Diary 1 - Tyler Robinson Journal

[Tyler Robinson]

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Edited August 9, 2022 by Tyler Robinson

[Tyler Robinson]

 

Diary34 - Death 

Entry1/34

 

 

On 7/17/2022 at 7:24 PM, Tyler Robinson said:

I'm thinking how this world can be a better place. 

 

 

On 7/18/2022 at 3:03 PM, Tyler Robinson said:

Cut out bad people and shitty people from your life.. 

 

On 7/19/2022 at 6:25 AM, Tyler Robinson said:

An imaginary life. A better world. 

 

 

On 7/20/2022 at 4:36 AM, Tyler Robinson said:

Mark, and Hazer and Justin. 

Chocolate house 

Why did you bring us here? 

Hazer - I wanted to show you this chocolate house. But the chocolate is poisoned 

 

 

On 7/20/2022 at 5:20 AM, Jonsey said:

This world can be a better place but it's going to take some time brother. And I'm not talking about a little time but a long time. You and I will be old men by the time the world reaches a place where you and I can be proud to call our home.

Having a better world means having better people who care about the world and all her desires and needs. It is the people of the future who will bring true change to this world. In the meantime all we can do now is work on our inner demons occupying the spaces in our minds that fill us with self doubt and insecurity. Self doubt and madness.

I believe if we find happiness within ourselves we won't need the world to become a better place because the world will be what we make of it. The world will be our fairy tale. The world will be our sweet and sexy dream. I think in the future we will come to realize that the world in our hearts is more important than the world we see with our eyes.

 

On 7/20/2022 at 5:41 AM, Tyler Robinson said:

@Jonsey nice. Thanks bro. 

 

 

On 7/20/2022 at 7:37 AM, Tyler Robinson said:

 

 they call death the equalizer. 

 

 

On 7/21/2022 at 2:01 AM, Tyler Robinson said:

Preview31

EntryA1

 

 

 

 

 

On 7/21/2022 at 9:51 AM, Tyler Robinson said:

What's my name - Courtney !!!!

This is my alter ego 

I want to have a situation where I constantly switch between Tyler Robinson and Courtney Robinson.

 

 

On 7/22/2022 at 11:26 AM, Tyler Robinson said:

Anyway I thought about a ton of stuff today.

 

 

On 7/22/2022 at 8:05 PM, Tyler Robinson said:

Moving on with life.

 

On 7/22/2022 at 8:22 PM, Tyler Robinson said:

Does death make me fearless?

I don't know.

 

 

 

On 7/22/2022 at 10:52 PM, Tyler Robinson said:

I get distracted by so many things around me.

Sometimes I just wish I'm dead.

Because everything feels so tough.

 

 

On 7/23/2022 at 0:44 AM, Tyler Robinson said:

There are people partying around me and drinking.

And what am I doing?

 

 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2022 by Tyler Robinson

[Tyler Robinson]

 

 

Diary32 - Diary of a liar 

Entry1/32

 

 

 

On 8/6/2022 at 5:54 PM, Tyler Robinson said:

.... I want to live an honest life. I only wish I could. 

 

 

On 8/6/2022 at 5:59 PM, Tyler Robinson said:

I'm a Pathological liar. And my life is convoluted and tough. It's mired in deep fears, insecurities and lack of honesty. 

I sometimes wish it wasn't this way. 

But it went to a point of no return. 

Lies after lies after lies after lies. 

One lie to protect another lie. 

Then it turned into a mountain of lies. 

It was too late to go back. 

Will God ever give me freedom from things that cause me to lie? 

I don't want to lie anymore. 

I want to be honest. I mostly never lie about big things. Just small things. It has become a habit and an addiction. 

It feels good inside whenever I lie. It has become a tonic. 

 

 

I only wish I didn't  need(ed) to keep lying. 

 

 

 

On 8/6/2022 at 6:01 PM, Tyler Robinson said:

That's why I do Satan meditation. Satan punishes me whenever I lie. At least I can confess to him. 

 

 

 

 

On 8/6/2022 at 6:07 PM, Tyler Robinson said:

Part of my lying is because of my bpd. 

It makes me intensely frightened and cornered. It induces me to automatically lie and weave an onion of lies around me. 

This is how BPD works. You keep creating a cocoon of lies around you until you have successfully built sufficient number of walls around you. 

Only then you feel safe. 

 

 

On 8/6/2022 at 6:11 PM, Tyler Robinson said:

Plus I have autism. That causes me to be less self aware and generally be completely out of tune with what's socially appropriate and what's not. 

It only complicates matters for me. 

 

 

On 8/6/2022 at 6:25 PM, Tyler Robinson said:

I'll be buying some books on the psychology of lying and reading them and see how I can help myself get rid of this from my character. 

I'm a psychopath (low level psychopathy). Psychopaths change after a lot of therapy and training and treatment. Sometimes they don't change at all. 

For myself, I'm trying as much as possible. But it's slow still. I still get urges to act on my psychopathic instincts. 

It's a Grey area. Some change. Maybe they weren't psychopaths in the first place but mimicked them. 

I'm not a born psychopath. Circumstances made me who I am. 

But it can be difficult to change that wiring. Recognition of this wiring is the first step. 

Then slowly erasing established patterns of thinking with new ways and coping techniques. 

There is hope although it's slim. 

 

 

On 8/6/2022 at 10:03 PM, Tyler Robinson said:

Satanism and Tulpa

 

I have to do some rituals to get rid of this from my system. 

 

 

On 8/8/2022 at 4:14 PM, Tyler Robinson said:

 

  I have been in a situation where my ex lied to me about his bisexuality. I asked him again and again about it. He was hiding it. He thought that if he told me about it, I would reject him. Back then I was a bit, you could say, not so comfortable with the idea of entertaining bisexuality. I probably would have rejected him. So our relationship ended and he later on admitted that he was bisexual which hurt me because I thought he should have let me know early on. That day I reflected on why he wasn't being open about the truth to me. I realized that he thought he was going to be judged or shamed. His idea was not to deceive me. He was only hiding because he was not too open about such things, he didn't know how I would react to it. Hindsight is always 20/20. I don't think that way anymore. Now I'm more open to the idea of bisexuality than before. My transformation to becoming a trans has helped me understand and explore the idea of transgenderism and homosexuality. 

A few weeks ago when I confided in a male colleague about my trans situation, he was very pissed. Next day he gave me a death threat and said that such people do not belong in society. That has caused me to not open up about my trans struggles to people around me. It becomes difficult to tell the whole truth when you're judged and shamed by those around you. In addition people get to call me a liar if I don't tell the whole truth. It's a tricky thing. 

What prompted me to comment is the statement you made - "I fucking hate dishonest people."

Not gonna lie but that statement hurt me very badly because I have been dishonest too in my life to people around me. But I only did so because I always feared their judgement and hate towards me.. Being truthful was probably a huge struggle for me ever since childhood. 

But I know deep down that I never had bad intentions. I was just addicted to lying and dishonesty and a lot of it has to do with the way I felt judged all the time. 

That prompted me to comment, I can see others struggling with truth just the way I do. 

If we all lived with more compassion and less judgement, maybe people would feel much better being truthful. 

Just my two cents. 

I'm also writing a journal on serial killers and Mass shooters and trying to understand why they kill people. 

At the end of the day, after a thorough contemplation on the nature of good and evil I have come to the following conclusion - 

All the evil we see in the world is the evil we ourselves create. 

It goes along the lines of another famous saying - 

Be the change you wish to see in the world. 

What I mean is - we blame all the evil on a person, on people who do wrong things. But it's the ultimate absence of love that gives birth to all this evil. People who do wrong things are mere scapegoats that we point our fingers to. Who are the mass shooters? Who are the narcissists? Who are the psychopaths? We might blame them endlessly. But that doesn't solve the problem. We give birth to them. We create them and we blame them. These people were raised by the same society that blames and shames them. We don't want to address their trauma, their concerns, their parenting, their upbringing but we just want to put them in jail and throw away the key, without addressing the issues at their root. I feel this is unjust and unfair. Evil is not an external force with puppet strings in the hands of the devil. Evil is right here within us and we cause it because we don't want to truly love each other. It creates separation. Separation creates a society of you versus them. Then a person no longer cares about you and scams you. We don't see the underlying connections. We only blame the person. 

There's a saying in the Bible - don't blame the sinner, blame the sin. 

So yeah, when we create a more compassionate society, we won't have charlatans, sociopaths, psychopaths and mass shooters. There won't exist a need for one person to do wrong to another because where there is empathy there is no greed, there is no bad intent. 

Just my contemplative thoughts on the subject of good and bad, good versus evil. 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2022 by Tyler Robinson

[Tyler Robinson]

 

Diary35 - Mass shooters 

Entry1/35

 

 

On 8/7/2022 at 0:26 AM, Tyler Robinson said:

Who creates a mass shooter? 

 

 

On 8/7/2022 at 0:39 AM, Tyler Robinson said:

I feel like hurting someone. 

Sometimes I feel like hurting myself. 

I feel like punching the wall. 

Dig my knuckles into it. 

And when that's not enough I feel like taking a gun and firing it into a pillow

 

 

 

Because I have intense rage inside of me. Explosive rage. 

I hate humanity 

 

I hate everything. 

 

 

You. You. You. 

 

You 

 

Society 

Yes you 

 

 

You create mass shooters. 

You can deny it as much as you want. 

But you don't understand extreme rage

 

 

Borderline rage 

 

When I'm having a borderline meltdown at first I feel like hurting myself. And then I feel doing more to get attention 

 

This is natural. Because deep down I feel bullied and hurt. And I don't deserve it 

 

 

I don't deserve to be treated like an Animal.

Look into my eyes. Look into my brain

 

 

My whole childhood was abuse. 

 

My whole childhood was violation of my basic rights as a human. 

 

 

 

Bullying has dangerous consequences. You believe it or not. Our society creates sociopaths and psychopaths. 

 

You don't like sociopaths right? 

 

Then stop creating them 

 

Stop bullying people. 

Stop harming and hurting. 

 

 

This is my borderline song 

 

 

 

 

On 8/7/2022 at 0:47 AM, Tyler Robinson said:

 

If you cannot be a proper mother fucking don't give birth. 

 

 

Don't give birth and torment children. 

 

 

 

You don't have that right. 

