Someone Asks What The Scariest Thing Science Has Proven To Be Real Is, And People Deliver 30 Of The Most Chilling Answers

I lost a good friend. He was 65, but healthy, never smoked, in great shape. He had a job where he couldn't work home, and got sick fairly early on. His whole family got sick. He and his 17 year old son were both in the hospital. After 4 weeks the son was released. He didn't make it. Had another friend who is an ER nurse. She got sick, then her 6 year old daughter got it. The daughter had a seizure and was rushed to the hospital. Apparently while most children didn't get severely sick, some kids (like her) would have severe inflammation of the blood vessels, and bleed internally. They almost lost their little girl, she was in intensive care and in a coma for 8 weeks. I thought about her a lot when parents were complaining that schools were closing.

Imagine doing that job when your society needed you the most they probably ever have in your memory and the majority of people in your country clap every Thursday night for you on their doorsteps to give you a bit of a cheer up as you're doing your best for them and acknowledge your effort.... and then when all the panic is over because we've developed better drugs to combat it, that people aren't clapping for you so much now because they have short memories and the only thing they're really concerned about now is why their appointment to have an in-growing toenail looked at has been put back a week when finding a babysitter for the day will be a smidge harder because you've been forced to strike because the government that was hailing you as a hero 6 months ago doesn't want to pay you what you're worth, they'd rather give a tax cut to their business owner mates who they've already given millions to because charles they went to school with had a few million lying around they could use to set a functioning PE equipment business with within the week when they'd spotted an opportunity the make the pandemic work FOR them... imagine that... and welcome to the UK.

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The OP didn't indicate their gender.

You and your fellow providers are angels on earth. Thank you for enduring despite hardships, fears. You rock.✌️

Can confirm. The brain goes through a refining stage during development, loosely based on a 'use it or lose it' principle, so you lose neuronal connections that aren't utilized and you gain connections that are stimulated when learning. This isn't exclusive to childhood and early adulthood, this happens throughout life, but during early life development this pruning process is very active. Comparable processed are involved in addiction. You can unlearn a lot, even if what you're trying to unlearn is the result of an abusive upbringing, because of neuroplasticity (adaptability of the brain). However, some things are easier to unlearn than others, and some things you can't unlearn.

Fortunately, there are still things you can do. Maybe not to the structure of the brain itself, but how you react to traumatic memory. Work is being done with beta blockers, the same ones used for blood pressure. Essentially, whenever we remember something, we're not retrieving some imperical data written in the brain the way a computer does. Instead, it's more like we take that memory out, look at it, and however we feel about it right then is how we put it back and store it for next time. So, you're not actually remembering the original memory, you're only remembering the last time you thought about it. With trauma, every time you 'look' at it, you get upset all over again. Your body physically responds. Your heart rate goes up and you get a stress response. You remember that. What therapists do is they have you recall the traumatic memory, and they egg you on and have you talk until you get really worked up about it. Then you take this beta blocker that physically slows your heart rate down, despite your own stupid brain trying to sabotage you. That way, the next time you remember it, you remember being calm about it, and you don't have nearly as strong of a reaction. We know it works, it's just not very mainstream, yet. So, at least there's hope.

Yes. Pathways are formed in the brain. BUT now it is understood that the brain can be manipulated by ‘Neuroplasticity,’ meaning that new pathways can be formed with Cognitive Therapy to retrain the brain. This means that learning to replace a negative thought, learned stress response, whether it is avoidance or coping behaviours learned in Childhood, like ‘splitting,’ CAN be overcome. It takes a lot of work but if can be done.

The biggest pruning we get is around 3 to 5 years of age. But yes, you're mostly correct. And we can change it, but that takes EVERYONE'S involvement helping out. Not just the person struggling through therapy. And so often anymore, that community is no longer there, and hasn't been since the 50s. So we just suffer anyways. We know more now, doesn't mean we know better.

Pruning starts in earnest at age 6 ish. It needs to, there are too many connections to maintain. Check out more: https://developingchild.harvard.edu/

Cooking is done about age 24-26

so that's why my memories of my childhood are rapidly disappearing...

What a terrible day to be able to read.

Yes, I struggle to contain rage at these sorts sometimes........ :'-(

I walked the same path. Hugs.

Thank you for breaking the cycle.

Good for you, we don't realize that is not the way most children are brought up. Leave the toxic people behind.

Me too. I’m scared of dying of old age diseases, part of me has dreamed of being dead, part of me hopes like h**l my husband will be there to hold me and we get to explore the cosmos. I wouldn’t commit suicide, but wanting to be put out of my loneliness is a constant struggle. My husband was my second husband but we’d been best friends all through my marriage to the other guy. So close, my ex made Ed godfather to my son. My son is both stepson and godson. We, Ed and I, were 14 and 16 when we met. He died one month from what would have our 40th anniversary of our meeting. My son chose to name his son after Ed, not his blood father. When Ed died, he was 56 years old.

I think you will find it's ok. What's harder is looking back, age 73, and seeing all the times I let others control my emotions, affect my goals. I wanted to be a scientist, go on archaeological digs, live aboard Navy ship at sea. Denied all those opportunities because I'm a woman... and "girls just didn't do those things" in my era. Pfffft

I think it depends a lot on the amount of support you have. I'm not allowed to drive anymore due to a severe traumatic injury. But 2 of my adult kids have stepped in to drive me to where I need/want to go and my employer allowed me to cut my hours and then adjusted my work so that I'm 100% remote. It was an adjustment, but were it not for that support, no longer being able to drive would've been very traumatic. My great fear is my brain being affected by altzheimers or some form of dementia, that and unbearable ongoing pain, since most doctors in the US won't treat it adequately, often even if you're terminal.

Still FEEL like 25.... but my face is a topo map of all the surfing, hiking, walkabout, and flight line experiences. That's ok, too. It's authentic. Preferable to the mask-like visages of celebrities.

Ooh... cannot deny having concerns about my own aging process, but I am determined to thrive and learn something new every day. Hope you find peace on your path. ✌️

Humans?

That's my theory, I'm sure they know someone is there but I just think they are so chill they don't give a f**k. The babies definitely seemed to react to people more, they like an audience. They are one of my favourite animals :)

yeah, just like dogs😂

And what the documentary crew has brought them for lunch.

Reminds me of a visit to a zoo. There was this glasswindow where a dwarf manguster saw me and ran off. I thought he was frightened until I came around the corner to a larger glasswindow. There the whole flock was lined up waiting for the days entertainment. Because of the glass, they cannot have expected to get snacks from me.