of a candidate suggests caring, trust and sociability (Hoegg & Lewis, 2011). Candidates trying to win votes may employ this tactic in order to create a 'one of us' connection. Cialdini also discussed peoples need to reciprocate; a politician who canvasses door to door making promises about what they will do once elected, or what they have done, can leave people in a situation where they feel an act of reciprocation is due (Cialdini, 2007). The political promises are acknowledged and in exchange for a vote, the 'reciprocity rule' lets the person avoid feelings of indebtedness to the other party.

Another method of creating an association with voters is in the linking of celebrities to political parties (Cialdini, 2007). Name dropping to associate yourself with desirable individuals and therefore improve other people's impressions of you, is referred to as BIRGing, 'Basking in Reflected Glory' (Cialdini et al., 1976).

An early example of this was portrayed in an overt media act instigated by Edward Bernays,  a pioneer in public relations. In 1924, the media had portrayed US President Calvin Coolidge as a dull, humanless figure who was viewed as a national joke. President Coolidge contacted Bernays for help in boosting his popularity with the masses. Bernays organised 34 film stars to visit the White House, and in this act of combining public relations with politics, the morning newspapers contained front page articles that increased the President's ratings among the public (Curtis, 2002).

A more recent example demonstrated in 2001, showed Tony Blair inviting celebrities to 10 Downing Street in an attempt to "add some spice" to the Labour Party. Political tactics like 'BIRGing' may sway the undecided votes, by creating a positive mental schema of the politician and thus reducing initial cognitive dissonance.

Basking in reflected glory may have helped President Coolidge boost his self enhancement in 1924, but in the modern era of elections, social media sites can act as a new communication tool for politicians (Vitak et al., 2011). With the younger generation of today being the future voters, politicians may need to increase political interest through relevant mediums. The internet provides people with more information in elections than that of traditional media. Facebook and MySpace were extremely popular among younger voters in the 2008 US Presidential race (Vitak et al., 2011). These social media sites allow politicians to interact with younger voters who may not have been previously interested in politics. Facebook users could post comments, share videos, express thoughts, become a "fan" of a candidate, and connect with other users in ways that previous elections did not offer (Vitak et al., 2011). Thus, from the use of social media sites, the peer to peer interactions among younger users can benefit a politician to convey their message to a broader audience.

An additional attraction of online political communication is how cost effective it can be. Research by Hoegg & Lewis (2011) states, ''A huge determinant of the success of a political campaign is the money spent on it'' (p. 898). It is therefore beneficial to the candidate to engage in powerful online mediums that save on expenditure and are less resource intensive, with any surplus expenditure being directed elsewhere. However, online activities may also have negative implications for political candidates. With the popularity of mobile phones, a member of the public standing in a campaign crowd can record a candidates "gaffe" and immediately post it online for millions to view (Johnson & Perlmutter, 2011). Mistakes can be highlighted and damage political reputations, where in previous decades an unfortunate incident may have gone unnoticed and be quickly forgotten.

The effective use of internet mediums has also been questioned by Morozov (2009). The author regarded the users of online resources for political interaction as ''slacktivists'', where participants were merely engaging in feel-good online activism that has little or zero real world impact. Online participants in chat forums who attempt to generate publicity for a particular candidate, is an ideal form of activism for a ''lazy generation'' and are not interested in following through on their morals (Morozov, 2009).

Political elections continue to be a prominent topic in news and general discussion. With the development of new trends in an internet era, politicians are faced with new challenges in exhausting all possible resources to create the most accessible campaign message. There are a myriad of psychological influences present in political campaigns. The psychological motives of a politician's actions are not always the most obvious from a voter's perspective, but for the candidate they may be a decisive factor in securing the position sought after.

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"People almost invariably arrive at their beliefs not on the basis of proof but on the basis of what they find attractive."  
                                                                                                                                                - Blaise Pascal, De l'art de persuader

Warning Signs for Suicide

The best predictor of suicide attempts in both women and men is a verbal or behavioural threat to commit suicide, and such threats should always be taken seriously.

