serafin's recent activity

  1. Comment on Decreased CO2 saturation during circular breathwork supports emergence of altered states of consciousness in ~health.mental

    serafin
    Link Parent
    Totally. Every facilitator that I worked with so far shared how during their certification from some point on they felt aware enough of where their boundaries are and what the tradeoffs are to...

    But I like the idea of getting to a point where I can manage the experience on my own when I think it's appropriate. Essentially taking a mental exploration without having to use any sort of drug.

    Totally. Every facilitator that I worked with so far shared how during their certification from some point on they felt aware enough of where their boundaries are and what the tradeoffs are to continue their breathwork journeys solo -- not as a replacement, but in addition to continuing in groups, since that has some irreplacable benefits.

    I would expect that this includes knowing who they'd reach out to for emergency empathy.

    1 vote

  2. Comment on Decreased CO2 saturation during circular breathwork supports emergence of altered states of consciousness in ~health.mental

    serafin
    Link Parent
    I would strongly advise against that. The technique is easy and straightforward, but one should experience it at least once or twice in a group setting with an experienced (licensed) facilitator...

    but it would be nice if I could do something like this on my own

    I would strongly advise against that. The technique is easy and straightforward, but one should experience it at least once or twice in a group setting with an experienced (licensed) facilitator before doing it alone. It's really like with psychedelics: Set and setting matter, and better not go in alone.

    It can and will confront you with negative life experiences that you have not fully processed yet. And the reason why you haven't processed them is exactly because you are not in a position to do it on your own without someone present to provide security, grounding and compassion. You will more likely (re)traumatize yourself.

    3 votes

  11. Comment on Step inside the Circle in ~health.mental

    serafin
    Link
    "virtually all of the 150 murderers they studied over a 25-year period had suffered severe abuse as children. Pincus believes that the only feasible remedy for crime would be the prevention of...

    "virtually all of the 150 murderers they studied over a 25-year period had suffered severe abuse as children. Pincus believes that the only feasible remedy for crime would be the prevention of child abuse."

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trauma_model_of_mental_disorders

    1 vote

  14. Comment on I have a massive gripe with reductive "politicization" of mental health in ~health.mental

    serafin
    Link
    I don't see how it does? It merely states in your highlighted section that there is higher risk. No more, no less. It doesn't exclude other potential risk factors from the picture, nor does it say...

    I think one of the other negative things about this argument is that, it denies the possibility that some people face mental illness not mainly as a result of social issues, but as a result of some biological unluck.

    I don't see how it does? It merely states in your highlighted section that there is higher risk. No more, no less. It doesn't exclude other potential risk factors from the picture, nor does it say anything about the distribution of risk.

    7 votes

  15. Comment on "If the role of dysfunctional parenting in psychological disorders was ever fully recognized, the DSM would shrink to the size of a thin pamphlet" in ~health.mental

    serafin
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    That they are associated/linked is a fact. That one is a causation for the other can only ever be a theory, or even weaker, a therapeutic model/assumption to inform treatment. How would you prove,...

    That they are associated/linked is a fact. That one is a causation for the other can only ever be a theory, or even weaker, a therapeutic model/assumption to inform treatment. How would you prove, and how would you disprove such a theory? What is it that you can measure? Anything I can come up with (without thinking too hard about it) would be to play highly unethical games with large amounts of people... I agree that it would be "quackery" in academic contexts to claim causation and not only association, which is why it is unlikely that we will find such a claim there. Outside of academia, and this is my personal "belief", I want to allow people to come up with all kinds of theories and hold all kinds of beliefs. It is interesting to question each other's beliefs and theories, find logical flaws, disagree, but it is a different level to "disprove" a theory, or, even harder, a model.

    On the same level, I can potentially "measure" brain chemistry, physical differences (e.g. relative sizes of brain structure), and then look for signs of inheritance, but at least on a logical level that is addressed by the "trauma model": according to that model, a traumatic experience changes brain chemistry, changes brain structures, influences genetics, and is "transmitted" to children. Inheritance is bigger than DNA, since there is typically a nine month period of exchanges of fluids going on between mother and child, plus all the attempts to measure prenatal environmental impact on children.

