I have wondered for a long time about the correlation between psychopaths and religion. Seems like I am not the only one who sees this. It makes total sense.

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Psychopathy And Religion

Psychopathy and Religion
(by Roman Piso, 10-10-10)

Like any other subject being studied, there is still much more to learn about the subject of psychopathy. But one thing that we now know is that there is a definite connection between psychopathy and religion. There are indeed other factors involved, such as genetics and so, much of this must be sorted out and defined. From our studies it appears that there are different kinds and types of psychopaths. We have managed to sort these out into a few categories. Mainly, we term these as a) primary psychopaths, and b) as secondary psychopaths (or psychopaths by proxy).* Primary psychopaths are those who are born as psychopaths because they have genes that they have inherited which make them psychopaths. There is no cure for these psychopaths.

What psychopaths apparently discovered in the past is that they can make much of the world “psychopath friendly” and one way in which they did this was by inventing and promoting various religions. Now first let me say that they did not just do this with religion, but they have had a free hand in all facets of society for thousands of years because non-psychopaths had no way to tell who was a psychopath or who was not – they did not even know for most of that time that there was a such thing as a psychopath. But now we do and we can now tell psychopaths from non-psychopaths. However, the one thing that psychopaths are good at is making people think that they are normal. The one thing that they will not be able to escape is genetic testing. Once the psychopathic gene/s are found, and more is known about that, we have the potential to weed them out and rid the world of their influence. Until then, we must do what we can to work towards that more sane and reasonable society.

Knowing what we now do about psychopathy and religion, we can say in all confidence that in essence what religion actually is, is a “psychopath machine.”** This being the case, it should be immediately outlawed. In reality, there is absolutely no good that comes from religion; it destroys the human mind and was indeed designed to do just that. Religion contains elements of psychopathic thought in it which cause normal people to become psychopaths if they are not already so. Or, as stated above, psychopaths by proxy. These otherwise normal, non-psychopaths, will begin to think and do things in the same or similar ways to primary psychopaths. The mind of secondary psychopaths are not as clever as primary psychopaths though.

This is because they only mimic, think and do what primary psychopaths want them to – they are like puppets or zombies, and most of this is done through “suggestion” and/or subliminal messages received by these people through their religion. And this is not a phenomenon of one religion, but of all religion. It can be more readily illustrated in some religions than in others, but the overall effect is the same with them all. And that is because religion is not representative of the true natural human thought process – it is a distortion of that.

Understanding what has been done by psychopaths can only happen by knowing just what they actually are. It is not easy to define a psychopath as they are extremely complex individuals. But if I were to put what they are into few words I would have to define them as “anti-human” beings. They do whatever they can to thwart the progress of humanity and that is a large part of their motivation for creating religion. One thing that we all should be aware of is the fact that there are many more psychopaths than anyone had thought there were. And that is because the numbers that have been used to reflect how many psychopaths are out there come from those psychopaths who have been caught after having done something. There are many, many more who are so good at being psychopaths that they never get caught and/or they do things which skirt the law, etc. One thing that I’ve seen psychopaths do is to fake some other illness (such as depression) in order to mislead doctors and psychiatrists.

Secondary psychopaths are like extensions of primary psychopaths in that they do what the primary psychopath wants or might do themselves, but the primary psychopath does it through another person and thus, it is the secondary psychopath that gets caught and who may not have genuine or complete psychopathic tendencies. And so, when being examined by a psychiatrist or psychologist, they may not meet all of the criteria for being a psychopath and may be diagnosed as something different or as a so-called lesser form or type of psychopath. Believers too, are dumbed-down and kept ignorant.*** Ignorance and superstition go hand in hand, that is something that a few people have known for some time now. But in order to preserve, protect or keep that belief in things which really do not make any real sense, the human mind must be kept down to a certain degree of ignorance; and so, yes, this too, is another component involved in all of this. Pure ignorance. Many believers simply choose to ignore anything which contradicts what they believe – they just do not let that information enter their mind; it is like they have built a shell or wall around it. And again, this is a) not natural, and it is b) very dangerous.

* At this time we can only speculate as to just how some people become secondary psychopaths. There may be a gene or genes which still exists in otherwise normal people which is/are inactive or turned off, but which may be activated or turned on through some chemical reaction, perhaps brought on by a change in the thought process of the individual. Or secondary psychopaths may simply be reacting to “orders” given them by psychopaths through suggestion (hypnotism) and/or subliminal messages with religious texts. The secondary psychopath does appear to be a victim of the primary psychopath and if there is no genetic reason for the secondary psychopath being what they are, there may be some hope for recovery for that type of psychopath. There is also a third type of victim of the primary psychopath and that is the person who resists going along with the primary psychopath, but is still forced in order to survive to be like and/or do what the primary psychopath desires – that is a condition which is like that which is known as Stockholm Syndrome. And there is yet a fourth level, if you will, for those who may not yet be any of the above. That fourth level of victimization may be called the “fear factor” and is made possible by the (invented) ideological concept of a painful death in hell by fire, torture and other forms of torment everlasting. Feeding into this fear is another part of this “formula” and that is desperation. If you are not a part of the larger “believing” community life may be made difficult for you; thus causing people to convert simply in order to survive or avoid ridicule or other troubles caused by believers.

** Religion is in reality a “psychopath machine” in that a) religion was created and promoted by psychopaths for the benefit of psychopaths and b) it does create secondary psychopaths (or zombie-like people) by destroying otherwise normal human minds. There is a process involved and the longer or more intense the exposure to religion, the more or faster it effects some people. So, even though you may hear one person or another say, “well, I would never do what that guy did…” the person saying that may genuinely think that and that may be the case at that point in time, but that same fanatic that killed someone, blew himself up, blew up an abortion clinic, or drown her children to save them from hell, was once that same person who said that very same thing. Religion infects and distorts normal human minds causing them to think in irrational terms which is not the natural human thought process; but is what psychopaths would want so that they may thrive. Primary psychopaths are very much like vampires in that they suck the life out of normal human beings and are predators of them. The normal human being is their natural victim as they may well be called “anti-human”, thus, destroying and devastating humanity, blocking human progress, is what they want in order to continue to thrive. They have found religion to be one of the greatest means in which to do this. We must pull the plug on them and find them so that we can get them away from the rest of us. Primary psychopaths are what they are and will always be that; there is no cure; even if their genes are altered, they have already developed physically after being born and still would contain psychopathic physiology in their brain, brain stem and so forth. Even their very mental make up (thought process) would have been set. It would be like trying to make a shark into a human being.

*** A recent PEW survey (Completed and released Sept/Oct. 2010) showed that non-believers are more intelligent and know more about religion as compared to believers. The only exception to this was Mormons, whose religion centers around genealogy (and therefore history and other related research). However, Mormonism is a religion which is based on Christianity and a belief in Jesus of the New Testament. Which is to say that the same mental degeneration required for belief in irrational, illogical things does happen to Mormons as well.

References & supplemental information:

Dr. R. Hare, Canada.

Francis Collins is the Director of the National Institutes of Health and the researcher behind the Human Genome Project. He is religious.
He can be found on the Faith blog @ blog.washingtonpost.com

The book Piso Christ. In Piso Christ, a profile of the psychopath Arrius Piso is illustrated in his deeds, etc. The connection is made between Arrius Piso writing as Flavius Josephus and the Jesus of the New Testament. Both Josephus and Jesus exhibit markers, traits and identifiers showing them both to be a) one and the same person, and b) both as psychopaths.

Also see ‘About Piso Christ’:
http://pisochrist.webs.com

Keywords: psychopath, psychopathy, Arrius Piso, Piso Christ, mental health, sociology, anthropology, genetics,

55 thoughts on “I have wondered for a long time about the correlation between psychopaths and religion. Seems like I am not the only one who sees this. It makes total sense.

  1. I am not going to say I told you so ……….

    Arthur Janov said as much in his book The Primal Scream in 1970. If only the author could allow himself to delve into Dr. Janov’s works, he will discover research that is light-years ahead of him.

    Genetics. Epigenetics, Womb-life, Birth, Neurotic Parents …… there is an inter-play amongst all of the above with all of the many religions and belief systems on earth.

    Religion, neurosis and psychosis is right up there with Astrology, Numerology, Fortune telling, Tarot cards, Homeopathy, Scientology, Philosophies, Witchcraft, Psychic phenomena and all the hundreds of Woo, Booga Booga bullshit to which sick and suffering neurotic humans desperately cling to.

    The one acts upon the other, creating more mental illnesses, more suppression of selves, depression, adhd, bipolar disorders, criminality, alcoholism, child abuse, hatred, wars et al. A terribly vicious circle, kept alive by victims of victims of victims…….. And no-one knows anymore how to connect with their real selves, their feelings.

    The moment a child is indoctrinated with some woo, it creates a disconnection in the child’s brain, splitting him into what’s called the real self and the unreal self. He is now forced to focus outside of himself, which means he loses connection with his deepest feelings and emotions. Instead of screaming or crying or expressing his hurt or anger and other emotions, he must now believe that “jesus will take care of him” or some other bullshit.

    Otherwise, this new post is an important and necessary one. The author is on the right track. Hopefully it will make some people more aware, although sadly, awareness in and of itself will not cure anyone of any neuroses. That requires first, to stop denying and lying to oneself, then a deep desire to become well, and then a therapy that can take you there slowly, over a long period of time, perhaps many many years. Not a talk therapy, electric shocks or any of the other bullshit that is being practiced these days.

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  2. I have not read the research on the connection between psychopathy and religion, but I have a gut feel (which doesn’t add much) that cause and effect will be difficult to prove. It does not do much to establish that some proven psychopaths are religious, because there are many religious people who are not psychopaths. I personally know people from both categories.

