Schizophrenia: The new etiological synthesis • Hacker News Board

Re: Schizophrenia: The new etiological synthesis

#51

Post by bodhiandphysics » Sat, Dec 17, 2022, 2:00 AM UTC

ipnon wrote: post #10

"Living in an urban environment during childhood or as an adult has consistently been found to increase the risk of schizophrenia by a factor of two."[0] While city life is as complex of a confounding factor as anything, the fact that they found hunter-gatherers have practically no incidence of SZR is interesting. Is the modern megalopolis simply too intense of a stimulus for the minds of the sensitive to handle with…

I think a more likely reason why hunter gatherers don't have aren't prone to schizophrenia (in this model) is that it was evolutionarily bread out of them. Hunter gatherers in the modern world are extremely weird populations that are often under intense selective pressure!

Re: Schizophrenia: The new etiological synthesis

#52

Post by bglazer » Sat, Dec 17, 2022, 2:05 AM UTC

berberous wrote: post #18

Dig1t wrote: post #13

> It is therefore possible that the behavioral changes induced by Toxoplasma in humans, including suicidality, are a part of its adaptations to increase the probability that our ancestors were eaten by lions or leopards What the what

I am skeptical that most suicidal people, who may idealize or even follow through on shooting or hanging themselves, would willingly let themselves be eaten by a lion. Fight or flight adrenaline in the face of big cats feels like a likely effective cure for suicidal ideation…

In the paper, they hypothesize that the route of transmission would have been big cats scavenging human remains after suicide.

Of course this, like all evolutionary psychology, is basically unknowable and highly susceptible to just-so story telling

Re: Schizophrenia: The new etiological synthesis

#53

Post by djaouen » Sat, Dec 17, 2022, 2:05 AM UTC

As someone formally diagnosed with schizophrenia, I would say the worst parts of it are anhedonia and stigma. Anhedonia means we can just rot in our apartments for days at a time getting nothing accomplished and stigma prevents us from working even when we overcome the mountain that is anhedonia. Honestly, I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.

Re: Schizophrenia: The new etiological synthesis

#54

Post by johndhi » Sat, Dec 17, 2022, 2:10 AM UTC

djaouen wrote: post #53

As someone formally diagnosed with schizophrenia, I would say the worst parts of it are anhedonia and stigma. Anhedonia means we can just rot in our apartments for days at a time getting nothing accomplished and stigma prevents us from working even when we overcome the mountain that is anhedonia. Honestly, I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.

My brother was diagnosed with same and certainty suffers from anhedonia to this day.

You seriously think the public stigma is one of the "worst" things about it? Almost no one my brother encounters knows about his diagnosis and yet he suffers a lot. I sort of doubt other people's opinions are of primary significance in that, although perhaps his perception of how others see him does seem a bit problem

Re: Schizophrenia: The new etiological synthesis

#55

Post by esdott » Sat, Dec 17, 2022, 2:11 AM UTC

DoreenMichele wrote: post #32

While the parasite is found throughout the world, more than 40 million people in the United States may be infected with the Toxoplasma parasite. Once a diagnosis of toxoplasmosis is confirmed, you and your health care provider can discuss whether treatment is necessary. In an otherwise healthy person who is not pregnant, treatment usually is not needed. If symptoms occur, they typically go away within a few weeks to…

This! So this. We also need to reestablish “chronic” as a word with only bad connotations; not something that means it’s ok to live with chronic diseases like t1d or x-arthritis’. Solving the overactive immune system will solve an outsized portion of what’s afflicting western populations. Depression, chronic fatigue, any auto immune disorder, etc.

Re: Schizophrenia: The new etiological synthesis

#56

Post by djaouen » Sat, Dec 17, 2022, 2:15 AM UTC

johndhi wrote: post #54

djaouen wrote: post #53

As someone formally diagnosed with schizophrenia, I would say the worst parts of it are anhedonia and stigma. Anhedonia means we can just rot in our apartments for days at a time getting nothing accomplished and stigma prevents us from working even when we overcome the mountain that is anhedonia. Honestly, I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.

