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This thread is not about medical advice

Talk about experiments, mental diseases, medications, researches, and other interesting things about human minds and behaviors.

I think I've seen at least few tropers who had something to do with psychology so I figured this would be useful to some degree.

Currently I am freshman who is majoring in Psychology (and English), and so far I like what I am learning (Psy 101).

One of the things about psychology that surprised and disappointed me the most is that it isn't more about couch and talk but more of a lot of research. Well, I certainly hope that I don't have to do a whole lot of math. I'd probably have to do some statistics, though. Hurrr....

Edited by lu127 on Dec 23rd 2024 at 2:18:05 PM

Gabrael from My musings Since: Nov, 2011 Relationship Status: Is that a kind of food?
#676: Dec 1st 2014 at 1:05:02 PM

It's not very economical to our species. Beserker mode isn't very good in passing on genes.

"Psssh. Even if you could catch a miracle on a picture any person would probably delete it to make space for more porn." - Aszur
rmctagg09 The Wanderer from Brooklyn, NY (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: I won't say I'm in love
The Wanderer
#677: Dec 1st 2014 at 1:47:02 PM

I don't know why that quote says all animals when quite a few aren't above cannibalism or killing to eliminate competition.

Hugging a Vanillite will give you frostbite.
Aszur A nice butterfly from Pagliacci's Since: Apr, 2014 Relationship Status: Don't hug me; I'm scared
A nice butterfly
#678: Dec 1st 2014 at 2:22:28 PM

Territorial behavior alone, and possesiveness are traits of many animals, not just humans, that alone coutner the idea that "animals do not attack/kill each other"

It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes
QuestionMarc Since: Oct, 2011 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
#679: Dec 1st 2014 at 3:04:03 PM

The 'evolutonary' reason we have a block keeping us from murdering everyone is that, ultimately, we are all on "team humanity", and our collective goal is to survive and spread our genes. Hair-trigger murders are counter-productive in that respect.

Another evolutionary reason is that, very early, we decided that bloodlust was socially unacceptable. If we had at any point a murder-gene (which is unlikely to exist) in the gene pool, the more 'overt' individuals with no inhibition would be removed from the gene pool really quickly, one way or another, making them unviable individuals.

Of course, there are more reasons and an evolutionary perspective does not cover everything. Also, it is pretty random and uninhibited people are still a thing nowadays.

Euodiachloris Since: Oct, 2010
#680: Dec 1st 2014 at 3:24:02 PM

There's another reason attacking your own when your hormones aren't trying to make you e.g. seasonally compete for mates is tough is... your own can be pretty good at ending you. You have the same basic strengths and weaknesses as standard (particularly if you have parity in age, size and gender), so the risk gets bigger. It's not like hunting the standard prey items like you're specifically designed to do, if that's what your species does. So, the weapons you both bring to the table come with no major advantages and share all the disadvantages.

So, the brain would prefer to go "uh-uh" on that one at a very basic level.

edited 1st Dec '14 3:28:55 PM by Euodiachloris

rmctagg09 The Wanderer from Brooklyn, NY (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: I won't say I'm in love
The Wanderer
#681: Dec 2nd 2014 at 1:19:18 PM

How early trauma influences behavior: "Traumatic and stressful events during childhood increase the risk to develop psychiatric disorders, but to a certain extent, they can also help better deal with difficult situations later in life. Researchers have studied this phenomenon in mice to learn how these effects could be transmitted to the next generation.

Traumatic events leave their mark. People exposed to a traumatic experience early in life are more likely to be affected by illnesses such as borderline personality disorder or depression. However such experience can also have positive effects in certain circumstances. Thus, moderate stress in childhood may help a person develop strategies to better cope with stress in adulthood."

Hugging a Vanillite will give you frostbite.
Luminosity Since: Jun, 2012 Relationship Status: Lovey-Dovey
#682: Dec 7th 2014 at 4:24:45 PM

Firstly, hello to everyone on the thread. I have a request.

Is there anyone here who knows enough on anger management? I... need help on this. A lot of help. This is a problem that's becoming more and more desctructive, I don't know who else to turn to.

Obviously the first instinct would be going to a trained professional, but I'm Russian, psychologic help in Russia is... not as developed. If anyone is willing to help and talk over PM, please respond.

I know this is probably asking too much, for people to listen to a random stranger, and I'm sorry if I'm annoying.

Gabrael from My musings Since: Nov, 2011 Relationship Status: Is that a kind of food?
#683: Dec 7th 2014 at 5:30:51 PM

There are a few trained psyches on here: De Marquis and Polarstern, Aszur, and maybe a few more. I would PM them since they are professionals.

