Ability to breathe

Finally my 6 week long constant struggle to get things done has come to an end. My short lives semester has finally seen its last day and I can finally come home from work at a decent hour, rather than lingering in the library till they kick me out.

My Health Psychology course was amazing and fun but it was a whirlwind. I am glad that it is over. Now I can come back to posting more blogs about random thoughts that enter my head. Oh the joy!

Anger and saying the wrong thing

Why is it that anger leaves our brains unable to rationalize and make balanced decisions and judgments. Anger and disappointment act as the tear gas of thoughts. Its like we are not ourselves anymore. Why is that?

I don't have a huge neurological knowledge basis. But if I were using the knowledge I do have, perhaps interference and bias would be the answer. Interference because there is the thing that is bothering us that is very high in our attention and anything else we need to process needs to compete with these thoughts to be given any consideration. Also, because we are angry, we will be biased. Anger is a negative emotion, to I would think we would be biased towards accepting negative information and reject positive ones. Also, if the information presented to us conflicts with what we are mad about, self-serving bias creeps in. We dissociate with information that doesn't fit into our frame of thoughts.

Perhaps this is why it is no good arguing with an angry person. They might think they are thinking clearly but to us they are irrational and unrelenting. It is perhaps easier and safer to let it go until they cool down and can once again think clearly. Even though they might not be angry later, they will still have biases, but at least the cloud will be thinner and easier to get through.

This bring me to my next point, what do you do with someone who is always mad whenever something specific comes up they don't agree with? Do you simply let them have their way or confront them about their issues? Obviously if they are not corrected, they will continue to think that they are right and there is no other way. So perhaps that cycle of thinking needs to be broken. At the same time, no one likes confrontation. Especially with someone you don't know too well. What do you do then?

What is the meaning of life to a cancer patient?

A large portion of my work involves recruiting cancer patients for our research study at the cancer clinic. The best part of my work day is definitely when I get to talk to a patient who is fighting cancer and is not only okay with, but is happy with their life. Cancer is no laughing matter and is definitely not an easy experience to go through. For some it's worse than others. But in their own lives, that's probably one of the worst things they will have to endure and go through. Yet so many of the people going through the experience are in such high spirits that it's infectious. They take each day as it comes and find pleasure in the little rewards in life. They don't mull over their condition and just think of it as one other obstacle in their life. They are the strongest people I know, they inspire me to go through life with a smile on my face and I pray that their spirits never break.

Seeing such brave people every day of my life reminds me of the great gift of life and reminds me to thank God for such a miraculous gift. It also helps me appreciate the little things in life and not fret over every single thing that foes wrong. I think if we all learnt to live with such zeal and positive outlook, we could someday conquer not only cancer, but anything else that ail our world.

Speeding

Late Monday night of 14th June, 2010, officers clocked a car driving at 147km/h in a 50 zone in St. John's, Newfoundland. The officers started their sirens and chased them for a bit but they did not stop. When the car passed a red light, the officers decided to call off the chase but soon after the car crashed into an electric pole, killing all 3 people in the car and ripping the car apart. I woke up this morning to hear of the horrifying incident that happened only minutes from my home. Out of the 3 passengers, 2 of them were high school kids, very close to graduating.

http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=343521&sc=79

What is the purpose of this? Why do people speed? Is saving two minutes of your time more valuable than saving your life? People sometimes don't realize that a car is a weapon, a major weapon. There is little damage a person can do when they are walking or running, unless they ran into oncoming traffic I guess. But, with a car, a person can not only damage themselves and their car, but also anyone else in the car with them and everyone else who comes in contact with them.

Here is another video I came across that broke my heart.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=782540693&v=wall&story_fbid=127048967327647#!/video/video.php?v=1388779851607

There are so many such fatal accidents that are happening everyday. If people took two extra seconds to think and look or if they decided to stay a few meters back from the car ahead of them, so many accidents can be prevented. Not only that, imaging the cost to a government and taxpayer because of these accidents. Millions of dollars are spent on helping victims of car accidents live a normal life. If some of that went towards teaching people how to drive safely and educate people of the dangers of reckless driving, perhaps many mothers would still have their children, many orphaned children would not be orphans, many others would still be walking.

Job Hunting

Many of the people in my life, including myself, have been in situations where we realized we have to find a new job. Either stemming from the end of a contract of getting fired or layed off, job search seems to be quite common in today's economy. I am no expert in looking for jobs but I have collected some very good advice over the years, and I wanted to share some of them in this blog.

1) Netowrk, network, network. I can't stress how important this is when you are looking for a new job. People always prefer to hire the person they've seen or heard or heard of over the one they have no idea about. So get your name out there. Perhaps I will write another blog later about how to network. But the basic idea is to let everyone around you know that you are looking for a job. Try and meet as many new people as you can, even if they don't have important jobs. You never know who they are related to.

