#how much do clinical research associates make

[star-anise]

So I've been watching this series of videos where a research-focused psychologist goes through Jordan Peterson's work to see which of his ideas and arguments are based on solid empirical evidence. I love it, even though she does mistakenly say his background is in counselling psychology (my field) when he's actually a clinical psychologist.

Anyway, that's got me thinking about Jordan Peterson, and how his response to criticism is, "People have been after me for a long time because I’ve been speaking to disaffected young men — what a terrible thing to do, that is. [...] I thought the marginalized were supposed to have a voice.”

So, here's my theory: Young men of the 21st century have grown up in a culture that is specifically hostile and punitive towards them. However, I think that while girls and women can participate in this culture, it is as much or more the work of boys and men. And I think that the problem with Peterson is that he's not particularly good at helping his audience escape the maze they are trapped in--and he's absolutely opposed to any attempt to dismantle a maze that is actually of fairly recent manufacture.

Case in point: The metrosexual.

The word "metrosexual" was coined in 1994 by Mark Simpson, a gay writer whose settings seem to be perpetually fixed at "critique the shit out of it".

"Metrosexual" describes heterosexual men who might be mistaken as gay, because they are interested in things very common among gay men, including: Caring about whether they're attractive; caring about how their hair is cut and what products they use in it; caring about what clothes they wear; working out to make their bodies look better; frequenting nightclubs. To be "metrosexual" was, in some people's opinions, to be a "man-boy" searching for his "inner girl".

To be metrosexual was, in some ways, to be called someone who looked gay.

The term didn't really catch on until the early 2000s, when media became briefly obsessed with talking about which celebrities were "metrosexual" or not. In that era of hotly divided opinions over the acceptability of homosexuality and queerness, it was implicitly asking, "Who looks gay? Is he gay? Tell me, fellow broadcaster: How gay does this guy look to you?"

(They got to have their cake and eat it too. A liberal audience, desperate to gather as many LGBTQ+ people and allies as possible in their race for 50% acceptance of gay marriage, cherished any signs that people with social clout might be on their side. And a conservative one, watching the same discussion, would heartily enjoy seeing a rogues' gallery of degenerate Hollywood types paraded before them, their every effeminacy pointed out in loving detail.)

Which of course got us: The Retrosexual!

When everybody's helpfully compiling lists of all the things a man can do that look gay or unmanly, dudes who don't want to get the shit kicked out of them by homophobes know all the things not to do!

Therefore, being "manly" became strictly defined by what was off-limits. To be a Real Man meant you shouldn't care about whether you're attractive, or what soap you use, or how your hair is styled. You shouldn't enjoy dancing or get too enthusiastic about music. A Real Man cares about sports and beer and being on top! Dominant!! A WINNER!!!

And, so like, here's a secret: In Anglophone culture, we are very affected by the Puritan legacy that says pleasure is inherently sinful. Vanity and pride--caring about how you look and whether you're attractive--are literal gateways to the Devil. Gluttony, and therefore seeking pleasure at all, is another such. And in Puritan religious theology, women are inherently more sinful. Yes, it goes back to Adam and Eve, and how Eve was tempted into sin first. Long story short, things associated with women became associated with sinfulness, and sinfulness became associated with effeminacy. And for centuries, you haven't even needed to be religious to drink these attitudes from the groundwater.

Okay, that's not the secret, this is the secret: Pleasure is not inherently sinful.

And liking how you look and feeling attractive and paying attention to your sensuality and your emotional life and connecting with art in a real and vulnerable way can feel really good, if you're able to handle it well.

Being raised to be a Real Man in a world where masculinity is perceived to be actively under threat is so uniquely painful, I believe, because every attempt to define yourself as "not gay" means denying yourself one of life's pleasures, and telling yourself you never even wanted it in the first place.

And then those desperate to be Real Men found a way to take some of those things back in what is surely the most painful context possible: They are allowed strictly as tools of your heterosexuality and masculine need for dominance. You are allowed to care about grooming and dancing, etc, purely as a strategy in playing a game called "Getting Girls", where you either score or you don't, where not scoring means you're worthless and unlovable, and scoring is often... strangely unfulfilling and certainly not enough to fill the aching void inside of you.

The mistake both Peterson and his fanbase make is that they get to this point, and then think: The reason I feel so empty inside is... I just haven't gotten enough girls!

Maybe some guys get out of the maze by finding a woman who is allowed to care about things like affection and love and dancing and looking nice, and their connection with her lets them express all the other parts of their souls that didn't fit in the Real Man box, but can come out in roles like Boyfriend or Father.

But humans aren't telepathic, so relationships can only "fix" you so much as you're willing to do the work of nurturing your own soul in a safe environment, so for a lot of men the maze never ends, and sometimes they don't even get the fleeting joys of relationships or sex, since they're so fucked up about them!

At this point, I as a queer woman am like, "Solution's obvious! Dismantle the maze."

And Peterson, who has worked his whole life to achieve the status of Best Maze-Runner in All of Christendom, is clinging to it like, "NO! DOWN, YOU DARK CHAOTIC MOTHER! THIS MAZE GIVES MY LIFE MEANING! THIS MAZE CONNECTS ME TO MY FOREFATHERS! I CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT THIS MAZE!"

At which point, like... what can you do but just leave him there?

At least he's not in my area of specialization. The world would be too unkind if I had to deal with him in any professional capacity. I wish Clinical Psychology all their continued joy of him.

#feminist discourse #masculinity #jordan peterson tw #to be honest #the moment I learned he was from Fairview and went to the UofA I was like 'OH IT ALL MAKES SENSE' #it's not that all of Fairview is one way because Rachel Notley and other very fine people come from Fairview #but there is a specific breed of Guys Who Come From Fairview #Who Study Psychology At the UofA #Who Like To Monologue About Conservative Politics #I can't explain it #it's a type #iykyk i guess

[dawndelion-winery]

In Your Way

Getting them to notice you

Ft. Arlecchino, Capitano, Dottore, Pantalone

Arlecchino:

Naturally, to run an orphanage, one must have staff to care for the orphans

You seemed enthusiastic enough about the job, though whether it was an actual passion for helping the children or for the generous salary, she'd never truly know

Still, your actions were sincere enough

She did tell you to report to her regularly, but she hadn't expected you to drop by so often

Each time, you had a thorough report of the children's progress and growth, along with your personal suggestions on what they might need

And every time, she'd approve

She sometimes finds herself musing if she'd ever had someone watch over her like that, brushing away the thought with a huff as she returns to her work

What she didn't know was that a strong motivator for your frequent reports was to see her

Your diligent, skillful lord harbinger who entrusted so much to you

You had hoped doing a good job would earn her praise, or at least make you an irreplaceable subordinate

But she had seldom commented on it, the most you'd gotten out of her being a "Not bad, keep it up"

Still, it was enough for your throbbing heart for her to find you reliable, and so you continued to do your best

And then she decided to take a look at your work for herself

She was shocked to find the children beaming at her, and she quickly found she had you to thank for that, since you'd attributed so much of what you had done for them to her benevolence

Indeed, it was the sort of loyalty necessary to raise soldiers

For the first time, she smiled at you. And your heart stopped

"I look forward to more of your good work, my faithful y/n."

Capitano:

Who doesn't love a gentleman?

He'd stepped in when a higher ranked agent was picking on you and you'd been smitten since

You still fondly reminisce about the way he held his hand for you to take, encouraging you to get stronger

You also recall rising through the ranks, eager to prove him right in having faith in you and finally meeting him again after so long

It made your heart flutter when it turned out he did remember you

"Weren't you that recruit I gave a little nudge to some time back? Mm, it seems I was right about you. Now how else will you prove your worth to me?"

You've never seen his face, but fr the sound of his voice, you swore he was smiling at you with pride

He was the one - the one you'd follow into the heat of an uncertain battle with complete faith because that was the sort of strength and charisma he carried himself with

And oh what a sight he was when he fought, as beautiful as he was ruthless, and graceful as he was strong

How many of the harbingers would hype their soldiers with such confidence? A promise to win?

Perhaps it was that confidence in him that led to you taking that bolt of electro for him

"Have I proven my worth, lord harbinger?"

"Not until you return a hero you haven't. And you will, because I promised."

Dottore:

It wasn't uncommon for students at the academia to be passionate when presenting their topic of research to the class

But there was something about him that stood out from the others even if you couldn't pinpoint it

It could've just been the fact that his ideas were,,,less than humane yet he spoke of them so clinically as though it hardly mattered

But you liked to think it was the way his eyes, already a startling crimson, seemed to light up as he spoke of his thesis

More than the average student's curious experimentation, he was ambitious unlike any other, claiming that with time and resources, he'd be able to create a god

Insane as it sounded, the more you listened, the more you found yourself believing he could

And so began your puppy love, trailing after him as you sang his praises

He had tried shooing you off, thinking this was some prank

But when the people who antagonised him for being a freak began to target you for associating with him, he soon realised that wasn't the case

Insufferable as you were to keep clinging to him, he found himself intrigued by your strange 'loyalty' - if he could call it that

It started with him letting you sit around the lab as he worked so you wouldn't be picked on the moment he shut the door on you

Then he started sending you out on errands for him, surprising you with the trust he was giving you (little as it was)

As you spent more time with him, you grew to enjoy each other's company, and you had finally grown out of your one sided pining

You realised how fruitless it would be, to long for someone who had already devoted himself to his dreams

But hope was a funny thing, and as you prepared to bid him farewell and best of luck on his journey, his hands found yours first

"C'mon then, assistant. I've plenty more to do, and if this forsaken palace of fools won't give me what I need, we'll have to take it ourselves."

Perhaps you had become close after all, if he was insistent on bringing you with him

Pantalone:

There is nothing bankers are better at than rolling money until they're rolling in it

As such, they naturally require substantial collateral for and equally substantial loan

Which was why he was quick to decline you a loan for your business venture despite your insistence that you'd succeed

"As well thought out as you make it out to be, your proposal is simply too outlandish for us to gamble on. Be a dear and stop giving my staff a hard time, they've seen you often enough this past week."