There are many other tropers here with enough education to also give good advice like Euo.

I would look into counseling services from international NG Os like phone or Skype optionsif your local area is lacking. Maybe a university with graduate psychology courses in the U.S. maybe a grad student can help you.

Can't hurt to ask.

"Psssh. Even if you could catch a miracle on a picture any person would probably delete it to make space for more porn." - Aszur
Euodiachloris Since: Oct, 2010
#684: Dec 7th 2014 at 5:57:52 PM

Hoooo, boy. Anger management is best dealt with with face-to-face consultations, you know. It's not a quick-fix, DIY, theory-only area. Unless you want to monumentally mess up. -_-

Oh, there are a few exercises you can try working on. (Like, getting your past history ducks in a row — including medical history of illnesses, knocks and what you took for either, not just "important emotional episodes in my life", i.e. jotting down a few ideas about what things have worked for you in the past, what almost worked... and what really didn't. What triggers you feel are the worst offenders and why and that kind of thing.)

And, practice trying not to sugar-coat to yourself: that's the biggest skill you're going to need. smile But, a good therapist helps with that. That outside perspective is the most important part in the whole deal.

edited 7th Dec '14 5:58:24 PM by Euodiachloris

demarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#685: Dec 7th 2014 at 7:22:45 PM

Yeah, that's a tough one to do long distance. Normally you would seek out a Cognitive Behavioral Therapist, who would sit down with you and work out a plan with milestones in it. You could, in theory, do that yourself. The single most important skill to acquire, the one thing that will do more to help than anything else, is learning to stop and think before acting out your anger. You're supposed to interrupt yourself by counting your breaths up to ten, and then analyzing what is making you so angry, before deciding on the most appropriate response.

One way to train yourself to manage your anger is by documenting your episodes. You can find some useful worksheets here. You write down every angry outburst you have, the trigger that started the outburst, and what you think you should have done instead. Eventually, you get to the point where you start thinking about alternatives during the outburst, and that helps you manage them.

Relaxation techniques can help. I have been using a technique called "Progressive Muscle Relaxation" for almost 20 years, and it's helped me. Basically, you get yourself comfortable, count your breaths ("One" for in, "Two" for out) and then start relaxing your muscles sequentially, starting with the feet and working your way up the body until you read the shoulders and neck. Sometimes it helps to imagine yourself being slowly immersed in a rising bath of warm water. Try this one.

Daily exercise helps. It conditions the body to regulate hormones like cortisol and adrenaline correctly. These are the same hormones released by the body during periods of high stress, part of our "flight or fight" response system, and maintaining an even level will also help you manage your anger better. High intensity interval training (extreme physical exertion for very short periods of time) is the most useful kind of exercise in this regard.

Depending upon what your situation is, you may need to engage in some "Cognitive Restructuring". This is a skill that allows you to identify harmful or disfunctional thought processes (so called "Automatic Thoughts") and change them. This is the most laborious, and the most important and effective, of all the techniques, at least over the long run. This is one useful guide to cognitive restructuring.

Finally, dont forget to reward yourself for making any progress. Tell yourself, "If I interrupt one angry outburst before it gets too bad, I'll go see a movie (or buy yourself a gift or whatever makes you happy). That will condition your mind to reinforce the positive behavior and allow the negative behavior to extinguish.

The problem is that all this information is going to seem overwhelming, and it's actually a little irresponsible of me to just hand a bunch of web pages over to someone and then wish them "good luck." But if, as you say, you really do not have access to any professional help where you are, then these guidelines are a lot better than nothing. The more you learn, the better off you are.

See if you cant find someone who is willing at least to help you learn and follow some of these techniques. They dont have to be a professional, just someone who will help you document your behavior and keep you on track. In fact, you should tell everyone you know that you are working on this and what you are doing. You are more likely to succeed if other people are supporting your efforts, and they are likely to experience less stress around you if they know you are trying to improve.

I hope this information is helpful to you. Please let us know how you do.

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.
Luminosity Since: Jun, 2012 Relationship Status: Lovey-Dovey
#686: Dec 8th 2014 at 1:35:18 AM

Yeah, it's a little overwhelming, but I'll do my best. It's not that I don't have access to professionals, it's that I can't be sure they aren't still Freudian or something. It's unreasonably difficult to separate competents from incompetents over here in all medical aspects, not just in psychology. You see, I can try to find a decent professional and I probably will, but if there's 50/50 chance of me wasting money on this, I might as well also seek additional help like yours. Thank you very much for the info.