    Prenatal: "A growing body of research shows that prenatal stress can have significant effects on pregnancy, maternal health and human development across the lifespan. These effects may occur directly through the influence of prenatal stress-related physiological changes on the developing fetus, or indirectly through the effects of prenatal stress on maternal health and pregnancy outcome which, in turn, affect infant health and development. Animal and human studies suggest that activation of the maternal stress response and resulting changes in endocrine and inflammatory activity play a role in the aetiology of these effects." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5052760/

    Postnatal: "Both babies and their parents may experience a stay in the newborn intensive care unit (NICU) as a traumatic or a ‘toxic stress,’ which can lead to dysregulation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis and ultimately to poorly controlled cortisol secretion. Toxic stresses in childhood or adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are strongly linked to poor health outcomes across the lifespan and trauma-informed care is an approach to caregiving based on the recognition of this relationship." https://www.nature.com/articles/jp2017124 (further interesting studies cited in that article)

  16. Comment on "If the role of dysfunctional parenting in psychological disorders was ever fully recognized, the DSM would shrink to the size of a thin pamphlet" in ~health.mental

    serafin
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    2022 meta study: "Following literature searches, we finally identified 64 published journal articles, including 70 independent studies involving nearly 4 million participants. It was found that...

    2022 meta study: "Following literature searches, we finally identified 64 published journal articles, including 70 independent studies involving nearly 4 million participants. It was found that individuals who experienced any form of ACEs had a 1.68-fold increased vulnerability of ADHD, compared to those without a history of ACEs. [...] Our findings support the hypothesis that ACEs are associated with ADHD to a certain extent, especially for individuals who ever experienced multiple ACEs and females." https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2016.08.013

    "Childhood trauma is linked to ADHD, and vice versa. They share similar symptoms that are often confused and misdiagnosed. Each also amplifies symptom severity in the other. These are just a few reasons why clinicians must increase their understanding of trauma and adopt an informed approach when assessing and treating children for ADHD." https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-and-trauma-overview-signs-symptoms/

    "Opinion piece" by ADHD Foundation UK: "[...] I know that this all sounds very grim and I must stress that these risks will not apply to all children and young people with ADHD. However, it is important to consider that there is a link between ACEs and ADHD supported by the research evidence in that young people with ADHD have a higher prevalence of ACEs overall. Understanding this must surely encourage us to not only ensure that ADHD is supported within every family, through early identification and diagnosis and access for all to appropriate psychoeducative interventions and for improved supports for adults with ADHD but also to consider the broader context in which the child or adult is living and how difficulties and challenges with ADHD can be exacerbated as a result." https://www.adhdfoundation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Is-there-a-link-between-ADHD-and-ACEs.pdf

    1 vote

  17. Comment on "If the role of dysfunctional parenting in psychological disorders was ever fully recognized, the DSM would shrink to the size of a thin pamphlet" in ~health.mental

    serafin
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    You are correct. I mixed up "personality disorder" and "mental disorder". Which to me are fuzzy categories and rough translations, and may or may not map to the same meaning depending on context...

    You are correct. I mixed up "personality disorder" and "mental disorder". Which to me are fuzzy categories and rough translations, and may or may not map to the same meaning depending on context of use; but they do have a distinct and (somewhat; as far as psychology allows?) well-defined meaning in the context of ICD-11!

    "Mental, behavioural and neurodevelopmental disorders are syndromes characterised by clinically significant disturbance in an individual's cognition, emotional regulation, or behaviour that reflects a dysfunction in the psychological, biological, or developmental processes that underlie mental and behavioural functioning. These disturbances are usually associated with distress or impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. "

    Personality disorders are a subtype of mental disorders in ICD:

    "Personality refers to an individual’s characteristic way of behaving, experiencing life, and of perceiving and interpreting themselves, other people, events, and situations. Personality Disorder is a marked disturbance in personality functioning, which is nearly always associated with considerable personal and social disruption. The central manifestations of Personality Disorder are impairments in functioning of aspects of the self (e.g., identity, self-worth, capacity for self-direction) and/or problems in interpersonal functioning (e.g., developing and maintaining close and mutually satisfying relationships, understanding others’ perspectives, managing conflict in relationships). Impairments in self-functioning and/or interpersonal functioning are manifested in maladaptive (e.g., inflexible or poorly regulated) patterns of cognition, emotional experience, emotional expression, and behaviour."

    https://icd.who.int/browse11/

  18. Comment on "If the role of dysfunctional parenting in psychological disorders was ever fully recognized, the DSM would shrink to the size of a thin pamphlet" in ~health.mental

    serafin
    Link Parent
    Please quote where I, and you put that in bold for a reason, insist that abuse and trauma are the only cause of these issues. I am re-reading my writing, and I do not see how one can read that...