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      • Welcome back, Juliet K. Very interesting article. Through my long career in a very demanding discipline, I have met many psychopaths. Some were medically identified psychopaths and others were classified by their colleagues (which of course could have been wrong). A few traits I can (very unscientifically) mention are:
        1. No conscience.
        2. No guts when they are aggressively confronted especially in a physical fight. They stand down to a threat or confrontation where they evaluate that they will come second.
        3. They are brilliant schemers to turn the tables at a later date.
        4. They thrive on others weaknesses.
        5. They get the job done in a production environment (the only environment I have experience of). In some instances they can be very effective at times, even motivating people. At other times they just ride roughshod over everybody.
        So much for my psychological analysis which, I am sure, can be shot down in flames. One thing though, through my own detriment, I have realised at a fairly young age that you just don’t let a psychopath get close to you or your loved ones.

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        • Good observations, Savage. I would add that not only are there psychopathic men; from my experience there are probably more female psychopaths than male, except that women don’t usually work in a production environment. I have had the misfortune of working for psychopathic women in the corporate environment. Not only do they not have a conscience and absolutely no empathy, they openly tell you, if you have any level of expertise which they clearly do not possess, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”

          They bad mouth you without justification and will even more relentlessly bad mouth you once you have left the organisation. A male psychopath will leave you alone if he has no further use for you, unless he is a depraved stalker which you will usually only find on the internet because all stalkers are physical cowards. Psychopathic women are ALL stalkers and they ALL brag about how much better women are than men, and how much harder they have it in life while trying to make life as kak as possible for everyone who has the misfortune to cross their path. Their husbands usually die young, sometimes by their own hand, or they develop an inferiority complex and become estate agents, fucking everything they can in retaliation for their crap lives at home.

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        • I forgot to mention that most female psychopaths wind up in human resources once management finally realises how useless they are. This is because the female psychopath has dug up all the dirt on everyone else and they are too scared to fire her.

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  3. Savage,
    Don’t you think that the very fact that some people actually believe that there is some sort of being up there, or wherever, indicates a rather serious disconnect? These people usually feel that there is something lacking in their lives, a sort of emptiness, if you wish. They do not feel fulfilled.

    Many of them are obsessed with thoughts of where they came from or where they are going to go after death. Many are super intellectuals, living in their head, so to speak. They find themselves in a struggle, unable to accept the reality of life.

    They may indeed appear normal, but it is only when they allow themselves to speak honestly about their fears, their worries, their pain and confusion, when you see the arrested child, with all it’s pent-up feelings and emotions, it’s tears and anger. This usually will only happen when the person feels that it is safe to open up, because there is someone there who is willing to only listen and not give advice or explain things, etc. In other word, he senses that he is not going to be robbed of his feelings, and will be allowed to spill it all, no matter how long it takes. Most people cannot do that without the help of a skilled therapist. Sadly, at this point in time, there is no-one like that here in SA.

    Have you ever seen someone who has had a few drinks, start crying whilst telling a sad story about herself? We stupidly call it “dronk verdriet”, not realising that she has actually allowed herself to slip into what is called the feeling zone, where her defence mechanisms have been weakened. One can only connect with the suppressed child’s feelings and emotions when he somehow enters the feeling zone. A highly skilled therapist knows just how to help a patient do that, with techniques that have been developed over 49 years at the Primal Centre in Los Angeles.

    This is why it is so very crucial for a baby to be held, loved, kissed, caressed and allowed to cry it’s heart out, scream out it’s anger, whilst a caretaker is right there just listening, or holding the baby if it wishes so. This should be the approach to all babies, toddlers, young kids, teenagers and also adults. We desperately need to cry our pains out. Crying should be the most natural thing for all of us on a daily basis. That is where absolute and total health lies.

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  4. Here It Is At Last: Confirmation of Primal Therapy

     Whoa, wait a  minute they never mention primal but the work is totally primal.   Here is the headline from Science Daily: Life Stressors Trigger Neurologic Disorders. (seehttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140422113430.htm)  How big a step would it be to take to place  this research into the proper context, give it a frame of reference and help it find its home?  And help it make sense of the research and a proper therapy for the result. This is the work done at Yale University. (See http://news.yale.edu/2014/04/10/yale-researchers-search-earliest-roots-psychiatric-disorders and look for publication May 7, 2014 in the journal Neuron).

    Here is the research summary: When mothers are exposed to trauma, illness, alcohol or other drug abuse, these stressors may activate a single molecular trigger in brain cells that can go awry and activate (serious) conditions, such as schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress syndrome and some forms of autism.

    What they are showing is how neglect, lack of love and trauma seep deep down in the brain to impact single neural cells. 
    They point out that when a carrying mother is exposed to abuse, drugs or emotional she experiences the kind of trauma that can lead to a psychiatric illness later on in the child.  Wait a minute; isn’t that a quote from the Primal Scream?  Gee I hope so.

    What is new is that they have identified a molecular mechanism in the prenatal brain that indicates how cells go off track.   What is interesting is that even though the trauma may have different origins it still affects this minute cell.  This cell becomes a trigger for a myriad of effects throughout the baby’s system.  And depending on the genetic vulnerabilities the impact will travel to the weakest link;  kidneys, liver, heart, etc., and sets the stage for serious afflictions later on.   It makes the system more vulnerable which is what the researchers discovered.   The affected cells were much more sensitive to later stress, lack of love, neglect and drug abuse.  In other words, compounding.   It seals in the imprinted memory and makes it much tougher to root out or even to have access to; we have to go through layers of neglect in childhood, lack of love, indifference, violence and other traumas before resonance will carry us all the way back to the origins of it all.  That is not to say that we can always get back to original imprints but we do come close and in some cases we do get there.  The point is that in therapy we need to wend our way slowly through later and lesser traumas before we can ever hope to reach way back into our fetal life.

    So can we imagine treating patients with cognitive therapy hoping for results when the beginnings precede verbal memory? And recuperating memory has nothing to do with ideas or explanations?   Luckily, there is something called resonance which is the link among all levels of brain function so that the current ideational level will eventually lead down the chain of pain to fetal life.  If we try to get there fast, the strength of the pain down deep is such that it will immediately flood the top level brain and produce terrible results.   We need to follow evolution in reverse, take our time and not induce flooding.  But if we never go there the patient has no chance.

    Trauma changes behavior; first among neurons (yes they do behave) and then throughout the system.  All this reinforces our theory and frame of reference.  And shows how very early trauma changes things.   So here we are in front of a patient with migraines, for example.  And we try to change her attitude about it or we try to rationalize something to make the person strong in the face of it.   In short, we stay on the top brain level; yet we have found that the origin is often (not always) from lack of sufficient oxygen at birth and the cells become so constrained to try to conserve oxygen that we produce migraine.  We see this clinically time and again.  Yes we do need proper research but our clinical work, wanting to know, rather than knowing what we want tells us a story of origins. Why migraines?  Nothing happens “out of the air.” There are reasons and it is our job to suss them out.   If we never look there then there is no sussing out of  anything.

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    • Veryfanie, you are talking about Evolutionary Development Biology (or “evo-devo”), also called Epigenetics. It is the study of how the genotype gives rise to the phenotype, or in laymen’s terminology, how the genes make the body. It is the study of how and when the genes are turned on and off in the development of an organism. It is a fascinating part of biology and two very good books I can recommend are Sean B. Carroll’s “Endless Forms Most Beautiful” and “The Making of the Fittest”.

      Remember not all genes code for protein, there are regulatory genes that determine when genes are active and when dormant. And also to what extent environmental factors may alter these genes. (There is not a change in the DNA sequence of the organism, but rather a change in the timing of the on-off switching of the regulatory genes.) These studies to determine the influence of the environment on these regulatory genes are in its infancy, but research points to the significance of the environment on the formation of organisms. Here you can think of the development of autism (very interesting publications on this subject recently), being gay (and why the gay gene is not a hereditary gene), etc.

      Having said all this I just think one has to be careful in pointing cause and effect on these complicated issues.

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      • Savage,

        If the end purpose of gaining all this knowledge is to help and/or cure people of all sorts of maladies, then one has to look no further than the accumulation of 49 years of experience of Dr. Arthur Janov, who has observed and discovered, by correlating his clinical observations with the latest research done by other scientists. He is truly light years ahead.

        I say he is light years ahead, because I met and worked with people in Los Angeles whom had been cured, (not adjusted), whom had suffered from severe depression, or high blood pressure, migraines, epilepsy, bipolar, adhd, and a host of other maladies. I knew these people well and saw the miraculous changes that took place in their lives.

        Arthur Janov observed that, when patients had primals that were non-verbal, indicating that a connection was being made by the patient, to intrauterine trauma, that the corresponding disease would be, let’s say epilepsy. After many such connections, the seizures would stop and never come back again.

        The latest discoveries about epigenetics fit hand in glove with the observations Janov had made since 1965. He keeps himself abreast of the very latest findings by other researchers, as a true scientist should.

        Doen jouself ‘n groot guns en kry die boek “Life Before Birth” deur Janov.

        This book of his is being hailed by other professionals around the world, as an absolute masterpiece of knowledge and insight.

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        • Jammer, Verifanie, ek het dinge weer net half gelees. Arthus Janov is beslis nie ‘n wetenskaplike in die Evo-Devo dissipline nie! Ek het probeer peer-reviewed literatuur oor sy werk en publikasies kry, maar was nie suksesvol nie. Kan jy enige aanbeveel asseblief. Voor ek ‘n boek van hom koop wil wk darem seker maak nie man is nie maar net nog ‘n crank nie.

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          • Savage,
            Sal hierdie voldoen, of moet ek nog meer pos?