2) Apply to jobs. This sounds pretty redundant but it is important. A new job will not land on your lap when you least expect it. You will have to work for it. As my friends always say: Looking for a job is a full time job. Apply to whatever comes up in your field of interest. Depending on the type of job you are looking for, you should probably expand your search a bit wider than what you are willing to accept. That way you might end up interviewing for a job which is at a lower level but the company realizes your potential and gives you a better position, or at least keeps you in mind if something better comes up.

3) Keep a positive attitude. If you've been applying to jobs for a while and you have no job, it is easy to lose hope. But try to look at the positive side. You can use the time you have effectively by learning a new skill that will help you find a job sooner. Or you can volunteer at an organization that you want to work for. Either way, it will help you increase your network and beef up your resume. Keeping yourself busy will also help you from feeling down because you will know you are doing something positive that will take you closer to your goals.

That's what I have for now. Hope it's helpful.

Wishing for a wish

After hearing raves about the "Sisterhood of the travelling pants" for years, I finally decided to watch it when it came on TV. It's interesting how strong the power of will and belief is. Believing in something doesn't necessarily make it happen, but it gives us the strength to get through the things we need to, to make it happen. It gives us the self confidence and then exudes into out actions, until finally we are there. When we pray for something and it comes true, we are tempted to believe that our prayers were answered. It is perhaps true in a way. By praying and hoping and believing that God will grant our wish, we are setting actions in motion that make it happen. Perhaps this is why we are asked to pray to God so often. He knows the strength he has given to each and every one of us, and by remembering him, we are digging deep inside and bringing that strength out to live our lives.

So if you are stuck in life, never think that you can't do something. You can, if only you believe.

Bug-zooka

http://blogs.psychcentral.com/mindful-living/2010/06/compassion-series-god-training-with-bugzooka/

Does Newfoundland really need more doctors?

If you live in Newfoundland, you are drilled with the idea that this place needs more doctors. The health care system isn't in a good enough position and wait times to see doctors are very long because of lack of doctors. I don't have numbers on doctors in this province, and I don't intend to disagree with this idea. But how come no one ever talks about other types of people we need to keep the health care system running? Social workers, nurses, counsellors, pharmacists, home therapists. No one says we need more of these people to improve the health care system. When in fact these are probably the kind of people we need more of.

Newfoundland is a rural area and sometimes the people can only be seen by a nurse or a social worker. Once their need for further treatment is recognised by these professionals, they can then be referred to doctors for further treatment.

So, I say that Newfoundland needs to focus on increasing their supply of health professionals who assist physicians just as much as doctors and they need to stop giving huge raises to just the top professionals.

Quality vs Quantity

I remember when you would by an electronic equipment and it would last you years. Nowadays, you are lucky to hold on to something for a year or two. Cellphones keep being switched every year or two, laptops about 3-5 years, mp3 players live maybe a year. What happened? Has materialism gone to far that we need to keep changing things to get the same rush? Is it like an addiction or just a way of life?

Walk-man on traffic lights

I had a close encounter of the vehicle kind today and that made me think of something. Why is it that in so many traffic lights, the walk sign doesn't show unless someone presses that button? If someone arrives at the lights after the lights change, even if they press the button, it won't change till the next cycle. Wouldn't it be easier to have the sign always show how many seconds are left for you to cross the road? That way someone won't put their own lives in danger thinking they have more time than they actually do.

PS. Apologies to the driver who yelled at me for crossing the road :)

Are nonhuman animals more moral than human animals?

An interesting read:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/animal-emotions/201001/are-nonhuman-animals-more-moral-human-animals-yes-they-are

I am going to find the book "Born to be Good" and comment on what I think later

First Blog: Self Sacrifice

Hi All,

This is the first time I am blogging and an issue I want to talk about is: Suicide

Wikipedia describes suicide as " The deliberate self-destruction of a human being, by causing their body to cease life function. But suicide is so much more than that. No human lives on this earth alone. Everyone's life is somehow connected to the lives of many others in such a way that we live in a web, one that is made by us, and strengthened by those around us. When someone ceases living, their web crumbles and it takes with it a part of the web others are connected to. We are only as strong as our weakest link. So perhaps that damage in our web makes us weak, and prone to further damage.

So, would you say that suicide causes a person to cease living, or is there more to it than that? I am not going to pass judgement on those who commit suicide. Human beings are programmed for self survival. There has to be something major for someone to turn off that function and take their life. What can be so devastating that causes someone to think that dieing is better than going through their hardships? I don't know but I would love to understand.

Perhaps it has something to do with the web I was talking about earlier. Perhaps, so many webs around them have crumbled that they are no longer strong enough to hold up their own web. If that is the case, is it fair to only blame the person for their action? Is it not a collective suicide?