[deleted]
So I finally sorted out what happened to my brain
271–280 of 303 posts
Re: So I finally sorted out what happened to my brain
#272Does anyone remember that Reddit post where a guy thought his landlord was sneaking into his apartment and leaving him notes? He insisted the handwriting was completely different. Then a poster suggested he get tested for CO poisoning, which it was, and the “different handwriting” was actually a part of his delusion. “Burning out all of the glucose and dopamine in your brain” isn’t a thing. “Functional Neurological D…
But https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypoglycemia is a thing.
Re: So I finally sorted out what happened to my brain
#273Earlier quoted context omitted.
It isn't my intention to doubt Tinker, only to continue discourse here, but I was going to say something similar. I have reactive hypoglycemia and it is very, very obvious when my blood sugars are too low - it really is an absolutely horrible thing. At first I start to feel a little bit "stupid", like my brain isn't functioning properly, and is working in slow motion. Talking is more difficult. Next I start to feel a…
T1D here, and you explained the experience of hypoglycemia very well. This is very close to what I get as well. > Then comes an incredible desire to eat sweet things - once you start eating, it can actually be difficult to stop! This sucks a lot with diabetes. The survival mechanism kicks in and tells you "eat something, anything, everything", which can subsequently cause your blood sugar to skyrocket, which you then…
Yeap. There were blood sugar test strips and lancets in every nook and cranny of the house. Yo-yoing all over the place and developed a phobia about going anywhere in-case "something happened."
My dad was using low blood sugar as an excuse and insulin as an enabler to eat crap, and gained a lot of weight.
He eventually got an insulin pump and cut down on simple carbs.
Re: So I finally sorted out what happened to my brain
#274Earlier quoted context omitted.
It’s wild that the brain can just make sounds up like that. Now I’m wondering how much of the soundscape I hear is real. Seems like that’s something that could be exploited.
The same is true of every sense. How do you think hallucinations work? I’ve experienced phantom sounds and sensations. Visual almost never though.
My impression was that hallucinations only happened under extreme conditions, like drugs, alcohol, heat etc, but it’s a bit worrying that it could happen basically anytime.
If the brain “learns” that it can accomplish things via this method, then that could be really problematic.
Re: So I finally sorted out what happened to my brain
#275Earlier quoted context omitted.
People usually get "hangry" / feeling like they're going to die like a diabetic does before entering a coma if their glucose actually crashes. My dad was an adult-onset type-1 from exposure to Agent Orange who ended-up in the hospital more than once from either insulin misadministration or glucose-management issues. They might've actually had something like a nervous breakdown or a TIA. PSA: Don't self-diagnose, esp.…
It isn't my intention to doubt Tinker, only to continue discourse here, but I was going to say something similar. I have reactive hypoglycemia and it is very, very obvious when my blood sugars are too low - it really is an absolutely horrible thing. At first I start to feel a little bit "stupid", like my brain isn't functioning properly, and is working in slow motion. Talking is more difficult. Next I start to feel a…
I'm not diabetic but I know what low blood sugar feels like from both exercise depletion and long-term fasting.
If you're not diabetic and have low blood sugar from exertion, just stop what you're doing and drink some water and rest. Your body will handle it just fine. Carbs should be reserved for real emergencies.
Re: So I finally sorted out what happened to my brain
#276Earlier quoted context omitted.
It’s wild that the brain can just make sounds up like that. Now I’m wondering how much of the soundscape I hear is real. Seems like that’s something that could be exploited.
to go all sophomoric on you; that sure depends on what you think “real” means! (you might like listening to the mcgurk effect, or shepard tones)
Real as in generated by the external world, rather than generated by the brain.
Re: So I finally sorted out what happened to my brain
#277Earlier quoted context omitted.
It’s wild that the brain can just make sounds up like that. Now I’m wondering how much of the soundscape I hear is real. Seems like that’s something that could be exploited.
It's more than that; the soundscape you hear is all in your head. You don't have "direct" experience of anything ! So there's not really any distinction between "real" and "made up" sounds. And yes, it's exploited in every lossy audio codec.
Yes of course, ultimately the brain generates all the sounds, but they tend to be “copies” or at least in some way in sync with something happening in the outside world.
The exploitation I was referring to was surreptitiously (or maybe even in some unentered way) training the brain that it can get what it wants by self generating sounds.
Re: So I finally sorted out what happened to my brain
#278Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not tluyben2 and really interested in his secret, but here's what helped me most: – not taking what my inner critic says too literal. I imagine someone else saying such critical things to me – it would be ridiculous and I'd tell them to go to hell. So I just accept that something fuels my inner critic and take care of it in a different way. – enjoying the little things in front of me instead of obsessing about pr…
one thing for me, was to realize that whatever is happening, its not about "me" i think sometimes we internalize situations and make it about "us", and while we do indeed cause our own stressful situations sometimes, usually things are in motion (work, poliics, environment) that have really nothing to do with us and internalizing it, as if we are "100% responsible for it" can make one more stressed than it should be…
Exactly, being responsible but not in charge is the mother of all stresses.
Re: So I finally sorted out what happened to my brain
#279Earlier quoted context omitted.
It’s wild that the brain can just make sounds up like that. Now I’m wondering how much of the soundscape I hear is real. Seems like that’s something that could be exploited.
A quite simple demonstration is to be in an environment with constant but not overwhelming repetitive noise, such as a slightly loud fan. While you are concentrating to do something else, perhaps reading, the sound will disappear from your awareness. Now suddenly the sound stops. It is a strange sensation, as if a new noise was present, but in fact it is a silence or lack of noise. An auditory illusion like some opti…
I don’t think I’ve experienced that. Noises do ‘go into the background’ so to speak, but even when they disappear completely from consciousness, when they re-appear I know / remember they were in the background. Maybe occasionally I’m a bit unsure if it’s a new sound or not.
Re: So I finally sorted out what happened to my brain
#280Earlier quoted context omitted.
T1D here, and you explained the experience of hypoglycemia very well. This is very close to what I get as well. > Then comes an incredible desire to eat sweet things - once you start eating, it can actually be difficult to stop! This sucks a lot with diabetes. The survival mechanism kicks in and tells you "eat something, anything, everything", which can subsequently cause your blood sugar to skyrocket, which you then…
Yeap. There were blood sugar test strips and lancets in every nook and cranny of the house. Yo-yoing all over the place and developed a phobia about going anywhere in-case "something happened." My dad was using low blood sugar as an excuse and insulin as an enabler to eat crap, and gained a lot of weight. He eventually got an insulin pump and cut down on simple carbs.
Diabetes, especially T1 diabetes, is so unbelievably mentally taxing. It's a constant source of cognitive load and stress, as your conscious brain is being forced to take on the functions of your pancreas. A lot of diabetics develop mental health issues and unhealthy habits as a result of it (which is what it sounds like happened to your dad).
For me, a CGM was the biggest game changer, by far. Second was cutting down to eating one (larger) meal per day.