Author: Myschizlife

Chinese Thought: Confucius 孔子 (551–479 BCE)

Ancient World, China, Confucianism

Confucius (551–479 BCE) is the most celebrated figure in China’s history. He was a teacher, advisor, editor, philosopher, reformer, and prophet. His thought and philosophy form the basis of Confucian or Ru thought in China and the entire moral codes of China and other East Asian countries like Japan and Korea. Whereas in the West follows Judeo-Christian ethics, in China people live by a Confucian code of ethics.

Confucian philosophy is rooted in the concept of ren or compassion and love for others. This involves deprecating yourself as you show concern for others. Confucius’s golden rule was ‘What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others.’ He also believed in the importance of reciprocal relationships: ruler to subject, father to son, husband to wife, brother to brother and friend to friend. In each relationship there is responsibility on the side of both parties. For example, a husband treats his wife with kindness and she, in return, is obedient and loyal. One’s place and status in society are also important. Confucius’s sayings were collected by his disciples and compiled into a book called The Analects.

In Imperial China, Confucius was identified with interpretations of the classics and moral guidelines for administrators, and therefore also with training the scholar-officials that populated the bureaucracy. At the same time, he was closely associated with the transmission of the ancient sacrificial system, and he himself received ritual offerings in temples found in all major cities. By the Han Period (202 BCE–220 CE), Confucius was already an authoritative figure in a number of different cultural domains, and the early commentaries show that reading texts associated with him about history, ritual, and proper behavior was important to rulers. The first commentaries to the Analects were written by tutors to the crown prince and select experts in the “Five Classics” (Wujing 五經) were given scholastic positions in the government. The authority of Confucius was such that during the late Han and the following period of disunity, his imprimatur was used to validate commentaries to the classics, encoded political prophecies, and esoteric doctrines.

By the Song period (960–1279), the post-Buddhist revival known as “Neo-Confucianism” anchored readings of the dialogues of Confucius to a dualism between cosmic pattern, distinctive moral cosmology that marked the tradition off from those of Buddhism and Taoism. The Neo-Confucian interpretation of the Analects by Zhu Xi 朱熹 (1130–1200) integrated the study of the Analects into a curriculum based on the “Four Books” that became widely influential in China, Korea, and Japan. The pre-modern Confucius was closely associated with good government, moral education, proper ritual performance, and the reciprocal obligations that people in different roles owed each other in such contexts.

What antidepressant is right for me?

Depression, Medications, Mental Health

Antidepressants are a popular treatment choice for depression. Although antidepressants may not cure depression, they can reduce symptoms. The first antidepressant you try may work fine. But if it doesn’t relieve your symptoms or it causes side effects that bother you, you may need to try another.

So don’t give up. A number of antidepressants are available, and chances are you’ll be able to find one that works well for you. And sometimes a combination of medications may be an option.

Finding the right antidepressant

There are a number of antidepressants available that work in slightly different ways and have different side effects. When prescribing an antidepressant that’s likely to work well for you, your doctor may consider:

• Your particular symptoms. Symptoms of depression can vary, and one antidepressant may relieve certain symptoms better than another. For example, if you have trouble sleeping, an antidepressant that’s slightly sedating may be a good option.

• Possible side effects. Side effects of antidepressants vary from one medication to another and from person to person. Bothersome side effects, such as dry mouth, weight gain or sexual side effects, can make it difficult to stick with treatment. Discuss possible major side effects with your doctor or pharmacist.

• Whether it worked for a close relative. How a medication worked for a first-degree relative, such as a parent or sibling, can indicate how well it might work for you. Also, if an antidepressant has been effective for your depression in the past, it may work well again.

• Interaction with other medications. Some antidepressants can cause dangerous reactions when taken with other medications.

• Pregnancy or breast-feeding. A decision to use antidepressants during pregnancy and breast-feeding is based on the balance between risks and benefits. Overall, the risk of birth defects and other problems for babies of mothers who take antidepressants during pregnancy is low. Still, certain antidepressants, such as paroxetine (Paxil, Pexeva), may be discouraged during pregnancy. Work with your doctor to find the best way to manage your depression when you’re expecting or planning on becoming pregnant.

• Other health conditions. Some antidepressants may cause problems if you have certain mental or physical health conditions. On the other hand, certain antidepressants may help treat other physical or mental health conditions along with depression. For example, venlafaxine (Effexor XR) may relieve symptoms of anxiety disorders and bupropion may help you stop smoking. Other examples include using duloxetine (Cymbalta) to help with pain symptoms or fibromyalgia, or using amitriptyline to prevent migraines.

• Cost and health insurance coverage. Some antidepressants can be expensive, so it’s important to ask if there’s a generic version available and discuss its effectiveness. Also find out whether your health insurance covers antidepressants and if there are any limitations on which ones are covered.

Types of antidepressants

Certain brain chemicals called neurotransmitters are associated with depression — particularly serotonin (ser-o-TOE-nin), norepinephrine (nor-ep-ih-NEF-rin) and dopamine (DOE-puh-meen). Most antidepressants relieve depression by affecting these neurotransmitters, sometimes called chemical messengers, which aid in communication between brain cells. Each type (class) of antidepressant affects these neurotransmitters in slightly different ways.