I'll get to working on this.

Euodiachloris Since: Oct, 2010
#687: Dec 8th 2014 at 1:44:22 AM

[up]"Cognitive Behavioural Therapy". That's the key phrase to look for, and I swear on the DSM-IV you won't get Jungian or Freudian bull as part of the package.

edited 8th Dec '14 1:45:25 AM by Euodiachloris

demarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#688: Dec 8th 2014 at 6:55:37 AM

Yeah, once you go "CBT", you never go back.

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.
Aszur A nice butterfly from Pagliacci's Since: Apr, 2014 Relationship Status: Don't hug me; I'm scared
A nice butterfly
#689: Dec 8th 2014 at 7:08:08 AM

I am REBT. Come at me, bro.

Try here but my first attempts to find anything with the "Russia" search on yielded no fruit...maybe it is the language and stuff so you will have better luck.

No one said psychologists made good programmers

It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes
Luminosity Since: Jun, 2012 Relationship Status: Lovey-Dovey
#690: Dec 8th 2014 at 2:15:15 PM

I've set up an anger management sheet and documented the latest outburst in there, the one that made me seek help in the first place. I made the structure as follows:

  • date of situation that made me angry
  • cause of that situation
  • has it led to the outburst? (Y/N)
  • What had I ended up doing?
  • What should I have done instead, on reflection?

What do you think, everyone?

Euodiachloris Since: Oct, 2010
#691: Dec 8th 2014 at 2:22:02 PM

[up]It's also a good idea to put "how my body felt just before, during and after" section, as well. Part of anger management is to recognise when your body is reacting to your anger and feeding that anger with its own reactions... and stopping that feedback by training yourself to step back when, e.g. you feel your heart-rate go up by trying to lower it. Say by reminding yourself "nope: that's the anger — deep breaths, calm lakes... think before yell".

You'll have personal tells that fit your cycle that you need to get used to spotting (changes in blood pressure, heart-rate, flushing, breath-rate, loss of feeling in hands or feet... there are a whole list and you won't tick all the boxes and may even have a few rare ones: maybe you squint when you're about to go off pop). Preferably before the emotion runs away with you and you find yourself Doing Something You'll Regret Later. smile

It helps you knock yourself out of the loop if you can spot when the anger is doing your talking/acting for you and getting yourself back into the driving seat.

Oh, and don't hate on your anger: that's a mistake. Once upon a time, you got yourself out of situations because you got angry. Because it seemed to help in the short term, your brain and body made the mistake of thinking that it was a good habit to have. Well... sometimes... brains and bodies aren't good at long term planning. You're going to have to train them both that there are other ways to deal with problems and to be more selective in picking which solutions to go for. wink

edited 8th Dec '14 2:46:18 PM by Euodiachloris

demarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#692: Dec 8th 2014 at 2:51:40 PM

I second everything Euo just said. I also think you are handling this in an exceptionally mature and healthy way. Most people wont even acknowledge that they have a problem and you are doing your best to control it. Let us know how it's working.

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.
Aszur A nice butterfly from Pagliacci's Since: Apr, 2014 Relationship Status: Don't hug me; I'm scared
A nice butterfly
#693: Dec 8th 2014 at 3:07:11 PM

I would simply change one thing. On the "How I should have acted, on retrospection", I would sugest changing the wording a little bit, I hope it is not something lost in translation.

I would reccomend changing it to "how I would have prefered to act in that moment", I just think the should might be some sort of problem for later. Knowing how you would have prefered to act is a great thing as an objective. Thinking that is how you should have acted is giving a negative/positive judgment of a single sided value, sometimes, so adding some leeway on the wording there helps.

I would also add one more value, and it is a very hard one to fathom. Like Euo said the physical ones are incredibly important, I think thoughts are also important. What were you thinking that was making you angry?

"This person IS LYING to me?" "How DARE he treat me like this?" "Is she doing this on purpose!?" or whatever is crossing your mind back then. Thoughts, as well as biological signatures, can be detected when trying to avoid some behavior or emotion that spurs a certain behavior.

It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes
demarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#694: Dec 8th 2014 at 3:09:37 PM

Those are the "automatic thoughts" I mentioned earlier.

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.
Greenmantle V from Greater Wessex, Britannia Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Hiding
V
#695: Dec 8th 2014 at 3:56:04 PM

Sounds like the idea of "Thought Challenging" might be of use here, too. Anyway, I have to go to bed.