            Art Janov, one of the pioneers of fetal and early infant experiences and future mental health issues, offers a robust vision of how the earliest traumas of life can percolate through the brains, minds and lives of individuals. He focuses on both the shifting tides of brain emotional systems and the life-long consequences that can result, as well as the novel interventions, and clinical understanding, that need to be implemented in order to bring about the brain-mind changes that can restore affective equanimity.

            The transitions from feelings of persistent affective turmoil to psychological wholeness, requires both an understanding of the brain changes and a therapist that can work with the affective mind at primary-process levels. Life Before Birth, is a manifesto that provides a robust argument for increasing attention to the neuro-mental lives of fetuses and infants, and the widespread ramifications on mental health if we do not. Without an accurate developmental history of troubled minds, coordinated with a recognition of the primal emotional powers of the lowest ancestral regions of the human brain, therapists will be lost in their attempt to restore psychological balance. Jaak Panksepp, Ph.D. Bailey Endowed Chair of Animal Well Being Science Washington State University

            Dr. Janov’s essential insight—that our earliest experiences strongly influence later well being—is no longer in doubt. Thanks to advances in neuroscience, immunology, and epigenetics, we can now see some of the mechanisms of action at the heart of these developmental processes. His long-held belief that the brain, human development, and psychological well being need to studied in the context of evolution—from the brainstem up—now lies at the heart of the integration of neuroscience and psychotherapy. Grounded in these two principles, Dr. Janov continues to explore the lifelong impact of prenatal, birth, and early experiences on our brains and minds. Simultaneously “old school” and revolutionary, he synthesizes traditional psychodynamic theories with cutting-edge science while consistently highlighting the limitations of a strict, “top-down” talking cure. Whether or not you agree with his philosophical assumptions, therapeutic practices, or theoretical conclusions, I promise you an interesting and thought-provoking journey. Lou Cozolino, PsyD, Professor of Psychology, Pepperdine University

            In Life Before Birth Dr. Arthur Janov illuminates the sources of much that happens during life after birth. Lucidly, the pioneer of primal therapy provides the scientific rationale for treatments that take us through our original, non-verbal memories—to essential depths of experience that the superficial cognitive-behavioral modalities currently in fashion cannot possibly touch, let alone transform. Gabor Maté MD, author of In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters With Addiction

            An expansive analysis! This book attempts to explain the impact of critical developmental windows in the past, implores us to improve the lives of pregnant women in the present, and has implications for understanding our children, ourselves, and our collective future. I’m not sure whether primal therapy works or not, but it certainly deserves systematic testing in well-designed, assessor-blinded, randomized controlled clinical trials. K.J.S. Anand, MBBS, D. Phil, FAACP, FCCM, FRCPCH, Professor of Pediatrics, Anesthesiology, Anatomy & Neurobiology, Senior Scholar, Center for Excellence in Faith and Health, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare System

            A baby’s brain grows more while in the womb than at any time in a child’s life. Life Before Birth: The Hidden Script That Rules Our Lives is a valuable guide to creating healthier babies and offers insight into healing our early primal wounds. Dr. Janov integrates the most recent scientific research about prenatal development with the psychobiological reality that these early experiences do cast a long shadow over our entire lifespan. With a wealth of experience and a history of successful psychotherapeutic treatment, Dr. Janov is well positioned to speak with clarity and precision on a topic that remains critically important. Paula Thomson, PsyD, Associate Professor, California State University, Northridge & Professor Emeritus, York University

            “I am enthralled. Dr. Janov has crafted a compelling and prophetic opus that could rightly dictate PhD thesis topics for decades to come. Devoid of any “New Age” pseudoscience, this work never strays from scientific orthodoxy and yet is perfectly accessible and downright fascinating to any lay person interested in the mysteries of the human psyche.” Dr. Bernard Park, MD, MPH

            His new book “Life Before Birth: The Hidden Script that Rules Our Lives” shows that primal therapy, the lower-brain therapeutic method popularized in the 1970’s international bestseller “Primal Scream” and his early work with John Lennon, may help alleviate depression and anxiety disorders, normalize blood pressure and serotonin levels, and improve the functioning of the immune system. One of the book’s most intriguing theories is that fetal imprinting, an evolutionary strategy to prepare children to cope with life, establishes a permanent set-point in a child’s physiology. Baby’s born to mothers highly anxious during pregnancy, whether from war, natural disasters, failed marriages, or other stressful life conditions, may thus be prone to mental illness and brain dysfunction later in life. Early traumatic events such as low oxygen at birth, painkillers and antidepressants administered to the mother during pregnancy, poor maternal nutrition, and a lack of parental affection in the first years of life may compound the effect. In making the case for a brand-new, unified field theory of psychotherapy, Dr. Janov weaves together the evolutionary theories of Jean Baptiste Larmarck, the fetal development studies of Vivette Glover and K.J.S. Anand, and fascinating new research by the psychiatrist Elissa Epel suggesting that telomeres—a region of repetitive DNA critical in predicting life expectancy—may be significantly altered during pregnancy.

            After explaining how hormonal and neurologic processes in the womb provide a blueprint for later mental illness and disease, Dr. Janov charts a revolutionary new course for psychotherapy. He provides a sharp critique of cognitive behavioral therapy, psychoanalysis, and other popular “talk therapy” models for treating addiction and mental illness, which he argues do not reach the limbic system and brainstem, where the effects of early trauma are registered in the nervous system.“Life Before Birth: The Hidden Script that Rules Our Lives” is scheduled to be published by NTI Upstream in October 2011, and has tremendous implications for the future of modern psychology, pediatrics, pregnancy, and women’s health. Editor

            Footnote:
            Citing his dissatisfaction with the progress of psychiatry in treating mental illness, the current president of the National Institute of Mental Health, invited Dr. Janov for a meeting to present his work. It will be some time before we hear any more about it. Verifanie

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            • Dankie, Verifanie, indrukwekkend. Ek sal Janov se boek vir my bestel. Ek vind die “prenatal” navorsing baie interessant, meestal van ‘n gene benadering en die invloed van “epigenetics”, maar ek sal graag Janov se navorsing wil lees. Hier is net twee kort opsommings van die velde waarmee epigenetics besig is:

              “The physical evidence of early brain changes also backs a growing body of research linking increased risk for autism to genetically controlled processes and environmental influences that affect prenatal brain development.”
              “Scientists use the term “environmental” to refer to influences other than changes in a gene’s DNA. Autism risk factors, for example, appear to include such influences as parental age at conception, maternal nutrition, infection during pregnancy and prematurity.”

              http://www.autismspeaks.org/science/science-news/direct-evidence-autism-starts-during-prenatal-development

              Hypotheses on being gay make interesting reading. Epigenetic studies has shown that prenatal development of non-coding DNA, as well influences of the environment, play important roles underlying homosexuality. In other words, according to the studies, non-coding DNA is not the only contributing factor. This is a step forward where researchers were looking for the protein-coding DNA that causes homosexuals.

              Darr is natuurlik ander denkwyses as hierdie.

              Die navorsing en argumente woed volstoom voort, maar dit is hoe wetenskap gedoen word..

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          • Savage, I wish you the very best of luck with crashing bore Verifanie. When I see militant atheists fighting among themselves I can almost believe there is a god after all. The enemy of mankind is not religion, it is fundamentalist religion.

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            • Smelly,

              I used to think that you are actually an intelligent person, albeit totally insane.

              Now I know you are just a plain, simple stupid bi-polar, viciously insane jesus freak.

              Savage and I are not fighting! He is simply inquiring about the bona fide of Arthur Janov’s works. In fact, that is the way everything scientific works. Inquire, inquire, check and double check. Ask for citations, references.

              There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I welcome anyone’s inquiries and wish there would be more. You would of course – because you are stupid and insane – find the very latest cutting edge research into the condition of the human being boring. You are too stupid to know this, but Arthur Janov’s work is actually the stuff that could cure someone like you.

              Then again, as far as you are concerned, he does not perform miracles.

              I can’t tell you how exciting your stories about your neighbours were. I actually fell asleep at the computer. Everyone just loved it, didn’t they?

              Two things: You are scared and also stupid. You don’t understand a fucking word about Janov’s works, and also you run away because it hits home for you. He does write about crazy jesus freaks and others whose heads are full of ideations.

              You are the one who initiates fighting on this blog, with your lies, pretending you are some sort of sober person, whilst you just luurve your little jesus. Now listen to me:

              Fuck off and stop trolling me !!!!!!

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              • “… your stories about your neighbours”. Trust you to bring up something I stopped discussing ages ago. In any case, if they were so boring, why did you read them? I don’t read your boring crap. When one-trick-pony Verifanie posts something, don’t go there, you could get a brain clot from boredom.

                But answer me this, Fanie – I might even read your reply – do you think you could persuade all the sexually frustrated jihadists in the world to fly over to Los Angeles to scream that their father Abdullah never hugged them and that Allah is a cunt?

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            • Goodness me Holy, don’t you see the honesty in this? The very nature of an atheist is one of debating and questioning. We regard this as healthy. We teach our children to question and think for themselves. Progression is only possible through healthy debate – in stark contrast to this, we have religion that puts dogma forward as an ultimate truth never to be questioned.

              Did you honestly think atheists come together every once in a while to pat each other on the back in cosy agreement? If so, you are confusing atheism with religion.

              Holy, after you recent statements I wonder if you are not perhaps a closet religious nut. Come on, take the geloofsprong as suggested by Johann. I am sure you will feel at home in the abyss of fundamentalist dogma.

              Like

              • That is exactly what you are doing, patting each other on the back, reaffirming each other’s preaching the holy grail of reactionism. You are substituting one religion for another. You and the fundamentalists are like a couple of identical bald men fighting over a plastic comb.

                You don’t understand the strategic advantages of moderate Christianity. “It must ALL go” you screech. Yes, but how and what are you going to replace it with?

                Like

                • Strategic advances?