 

I was birthed and then abused. 

 

 

That wasn't okay 

 

 

 

That wasn't right. 

 

 

You'll have your comeuppance some day

 

 

 

 

You created the psychopath I became today 

 

 

 

I wish you nothing but the torture of eternal hell. Be damned for ruining my father's life 

 

 

 

You still gotta pay for what you did to my dad. 

He was an innocent man and you pushed him to his death and gave me lifelong trauma to deal with you fucking psycho bitch. 

 

 

 

I hope you die in absolute pain and misery. 

 

 

 

But it's good people who suffer and bad people like you go unpunished. 

 

 

 

Because of you I'll never have peace. I became borderline. You made me borderline. 

 

 

 

You are the reason I will never feel loved 

 

 

 

You are the reason I have so much anger inside of me

 

 

You are the reason I will never be normal 

 

 

 

 

You are the reason why I hate this world and will forever hate it 

 

 

 

Even strangers showed me empathy but not you, you fucking Bully monster pig of a woman.. You bitch who raised me with only hate and disdain 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On 8/7/2022 at 0:52 AM, Tyler Robinson said:

 

You remind me of all the mass shooters

 

 

 

You remind me of all the people who suffered child abuse

 

 

 

You abuser. I wish you were six feet under the ground. 

 

You don't deserve peace by robbing my peace

 

 

 

You are not a mother fucking bitch. You are a monster

 

You are the one I hate the most in my life after my sister

 

Yes you. 

I hate her for killing my dad. 

 

 

Don't show me pity you psycho bitch 

 

Don't act like you are helping me. 

 

Because you never help me you fucking narcissist. You only pretend to. 

You and your evil daughter killed my father. 

 

 

These are my dying words. 

Both of you will pay. Both of you will pay

 

 

Don't ever show me mercy. Because i don't need it. 

 

I want you both six feet under the ground. That's my death wish. Till then I will persevere. 

He didn't deserve to die. His nightmare began when he married you. 

 

 

 

 

On 8/7/2022 at 1:07 AM, Tyler Robinson said:

I'm in a violent psychopathic mood right now. 

I feel like burning down this whole world 

 

 

Because deep down I feel mistreated. 

 

I didn't deserve to be abused. 

Now I understand how mass shooters feel

 

I feel that explosive rage 

 

I feel like grinding  my teeth. 

I feel like punching my arm into a wall

 

Because a no is a no. 

You are not supposed to abuse children 

 

First it's depression. And then it's anger. 

Or sometimes it's the reverse. 

First it's explosive anger. Followed by crying and a feeling of helplessness 

 

 

I am crying right now. 

I'm thinking of Adam Lanza 

 

I can feel his pain 

 

He shot kids at Sandy Hook. 

Everything is happening all at once 

Why does this synchronicity happen with me? Why fucking why? 

Why everytime an event tears me apart inside and then another event reminds me of it?

 

 

When I was diagnosed with Borderline (BPD) ON APRIL 8TH, the Amber Heard thing was going on in the News. Suddenly the whole world was simultaneously discussing my mental disorder. Every person was talking about BPD. I was waiting desperately for it to die down but It just won't, I was feeling embarrassed every day. 

Now when I'm thinking about Sandy Hook, suddenly Alex Jones is in the news, being penalized to pay victims of Sandy Hook

 

Why this synchronicity? 

 

 

Why am I constantly reminded of my wounds? 

Why does destiny keep rubbing salt into my wounds? 

 

 

All I ever wanted was a peaceful life and family 

But it kept escaping me like an elusive dream

 

 

 

All my life I chased peace of mind and it evaded me. 

 

 

 

Will I never get peace? 

 

 

Will I never get away from my haters? 

 

 

Will I never deserve love? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On 8/7/2022 at 1:22 AM, Tyler Robinson said:

This Sandy Hook thing is heavy on me

 

 

Why did he do it? 

 

He had Aspergers and Autism 

I have Autism.

My story is so close to Adam Lanza that it's frightening. 

 

I feel like I was Adam Lanza. 

 

Adam Lanza was born in 1992.

I was born a few years later. 

 

I see my own soul in him 

 

When I read about him, I noticed so many similarities. 

 

He had learning difficulties and he was developmentally disabled. 

I was born underweight, 1 month premature with epilepsy and developmental disabilities and Autism 

 

Later on I also developed borderline and ptsd. Along with anger issues. 

He had anger issues. 

 

He had severe social anxiety. 

I had severe social anxiety. 

He was bullied. 

I was bullied. 

He wouldn't talk to anyone. 

I wouldn't talk to anyone 

He would be quiet in the classroom 

I was the quietest kid in the classroom. 

 

His father left him 

My father was attentive and loving but died early 

 

He was an introvert. 

I'm an introvert. 

 

There is so much going on that it's spinning my head. 

 

 

 

 

On 8/7/2022 at 1:30 AM, Tyler Robinson said:

I'm crying right now because whatever he said it makes a lot of sense to me. I understand that he killed children and he didn't need to. But he was hurting inside.

 

I can see why everything hurt him so bad. 

I understand Columbine. I understand everything now. 

 

These aren't people looking for attention. 

 

They were bullied, deeply neglected. 

We can always call everything evil. But that doesn't absolve us of our collective responsibility. It's inhuman to raise someone without love and respect and magically expect them to turn out to be good humans. 

Even if you don't blame parents, parents are the single most common factor in all of these mass shootings. 

Some parents are nice

But most parents aren't.

 

 

 

 

 

On 8/7/2022 at 1:46 AM, Tyler Robinson said:

 

Adam Lanza. His mom was a problem. People around her call her a funny woman, a good woman. Really??? Are people so superficial and shallow and cheap that a few jokes are enough to decide character?????

So a funny woman is a good woman? 

 

A sexy woman is a good woman?? 

 

 

And an ugly woman is  a bad woman? 

 

What's wrong with this world? 

Why can't people open their eyes to truth? 

 

This woman never treated her son with respect. 

 

She took Adam out of the school where he was getting mental treatment and homeschooled him 

She removed him from so many schools. 

She never gave him therapy ever when she was getting $200,000 a year in child support payments. 

She gave him medication that caused him to vomit and get disoriented. He wasn't able to open the cereal box 

 

This woman never took him to a doctor 

 

She Let him rot. But acted nice for the world. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On 8/7/2022 at 2:18 AM, Tyler Robinson said:

I wish he had never been born. His father Peter Lanza said. Who says this? 

Only an evil sick narcissistic psychopathic father and would say something like that 

 

So you have a mother who is a selfish narcissist and a total goldigger. 

And a narcissist psychopath for a father 

 

I swear.... The nicest people on this planet never get to become parents. 

It's only evil freaks who become parents 

 

 

Whereas good people want to stay single and don't want kids. 

 

 

It's always goldigger women who have children 

 

I am gradually developing an anti Natalist attitude. 

 

 

On 8/7/2022 at 5:21 AM, Tyler Robinson said:

This brings me to the conclusion that we create the evil we see in the world, nobody else does. 

That good and evil are simply weapons and tools. 

There is no fundamental or intrinsic value to good or evil. 

Good is good because it's favorable to our existence. 

Evil is bad because it doesn't serve our fundamental purpose of survival. 

The moment we forget our own agenda, evil ceases to exist or loses it's meaning. 

Of course there is an intrinsic purpose to always wanting good. 

We blame psychopaths and narcissists and sociopaths as though they are independent of us, trying to destroy us, without realizing that we bring about this destruction ourselves. It's safe to assume that human nature is dysfunctional and self destructive and years of moralizing has made us civilized enough to aid our continuation as a species. 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2022 by Tyler Robinson

[Tyler Robinson]

 

Diary36 - Mind clearing diary

Entry2/36

 

 

 

On 7/15/2022 at 4:31 AM, Tyler Robinson said:

Lately I've been thinking about many aspects like love, life, death, good and evil. I want to empty and clear my mind in this journal. 

 

 

On 7/16/2022 at 7:21 AM, Tyler Robinson said:

20 Ways to Avoid Peer Pressure

 

 

1. Ask 101 questions.

For example, if a pal pressures you to smoke, ask her why she smokes, how long she has smoked, if she minds having ashtray breath.

 

2. Say “No” like you mean it.

Make eye contact, then say “No” forcefully, with authority. The more certain you are in your refusal, the less people will bug you.

3. Back-up a no with a positive statement.

For example, if you’re turning down an offer to smoke weed, say something like, “I like my brain the way it is, thanks.”

 

4. Be repetitive.

Don’t hesitate to state your position over and over again.

 

 

5. Practice saying no.

Practice saying ‘no’ in safe environments, like when your big brother asks you if you’d like to spend Saturday night doing his laundry.

 

6. Get away from the pressure zone.

Leave the scene… make your exit.

7. Avoid stressful situations in the first place.

If you know there’s going to be alcohol or drugs at a party, make other plans. Or, if you’re going out with a guy, avoid being alone with him… anywhere he might pressure you to get more physical than you want to be.

8. Use the buddy system.

Find a friend who shares your values and back each other up.

 

 

9. Confront the leader of the pack.

The best way to handle a peer pressure bully is to nab him (or her) when the two of you are alone and explain how you’re feeling and ask him/her to get off your case.

 

10. Consider the results of giving in.

Take a moment to think about the consequences of your actions.

 

11. Look for positive role models.

Ever notice that the real popular and successful teens at your school are the ones who weren’t afraid to say what they like and don’t like?

12. Don’t buy the line that everyone’s doing it.

The truth is, everyone’s NOT doing it.

 

13. Seek support.

Talk out any peer pressure you’re experiencing with other friends who are also feeling the squeeze. I can be reassuring to know that you’re not the only one.

 

14. Be your own best friend.

Remind yourself every now and then that you’re special and nuke any negative statements.

15. Find ways to excel.

Challenge yourself to do your best. Focus your attention on following your personal goals instead of the goals of the group.

 

16. Don’t pressure others.

Watch out for any subtle forms of pressure you may be exerting.

 

17. Speak out!

Fight peer pressure by taking the side of the underdog. Supporting others’ opinions will send the message that you think for yourself.

 

 

18. Watch your moods.

Be aware that your moods can affect your sensibility.

 

 

19. Evaluate your friendships.

If your friends are always bugging you to do something you’re not comfortable with, remember that true friends like you for who you are, not who they want you to be.

