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Health Consequences of Grief, Part 1

By On · Add Comment · In E = mc2, Einstein, emotions, energy, first law of thermodynamics, health, law of conservation of energy, matter, mental suffering, mind-body, spiritual teaching

A reader asked my opinion on grief and how it affects health.  I though it would be a great topic for a blog post, so here goes:

Since we cannot separate the mind from the body, any charged (let alone hyper-charged) emotion that goes unresolved will affect the health.  Let’s look at the definition of grief: keen mental suffering or distress overaffliction or loss; sharp sorrow; painful regret.

Most people grieve when they feel they have lost something–a loved one, whether person or pet, a possession (like a house), or for some people even losing face.  The sense of loss is so deep it can consume the mind for weeks, months or years.  This mental anguish can be so intense that all experiences become bathed in the sorrow that the person has over the loss.


What’s important for people to connect with in these situations is that, in the whole of the universe, there is no gain or loss.  Let’s take the seeming loss of a loved one, for instance.  Einstein showed that mass and energy are equivalent (represented by the equation E=mc²).  Essentially, all matter and energy are interchangeable, which in practical terms for humans signifies that we, too, are simply energy.

The first law of thermodynamics states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed; it is called the law of conservation of energy.  Energy can only change from one form to another.  A simple example: pour ice cubes into heating pot and they will change their state from solid to liquid (changing energy form); keep observing and the liquid water will turn to steam and evaporate.  Does this mean the particles making up the ice cubes is gone?  No, it has changed form from a solid to a liquid to gas (the steam), and will disperse throughout the room.  It could even be used to power an engine (energy in motion).


 

Why am I talking physics with regard to grief?  Because the same is true of living things.  We die, but our energy isn’t gone–it transforms.  Here is the beauty in this truth: it corresponds with nearly every spiritual teaching.  Whether you believe in heaven or Valhalla–there is no denying that the energy of the deceased person is not gone.  Even for the secularist, all one must remember is the law of conservation of energy: Energy cannot be created nor destroyed.  Think about that.  More to come.

Juvenile Delinquency Linked to Early Death in Men

By On · Add Comment · In antisocial behavior, cortisol, disability, drug use, emotions, juvenile delinquent, premature death, stress response

A history of juvenile delinquency in men raises the risk of dying or becoming disabled by age 48. So says a study out of the U.K. that followed 411 South London boys from the ages of 8 to 9 years old since 1961. Uh oh…should I worry?

According to the study published in the December issue of the Journal of Public Health, among subjects who at age 10 displayed antisocial behavior (such as skipping school or being troublesome or dishonest) and who were also convicted of a crime by the age of 18, one in six (16.3 percent) had died or become disabled by the time they turned 48. Now this may seem obvious at first thought, as it did for me, because juvenile delinquents likely have increased drug use and are at risk for violent encounters; however, premature death and disability resulted from other factors as well, like heart disease, stroke, respiratory disease and cancer. Whoa.

Researchers were unsure of the reasons why premature death and disability occurred in former delinquents, but offered one explanation,

“…it seems that impulsivity–or lack of self-control–in childhood and adolescence [is] a common underlying theme. It may be that the stresses and strains of an antisocial lifestyle and having to deal with all the crises that could have been avoided with more self-control take their toll.”

Interesting. I think the scientists are onto something here. Many juvenile delinquents do act impulsively, and if drugs and alcohol are involved inhibition flies right out the window. As a former juvenile delinquent myself, I can tell you learning how to deal with various emotions is seriously delayed. For some, it may never be learned. Learning how to put the world around us into perspective is a skill that we generally learn as young people; perhaps not perfectly, requiring further refinement in adulthood, but the basics are learned by most. The juvenile delinquent that lashes out impulsively at every uncomfortable experience likely goes through a heightened stress response. And we all know how damaging long-term and high cortisol concentrations can be on the internal environment, physiologically.