                  Hmm, let’s see. You mean like Benny well-hung, or Peter Popof, or Potato Head. Or, what about all the “new advanced” religions such as the snake handlers. Did you watch any of the hundreds of youtube videos depicting what goes on at the happy-clappy services in the USA?

                  Smelly,
                  The very fact that one tiny “moderate religion” could exist somewhere on this planet, means that not before long you will have radical religions popping up, because religions do not condemn one another. Ever heard a preacher bashing another one from the pulpit?

                  It always, and I mean always, boils down to the fact that people are in pain, and are searching desperately for anything to kill their pain with. Religion is a painkiller that induces more pain again into themselves and into others,
                  into and onto vulnerable children, who grow up neurotic, keeping the vicious circle going, same as what happens to drug addicts.

                  No, – to answer another question of yours – of course I am not going to get millions of muslims to go for therapy. But why then does any form of therapy exist at all? Should we not then ban any therapy, because the millions of muslims will not attend? Stupid question.

                  Yes, the world is a badly fucked up place. But there are folks out there who are trying, having some success in helping some people live normal lives. Was the ANC successful overnight or did it take all these years until 1994? One has to start somewhere.

                  If we can educate parents about the very basic and most important things re babies and children, even foetuses, and if the latest discoveries become mainstream worldwide and babies are born healthy, eventually we will have
                  healthier populations. ……. In the meantime, hopefully the latter-day radical muslims will die out.

                  Like

                  • “… Benny well-hung, or Peter Popof, or Potato Head” – once again, those are all crackpot fundamentalist psychopaths and I myself have called them out many, many times.

                    Would you call the Church of England fundamentalist?

                    Do you suppose if you were to visit Nigeria and the Boko Haram got hold of you, they would be impressed by your prattle about being atheist and a Janov fan? They would kill you, rape your wife and sell your daughters.

                    Those girls who were kidnapped were taken from a Christian boarding school, they weren’t the usual African spoils of war. The Boko Haram want to wipe all Christians out of Nigeria. But the west dare not call it what it is: religious genocide. The west is so tip-toe politically correct it shuts up about the persecution of religious minorities. If you’re a single mother who can’t keep her legs shut, on the other hand, nobody dares to criticise because society is to blame. Shame, she must go to Dr Janov to sort her out because her mommy and daddy were nasty to her.

                    Radical Islam is not dying out, it is getting worse by the day because the west dare not criticise them. The west is scared of being called way-cist. You can bet your life radical Islam will continue to capitalise on the weakness of the west to call them out, in the same way Putin is becoming more and more imperialist because the wuss Obama doesn’t dare do anything about it.

                    Like

                    • “Shame, she must go to Dr Janov to sort her out because her mommy and daddy were nasty to her.”

                      Ok so we criticize her for opening her legs too often. And then? What happens next?

                      Smelly,

                      It is not the fault of society. It is everything that happened to her from almost the very moment of conception.

                      That is the message that every human being on this planet needs to learn.

                      It is a message that you are in a never ending rage against.

                      It is a message that needs a ground swell of people to start embracing it wholeheartedly.

                      Neurosis is an insidious disease that is pandemic. One sees it every day.
                      It has invaded and gripped billions of humans on earth.

                      Many have tried in earnest to eradicate if from this planet, but thus far all have failed because of ignorance, just like humans tried to fly for hundreds of years, but could not succeed because they did not know the laws of aerodynamics.

                      However, progress has been made. We have the knowledge now. It is about inordinate and intolerable pain. It is about us doing everything we can to escape the pain, i.e. neurosis. It is about neurotic parents bringing babies into their neurotic realm, infecting them with this emotional virus, if you wish.

                      Religion stokes the fires of neurosis, creating generations who grow up ignorant, and as a result find it too painful and difficult to enlighten themselves and become conscious human beings, just like yourself.

                      There is a treatment out there that works beyond any doubt. It is being honed and developed as we talk, working better and better. It has helped thousands so far.

                      The theory behind Primal therapy needs to be taught in schools and clinics.
                      Many people, having only read Janov’s books, were able to help themselves in some ways, becoming better parents and thus breaking the vicious circle.

                      Arthur Janov discovered the simple laws about what makes us emotionally ill, and he developed the simple techniques to cure it. The fact that his work has not been recognized worldwide is a direct indication of the neurosis that has gripped even mainstream medicine. But it is finally changing albeit so slow. You can’t bury a simple truth forever.

                      Like

                • O, so first you like it when we differ and debate and then all of a sudden you make a u-turn and tell us we agree too often. Which is it Holey?

                  Seems to me you have too much time on your hands. Typical bored housewife perhaps?

                  Like

  5. Most people are psychopaths to some extent or other. That’s why I prefer the company of dogs most of the time.

    Like

  6. Geloof kan niemand moreel maak nie, jy is of sleg of jy is goed. As jy inhirrent ‘n immorele mens is wat ‘n vorm van pseudo – moraliteit beoefen kan niks jou help nie. Jy sal altyd justification vir jou wandade probeer kry. Ingesluit om bybelversies aan te haal. Ek ken darem ‘n hele klomp psigopate wat hulleself christene noem Nee ons almal is nie psigopathies nie ons het effense trekke daarvan ja. Mnes kan slegs ‘n prsoonlikheidsversteuring klasifiseer as een as dit met die person se lewe en ander inmeng. In die geval van avoidant personality disorder is die versteuring skadelik vir die person wat dit het. In die gavel van psigopathie is is dit skadelik vir ander en die persoon wat daaraan ly. Ek dink sielkunde het ‘n lekker behoorlikke dosis Darwinisme nodig aangesien die stigma nog altyd bestaan dat dit ‘n klomp subjektiewe gegorrelry is. Ek kan juis nie verstaan dat ‘n sielkundige aan god kan glo nie, aangesien hy die menslikke brein en gedragspatrone baie goed verstaan.

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  7. “Ek kan juis nie verstaan dat ‘n sielkundige aan god kan glo nie, aangesien hy die menslikke (sic) brein en gedragspatrone baie goed verstaan.

    Adriaan,

    Dit is maklik om te glo en om te weet dat ‘n siel “kundige” aan god glo, want hulle opleiding is totaal en geheel net te doene met die intellektuele brein, of cortex en neo-cortex, en gedragspatrone van mense.

    CBT, of Cognitive Behaviour therapy is all the rage these days. You go to a therapist and she tells you what a naughty boy you are because you do certain things, or have certain feelings, compulsions or act-outs.

    Example:

    “Mr. Adriaan, are you aware of the damage you are doing to your wife, your kids and all those around you by behaving in this manner, or by having these horrible impulses or thoughts? You should stop it” A la Dr. Phil. She will try and help you to “see” things differently, and voila! …you are cured.

    Can you imagine telling an out and out alcoholic that he must stop drinking?
    What will his response be? “Duh, gee! …. I never thought of that! Thanks for telling me! From now on I am going to be a well adjusted, content, happy human being. I will have no depression, no pain, no miserable feelings” etc.

    Sielkundiges is bang vir die onderbewussyn. Hulle glo dat daar allerhande gevaarlike spoke en dinge rondhardloop, en dat jy dit totaal moet uitlos.

    Dr. Arthur Janov het vir die afgelope 49 jaar sy pasiente toegelaat om diep af te gaan in die onderbewussyn in en al wat daar gevind word, is pyn, trane, treurigheid, woede, alleen gevoelens, ens. Daar vind dan ‘n konneksie plaas en die bogenoemde kom dan uit via die emosies, bv. erge woede, diep huil, ens. Daar vind dan genesing plaas, en nie deur om te hoor hoe iemand jou vertel dat jy anders moet optree nie!

    M.a.w “Schmoly, don’t be a narcissist” (LOL) Nice joke, Schmoly.

    Like

    • First of no. I study psychology myself and we were taught that you never argue with a patient. What you are saying is completely wrong Verifanie. Have you ever been to a psychologist? Clearly not. I go to a psychologist and they all differ in their approach. The bottom line is that a psychologist is not there to argue with the patient or to prescribe a certain lifestyle. Neither is he there to diagnose a patient. He can only refer a patient to a psychiatrist or maybe even a neurologist if the problem is out of his field of expertise. A psychologist is only there to listen and let the patient express their feelings.

      The fact that ” pastorale sielkundiges” exist should tell you that people are still stupid enough to believe that psychology and metaphysical worlds interacts. Freudian psychology in my opinion is very rare nowadays. In fact psychological training does not really entail a knowledge of the brain itself neceserely. Just a basic background. It is all about behavioural science. Why people behave the way they do?

      Like

  8. BODY PARTS FOR SALE AT RFM!

    MANZINI – A mortuary attendant at the Raleigh Fitkin Memorial (RFM) hospital offered a particular human body part to a reporter from this newspaper for any amount between E400 to E1 000.

    The part was to be ‘harvested’ from one of the bodies at the morgue.

    The attendant, whose name and other particulars the Times SUNDAY will not reveal for now, revealed this to reporters who posed as traditional healers looking for human body parts and water used for washing corpses.

    Journalists embarked on this investigation after getting a tip off that human body parts were being sold to criminals and traditional healers.

    The investigation went on for about three weeks, with reporters gathering both audio and graphic evidence to prove that this crime was actually being committed.

    The morgue attendant was initially asked for water used to bathe corpses, which he said many people had arrived in the past looking for.

    The water is believed to contain spiritual powers when mixed with other traditional medicine. It is strangely believed that it can make one invincible from being harmed or killed when committing crimes.

    The attendant said thieves claimed to use the water on a sleeping person before breaking into their house.

    “Once they use the mixture on a person, he sleeps as if he is dead and they then break into his house and steal all the items while he sleeps,” he said.

    A traditional healer who was asked about the water claimed that some used it to make love potions, which they sprinkle on their wives so that they did not leave them.

