Learning Wednesday Stress Hormones: Cortisol

Chronic cortisolemia leads to insulin resistance and DM2 First by hyperglycemia Second through muscle wasting that leads to visceral fat.

COVID-19 is an emerging, rapidly evolving situation.
Get the latest public health information from CDC: https://www.coronavirus.gov .
Get the latest research from NIH: https://www.nih.gov/coronavirus.
Find NCBI SARS-CoV-2 literature, sequence, and clinical content: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sars-cov-2/.

Enjoy Those Little Moments of Happiness Avoid Sadness Today!

“Tell me more about all those little moments of happiness you remember, that are now hidden inside the little things where time still dares to dream.” —Dr. Martha A. Castro Noriega, MD

Donald Trump Hate Groups Increase in America – San Diego Holds Many

BEFORE I START THIS POST, PLEASE READ: I am not affiliated to any political party. I am a free thinker and nobody owns me, nothing owns me. I owe nothing to nobody. So, no, I don’t hate Trump, I don’t love Obama nor vice versa. I just analyze publicly certain situations when I think they are out of control.

…And United States of America so called president (yes, with ‘p’ lower case) is out of control. It is chaos reigning in the world right now. If there is chaos in the USA, there is chaos in the world, simply because the US has been the leader of the globe for decades. And that -chaos- is not good for the USA and it is not good for the planet.

I cannot call him “President Trump”, because he might have the title but he does not behave like one. I have no respect for him at all. He is crude, rude, low class, vulgar, even perverse. Yes, I have been quiet, but he has gone too far. He is absolutely and irrefutable out of his mind, saying things like “there is a vaccine for AIDS” …. WHAT?! When I heard this, how can I say it without insulting him badly? ah, no, impossible to find a decent word.

What I cannot comprehend is why there are still many people who believe the words that come out of his mouth and follow him to his rallies. He is not “going to drain the swamp” people, because HE IS part of the swamp. He gives tax relieves to his friends. He hasn’t revealed his taxes because he has powerful friends who protect him from doing so, because it is good for what ever they are doing with him and through him: M.O.N.E.Y.

Worst of all, he has created a climate of hate, terrible fear and death. Frankly, I am making this post as a statement of my opposition to killing and the suppression of life. As a medical doctor I have the obligation and responsibility to save lives, to extend the lifespan of my patients, I make their lives more comfortable and help them live with physical and mental dignity.

Trump, with the hate that invades his tiny little mind, is infecting humanity and it’s my obligation to say it so, as a doctor. As a medical doctor I oppose the use of choke-holds, I oppose brutality and aggression against ANY human being. I will NEVER agree to the use of deadly force to control any type of situation (those that many hate groups, consider it to be “normal”!) Those are excuses to kill because of hate and rage.

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO SEE A BIGGER AND MORE DETAILED IMAGE

MY FINAL THOUGHTS: Hate creates sadness, anxiety, depression, physical illnesses that can threaten human lives. Hate produces a huge increment in suicide numbers, a terrible loss of lives. STOP HATE! It is imperative that we stop hate. Yes, one person cannot stop violence in the world, but we can do something pro-love, against fear, against hate in our neck of the woods. If we defend and/or save one life in our lifetime, oh goodness, it’d be a wonderful thing. Let’s try to do it. Just one, one at a time. Let’s teach our children love and compassion, not fear, not hate.

Let’s teach love and compassion

These are some reports about HATE GROUPS in the US since the Trump Era

White nationalist hate groups in the US have increased 55% throughout the Trump era, according to a new report by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), and a “surging” racist movement continues to be driven by “a deep fear of demographic change”.

“Though the experts appear to understand the threat, they remain hamstrung by the Trump administration, which has hired members of hate groups into high-level positions and has on its staff people like Stephen Miller, the senior policy adviser in the White House who has long been allied with anti-immigrant hate groups,” it said.

The law center said the number of hate groups rose by 7 percent last year to 1,020, a 30 percent jump from 2014. That broadly echoes other worrying developments, including a 30 percent increase in the number of hate crimes reported to the F.B.I. from 2015 through 2017 and a surge of right-wing violence that the Anti-Defamation League said had killed at least 50 people in 2018.

LINK HERE

List of organizations designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as hate groups

More Links

Be Happy Let Yourself Find Joy and Fight Depression!

Be Happy To The Fullest!

Living is an art or is a path to destruction, and unfortunately the lack of love and compassion within the family structure is what triggers so much loneliness, depression and anxiety in many. 

We are born, if we are lucky enough, to two loving parents who care about us so much to let us grow into kind, compassionate and successful human beings.

But sometimes things go wrong: the family is dysfunctional, parents or children don’t care about each other. They become bitter and depressive, even when they finish graduate or post-graduate school; hey, maybe they even become rich, but no matter what they do in life unhappiness is always there. 

These kind of frustrated person is the one that we should not become. At some point in our lives we should understand that there is only one life to live and to live it well.

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Trying to Be Positive in These Difficult Times? Fight Against Panic, Do Not Give Up!

Life is changing dramatically in front of us all, and around the world. Life always changes, it’s true, but right now the changes are daily, and aggressive, some are so painful for many, like the lose of life due to Covid-19 and to horrible torture executions like the one that happened, so sadly and painfully, to George Floyd in Minneapolis (RIP).