Well, if the Northland Bank wouldn't give you a loan, you'd get the bank himself to give you money

You'd put far too much time and effort into the hopes of achieving this little business venture of yours and you just knew it'd be a success if you could only have a few months to get it going

So what other choice did you have than to attempt to seduce the ninth harbinger and have him fund you

You knew it wouldn't be easy, but you'd thought he'd at least humour you a little instead of having the guards see you out

But you'd be damned if you gave up there

Thus came the game of cat and mouse and for once, Pantalone was the one who had to hide

It rather irked him and so he caved, if only to have you stop tracking him down

And you being the kin soul you are offered to return his investment by making him a shareholder<3

"I'll play along then. But mind you, if you lose this little game and fail to pay me back, I'll simply own you in exchange."

A terrible gamble but one you took nonetheless, much to his surprise, since he'd hoped the situation would scare you into leaving him alone

Even moreso when you did succeed and slapped his money back at him

"Now about that loan so I can expand-"

"It's still a no."

"What?"

"Our current arrangement works just fine, no?" he said, slipping you a blank cheque. "Consider this...a personal investment."

Taglist[send an ask to be added/removed]: @myluvkeiji @pluvioseprince @aqui-soba @euphoric-author @paradise-creator @favonius-captain @tiredsleep @raincxtter @serenenation @loverofthe-stars @gensimping-for-all @irethepotato @almond-adeptus @mx-kamisato @yuzuricebun @chaosinanutshell @howlantic @codename-hiraeth @andreiling01 @callmemeelah @sadlonelybagel @plinkuro @thevictoriousmoon @mastering-procrastinating

Obligatory @cxlrosii and @i23kazu , my beloved Dottore kisser and Capitano kisser

#genshin #genshin impact #genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #arlecchino #capitano #dottore #pantalone #arlecchino x reader #capitano x reader #dottore x reader #pantalone x reader #genshin arlecchino #genshin capitano #genshin dottore #genshin pantalone #winery specials

[sophieinwonderland]

Dealing With More Anti-Endos Invading Endogenic Spaces! This Time With a Dash of r/Systemscringe

This is just a straight-up lie.

While @thelunastusco did identify as endogenic at one point, that was a VERY long time ago.

I won't go into too much detail about this. You can see their response here:

Wait... are endogenic systems faking or not? 🤔

You seem like you're having a really hard time deciding.

If endogenic systems don't say they have a disorder, they literally can't be faking it.

If endogenic systems do think they have a disorder, then how would they be groomed into thinking they don't?

In the future, try your best to make a rationally coherent point.

Because you've clearly failed here.

Also, not what grooming is. Anti-endos, stop comparing endogenic systems to abusers.

Now, normally, I would go into the whole spiel of how actually endogenic systems are recognized by the majority of psychiatrists who have researched the subjects, by the World Health Organization, etc. But @cambriancrew already tried that, pointing to studies that have been done, and this was how @problematicpooch responded:

So essentially, don't trust the many, many professionals telling you endogenic plurality is real because some studies are wrong! 🙄

And WHAT RESEARCH HAVE YOU DONE?

Have you managed to find even one paper by a psychiatrist or psychologist anywhere stating it's impossible to be plural without trauma? Anywhere?

Because I think it's safe to say that our research is more valid than yours. Ours comes from respected doctors in the field. Yours comes from r/systemscringe. (Don't worry. I'm getting there.)

By the way, the Crew didn't say all studies need to be true if they're published. They said a book specifically peer reviewed and published by the American Psychiatric Association wouldn't have been published if the reviewers felt it contained untrue information.

Why are anti-endos always wanting to traumatize a bunch of children?

Why not just try testing alternative hypotheses for the formation of plurality?

Does anyone else get the feeling that anti-endos attack research into endogenic systems because they're scared?

"Research into endogenic systems is taking away from research into DID" is a pretty silly argument. A lot of research into DID and OSDD has been conducted by trauma specialists. Very little of the research into endogenic systems have been. Doctors who have traditionally focused on traumagenic plurality still are focused on that.

There's zero merit to the idea that this is taking away from research into DID in any way.

And again, the ICD-11, written by World Health Organization, is clear that you can experience multiple distinct identity states without a disorder.

The Hearing Voices Network has been fighting for the 80s to normalize that voice hearing isn't inherently pathological.

Just because someone has experiences similar to a mental illness doesn't mean they have a mental illness. Especially if the don't meet criteria for distress or impairment.

Okay... you know what... I AM going to whip out the ICD-11 here because I want to zero in on another part of this. In the criteria, for DID, you need to experience impairment in areas of functioning due to the disorder.

The DSM-5 has a similar criterion, worded as a requirement of "clinically significant distress or impairment" in important areas of functioning.

The ICD-11 contrasts this with non-aversive distinct personality states that aren't associated with impairment.

No, it's not ableist to say that DID is harmfull.

And the criterion I mentioned in the DSM is literally called the harm criterion, and establishes that a disorder can't be a disorder if it doesn't harm the person in some way.

Referring to dissociative disorders as being harmful isn't ableism. If they weren't harmful, they wouldn't be disorders. That's how disorders work!

Having other people in your head isn't inherently a disorder if it doesn't come with distress or impairment.

This doesn't mean that people with dissociative disorders are monsters. It just means they have a disorder that causes some for of distress or impairment.

Though maybe you, specifically, are.

r/systemscringe

After being torn apart, Problematicpooch ran to r/systemscringe where xe goes by u/Mikeyboi3000

Now, xe tried pulling this in the discussion with Cambrian too, who addressed it here:

Obviously, no correction from u/mikeyboi3000.

That would require a shred of intellectual honesty xe doesn't possess.

Anyway, while we're here, let's take a deeper look at the comments.

Casually accusing someone you don't of being an abuser while you have THAT as your flair is absolutely wild!

Also, they described symptoms the OP says are OSDD-1. At no point did the Crew actually claim OSDD isn't a disorder.

I think most people should have a general code of conduct for themselves. At least basic moral principles.

I would think it's weird that this person doesn't, but then I remembered that this is on r/systemscringe. Of course they wouldn't have any moral principles.

I don't think I've ever seen the Crew use that word for themselves. u/Mikeyboi3000 just stuck that in quotations for some reason.

By the way, if anyone's forgotten who u/sleep-bread-dough is, I debunked their r/systemscringe posts last week.

This is the user who makes system-friendly-sonas to pretend to be supportive of their system friends, and doesn't think DID systems should be allowed to work.

The problem isn't about consciousnesses.

While it may not be fair, if you're unable to hold a single member of the system accountable, then society's laws quickly break down.

Imagine if ghosts were real and could permanently possess someone. Ghosts start possessing people, and permanently are locked into those bodies. The ghosts then commit crimes. If you say, "well, we can't hold this person accountable because they're possessed," then they can commit more crimes without penalty.

If punishing a group is the only way to hold an individual accountable, then the whole group needs to be held accountable.

For example, if anti-endos routinely invade endogenic tags, crosstagging into our spaces, and they refuse to change and stay in their own corners when they're asked, then I have no choice but to crosstag my responses into their tags with the hope the rest of the anti-endo community can rein them in, punishing the entire group for the actions of an individual.

Maybe it doesn't seem fair, but sometimes things that seem unfair are necessary for maintaining order.

I think system responsibility is one of those things, where even if a system were made up of completely 100% separate people, all would need to be held accountable for the actions of one or nobody would be held accountable.

This wasn't the only post u/Mikeyboi300 made either after Tumblr arguments in the past few days. Xe also did one after being corrected by LunastusCo on their origins.

To anyone who may engage with this user, please be warned that doing so may result in them posting you to r/systemscringe in retaliation.

If you're worried about being posted on r/systemscringe, the best thing you can do is to block @problematicpooch.

#syscourse #pro endo #pro endogenic #anti endo #anti endogenic #sysblr #psychology #psychiatry #multiplicity #systemscringe #r/systemscringe #reddit #system stuff #systems #system discourse #actually plural #actually a system

[stuckinapril]

i think you said somewhere you volunteer - do you have any tips on how to start doing that? ive been wanting to start both to help people out myself and to push my social boundaries but i get stuck in my head before i even get in the door somehow. do you have any tips lol? i think im overthinking this...

Hey no worries, I really like that you’re genuinely interested and trying to gather resources. I actually have some thoughts I’d like to share on this:

There are two types of volunteering: long-form volunteering and short-form volunteering. Short-term volunteering looks like participating in the occasional phone bank, helping raise donations every now and then, attending a food drive on a blue moon. Long-form volunteering is typically something like volunteering at a place on at least a weekly basis. A lot of the time that requires that the place actually train you so you’re of use to them. Before you look up places to volunteer, consider which type of volunteering suits your schedule the most. I do both, but I understand how not everyone’s workload can accommodate that.

When it comes to long-term volunteering, understand that just because it’s not paid work doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be taken seriously. You can’t do frequent callouts or blow off tasks because they’re not paying you to be there. A lot of the places that do social justice work—providing free food and medical care to homeless people, providing services to refugees—unfortunately do not have the necessary funding to support a whole lot of employees most times. Whatever your time commitment looks like, it remains a time commitment that needs to be honored regardless of pay.

With that said, it really is best to find something you’re actually passionate about, not something that you’re doing for the brownie points. One way to do that is to work towards a cause you have a personal connection to. For example, I volunteer weekly at a refugee center for middle eastern refugees. I also participate in a plethora of events with a view to assist Palestine in whatever ways I could. Because I’m an Arab girl, one w Iraqi heritage (also a war-torn Arab country), obviously all these things will be of personal importance to me. It’s easy for me to be incentivized to care about them, because I have this preordained connection to them. Personal connection makes it that much easier to be passionate about a cause.

But it’s equally important to mention that relatability isn’t the only way to care, nor should it be. I also volunteer at a clinic that provides service to homeless people weekly. I’m not homeless. I still care. I volunteer at my city’s Alzheimer’s research center. I don’t have Alzheimer’s. I still care. We don’t have to only associate ourselves with people we personally relate to. In fact, and this goes for life in general, you really should seek to befriend, interact with, and be curious about people who’re not like you. You should find their experiences intriguing: a window into another perspective you perhaps hadn’t thought of before. You should not always be surrounding yourself with an echo chamber of yesmen and homogeneity. Be curious about people who’re not like you. Try to put yourself in their shoes. And then learn to care about them.