 

One of the most destructive myths about suicide is that people who talk openly about suicide are just seeking attention and do not actually intend to carry out the act. Yet research shows that a high proportion of suicide attempts - perhaps 80 percent - are preceded by some kind of warning (Bagley & Ramsay, 1997). Sometimes the warning is an explicit statement of intent, such as 'I don't want to go on living' or 'I won't be around for much longer'. Other times, the warnings are more subtle, as when a person expresses hopelessness about the future, withdraws from others or from favourite activities, gives away treasured possessions, or takes unusual risks.

 

Other important risk factors are a history of previous suicide attempts and a detailed plan that involves a lethal method (Chiles & Strossahl, 1995; Shneidman, 1998). Substance abuse also increases suicide risk (Yen et al., 2003; Passer & Smith, 2009).

 

There's an enormous amount of pain in the world. Not physical pain but psychological pain. It's an ache in the mind. It's an ache of the negative emotions. It's the ache of guilt and of shame, and of loneliness and rejection. It comes from thwarted, blocked, frustrated, trampled upon psychological needs. And if I were to commit suicide, it would be in terms of my frustrated needs. And if you were my therapist, I would be grateful if you understood me, not in terms of my biology or my parents or my psychodynamics, but in terms of what needs were bugging me.

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''The grief of the worshippers left behind, the awful famine in their hearts, these are too costly terms for the release''
                                                                                                                                                                     ~ Mark Twain

Samaritans                                     Pieta House                                 Turn2Me

Ireland: 1850 60 90 90                   Website: www.pieta.ie                 Website: www.turn2me.org

 

The Chameleon Effect

According to authors Chartrand and Bargh ,"The chameleon effect refers to nonconscious mimicry of the postures, mannerisms, facial expressions, and other behaviors of one's interaction partners, such that one's behavior passively and unintentionally changes to match that of others in one's current social environment." (Journal Of Personality and Social Psychology, 1999).

 
How many times have you yawned after viewing another person do it? Or noticed your tone of voice depended on the company you were in. What about meeting up with people from where you used to grow up and now realising that your homeland accent has suddenly started coming out of your mouth...

 

The chameleon effect can happen naturally and frequently because we feel a rapport with people who mimic our moves. Most of us do it automatically to varying degrees, we mimic the people around us all the time without even realizing it.

 

In one study of the chameleon effect, Chartrand and Bargh found that students who rated high on empathy were more likely to imitate others. "Those who pay more attention mimic more," says Chartrand.

 

We also mimic the facial expressions of other people. This is so hardwired that one-month old infants have been shown to smile, stick out their tongues, and open their mouths when they see someone else doing the same (Meltzoff & Moore, 1977).

Unintentional mimicry and imitation functions as a social cohesive. The chameleon effect actually becomes a warm response that facilitates social interactions. Mirroring a persons language shows that you understand your conversation partner, and that you are an empathetic listener.

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''When you are in the company of lunatics, behave like a lunatic. When you are in the company of intelligentsias, speak with brilliance...that is how a chameleon behaves, the territory changes it, and it adapts to the changes.''
                                                                                                                    ~ Michael Bassey Johnson

Chinese Room Argument

The Chinese room argument is a thought experiment. It was first proposed by the US philosopher John Searle (pictured) in the journal Behavioural and Brain Sciences in 1980 , in which many people feel he thoroughly disproved the notion that any computer program could acquire true intelligence. It is one of the best known and widely credited counters to claims of artificial intelligence (AI) - that is, to claims that computers do or at least can (someday might) think.

It was written to demonstrate a simple point - intelligent behaviour does not equate to intelligence. This doesn't mean AI design is impossible, but that a behavioural-based model for intelligence is flawed.

Imagine yourself a monolingual English speaker, ''locked in a room, and given a large batch of Chinese writing'' plus ''a second batch of Chinese script” and ''a set of rules'' in English ''for correlating the second batch with the first batch.'' As Searle explains how it works: ''Suppose that unknown to you the symbols passed into the room are called 'questions' by the people outside the room, and the symbols you pass back out of the room are called 'answers to the questions' ''. Just by looking at your answers, nobody can tell you ''don't speak a word of Chinese.''

The point he makes is that you may hand out the appropriate and even accurate answers and that those responses may serve to connect with the expectations of those asking the questions.  However, it does not indicate that any real understanding has taken place or that any sort of meaning is actually attached to the question and answer process that is taking place.

