It's an interesting article but the author is insufferable. She may be suffering a TBI, but she writes a lot more like someone grappling with an emaciated ego which was once overstuffed.
I know the secret to the quiet mind but wish I’d never learned it
121–130 of 189 posts
Re: I know the secret to the quiet mind but wish I’d never learned it
#122Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah, I couldn't get very far in to it. Something about the author's tone and writing style was awkward and offputting.
To me it felt very self-centered. Like that bit about having the worst injury. Was it really worth pointing out?
Many people I have known remarked on how an older person they know has a failing body and an active mind. The mind being the most important.
Re: I know the secret to the quiet mind but wish I’d never learned it
#123Really well written, especially considering the author's plight. Regarding this bit: > The day of the accident I had been working on a project to improve how homeless people are placed into shelters. I say out loud, “I don’t care about homeless people” to see how it feels. It doesn’t ring true; I do care about homeless people. I just don’t feel like working. I wonder if that's directly to do with the brain damage or…
I imagine it's different for different people. I survived an event that m doctor at the time warned me there was very little chance of surviving. After working through all of the stages of loss over my future, I managed to come out the other side of my health issues with less impact than expected. Now it's almost like I've made peace with my death, and don't much care about anything anymore. The only way I can ration…
No second birthday feeling whatsoever?
Re: I know the secret to the quiet mind but wish I’d never learned it
#124To de-clickbait this article: the author had a traumatic brain injury which eliminated her racing inner monologue.
What is the point of quieting your inner monologue? o-O
Well, if the thoughts are bad, they can lead to anxiety and torment, so removing them can alleviate these feelings, or so the thinking goes. But perhaps the causal relationship between the two is the reverse? Interesting to consider.
Re: I know the secret to the quiet mind but wish I’d never learned it
#125Earlier quoted context omitted.
I also am suffering from something similar. I have the working theory it's from extreme burnout but do not know for sure. I would tremendously appreciate if you shared what you found to help?
It’s hard to say what actually helped, but I tried a bunch of behavioral changes. Two I’ve stuck with are significantly increased exercise (half an hour plus of intense exercise every day) and a strict ketogenic diet. Even if they didn’t do anything at all for my primary condition, they’ve resulted in totally orthogonal improvements to my life. A couple months of rest (didn’t have much choice there - I couldn’t do an…
Thank you very very much for the tips!
Re: I know the secret to the quiet mind but wish I’d never learned it
#126Earlier quoted context omitted.
I imagine it's different for different people. I survived an event that m doctor at the time warned me there was very little chance of surviving. After working through all of the stages of loss over my future, I managed to come out the other side of my health issues with less impact than expected. Now it's almost like I've made peace with my death, and don't much care about anything anymore. The only way I can ration…
No second birthday feeling whatsoever?
Nope. I'm sure that's common, but it never hit me.
Re: I know the secret to the quiet mind but wish I’d never learned it
#127A 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 so sorry this happened to you and I'm glad you are starting to feel at least somewhat back to your old self. I definitely understand where this opinion of docs is coming from as there are definitely some incompetent docs out there but don't you think that your opinion is largely based around an anecdotal experience that is probably pretty abnormal? Medicine as a field is still pretty unscientific in a lot of ways…
I think a core problem is that the incentives are to give a quick diagnosis and prescription, and if that diagnosis is wrong, move on to the next diagnosis / prescription, repeat. This is in contrast to my experience with a functional doctor, who laid out a logical plan, testing to verify hypotheses, and only after all the pieces fit together, decided on a treatment strategy.
Of course, for the majority of cases, the mainstream approach works well or well enough, but it's definitely frustrating when you fall outside of it. I think some people don't even know they're falling outside of it (e.g. long-term gastrointestinal problems), as in they've given up figuring out the root cause and have learnt to deal with their symptoms. I think the number is non-trivial (1%+?), but I can't think of any way to prove that.
Re: I know the secret to the quiet mind but wish I’d never learned it
#128Earlier 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.
Changing existing towns is almost impossible. It is possible to start a new town with new structure. I want to start a town with no personal powered vehicles. It's a project I've been researching for about 4 years.
Re: I know the secret to the quiet mind but wish I’d never learned it
#129Cars are so incredibly destructive to society, in so many ways. But most people are so blasé about them.
Most people are blasé? Most people don't have a choice because they don't live in San Francisco or New York where billions are spent on infrastructure and proper city planning which accommodates pedestrians and public transportation.
Billions are spent on car infrastructure everywhere. The citizens have the choice and responsibility, but they continually vote from ignorance or selfishness.
Re: I know the secret to the quiet mind but wish I’d never learned it
#130A 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…
It's not that they don't know, it's that they pretend they do, they don't want to discuss uncertainty and they dismiss when you bring it up. I'm on my 5th treatment that they're "very confident will really help a lot" but can't quite quote a percentage change of recovery for.
At least that's been my experience with very similar issues.
Sorry for your condition. You're not the only one in the boat. So at least we have company. I hope that helps.