My Doctor Warned Me!

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I love this stuff too!
You and I could have some very interesting talks.

 

Sarita, I like the quote in your signature. Similar to mine, I think. The next book on my reading list is Stumbling on Happiness, by Daniel Gilbert, a Harvard College Professor of Psychology. Its about "the foibles of imagination and illusions of foresight that cause each of us to misconceive our tomorrows and misestimate our satisfactions." I think it's about how poorly we are able to imagine our own futures. That generally speaking, we lack imagination in that regard. I'll let you know if it's worth reading when I'm done. But I do think you'd like a mind of its own, which I'm reading now...

Have a great day!
Andrew

 

Thank you sooo much Andrew :-* that is really lovely of you but I just wanted dispel any misconceptions that my statement may have inferred :

I am happy with my life, the alternative just doesn't bear thinking about ;D .....yes, the beast is interfering with it, but I just do what I can (and believe me I have a great amount of fun most of the time and get joy out of many things ) and even though it is not how I envisioned my life at my age would be, I have accepted that it is this way and to just get on with it the best I can ;D and that is what I feel I am doing ;D

I just love your thoughtfulness and it really shows how wonderful this forum is even with all its foibles

Love Maggie

ps...when ya going to me down here and visit : Why not sail :

On second thoughts, don't...I would worry bout you too much out in that dangerous ocean, the open Pacific, miles from anywhere can be so forceful 8) Ahhhhhh.....wonderful mother nature ;D

 

As Maggie said, very thought provoking

I'm a real fence sitter on this one. I see both sides of the argument as clear as day.

I will never lie down and accept that this is how I have to live, because quite frankly, the quality of life isn't great enough to accept that this is it. I will keep searching no matter what the docs say, But I also understand that life stops for no one. No matter how sick and distressed you/I are, life will just keep on ticking over in the outside world, and I think it is important to not miss out on as much as you can.

Thats what I took from your original post Andrew. I didn't see it as a 'stop searching for answers, there are none' type thread. I just saw the message as, try not to become to consumed with evidence, that may not be factual ...it may just be a coincidence

 

I'm sorry. You're doctor didn't say to stop searching; he just said to stop believing that you can find the answer. : (Sorry, couldn't resist that)

It is a good thread and a good thought. We do need to hear pep talks that tell us to not let the beast overcome.

SpinininOhio

 

I first heard the word serendipity in a college course many years ago. The professor explained that it (simplified) means the ability to find things not sought. Today I came here ready to vent about how horrible this weekend was. MM really kicked my rear this time. Your post caught my eye and as I was reading I felt my attitude change. Thank you for blessing my day.
SherryC

 

Good topic Andrew.
Lots of viewpoints and health issues to ponder.

 

Great post Andrew, I love it-- it's posts like that,- that have kept me going more than once. Thanks loads Loretta

 

Hi Andrew ~ I needed to hear what you posted today. I needed that reminder because I live in the analytical world of thought. I think too much and investigate and plan and do charts and scratch and sniff, and back to thinking more and weeks go by and I wonder what in the world did I do over the past 15 days or so. In fact, if I didn't have this group to come to, I would be lost out adrift in the sea of MM.

Your picture is absolutely stunning !!!

I have been dealing with a mood disorder for most of my life and I also suffer from dissociation, so tricks of the mind, I totally get that. My perception shifts depending upon my mood. It's a daily thing and can be moment to moment. I might pick up your book, thanks for introducing it

Sparrow

 

This is all called: living in the present moment.

 

There is so much in this book I could site as examples of how our brains work in ways we're not conscious of. But one of the things it explains might apply to what Meniere suffers refer to as brain fog. The book explains how when a person comes home from work tired and just wants to sit in front of the TV with their feet up, what they are really tired from is the mental exertion of "putting on a happy face." I'm way over simplifying and don't have the book in front of me right now but it shows how the unconscious working of our mind to control our every impulse and tell us what to ignore and what to pay attention to leaves us exhausted. Now add constant tinnitus, dizzies, vertigo, all these things our mind is trying to ignore in order to be able to function at even the most basic level, it's no wonder we need naps or feel exhausted more easily than we used to pre-meniere's.

Anyway, glad some of you have found this thread helpful. It's an interesting debate and really at the heart of what we must decide everyday. How much of this disease is going to dominate our lives (in some ways unavoidable and in others of our choseing) and in what ways are we determined to forge ahead despite the obsticles?

 

...I haven't read the book and probably won't but I have one example of how our brains can work against us. I don't believe our brains can make us sick and I'm very practicle about things so here's an example of how both can fit.
...One of my wife's triggers for panic attacks is low O2 or High CO2. One scenario of a low O2/High CO2 condition is a crowded room with poor ventilation. CO2 is odorless and colorless so all our brain has to correlate the feeling of panic is with the crowds. Thus a phobia of crowds is started because the brain doesn't realize that the high CO2 is present.
...Our brains are ever learning and this is a case of the brain learning something in error. It's situations that can easily lead a person toavoid people and confine themselves to home. I'm sure we could think of other purely, logical physiological things that could cause the brain to think it's something else.
Rick

 

Great example, Rick. That's exactly the kind of thing my Dr. was talking about.

 

Rick ~ Isn't that called "learned helplessness" ?? That's a phrase I oftentimes hear.

Sparrow

 

...No, I don't think so. I'm just talking about learned behavior. If you touch something that's hot, your brain remembers and you won't touch it again. If everything a person touches, which is the color red, is hot, then they will eventually quit touching things that are red even though logic tells them that the color isn't what's hot.
...Now if we go into the realm of things that are colorless and odorless, it can really play games with our minds. If I get dizzy every time I go into a crowded room, then I will eventually avoid those places and since there's no apparent reason, I will think I'm crazy even though there is a logical explanation.
...From the brief Google on "learned helplessness", it appears that is something all together different.
Rick

 

Here is an interesting study, which was sited in the book I've referred to here. It's about how seemingly trivial things in our environment may be influencing our behavior. I'm paraphrasing from the book: Volunteers had to unscramble several sentences in which the words were in the wrong order. For some the words they spelled out were related to the stereotype of old people. In the other group the words were neutral. Then they timed each group to see how long they took to get to the elevator at the end of the hallway after they thought the experiment was over.

Those that had rearranged words related to old people actually behaved like stooped old fogies themselves, walking significantly more slowly than the other volunteers. Their schema for how they thought of old people was primed. When any schema is primed, our behavior changed to suit it. Thing is, we never know what might be priming a schema.

I'm not sure how this relates to Meniere's and our symptoms. It probably doesn't directly apply. But I can see how if we think this disease is going to get us down, that we're doomed to be sick and unable to function, then very likely, that's what's going to happen. I feel it's something we have to fight everyday. We have to believe we can live normal lives (even if we know we can't! because the alternative is too depressing to accept!) And just in the act of trying we might be able to build on small successes and prove to ourselves it can be done, even if the bar is lower than what we'd like.

 

I totally agree with your last post Andrew. But I most definitely don't agree with your Doctor's comment I quoted above from your first post. They keep using statistical odds and not real life stories. Doctors don't value anecdotal evidence, but this is where all the success stories lie.

Good, thought provoking thread.

Lee

 

Learned helplessness was coined by Martin Seligman. Very interesting stuff.

 

Andrew,
Enjoyed the positive thoughts - people that transform often find the positive things in life, even in conditions such as Meniere's disease, cancer, etc ,.where sometimes the outlook may not be so bright. Thanks for the photo, and for being a transformer!!
Hoopndoc