It’s okay to frame volunteering as a way to benefit you too. It’s not a one-way street. There’s nothing more fulfilling than devoting yourself to something that’s solely rooted in your humanity. Not in the desire to be paid, not in the desire for acclaim, but simply in the desire to help. It makes you feel better. It boosts your self-confidence. It helps you form long-lasting connections with other people who’re also doing it out of the sheer kindness of their heart; out of the fact that they find it in themselves to care. And it reminds you of what really matters.

The biggest mistake is overwhelming yourself w 82727 resources and 72627 organizations. Start with something simple and stick with it, then go from there if you have the time to get more involved. A lot of the places that need volunteers would be happy with as little as one day a week, so long as you’re consistent about it.

It’s okay if you don’t have the time for long-form volunteering. Volunteering every now and then at one-and-done events still makes a huge difference. A lot of people make the mistake of thinking it has to either be this grand commitment or nothing. Please don’t think that way; organizations know life could be busy, and they’re happy to have you even if it’s only for the occasional event. Just make sure you’re doing something if you can.

#ok I’m done <3 <3 hope this helps #volunteering #ask

[multiplicity-positivity]

Hey!! Do y'all know where we can find any resources/symptom lists/etc specific to osdd-1b?? We've been questioning whether or not that might be a thing we have going on, but when we try to look into it, most of what we're finding groups DID and OSDD together and emphasizes memory gaps, which we dont really have.

Hey, we’re not a clinician or expert, but from what we know about DID and OSDD:

- there’s really not a huge amount of difference between these two disorders. The differences may be minor or arbitrary, and honestly the difference in diagnosis may vary vastly from clinician to clinician.

- that being said, there’s likely even less of a difference between OSDD-1a and OSDD-1b. We’re not a clinician and we have trouble sometimes understanding clinical language, so researching the differences between these subcategories (without turning to community-created content) has been difficult for us. Vaguely, we understand OSDD-1a to mean a dissociative disorder with amnesia but no parts/alters, and OSDD-1b to mean a dissociative disorder with parts/alters but no amnesia.

These things being said, we’ll include the information we could find. Please don’t disregard resources that have information on OSDD along with DID! Like we said, these disorders are closely linked, so it makes sense that they’re often grouped together.

Trying to find accurate, reliable info on OSDD-1b if anything reminded us how horribly under researched dissociative disorders are. We couldn’t find much that isn’t unsourced in a wiki or written on a personal blog.

^ this is an ask we answered in the past. A lovely system reblogged it with their thoughts and info regarding OSDD 1a and 1b

^ we really love the CTAD clinic! This video may be useful, though the clinician speaking here does advise against self-diagnosis and proposes renaming OSDD as “minor DID” which we don’t entirely agree with.

Please use critical thinking and your best judgement when exploring these links. You know yourself better than anyone else!

We’re sorry we couldn’t find more up-to-date, reliable, and accurate information for you. This might be something best brought up in therapy or with a qualified professional. Still, we hope something in this list of resources might help you.

💫 Parker and 🐢 Kip

#osdd #did osdd #osdd 1b #osdd resources #long post

[scifigeneration]

Winter brings more than just ugly sweaters – here’s how the season can affect your mind and behavior

by Michael Varnum, Associate Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University and Ian Hohm, Graduate Student of Psychology at the University of British Columbia

What comes to mind when you think about winter? Snowflakes? Mittens? Reindeer? In much of the Northern Hemisphere, winter means colder temperatures, shorter days and year-end holidays.

Along with these changes, a growing body of research in psychology and related fields suggests that winter also brings some profound changes in how people think, feel and behave.

While it’s one thing to identify seasonal tendencies in the population, it’s much trickier to try to untangle why they exist. Some of winter’s effects have been tied to cultural norms and practices, while others likely reflect our bodies’ innate biological responses to changing meteorological and ecological conditions. The natural and cultural changes that come with winter often occur simultaneously, making it challenging to tease apart the causes underlying these seasonal swings.

With our colleagues Alexandra Wormley and Mark Schaller, we recently conducted an extensive survey of these findings.

Wintertime blues and a long winter’s nap

Do you find yourself feeling down in the winter months? You’re not alone. As the days grow shorter, the American Psychiatric Association estimates that about 5% of Americans will experience a form of depression known as seasonal affective disorder, or SAD.

People experiencing SAD tend to have feelings of hopelessness, decreased motivation to take part in activities they generally enjoy, and lethargy. Even those who don’t meet the clinical threshold for this disorder may see increases in anxiety and depressive symptoms; in fact, some estimates suggest more than 40% of Americans experience these symptoms to some degree in the winter months.

Scientists link SAD and more general increases in depression in the winter to decreased exposure to sunlight, which leads to lower levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Consistent with the idea that sunlight plays a key role, SAD tends to be more common in more northern regions of the world, like Scandinavia and Alaska, where the days are shortest and the winters longest.

Humans, special as we may be, are not unique in showing some of these seasonally linked changes. For instance, our primate relative the Rhesus macaque shows seasonal declines in mood.

It can feel hard to get out of bed on dark mornings. 

Some scientists have noted that SAD shows many parallels to hibernation – the long snooze during which brown bears, ground squirrels and many other species turn down their metabolism and skip out on the worst of winter. Seasonal affective disorder may have its roots in adaptations that conserve energy at a time of year when food was typically scarce and when lower temperatures pose greater energetic demands on the body.

Winter is well known as a time of year when many people put on a few extra pounds. Research suggests that diets are at their worst, and waistlines at their largest, during the winter. In fact, a recent review of studies on this topic found that average weight gains around the holiday season are around 1 to 3 pounds (0.5 to 1.3 kilograms), though those who are overweight or obese tend to gain more.

There’s likely more going on with year-end weight gain than just overindulgence in abundant holiday treats. In our ancestral past, in many places, winter meant that food became more scarce. Wintertime reductions in exercise and increases in how much and what people eat may have been an evolutionary adaptation to this scarcity. If the ancestors who had these reactions to colder, winter environments were at an advantage, evolutionary processes would make sure the adaptations were passed on to their descendants, coded into our genes.

Sex, generosity and focus

Beyond these winter-related shifts in mood and waistlines, the season brings with it a number of other changes in how people think and interact with others.

One less discussed seasonal effect is that people seem to get friskier in the winter months. Researchers know this from analyses of condom sales, sexually transmitted disease rates and internet searches for pornography and prostitution, all of which show biannual cycles, peaking in the late summer and then in the winter months. Data on birth rates also shows that in the United States and other countries in the Northern Hemisphere, babies are more likely to be conceived in the winter months than at other times of the year.There’s more to a holiday bump in romance than just opportunity. 

Although this phenomenon is widely observed, the reason for its existence is unclear. Researchers have suggested many explanations, including health advantages for infants born in late summer, when food may historically have been more plentiful, changes in sex hormones altering libido, desires for intimacy motivated by the holiday season, and simply increased opportunities to engage in sex. However, changes in sexual opportunities are likely not the whole story, given that winter brings not just increased sexual behaviors, but greater desire and interest in sex as well.

Winter boosts more than sex drive. Studies find that during this time of year, people may have an easier time paying attention at school or work. Neuroscientists in Belgium found that performance on tasks measuring sustained attention was best during the wintertime. Research suggests that seasonal changes in levels of serotonin and dopamine driven by less exposure to daylight may help explain shifts in cognitive function during winter. Again, there are parallels with other animals – for instance, African striped mice navigate mazes better during winter.

And there may also be a kernel of truth to the idea of a generous Christmas spirit. In countries where the holiday is widely celebrated, rates of charitable giving tend to show a sizable increase around this time of year. And people become more generous tippers, leaving about 4% more for waitstaff during the holiday season. This tendency is likely not due to snowy surroundings or darker days, but instead a response to the altruistic values associated with winter holidays that encourage behaviors like generosity.

People change with the seasons

Like many other animals, we too are seasonal creatures. In the winter, people eat more, move less and mate more. You may feel a bit more glum, while also being kinder to others and having an easier time paying attention. As psychologists and other scientists research these kinds of seasonal effects, it may turn out that the ones we know about so far are only the tip of the iceberg.

#science #psychology #evolutionary psychology #holidays #holiday season #seasonal affective disorder

[seraphim-soulmate]

I needed to send another email to a government program and when checking if I'd attached the proper documents, started crying pretty hard because I didn't fully realize what I'd been sending these people. I fully read the documents that I've just been sending as proof of my disability and it tore me apart while building me back up.

One document is a testament to every treatment I tried, written by the pain clinic, with all the results of every treatment. Every consult I went to, another update about what I'd been trying. it's not absolutely everything either, bcs there were months that I didn't go to the pain clinic so they didn't get an update. I did SO much and fought SO hard to get myself help, to try to feel better. And it's all there, in that document. And I'd gaslight myself into thinking my problems weren't that bad, that I was being excessive or making things up. That I didn't have a right to articulate my needs and get them met, that I wasn't even allowed to have needs. I had to work, actually work on, in therapy, finding out my most basic needs. Then communicating them. Without dismissing myself or belittling myself or thinking I'm bad or my needs are bad if someone cannot meet them. Now I have to work on communicating them in a way that doesn't sound like an order, and communicating them early enough that I don't feel a need to articulate them like an order.

There's also of course my psychiatrist's letter which is hard-hitting too. The fact that I helped write the rough draft only makes it even more painful, but in a good way. The last sentence, after pages of my diagnoses and how they impact me, is "despite his many problems, he presents a beautiful resilience associated with a strong desire to improve his life conditions and to better integrate into society." When you've just read the medical report from the pain clinic, then the one from the psychiatrist, I don't know who wouldn't be shaking in tears after that tbh. Especially with the knowledge of where I was at in life, that I was caretaking for my grandmother the entire time that I was struggling myself, and that I was alone. I had friends, and I cannot be more grateful for those who stood by me, but not having family is hard. Knowing your parents don't understand and can't help is hard. I'm glad my dad tried, that he's gotten better at believing me again. He was the one who actually came to me with the idea that it might be fibro, but that was such a scary diagnosis at the time, for the fact that it was psychosomatic and for the fact that there was no relief, that it took me a bit to accept that he was trying to help. And then I looked into it more. And I went to the pain clinic. And I got so so so very lucky making an appointment, I got one for the following week because of a cancellation. I would have had to wait months otherwise.