 

It should be conceded that Searle's argument is effective in showing that certain kinds of machines - even machines that pass the Turing Test - are not necessarily intelligent and do not necessarily "understand" the words that they speak. This is because a computer sitting on a desk with no sensory apparatus and no means of causally interacting with objects in the world will be incapable of understanding a language. Such a machine might be capable of manipulating linguistic symbols, even to the point of producing output that will fool human speakers and thus pass the Turing Test. However, the words produced by such a machine would lack one crucial ingredient: The words would fail to express any meaningful content and thus would fail to be "about" anything.

What's the point?

It doesn't matter how perfectly a computer is designed to simulate the intelligence of a human being - because its behaviour is a result of aimlessly executing instructions, not understanding. In this case, the means defines the end. You're reading this sentence, and understanding it without demonstrating behaviour of any kind. A system's behaviour doesn’t indicate intelligence or understanding, and a system that behaves intelligently is not necessarily ''intelligent.''
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Before we work on artificial intelligence why don't we do something about natural stupidity

The Turing Test

This hypothetical test, named after the English mathematician Alan Mathison Turing (1912 - 1954), is to clarify the question as to whether computers can think. Turing introduced it in an article in the journal Mind in 1950, where he called it the imitation game.

A person A and an interrogator in a different room engage in a dialogue by typing messages over  an electronic link. At some point A is replaced by intelligent software that simulates human responses. Turing argued that if the remaining human being is free to ask probing questions (such as ''Please write me a sonnet on the subject of the Forth Bridge'') but is unable to determine reliably whether the replies are generated by a human being or a computer, then the computer will have passed the test.




Working hard or hardly working?

 

Turing considered the question Can machines think? to be 'too meaningless to deserve discussion' and argued that his test, which replaces it, poses a more meaningful problem. But passing the Turing test came to be interpreted by many of his followers as amounting to being able to think. Some of the most sustained attacks on this approach have focused on the Chinese room argument.

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''Computers are incredibly fast, accurate and stupid; humans are incredibly slow, inaccurate and brilliant; together they are powerful beyond imagination''     ~ Albert Einstein

Hikikomori

This culture bound syndrome is found almost exclusively in Japan, most commonly among male teenagers and young adults.

 

It is characterized by extreme social withdrawal and near total severance of contact with the outside world, without any other evidence of psychiatric or neurological disorder. It is usually triggered by an upsetting experience, such as being bullied, failing an examination, or experiencing a broken love affair. People with the disorder usually lock themselves in their bedrooms and refuse to come out for weeks, months, or even years.

 

A theory, advanced by Ryu Murakami in an essay entitled, "Japan's Lost Generation," suggests that Japan's worship at the alter of high-technology may in some way be responsible:

 

"Japanese society is caught in a paradox: it is concerned with the increase of socially withdrawn kids, while at the same time it applauds gizmos like the new Sony PlayStation, which comes equipped with an Internet terminal and a DVD player. Technology like that has made it possible to produce animated movies and graphics, as well as conduct commercial transactions, without ever stepping out of the house. It inevitably fixes people in their individual space. In this information society, none of us can be free from being somewhat socially withdrawn."

 

The disorder was first recognized in the 1970's and the word hikikomori was first applied to it by the Japanese Health and Welfare Ministry in 1991.

 

Stigma - A major barrier to Suicide Prevention

According to the WHO and the latest Burden of Disease Estimation, suicide is a major public health problem in high income countries and is an emerging problem in low and middle income countries. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the world, especially among young people.

Nearly one million people worldwide die by suicide each year. This corresponds to one death by suicide every 40 seconds. The number of lives lost each year through suicide exceeds the number of deaths due to homicide and war combined. These staggering figures do not include nonfatal suicide attempts which occur much more frequently than deaths by suicide.

                                                                                                                Suicides in Republic of Ireland from 2001-2013

2001 - 519
2002 - 478
2003 - 497
2004 - 493
2005 - 481
2006 - 460
2007 - 458
2008 - 506
2009 - 552
2010 - 490
2011 - 525
2012 - 507

*2013 - 475 (6% drop, with males accounting for over 83% of all suicide deaths last year.)