 

20. Find new friends.

If you’ve decided that your friends don’t have your best interests at heart, search out new friends who share your values and interests. 

21

Don't Let Your Feelings Fester. Yes, ignore the petty issues. ...

22

Talk to Someone. ...

 

 

 

On 7/16/2022 at 11:11 AM, Tyler Robinson said:

I'm facing all this bigender conflict. I'm going to be calling myself Courtney. 

Courtney Robinson. 

 

 

On 7/16/2022 at 11:27 AM, Tyler Robinson said:

 

●●●●●●●●●●●

How To Deal With A Lazy Coworker: Make Sure You Are Not Overreacting

Don’t be too quick to judge a colleague. Sometimes, missing one or two deadlines or leaving early does not necessarily mean they’re intentionally avoiding work. Instead, they could be dealing with personal issues, and the lapse might be temporary.

 

 

They could have cleared their tasks, freeing up extra lunch hours and allowing them to head home in time. Also, they may have other obligations. Being out of the office doesn’t mean they’re not working. Some assignments may require their presence off-site.

Talk to them professionally to understand the situation.

 

 

Also, if their behavior doesn’t directly affect you and impede your work, it’s probably not your problem to solve. 

You should only focus on resolving the issue if:

●       Their carefree behavior prevents you from executing tasks on time.

●       You have to cover for them constantly.

●       Their absence threatens a project’s completion.

●       They don’t have good enough reasons to be late and leave early.

●       They keep repeating the behavior.

 

 

Tip 1: Learn to Care Less

It’s easy to feel a sense of unfairness when you see the unjust things a lazy coworker gets away with. This could lead to job dissatisfaction and frustration.

Wasting that sort of time and energy on annoyance and anger will ultimately affect your work performance. You could end up achieving as little as the lazy fellow.

 

 

The first step to take is to make sure you don’t let them affect you. Next, you must focus on maintaining a good work ethic rather than allowing their behavior to get to you.

Don’t tie your ability to do your job to someone else’s attitude. Instead, do your best to stay committed, especially with tasks that don’t require their input.

 

 

On the other hand, it’s okay to overlook their laziness when it doesn’t make a difference.

While this advice might sound like you’re also letting them off the hook, see it as maintaining your reputation. 

This comes in handy in situations where you find yourself close to a deadline. You can’t afford to let anything distract you. If you have to deal with them, let it be after completing the project.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

⦿?⭕◉➰???⚪⚫????

➜  ➤    Ꝏ     ?   ➽

 

 

 

On 7/16/2022 at 0:51 PM, Tyler Robinson said:

 

 

Tip 2: Talk to Them Directly

If your colleague’s laziness is directly affecting your work, speak to them. As we mentioned, you have to talk about things professionally. 

Firstly, ask them what’s going on and why they’re often late. Then, try to see things their way.

 

 

If the story remains the same, talk to them politely about how their negligence affects your productivity at work and the dangers of not meeting a deadline.

 

Sometimes, these workers don’t understand the impact of their behavior. Putting them straight could get them to turn the corner.

Make sure you’re direct in a polite way. You can be assertive without sounding harsh or annoyed. Also, don’t attempt to send your message across through a joke or sarcastic comment.

 

Tip 3: Learn to Say “No”

If you’ve helped your colleague out more times than you can count, it’s high time you started saying “No.” 

They may not realize they are falling into a pattern of always asking for favors and how it affects your job.

Your willingness to always help out could be the cause of the problem. They might be taking advantage of your kindness without knowing it. 

Boldly, let them know you can no longer handle two jobs. Explain to them that you already have a full plate, and helping them out is costing you.

 

You can also offer a solution while you’re at it. For example, suggest that they manage their schedule better and talk to their superior about taking time off. 

 

Tip 4: Collaborate with Others to Get Things Done

Things can easily fall apart if one person in a team fails to do their part. A Clear Company survey reported that 97% of employers and employees believe that misalignment within a team affects a project’s or task’s outcome.

 

If the lazy coworker is disregarding their role in a team project, you can get other group members to work together and execute their part of the job. This way, their negligence won’t slow things down or halt the project.

The feeling of being left out and unneeded could force the lazy colleague to reassess their behavior.

 

 

 

 

 

On 7/16/2022 at 0:53 PM, Tyler Robinson said:

 

Tip 5: Inform Your Superiors Without Tattling

If the coworker is the only one with the skills and expertise to get a project moving at some point, then your hands are tied. You have to inform your superiors. However, you don’t have to sound like you’re complaining. You’ll look bad.

 

Speak to the current situation. Let your supervisor know how your colleague’s inaction is affecting the project. That’s all. Don’t go on about other things they do unrelated to the main problem. Your boss should know the best way to manage them.

 

 

However, it’s a different thing if your superior asks you to review your coworker’s behavior. In this case, you should be honest and let them know what’s going on. However, make sure you fully understand your colleague’s situation before letting your boss know what you think.

 

Tip 6: Set up Regular Meetings to Talk About Work Progress

If you’re working on something together, setting up meetings to discuss progress reports could motivate them to put in the work.

A 2015 uSamp survey commissioned by Ring Central found that 97% of employees believe communications affect daily tasks.

 

 

This method helps all the more in a remote work environment. Thanks to collaborative tools, you can get the team together to look at your workflow and deliberate on how to move things forward. 

You can encourage each other and set new deadlines to amp up the pressure on the coworker to finish their tasks.

 

Tip 7: Don’t Allow Your Lazy Colleague Influence You

Lazy employees have perfected the art of avoiding work. They seem to be the ones enjoying their time and having the most fun. 

 

Seeing how much they get away with could tempt you to slack off work a little. Now, it’s easy to get sucked into that way of life and lose focus on your job.

You might end up realizing how far you’ve gone when it’s too late.

 

 

Always keep your distance. Let them know you’re busy whenever they come over for a chat during work hours. Decline invites to events that will keep you out too late. Moreover, remove yourself from lunch conversations that will eat into your work schedule.

 

Tip 8: Don’t Work with Them

If you have a say, avoid working on the same project with your lazy coworker. Instead, suggest to your boss that you’d rather work with a different team. Point out instances where they failed to do their part and nearly derailed a project.

 

Dealing with lazy coworkers is not easy. However, you have to do it for the sake of the job. If you can understand them better and get them to change, your workspace will become more fun. According to a Gusto survey, 54% of employees agreed that a great team spirit made them keep a job longer.

 

 

Remember to always take the first approach of putting yourself in your colleague’s shoes. Make an effort to understand the situation and clear every reasonable explanation for their behavior. Then, start taking measures when you confirm that they’re intentionally lazy. You can still find that work-life balance and remain effective when working with lazy employees.

 

Your willingness to always help out could be the cause of the problem. They might be taking advantage of your kindness without knowing it. 

Boldly, let them know you can no longer handle two jobs. Explain to them that you already have a full plate, and helping them out is costing you.

 

 

 

 

 

On 7/16/2022 at 1:39 PM, Tyler Robinson said:

 

Curiosity is important for human development and learning and encourages an exploration for new information. New research published in the Journal of Individual Differences found that high dispositional curiosity is related to greater general knowledge, but not necessarily related to fluid intelligence.

 

Curiosity is important for both crystallized intelligence (i.e., one’s general knowledge) and fluid intelligence (i.e., one’s ability to reason and use novel information). “Seeking out new environments, being more attentive, and exploring more and more comprehensively might, in turn, also increase the probability of gaining new information,” explain study author Freda-Marie Hartung and colleagues. “Thus, it is plausible to assume that interindividual differences in epistemic curiosity are related to interindividual differences in general knowledge.”

 

 

Thus, the researchers were interested in how dispositional curiosity influences one’s acquisition of knowledge and how fluid intelligence affects this relationship. Hartung and her colleagues recruited 100 participants during lectures at a German University to complete a self-report questionnaire on the relevant personality traits (i.e., curiosity, conscientiousness, social anxiety). They also completed measures assessing their general knowledge (i.e., geography, history, math, natural sciences) and fluid intelligence (i.e., reasoning and memory tasks).

 

 

In general, results show that curiosity is positively related to one’s general knowledge and reasoning ability. However, it is not related to mental processing speed or memory indicating that curiosity is not related to fluid intelligence. Further analysis suggested that the relationship between curiosity and general knowledge is likely explained by one’s reasoning ability, not overall fluid intelligence.

 

“The findings suggest that epistemic curiosity facilitates the acquisition of knowledge by promoting reasoning. Thus, the findings of the present study shed light on the mechanisms connecting curiosity and knowledge,” the researchers said.

 

 Specifically, we cannot say from these data whether differences in curiosity cause changes general knowledge or vice versa. Further, the sample was small and likely not representative of the general population.

A new study has identified neuroplastic changes in brain structure that accompany attention bias modification training in highly anxious individuals. The findings, which appear in the journal Biological Psychology, shed light on the mechanisms underlying the efficacy of the treatment.

 

Research has demonstrated that the brain prioritizes threating information over non-threatening information. But in highly anxious individuals, this attentional bias can become exaggerated and detrimental. The authors of the new study sought to better understand the changes in brain structure that result from attention bias modification, an intervention that seeks to systematically train attention away from threatening stimuli and toward neutral stimuli.

“Our lab has had a longstanding interest in understanding the behavioral and neural mechanisms of affective attention and attentional bias to affective information,” said study authors Josh Carlson and Lin Fang of the Cognitive x Affective Behavior & Integrated Neuroscience (CABIN) Lab at Northern Michigan University. 

 

“We are interested in attentional bias to affective information from both an adaptive (e.g., detecting and attending to threat in the environment) and maladaptive (e.g., exaggerated attentional bias to threat, which is characteristic of anxiety disorders) perspective.”

 

According to the study, personality traits such as curiosity seem to be as important as intelligence in determining how well students do in school. In fact, as Einstein said, “Curiosity is more important than intelligence.”

Curiosity is a sign of being smart, research suggests. Curiosity could even be as important as intelligence in how well people do in life.

 

 

 

 

On 7/16/2022 at 4:49 PM, Tyler Robinson said:

 

Individuals exposed to adverse childhood experiences tend to be biologically older than their counterparts, according to new research published in the scientific journal Psychoneuroendocrinology.