My brother was diagnosed with same and certainty suffers from anhedonia to this day. You seriously think the public stigma is one of the "worst" things about it? Almost no one my brother encounters knows about his diagnosis and yet he suffers a lot. I sort of doubt other people's opinions are of primary significance in that, although perhaps his perception of how others see him does seem a bit problem

Think about it: how likely is it for an employer to hire someone who self-discloses schizophrenia? And if you choose not to disclose, how do you explain the gaps in your resume when you were involuntarily committed or recovering from a recurring series of episodes? Stigma still plays a big role, even in today’s society. Edit: And that is to say nothing of the problems you face if you are kicked out of the hospital with no place to go. Schizophrenia is a scary illness, bro.

Re: Schizophrenia: The new etiological synthesis

#57

Post by johndhi » Sat, Dec 17, 2022, 2:19 AM UTC

djaouen wrote: post #56

johndhi wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My brother was diagnosed with same and certainty suffers from anhedonia to this day. You seriously think the public stigma is one of the "worst" things about it? Almost no one my brother encounters knows about his diagnosis and yet he suffers a lot. I sort of doubt other people's opinions are of primary significance in that, although perhaps his perception of how others see him does seem a bit problem

Think about it: how likely is it for an employer to hire someone who self-discloses schizophrenia? And if you choose not to disclose, how do you explain the gaps in your resume when you were involuntarily committed or recovering from a recurring series of episodes? Stigma still plays a big role, even in today’s society. Edit: And that is to say nothing of the problems you face if you are kicked out of the hospital wi…

Hmm. My brother has never had interest in holding a job for too long so it isn't something I think about a ton.

If an employer doesn't want to hire someone who occasionally disappears I understand that and I'm not sure it's stigma.

Anyhow, this is a sensitive topic and thanks for discussing it. It's hard to unfurl and investigate these things. Good luck with your own experience.

Re: Schizophrenia: The new etiological synthesis

#58

Post by djaouen » Sat, Dec 17, 2022, 2:25 AM UTC

johndhi wrote: post #57

djaouen wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Think about it: how likely is it for an employer to hire someone who self-discloses schizophrenia? And if you choose not to disclose, how do you explain the gaps in your resume when you were involuntarily committed or recovering from a recurring series of episodes? Stigma still plays a big role, even in today’s society. Edit: And that is to say nothing of the problems you face if you are kicked out of the hospital wi…

Hmm. My brother has never had interest in holding a job for too long so it isn't something I think about a ton. If an employer doesn't want to hire someone who occasionally disappears I understand that and I'm not sure it's stigma. Anyhow, this is a sensitive topic and thanks for discussing it. It's hard to unfurl and investigate these things. Good luck with your own experience.

I may be atypical because I was able to work in industry for a few years before my formal diagnosis. My illness was exacerbated by the fact that I could no longer bolster my identity with work and achievement, so I have found other ways (meditation, medication, and therapy, mostly) to cope with my symptoms.

Good luck with your brother.

Re: Schizophrenia: The new etiological synthesis

#59

Post by School-Cotton » Sat, Dec 17, 2022, 2:33 AM UTC

WhackyIdeas wrote: post #27

teshigahara wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have PTSD from extremely bad psychedelic trips and this comment made me cringe (my PTSD must be getting better because I think at one point it would have given me a panic attack). I don't think I could have handled 6 months of that.

It begun for me after smoking weed one night - in a flash I was outside my body with an extreme panic attack and the sudden belief that I was inside essentially a game. This first panic attack lasted around an hour or two. It was horrendous. Your PTSD is something you can manage, I have it too. It gets better and weaker as the years go on. For myself, this all happened 18 years ago but it made me a stronger person.

Cannabis is a very strong (and often unpleasant) psychedelic for someone I know — rivaling LSD if not stronger. I’ve heard of this being true for other people too; I wonder how common it is.

Re: Schizophrenia: The new etiological synthesis

#60

Post by bawolff » Sat, Dec 17, 2022, 2:39 AM UTC

bitL wrote: post #12

c54 wrote: post #2

Parasite based, interesting. Half joking but the shift from understanding szr as an intrinsic psychological condition versus being causally related to parasites remind me hilariously of the midichlorians reveal in star wars.

So Ivermectin for everyone?

I was under the impression that ivermectin wouldn't affect a protozoa.

And even if it did, it wouldnt pass the blood brain barrier so it would be useless here.

[I am not a doctor and dont know what im talking]