A large proportion of people who die by suicide suffer mental illness. Recent estimates suggest that the disease burden caused by mental illnesses will amount for 25% of the total disease burden in the world in the next two decades, making it the most important category of ill-health (more important than cancer or heart diseases.)

A significant number of those with mental illnesses who die by suicide do not contact health or social services near the time of their death. In many instances, there are insufficient services available to assist those in need at times of crisis. Lack of access to appropriate care is one of the many factors that magnify the stigma associated with mental illness and with suicidal ideation and behaviour. This type of stigma, which is deeply rooted in most societies, can arise for different reasons.

For some people, the term 'suicide' alone evokes panic and one of the causes of stigma is a simple lack of knowledge - that is, ignorance. This type of stigma can be directly addressed by providing a range of community-based educational programs that are targeted to specific subgroups within the society (that is, by age, educational level, religious affiliation, and so forth). Negative attitudes about individuals with mental illnesses and/or suicidal ideation or impulses (prejudice) is common in many communities. These negative attitudes often do not change with education about mental illnesses and suicidal behaviour.

Many health professionals who feel uncomfortable dealing with persons struggling with mental illnesses or suicidal ideation often hold negative, prejudicial attitudes towards such patients. This can result in a failure to provide optimal care and support for persons in crisis.

Stigma is also the underlying motive for discrimination - inappropriate or unlawful restrictions of the freedom of individuals with mental illnesses or suicidal behaviour. Such restrictions can occur at a personal, community or institutional level. One extreme example is the criminalization of suicidal behaviour, which still occurs in many countries. Discrimination can prevent or discourage people affected by mental illness and/or suicidal ideation or behaviour from seeking professional help, or from returning to their normal social roles, after receiving treatment for an episode of illness or crisis.

In both high-income and low and middle-income countries stigmatized conditions such as mental illnesses and suicidal behaviour receive a much smaller proportion of health and welfare budgets than is appropriate, given their huge impact on the overall health of the community.

Unless the stigma is confronted and challenged, it will continue to be a major barrier to the treatment of mental illnesses and to the prevention of suicide. Events like World Mental Health Day (October 10th) and World Suicide Prevention Day (September 10th) are ideal times to highlight and inspire people to work towards the goal of developing creative new methods for eradicating stigma and helping to save lives.
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Each morning when you open your eyes, say to yourself:  “I, not external people or events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today.  It’s up to me.  Yesterday is gone and tomorrow hasn’t come yet.  I only have today and I’m going to be happy in it.” 

Typoglycemia

This refers to a neologism given to a purported recent discovery about the cognitive processes behind reading written text. The word does not refer to any actual medical condition related to hypoglycaemia. The word appears to be a portmanteau of "typo", as in typographical error, and "hypoglycaemia". It is an urban legend/Internet meme that appears to have an element of truth to it.

 

The legend, propagated by email and message boards, purportedly demonstrates that readers can understand the meaning of words in a sentence even when the interior letters of each word are scrambled. As long as all the necessary letters are present, and the first and last letters remain the same, readers appear to have little trouble reading the text.

 

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

 

 

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''Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.'' ~  Søren Kierkegaard

Some Principles that allow me to understand Self-Injury.

With 12,000 people attending Irish hospital emergency departments in 2010 due to self-harm (Ring, 2011), it is important that ways of alleviating its prevalence in society are addressed. Furthermore, it is believed that cases which present to hospital are only the tip of the iceberg. Unfortunately there is no panacea to ameliorate the suffering of the person who self-harms, and it would be naïve of me to assume that the following principles alone would be enough to suffice for an approach to understanding and responding to self-injury. Nevertheless, they stand out amongst others.

        
The first of these principles is that 'the injury is not the problem'. You would be by-passing a host of problems if it was only concern for the person’s actual injury. Having an erroneous assumption that the injury should be the focal point of attention would only be delivering a lump of verbal refuse to the client.

             

There should instead be a focus on their feelings before their behaviours. Most of the 'problems' with self-injury are nothing to do with the person who hurts themselves. While the scars may be psychologically detrimental to them, underlying deep seated issues should be regarded as a lot more insidious. The injury has to be viewed as an outward expression of their inner pain.