How to cope with these terrible suffering that hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people are going through right now around the world? Sometimes it can get very scary for many when thinking about the future. and usually these patients develop several mental issues, like: panic attacks, severe anxiety, anger, depression, suicidal thoughts, that can make them manifest physical symptoms or aggravate the ones they already have.

But don’t forget that your life is precious, and that you are never alone. There is always someone who cares, but try to reach out before things get out of control in your mind.

Try to read positive quotes, hopeful good reads. Listen to calm music or any uplifting music of your preference. Surround yourself of really good people who love you for who you are.

Practice some fun exercise. It doesn’t have to be exhausting, just a good walk or playing with any ball. Observe nature, do something that make you really happy: cooking, reading, spending lots of time with your pets.

Do not despair if it seems that nobody cares about humanity. Sometimes it can feel that way, but there is always true good people who care for you if you just reach out. It could be a neighbor, a friend, relative, or these phone numbers where ever you are in this beautiful earth we live:

HELPLINES, CRISIS-LINES, MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS, SUICIDE HOTLINES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

LIST OF SUICIDE CRISIS LINES BY COUNTRY

Suicide Can Be Preventable Use Strong Love Education Compassion

SUICIDE ATTEMPTS AND SUICIDE DEATH

Suicide can be preventable since infancy. Having caring parents and relatives who really love their children and look out for them, creating an optimal and loving environment for their healthy and happy growth.

However, this almost seems like a difficult dream in the world we live in. But it is not impossible, we have to have hope, always, and have love, for ourselves, our children, our family and friends.

But, even when we have had been raised in loving homes by caring parents, in a healthy social and mental environment  bad things happen to good people as we all know: a failed marriage, the death of a loved one, the loss of work or income, a traumatic accident; things that could trigger an acute depression and if not treated immediately it could develop into a severe case of suicidal depression.

When a friend, a child, a patient, anybody tells us that “I don’t want to live anymore”, or that  “I am going to kill myself tonight or tomorrow”, we have the responsibility as human beings to believe him/her and help in anyway possible and as soon as possible.

List Of International Suicide Hotlines

“There is a critical window in which depressed patients who are suicidal need rapid relief to prevent self-harm,” said Michael Grunebaum, MD, a research psychiatrist at CUMC, who led the study.

INTERNATIONAL WORLD-WIDE SUICIDE AND CRISIS HOTLINE

R.I.P. KEITH FLINT

“Currently available antidepressants can be effective in reducing suicidal thoughts in patients with depression, but they can take weeks to have an effect. Suicidal, depressed patients need treatments that are rapidly effective in reducing suicidal thoughts when they are at highest risk.

Currently, there is no such treatment for rapid relief of suicidal thoughts in depressed patients.”  — Read more here

 

Depression and 7 Inspirational Quotes to Help You Fight it and Win Today!

DEPRESSION … YOU CAN FIGHT IT!

Depression: Sadness, feeling down, having a loss of interest or pleasure in daily activities – these are symptoms familiar to all of us. But, if they persist and affect our life substantially, it may be depression.

Although it may seem trivial to some, some others have found great comfort in dark times in some of the following inspirational quotes about depression.

“Do just once what others say you can’t do, and you will never pay attention to their limitations again.” James R. Cook

“Don’t let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was.” Richard L. Evans

“It has been my philosophy of life that difficulties vanish when faced boldly.” Isaac Asimov

“Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” St. Francis of Assisi

Depression Mania Bipolar Understanding Mental Illness and a Quote by Khalil Gibran

UPDATE: November 07, 2019 scroll down to the bottom of the article

Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that causes dramatic shifts in a person’s mood, energy and ability to think clearly. People with bipolar experience high and low moods—known as mania and depression—which differ from the typical ups-and-downs most people experience, known as distimias.

Depression

The lows of bipolar depression are frequently so debilitating that patients are unable to get out of bed. Typically, people experiencing a depressive episode tend to have difficulty falling and staying asleep, while others sleep far more than usual.

When patients fall into depression, even minor decisions such as what to eat for dinner can be overwhelming and difficult. They tend to become obsessed with feelings of desperation, loneliness, loss, personal failure, guilt or helplessness; what is very worrisome is that this negative thinking can lead to thoughts of suicide.

A SHORT STORY BY KHALIL GIBRAN “The Asylum”

“So I decided to enter this asylum. At least here I can be myself.’ — Khalil Gibran

Mania

Most of the time, people in manic states are unaware of the negative consequences of their actions. With bipolar disorder, suicide is an ever-present danger because some people become suicidal even in manic states. Learning from prior episodes what kinds of behavior signals “red flags” of manic behavior can help manage the symptoms of the illness.

An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness

“But if love is not the cure, it certainly can act as a very strong medicine.” — Kay Redfield Jamison.

Dr. Martha Castro, MD

1st. UPDATE: (Nov. 7, 2019)

In the largest study of its kind, involving more than 50,000 subjects in 14 countries, researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and more than 200 collaborating institutions have identified 20 new genetic associations with one of the most prevalent and elusive mental illnesses of our time — bipolar disorder. The study is reported in the May 2019 issue of Nature Genetics