Knowing I did that, by myself, alone. I researched conditions and symptoms and medications and treatments and therapies and the list goes on! I became a micro-expert in my field of disability, because you have to if you want to know what your doctors are doing to you and what you can do in response. Advocating for yourself as a disabled person and fighting with doctors is one of the most fucked up things I got from this experience. Some of them are absolutely repugnant.

I searched for all the medical professionals, I reached out to them, I booked the appointments, I reached out to get help going to the appointments so I would have a witness to how doctors treated me, I tried again and again and again, despite so many treatments failing or even worsening my pain. It's so weird to look back on that and think that I didn't just do nothing about my condition, that I was more active and engaged in my care than most disabled people are (or can be, no diss to disabled ppl who cannot get access to care).

I'm proud of that, of everything I've done, but it's also deeply fucking sad. I did that all alone. I didn't get a diagnosis when I was younger, I didn't have the support of my parents. My mom didn't book doctors appointments for me, she didn't take me to them, she didn't hold me when I was weeping with pain and grief and loss. She's proud of me, for everything I've accomplished, because she's now seen people with my conditions who struggle more than I do and she realizes now how excruciating it is for me to be here- to exist. Realistically I know it was easier for me to do it without her, she lives in the middle of nowhere and would have been more of a burden than help, but it's still hard. It's hard that I cannot count on my parents for this, to literally take care of me. Idk if it'll ever not be hard, if I'll ever forgive them for not listening to me all those years I cried out for help to be met with silence, or worse, accusations of lying. Of making it up for attention.

But I'm a success story. I'm living, breathing, being human, being loved and loving, and dealing with it all as it comes. I get to wake up another day and see how the sun reflects off the leaves, I get to see another sunset, I get to see the snow, I get to go to the park, I get to craft, to create, to play. I get to be part of other people's stories. I get to discover my own story.

#personal #me #disability #chronic pain

[stardust-sanctuary]

Could you write something about being the ptsd counselor on mother base?

Being a PTSD counselor on Mother Base

IT TOOK FOREVER BUT I DID IT! Oh gosh, it's been so busy at the clinic I work at. Flu season has arrived everyone! Be safe and be healthy! I genuinely hope this was good, I'm still kinda unsure about this, but I did my damndest! As always, feel free to screm at me if I got something wrong.

(Important disclaimer: I’m not at all a licensed professional regarding mental health.  PTSD is something that I take fairly seriously as it has affected both my father, an Army veteran, and my friends who have childhood PTSD. If you or someone you love is experiencing PTSD or any other sort of mental distress, I highly encourage you to reach out to a counselor, psychiatrist, psychologist, or even someone you trust to talk to. You’re worth it.

On a side note, remember, this was in the 70s-80s, and modern mental health resources were still in their infancy. PTSD wasn’t even included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DMS, until 1980 after research involving returning Vietnam War Veterans, Holocaust Survivors, and others and the link between war trauma and post-military life was established. It wasn’t even taken out of the anxiety category until the DMS-5 in 2015.)

Ho boy, you have your work cut out for you. Being a PTSD counselor on a normal military base is incredibly difficult. But being the counselor for Big Boss and his army? That’s one hell of a task.

Warnings: PTSD, mentions of war, misunderstanding of mental health

MSF (Peace Walker)

The 1960s and 1970s were pivotal times regarding PTSD treatment. Growing evidence from 1968 was revealing that trauma was associated with psychological symptoms, though further research was escalated by the signs of active and returning US soldiers during the Vietnam War. Preventative measures for “shellshock” or “gross stress reaction” were implemented during this time, but it was clear that it was only delaying the long-lasting symptoms. And not even the MSF led by the legendary Big Boss was immune to it.

You originally started in the MSF as a medic, preferring to take care of the injured rather than taking life. Eventually, your bedside manner and commitment to making sure your patients were okay both physically and mentally even after leaving the Med-Tent caught Paz’s eye, and she recommended that you be placed in charge of counseling soldiers that were in between deployments. Considering how much he’d been through himself, I don’t think Big Boss hesitated before allocating the appropriate funds for your new job and education.

Despite backing from Big Boss, your start was a bit rocky. Despite the fact you were the same person who helped them in your time of need, most of the base kind of avoid you, not wanting to be “psycho-analyzed” or labeled as “crazy.” Very few came to you voluntarily, often having to be ordered to talk to you by either their commanders or by another medic. No one was being intentionally ugly or cruel to you, but rather didn’t truly understand that your job was to just keep doing what you’ve already been doing; you just now got a title, better pay, and access to education. Eventually, they all came around thanks to your history as one of the medics and began to truly value you as someone to rely on with even their darkest nightmares. 

Kaz will occasionally come to you when the nightmares get too much, but he’s much happier talking to you outside of your “office hours.” It just feels more real to him. He will more than likely playfully flirt with you too.  Ocelot will probably steer clear of your work but will still be quite friendly toward you. Considering his track history though,  I wouldn’t put it past him to maybe pry into some of the secrets you’ve been entrusted with (keep your documents under lock and key!). But one of your most common visitors is Big Boss himself. At first; he wasn’t too keen on divulging his inner dilemmas to you, rather using the time to just…relax. Talk about something else besides the mission and the battles. That is until things start to become too much.

Big Boss will eventually trust you enough to open up about some of his more distressing thoughts. Despite his steadfast determination throughout the series; I always felt as though Big Boss was constantly at war in his mind, always trying to determine what was best to fulfill The Boss’s dream. He’ll share that inner conflict with you and try hard to take every bit of advice you give him. Depending on how close you get and how much trust you earn from him; you may end up being the only one who truly knows what happened in that field of white flowers. Don’t be alarmed if he disappears for a few days after that. It took a lot out of him, but he’ll be back. Congratulations! You just earned the unwavering trust of the Man who Sold the World!

Overall, despite your rocky start on base, your work as a counselor will end up being considered invaluable. Many soldiers will end up giving you the nickname “Doc” even if you don’t have a doctorate. They’ll invite you to the mess hall and sometimes leave little gifts in your office. Even the Boss will leave you flowers and maybe even a few Calorie Mates.

Mother Base (The Phantom Pain)

Honestly, you weren’t expecting that call from Kaz. How long had it been? Ten years since that horrific explosion? At this point, you were working professionally as a counselor, but you just couldn’t stay away. Not when you learned Big Boss was alive. And not when  Kaz sounded so…broken.

Your reunion with Big Boss, Kaz, and Ocelot was…bittersweet.  Despite welcoming you with open arms, they maintained a fair amount of distance from you for the first few months. Considering what you all went through, it was understandable.

This time, many of the soldiers were easier to convince to come to see you (it helped that Ocelot pretty much ordered them to after almost every mission). Speaking of Ocelot, he made a consistent effort to 

Kaz was the first to come to you, not as a patient, but as your commander. Even behind his sunglasses, his gaze seemed harsher. Ice settled in your stomach when he demanded absolute loyalty to the Diamond Dogs before promptly leaving your office. But as the months wore on, you two eventually fell back into your old habits. His nightmares had gotten even worse, compounding with his capture, torture, and loss of limbs, but you had gotten even better at your job with your experience. And to say Kaz was happy to have you back in his life is an understatement. You’re getting a homemade burger from him almost every week.

Ocelot was his usual friendly if somewhat slightly unnerving self. It was insanely impressive how well he had taken the entire last years, especially considering how devastating the attempt to rescue Paz and Chico went. Still, he was immensely grateful to you for taking care of the soldiers. Expect him to bring D.D. around for playdates.

Then there was Big Boss. You were worried from the beginning as the man you knew as Big Boss was and was not Big Boss. Most of his memories were the same, even his demeanor and mannerisms seemed identical. But during your sessions, little things did not seem to add up. They were minor inconsistencies, such as remembering specific conversations you had or nightmares you talked about. At first, you chalked it up to memory issues from the coma and simply continued to help him. It was a strange feeling, as though you were meeting him for the first time all over again. Once again, though, you found a fast friend in Venom. Sometimes, your sessions would even be just sitting in each other’s company, listening to his Walkman.

Quiet will absolutely be curious about you. From what I can gather, I don’t believe Cipher had any sort of counselor. At least one that cared as much as you did. Do you ever feel like someone is watching you? More than likely it was Quiet while she’s invisible. After deeming you safe, she’ll start to interact with you. She opts to draw to communicate her thoughts to you. She’s not the best artist, but she’s so proud every time she draws something that you can completely understand. You’ll always be safe with her watching your back.

When you finally discovered the truth about Venom, you felt more sadness than shock. You spent so much time with the man, helping him unravel the maelstrom that was his mind, only for him to seemingly lose trust in everyone. Kaz will try and convince you to leave. Venom himself states that while he will miss you, he will not blame you if you leave. Instead, he will thank you and hand you a copy of the songs you listened to together.

Sources:

#mgs x reader #metal gear x reader #metal gear headcanons #mgs headcanons

[madamemachikonew]

More thoughts on Baizhu's story quest #2 - Baizhu's lack of self

↓ ↓ Spoilers below ↓ ↓ 

The dynamic between Baizhu and Changsheng is interesting in the sense of how Baizhu has both negated and asserted himself in the relationship. When we think of 'selfless' behaviour, it has come to mean putting other people first. But a more literal meaning is being without self. Baizhu's behaviour is quite paradoxical in that the two states exist at once.

In choosing to undertake the art of healing (before he ever made his contract) he had taken an oath under his master to practice his art for the benefit of all, regardless of wealth or status. In essence, this ethical duty requires the medic to put personal feelings aside and administer their art in a fair way without prejudice or reasonable refusal. This is the first denial of self and is common to other professions such as lawyers. You also cannot allow emotions to cloud your clinical judgment and sometimes must make difficult decisions in the best interests of the patient, no matter how they offend you morally or emotionally.