Adverse childhood experiences refer to a set of potentially traumatic events that occur before adulthood. These experiences include various forms of abuse and neglect, witnessing intimate partner violence, parental death or serious illness, parental divorce or separation, and psychiatric illness of a family member. Biological aging, on the other hand, refers to the accumulation of damage and loss of function to cells, tissues and organs.

 

Previous research has found that people exposed to adverse childhood experiences are more likely to suffer from chronic diseases and have a shorter lifespan. The authors of the new study were interested in whether accelerated biological aging could help explain the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and poor health outcomes later in life.

 

This work was part of a team effort led by Dr. Dawn Bowdish at McMaster University to better understand the factors that influence the health trajectories of individuals over the life course,” said corresponding author Chris Verschoor, a scientist at the Health Sciences North Research Institute and assistant professor at McMaster University and the Northern Ontario School of Medicine.

I am interested in the determinants of health and immunity of older adults, particularly how they intersect with a person’s biology. This study provided a unique opportunity to quantify how different forms of early life adversity impact the ‘biological age’ of a person 30 to 60 years later.”

 

The researchers analyzed data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, a long-term study of adult development and aging, which includes 50,000 Canadians who were aged 45-85 years at the time of recruitment.

The study focused on 23,354 participants who had completed a 90-minute interview and taken part in physical and clinical assessments. The researchers examined a number of biomarkers related to the biological aging process, including albumin, creatinine, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C), C-reactive protein, lymphocyte percentage, mean cell volume, red blood cell distribution width, and white blood cell count.

 

The average age of the participants was 59, and most (63%) reported experiencing at least one adverse childhood experience. Participants who reported adverse childhood experiences tended to be biologically older than those who did not. In addition, the researchers found that the link between adverse childhood experiences and biological age was stronger for more severe forms of adversity, such as physical and sexual abuse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On 7/16/2022 at 10:23 PM, Tyler Robinson said:

 

There are also lifestyle elements that can improve your cognition and wellbeing, which include a healthy diet and exercise. For Alzheimer’s disease, there are a few pharmacological treatments, but the efficacy of these need to be improved and side effects need to be reduced. There is hope that in the future there will be better treatments for ageing and dementia. One avenue of inquiry in this regard is exogenous ketones – an alternative energy source to glucose – which can be ingested via nutritional supplements.

But as our study shows, tackling social isolation could also help, particularly in old age. Health authorities should do more to check on who is isolated and arrange social activities to help them.

When people are not in a position to interact in person, technology may provide a substitute. However, this may be more applicable to younger generations who are familiar with using technology to communicate. But with training, it may also be effective in reducing social isolation in older adults.

Social interaction is hugely important. One study found that the size of our social group is actually associated with the volume of the orbitofrontal cortex (involved in social cognition and emotion).

But how many friends do we need? Researchers often refer to “Dunbar’s number” to describe the size of social groups, finding that we are not able to maintain more than 150 relationships and only typically manage five close relationships. However, there are some reports which suggest a lack of empirical evidence surrounding Dunbar’s number and further research into the optimal size of social groups is required.

It is hard to argue with the fact that humans are social animals and gain enjoyment from connecting with others, whatever age we are. But, as we are increasingly uncovering, it also crucial for the health of our cognition

 

Why do we get a buzz from being in large groups at festivals, jubilees and other public events? According to the social brain hypothesis, it’s because the human brain specifically evolved to support social interactions. Studies have shown that belonging to a group can lead to improved wellbeing and increased satisfaction with life.

 

Unfortunately though, many people are lonely or socially isolated. And if the human brain really did evolve for social interaction, we should expect this to affect it significantly. Our recent study, published in Neurology, shows that social isolation is linked to changes in brain structure and cognition – the mental process of acquiring knowledge – it even carries an increased risk of dementia in older adults.

 

There’s already a lot of evidence in support of the social brain hypothesis. One study mapped the brain regions associated with social interaction in approximately 7,000 people. It showed that brain regions consistently involved in diverse social interactions are strongly linked to networks that support cognition, including the default mode network (which is active when we are not focusing on the outside world), the salience network (which helps us select what we pay attention to), the subcortical network (involved in memory, emotion and motivation) and the central executive network (which enables us to regulate our emotions).

 

We wanted to look more closely at how social isolation affects grey matter – brain regions in the outer layer of the brain, consisting of neurons. We, therefore, investigated data from nearly 500,000 people from the UK Biobank, with a mean age of 57. People were classified as socially isolated if they were living alone, had social contact less than monthly and participated in social activities less than weekly.

 

Our study also included neuroimaging (MRI) data from approximately 32,000 people. This showed that socially isolated people had poorer cognition, including in memory and reaction time, and lower volume of grey matter in many parts of the brain. These areas included the temporal region (which processes sounds and helps encode memory), the frontal lobe (which is involved in attention, planning and complex cognitive tasks) and the hippocampus – a key area involved in learning and memory, which is typically disrupted early in Alzheimer’s disease.

We also found a link between the lower grey matter volumes and specific genetic processes that are involved in Alzheimer’s disease.

There were follow-ups with participants 12 years later. This showed that those who were socially isolated, but not lonely, had a 26% increased risk of dementia.

Underlying processes

Social isolation needs to be examined in more detail in future studies to determine the exact mechanisms behind its profound effects on our brains. But it is clear that, if you are isolated, you may be suffering from chronic stress. This in turn has a major impact on your brain, and also on your physical health.

Another factor may be that if we don’t use certain brain areas, we lose some of their function. A study with taxi drivers showed that the more they memorised routes and addresses, the more the volume of the hippocampus increased. It is possible that if we don’t regularly engage in social discussion, for example, our use of language and other cognitive processes, such as attention and memory, will diminish.

This may affect our ability to do many complex cognitive tasks – memory and attention are crucial to complex cognitive thinking in general.

 

Tackling loneliness

We know that a strong set of thinking abilities throughout life, called “cognitive reserve”, can be built up through keeping your brain active. A good way to do this is by learning new things, such as another language or a musical instrument. Cognitive reserve has been shown to ameliorate the course and severity of ageing. For example, it can protect against a number of illnesses or mental health disorders, including forms of dementia, schizophrenia and depression, especially following traumatic brain injury.

 

 

 

On 7/17/2022 at 5:59 AM, Tyler Robinson said:

 

 

 

New research provides evidence that emotion dysregulation plays an important role in eating disorder behaviors among adolescents. The study found that the association between emotion dysregulation and eating disorder behaviors Emotional dysregulation refers to difficulty in regulating emotions. It can manifest in several ways, such as feeling overwhelmed by seemingly minor things, struggling to control impulsive behaviors, or having unpredictable outbursts.existed both independently and in conjunction with weight and shape concerns. The findings have been published in Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology.

Eating disorders commonly start during adolescence, with up to 1/3 of adolescents experiencing problems with an eating disorder,” said study author Nora Trompeter, a post-doctoral research fellow at King’s College London.

 

However, the exact factors that co-occur or contribute to these problems are still poorly understood. I wanted to examine two factors theorized to relate to eating disorder symptoms – weight/shape concern and emotion dysregulation – to further our understanding of eating pathology in adolescents. Hopefully this line of work can contribute to prevention and early intervention programs for eating disorders in adolescents.

 

For their study, the researchers surveyed a community sample of 2,699 high school students and a clinical sample of 149 adolescents receiving outpatient treatment for an eating disorder

Participants completed assessments of their eating behaviors, weight/shape concerns, and emotion dysregulation. The researchers found that those with greater weight and shape concerns were more likely to engage in binge eating, fasting, and purging in both samples. Additionally, those with greater emotion dysregulation were more likely to engage in binge eating and purging in the community sample, and higher levels of emotion dysregulation was linked to more frequent binge eating and fasting.

 

Participants with a high level of emotion dysregulation agreed with statements such as “I have difficulty making sense out of my feelings,” “When I’m upset, it takes me a long time to feel better,” and “When I’m upset, I feel guilty for feeling that way.”

“In addition to concerns about one’s weight and/or shape, emotion dysregulation (difficulties in recognizing and regulating negative emotions) is a key factor relating to adolescent’s eating disorder behaviors,” Trompeter told PsyPost. “That means, in addition to installing positive body image in adolescents, they might also benefit from emotion regulation skills.”

 

Interestingly, the researchers found the strongest association between emotion dysregulation and engaging in binge eating among those with the lowest levels of weight and shape concerns.

“One potential explanation for these unexpected findings may be related to a ceiling effect,” Trompeter and her colleague wrote in their study. “If adolescents already experience high levels of weight and shape concerns, there may be limited additional ‘risk’ from also experiencing high levels of emotion dysregulation. However, for adolescents with lower levels of weight and shape concerns, emotion dysregulation may be amplifying the likelihood of adolescents engage in eating disorder behaviors.”

 

 

Emotional dysregulation refers to difficulty in regulating emotions. It can manifest in several ways, such as feeling overwhelmed by seemingly minor things, struggling to control impulsive behaviors, or having unpredictable outbursts.

 

These displays of extreme emotion can affect relationships, work, school, and daily life. Someone who is able to regulate their emotions can adapt their behaviorTrusted Source when the situation demands. A person who is unable to do so may have a condition called emotional dysregulation.

Although emotional dysregulation is not necessarily a sign of mental health disorder, it can be a symptom of various conditions, such as disruptive mood dysregulation disorder.

 

 

Emotional dysregulation is a condition that affects how a person may experience and handle their emotions. It is very common in children and adolescents and can persist into adulthood.

When someone is experiencing emotional dysregulation, they may have difficulty regulating their emotions and have angry outbursts, anxiety, depression

 

When someone is experiencing emotional dysregulation, they may have difficulty regulating their emotions and have angry outbursts, anxiety, depression, or display self-damaging behaviors.

People with dysregulation may not have an appropriate emotive response to the situation they are in. Eventually, the condition can impact a person’s quality of life, social interaction, personal life, work-life, and relationships.

 

 

There are many different types of emotional dysregulation, and each person’s experience is unique. Typically, emotional dysregulation means an individual has excessively intense emotions in response to a trigger. Therefore, an individual may feel their emotions are out of control. They may also have difficulties recognizing their emotions and feel confused, guilty, or stressed about their behavior.