Many types of antidepressant medications are available to treat depression, including:

• Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Doctors often start by prescribing an SSRI. These medications generally cause fewer bothersome side effects and are less likely to cause problems at higher therapeutic doses than other types of antidepressants are. SSRIs include fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil, Pexeva), sertraline (Zoloft), citalopram (Celexa) and escitalopram (Lexapro).

• Serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs).Examples of SNRI medications include duloxetine (Cymbalta), venlafaxine (Effexor XR), desvenlafaxine (Pristiq) and levomilnacipran (Fetzima).

• Atypical antidepressants. These medications don’t fit neatly into any of the other antidepressant categories. More commonly prescribed antidepressants in this category include trazodone, mirtazapine (Remeron), vortioxetine (Trintellix), vilazodone (Viibryd) and bupropion (Wellbutrin SR, Wellbutrin XL, others). Bupropion is one of the few antidepressants not frequently associated with sexual side effects.

• Tricyclic antidepressants. Tricyclic antidepressants — such as imipramine (Tofranil), nortriptyline (Pamelor), amitriptyline, doxepin and desipramine (Norpramin) — tend to cause more side effects than newer antidepressants. So tricyclic antidepressants generally aren’t prescribed unless you’ve tried other antidepressants first without improvement.

• Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). MAOIs — such as tranylcypromine (Parnate), phenelzine (Nardil) and isocarboxazid (Marplan) — may be prescribed, often when other medications haven’t worked, because they can have serious side effects. Using an MAOI requires a strict diet because of dangerous (or even deadly) interactions with foods — such as certain cheeses, pickles and wines — and some medications, including pain medications, decongestants and certain herbal supplements. Selegiline (Emsam), an MAOI that you stick on your skin as a patch, may cause fewer side effects than other MAOIs. These medications can’t be combined with SSRIs.

• Other medications. Your doctor may recommend combining two antidepressants, or other medications may be added to an antidepressant to enhance antidepressant effects.

Antidepressants and risk of suicide

Most antidepressants are generally safe, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires that all antidepressants carry black box warnings, the strictest warnings for prescriptions. In some cases, children, teenagers and young adults under 25 may have an increase in suicidal thoughts or behavior when taking antidepressants, especially in the first few weeks after starting or when the dose is changed.

Anyone taking an antidepressant should be watched closely for worsening depression or unusual behavior. If you or someone you know has suicidal thoughts when taking an antidepressant, immediately contact your doctor or get emergency help.

Keep in mind that antidepressants are more likely to reduce suicide risk in the long run by improving mood.

Making antidepressants work for you

To get the best results from an antidepressant:

• Be patient. Once you and your doctor have selected an antidepressant, you may start to see improvement in a few weeks, but it may take six or more weeks for it to be fully effective. With some antidepressants, you can take the full dosage immediately. With others, you may need to gradually increase your dose. Talk to your doctor or therapist about coping with depression symptoms as you wait for the antidepressant to take effect.

• Take your antidepressant consistently and at the correct dose. If your medication doesn’t seem to be working or is causing bothersome side effects, call your doctor before making any changes.

• See if the side effects improve. Many antidepressants cause side effects that improve with time. For example, initial side effects when starting an SSRI can include dry mouth, nausea, loose bowel movements, headache and insomnia, but these symptoms usually go away as your body adjusts to the antidepressant.

• Explore options if it doesn’t work well. If you have bothersome side effects or no significant improvement in your symptoms after several weeks, talk to your doctor about changing the dose, trying a different antidepressant (switching), or adding a second antidepressant or another medication (augmentation). A medication combination may work better for you than a single antidepressant.

• Try psychotherapy. In many cases, combining an antidepressant with talk therapy (psychotherapy) is more effective than taking an antidepressant alone. It can also help prevent your depression from returning once you’re feeling better.

• Don’t stop taking an antidepressant without talking to your doctor first. Some antidepressants can cause significant withdrawal-like symptoms unless you slowly taper off your dose. Quitting suddenly may cause a sudden worsening of depression.

• Avoid alcohol and recreational drugs. It may seem as if alcohol or drugs lessen depression symptoms, but in the long run they generally worsen symptoms and make depression harder to treat. Talk with your doctor or therapist if you need help with alcohol or drug problems.

Sources: The Mayo Clinic, NAMI, NIH, NIMH

Crab Nebula

Astronomy, Science

When a supernova explodes, its outer layers blow off, leaving a small, dense core that continues to collapse, jamming protons and electrons together—and creating a neutron star. Its matter is packed so tightly that a sugar-cube-sized amount of material would weigh more than 1 billion tons. The Crab Nebula is the result of a bright supernova explosion. At its center is a super-dense neutron star, rotating once every 33 milliseconds, shooting out rotating lighthouse-like beams of radio waves and light…

#NeutronStar #Supernova #SpaceGeek

Cone Nebula

Astronomy, Science

The Cone Nebula, a dark, diffuse nebula in Monoceros

The Cone Nebula is a geomatic, dark, diffuse nebula and H II region of approximately seven light-years long, located about 2,700 light-years away in the Orion Arm of our Milky Way Galaxy, in the constellation Monoceros.