The demands and rigours of such a job are such that you never have a day off. Yes, a clinic may have opening hours, but an emergency can present itself at any time or place. The doctor's duty requires that they must assist. It becomes a way of life and long working hours end up dictating how you spend your leisure time or who you meet. It permanently alters how you think; your brain is constantly viewing the world through the lens of your profession. For example, a simple walk in the mountain will turn into 'Oh, I wonder if that flower might have a medicinal benefit?' when most people will simply stop to look at the pretty flower. In this way, Baizhu further loses his definition of self.

It is also common to vocational professions to lose one's sense of self in that your identity becomes wrapped up in your job. People forever associate the name Baizhu with him being a doctor. Not Baizhu the human being. If one were to remove his medical inclination, what would be left of him? His voicelines are all based in some way around his profession - even his hobby is research. He doesn't even commit to a favourite food in favour of dispensing some health advice about having a balanced diet. Who actually is Baizhu as a person? What are his own preferences and desires? Is there anything of him apart from his dedication to his art? Once again, he has suppressed his sense of self. Or conceals it from the people around him in a guarded way. He deliberately makes himself two-dimensional in his presentation, but it plays as being mysterious and enigmatic. He uses a mischievous sense of humour to dodge and deflect questions he doesn't want to answer. For whatever reason, he does not want others to penetrate the external layer.

In this way, and on account of his pure heart and altruistic nature, taking the contract became a self-fulfilling prophecy, as much as he wants to deny the existence of fate. Changsheng refers to him as her mannequin. But it's probably more accurate to say that Baizhu has made himself a vessel or conduit for her power for the purpose of healing. A further denial of self.

He wears a smile so as not to cause worry to the people around him and encourage his patients despite the huge suffering he experiences daily. He has invalidated his own pain for the convenience of others (something which many sick or disabled people do). Again, denial of self.

But on the other hand, according to Jiangli, Baizhu's senior apprentice, he most likely would have been able to formulate a remedy for Jialiang on his own steam had he not reverse-engineered and adapted her version. She says that his intellect is exceptional in its own right.

In other words, Baizhu is more than a vessel; he has his own knowledge and skillset and likely would have been an exceptional physician even without the contract. Changsheng's arts merely serve to amplify it or make the process of his research more meaningful and elevate his talents to miraculous. His inquisitiveness and analytical nature were always his alone. He uses her abilities as research tools to develop cures and better understand how diseases and toxins work, thus expediting the research and development process.

In spite of his ostensible modesty (he refers to himself as 'delusional' and 'troublesome' and uses humble language) Baizhu seems to be aware of his ability and I wonder if this is the reason why he is so confident - arrogant? stubborn? - that he will defy the demise suffered by his predecessors to Changsheng's contract. In this way, he asserts self. And he does so either oblivious to the love that other people hold for him, or in spite of it.

Either, through denial of self, he cannot imagine himself worthy of love. I think this is unlikely - he is aware of his brilliance and his aesthetics suggest he is equally aware he is attractive. I suspect that he simply weighs up the grief of his loved ones against the benefits that could be brought to countless more unnamed people in the future through his ability to heal them. In this way he asserts self in the strongest and most painful way possible; he will not be deterred from walking his path as a healer. The only suffering he wilfully refuses to alleviate through his single-minded actions is that of those who cherish him most.

But then, he is confident that such a possibility will never arise because he is convinced of his future success. Maybe he is even inspired by it and becomes all the more determined to succeed in his endeavours, precisely to protect them. This sort of hubris is never destined to end well.

I would hope he uses their pain to temper any temptation to be reckless, but I fear the lure of testing his limits would always win. I think he will either end up dead, or cursed to immortal agony, because he cannot find cures for all of the ailments he's accumulated and some will do permanent damage even if they are cured later. After all, Changsheng's power is eroding and she cannot balance his Qi forever.

I wonder if, with either outcome, he would regret his decision or not.  

#baizhu #genshin baizhu #baizhu story quest #genshin impact baizhu #baizhu thoughts

[beardedmrbean]

Okay so skin to skin for babies and parents can help their bonds

But can that apply to siblings as well? I mean im an older brother but I was 3 when my sister was born.

Asking for reference

I'm not a professional at all, so starting with something precious.

A sweet viral photo is touting the benefits of skin-to-skin contact with newborn babies.

Last year, a Danish family advocacy organization called Forældre og Fødsel shared a Facebook photo of a father and young son practicing skin-to-skin contact with newborn twins. Last week, the South Africa-based Facebook page NINO Birth reposted the photo, with the caption translated into English.

The translated caption explains a Swedish practice in which babies around 700 grams (roughly 1.5 pounds) are placed on a parent's bare chest for skin-to-skin contact instead of an incubator.

"A Swedish Professor, Uwe Ewald, came to Hvidovre hospital (Denmark) to talk about his revolutionary practice, where even very small premature babies are taken out of the incubator to be skin to skin with their parents as much as possible," notes the text.

"Uwe Ewald points out that the parent's chest regulates the temperature better than an incubator," the post continues. "Skin-to-skin contact helps the baby to breathe better. The child becomes more calm and gains weight faster. Research shows that parents bacterial flora -- compared with hospital bacteria -- reduces the risk of serious infections in these delicate children." ____________

some of that at the end sounds like hippie stuff, but they're professional baby taker care of ers so deffer to them.

Up next is Stanford, they're smart people I think ______________________

“Skin-to-skin time right after delivery can be a wonderful, strong start for both mother and baby,” says obstetrician Dr. Susan Crowe, a clinical associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Stanford School of Medicine. Which is why, whenever possible, Crowe advocates that newborns be placed immediately upon the mother’s abdomen at delivery. (A recent study published in JAMA Pediatrics shows that there may be benefits to waiting, even a few minutes after delivery, to sever the umbilical cord.)

“After the cord is cut, the baby should be moved up to the mother’s chest,” says Crowe. It’s something traditional cultures have always done instinctively and is now understood scientifically as an incredibly beneficial way to welcome a baby for both mother and child. “The skin-to-skin contact causes a release in oxytocin—known as the ‘love hormone’—in the mom. It helps the uterus contract, which reduces bleeding, and also warms up the mother’s body, which comforts the baby and results in less crying and lower rates of hypoglycemia,” Crowe explains.

“Skin-to-skin contact causes a release in oxytocin–known as the ‘love hormone.’”

The rush of oxytocin not only makes Mom a super warm and cozy place for a newborn to nestle, it also enables mothers and babies to recognize each other’s unique scent. In addition, it triggers the newborn’s instinct to find and latch on to the breast—something that everyone thinks is so easy and instinctual for both mother and child, that is, until the moment arrives and the awkwardness is all too real. A 2012 study published in Neonatology showed that 95 percent of mothers who experienced skin-to-skin contact with their newborns were breastfeeding exclusively 48 hours after delivery, and 90 percent continued exclusive breastfeeding six weeks later; yet another reminder of just how important our hormones are in determining how we function.  ______________

Keeps going, they don't mention siblings, the also don't mention fathers which other ones do. I would say you're likely to get the same effect regardless of the person's relationship to the newborn/infant so sibling thing would probably be a good and effective thing.

:::::disclaimer I am not a professional, please consult one before saying anything with full confidence:::::

#anonymous

[jcmarchi]

Does “food as medicine” make a big dent in diabetes?

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/does-food-as-medicine-make-a-big-dent-in-diabetes/

Does “food as medicine” make a big dent in diabetes?

How much can healthy eating improve a case of diabetes? A new health care program attempting to treat diabetes by means of improved nutrition shows a very modest impact, according to the first fully randomized clinical trial on the subject.

The study, co-authored by MIT health care economist Joseph Doyle of the MIT Sloan School of Management, tracks participants in an innovative program that provides healthy meals in order to address diabetes and food insecurity at the same time. The experiment focused on Type 2 diabetes, the most common form.

The program involved people with high blood sugar levels, in this case an HbA1c hemoglobin level of 8.0 or more. Participants in the clinical trial who were given food to make 10 nutritious meals per week saw their hemoglobin A1c levels fall by 1.5 percentage points over six months. However, trial participants who were not given any food had their HbA1c levels fall by 1.3 percentage points over the same time. This suggests the program’s relative effects were limited and that providers need to keep refining such interventions.

“We found that when people gained access to [got food from] the program, their blood sugar did fall, but the control group had an almost identical drop,” says Doyle, the Erwin H. Schell Professor of Management at MIT Sloan.

Given that these kinds of efforts have barely been studied through clinical trials, Doyle adds, he does not want one study to be the last word, and hopes it spurs more research to find methods that will have a large impact. Additionally, programs like this also help people who lack access to healthy food in the first place by dealing with their food insecurity.

“We do know that food insecurity is problematic for people, so addressing that by itself has its own benefits, but we still need to figure out how best to improve health at the same time if it is going to be addressed through the health care system,” Doyle adds.

The paper, “The Effect of an Intensive Food-as-Medicine Program on Health and Health Care Use: A Randomized Clinical Trial,” is published today in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The authors are Doyle; Marcella Alsan, a professor of public policy at Harvard Kennedy School; Nicholas Skelley, a predoctoral research associate at MIT Sloan Health Systems Initiative; Yutong Lu, a predoctoral technical associate at MIT Sloan Health Systems Initiative; and John Cawley, a professor in the Department of Economics and the Department of Policy Analysis and Management at Cornell University and co-director of Cornell’s Institute on Health Economics, Health Behaviors and Disparities.

To conduct the study, the researchers partnered with a large health care provider in the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S., which has developed food-as-medicine programs. Such programs have become increasingly popular in health care, and could apply to treating diabetes, which involves elevated blood sugar levels and can create serious or even fatal complications. Diabetes affects about 10 percent of the adult population.

The study consisted of a randomized clinical trial of 465 adults with Type 2 diabetes, centered in two locations within the network of the health care provider. One location was part of an urban area, and the other was rural. The study took place from 2019 through 2022, with a year of follow-up testing beyond that. People in the study’s treatment group were given food for 10 healthy meals per week for their families over a six-month period, and had opportunities to consult with a nutritionist and nurses as well. Participants from both the treatment and control groups underwent periodic blood testing.

Adherence to the program was very high. Ultimately, however, the reduction in blood sugar levels experienced by people in the treatment group was only marginally bigger than that of people in the control group.

