Incontinence

Having an uncontrollable need to pee. And there is no warning. It trickles down my leg and into my slippers. I went to the doctor and the chemist in track suit pyjamas so as not to soil all my clothes. I got antibiotics (nitrofurantoin) and it is now the next day and the peeing is much less.

I have a ceramic poe from an earlier life and it inspired me to use a round plastic basin for a similar purpose. I used my left hand to position the penis such that it did not deliver outside of the basin. The right hand fine-tuned the aiming.

I remember sitting in the toilet of the servants’ quarters in Jamaica after a short holiday in Mexico. There were regular sessions of nippy shits but with an excellent view of the citrus and banana plantations stretching down the hill to the sea. Then there were the screaming shits of typhoid in Juba. There was the thought of being able, as a biology teacher, to teach about many of the tropical diseases from the inside. 

I also have inside knowledge of Parkinson’s Disease – particularly of the non-motor aspects. This allows me to rate some of the research findings – for example

“Increasing research, however, shows that Parkinson’s is a multisystem disease that affects other nerve cells besides dopaminergic neurons, triggering symptoms, such as cognitive impairment, sleep disturbances, depression, and sensory impairments. These symptoms, however, are barely used as endpoints in clinical trials for Parkinson’s.”

 Right enough – what is missing?

“Types of non-motor symptoms

    Emotional and mood changes including, depression, anxiety, and irritability. Antidepressant drugs can be taken to treat depression.

    Cognitive changes or dementia associated with memory, language, and thinking problems.

    Hallucinations and delusions, causing people to see, hear or experience things that aren’t real (hallucinations), or believe that things aren’t true (delusions). Nuplazid is an approved drug for the treatment of hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson’s disease.

    Orthostatic hypotension, a sudden drop in blood pressure that occurs when a person stands up from a sitting or lying position. It causes dizziness and, in extreme cases, loss of balance and fainting.

    Sleeping problems such as insomnia, nightmares, emotional dreams, and restless sleep.

    Constipation or urinary problems.

    Skin problems such as oily skin, particularly on the forehead and at the sides of the nose, and in some cases in the scalp. In other cases, the skin becomes very dry.

    Pain associated with muscle and joints rigidity. Treatment with levodopa (a medication that temporarily restores dopamine in the brain) and certain types of exercise can help relieve pain symptoms.

    Fatigue and loss of energy may result from other symptoms, such as depression, sleep problems, or muscle stress. Exercise, good sleeping habits, staying mentally active, or not engaging in too many activities may help in relieving these symptoms.

    Sexual problems. Parkinson’s disease affects nerve signals from the brain, which may cause sexual problems. Certain medications, such as antidepressants, also may contribute to these problems.

    Muscle cramps and dystonia. Muscle cramps are associated with muscle rigidity, especially in the legs and toes. Massages, stretching, and applying heat may help with cramps. Dystonia results from the variation of dopamine levels that trigger muscle contraction.

Other examples of non-motor symptoms may include:

    Vision problems.

    Excessive sweating, especially in the hands and feet with no or little exercise.

    Loss of smell.

    Weight loss or weight gain.

    Impulsive behaviours due to the side effects of medication.”

I have at times suffered many of those items. But I have three groups of nuisance symptoms which do not get a fair hearing on the above list.

Slivering. Especially while dosing in a more or less upright position. When working at the computer I position myself so as to dribble between my legs on to the floor. While dosing there is a flow through my beard and into my shirt which ends up severely soaking.

Voice. My voice is soft and I stutter. This is quite a nuisance when just speaking. It is a severe problem when trying to sing.

Hands. Weakness. Illegible hand writing; clumsy computer keyboard and use of a mouse; clumsy and slow playing of guitar and musical keyboard. Handling money. Opening tins and bottles.

steeples

STEEPLeS is an acronym for the seven elements of a holistic and systematic development framework for change for the better:

Social  Technological  Environmental  Economic  Political  Legal  Spiritual

 the concept has its own  website - click  HERE

overload

Distractions are forever appearing. They ruin attempts to focus. It is a mindbrain thing. But there is an antidote in mindfulness. Guided attention. Guided away from the undesirable (egoic lose/lose and lose/win) towards the desirable (non-egoic win/win).

Nothing comes from nothing. My conscious thought trains get loaded in the unconscious. The thoughts, feelings and moods (TFM) churn together to find links between immediate inputs from the sense organs, and historical items from memory.

‘Truth’ takes a bashing. A human mindbrain is shaped by nature, nurture and chance. This is the best that can be done to speedily shape and reshape ‘reality’ in a particular time and place eg the snake in the path is in fact a piece of rope. Better safe than sorry. It is often sensible to be pessimistic and neurotic. Remember - heavier than air machines can fly. The world is flat. Atoms are divisible. God is dead; and a woman’s place is in the home.

