False Memories

"One need not be a chamber to be haunted;
One need not be a house;
The brain has corridors surpassing
Material place."
Emily Dickinson

In a study that was published by the Journal of Applied Cognitive Psychology participants viewed photographs of the Tiananmen Square protest in Beijing that occurred in the 80's and the protest against the Iraq war which took place in Rome in 2003.The researchers dived into two groups people that had participated on the demonstrations; and showed to one group digitally altered images of the events and to another group the original images. The researchers discovered that the manipulation of the photos influenced the memory of the participants. In the photos that were manipulated as being violent where there was no violence, the participants even described even more violent incidents like injuries and damages that were never recorded. They discovered that misleading information and propaganda can actually alter people’s memory of the event. They conclude that very easily mass media can alter the way that we view a past event even when we have experienced it and that it can actually change they way that we view historical events.

I think that its a very interesting finding that confirms the power of the mass media and propaganda has on people. I think that another interesting thing that was not mentioned is that people sometimes tend to describe the events that they have lived as more dramatic anyway; to give emphasis as to how important their experience was. Apart from the role of mass media I think that maybe we as people tend to distort our memories as we grow older. Maybe not distorting actual events rather than its significance and impact. Moreover, we tend to suppress memories that are painful and there are times that we don't even trust our own memories and rely on others recollections.

All these is quite interesting especially if you believe like me that we are defined by our own memories.

The dream factory

“Yet it is in our idleness, in our dreams, that the submerged truth sometimes comes to the top.”

Virginia Wolf

Every night we close our eyes and an extraordinary thing happens. We shift into a different state of consciousness were we meet new and strange people and face challenging situations. This is when we forget our reality and enter a magical world made of dreams.

It is not a surprise that human beings always were concerned with understanding the nature and purpose of dreaming. It begun with people viewing dreams as a message send by the gods and with eyes filled with superstition. Aristotle was the first to believe that dreams could have a function and pointed out that they reflected a human’s bodily health. Scientists have being arguing over the decades concerning the purpose of dreaming and until today we have not an agreement upon the nature of dreaming, just theories and assumptions.

Freud was the first thinker that emphasized that dreams are the guardians of our sleep. He believed that we manufacture dreams in order to escape from environmental stimuli (i.e the noise, the temperature in the room) but also to escape from internal stimuli such as our personal worries and anxieties that would keep as awake. He believed that our unconscious desires are depicted in our dreams and reveal things about our subconscious. The forbidden wishes are not apparent in our dream but are often hidden behind symbols and this is when he developed dream analysis that is often incorporated as a part of psychoanalytic therapy.

Physiologists argue that dreams do not carry a hidden or secret message. During sleep our consciousness is suspended and this occurs during the two major stages of our sleep (NREM and REM).They believed that the experience of dreaming occurs during the REM (rapid eye movement) stage. The REM sleep is often called paradoxical sleep as the activity of the dreaming brain is similar to the activity of the waking brain. At this stage there is no cognitive responsiveness to stimuli and as if we were paralyzed. However, this is the time that we have our most vivid dreams and if we wake up at this stage we would remember them.

Allan Hobson proposed his own theory the Activation Synthesis (AS) denies that dreams have a meaning. The theory supports that because our brain is active when we are dreaming we activate some neurons randomly. In order for the brain to interpret what just occurred it creates a narrative and dreams are produced.

So far, there is not a lot that we know about our dreaming brain as we still rely on theories and it’s your choice what you like to believe in. I believe that dreams have both a bodily and psychological function. I have the sense that dreams are images constructed that are released so that they can throw the garbage of the day (things we have heard or seen that are insignificant) and clear our head. At the same time they often express anxieties, wishes, impulses that we are many times unaware of. I don’t believe that the symbols in our dreams carry a certain symbolism as Freud but I value that he is the one that emphasized the importance of dreaming. I believe more in the theory of existentialism that we all have different personalities and experiences so it would not be possible for a symbol to carry a certain meaning. Moreover, another proof that there is a psychological meaning in dreaming is the example of the repetitive dreams and dreaming after trauma.

An integration and a synthesis of the biological and psychological functions of dreaming could be useful in truly investigating the nature of dreaming. I am interested in your opinion as we all carry a dreaming factory in our brain.

(art by krecha)

Fortune and misfortune

The man who said "I'd rather be lucky than good" saw deeply into life. People are afraid to face how great a part of life is dependent on luck. It's scary to think so much is out of one's control. There are moments in a match when the ball hits the top of the net, and for a split second, it can either go forward or fall back. With a little luck, it goes forward, and you win. Or maybe it doesn't, and you lose. (Quote from the film Match Point)

This brilliant movie by Woody Allen made me contemplate a lot on how important luck can be in ones life so much that a man preferred to be lucky than good. If you think about it in many cultures when a baby is born they wish that the baby is lucky in their lives. Not only in African and Indian tribes but also in our culture there are many superstitions concerning luck. Finding a penny or finding a four leaf clover is supposed to bring luck whereas a black cat crossing a street and breaking a mirror is supposed to be unlucky. I don’t believe in superstitions but because they exist for so many centuries I can only assume that for many people throughout the years luck was considered to be fundamental.

There a lot of things in life that we can not control and many times no matter how hard we try we can’t achieve our goals. This is where luck comes into place. Being at the right place at the right time and vice versa can be defining. Avoiding an accident or a disaster by simple luck can have an effect. Winning money in a lottery, meeting by chance the love of your life, finding by chance the opportunity of your life whereas others are working hard for the right opportunities during their whole lives can all be caused by luck.