Those results leave Doyle and his co-authors seeking to explain why the food intervention didn’t have a bigger relative impact. In the first place, he notes, there could be some basic reversion to the mean in play — some people in the control group with high blood sugar levels were likely to improve that even without being enrolled in the program.

“If you examine people on a bad health trajectory, many will naturally improve as they take steps to move away from this danger zone, such as moderate changes in diet and exercise,” Doyle says. 

Moreover, because the healthy eating program was developed by a health care provider staying engaged with all the participants, people in the control group may have still benefitted from medical engagement and thus fared better than a control group without such health care access. 

It is also possible the Covid-19 pandemic, unfolding during the experiment’s time frame, affected the outcomes in some way, although results were similar when they examined outcomes prior to the pandemic. Or it could be that the intervention’s effects might appear over a still-longer time frame.

And while the program provided food, it left it to participants to prepare meals, which might be a hurdle for program compliance. Potentially, premade meals might have a bigger impact.

“Experimenting with providing those premade meals seems like a natural next step,” says Doyle, who emphasizes that he would like to see more research about food-as-medicine programs aiming at diabetes, especially if such programs evolve and try to some different formats and features.

“When you find a particular intervention doesn’t improve blood sugar, we don’t just say, we shouldn’t try at all,” Doyle says. “Our study definitely raises questions, and gives us some new answers we haven’t seen before.”

Support for the study came from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL); and the MIT Sloan Health Systems Initiative. Outside the submitted work, Cawley has reported receiving personal fees from Novo Nordisk, Inc, a pharmaceutical company that manufactures diabetes medication and other treatments.

#2022 #Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) #Analysis #blood #blood sugar #compliance #covid #diabetes #diet #Disease #Economics #effects #Exercise #Experienced #Faculty #Features #Food #form #Foundation #Health #Health care #how #it #management #Medicine #mit #MIT Sloan School of Management #natural #network #notes

[sharlenedablogger]

What is STEM?

STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math. These four fields share an emphasis on innovation, problem-solving, and critical thinking. And together they make up a popular and fast-growing industry.

Most STEM workers use computers and other technology in their day-to-day jobs. Many also use the scientific method to test hypotheses and theories. Most STEM jobs are in high demand but suffer from a lack of qualified candidates.

STEM is necessary for growing the economy and staying globally competitive. As society innovates and technology advances, the need for professionals who understand how these technologies work and who can propose practical solutions continues to grow. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) calls STEM careers "tommorow's job," emphasizing the importance of these unique industries. Today, STEM jobs are in high demand, and many are projected to stay in demand for several years. At the same time, STEM professionals are in short supply, which is why so many colleges — as well as the U.S. government — are imploring students to study STEM. This high demand for computing professionals makes sense if you consider how much of our lives have become reliant on some form of digital technology. It’s how we communicate and keep in touch. It’s how we entertain ourselves. It starts the engines in our cars; in medical practices, it keeps us alive; it drives massive segments of our economy; and for better or worse, advances in digital technology will continue to control the future direction of our society. As our daily lives become more reliant on software and digital devices, jobs in computing will become increasingly more important.

Engineering and Physical Science is the next largest category of in-demand STEM careers. These are careers like Orthodontists, Petroleum Engineers, Biochemists, Nurse Anesthetists, Civil Engineers, and Cartographers. Yes, cartographers—map makers—are still a thing and they earn a median salary of $63,990. (Cool, I know.) These types of careers have much less to do with computers and more to do with rolling up your sleeves and getting elbow deep in real work, with real results that you can see right now.

Life Sciences and Mathematics are much smaller fields than the previous two, but they make up the third most significant chunk of STEM careers. These two fields involve the more theoretical STEM careers that account for only a small amount of the demand for STEM professionals. These are careers like being a Clinical Research Associate or an Economist that—while still in demand—might be harder to find a position in. However, these are by no means your only options when it comes to STEM careers. It doesn’t matter whether you prefer working with computers, building robots, drawing blueprints for skyscrapers, or developing groundbreaking medicine. If you can make it through a STEM program in college, there’s a STEM career for you. 

Going through a STEM program is pretty intense. It requires a lot of dedication, perseverance, and sacrifice to make it all the way through. No matter how, this style of education builds the skills and mindsets that employers find incredibly valuable. And since the demand for STEM professionals is so high, employers in STEM fields are willing to offer some of the most generous starting salaries that recent graduates can get.

[diodellet]

3 unfinished obm stories

here i am again back with my bs... (look this one paper is asking me to examine my writing while thinking speculatively towards a bigger project ill have to undertake in the future and i ended up getting a bit nostalgic so there, yeah). insert obligatory super long post++drafty and unebeta'd writing under the cut warning here.

satan x empath!reader

lmaooooo not me thinking of longfics with characters i barely know about (this is what happens when you fall for a hot guy without psychoanalyzing him first, dio u loSER!!!). i think i was inspired by grace mclean's in the green. i hate parsing the plot of musicals through lines and historical research but its all i can do being a non-US person.

The quiet celebration was cut short when the Madam dropped the letter she was reading. You stopped playing with the infant and turned your gaze to the older woman with concern. Cradling the baby with one arm, you made your way to her side. “Mi-Mother?” you asked, gentle in your tone. It was difficult to make the switch in title. But with her claiming you as one of her own, you would make sure not to misspeak in front of her as to lessen the chance of fumbling in front of guests and visitors. You laid your palm on top of her hand, acutely noticing that it was trembling.

She had gone pale, all the color drained from her face. Her other hand was pressed over her mouth.

“Shall I call the doctor?” you asked, hoping that you could cut through the haze of whatever was ailing her.

Mutely, she shook her head and closed her eyes. The child in your arm made a confused babble sound.

A choked out sob comes from the woman’s mouth. Seeing her in agony like this made a low thrum of pain well up in your chest. The joyful spark in her eyes that  glittered and gleamed with adoration and warmth was now clouded over with fear that wound itself tightly around the woman’s frame, rendering her speechless, no matter how much you tried to console her.

All because of a single sheet of paper. Your eyes catch a glimpse of the sender’s name.

The woman’s husband was hardly ever home. Spent more time at the office, with business associates, and even would leave the country for several weeks at a time. Hot flares of annoyance would clutch at your throat every time he was brought up. It hurt even more to see that the lady of the house still held nothing but kindness and consideration for him. She refused to talk about the pressing issue, that being, her emotional pain, instead choosing to change the topic to something mundane, acting as if there wasn’t anything burdening her.

You had no choice but to oblige her conversations and return to your day-to-day life reluctantly.

Until a certain visitor turned up late at night.

Rubbing the sleep from your eyes, you gazed at the clock, the pendulum swung back and forth in a hypnotizing rhythm. The short hand was pointed at the third hour. Who would have business with her at this time?

A sharp whistling sound broke through your stream of thoughts, you hurried to take the kettle off the stove and prepare tea for the guest.

Delicately balancing the teaware on the tray, you made your way to the Mistress’ room. Your feet have carried you there so many times, you’ve ended up in her room more than you’ve been in your own.

Especially since the birth of her new daughter.

Your mind drifted back to the omnipresent sadness shadowing your Mistress. Muffled sobs from her room, dark rings under her eyes, smiles that only made it up to her lips, a deep-seated weariness that made her look older than she actually was.

Stopping right outside her door, you raise your fist, about to knock when you hear snippets of a hushed conversation.

Sobbing. Gut-wrenching crying.

A cold, clinical voice mentioning a contract.

The wailing of the infant.

The tray fell from your hands, crashing into the floor. Ceramic fragments littered the ground, scalding hot tea seeped into the carpets and floorboards. But even with this mess, you felt the languid haze clear away from your mind.

Without caring for your proper decorum, you throw open the door, calling out for your mistress.

She was standing by the crib, clutching the child to her chest. Her grip was protective and tight, tears streamed down her cheeks in small rivulets.

By the foot of her bed stood a blond-haired man, dressed in a military-styled uniform. You couldn’t put your finger on it, but it didn’t seem like the design 

The occupants of the room turned to you.

Two sets of emotion struck you. First was the sinking despair of your mistress. Her pale face and red-rimmed eyes. You could see that she wanted to protect the child in her arms and you, the servant she had plucked from the streets and raised as her own. The second set of emotion was barely-concealed rage in the man’s expression, almost as if the slightest misstep or noise would snap the last remains of his patience.

Despite the fear coursing you, your feet planted themselves between the man and the woman.

His frown deepened. “Move out of the way, human. I have a contract to fulfill.”

Mutely, you shook your head, refusing to budge. Behind you, the mistress of the house gripped the back of your outfit with a trembling hand. “Please step aside. This is a personal matter.”

Her vice grip on you betrayed her words.

“Wh-what’s the contract about? My la-mother’s business is also mine.” You demand to know, voice wavering in fear.

He didn’t say anything, only surveying you with an annoyed gaze.

She repeated her words, more firmly this time. “He just wants to talk about business—”

The realization hits you quickly and your eyes widen in shock. “He’s going to take your child…” you uttered in a voice barely above a whisper.

Your words bring a new wave of tears to the older woman’s eyes. She didn’t try to deny it.

Tears spring to your own eyes.

It all made sense, how she would spend days with the child held close to her. How she would cry to herself as the baby slept against her chest. Her damned husband was selling their child to a stranger.

see the interesting thing abt the reader was that they were adopted or a surrogate child to the lady of the house, which shud? circumvent the contract that the husband made with satan? (tbh if the logic didn't add up i was just going to have reader go "um actually, blood is thicker than water" and hit him with some other emotion (of fierce protectiveness towards their family) that it would intrigue him to take them instead. i think what mainly made me discontinue this wip was that idk much about writing in a historical fiction-kinda setting. yeah its a bit of shoddy, scotch tape worldbuilding nd headcanoning, and yeahhh there were going to be romantic elements but it wasn't really the goal? i just knew that the reader would die, either by satan's hands or by society (ala witch hunt persecution or something similar). they would end up becoming an influential figure for satan, or smth along the lines of managing to convey emotions other than anger.++wouldn't it be funny if this would tie in to that one fairytale satan references in lesson 19?

obey me x puella magi madoka magica

where you are madoka, solomon is homura, the angels are kyubey, and the sinblings+dia and barb were supposed to be witches. Or well... magical girls who would become witches? I'm not sure, i just know that i wanted the angels to be the actual antagonists. Channeling "cold, unfeeling heaven" vibes. i was really fascinated with the idea that the entities ruling "heaven" were no different from rule-abiding machines, because a lot institutionalized religion valued adherence and submission over legit goodness, ykw? but the problems were: 1.) that i didn't care much for the sinblings, 2.) nor do i care much for solomon (i mean i get the appeal now, but this was during my early days of playing obm...where i only liked simeon...)

