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I know the secret to the quiet mind but wish I’d never learned it

theatlantic.com

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Re: I know the secret to the quiet mind but wish I’d never learned it

#81

Post by dave_sid »

throwaway205826 wrote: post #13

A few years ago I got some kind of brain illness. Doctors were unable to come up with a strong diagnosis, which is apparently quite common for such cases. One of the effects of the illness was that I essentially became stupid. I couldn’t focus on anything (even trivial activities like watching television), I couldn’t compose emails, I would get disoriented easily. It was absolutely terrifying not knowing whether or n…

Hey that’s me you’re talking about! Actually I dabbled a little in Swift to maybe I’m okay.

Re: I know the secret to the quiet mind but wish I’d never learned it

#82

Post by koo6 »

sergiomattei wrote: post #44
tux1968 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have good news for you. Ignoring the small chance that you're actually a figment of my imagination, I can confirm you actually do exist.

I can confirm your existence and the parent's existence.

I can confirm your non-existence.

Re: I know the secret to the quiet mind but wish I’d never learned it

#83

Post by mewpmewp2 »

oh_sigh wrote: post #4
pianoben wrote: post #2

This headline is like a bad r/nosleep title. Someday, somehow, I hope we move past this dumb clickbait style.

Also misleading...usually when people talk about "quiet mind" they're talking about meditation, not TBIs

Thought it was obvious that it was meant to be a cheeky type of title.

Re: I know the secret to the quiet mind but wish I’d never learned it

#84

Post by tyingq »

AnIdiotOnTheNet wrote: post #55
throwaway205826 wrote: post #13

A few years ago I got some kind of brain illness. Doctors were unable to come up with a strong diagnosis, which is apparently quite common for such cases. One of the effects of the illness was that I essentially became stupid. I couldn’t focus on anything (even trivial activities like watching television), I couldn’t compose emails, I would get disoriented easily. It was absolutely terrifying not knowing whether or n…

> 1. Like any other industry, 90% of medical “experts” are totally incompetent. Yeah, I've come to the same conclusion. When I was a kid it took 2 years to diagnose my, frankly quite textbook, hypothyroidism. Know who first diagnosed it? A friend of my mother's who worked the toll booth at the airport. Her dog had it, you see, so she recognized the symptoms. My mother had to go full Karen mode on a doctor to get them…

Same for me. Slightly bulging neck. Itchy calves. Dry skin. Lethargy. Took years before anyone ran the relatively simple TSH test.

Re: I know the secret to the quiet mind but wish I’d never learned it

#85

Post by brodo »

qwerty456127 wrote: post #18

> Of all the injuries we suffered, mine is the worst. My brain injury has shaken my confidence in my own personality, my own existence. I don't exist. That's the secret. This concept took me years to grok but now I know.

The Buddists call it https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatt%C4%81 Anattā. In psychonautics it’s called ego death. It can be frightening, but for me it is a hopeful, unifying and happy idea.

Re: I know the secret to the quiet mind but wish I’d never learned it

#86

Post by throwaway4pooxi »

occz wrote: post #34
tyingq wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US does rate pretty high in "traffic deaths per 100k people". But they also lead the world in how much they drive. 8,800 kilometers per capita, versus 4,300 in Canada, 7,000 in Germany and less than 1,700 in Japan. https://usa.streetsblog.org/2018/12/13/why-the-u-s-trails-th... I'm sure there are other factors, but that would explain most of the difference vs Canada. Twice as much driving means twice as many traf…

Seems like something that should be rectified - the entirety of american society should be redesigned to reduce the amount of driving required.

Or we should continue to iterate and improve.

You assume all the driving is required, a lot of driving is leisure.

I do agree that cities should stop blowing tax payer money that should be spent on public transportation (looking at you 80 billion cali train)

But I support a fragmented society where towns are connected by highways and interstates and trucks and cars can travel freely.

Most of the disdain for cars come from city slickers burnt by traffic and lack of parking.

It's a scaling problem, not a car problem. Fix your politicians.

Re: I know the secret to the quiet mind but wish I’d never learned it

#87

Post by elwell »

sergiomattei wrote: post #44
tux1968 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have good news for you. Ignoring the small chance that you're actually a figment of my imagination, I can confirm you actually do exist.

I can confirm your existence and the parent's existence.

Your confirmation isn't proof.

Re: I know the secret to the quiet mind but wish I’d never learned it

#88

Post by temikus »

throwaway205826 wrote: post #13

A few years ago I got some kind of brain illness. Doctors were unable to come up with a strong diagnosis, which is apparently quite common for such cases. One of the effects of the illness was that I essentially became stupid. I couldn’t focus on anything (even trivial activities like watching television), I couldn’t compose emails, I would get disoriented easily. It was absolutely terrifying not knowing whether or n…

I’m sorry to hear this has happened to you and I do hope you’re only going to get better.

State of diagnostics is indeed very poor, esp. in a field like Immunology. It took 2 years and 4 doctors to find what was wrong with me and how to treat it. I had to scour medical journals for treatment suggestions and then press on my doctors to try it. Sigh.

Re: I know the secret to the quiet mind but wish I’d never learned it

#89

Post by quickthrower2 »

AnIdiotOnTheNet wrote: post #55
throwaway205826 wrote: post #13

A few years ago I got some kind of brain illness. Doctors were unable to come up with a strong diagnosis, which is apparently quite common for such cases. One of the effects of the illness was that I essentially became stupid. I couldn’t focus on anything (even trivial activities like watching television), I couldn’t compose emails, I would get disoriented easily. It was absolutely terrifying not knowing whether or n…

> 1. Like any other industry, 90% of medical “experts” are totally incompetent. Yeah, I've come to the same conclusion. When I was a kid it took 2 years to diagnose my, frankly quite textbook, hypothyroidism. Know who first diagnosed it? A friend of my mother's who worked the toll booth at the airport. Her dog had it, you see, so she recognized the symptoms. My mother had to go full Karen mode on a doctor to get them…

With doctors, you are your own doctor and the doctors you see are subcontractors. First appointment is a job interview. That’s the best way to think of it IMO. I guess I’m privileged to have the money to do this.

Google helps you know what it could be, but you need to do a fair bit of research and critical thinking.

Unfortunately if you are sick this is the last thing you want to do!

Re: I know the secret to the quiet mind but wish I’d never learned it

#90

Post by elwell »

hownottowrite wrote: post #33

My mother died from a traumatic brain injury. She fell down the basement stairs in the middle of the night and smacked her head on the floor. They tried to fix her up at the hospital but as is common with TBI her brain began to swell. They tried trepanation. It did not work. She went brain dead. I was half a world away at work. My father made me make the decision. The doctors pulled the plug on her 52nd birthday. Tha…

I'm sorry to hear that; that's so sad.
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