    The RFM attendant was initially reluctant to reveal the information but eventually opened up after he was told that ‘traditional healers from Tanzania’ needed the water urgently.

    He wanted to know what parts were they looking for, saying he could only get the parts and the water the following day.

    “We are having a post-mortem tomorrow so it will be easier than today,” he said.

    He was reluctant to mention how much the water or body parts would cost, saying the buyers were usually the ones who determined the prices.

    He said it is much easier to sell internal organs but said the buyer should first know what he wanted.

    “I cannot just give you a body part. I need to know exactly what you are looking for and what you want to use it for,” he said.

    He said it was easier to sell the body parts during autopsies which are usually carried out on Thursdays.

    He explained that relatives who later collected the deceased’s corpses were usually observant and one had to be careful which parts they removed.

    He said it was not easy harvesting external body parts but much easier with internal organs as some of the relatives did not scrutinise the bodies.

    “It is much easier to remove parts of an internal organ, like the fat, which some people need,” he said.

    He said relatives usually checked the prominent organs, which he said were on high demand. These include eyes, breasts or private parts.

    Victims

    The attendant, however, said for accident victims, relatives normally could not tell whether the body part was lost in an accident or not.

    He further revealed that any part may also be obtained including bones as some people need these parts.

    He revealed that the previous week, another buyer had arrived during the night to purchase some items from one of the other mortuary attendants.

    He could not reveal whether the person purchased water or body parts.

    “That’s their secret,” he said.

    When the reporter asked if he could sell some of the parts from the bodies which were at the hospital, the attendant wanted to know how much was being offered.

    He declined to sell the parts for the amount offered, asking the reporter, who posed as a traditional healer, to increase it.

    “I earn between E7 000 to E8 000, so if you want to buy the products, you will need to give me a reasonable amount,” he said.

    He eventually agreed to sell part of the brain from a dead person for about E500 but also hinted that he needed to see the people who wanted the parts.
    He was going to take a few days off but told the reporter that should he need help before he returns to work, he could talk to another attendant who worked at night.

    The attendant was very secretive and refused to divulge further information or the name of the other person but told the reporter to see him in person.

    “It should be a secret between you and him,” he said.

    Accident victims are the most common sources of human body parts according to a mortuary attendant at RFM who claimed to sell them.

    The attendant said it was much easier to collect body parts from accident victims or after an autopsy when corpses had been dissected.

    “Relatives usually can’t tell the difference whether it was the doctor who was doing the post-mortem or the part has been removed,” he said.

    He said those who died in accidents usually came with some of their body parts damaged. Relatives assume they lost the missing parts due to an injury.

    The attendant revealed that he could also be able to sell body parts from unclaimed corpses although he was reluctant to do this.

    For part of the brain from such a corpse, the attendant agreed to be paid at least E500.

    He was willing to accept E500 for a portion of a dead woman’s breast.

    The attendant could not state how many unclaimed bodies were at the mortuary.

    The unclaimed corpses are mostly those of people mainly from Mozambique.

    Children, elderly in danger

    MBABANE – Reverend Grace Masilela, a former traditional healer, says the most sought after parts are those belonging to children.

    Masilela is now a senior reverend at the Church of the Nazarene and no longer practices as a traditional healer. She acknowledged that the trade in human body parts existed in the country, adding that some preferred parts from people who were still alive. Masilela, however, said traditional healers who used body parts were very particular and always specified what types of parts they needed.

    They usually want parts from a person who has just died or was still alive when the part was removed. “Some traditional healers will tell you they want a warm heart, freshly pulled out from a person,” said Masilela. She further revealed that even body parts from elderly people were also in demand as there was a belief that the elderly had integrity. Masilela said those who used the parts usually purchased them from people they knew.

    “If they are selling the parts from the hospital, they can steal from someone who has just died or about to die,” she said.

    Masilela also acknowledged that water in which corpses had been bathed played a very important role among traditional healers.

    She said there was a type of traditional healer known as Tingedla or specialists because they only study traditional medicines. These are the ones who sometimes used such water. They allegedly mix traditional medicines with the water to create a mixture known as “Ludvonsi lwemphisi” (the wolf’s sting) which is then used to make a person sleep as if he were dead.

    “Once you sleep, they can lift you from your bed and steal it or even cook food in your kitchen without you waking up,” said Reverend Masilela.

    She said thieves once used the substance on her while she lived in Ngomane after which they stole several items from her house.

    Dead man’s eyes can see?

    MBABANE – Prophets or soothsayers are allegedly the end users of muti made from human body parts such as the eyes. A traditional healer who also doubles as a security guard revealed this during an interview. He asked that his identity be kept confidential.

    He said traditional healers mixed the parts with some of their concoctions and made medicine which they claimed gave them the power to see the future.

    “They are then able to see into someone’s past and future using those eyes,” he said. He said they insist on eyes of those who have been involved in accidents or were killed because this has a spiritual meaning to it.

    The traditional healer said there was a different ‘spiritual power’ when someone died in an accident than when they died naturally. He said when a person died in an accident, the spirit roamed around for quite some time. Traditional healers, therefore, believe such body parts possess supernatural powers.

    “It is easier to buy the body parts from public hospitals than private mortuaries,” said the traditional healer, without specifying if he knew this personally or had heard about it.

    Private funeral parlours involved

    MANZINI – Water drained when corpses are being washed is sold by both private and government hospital mortuary attendants.

    Attendants at Zenzeleni Funeral Parlour in Manzini as well as the RFM hospital mortuary sold some of the water to reporters who posed as traditional healers.
    The water is strategically harvested from the outside drain, using containers of various sizes.

    A container of 100ml was sold for E100 by an attendant at the funeral parlour while a 500ml container was bought for E200 from the RFM.

    An attendant at Zenzeleni (name also withheld) was initially offered E50 for the 100ml but he refused to accept it.

    He insisted that more money should be added because some of his clients pay at least E500 for the water which the reporter was getting for E50.
    He eventually agreed to sell the water for E100.

    He entered the cold room while the reporter waited behind the mortuary and after about 15 minutes he came out wearing surgical gloves and carrying a container with the water.

    The attendant at RFM said it would be easier to purchase the water during the post-mortem operations.

    He said the bodies were usually washed after the post-mortem. He promised that he would put a container just below the drainage point outside the building so that some of the water could be collected.

    When the reporter arrived later to collect the water, he claimed to have failed to collect it.

    “You may have to come at another time,” he said.

    After a brief discussion, he remembered that he would probably be able to organise some water as there was still a body that he needed to wash.

    He then went to one of the rooms at the mortuary while the reporter waited for about two hours, after which he came back with a 500ml of the water.

    “This is very concentrated but I can dilute it for you,” he said.

    A Director of Zenzeleni Funeral Parlour was shocked to hear that water in which corpses had been bathed was sold at the morgue.

    Traumatised

    “This is shocking and I am actually traumatised to hear it,” said the director who preferred to be identified only as Shongwe. He was informed that reporters posing as traditional healers had gone to the funeral parlour to purchase the water.

    When asked what security measures were in place to prevent people selling water used to wash corpses or even human body parts, Shongwe said he could not answer the question.“Right now, I am too traumatised to answer. I am very shocked,” he said.

    As the investigation continued, Times SUNDAY reporters also visited the Mbabane Government Hospital morgue and asked for some of the water used to wash corpses.

    One of the appproached attendants asked the reporters to return the following week, preferably on a Wednesday.

    He, however, suggested that they could try other private mortuaries or Raleigh Fitkin Memorial (RFM) morgue.

    “That way, I can confirm that you really need the water,” he said before walking away. When reporters returned a week later, another attendant said it was better to have such dealings at night.

    http://www.times.co.sz/news/91806-body-parts-for-sale-at-rfm.html

    Like

  9. Pope Francis confesses he stole: Pope ripped off rosary cross from dead body

    Thou shalt not steal. But if it’s a Pope-on-priest crime, it would seem that the divine mandate to keep your sticky fingers to yourself does not apply.

    According to NBC News today, Pope Francis has “made a confession – and it’s a doozy. He stole another priest’s rosary cross right from his casket.”

    Francis revealed his petty theft sin today during an informal chat with Roman priests on a topic of mercy. Perhaps thinking of his own need for absolution, the Holy Father told the story of when he stole from a casket and ripped a rosary cross right off a dead priest’s body.

    Francis said a priest known as the “great confessor” from Buenos Aires, who had listened to the confessions of diocesan priests and even gave ear to the sins of Pope John Paul II when he visited Argentina, had died, and Francis paid him a visit.

    To “fleece” the flock evidently.

    When the priest died, Francis visited his open casket to pray, and said he was stunned that no well wishers had laid any flowers out.

    “This man forgave the sins of all the priests of Buenos Aires, but not a single flower?” Francis recalled. Francis purchased a bouquet of roses, returned to the casket, and noticed the shiny rosary that had been arranged in the dead priest’s hand.

    And Francis wanted it. (My Preciousss… perhaps he whispered in his best Gollum voice.)

    “Immediately there came to mind the thief we all have inside ourselves and while I arranged the flowers I took the cross and with just a bit of force I removed it,” Francis unabashedly said. “And in that moment I looked at him and I said ‘Give me half your mercy.'”

    Francis now keeps that cross in a little pouch under his cassock robe.

    “And whenever a bad thought comes to mind about someone, my hand goes here, always,” he said, gesturing to his heart. “And I feel the grace, and that makes me feel better.”

    So evidently when Francis has an evil thought, he recalls the time when he stole from a dead guy, and this makes it all better.

    http://www.examiner.com/article/pope-francis-confesses-he-stole-pope-ripped-off-rosary-cross-from-dead-body

    Like

  10. Op ‘n stadium was daar hierdie storie in Suid – Afrika van ‘n profeet wat voorspel het dat iemand op ‘n dorpie gaan opstaan uit die dood. Die lyk was vir ‘n hele ruk in die koelkas gehou en die mense het begin kla. Dit was so in 2004 gewees. Die ouens wou die profeet met swepe gaan bydam het.