What part do you think that luck plays in one life and what if someone has run out of luck? There are always people in our lives that we consider them unlucky and misfortunes happen to them all the time. What about them? Why do you think disasters attract some people and others not?

Rationalist philosophers deny the effect of luck and they believe that it’s only poor reasoning. Statistically speaking a person will get some luck eventually. Psychology also emphasize that believing in luck is derived by the need to be able to achieve a greater control in ones life and disguise the fear of the unknown. Jean Paul Sartre believes that people who believe in luck just try to avoid responsibility on things

For me luck was never an issue as I always believed that life is what you make of. However I can’t deny that luck plays some part and influence the cause of events. But I don’t believe that this is always an accident. My name of luck is positive thinking that when you have it you can attract good things happening to you not out of superstition but because you are positive to situations and bad things are not viewed as disasters. Moreover, maybe someone is not lucky but really capable and he doesn’t know it. When I think about a friend that attracts disasters she is always so negative and miserable. Or maybe because I am lucky I never thought about it before.
Then one day comes where luck comes to refute you and look you in the eye when by luck you escape from an accident or a natural disaster.

What are your thoughts on luck?

(art by pesare)

Interpreting or misinterpreting?

There is nothing neither good nor bad but thinking makes it so

Shakespeare

People carry their own personal history, their own personal constructs, ideas and personalities. This is the reason that there are always different views and interpretations about the things that happen around us. This of course is something beautiful when you realize that human psyche is so complex and unique but it can shock you when you realize that you can be a victim of someone’s interpretation of facts.

I don’t know if you have noticed that one day you describe to your friend, to a family member or an acquaintance an incident and at the time they express that they have comprehend what you said. Days later you realize that they have made their own interpretation of what you said and they got it completely wrong. Imagine then what can happen when you explain to a group of people something and later the whole group makes their own interpretation of facts.

You can tell me that this may happen because you did not explain something well and in a consistent manner. However, I have come to realize that the way we view things is very subjective and that our personal distortions interfere with our judgment. For example you may have said to someone that you don’t want them to see them right now because you are tired and let’s assume that you mean it. A person may think that you don’t want to see them and feel bad because they think that you try to avoid them, another person might think that you are actually tired, another person may think that you don’t know how to say no so you find an excuse etc. But remember you were actually tired but a circle of misunderstandings can occur.

This is when our own personality constructs interfere with reality and blur our judgment. The way that we think is that makes all the difference and not the way that we feel. For example when we believe that we are boring or uninteresting then when someone is saying no to us we blame ourselves. We forget that this person that says no might actually be tired and their denial has nothing to do with us. Of course there is the chance that we are boring to some but for others we will be interesting and we make overgeneralizations that harm us.

A way to be come more objective I think is actively listening what the other person says and ask if unsure. Similarly, in order to become more objective is to minimize the hypothesis that we do and try to view what someone says through their eyes not through ours. Because we would feel and think in a certain way does not mean that the other person will.

We are so complex and unique as personalities and I think that this is our beauty. It helps when we try to perceive someone’s experience from their point of view and forget ours.
Let me show you the world through my eyes...


(art by thundercake)

on depression

(This article was inspired by a blog friend who is wondering...)


Depression has affected most of the creative people in this world and makes no exceptions as noone is immune to depression. Statistics indicate that 1 in 4 might suffer from depression at one point in their lives. It is true that the term depression really does not say much about what a person goes through and can not describe the severity or intensity of the symptoms.This is why psychologists talk about different types of depression: mild depression, moderate and severe.

The warning signs of depression are feelings of hopelessness,loss of interest or pleasure, insomnia or excessive sleep,fatigue, suicidal ideation, anxious or empty mood, irritability, changes in weight or appetite e.t.c
This does not mean that anyone that has these symptoms is depressed as they need to be persistent for a month at least 5 of these symptoms, to be present most of the day and to affect the quality of life of an individual.
Really the best thing when recognising these symptoms is getting some support, usually those with severe depression tend to ask more commonly for help as the ones with mild depression often think that it will pass without support or that there is nothing wrong and usually they don't look depressed so other people don't get alarmed.

I think it is a shame when people view the term depression as a stigma as it can happen to anyone, there comes a time that coping is too difficult and there is nothing wrong with asking for a little help.It is worse suffering in silence. As I said before many great thinkers, wonderful personalities have suffered from depression...Does this mean that they are not strong or important?

Of course not!!

(image by krecha)

Stigma of psychological distress

I am interested in the views of people concerning mental disorders.How do you feel about people who carry the stigma of suffering from a mental disorder and if you have experienced difficulties or your friends because of the stigma that psychological distress carries in our society.


Πως θα αντιδρούσατε αν καποιος σας έλεγε οτι έχει μια ψυχική διαταραχή;


I think that suffering is a part of life but for some people especially those with a mental illness it takes a more profound meaning.
As Charmaz wrote: suffering shapes social relationships and limits social worlds.Suffering shapes daily life and shapes lasting meanings...
Moreover when these people are stigmatised they are been isolated and as if the difficulties that they experience are not enough, they are isolated from the social world.From my experiece I know that even in the most difficult cases things can be done to enable them to be more functional and achieve a quality of life.What I don't seem to understand is how this society ended up to be so judgmental after all.

(art by Pete Revonkorpi)