Eyes watering, you squinted through the dust.

You could make out wisps of silver. A person clothed in black, holding...

Help me!

The blood in your veins turned to ice. The voice that was calling out to you. It was in danger.

It called your name, more urgently this time, the sound making your ears ring. You winced, one of your hands came up to clap against the side of your head.

"No!" You called out to the figure. They turned to face you.

Pale silver hair seemingly casting a shadow over dark gray irises. You think you can spot a sense of recognition, of familiarity. But with the cold expression on his face...

The pit in your stomach widened to a chasm. Sweat gathered in your palms. Why was he here, doing this? Questions filled your mind. The person—he—looked familiar yet you couldn't place a name to his face, no matter how deep you dug through your memories.

In one of his hands, he held a bloodied child by the back of his collar. Red dripped from the side of his head, standing out against the soft yellow strands.

i love play rehearsal but in a minor key (ft. pugatory hall)

idk i missed being being part of theater rehearsals. and one of the last notable activities i remember being made to do was putting on a short musical abt a biblical love story.

“You’re getting the hang of it!” The meager compliment, while appreciated, only makes you sigh, frustration creeping into the released breath. You snatch your phone off the piano and stop recording.

Listening to it later was going to be a pain. But right now, the first thing you had noticed was that you kept messing up at the second verse. That was embarrassing. A part of you was grateful that you had someone to help you practice, but the harsher and more critical part of yourself was wringing you out for your performance.

Even if they were only practices, you couldn’t help but want it to be perfect.

“Are you okay?” Luke asked, his cheer giving way to worry as he stood from the piano.

“Yeah—Yeah, I’m okay. Do you want to practice your part?” You straighten up, pocketing your phone. Berate yourself later, practice right now.

You switch places with him and adjust the seat to be more comfortable.

A short and simple pay. That was all it was. A little extra-curricular activity to have some fun and let the exchange students work together with the other students.

Which backfired stupendously, since most of the demons steered clear from the Celestial students. You doubted that you were gonna work well with demons, especially since you were constantly being eyed with either predatory or unwelcome gazes.

So here you were, with the Purgatory Hall students for the nth time.

When did you start regretting being a part of this? Oh right, when you suggested offhandedly that the play could be a musical.

And your groupmates, darn them, supported the idea.

You weren’t a complete musical genius, didn’t have much experience. But back in the Human World, you’ve played around with a keyboard and guitar, picked up a How to: For Dummies book, took little bits and ideas from tutorial videos on the Internet. Sure you may have acted a bit for drama club, and maybe you’ve had that one phase in your life when you uploaded covers and you’ve had your fair share of one-person Broadway shows in the shower but—

You were not a professional.

So while the main goal of this activity was to have fun, there was the part of your validation-starved brain that convinced you that you needed this performance to measure up.

Starting with yours, at least.

“We’re back.” The door to the music room opened to reveal your other two group members coming back from their visit to the auditorium.

“Still hard at work, I see.”

It was agreed that the four of you would have some dialogue and acting to do. But each of you would handle certain parts of the production.

You weren’t able to use magic for special effects like Solomon could.

Simeon already took care of the writing and staging.

This left you and Luke to work together on the music. That turned out pretty well for the first part of it, until you had the then-brilliant-now-stupid idea to do this for your song. A solo song. It kind of made sense since you were one of the coc-leads, but you were starting to wonder what your brain was thinking when it decided to make the song a melancholic one.

The duet with your character’s and Luke’s was fun. Peppy. Happy. With cheeky back-and-forth lines. Practicing it would leave a smile on your lips as you sang together.

After the last chord rang out, you turn to Simeon and Solomon, “Wanna practice any of your songs next?” you ask.

[...]

You drum the pen against the surface of the table as you carefully went through the worksheet. Nestled in your ear, an earphone playing the recording from earlier.

As expected, practice was a success when it came to their parts. Sure, they were going to need to work on their expressions along with their singing, but you still had to iron out a few things in the songs. Change a lyric, adjust the melody a bit to make it easier to learn, things like that. Flipping to the back page of the sheet, you grimace at the essay questions and decide now would be an okay time to take a break. Heading to the kitchen, you pocket your phone and look through the cupboards.

While you wanted to enjoy a sweet snack, you needed to take care of your voice. Having it crack and not be consistent during rehearsals was going to make things ten times more embarrassing than they already were.

So tea became one of your best friends.

As you waited for the kettle to fill with water, you hum along to the song, tapping your foot slowly against the floor. Setting the kettle on the stove, you waited for the water to boil. The song picked up, flicking a switch in you. You throw yourself into it, closing your eyes and pressing a hand against your chest as if to draw the emotion from you while singing.

As the song reached its climax, your voice rose in pitch and volume, reaching the notes you struggled to hit during rehearsals.

Ah, if only you could do this every single practice.

Let go and just sing.

[...]

“Don’t you want to take a break?” Luke’s fingers come off the piano keys, stopping abruptly.

“After one more run-through, there’s this part I keep messing up—” You answer curtly, flipping through the sheet music. Were you going to have to make more adjustments to the melody?

Conflicted, Luke turned to Simeon for help. The older angel gave a reassuring pat on Luke’s head. “I’m with Luke on this, let’s take a short break, at least.”

You looked up from the music in your hands. “Oh…then I could practice my part on my own—”

Luke frowned. “You’ve been practicing non-stop since we got here.” “No, you see, I don’t practice enough.”

i stopped becs i started going to some dark places, yeah performing musicals is fun but oh my god the rehearsals are so bad for my mental health. esp when u have a highstrung director/adviser who would put their stress on all of u. but who knows im really fixated on writing stuff about play rehearsals, ahaha i might frankenstein together a bunch of lines from this wip into a different one

#dellet-writings #interactions and reactions are ok🙆🙆 #but pls please dont ask me to continue these

[lift-yourself]

1. No distractions!

First things first: move to a quiet area, turn off notifications on your phone or turn off your phone completely, close the door of your office and keep your workspace organized, tell people around you not to distract you for a while, play some soothing music (e.g. something like this)

2. Keep track of your body

Everybody knows what it’s like to be ‘’hangry’’. Therefore, avoid delaying or skipping meals in order to keep your mind sharp, your energy levels up, and your emotions in check.To keep energized, balance lean protein, complex carbs, and healthy fats. If you are hungry in between meals, snack on fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts, or seeds. Also, make sure you drink enough of water to stay hydrated.

3. Boost your sleep health

While a few nights of scant sleep are acceptable, sleeping less than eight hours on most nights of the week can be detrimental to your short- and long-term memory as well as your capacity to focus.Adults aged 18 to 60 are advised to get at least seven hours of sleep each night. Up to 9 hours a night may be required for older folks.

4. be SMART

If a complicated project is making you feel overwhelmed, try dividing it up into smaller steps and inserting those steps into the SMART formula.

SMART is short for:

Specific: What specifically must be done? Measurable: How will you monitor your development? Achievable: Is it plausible? Will it be finished by the due date? Relevant: How does it fit into the larger plan or objective? Timely: When must it be completed?

5. write a to-do list

Of course, a to-do list can quickly grow in length. Finding the drive to do everything you set out to do might often be difficult.The positive news: According to studies, having a written plan of action can boost productivity.

6. DON’T multitask

Switching between different types of thinking or topics can be extremely exhausting for your brain. For better focus, select a group of related chores, complete them one at a time. This facilitates transitions, and by avoiding switching between different types of tasks, you might do much more.

7. Meditation

Meditation requires intense concentration, so if the adage "practice makes perfect" is accurate, it is a surefire technique to improve focus.

Scientific tests support this. For instance, a University of North Carolina study found that students who practiced meditation for just 20 minutes every day for four days outperformed their peers on specific cognitive tests.Another study from 2011 revealed that regular meditators were happier overall and less prone to "mind-wandering." 

The study's authors hypothesize that this was caused by long-term meditators showing less of what is known as default mode network activity (DMN), a brain function associated with problems with concentration, anxiety, and depression.

8. Exercise!

Running, swimming, and weightlifting are all beneficial for more than just the physical health. John Ratey, an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, claims that they also foster brain health, which is crucial for memory and focus.

A substance known as brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which some research suggests helps remodel memory circuits to improve their performance, may be released as a result of regular exercise, according to scientists.

9. Use small amounts of caffeine

Grab a cup of coffee or other caffeinated beverage if you're feeling sleepy. According to studies, caffeine may aid and improve concentration when used in moderation, especially for those of us who are tired.To avoid caffeine jitters, which often impair your ability to concentrate, don't overindulge in coffee. You may also try a cup of tea, which, unlike coffee, won't give you a sudden rush but can offer you energy for longer periods of time because it contains L-theanine molecules, which our bodies metabolize all day long.

10. Take breaks regularly!

It's important to take breaks from work occasionally, whether it's to watch Youtube videos, go for a stroll, or take a little nap.

In one study, 84 participants were given an hour to complete a straightforward computer assignment. Those who were given two small breaks over that hour fared steadily throughout, whereas those who weren't given a break eventually did worse.

#how to #stay focused #tips #advice #motivation #work #inspiration #studying #study help #study advice #school #university #how to make money #money making #how to get rich

[graytheory]

Wait, how do you know detransitioners werent lied to? How do you know our medical providers made sure we were actually informed? I wasnt informed about the risk that id need a hysterectomy further in life, because my endo just assumed i wanted to get that done anyway, which i didnt! I was told puberty blockers didnt even exist when i first got seen by the genderclinic. I was never told about the long term risks of developing nerve pain years after my masectomy, only about the immediate risks of the surgery and the recovery process.