 

Some common symptoms include:

experiencing strong emotional reactions to events that would not normally affect other people

mood swings

feeling overwhelmed by emotions

having intense emotions that are difficult to control

inability to cope with stress

depression

anxiety

self-harm

excessive substance use

 

 

Causes

In some cases, the cause of dysregulation is not easy to find. There are many factors that can cause emotional dysregulation in a person.

Early psychological trauma due to abuse or neglect from caregivers, seems to be one likely reason. This trauma can mean the child does not form a bond with their caregivers and can develop a reactive attachment disorder. Additionally, if caregivers themselves live with emotional dysregulation, they may struggle to model coping skills and balanced emotions.

 

 

Related disorders

Emotional dysregulation in childhood may increase the likelihood of developing other mental health disorders. The following conditions can involve some aspects of emotional dysregulation:

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): Doctors usually diagnose this neurodevelopmental disorder in childhood. However, it can continue into adulthood. Children with ADHD may have difficulty paying attention or controlling their impulsive behavior.

 

 

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD): This developmental disorder can affect communication and behavior. Generally, symptoms appear in the first 2 years of life.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD): People with BPD have an ongoing pattern of issues relating to self-image, mood, and behavior. This can result in taking impulsive actions and relationship problems.

 

Below are some examples of what it looks like when someone is experiencing emotional dysregulation.

Your romantic partner cancels plans and you decide they must not love you and you end up crying all night and binging on junk food.

The bank teller says they can't help you with a particular transaction and you'll need to come back the next day. You have an angry outburst, yell at the teller, and throw a pen across the counter at them.

You attend a company dinner and everyone seems to be talking and having fun while you feel like an outsider. After the event, you go home and overeat to numb your emotional pain. This is also an example of poor coping mechanisms and emotional eating.

 

Emotional dysregulation can also mean that you have trouble recognizing the emotions that you are experiencing when you become upset. It might mean that you feel confused by your emotions, guilty about your emotions, or are overwhelmed by your emotions to the point that you can't make decisions or manage your behavior.

 

 

A child with emotional dysregulation may experience the following outcomes:

A tendency to be defiant

Problems complying with requests from teachers or parents

Problems making and keeping friends

Reduced ability to focus on tasks

 

 

 

Treatments

The two main options for treating emotion dysregulation are medication and therapy, depending on the individual situation. Let's take a look at each of these in turn.

 

 

 

 

Medication

Medication may be used to treat emotion dysregulation when it is part of a larger mental disorder. For example, ADHD will be treated with stimulants, depression will be treated with antidepressants, and other issues might be treated with antipsychotics.

 

Therapy

In terms of therapy for emotional dysregulation, the main treatment method has been what is known as dialectical behavior therapy (DBT).3

This form of therapy was originally developed by Marsha Linehan in the 1980s to treat individuals experiencing BPD.4

In general, this type of therapy involves improving mindfulness, validating your emotions, and engaging in healthy habits. It also teaches the skills needed to regulate your emotions.

Through DBT, you learn to focus on the present moment, how to become aware of your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and how to deal with stressful situations.

DBT argues that there are three "states of mind:"

 

 

 

 

On 7/17/2022 at 6:44 AM, Tyler Robinson said:

 

 

 

Dysregulation, also known as emotional dysregulation, refers to a poor ability to manage emotional responses or to keep them within an acceptable range of typical emotional reactions. This can refer to a wide range of emotions including sadness, anger, irritability, and frustration.

While emotional dysregulation is typically thought of as a childhood problem that usually resolves itself as a child learns proper emotional regulation skills and strategies, emotional dysregulation may continue into adulthood.

 

For these individuals, emotional dysregulation can lead to a lifetime of struggles including problems with interpersonal relationships, trouble with school performance, and the inability to function effectively in a job or at work.

 

Causes

Now that we know a little bit about what it means to live with emotional dysregulation, you might be wondering what exactly causes this problem in the first place. Why is it that some people have no trouble remaining calm, cool, and collected while others fall apart at the first instance of something going wrong in their life?

 

 

The answer is that there are likely multiple causes; however, there is one that has been consistently shown in the research literature. That cause is early psychological trauma resulting from abuse or neglect on the part of the caregiver.1 This results in something known as a reactive attachment disorder.

 

 

In addition, a parent who has emotional dysregulation will also struggle to teach their child how to regulate emotions. Since children are not naturally born with emotional regulation coping skills, having a parent who cannot model effective coping puts a child at risk for emotional dysregulation themselves.

 

When emotional dysregulation appears as part of a diagnosed mental disorder, it typically involves a heightened sensitivity to emotional stimuli and a lessened ability to return to a normal emotional state within a reasonable amount of time.

 

Symptoms

In general, emotional dysregulation involves having emotions that are overly intense in comparison to the situation that triggered them. This can mean not being able to calm down, avoiding difficult emotions, or focusing your attention on the negative. Most people with emotional dysregulation also behave in an impulsive manner when their emotions (fear, sadness, or anger) are out of control.

 

 

Outcomes

Being unable to manage your emotions and their effects on your behavior can have a range of negative effects on your adult life. For instance:

You might have trouble sleeping.

You might struggle to let experiences go or hold grudges longer than you should.

You might get into minor arguments that you blow out of proportion to the point that you end up ruining relationships.

You might experience negative effects on your social, work, or school functioning.

You might develop a mental disorder later in life because of a poor ability to regulate your emotions (e.g., depression)

You might develop a substance abuse problem or addiction such as smoking, drinking, or drugs.

 

 

DBT argues that there are three "states of mind:"

Reasonable mind refers to being logical and rational.

Emotional mind refers to your moods and sensations.

Wise mind refers to the combination of your reasonable mind and your emotional mind.

 

 

 

DBT is about showing you that you can see situations as shades of grey rather than all black and white (in other words, combining your emotional mind and logic mind).

If you've just experienced a stressful situation or crisis and want to try a little DBT at home, pull out a journal and answer these questions.

What was the event that caused you distress?

What did you think about in the situation? (Write down three main thoughts.)

How did these thoughts make you feel? (Write down any physical symptoms, things you did like crying, or feelings like being upset.)

What was the consequence of the thoughts you had?

 

The goal of DBT is to balance your emotions with logic to obtain more positive outcomes from the situations that you find stressful. The goal is also to teach you to become more aware of the connections between your thoughts, feelings, and actions. In this way, it's expected that you will be able to better manage your emotions in your daily life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2022 by Tyler Robinson

[Tyler Robinson]

 

Diary36 - Mind clearing diary

Entry3/36

On 7/17/2022 at 11:03 AM, Tyler Robinson said:

 

 

Parenting a Child with Emotion Dysregulation

If you are a parent of a child who struggles with emotion dysregulation, you might be wondering what you can do to support your child. It is true that children learn emotion regulation skills from their parents. You have the ability to teach your child how to manage emotions rather than become overwhelmed by them.

 

 

Your child also needs to know that they can reach out to you for help and comfort when needed. Having a supportive and reliable parent figure in their life will help to protect them against problems with emotional dysregulation.

 

 

The first thing you can do is to recognize your own limitations. Do you have a mental disorder or have you struggled with your own emotion regulation skills? If so, you and your child might benefit from you receiving treatment or therapy to build up your own resilience. When you are better able to manage your own distress, then you will be able to offer the most support to your child.

 

In addition, the best way to teach your child how to manage their emotions is not to demand that they behave in a certain way or punish them for acting out. Rather, the best option is to model the desired behavior yourself that you want them to adopt.

It can be helpful to start to recognize triggers for your child's behavior and have a back-up plan of effective ways to deal with acting out. For example, if your child always has a tantrum when you take them to buy shoes, try picking out a pair in their size and bringing them home for them to try on.

 

Children who struggle with emotion dysregulation benefit from predictability and consistency.5 Your child needs to know that you will be there for them when they need you and that they can rely on you to be the calming presence. When your own emotions are out of control, then it is much more likely that your child will be unable to manage their own emotions.

?

 

If your child is in school, it is also important that you talk to their teacher about their problems with emotion regulation. Talk about the strategies that you use at home and how your child might need extra help in the classroom or reminders on how to calm down. If your child has a diagnosed disorder, they may be on a special education plan that allows accommodations or gives them extra help. Be sure to take advantage of that.

 

Finally, it's important to reward positive behavior. If you see your child acting in ways that are positive for emotion management, comment on those positive behaviors. Find ways to reward emotion management successes, so that they will become more frequent.

 

Emotional regulation is a complex process that involves initiating, inhibiting, and modulating one’s mental state and behavior in response to an external or internal stimulus. The process plays out as follows:

An internal or external event (thinking about something sad or encountering someone who is angry) provokes a subjective experience (emotion or feeling).

Then a cognitive response (thought), followed by an emotion-related physiological response (for example increase in heart rate or hormonal secretion).

Followed by a related behavior (avoidance, physical action or expression).

 

Emotional dysregulation refers to the inability of a person to control or regulate their emotional responses to provocative stimuli. It should be noted that all of us can become dysregulated when triggered. However, with some persons, particularly those with a history of psychological trauma, there are multiple triggers; additionally, the periods of dysregulation may be prolonged, causing major disruptions in relationships and daily functioning. Emotional dysregulation can also lead to or be associated with depression and anxiety.

 

 

When a person becomes emotionally dysregulated, they may react in an emotionally exaggerated manner to environmental and interpersonal challenges by displaying bursts of anger, crying, accusing, passive-aggressive behaviors, or by creating conflict. It is not unusual for a person to have poor reality testing when dysregulated—this relates to sensory pathways being shut down during the period of high emotional reactivity. 

 

 

 

On 7/17/2022 at 3:00 PM, Tyler Robinson said:

 

 

When a person becomes emotionally dysregulated, they may react in an emotionally exaggerated manner to environmental and interpersonal challenges by displaying bursts of anger, crying, accusing, passive-aggressive behaviors, or by creating conflict. It is not unusual for a person to have poor reality testing when dysregulated—this relates to sensory pathways being shut down during the period of high emotional reactivity. 

 

.