    Like

  11. Adriaan,
    What I am trying to get across here to everyone, is that the history of trying to treat people with psychology and/or psychiatry is one of failure.

    Going all the way back to Freud and those before and after him, one realizes that all the postulating, the analysing, the hundreds of labels of psychological disorders, the medications, the shock treatments, the disagreements, classifications and re-classifications, have all been to no avail.

    Yes i have been to psychologists. I have also spoken privately to a few. I listened for a long time to radio 702 on Wednesday evenings, when folks called in with their problems. I watched Dr. Phil until I wanted to vomit. I have read more books than you have had breakfasts.

    Btw Dr. Phil himself has never cured anyone of anything………

    None of the above mentioned people and their approaches had helped anyone, in my opinion. The training of a psychologist is purely academic.
    A psychiatrist is merely a medical doctor who does a few additional courses
    to learn how to prescribe psychiatric medicine.

    When as babies or children our needs are not met, there is an imprint of pain that remains in the system as a memory, and it could involve the cells, the muscular structure, all three of our brains, our neuronal pathways and the way our character structure develops, thus our “personality” Ditto if there has been physical assault (beatings). A neurotic parent can have the same effect on us.

    There is no need at all for labels. Labeling someone does not cure him or her.
    There is only one diagnoses: The patient is in pain.

    He is hurting. He is traumatised. His needs were not met. She was sexually or physically abused, not loved, not held, not listened to or abandoned. Her parents were cold and distant. Pain, pain, pain pain. She herself may not even know at all what had happened to her, only that she is unhappy, or suffering in some way.

    In a typical session at the Primal Centre (open ended, no time limit), you would sit on the floor in a room with the therapist. There is no furniture, only a carpet on the floor. The walls are padded with 40cm thick foam rubber. There is a light dimmer that you can set as you wish. The door is locked from the inside, there is no telephone and no-one is going to disturb the session. The therapist does not run the show. You do. You talk. You focus on what bothers at that moment. The therapist won’t say a word. It is quite possible that during a two hour session the therapist may have spoken a total of 10 words or so, sometimes somewhat more, depending on the situation.

    No analysis, no explaining. You will never be told not to feel bad about something. Au contraire, you will be encouraged to feel the pain.

    When you connect with a feeling, it comes like a big shit. Wave after wave of anger may run up and down your spine, causing you to jump up and beat all kinds of shit out of the padded walls, whilst the words will come automatically by themselves: “FUCK YOU DAD!!!! YOU FUCKING BASTARD!!! YOU NEVER HELD ME OR LISTENED TO ME!!!! YOU IGNORED ME!!!!…….ETC.

    Next you may fall to the floor wailing and sobbing like a baby. Then the anger will hit you again. Then the deep crying, and on and on like that. Over time,
    weeks or months later, as you go deeper and deeper down into your history, you may have feelings where there are no words at all. Your vital signs will go up and down. They will eventually show a significant change after a year or so.

    Can you do that, sitting across from a desk in a therapists office, full of bric-a-brac, pictures on the wall and on the desk, a telephone that rings often, a 50 minute time limit, whilst she analyses you?

    Like

  12. Interesting little footnote…….

    At the Primal Centre, some people arrive there being religious to some extent, some less, some more so. Without a word having ever been spoken about religion, they start to realize that it is a load of shit.

    Like

  13. Slightly off topic, but are you stuffing up your back sitting behind a computer monitor too often and too long?

    Five Health Benefits of Standing Desks

    Spending more of your day standing could reduce the risk of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer

    There was a time when standing desks were a curiosity—used by eccentrics like Hemingway, Dickens and Kierkegaard, but seldom seen inside a regular office setting.

    That’s changed, in large part due to research showing that the cumulative impact of sitting all day for years is associated with a range of health problems, from obesity to diabetes to cancer. Because the average office worker spends 5 hours and 41 minutes sitting each day at his or her desk, some describe the problem with a pithy new phrase that’s undeniably catchy, if somewhat exaggerated: “Sitting is the new smoking.”

    Much of this research has been spurred by James Levine, an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic. “The way we live now is to sit all day, occasionally punctuated by a walk from the parking lot to the office,” he recently said during a phone interview, speaking as he strolled around his living room. “The default has become to sit. We need the default to be standing.”

    All this might sound suspiciously like the latest health fad, and nothing more. But a growing body of research—conducted both by Levine and other scientists—confirms that a sedentary lifestyle appears to be detrimental in the long-term.

    The solution, they say, isn’t to sit for six hours at work and then head to the gym afterwards, because evidence suggests that the negative effects of extended sitting can’t be countered by brief bouts of strenuous exercise. The answer is incorporating standing, pacing and other forms of activity into your normal day—and standing at your desk for part of it is the easiest way of doing so. Here’s a list of some of the benefits scientists have found so far.

    Reduced Risk of Obesity

    Levine’s research began as an investigation into an age-old health question: why some people gain weight and others don’t. He and colleagues recruited a group of office workers who engaged in little routine exercise, put them all on an identical diet that contained about 1000 more calories than they’d been consuming previously and forbid them from changing their exercise habits. But despite the standardized diet and exercise regimens, some participants gained weight, while others stayed slim.

    Eventually, using underwear stitched with sensors that measure every subtle movement, the researchers discovered the secret: the participants who weren’t gaining weight were up and walking around, on average, 2.25 more hours per day, even though all of them worked at (sitting) desks, and no one was going to the gym. “During all of our days, there are opportunities to move around substantially more,” Levine says, mentioning things as mundane as walking to a colleague’s office rather than emailing them, or taking the stairs instead of the elevator.

    Failing to take advantage of these constant movement opportunities, it turns out, is closely associated with obesity. And research suggests that our conventional exercise strategy—sitting all day at work, then hitting the gym or going for a run—”makes scarcely more sense than the notion that you could counter a pack-a-day smoking habit by jogging,” as James Vlashos puts it in the New York Times. The key to reducing the risk of obesity is consistent, moderate levels of movement throughout the day.

    Scientists are still investigating why this might be the case. The reduced amount of calories burned while sitting (a 2013 study found that standers burn, on average, 50 more calories per hour) is clearly involved, but there may also be metabolic changes at play, such as the body’s cells becoming less responsive to insulin, or sedentary muscles releasing lower levels of the enzyme lipoprotein lipase.

    Of course, all this specifically points to danger of sitting too much, not exactly the same as the benefit of standing. But Levine believes the two are closely intertwined.

    “Step one is get up. Step two is learn to get up more often. Step three is, once you’re up, move,” he says. “And what we’ve discovered is that once you’re up, you do tend to move.” Steps one and two, then, are the most important parts—and a desk that encourages you to stand at least some of the time is one of the most convenient means of doing so.

    Reduced Risk of Type 2 Diabetes and Other Metabolic Problems

    The detrimental health impacts of sitting—and the benefits of standing—appear to go beyond simple obesity. Some of the same studies by Levine and others have found that sitting for extended periods of time is correlated with reduced effectiveness in regulating levels of glucose in the bloodstream, part of a condition known as metabolic syndrome that dramatically increases the chance of type 2 diabetes.

    A 2008 study, for instance, found that people who sat for longer periods during their day had significantly higher levels of fasting blood glucose, indicating their their cells became less responsive to insulin, with the hormone failing to trigger the absorption of glucose from the blood. A 2013 study [PDF] came to similar findings, and arrived at the conclusion that for people already at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, the amount of time spent sitting could be a more important risk factor than the amount of time spent vigorously exercising.

    Reduced Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

    Scientific evidence that sitting is bad for the cardiovascular system goes all the way back to the 1950s, when British researchers compared rates of heart disease in London bus drivers (who sit) and bus conductors (who stand) and found that the former group experienced far more heart attacks and other problems than the latter.

    Since, scientists have found that adults who spend two more hours per day sitting have a 125 percent increased risk of health problems related to cardiovascular disease, including chest pain and heart attacks. Other work has found that men who spend more than five hours per day sitting outside of work and get limited exercise were at twice the risk of heart failure as those who exercise often and sit fewer than two hours daily outside of the office. Even when the researchers controlled for the amount of exercise, excessive sitters were still 34 percent more likely to develop heart failure than those who were standing or moving.

    Reduced Risk of Cancer

    A handful of studies have suggested that extended periods of sitting can be linked with a higher risk of many forms of cancer. Breast and colon cancer appear to be most influenced by physical activity (or lack thereof): a 2011 study found that prolonged sitting could be responsible for as much as 49,000 cases of breast cancer and 43,000 cases of colon cancer annually in the U.S. But the same research found that significant amounts of lung cancer (37,200 cases), prostate cancer (30,600 cases), endometrial cancer (12,000 cases) and ovarian cancer (1,800 cases) could also be related to excessive sitting.

    The underlying mechanism by which sitting increases cancer risk is still unclear, but scientists have found a number of biomarkers, such as C-reactive protein, that are present in higher levels in people who sit for long periods of time. These may be tied to the development of cancer.

    Lower Long-Term Mortality Risk

    Because of the reduced chance of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer, a number of studies have found strong correlations between the amount of time a person spends sitting and his or her chance of dying within a given period of time.

    A 2010 Australian study, for instance, found that for each extra hour participants spent sitting daily, their overall risk of dying during the study period (seven years) increased by 11 percent. A 2012 study found that if the average American reduced his or her sitting time to three hours per day, life expectancy would climb by two years.