I DO feel failed by the gender clinic, but not because they eventually let me transition, but because they didnt focus on the right things. They latched onto the idea that getting a masectomy might be a form of surgical self harm, which is ridiculous, and that taking testosterone could make me impulsive and violent, which also seems ridiculous. But it meant we spent so much time, almost an hour a week for 4.5 years, focusing on arguing about things that were irrelevant or non plausible, rather than actually discussing where my discomfort stemmed from. I was in hell, i was in agony, my dysphoria was destroying my life, the discomfort was very very real, and i spent years as a teenager in conflict with multiple professionals, where transition was the only option for treating my dysphoria. I still have dysphoria, just significantly less than pre masectomy, and there is still NOTHING they can offer me to treat that other than transition.

I do have a radical feminist stance on a lot of things, that doesnt mean i want the CHOICE of transition taken away, it doesnt even mean i necessarily regret my own transition, but it means that i recognise that biological sex cannot be just replaced by gender self id, not in every situation.

I just want the methods of and research surrounding transition to improve, and i want the approach of "transition or live with your debilitating dysphoria" to be the only options presented to people who like me are young and in serious, SERIOUS pain. Trans identified people deserve better than to be turned into a political issue where you're either 100% for everything proposed by the mainstream consensus of Trans rights advocacy groups, or you want trans and dysphoric people all dead or forced to conform to the gender stereotypes associated with our birth sex.

It shouldnt be all or nothing, and we should be able to think critically about how biological sex impacts socialization and privilege and how that intersects with gender identity, we should be able to call out male violence wether thats coming from a cis man or from a biological male who identifies as trans and hasnt done the work to think critically about how their past privileges impact their present behaviour. I want AFAB trans people, who like me - and almost all of my closest friends from back then, who've experienced overt misogyny, boundary breaking, sexual assault and/or domestic abuse at the hands of biological males who identify as either nonbinary or women, to be able to call out our abusers without being dogpiled and accused of lying and of being transmisogynists with an agenda to oppress AMAB trans people, even if theyve never expressed anything but support and validation for the gender identity of our perpetrators.

Being a feminist does not mean i want transition to be illegal or impossible, it doesnt mean i want trans people to detransition, desist or conform. It just means my priority will always be on AFAB trans people, as well as girls and women, and on basing my political stance on actual material analysis of power structures, and on the ability and freedom to question and dissent.

That being said, i think you have to be careful talking about detransitioners, because i recognize the pattern of wanting to distance yourself from us, and its easy and comforting to think of us as people who were reckless, disingenous, stupid, who made mistakes we cant own up to and that any criticisms we have of transition is merely deflection of guilt, that we're putting undue blame on our gender clinics, that we must have been irresponsible and that it was NOTHING but our own fault, that we cant possibly have been pressured or lied to by the professionals WE went to, simply because it didnt happen to you, and because it makes you feel like your right to transition is being threathened if there are legitimate critisisms of the system you feel is supposed to be on your side.

Truth is, there is no meaningful distinction, its not like i was always just a confused cis girl playing pretend, my experiences throughout childhood, puberty, and into my early adulthood, was the experience of a transboy and then transman, and i dont "feel" any more "like a woman" now than i did then, i simply recognize i am one by default since i dont have a gender identity anymore.

I understand the impulse to think of detransitioners as an other, as people who were irresponsible and have no one to blame but ourselves, because its scary to think that you might not have been served as well by professionals you trusted as you should have been, or that you might end up being failed in some way by transition, something that youve put so much hope in, and thats understandable. Just keep in mind, detransitioners share your experience more than you think, we've been through it, but you dont share our experience of what detransition is like, and all i hope is that you remember that when you talk about us, because we are easy to be scapegoated and turned into less complex people than you, who are placing undue blame on the system and making life worse for "real" trans people

Im sorry this got so long, im just glad to see you express a desire for genuine conversation, i just want to stress that its not as simple as either "all transition is bad and gaslighting childabuse outrageous etc detransitioners had no agency in it" or "detransitioners have no onebut themseleves to blame but its okay as long as they admit that its just a personal mistake and keep toeingthe party line"

//Genuinely, much love, i hope all is well for you!

Also hope the anon hate and unhinged replies to ur posts calm down

I certainly can't make a claim that no detransitioner was lied to, because lying happens. However, "they were all tricked/lied to by the trans cult and their greedy malpracticing doctors" is transphobic rhetoric. They claim every single person who detransitions does so because they realized they weren't trans, and that every single person who realised they weren't trans who underwent some form of transition did so completely unknowingly and was lied to the whole way - that they were bullied and tricked and "convinced by others" to go through with transition.

This is simply untrue on so many levels. There are recent studies showing that "social contagion" isn't a thing, so young trans people aren't being "tricked" into becoming trans by seeing other trans people. "I saw other trans people and wanted to be cool like them" just isn't a thing. There are recent studies showing that the vast majority of trans people do not regret their transition - over 90% if not more in most studies. Depending on your source, the number of people who detransition is anywhere from ~7% to as low as under 1% of all trans people.

Of people who detransition, not all of the are cis! Some are still trans. There are a multitude of reasons a person may detransition that have nothing to do with being cis, such as living in a transphobic location, health conflicts, social pressure from non-trans people, etc. So that's a refutation of the transphobic point of view that all detransitioners are cis and detransition due to regret. Of people who detransition, only a minority subset of them do so because they realised they were cis. So cis detransitioners are subset of a subset.

Of those people who are actually cis and detransition, most are not transphobic. I wager there are probably way more trans positive cis detransitioners than there are transphobic detransitioners.

Personally, if a detransitioner still considers themselves part of the trans family, then they are part of it. If they still consider themselves queer, they're queer. I am a radical inclusionist; if someone says they're part of the family, then they are my sibling.

I would also say there's a huge difference between being lied to / misled, vs being uninformed. While I would hope most doctors are giving their patients as much information as they can, I can understand that some doctors know more than others. I was thoroughly taught the risks for my blood pressure, for example, when I went on T, but this risk was apparently surprising for a lot of other trans guys I've spoken to. I think that is a symptom of how cutting edge trans healthcare is, and how we've had to fight against medical gatekeeping and a lack of research for so, so long. Doctors literally do not know everything, even from what data we do have available.

So does transition carry some risk with it? Yeah, absolutely, but I would think that's a risk most trans people are aware of long before they start medical transition. I guess part of what I'm saying is... I am partially responsible for being informed about the risks and I don't think it's fair for me to expect all of that knowledge to come from my doctors, specifically because of how fractured and fraught trans healthcare has been up until and including now. And if I encounter a risk that neither me nor my doctor knew about, I wasn't lied to. It's a failure of the system, absolutely, but it's not lying.

It sounds like the clinic you went to definitely struggled with transphobia, specifically transandrophobia. The idea that mastectomy is self harm and that T makes you violent are transphobic (and specifically, radfem/terf) talking points. I am so sorry you had a negative experience, transition shouldn't be like that. My clinic is amazing, everyone there is so supportive, and they are leaving my transition completely in my hands. Your clinic absolutely failed you on many points and I am so sorry that happened to you.

#anon #anonymous

[rumblebumble22]

I want to be old, and I explain why

There are a lot of stereotypes about old people. Many of us think they are incompetent and unable to enjoy life, depressed and miserable. But is it true? I did a bit of research and realised that these people are one of the happiest and most fulfilled groups of the world population. It turned out that these people live a calm and joyful life. But why in our world is everyone so terrified of the prospect of becoming older? In my opinion, there are stereotypes which prevent us from seeing aging as it is — a natural process which no one of us can avoid. 

Modern beauty industries sell us the idea that only youth is beautiful and only young people deserve love and care. On TV and on the Internet we see attractive models with thin waists, skinny belly and smooth skin. There is almost no representation of old people in the mass media, did you notice? There is only energy, health, and liveliness on the faces of teenagers and young adults. It seems like beauty industries associate these concepts only with youth. 

Anti-age. Doesn’t this word sound weird to you? What do surgery clinics and cosmetics companies mean by this word, actually? Does they try to convince us that the laws of nature are wrong and we should turn time back? I think it is ridiculous. It’s like when I am 29, I suddenly wish to be a 12-year-old girl again. Why should I want it? Why anyone should want something like this?

But I can explain how it works. Beauty companies instill women with fear that nobody will love them if they become old. They told us that smooth skin is beautiful, whereas wrinkles and gray hair are ugly. I just wonder, does anybody really believe in that? Because seriously, these companies just make money this way. I searched how much surgery clinics earned on liposuction, botox and facelifting and goddamn, these numbers exploded my mind. Companies make money on women’s fears, and women obediently go under the surgeon’s knife or waste money on expensive and useless creams. Is it actually legal? 

After all these horrific facts I found old people’s opinions, where they explain their perception of life. It turned out for me that actually the older we get, the happier we are. Aging has some unique benefits which are unavailable to you when you are young. For example, when you become old you really don’t care anymore what people think about you. You can say what you really think, wear weird clothes or sniff cocaine. It's up to you and your imagination. No one will condemn you as much as if you were young. 

Besides, you can relax more. Nobody expects you to join the gym, become a parent or build a career. Why? Because probably you already do some of these things and if you didn’t, who cares now? You are too old to start this kind of serious project. No one can tell you what you should or shouldn’t do, because it’s just not appropriate to tell things like this to old people.

Also, with age time became shorter, so you begin to comprehend life as it is. Stupid problems and unimportant concerns doesn’t worry you anymore. Sunsets, conversations with friends, walks in the nature: all these things become more precious to you. You simply start to appreciate everything around you more and understand that life is a treasure. 

Also, since with age you get more skills and understanding of life, you become wiser and calmer. Probably, you have more financial security and free time for hobbies and interests than you had when you were young.  Thus, you become more happy and can live as you like. 

 I think we should give more attention to aging and get rid of our prejudices about old people. Firstly, the despair of aging is simply a lie, and secondly, it’s not fair in relation to old people. Old age might be happier than we actually think, and I am waiting with curiosity for the days when I become an elder. 

#aging #aging process #habits #nutrition and aging #female #eldercare #old people #psychotherapy #psychology #opinion #self care #culture #reading