 

 

Emotional dysregulation is also seen after a traumatic brain injury, including frontal lobe disorders. In the brain injured, there is dysregulation of emotions, as well as attention deficit issues, impulsivity, poor insight, lack of inhibition, impaired judgment, and depressive symptoms. These frontal-subcortical disorders can result not only from head injury, combat trauma, infection, cancer, stroke, previous drug or alcohol use, or neurodegenerative diseases. Explosive anger, often directed at family members, is a common occurrence, particularly in individuals in whom impulsivity, disinhibition, and emotional dysregulation are present.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On 7/17/2022 at 3:06 PM, Tyler Robinson said:

 

Emotional dysregulation is usually relational, meaning it is triggered by a close personal contact such as a family member, child, loved one, ex-loved one or someone who has power or control over that person. As a result, emotional dysregulation is often related to issues of attachment. Particular early attachment styles to a primary caregiver may be a factor in the ability or inability to deal with or regulate emotions. A primary caregiver who was abusive or neglectful can also adversely affect the ability to emotionally regulate.

 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2022 by Tyler Robinson

[Tyler Robinson]

 

Diary36 - Mind clearing diary

Entry4/36

On 7/17/2022 at 3:09 PM, Tyler Robinson said:

 

 

Another fundamental factor depends on each individual’s style of temperament. Temperament can be defined as the array of inborn traits that determine a person’s unique behavioral style and how they experience and react to the world. Individual temperament styles can be associated with emotional dysregulation.

Emotional dysregulation is a symptom of several different emotional and cognitive states. It is often a symptom of several mislabeled and misconceptualized psychological or psychiatric disorders, as listed in the DSM-5. However, certain psychological issues involve the dysregulation of emotions as a prominent characteristic, especially some types of personality issues. For example, what is commonly referred to as “borderline personality disorder” (BPD) may also be termed emotional dysregulation disorder (EDD), emotional regulation disorder, emotional instability disorder, emotion-impulse regulation disorder, or emotionally unstable personality disorder. Emotional dysregulation is also a central feature of narcissistic and histrionic personality types. At PCH, we do not label people with “personality disorders.” However, emotional dysregulation is a common process we observe and work with in our client population.

 

Psychological trauma, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), may cause significant emotional dysregulation. Persons with complex trauma or PTSD display emotional dysregulation characterized by excessive fear, anxiety, anger, or sadness. These feelings are reactions to a previous severe and often life-threatening traumatic event that is reinitiated. 

Emotional dysregulation is also seen after a traumatic brain injury, including frontal lobe disorders. In the brain injured, there is dysregulation of emotions, as well as attention deficit issues, impulsivity, poor insight, lack of inhibition, impaired judgment, and depressive symptoms. These frontal-subcortical disorders can result not only from head injury, combat trauma, infection, cancer, stroke, previous drug or alcohol use, or neurodegenerative diseases. Explosive anger, often directed at family members, is a common occurrence, particularly in individuals in whom impulsivity, disinhibition, and emotional dysregulation are present.

 

Everyone is going through something that we can’t see. The thing is, because we can’t see it, we don’t know who’s going through what and we don’t know when and we don’t always know why. Mental health is an invisible thing, but it touches all of us at some point or another. It’s part of life. “You never know what that person is going through.”

Anxiety is a physiological and emotional response that is out of proportion to a real stressful or potentially dangerous situation. Ultimately, anxiety diminishes a person’s overall health and well-being. It may prevent a person from achieving success in work or school; it often impacts interpersonal relationships. In severe cases, a person may be afraid to even leave their own house. When anxiety symptoms become excessive, prolonged, irrational, or inappropriate, and interfere with the normal functioning of a person’s life, it may be considered an anxiety disorder.

There are many symptoms of anxiety. Somatic or “body” symptoms can include increased breathing rate, gastrointestinal discomfort, muscular tension, perspiration, or a rapid heart rate. Anxiety often negatively impacts a person’s sleep. The spectrum of anxiety symptoms is broad, ranging from vague non-specific feelings seen in a generalized anxiety disorder to overwhelming feelings of fear and distress characteristic of panic attacks.

 

 

 

 

On 7/17/2022 at 3:48 PM, Tyler Robinson said:

 

 

 

Generalized anxiety is a type of anxiety disorder marked by “free floating anxiety,” with persistent and pervasive feelings of fear or fright. The person experiencing this type of anxiety constantly feels threatened. Symptoms may include muscle tension, twitchiness, an inability to relax, autonomic hyperactivity (increased heart rate and sweating), an upset stomach, and headaches.

 

A person with generalized anxiety may also experience apprehensive expectations or an anticipation that something terrible is going to occur, but they don’t know what it is. Vigilance of scanning may also be a factor, in which the person has a heightened attention to everything in their environment, often resulting in increased distractibility and decreased concentration. A person suffering from generalized anxiety experiences a chronic state of hypervigilance and tension without any clear source or focus.

 

 

Panic Disorder is comprised of very intense panic attacks of short duration (minutes to a few hours). A person experiencing a panic attack feels as if they are going to faint or even die. Symptoms may include chest pains, heart palpitations, hot and cold flashes, feelings of unreality, dizziness, or lightheadedness.

 

 

It should be noted that it is extremely rare for anyone experiencing a panic attack to actually faint or blackout. With a panic attack, like generalized anxiety, a person cannot identify a specific reason for the panic. It feels as though it comes out of nowhere, making it even more terrifying.

Phobias are persistent and recurrent fears of a particular situation, object or activity. A person experiencing a phobia cognitively understands it is irrational, but they cannot stop the feelings around it.

 

Agoraphobia can be one of the most severe phobias, involving a fear of open spaces, public places, and crowds. A person with agoraphobia fears and avoids places for which there is no quick escape, such as a crowded building. It is also common for agoraphobics to fear being alone, so they frequently stay at home with a friend or relative present. When they do leave the house, they usually require the accompaniment of a friend or family member. Agoraphobia is most often seen in women; it usually arises during their late teens or early twenties. Agoraphobia frequently begins with a panic attack while the person is away from the house; this may cause the person to start staying at home to avoid experiencing that situation again.

 

Simple Phobias are a fear of one particular object or event, such as a fear of flying, snakes, insects, heights, closed spaces, etc. Phobias are often straightforward to treat, and can usually be remedied on an outpatient basis using exposure therapy and cognitive behavioral techniques.

 

Social Anxiety (Social Phobia) is when a person has an excessive and unreasonable fear of interacting with other people in social situations. A person with social phobia constantly fears they will embarrass themselves or make mistakes in front of other people, developing a negative self-consciousness. When placed in a social situation, a person with social anxiety becomes anxious or may have a panic attack. As the illness progresses, persons with social anxiety disorder may develop distorted thinking, and may begin to isolate and avoid contact with other people. These behaviors may then interfere with work, school and personal relationships.

 

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety response to some kind of psychological trauma. PTSD develops in response to actual or threatened extreme danger or trauma, such as wartime experiences, torture, natural disasters, rape, incest, or a psychotic break. Typically, symptoms of PTSD consist of recurrent re-experiencing of the trauma, avoidance behaviors or phobias, and chronic physical signs related to hyper-arousal, including anxiety, sleep difficulties, difficulty concentrating, hypervigilance, memory problems, and fatigue. Severe somatic symptoms may also arise.

 

 

Anxiety, similar to depression, is determined by multiple factors. Persons with a history of psychological trauma, stress overload, poor self-esteem or personality issues may be predisposed to the development of anxiety symptoms. Some people are born with more sensitive, anxiety-vulnerable dispositions. Some model highly anxious parents. Chronic insomnia, overworking, exposure to high levels of stress, substance abuse, medical problems, and difficulties with family or other interpersonal relationships can also contribute to the onset or exacerbation of an anxiety disorder.

 

Anxiety can be misdiagnosed or unrecognized. Anxiety-related symptoms such as rapid heart rate, muscle tension, shortness of breath or gastrointestinal symptoms may be wrongly attributed to a medical condition. The diagnosis is based on a specific history of behaviors which meet the criteria for one of the types of anxiety. A thorough evaluation of current symptoms is performed; delineating the specific triggers for anxiety (if possible), the symptoms, and behaviors that have interfered with the client’s everyday living, including negative effects on family, friends, work or school. The client’s family history is also explored, as well as any history of drug or alcohol abuse, which may interfere with treatment.

 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2022 by Tyler Robinson

[Tyler Robinson]

 

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On 7/18/2022 at 7:47 AM, Tyler Robinson said:

15 tips to empower you when you’re feeling lonely

 

 You are connected to the world: right now, you are sharing this experience of loneliness with young people all around the world. Remember that loneliness is a universal experience - a part of being human.

You are in control: you can use the power within yourself to make positive changes to your life. You could do this by relaxing, reflecting or doing a new hobby. We believe in you. You can take action.

You can embrace your creativity: try to represent your experience through art and creativity and share it with others. Own your experience. Take its power away. Share it with the world.

You are cared for: we care about you, as do support services, friends and family (or your created family). They are already out there. Reach out and let them in.

You deserve quality relationships: make building quality relationships a priority over a quantity of relationships. The bonds you have with people can help to combat loneliness. Take time to strengthen your relationships. Tell yourself you deserve this.

Your hobbies and interests are important: we care about what you enjoy. It could be anything from finding a new TV show to learning a new sport. Remember that the things that feel a little scary can help us grow.

You can express your emotions in a healthy way: practice sitting with your emotions. Being present with your emotions. Reflecting and accepting your emotions. Connect to you. Journal, doodle, voice-memo and express yourself. 

 

You can get curious about guilt and shame: try and have a conversation with them. Tell guilt and shame that you are not to blame for your feelings of loneliness. Remind yourself that it is not your fault. That these feelings are okay.

You are unique: not following the crowd doesn’t make you alone, it makes you unique. We love who you are. There is nothing to be ashamed of. 

 

 

 

On 7/18/2022 at 8:00 AM, Tyler Robinson said:

... 

 

You are allowed to open up: opening up about how you feel is not a weakness, it is courageous. Try sharing how you feel with someone you trust. Getting honest and vulnerable can help create connection.

You can create space between your feelings and social media: try to become active not passive when using social media. What feelings arise? Are you making judgements about someone else’s life or your own? Could you take a break from social media Unfollowing or muting accounts that bring up difficult feelings and following accounts that make you feel empowered can help with feelings of loneliness.

You can find your community: by joining a group whether based on a hobby, religion, spirituality or an interest can help you ‘find your tribe’. There are people out there waiting to connect with you. Who are just as scared to make the first move.

You can find peace in a busy world: if you are feeling disconnected to yourself try and get into nature. Whether that’s noticing a houseplant, finding a little park or getting into a forest. Getting into nature can help you to feel at peace with yourself.