The faint nebula, which is part of a much larger turbulent star-forming region, lies in the southern part of NGC 2264, the Christmas Tree Cluster, with which it shares the NGC designation. This pillar of gas and dust got its name because, in ground-based images, it has a conical shape.

The shape comes from a dark absorption nebula consisting of cold molecular hydrogen and dust in front of a faint emission nebula containing hydrogen ionized by S Monocerotis, the brightest star of NGC 2264.

The dark Cone Nebula region clearly contains much dust which blocks light from the emission nebula and open cluster behind it. One hypothesis holds that the Cone Nebula is formed by wind particles from an energetic source blowing past the Bok Globule (a small dark cloud of gas and dust that are typically condensing to form new stars) at the head of the Cone.

Radiation from hot, young stars off the top of the Cone slowly erodes this giant, gaseous pillar over millions of years. Additional ultraviolet radiation causes the gas to glow, giving the pillar its red halo of light. Over time, only the densest regions of the Cone will be left. Inside these regions, stars and planets may form.

Pillars of cold gas, like the Cone Nebula (and for instance the Eagle Nebula) are common in large regions of star birth. Astronomers believe that these pillars are incubators for developing stars.

Image Credit: Adam Block

Arachne

Ancient Greek Mythology & Religion, Ancient World, Mythology

There are several versions of the Greek myth of Arachne. I’m sharing the version conceived by Ovid the Roman poet.

Arachne, a young woman of common birth, but of uncommon skill as a weaver. She lived in the village of Hypaepa in Lydia. Her father was a humble wool dyer, and her mother was deceased. Despite her lowly rank, Arachne became famous throughout the towns of Lydia for her expert ability to spin and weave wool. Even the local nymphs came to marvel at her. Though spinning and weaving were specifically Athena’s arts, Arachne would not admit that the goddess had been her teacher. Instead, she made it known that she would gladly challenge the goddess to a weaving contest. Athena could not bear this insult and, appearing to her in the guise of an old woman, cautioned Arachne not to dishonor the gods with such arrogance. Arachne still would not relent, so Athena revealed herself to the girl in her full divinity.

The contest thus commenced. Athena wove into her design the contest in which she had prevailed over Poseidon to win the stewardship of the city of Athens by producing an olive tree. As a clear warning to Arachne, she also depicted a host of mortals who had challenged the gods and been punished terribly. Arachne, for her part, wove vignettes depicting misdeeds of the gods, a twofold affront to the goddess. There appeared Zeus taking on the shape of a bull to seduce Europa, of a swan to make advances on Leda, of her own husband to lie with Alcmena, of a shower of gold to penetrate the cell of Danae, and of a flame to approach Aegina. Poseidon, too, was shown. He assumed the shape of a dolphin in pursuit of Melantho, of a bird to approach Medusa, and of a ram, river, and stallion to make advances on other maidens still. Apollo, Dionysus, and Cronus, all behaving ignobly, also found a place in Arachne’s design.

Arachne’s work was perfection, flawless even in Athena’s eyes. So great was the goddess’s anger that she tore apart Arachne’s weaving and struck Arachne on the head until, unable to bear this assault, she hanged herself. Arachne did, however, live on, now as a spider, misshapen but spinning for all time.

Gender Roles: Viking Warrior Women

Ancient World, Vikings

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Viking Age Scandinavian women enjoyed a tremendous degree of freedom when compared to the Viking women settlers of Iceland and Greenland. Unlike the Viking settlers who depended on gender roles (dividing keeping the land vs keeping family), Scandinavian women were able to own property, request a divorce and reclaim their dowries if their marriages started to take a turn for the worse.

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And if their husbands died, women were expected to permanently take over their husband’s roles as the providers of their households. As such, they were able to obtain economic opportunities that was rarely offered to contemporary women in other parts of Europe. Some women were even traders, warriors, and farmers.

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There is evidence of women taking on the role of the warrior. Though rare, Byzantine-era historian Johannes Skylitzes recorded on History.com that women fought alongside a group of Vikings in a battle against the Bulgarians in 971 AD. A 12th-century Danish historian described female Vikings as “communities of warrior women as shieldmaidens who dressed like men and devoted themselves to learning swordplay and other warlike skills.”

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Most of the information we know about the Viking warriors comes from the literature or various and nearby communities. There are several accounts of female warriors rolling around on the Viking raids, who are known as Valkyries. In myth, Valkyries are fierce warriors who raise the souls of fallen warriors to Valhalla.

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The most common natural hair colors a Viking man or woman were brunette, red, or black. Blondes were actually pretty rare. Those born with blonde hair were considered attractive and more desirable. Both men and women used a soap with high quantities of lye to strip pigments from their hair to appear more blonde. It has even been documented that lightening their hair helped manage head lice, a nice bonus of this cosmetic trend.