Keep Rolling On
Luminosity Since: Jun, 2012 Relationship Status: Lovey-Dovey
#696: Dec 8th 2014 at 4:19:36 PM

I second everything Euo just said. I also think you are handling this in an exceptionally mature and healthy way. Most people wont even acknowledge that they have a problem and you are doing your best to control it. Let us know how it's working.

Thank you. That... means a lot.

I have added the "what I thought at the time" column, but I don't know if I can add the "how my body felt", because I feel that will be very counterproductive.

One of the many contributing factors to my anger is my chronically low blood pressure. But when I'm angry, the blood pressure rises and normalizes. So, I feel engaged, I feel active, I feel motivated and all that. Afterwards, the effect still stays, I get clarify of mind, I get relaxed, I even get warm and fuzzy sometimes.

This scares me to no end. Anger literally improves my condition, it makes me physically feel good in every way.

demarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#697: Dec 8th 2014 at 5:13:35 PM

Ah, but that's where the High Intensity Interval Training can help you. If you exercise regularly, you will help your body build up heart stroke capacity, which will improve your blood pressure. Gradually your brain will adjust to the "new normal" and getting angry wont seem like the only way to get energized. Just be sure to exercise under some sort of experiences supervision.

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.
Aszur A nice butterfly from Pagliacci's Since: Apr, 2014 Relationship Status: Don't hug me; I'm scared
A nice butterfly
#698: Dec 9th 2014 at 7:46:27 AM

Anger triggers many a positive result in the brain and body for many reasons, one of them being the "Fight or flight!" body mechanic ingrained in us thanks to evolution.

Since some people might lean more to the "fight" side, the body rewards giving in to these mechanisms but as demarquis said exercise and other methods can regulate these and prove very beneficial.

It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes
Euodiachloris Since: Oct, 2010
#699: Dec 9th 2014 at 4:14:33 PM

@Luminosity: It's a common mistake to think that thoughts and actions don't have anything much to do with the body. That's actually wrong: hormones and other physical responses the body makes have a direct feedblack link to how the brain processes information.

A habit (either a good or a bad one) isn't just trained in the brain; the spinal chord and muscles needed to make it happen are also trained by practising the habit and won't stop being involved just by a person deciding not to do something.

Watch ex-smokers twitch when they get something like a pencil in their hands in a position similar to holding a cigarette, for instance. They're having to fight the "put it near mouth" automatic action... which they weren't thinking about doing until their body almost moved by itself and, probably, started the craving off as a result.

If your body has learned to enjoy the endorphin-rush getting angry gives it and the brain... you're going to have to show it that there are other, healthier ways to get that "kick". Ones that don't include shouting and getting yourself in trouble. Exercise is a good way (it's also a good way to learn how your heart-rate and breathing feel on a number of levels so you can judge where you are with them better when you do start getting angry).

Promising yourself gym-time or reminding yourself (and your body) that you're going to have some cardio coming up, so you don't need to get angry right now to enjoy a bit of a rush is also a good way to get between rising anger and the resulting shut-down of common sense. wink Frustration can be worked out the system by meeting personal goals for physical fitness instead of just wanting to beat people up. smile

edited 9th Dec '14 4:30:10 PM by Euodiachloris

dRoy Professional Writer & Amateur Scholar from Most likely from my study Since: May, 2010 Relationship Status: I'm just high on the world
Professional Writer & Amateur Scholar
#700: Dec 10th 2014 at 6:06:16 PM

And I'm done with my last exam for social psychology. Probably a B, A if lucky, C if not. Eh.

I randomly felt compelled to write rap lyrics about possible Epic Rap Battles of History, with psychologists.

EPIC RAP BATTLES OF HISTORY!

Sigmund Freud VS B.F. Skinner!

Begin!

<Freud>

Being honest with oneself is good exercise.

So you better vow down to my impact's size.

I pioneered a new world of human mind

And made a field truly one of its kind.

Sadly, psychology is a cure through loves

But you'll only get it from your doves!

When anybody got issues they look into dream

They know that my theory is totally supreme!

<Skinner>

Your theories are shit, everything is about your mother.

If you can't prove your theory, why do you even bother?

My theories are built upon scientific approach

Cuz I'm a real psychologist, not an incestuous cockroach

Modern education? My ideas of conditioning and reinforcement

But your crackhead ass would be subjected to law enforcement

I'll shove you and your nonsense into my ingenius box

Where you can just press buttons and suck on my socks!

Okay, this is all I can think of at the moment. And I realized that how ignorant I am too any of the psychologists. XP

edited 12th Dec '14 7:40:41 AM by dRoy

Continuously reading, studying, and (hopefully) growing.

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