You deserve to treat yourself: show kindness to yourself with a little gift. Whether that’s buying your favourite chocolate bar, putting time aside to play video games or dancing to your favourite song. You can be your own friend. You can be kind to yourself.

We are grateful for you: we’ve taken a moment to be grateful for you. So, why don’t you take a moment to be grateful for the small wins in your life. It could be for getting out of bed today. It could be for watching a bird patter across a roof. It could be for a great new show you’ve found. Try having the glass half full rather than half empty

Focus on self-love. Spending time alone might not seem fun, but the more time you spend doing things you enjoy and being kind to yourself the more confident you will feel. It’s ok to have time just for yourself.

 

Express your feelings. It is important to have ways to express yourself, even if right now you don’t have people close to you who you can talk to. Keeping a journal can help you to track your mood and reading over it might help you to see things that keep happening in your life which you might need some help with. Some people like to express themselves through drawing, painting, music, fashion or sport.

 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2022 by Tyler Robinson

[Tyler Robinson]

 

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On 7/18/2022 at 9:55 AM, Tyler Robinson said:

 

 

R s t u v w x y z .

Create a list of activities you can do by yourself.Ironically, if you only ever try to cure your loneliness by surrounding yourself with people, it can be remarkably short-lived. "As soon as that person leaves, you're lonely again," Bahar explains. Instead, have a list of simple activities you enjoy or would be willing to try when you're lonely: a puzzle, playing on your phone, crocheting, quilting, watching movies, painting, screenwriting. The goal is to distract from the acute loneliness in a healthy way.

Do more things with people. Engaging in face-to-face social interactions tends to improve our mood and reduce depression. Activities that involve other people—such as attending religious services or engaging in sports—are also likely to have positive effects on our mental health. So find ways to be around people more.

Talk to strangers. A growing body of research suggests that even seemingly trivial interactions with strangers—like chatting with a barista or cashier—may be able to keep loneliness at bay by helping us feel more socially connected. So reach out to other human beings to say hello, ask them how they are, or chat about whatever's on your mind. These small acts can make a big difference and help you reduce feelings of loneliness.

 

Be active online. Instead of passively surfing the net or your social media, if you want to go online, opt instead to do something that involves the active participation of other people. For example, you could play games with others, chat about something you care about, give advice on a forum, or have a video call with a friend. The more you interact with others while online, the more connected you are likely to feel.

Practice self-kindness. In difficult moments, it's essential to practice self-kindness. Blaming ourselves when we feel lonely is not helpful. So limit your hurtful self-talk, take care of yourself, and just generally give yourself a break. Perhaps a walk in nature or a day at the spa may be helpful for getting yourself into a self-kindness mood.

Identify the reasons why you feel lonely. In order to make changes that will truly help you, you will need to take some time to figure out why you are feeling lonely. For example, say you assume that you are lonely because you don’t have enough friends and you go out and make more friends. You may still feel lonely after making new friends if your loneliness is the result of having too many friends and a lack of meaningful connections.

Start a journal to track your thoughts and feelings. Journaling can help you to understand your feelings of loneliness better and it is also a great way to relieve stress.[2] To get started with journaling, choose a comfortable place and plan to devote about 20 minutes per day to writing. You can start by writing about how you are feeling or what you are thinking, or you can use a prompt. 

Practice meditation. Some research has suggested that meditation may ease feelings associated with loneliness and depression. Meditation is also a great way to get more in touch with your feelings of loneliness and start to understand where they come from. Learning to meditate takes time, practice, and guidance, so your best bet is to find a meditation class in your area. If no classes are available in your area, you can also buy CDs that will help you learn how to meditate. 

Consider talking to a therapist about how you have been feeling. It may be hard to figure out why you feel lonely and how to move past those feelings. A licensed mental health professional can help you to understand and work through your loneliness.Feeling lonely may indicate that you are depressed or that you have another underlying mental health condition. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2022 by Tyler Robinson

[Tyler Robinson]

 

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On 7/18/2022 at 3:14 PM, Tyler Robinson said:

 

.... 

In the Classical World, the old religion privileged ritual over doctrine, and educated people turned instead to philosophy for guidance and consolation. In the imperial period, Stoicism rose into the foremost philosophy among the Roman elite. It was, in a sense, the real religion of ruling Romans, including, under the reign of Marcus Aurelius, the emperor himself.

 

From this highpoint, Stoicism gradually lost ground to Christianity, but at the same time worked its way into the incipient religion. Paul the Apostle had met some Stoics while in Athens, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles: “Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say?” Early Church Fathers such as Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, and Origen were steeped in Stoicism, as were, two centuries later, Ambrose and Augustine.

The influence of Stoic philosophy is felt even in the Bible. For instance, the Gospel of John opens with the verse, “In the beginning was the Word [Greek, Logos], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The logos, according to the Stoics, consists of creative fire, or pneuma [“spirit”], the ancestor, perhaps, of the Holy Spirit.

Broader points of parallel between Christianity and Stoicism include that God is a benevolent creator, that each of us has a divine element, and that we ought to pursue virtue and love one another. The resemblances are such that, in the sixteenth century, the Flemish Catholic philosopher Justus Lipsius, who lived in a time of great strife and schism, sought to harmonize Christianity with Stoicism to create a more secular ethics—inaugurating the Stoic revival known as Neostoicism.

It is tempting to ask why Christianity eclipsed Stoicism at all. In addition to the more philosophical elements, Christianity offered mythology and mysticism, including the promise of an afterlife, which enabled it to speak to many more people. With its broad appeal, Christianity also served to repair a split in society by bringing the people and their leaders back under the banner of a single creed.

 

 

Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence, in foundation, study this process in young zebrafish. They now discovered a neuronal circuit that mediates social attraction. This specialized pathway, which runs from the retina deep into the brain, enables zebrafish to detect and approach nearby conspecifics.

Humans and many other animals live in societies. At a fundamental level, social interactions require individuals to identify others as belonging to their own kind. This usually happens in fractions of a second, often instinctively. Unveiling the neuronal circuits that underly this behavior, however, is anything but trivial.

 

This is because individuals taking part in these interactions influence each other. Both are, at the same time, senders and receivers of social signals. It has been particularly hard to investigate the role of the visual system and its associated brain areas.

 

 

The scientists developed an experimental virtual reality setup for zebrafish larvae that simulates conspecifics. All that is needed is a projected dot on a screen, which – and this is important – moves across the display with a jerky movement pattern that is stereotypical of swimming zebrafish.

 

The animals cannot resist this cue: They follow it around for hours, apparently confusing the moving dot with a real conspecific. The researchers had thus discovered a defined visual stimulus that triggers shoaling behavior.

 

 

The team could now investigate the neuronal processing of the stimulus. To do so, they extended their virtual-reality setup enabling them to simultaneously measure activity in the fish brain. The experiments revealed that a moving dot activates a specific set of neurons in a brain region known as the thalamus. The same area of the thalamus gets activated when another zebrafish larva swims nearby.

 

 

The thalamus is a sensory control center of the brain that integrates and relays sensory inputs. Sensory information is processed on its route to the thalamus, first in the retina and then in the tectum, a major visual center of the vertebrate brain.

 

The nerve cells identified by the researchers in this region connect the visual system of the zebrafish with other brain regions that are active during social behavior.

 The importance of the newly identified neurons was confirmed when the researchers specifically blocked the function of these cells. Zebrafish larvae lost their interest in conspecifics as well as moving dots and hardly followed them around anymore.

 

Humans possess a thalamus, too, and many neuronal processes have been conserved during evolution. We also have brain regions that are active when we perceive facial movements or body motion, but the significance of these regions for social behavior has not been explored.

The study by Kappel, Larsch, Baier and their collaborators has shed light on a part of the brain whose activation provides the elementary “glue” for the bonding of two zebrafish. Collectively, such small-scale interactions create shoals of fish. Social behavior is driven by networks of brains, which are themselves networks of neurons.

A new Yale study has found that the liver plays a major role in regulating feeding behavior in mice, a discovery that could have implications for people with eating disorders and metabolic diseases.

The study, which was done in collaboration with colleagues in Germany, also adds to a growing body of evidence that shows the most advanced part of the brain, the cerebral cortex, is affected by the rest of the body, not just the other way around

 

In a series of experiments, the research team uncovered a circuit by which the brain and liver communicate with—and control—each other. The two key participants of this conversation are a group of cells known as agouti-related protein (AgRP) neurons, which are found in the hypothalamus region of the brain, and a type of lipid secreted by the liver called lysophosphatidyl choline (LPC).

 

AgRP neurons, which communicate with the cerebral cortex, the outer layer of the brain associated with complex behaviors and abilities, are essential for promoting feelings of hunger. But they also communicate with other parts of the body, like the liver and pancreas; when humans are hungry, these neurons play a critical role in releasing lipids from fat stores in the body.

 

Once LPC is secreted by the liver, an enzyme in the blood quickly converts it to lysophosphatidic acid, or LPA. Other researchers have shown that LPA can alter neuronal activity in the brain.

 

In this study, the researchers observed that after fasting, mice had higher levels of LPA in both the blood and the cerebrospinal fluid, the special liquid found within the central nervous system. This rise in LPA levels caused an increase in neuronal activity in the cortex, which triggered a heightened post-fasting appetite. And all of these effects were dependent on AgRP neuron function.

 

 

 

On 7/18/2022 at 4:39 PM, Tyler Robinson said:

 

Mice that experience a mutation leading to greater LPA-induced neuronal activity eat more and weigh more than their typical mouse counterparts. Humans with this same genetic mutation tend to have higher body mass indexes and a greater prevalence of Type 2 diabetes than people without the mutation.

 

AgRP neurons control feeding behaviour at cortical synapses via peripherally derived lysophospholipids

Phospholipid levels are influenced by peripheral metabolism. Within the central nervous system, synaptic phospholipids regulate glutamatergic transmission and cortical excitability. Whether changes in peripheral metabolism affect brain lipid levels and cortical excitability remains unknown.

Here, we show that levels of lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) species in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid are elevated after overnight fasting and lead to higher cortical excitability. LPA-related cortical excitability increases fasting-induced hyperphagia, and is decreased following inhibition of LPA synthesis.