I don’t know if there is an answer. I don’t even know if there needs to be one. I guess I would say that if you have a loved one expressing juvenile delinquency, trying to help them balance their emotions will be paramount. I know in my case I listened to no one–that’s part of the delinquency–everyone was stupid (except Ozzy Osbourne). But at least when the child grows up–it happens eventually to all of us (except Ozzy Osbourne)–you can help by teaching him balance, and teaching him that emotions moments eventually pass. Maybe in this way (and turning him on to other healthy lifestyle behaviors) you can help decrease the stress response that is likely knocking bad boys off at a young age.

Bipolar Disorder, Body Clock Connection

By On · Add Comment · In biorhythms, bipolar disorder, circadian rhythms, emotions, epigenetics, genetic, manic-depressive, pineal gland, RORB gene

Emotional vacillations like the ones seen in bipolar disorder may have a genetic connection to circadian rhythms. New research suggests that variations in a gene known as RORB may be a molecular factor in children developing manic depressive disorder.

The RORB gene is one of the players involved in our circadian rhythm–our internal body clock; that 24-hour cycle that influences many of our biorhythms like feeding, sleep and temperature. The RORB gene is mainly expressed in the eye, pineal gland and brain–the areas most involved in melatonin production.

The link was discovered by looking at the genetic makeup of 152 children with bipolar disorder and 140 without, and variations in the RORB gene were thus found. Although preliminary, researchers believe that the findings are a good basis for further study. According to the study’s co-author, Dr. Alexander Niculescu of Indiana University School of Medicine,

“Bipolar disorder is often characterized by circadian rhythm abnormalities, and this is particularly true among pediatric bipolar patients. Decreased sleep has even been noted as one of the earliest symptoms discriminating children with bipolar disorder from those with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. It will be necessary to verify our association results in other independent samples and to continue to study the relationship between RORB, other clock genes and bipolar disorder.”

I find these results interesting, not because I’m such a big genetic-cause-of-this-or-that-disorder believer*, but I do think that our biorhythms are vital. It is my observation that the more people push the envelope on that end–that is, disrupt their natural rhythms–the more physical and mental processes become disturbed. I know this sounds obvious, but I believe the disturbance is much more drastic than we even give it credence now. So it doesn’t surprise me that they find connections between disrupted circadian cycles and vacillating mental/emotional states. And I’m sure either one can lead to the other.

The reason I don’t buy into the genetic cause assumption is that I know many factors are involved in gene expression like epigenetics. Essentially what we express in the material world is influenced by many things like the environment and even our mothers (I know, I know; but Freud aside, it’s true).

So the interesting thing to me is noting the rhythmic imbalance, both chemically and mentally, of the person involved. Bipolar disorder is a massive mental/emotional imbalance that is going to affect sleep, eating and other physiology all the way down to the molecular and genetic levels.

Great start to this study–we’ll keep our eyes open for more info in the future.

*Epigenetics has always been all the weird and wonderful things that can’t be explained by genetics. ~ Denise Barlow (Vienna, Austria)

Psychopaths Have Faulty Brain Connections

By On · Add Comment · In amygdala, biological model, emotions, neural, orbitofrontal cortex, perceptions, polarity, potholes, psychopathy, stress

Ever wonder what motivates people to kill, rape, or torture? Ever wonder what differences exist between people who do this and you? Well scientists have found a piece to the puzzle: Psychopathic people have disruptions in their neural connections in parts of the brain that deal with emotions, and handle impulses and decision making.

Recent research published in the latest issue of Molecular Psychiatry shows that the connection between the amygdala, which processes emotions, and the orbitofrontal cortex, which handles impulses and decisions, are dysfunctional. These two brain regions function together to produce actions based on conscious decision. We use emotions to guide these decisions.