    Please quote where I, and you put that in bold for a reason, insist that abuse and trauma are the only cause of these issues. I am re-reading my writing, and I do not see how one can read that into it even if you wanted to put it in there.

    1 vote

  19. Comment on "If the role of dysfunctional parenting in psychological disorders was ever fully recognized, the DSM would shrink to the size of a thin pamphlet" in ~health.mental

    serafin
    Link Parent
    Let me ask this again: How can anyone know that they do not carry trauma from their experience? I am asking this question honestly, and I tried to play "devil's advocate" or "take the position of...

    Let me ask this again: How can anyone know that they do not carry trauma from their experience? I am asking this question honestly, and I tried to play "devil's advocate" or "take the position of the people mentioned in the top post, as far as I understand it". I am not trying to put anyone into any box. Yes, I am "dismissing" that as simply not logically sound. From where I stand, nobody, not me, not you, not them, can rule out anything like that.

    Yes, of course I am attempting to present the same argument again, in different words, because I did not see anything that addresses my question. I could equally claim they and you are "dismissive" of my question, but I am not claiming such things because I know you and Fae are trying to understand me, the same way I am trying to understand you.

  20. Comment on "If the role of dysfunctional parenting in psychological disorders was ever fully recognized, the DSM would shrink to the size of a thin pamphlet" in ~health.mental

    serafin
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    Thank you. I do not dispute most of what you contribute to this discussion. Or, to say it differently, I agree with much of what you write. Thank you for being mindful about it, but you did not...

    Thank you. I do not dispute most of what you contribute to this discussion. Or, to say it differently, I agree with much of what you write. Thank you for being mindful about it, but you did not come across as harsh. For me, however, assigning blame is something different than assigning (or taking) responsibility and accountability for one's actions. How much certain actions contribute or worsen certain conditions of life, and what comes first, "neurodivergence" or these actions, and how much and many generations have an influence, whether they are mostly "poor" re-actions or "poor" actions, is up for debate, both here and in the mental health profession.

    There seems to be a consensus that there are correletions between what parents experienced, how that affects relationships to others including their children especially if it stays "unprocessed", that certain behavior influences 'internal chemistry' and/or the other way round, and that hereditary traits can similarly be influenced and changed over time by environmental factors and actions. The directionality is unclear, and it is difficult to practically research this to "prove" anything. There is research around violence and into the dynamics of how victims seem to "re-enact" unprocessed and often repressed experiences later in their lives, as repeated victim or as victim turned perpetrator, just from looking at factual behavior. (see e.g. literature around offender profiling and criminal research). How such data is to be interpreted is then part of the discussion, and all it can lead to the observation of identifable patterns and various theories. It is difficult to claim that one theory is "wrong" and the other is "right", as long as both fit the underlying data. What seems to be a consensus too is that "poor" parenting definitely does not create beneficial circumstances for anyone. As society, we should look at any and all factors that we can influence and control, and we should not shy away to assign accountability, and to investigate which behavior likely leads to beneficial properties in children (self-esteem, self-worth, confidence, kindness/cooperation, ability to form healthy relationships etc). To reject any such influence is at least equally unconstructive than to assign all the responsibility, but I understand how parents, who volunteered for that role, who made the decision to raise children, have to carry the biggest weight. Even if the bad conditions were bad actions by others, parents/caretakers have the original responsibility to protect their children from such harm. Yes, obviously there are practical limits, and we are all "just humans": all the quoted authors take this into account in their work.

    I think I was successful in finding a very provocative quote to stir up the conversation. We both seem to agree that black-and-white thinking and attempts to find "sole causes" is unlikely going to lead to what is true and useful. I understand how this topic caused you to "vent" about certain people, but neither Alice Miller, Philippa Perry, Gabor Mate, nor Pete Walker, do that. They do go into the depths of how other people and society around children contribute to children's upbringing, so it's a bit unfair to put them into that camp. The quote from Mate directly shows that he doesn't, and you can easily find quotes by the others where they talk about what they consider problematic behavior of other adults in childcare roles, school, other parents, etc.

    To reiterate, I do agree with your final paragraph!

    2 votes