Mice expressing a human mutation (Prg-1R346T) leading to higher synaptic lipid-mediated cortical excitability display increased fasting-induced hyperphagia. Accordingly, human subjects with this mutation have higher body mass index and prevalence of type 2 diabetes.

 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2022 by Tyler Robinson

[Tyler Robinson]

 

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On 7/18/2022 at 4:48 PM, Tyler Robinson said:

.. 

Many of us will have likely heard of music therapy and art therapy — but what about ‘travel therapy’? 

A new cross-disciplinary paper from Edith Cowan University (ECU) proposes we change the way we view tourism, seeing it not just as a recreational experience but as an industry that can provide real health benefits. 

 

 

Boys and girls want different things from their friendships, according to a study published in the Journal of Early Adolescence. The findings revealed that girls place more importance on intimacy and support from their friends, while boys place more importance on enjoyment and companionship. Notably, these gender differences were most apparent among junior high schoolers compared to elementary students.

 

 

Friendships are a central part of childhood. Numerous studies have suggested that supportive friendships can buffer the effects of childhood stressors like bullying and family adversity. In light of the gender differences in male and female friendships, study authors Karen D. Rudolph and Jillian F. Dodson wondered whether there are gender differences in the characteristics that children look for in their friendships. These differences might impact the socioemotional support that boys and girls receive from their friends.

 

“Friendships serve as one of the most formative types of relationships across childhood and adolescence,” explained Rudolph, a psychology professor at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. “Whereas healthy friendships can provide a buffer against experiences of stress, unhealthy friendships can put youth at risk for psychological difficulties. However, the extent to which youth seek support from friends in times of stress and the effectiveness of this support depend on whether they are receiving the specific friendship provisions they value most.”

 

“Friendships serve as one of the most formative types of relationships across childhood and adolescence,” explained Rudolph, a psychology professor at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. “Whereas healthy friendships can provide a buffer against experiences of stress, unhealthy friendships can put youth at risk for psychological difficulties. However, the extent to which youth seek support from friends in times of stress and the effectiveness of this support depend on whether they are receiving the specific friendship provisions they value most.”

 

“We were interested in identifying which characteristics of friendships girls and boys value most, and whether these values change across a critical transition period from childhood to adolescence. Understanding these differences in friendship values can help adults understand how best to teach youth to develop close friendships and to use friendships as a resource for coping with stress.”

Evidence suggests that psychological provisions, like intimacy and support, are a stronger part of female friendships starting at a young age. For example, young girls spend more time in conversation (e.g., sharing secrets, self-disclosing) with their friends and tend to be more affectionate with their friends compared to boys. Recreational provisions, like companionship and enjoyment, may play a stronger role in male friendships, as young boys tend to engage in shared sports and activities more often than girls do. The researchers also tested whether these gender differences might intensify during adolescence when gender roles are reinforced through socialization.

 

The study authors recruited 73 elementary school children (average age of 10) and 80 junior high schoolers (average age of 12) from two schools in the Midwestern United States. The children answered a friendship values questionnaire that asked them to rate the extent that they valued certain characteristics within their friendships. These 18 characteristics centered on either psychological provisions (intimacy and support) or recreational provisions (companionship and enjoyment). The youth were also asked to choose the three provisions that they valued the most.

 

The findings revealed significant gender differences that were especially apparent among the junior high schoolers. For example, both junior high and elementary school boys rated enjoyment items (e.g., a friend to play games with at lunch) more highly than girls did. But only junior high boys were more likely than girls to choose an enjoyment item or a companionship item (e.g., a friend with shared hobbies and interests) as one of their most valued provisions.

 

Girls in junior high rated intimacy (e.g., a friend to make you feel better when upset) and support items (e.g., a friend to give you good advice) more highly compared to junior high boys and were also more likely to choose an intimacy item as a most valued provision. Notably, these differences were not apparent in elementary school kids.

 

“This study showed that differences in girls’ and boys’ friendship values increase from late childhood through early adolescence,” Rudolph told PsyPost. “Across this critical transition, girls generally begin to place more value on psychological provisions that fulfill emotional needs, such as providing and receiving support and developing intimacy, whereas boys generally begin to place more value on recreational provisions that fulfill tangible needs, such as sharing interests and enjoying each others’ company.

These gender differences in friendship values may have an impact on children’s socioemotional development. “Because both of these areas of focus in friendships can provide both opportunities and risks, it is important to consider whether developing more flexibility in friendship values may promote positive development in girls and boys,” Rudolph said.

If girls place a higher value on intimacy in their friendships, they will likely seek out closeness and emotional support in their friendships more than boys will. This increased intimacy may promote greater empathy and affective social competence, and provide girls with a support system to protect them from emotional distress. On the other hand, an emphasis on intimacy could also lead girls to become overly involved in each other’s problems, which could instead increase emotional distress.

 

Boys’ stronger tendency to seek companionship and enjoyment from their friendships might also bring about socioemotional benefits. For example, sharing activities with friends likely promotes a sense of belonging and comfort, and experiencing fun and enjoyment with friends likely increases positive affect. However, if enjoyment is valued at the expense of intimacy and support, this may lead boys to ignore rather than confront stressors.

 

 

People who enter monogamous relationships typically hope to maintain sexual and romantic exclusivity with their partner. Thus, when encountering alternative partners, they are likely to use strategies that help them resist the temptation of straying. For example, romantically involved individuals are more likely than singles to be inattentive to alternative partners and to inhibit thoughts about them. When committed individuals do encounter alternative partners, they tend to see them in a less appealing light, disclose their relationship status to them, and express less interest in interacting with them

However, in an era, in which alternative partners lurk around every corner of the internet, these relationship-protective strategies may lose their effectiveness. In my recent research2, I investigated this possibility, focusing on mate poaching, which occurs when people try to form a romantic or sexual relationship with an individual who is already in a romantic relationship with someone else.3

 

In two studies, I examined whether participants who were the target of active mate poaching attempts would perceive their current partner as less appealing while perceiving alternative partners as more appealing than participants in a control condition. In both studies, romantically involved participants reported their perceptions of current and alternative partners following chatting online with an attractive member of the research team (a confederate) who behaved either flirtatiously or neutrally.

The implicit task required participants to categorize positive adjectives (e.g., charming, fabulous) and negative adjectives (e.g., repulsive, sickening) as either positive or negative while doing so as quickly as possible. Prior to viewing each of these adjectives, participants were exposed to photographs of their partner. The time it took participants to categorize the valence of the adjectives was measured. People with more positive spontaneous attitudes toward their partner exhibit faster responses to positive adjectives and slower responses to negative adjectives in this task.4 After completing the implicit task, participants rated their partner’s attractiveness.

 

New research provides evidence that high intensity interval training improves metabolism in a brain structure responsible for memory formation and retention. The study, published in Psychophysiology, found increased metabolism in the left hippocampus following a 6-month physical activity intervention for adolescents.

“The primary focus of my research is the design, evaluation, and dissemination of school-based physical activity interventions,” said David Lubans, a professor at the University of Newcastle and the corresponding author of the study.

 

The study examined 56 older adolescents from four secondary schools in New South Wales, Australia who were randomly assigned to a Burn 2 Learn intervention or a control group. Those in the Burn 2 Learn intervention completed at least two high intensity interval training sessions per week for 16 weeks. The training, which ranged in duration from 8 to 20 minutes, involved a combination of aerobic and body weight resistance exercises.

 

 

The participants underwent brain scans before and after the 16-week period to assess exercise-induced neural changes, and the researchers used magnetic resonance spectroscopy to identify changes in brain metabolite concentrations in the hippocampus.

 

Compared to the control group, the researchers observed that participants who completed the Burn 2 Learn intervention tended to have increased left hippocampal concentrations of N-acetylaspartate (NAA) and glutamate+glutamine (Glx), two markers of brain metabolic activity. In addition, these hippocampal changes were associated with improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular fitness, and working memory.

 

 

The results indicate that “participating in physical activity of vigorous intensity for a relatively short period of time appears to simulate brain growth in older adolescents. 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2022 by Tyler Robinson

[Tyler Robinson]

 

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On 7/19/2022 at 6:09 AM, Tyler Robinson said:

And a better world. 

 

.... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2022 by Tyler Robinson

[Tyler Robinson]

 

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On 7/20/2022 at 0:59 PM, Tyler Robinson said:

 

50 positive affirmations.

 

 

I’m allowed to take up space.

 

My past is not a reflection of my future.

 

 

I am strong enough to make my own decisions.

 

I’m in control of how I react to others.

 

I choose peace.

 

I’m courageous and stand up for myself.

 

I will succeed today.

 

 

I deserve to feel joy.

I’m worthy of love.

 

I love myself deeply.

 

My body is healthy, and I’m grateful.

 

I’m more at ease every day.

 

I’m calm, happy, and content.

 

 

My life is a gift and I appreciate everything I have.

 

 

I surround myself with positive people who will help bring out the best in me.

 I don’t need someone else to feel happiness.

 

I’m allowed to take time to heal.

 

The point of life is balance, not perfection.

 

 

Difficult times allow me to appreciate the good times.

I forgive those who have hurt me.

 

I’m in charge of my life and no one will dictate my path besides me.

 

I’m doing my best and that is enough.

 

 

 I know exactly what to do to achieve success.

 

 I choose to be proud of myself.

 

I will not compare myself to strangers on the internet.

 I love myself fully.

 

 I can do anything I put my mind to.

 

I’m worthy of respect and acceptance

 

 

My contributions to the world are valuable.

 

My needs and wants are important.

 

I make a significant difference in the lives of people around me.

My life is full of amazing opportunities that are ready for me to step into.

 

 

Edited August 10, 2022 by Tyler Robinson

[Tyler Robinson]

 

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On 7/20/2022 at 2:11 PM, Tyler Robinson said:

 

I let go of all that no longer serves me

When I allow my light to shine, I subconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

 

No amount of worrying can change the future.

 

Negative thoughts only have the power I allow them.

 

To make small steps toward big goals is progress.

I’m bold, beautiful, and brilliant.

 

 

I attract abundance into my life.

 

I’m worthy of respect and acceptance.

 

I am enough.

I’m in charge of my life and no one will dictate my path besides me.

 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2022 by Tyler Robinson

[Tyler Robinson]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Edited September 25, 2022 by Tyler Robinson