    These projects control for other factors such as diet and exercise—indicating that sitting, in isolation, can lead to a variety of health problems and increase the overall risk of death, even if you try to get exercise while you’re not sitting and eat a healthy diet. And though there are many situations besides the office in which we sit for extended periods (driving and watching TV, for instance, are at the top of the list), spending some of your time at work at a standing desk is one of the most direct solutions.

    If you’re going to start doing so, most experts recommend splitting your time between standing and sitting, because standing all day can lead to back, knee or foot problems. The easiest ways of accomplishing this are either using a desk that can be raised upward or a tall chair that you can pull up to your desk when you do need to sit. It’s also important to ease into it, they say, by standing for just a few hours a day at first while your body becomes used to the strain, and move around a bit, by shifting your position, pacing, or even dancing as you work.

    Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/five-health-benefits-standing-desks-180950259/#mFkeGRaxzBbeY2HV.99
    Give the gift of Smithsonian magazine for only $12! http://bit.ly/1cGUiGv
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  14. Please answer these questions:

    1. Were the wars so often cited by militants (the Crusades, etc.) primarily religious in nature, or did their root causes stem from other factors such as economics, nationalism, and territorial expansion – as many experts in the field suggest? Or is the truth somewhere in between?

    2. Historically, has terrorism been driven primarily by religion – or by other forces?

    3. Does the historical experience of nontheistic countries challenge the notion that religion is a major factor in causing internal oppression or external military conflict? Does the absence of religion as a motivator reduce the likelihood of war – or not? Suggested countries of study: Cambodia, China/Tibet.

    4. What is the extent of religion’s role in creating individual discontent and unhappiness through ostracism, sexual repression, prejudice, etc. in various world cultures? (I suspect it’s substantial, but I’d like more data.)

    5. Is Islam the origin for genital mutilation, stoning of adulterous wives, and other abusive practices? (Note: Neither practice is condoned by the Qu’ran, and both existed as tribal practices before Islam. Historically weaker Prophetic sayings, or ‘hadith,’ are cited to support them.)

    6. Would the elimination of religion alone eliminate these harmful practices, or would additional actions need to take place?

    7. If so, how can such practices be stopped most quickly and effectively – by campaigning to eliminate all religion, or by using moderate religion as a countermeasure against extremism?

    8. Can the positive influence of religion – in reducing conflict, bringing personal fulfillment, building communities, etc. – be quantified and measured against the negatives?

    9. Do the social problems caused by religion stem from personal religious belief, from organized religious activity, or both?

    10. Is all religious activity harmful, or just the fundamentalist variety (which one research project estimates involves roughly one-fifth of all religious populations)?

    11. Is it true, as some atheists argue, that Buddhism’s more peaceful doctrine propagates less violence and war than monotheistic religions with violent sacred texts?

    12. Does ‘moderate religion’ enable fundamentalism to continue? Or does it draw adherents away from fundamentalism and thereby weaken its negative effects?

    13. What’s the best way to advocate for needed changes – through aggressive attacks on religion or milder persuasion?

    14. Do the internal dynamics of religious communities suggest that extremism and fundamentalism are the primary source of religion’s negative effects – or do these effects come from something fundamental about religious belief itself?

    15. Would the eradication of religion lead to increased trauma, and/or decreased mental and physical health? If so, how should we prepare to address that problem as we work to eradicate religion?

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  15. Do you really think the abolition of moderate religion would prevent Islamic flash mobs congregating all over the western world? Or would a few gentle reminders of the spirit of the Crusaders put a stop to that kind of intimidation?

    It happens right here in South Africa too. On a recent trip to the Natal spa in Paulpietersburg no white person would get into the one and only real hot water spa because it was packed with Muslims. Signs asked people to please take a shower before swimming, but Muslim women were climbing into the hot water pool fully robed, dust, dirt and all. People in long robes with their faces covered should stay in their mosques, not mess up others’ outdoor pleasures.

    I went to the wellness centre at the spa which has a jacuzzi and a clear sign stating, no under 16’s allowed. Yet there were Muslim children in the jacuzzi. Not being politically correct, I told them to get out. They tried to get bolshy with me, I said, no seriously, get out or else.

    At that moment I would have been happy if a busload of Baptists had arrived to balance things out a bit.

    As Leon Trotsky put it, “You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you.”

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    • “At that moment I would have been happy if a busload of Baptists had arrived to balance things out a bit.”

      Busloads of baseball bat brandishing Baptists with bull whips and butt plugs.

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  16. Oh well, at least it solves the problem of whether or not to have sex on the first date.
    ________________________________________

    ‘Apostle’ told her to marry a total stranger

    You will be hard pressed to find a more cringeworthy reality TV wedding than that of complete strangers Siziwe Tyhobeka and Sindile Mathonsi.

    The pair have become overnight social media celebrities since their nuptials were the subject of Mzansi Magic’s Our Perfect Wedding on Sunday night.

    Yes, you read right – they didn’t know each other a week before they married, on April 19, in Queenstown, Eastern Cape.

    She is 37 and Xhosa, and he is 43 and a Swati speaker.

    The couple were apparently brought together by the House of Worship church prophet who said “This marriage is a message from God.”

    Bride-to-be Tyhobeka said: “I kept looking at him and thinking: ‘How can the Lord give me such a dark and ugly man? This brother is very ugly to be marrying me’.”

    Enter Apostle Gloria Bobelo. Bobelo doesn’t give a hoot about the pair’s feelings or chemistry. Bobelo believes “marriage doesn’t come from relationships”.

    She picked the couple’s attire two days before the marriage as if it were an afterthought.

    She told the bride that she was not allowed to show her armpits (presumably no off-the-shoulder or sleeveless outfits).

    She had the bride and groom walk together down the aisle and when the vows had been recited and rings exchanged announced that they were now bound in holy matrimony.

    And while we were still getting back on our feet, she told them they were not allowed to kiss: “hug each other in a holy manner … hug him and no kissing”.

    Producer Pearl Munonde said it was definitely “the most bizarre” episode she’s worked on.

    “We didn’t know what to expect, especially because all communication was through the apostle,” she said.

    Munonde said the couple are “still fine” and live together at the groom’s home in Barberton .

    http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2014/05/20/apostle-told-her-to-marry-a-total-stranger

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  17. Ek kan dit nie glo nie. Daar is ‘n vrou op een van my vriende se facebook wat nou al weer tjol praat, Jy weet dit maak my so debliksem in! Hoe kan ‘n mens so selektief redeneer? As jy gesond is dan is dit die gotte. As jy doodgaan dan is dit nou maar net moerse toevallig. Religion is fucking bullshit! Ek haat religious mense! Mcbrolloks jou site rock!

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    • Gaan na enige oorlede Suid Afrikaner se Facebook blad toe, en die fundies is soos ‘n koor wat vir almal vertel dat liewe jesus een van sy engeltjies kom haal het.

      Ons almal ken mense wat in die laaste 5 jaar of so oorlede is. Die fundies skyt nog steeds op hulle FB. Dis fokken pateties!

      Dis nog erger as dit ‘n kind is wat gesterf het. Dan is hulle eers besig om vir die arme ouers te vertel hoe dit got en liewe jesus se wil was ens ens ens.

      Got het mos sy eie kind laat martel en toe laat dood maak. Hierdie kak maak dalk sin vir iemand wat heentemal fokken mal is, maar vir normale mense is dit heentemal mal!

      Dis ook pateties hoe hulle iemand wat by die dood omgedraai het vertel hoe got hom of haar gespaar het. Al was die arme mens vir weke in die hospitaal, is dit altyd nog steeds got se wil dat hulle oorleef het. Seker al die gebede. Geen woord oor die dokters of die medesyne of die hospitaal nie. Got het hulle genees.

      Wonder hulle nie hoekom got hulle in die eerste plek daar laat beland het nie? Kon hy nie die klont gestop het nie, of wou hy nie?

      Fok, maar daardie patetiese klomp gristinne wat hulle kinders so opfok met die brein-vrot-virus………… Hulle het geen skaam nie, en geen skuld gevoelens nie. Hulle gee hulle kinders ‘n brein wond wat hulle duur gaan kos in hulle toekoms.

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  18. Ag volgens hulle almal het jesus my lief. Ai ek weet nie. O ja en moenie vergeet van God is groot nie. As ek met ‘n hemp in die openbaar gaan rondloop wat se Im an atheist sal almal offended wees, maar as hulle met hemde rondloop waarop staan Jesus loves you, dan is dit super. Ek gaan nie van huis tot huis en vra vir mense of ek die gospel van die spaghetti monster kan verkondig nie. Wie de hel is hy om na mense se huis toe te gaan en te vra of hy kan praat oor die koningkryk van god?

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    • Ek praat graag met daardie poepolle. Vra hulle hoekom hulle en hulle gotte so ‘n groot probleem het om basiese mense regte te verstaan. Lees vir hulle my lys. Hulle sal sukkel om dit te verduidelik, want hulle is regtig dom. Hulle volg en glo blind, en niemand laat hulle ooit dink aan wat regtig reg of verkeerd is nie.

      Manifestation for Basic Human Rights opposed by Organized Religion

      Die beste antwoord wat hulle voor n dag mee kom is “die bybel se so” of “dis got se wil”.

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      • Afrikaners really have a problem with this religious drivel. The religious neighbours are leaving me alone but I think that’s only because the wife is ill and not up to keeping up the good fight with me.

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  19. Nee ek word nou kastig met die boogeyman van die bybel bang gemaak. Of die hel. Ag weet jy hulle is darem ‘n klomp fokken dose. Ek haat christene! Hulle is bitter irriterend.

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  20. Epigenetics… Arthur Janov

    Cancer
    There is exciting new research taking place on this serious disease. And obviously, it has to do with epigenetics. What epigenetics really comes down to is experience. What kind of experience do we have and when? Because that is the harbinger of serious disease later on.

