He said, “If you only
stop singing
I’ll make you safe”.

And he repeated the line,
knowing you would hear
“I’ll make you safe”

as the comforting
sound of a door
closed on the fear at last…

by David Whyte.

- Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth

I’ve been asking myself recently – what would increase the quality of my experience of this moment? What I’m saying? Thinking? How I am using my attention? If I do this or that, say this or don’t say that, will this lift up this moment for me, and for others?

For example, what makes you feel mad or feel hurt?  The lesson built into every instance of anger or hurt brings questions, such as: what do I believe I deserve?  What do I feel about how I should be treated by others?  In what way might I be part of the problem?

When feeling sad, these questions arise: what do I love or admire or desire — what important thing, person, relationship or opportunity have I lost?  What does my love or desire say about who I am?  What do I have that I cannot bear to lose?  What can I do to keep the loss from happening or getting worse?  If it’s too late, how can I mourn and or praise what I’ve lost?

When feeling bad — guilty or ashamed: what is expected of me?  What do I expect of myself?  What are the right ways for me to be and to act?  How do I make things right again with others?

When your are glad: what makes my world better, more complete?  What do I rejoice in?  What does this say about who I am?  How do I praise or celebrate?

When you are afraid: what is dangerous and therefore to be avoided, or approach cautiously?  How do I take care of myself?

From: Bill Plokin’s Nature and the Human Soul

John O’Donohue

The new issue of CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics includes an article: “A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial To Study the Efficacy of Topiramate in a Civilian Sample of PTSD.”

The authors are Mary S. L. Yeh, Jair Jesus Mari, Mariana Caddrobi Pupo Costa, Sergio Baxter Andreoli, Rodrigo Affonseca Bressan, & Marcelo Feijó Mello.

Method: We conducted a 12-week double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study comparing topiramate to placebo. Men and women aged 18 – 62 years with diagnosis of PTSD according to DSM-IV were recruited … 35 patients were randomized to either group. The primary outcome measure was the CAPS total score changes.

Results: 82.35% of patients in the topiramate group exhibited improvements in PTSD symptoms. The efficacy analysis demonstrated that patients in the topiramate group exhibited significant improvements in reexperiencing symptoms: flashbacks, intrusive memories, and nightmares of the trauma (CAPS-B; P= 0.04) and in avoidance/numbing symptoms associated with the trauma, social isolation, and emotional numbing (CAPS-C; P= 0.0001). Furthermore, the experimental group demonstrated a significant difference in decrease in CAPS total score (topiramate 57.78; placebo 32.41; P= 0.0076). Mean topiramate dose was 102.94 mg/d. Topiramate was generally well tolerated.
——————–
Comment: this is important, as psychotherapy helps many, but not all people with PTSD, and is often not available for a variety of social and economic factors.

“Number of baseline PTSD reexperiencing symptoms, rape history, and history of childhood physical assault were all found to predict PTSD chronicity 2 years later.

Chronic cases were also more likely to experience subsequent exposure to potentially traumatic stressors not involving interpersonal violence.

Contrary to our prediction, binge drinking and poorer perceived health did not predict chronicity.

An analysis of mental health treatment seeking revealed no relationship between remission status and treatment seeking at baseline or any of the follow-up assessments, even when controlling for baseline PTSD symptom severity.

The absence of a relationship between subsequent treatment seeking and remission status suggests that, for many women, symptoms subsided without professional assistance.”

[Comment: That is, I would say, 1/2 got better using their own network and resources, not those of a professional; this probably does not mean that PTSD just evaporates.]

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy has scheduled an article for publication in a future issue: “Factors Associated With Chronicity in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Prospective Analysis of a National Sample of Women.” The authors are Jesse R. Cougle, Heidi Resnick, and Dean G. Kilpatrick.

What I have learned from composing and arranging music is that there are 10,000 harmony lines. There are some I like, some I don’t. Some I like while *others* don’t. Some that are easy to write or to sing and come so naturally it is like a stream of incense floating across the room. Others that are so challenging that it takes months to figure them out.

And it’s not just like this in composing, it’s like this in life. No two melodies alike, no two lives, and the number of ways they can go together – or don’t – are endless.

by Maya Angelou

Here are some interesting extracts

“Observational studies of early peer interaction have similarly shown that the use of physical aggression is fairly rare in young children, but that meaningful individual differences are already present by age 3. Infants’ early interactions with peers predict later behavioral problems
Prospective longitudinal studies have identified a number of maternal risk factors associated with high levels of aggression. These risk factors include social class, level of education, and early entry into parenthood; smoking during pregnancy; and stress, anxiety, or depression during pregnancy.

“The infants’ observed aggressiveness was significantly correlated with mothers’ mood disorder during pregnancy and with mothers’ history of conduct problems.

“Our study demonstrated that systematic individual differences in aggressiveness are present by infants’ first birthday. Key risk factors for adolescent violence found in an earlier longitudinal study predicted infants’ observed use of force against peers as well as parents’ reports of infants’ anger and aggression. The precise mechanisms underlying these effects have yet to be identified; parents convey risk through processes of genetic as well as social transmission, and the mother’s mental state in pregnancy”

The *International Journal of Behavioral Medicine* has scheduled an article for publication in a future issue: “Racial Discrimination Is Associated with a Measure of Red Blood Cell Oxidative Stress: A Potential Pathway for Racial Health Disparities.”

The authors are Sarah L. Szanton, Joseph M. Rifkind, Joy G. Mohanty, Edgar R. Miller, Roland J. Thorpe, Eneka Nagababu, Elissa S. Epel, Alan B. Zonderman, and Michele K. Evans.

Conditions associated with perceived racial discrimination are higher blood pressure, increased obesity, cardiovascular reactivity, worse self-reported health, and earlier morbidity

How does this happen?

From their abstract:
“Oxidative stress is the process by which “free radicals” or reactive oxygen species damage cellular components including DNA, proteins, and lipids. “Oxidative stress” is the term for the imbalance between the production of reactive oxygen species and intrinsic protection mechanisms. There is a small literature suggesting that psychological stress may increase oxidative stress. “

They conclude: “In summary, these findings suggest that there could be identifiable physiologic pathways by which psychological stress amplifies risk of cardiovascular and other age related diseases”, i.e. oxidative stress.

Again, stress-related disease is not “all in your head”, emotions really do have an impact on the body and on health, and again, it’s not all just a matter of chemistry. Biology interacts with the environment, and so-called chemical imbalances are not just a product of unfortunate genes.