I have lived and worked in five countries as a teacher, education advisor, and as a plain language
editor. My personal ‘reality’ has taken several blows as I have interacted with people in different cultures and climates, and with cutting edge thinkers and activists. This has given rise to various periods of cognitive dissonance. The verities are never in fact eternal.

There is the problem of ‘speaking truth to power’ when there is no truth. But there is also the notion of ‘the best working hypothesis in the light of evidence currently available’. This has led to recent advances in evolutionary psychology and behavioural economics when they are linked to progress in neurology. The advanced line of scientific thinking relishes the notions that ‘the only certainty is doubt ‘and’ the only constant thing is change’.

 I was distracted many times while writing the above paragraphs. But most of the time I noticed them arising and thus pulled attention back to the focus topic.

NNS

Human beings are familiar with the idea of ‘I’, ‘me’, and ‘ego’. They also have a robust sense of ‘us’ and ‘them’. If my ‘I’ is not cut short it can be expected to last for about seventy years. ‘Us’ can be more or less lengthy depending on its size which can range from family through various levels of community and leading to the brotherhood of an enlightened man who acts, ideally, as the custodian of life on this planet.

In the grander scheme of things an individual human being doesn’t count for much but they can create stories that validate themselves in all manner of strange and hierarchical ways.

Human beings have mindbrains which are capable of seeing patterns and these have changed, often radically, in the last few millions of years. The stories are built on nature (genes), nurture (brainwashing) and serendipity (chance). It is not easy to figure how much of the three sources are involved in creating individual ‘realities’. However, recent  research suggests that blind chance is more potent than was earlier thought.

Ref:  New Scientist. Chance: The science and secrets of luck, randomness and probability (Kindle Locations 8-9). Hodder & Stoughton. Kindle Edition.

Be aware of practice

I have a large collection of books about mindfulness. I have returned to most of them many times and marked the margins at quotable bits. Mindfulness is my PRACTICE. It is what stands between unsettled anxiety and self-less peace.

Left to its own devices my mind flitters about like a dry leaf on a windy day. Or perhaps like a dog, horse or elephant before they have been trained to behave in an ‘acceptable’ way.

The essence of the mindfulness PRACTICE is to be AWARE of what is going on in my mind from one thought moment to another. Once I notice I can let go. One of the first things that I came to know was that thoughts are linked to feelings and to moods.(TFM)

One of my main practices is to JUST SIT and to count my breaths, or, to be aware of passing TSM, or to, drop off body and mind.

There are still wafts of unsettled anxiety (due to TFM) but I know that they are mind made and that they disappear when the light of awareness is shone upon them.

“Sitting quietly doing nothing
Spring comes
And the grass  grow by itself”

LIDL wobbly

I was slow packing my shopping at the LIDL checkout. The bloke behind me copped a wobbly and everyone present thought he was out of order. I have sought to analyse my mood by listening to TED talks about behavioural economics. I may not have captured the essence. I could see what Wikipedia and Google have to say or I could string some of my own words about it

[[[[[[[[[ 

Behavioral economics studies the effects of psychological, cognitive, emotional, cultural and social factors on the economic decisions of individuals and institutions ... and how those decisions vary from those implied by classical theory.

Behavioral economics is primarily concerned with the bounds of rationality of economic agents. Behavioral models typically integrate insights from psychology, neuroscience and microeconomic theory. The study of behavioral economics includes how market decisions are made and the mechanisms that drive public choice.

The three prevalent themes in behavioral economics are:

•  Heuristics: Humans make 95% of their decisions using mental shortcuts or rules of thumb.
•  Framing: The collection of anecdotes and stereotypes that make up the mental filters individuals rely on to understand and respond to events.
•  Market inefficiencies: These include mis-pricing and non-rational decision making.

[[[[[[[[[[

Behavioural economics incorporates the study of psychology into the analysis of the decision-making behind an economic outcome, such as the factors leading up to a consumer buying one product instead of another...

Unlike the field of classical economics, in which decision-making is entirely based on cold-headed logic, behavioural economics allows for irrational behaviour and attempts to understand why this may be the case. The concept can be applied in miniature to individual situations, or more broadly to encompass the wider actions of a society or trends in financial markets.

Ref Richard Thaler and Nudge Theory

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SO – I like the idea that the mind has a mind of its own and that it can be changed. “Sensible” (aka “wise”) people have a duty to “think” in a post-classical way. The angry bloke in LIDL’s got noticeably calmer after I caught his eye and gave a mild smile.