    There is so much new research that points to gestation, pre-gestation and birth trauma as heavily influencing the advent of afflictions such as cancer and Alzheimers later in life.

    We know now that one of the key ingredients for this change is a process called methylation. Genes borrow part of the methyl group and change their own evolution; making some more expressive and active, while others are repressive and passive or inactive. And this depends on what experiences the baby has from the very start of life. And there may be a similar mechanism that is behind many types of cancer, and dementia, as well. Catastrophic diseases get their start early in life when cells are rapidly forming; and the fact of a catastrophic disease often indicates a catastrophic and life-endangering trauma. In an era when cells are coming into life is the time when bad events can detour and damage them. Damage during this time can be life-endangering, engendering diseases that become life-endangering, themselves. These diseases, therefore, often foretell of severe trauma very early on. They are like measuring gauges that point to times of deleterious effects.

    It is not cancer that damages adult cells; these cells already underwent trauma and were weakened by it. Adult stress finishes the job.
    The same may be true of heart disease and other common maladies. The on and off changes produced by methylation may be a major element in any number of cancers. One obvious reason is that the cells have been altered in radical ways by this methyl process. So what seems normal to us adults may not be normal at all. Our changes occurred so early that they now seem like “us.” And the doctor examining us asks, “Have you undergone any serious trauma in you life,” and you say, “Not at all.” You feel normal as an adult even when you became someone and something else before you had a way of knowing anything. That is why we can suffer from chronic serious allergies after living a womb-life where the parents were constantly bickering. “Tell me did you have any serious trauma in your life?” “No not at all.” Alas, the symptoms are screaming the contrary. And asthma is explaining it all in its own language.

    We began a cancer and Alzheimer’s study with a medical clinic which did begin to point to early trauma, but for a variety of reasons we could not complete it. The point is that epigenetics can either favor cancer development or abort it. Our future study will be to see if our therapy by demethylating trauma can block the trajectory of deformed cells before they become lethal. My hypothesis is that it can, but we will see. This means that early damage, a mother smoking or taking pain-killers, can imprint a cell change, which, when allowed to go on can result in disease. Altering the epigenetics will right the system and stop the detour. Voracious cancer has been awaiting its chance; we are not going to let that happen. We already see that in the very few cases of cancer we have among our patients. And I believe it is because in our therapy we travel down to the far reaches and depths—the antipodes– of the brain where serious illness starts its life.

    I recently wrote that parents don’t have to do anything to hurt a child; what they exude (tension or depression) can do it all. This is especially true during our womb-life where depression and/or anxiety can “exude” from the placenta to affect the baby. He is being “spritzed” with all kinds of chemicals which affect his development. And in those “spritzes” are elements that are associated with cancer in later life. (March 27, 2014 Univ. of Calif. Davis)

    Tell me, “did you have any trauma? Nope. That early trauma does enormous damage; more than almost anything we can think of in our adult life. If you ask that question in a different way, as we do, and examine primordial events to the fetus, we may find an answer. As the fetus develops, the mother is informing her baby about herself; is she depressed, anxious, tense, worried, apprehensive? That information, seemingly benign, impacts him and affects his evolution and personality. She doesn’t have to act “nervous.” The chemicals will do it for her. But the baby imprints “nervous,” and we wonder where it all came from.

    When the carrying mother is nervous she chews up her vitamins; the baby needs those vitamins to synthesize methyl groups. So when the mother is deficient, so is the baby. And that again can change everything. It is becoming more and more clear, as I have insisted for almost 50 years, that our early life is critical; that problems in the womb rebound in later life and account for so many illnesses. The real question by doctors should be, “Tell me about your gestation and birth. Tell me about your parents during that time.”

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    • That’s very interesting. I have heard that cancer patients are very polite and considerate, even when they are in agony. That points to repressed anger.

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    • That’s very interesting. I have heard that cancer patients are very polite and considerate, even when they are in agony. That may point to repressed anger.

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  21. On the other hand Alzheimer’s patients, because their defence mechanisms have weakened, (leaky gating mechanism) they often exhibit anger, sometimes quite violently.

    It is simply the pain that is pushing up from below, that has been kept in check for so many years. Repressed pain is a powerful energy, always sitting in wait for any weakening sign that will allow it to jump out. It keeps on knocking, on your liver, your kidneys, your brain, your heart or wherever, depending on the weak spot that you inherited.

    Connecting completely and expressing the pain through your emotions, is the only way to release all those pent-up painful feelings. That means taking a journey back down through your childhood, hopefully reaching and re-living some of the pre-birth damage. That is now possible through the wonderful work of Dr. Arthur Janov.

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    • Shame hey.

      5 Causes of Alzheimer’s Outbursts

      Agitation and aggression are typically caused by one or more of these five factors:

      Cognitive Impairment

      Sometimes caregivers overestimate what their parent with Alzheimer’s or dementia is capable of accomplishing. If a person with Alzheimer’s is asked to do a task, and they are not able to complete it, they get upset and frustrated, which results in an outburst. Caregivers must adjust their expectations to their parent’s capabilities. And remember that Alzheimer’s and dementia are degenerative diseases. Parent’s abilities will decline over time, which means expectations must be shifted continually.

      Psychological Disorders

      Steele says that 40% of people with Alzheimer’s develop depression, due to a neuro-chemical imbalance in the brain. Anxiety disorders and delusions also occur quite commonly in people with Alzheimer’s. Once these imbalances are identified and diagnosed, medication can be prescribed that has proved to help tremendously.

      Physical Problems

      Outbursts might be associated with physical problems. The person might have a headache, a rash, constipation, or fatigue. This means caregivers must be vigilant about watching their elderly parent’s physical well-being and noticing when changes occur. When people with Alzheimer’s have physical problems, they might be unable to tell the caregiver. The behavior – in the form of a tantrum – is their form of communication.

      Environment

      The person may be reacting to an uncomfortable environment. For example, a room may be too cold, too noisy, or too crowed. Their inability to clearly communicate their discomfort turns into an outburst.

      Approach

      People with Alzheimer’s react and respond to how a caregiver approaches them. Trying to rush them, or force them to do something they don’t want to do can result in agitation. How you approach the person with Alzheimer’s is key, Steele says. Use a gentle tone of voice, but don’t be condescending. Don’t rush them as they try to complete a task, even if they are moving at a frustratingly slow pace. Don’t demand that they do something or bark orders at them. Ask them. Use calming gestures and gentle touch.

      http://www.agingcare.com/Articles/alzheimers-disease-aggression-problems-143103.htm

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  22. MORE SANITY …….

    There is a confluence of two events, quite unlikely, that explain something about human nature.  The first is something that my colleague, neurologist Michael Holden and I wrote about over forty five years ago.  It was about amoeba that lived in dirty water with black ink poured in.  They absorbed the black ink, as an external  menace into a vacuole and then when the place has clean water they discharged this intruder.  Back  into the water.  The second event is something I see on TV all of the time.  Someone is discussing the loss of a friend or relative and they tear up and scrunch their face and then it shuts off and they say “Sorry.  Excuse me.” They do not seem to understand the mountain of tears lying below. It is those tears that need to be dredged up and experienced, otherwise  they stay locked up and continue to gnaw at the system. The person gets sick years later and no one knows that they have been sitting on all those unfelt emotions.

    How do we know?  Because people come in and cry those itty-bitty tears only to discover weeks and months later in therapy what they have been sitting on.  Then the inundation begins.  And when that happens, there are major changes in many biologic measures, as well as alterations and normalization of many vital signs;  blood pressure and heart rate descend.  Also there are significant changes in brain wave functions.  In other words, tears can change all that. And because that is  true it may well be that repressing those tears plays a real role in a number of illnesses, not the least of which is hypertension and heart problems. Not just one day of holding back tears, but of years of it happening.  Because to hold them down takes effort and energy which is being used up all of the time.  It takes work to hide from ourselves.

    So what does India ink have to do with it?  Amoeba, as a basic minute cell shows us a biological process; waiting for safety, a welcoming environment to allow us to rid of all the junk and pain inside.  And that is exactly what is missing in psychotherapy; first, a notion of all the tears inside that must be experienced, and secondly, the need to provide an environment where those tears can be let out in full force.    That is right; “full force,” because rarely does a therapist sees that force, neither in others, nor in himself or herself.  They see this as “too emotional” and, “out of control.” So the tears are “discussed” not felt.  We do not live in a culture where full emotionality is not only accepted but welcomed. There lies the rub, to quote an old pal of mine.  What is his name?  William something.

    The problem is that psychotherapy that evades and avoids emotions makes the patient sicker.  All the emotions are entombed in the head and the body goes on suffering unconsciously.  So in helping a patient become mentally aware he is at the same time becoming more unconscious.  What a dilemma!  We can learn from that amoeba.  He is only doing what is actually human:  waiting for a loving, warm environment to show his feelings and unleash his pain.  Let me add:  crying about it is not enough.  It has to be crying in context.  Tears must emanate from felt pain, not as an intellectual exercise, not as directed by a well-meaning counselor but tears that arrive automatically when the actual early memory is evoked. And careful, it is not always words that express the feeling.  It is often in body language or non-verbal emotions.  We need to know how to read that language.  That is why it takes so long to do primal therapy correctly; that mysterious language that lies below verbosity and has so many hidden meanings.  

    Those meanings, “I am not loved, no one wants me or cares about me,“ drives so much of our behavior and later symptoms.  And why is that? Because those meanings derive from actual early experiences where we were not loved.  They are not inventions. They correspond to reality, and reality is what we must deal with.  It is the name of the game.  We are historical beings; we cannot avoid history and get well. Our own history.

    Crying without specific context and memory is only abreaction, the discharge of feeling without feeling it. It cannot ever be healing.  We are going back to origins remember, and that means long, long ago.
     Feeling is healing, to coin a phrase. Arthur Janov

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