Psychopathy is a mental disorder characterized by amoral and antisocial behavior, lack of ability to love or establish meaningful personal relationships, extreme egocentricity, and failure to learn from experience. Psychopaths–people exhibiting psychopathy–have a disruption–researchers called them “potholes” in the neuronal connections (between nerve cells) that allow this function to proceed unimpeded. Normal, non-psychopathic people have no disruptions or potholes.

Although it was only a matter of time before the physiological and structural deformities in psychopathy were uncovered (this is true for all mental disorders, of which depression is not one to my estimation), the pothole findings are not what interest me. For my understanding, a physiological response is a given in any “disorder”. But I always ask the question, “Does the physiological change cause the disorder or is it the other way around?” When it comes to disorders of the mind, I think in general, the physiologic change is a result or manifestation of a faulty or dysfunctional mental process.

Think about this: our bodies are constantly changing, reshaping and reforming all the time, and our brains are no exception. Our nervous systems change and adapt to stimuli and the environment around us. We develop new neural connections and pathways as a response to stress. Stress can be environmental, mental, or simply learning new things. When we are imbalanced in our perceptions, polarized–that is, when we see more of one side than another–we create different pathways (and probably lose some) than when we are seeing both sides of a situation, when we are in balance. Mental polarity causes electrical charges, just like a battery. This electrical polarization in my opinion is what causes the potholes seen in psychopathy–which is an extreme form of charge. Revisit the definition of the disorder above–doesn’t it describe exactly what I am talking about here?

The unfortunate part of this type of finding is that the current paradigm in psychiatry (still the reigning authority on clinical mental health) is the biological model. The belief is that physiology is cause. In other words, it’s the physical dysfunction that leads to disorder. As a result, the typical treatment options are 1) find a drug to combat pothole formation or 2) screen potential pothole developers and catch before psychopathic behavior manifests–both futile in my opinion.

What I believe needs to be done–and we are probably years off–is to work psychologically with these patients, try to regain perceptual balance through mental techniques, and then focus these techniques on all mental and psychological patients, regardless of the issue. But like I said, we are probably way off from that being the treatment method of choice. So until then we will simply have to marvel in discovery; and with regard to these latest findings, I am in awe.

Lonely Genes

By On · Add Comment · In emotions, genes, gratitude, health, immune system, lonliness, social isolation

Do our emotions affect our health? Clearly they have an impact. But current research is uncovering how much influence they really have. Scientists have found that people who describe themselves as chronically lonely are more likely to get sick and die young, and much of it has to do with their immune systems gone haywire.

The lonely person has a distinct pattern of genetic activity, almost all of it involving the immune system, a recent study shows. According to one of the lead authors, Steve W. Cole, a molecular biologist at the University of California Los Angeles, “What this study shows is that the biological impact of social isolation reaches down into some of our most basic internal processes–the activity of our genes.” Previous studies have shown a correlation between loneliness and infections, high blood pressure, insomnia, cancer, and premature death, but this is the first study that has shown distinct genetic activity of social isolation.

The obvious question, then, is do these illnesses lead one to feel more isolated and thus lonely, or does loneliness lead to physiological changes? That’s what the authors of this study set to find out. They looked at all 22,000 genes of the human body to see where changes took place and found them to occur in a set of 200 genes, many involved in immune function.

This information is big. It is a groundbreaking study in an area that I believe is the future of human health and healing–the role of the mind in health and physiological function. Most forward thinking healers know that you cannot separate the mind from the body, but now we have concrete evidence, and this should hopefully open the doors to further investigation. I am certain that loneliness is just the tip of the iceberg–chronic guilt, resentment, and ingratitude must also have a tremendous impact on the human body; it’s just a matter of time before we find out how much so. The exciting news is that it must work in the opposite way as well. A strong social network, support, and a feeling of belonging must also enhance the health. And I’m certain that being in a state of gratitude has physical benefits well beyond what we can comprehend at the moment. So hats off to these innovative researchers for opening the doors to the future–I can’t wait to see what else is inside.

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