Many women and men who have been subjected to severe physical or sexual abuse during childhood suffer from long-term psychological and emotional disturbances. They may be invaded by nightmares and flashbacks, or conversely, may freeze into benumbed calm in situations of extreme stress. Recent studies find that survivors of child abuse may also have a smaller hippocampus relative to control subjects. If substantiated, the discovery could fill out the profile of an abuse survivor and help define what constitutes abuse.
The amygdala and the hippocampus are part of the limbic system. A study by Teicher et al. (1993) found a 38% increased rate of limbic abnormalities ('emotional brain') following physical abuse, 49% after sexual abuse.
Being sexually or emotionally abused as a child can affect the development of a part of the brain that controls memory and the regulation of emotions, a study suggests. Three key areas of the hippocampus in the brain were smaller in people who reported maltreatment in childhood.
The results add to the growing body of evidence that childhood maltreatment or abuse raises the risk of mental illnesses such as depression, personality disorders and anxiety well into adulthood.
Martin Teicher of the department of psychiatry at Harvard University scanned the brains of almost 200 people who had been questioned about any instances of abuse or stress during childhood. He found that the volumes of three important areas of the hippocampus were reduced by up to 6.5% in people exposed to several instances of maltreatment – such as physical or verbal abuse from parents – in their early years.
"The exquisite vulnerability of the hippocampus to the ravages of stress is one of the key translational neuroscience discoveries of the 20th century," wrote Teicher in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Monday 30 July 2012
Thursday 26 July 2012
India: No country for women?
Every 25 minutes a woman is raped in India !
20 women killed every day for dowry !
I have never envisaged a debate on Indian television
suggesting that in India, the birthplace of Tantra, the home of the Dalai Lama,
etc - India: No country for women http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/ndtv-special-ndtv-24x7/india-no-country-for-women/238869
http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/news/fromndtv/238869
Wednesday 25 July 2012
The Body in Psychotherapy - a "touching" letter from 'C'
"Hi Andre,
... I thought as sexually
open as I am I would be fine...However Ive come to the conclusion that there is
no hiding here, what I experienced was authentic and real and all the while I
can keep up with the best of them, truly surrendering is another thing all
together... Thank you for your time, Tantra is definitely something I want to explore
:)
Now I have had some time to reflect on our afternoon I could probably look
you in the eye again!
It was a liberating experience. Im not sure what I was expecting but I
enjoyed it, afterwards I felt really good. I had been going through a bad time
but whatever you did really helped, I felt much more centred and happy.
Until now I had never thought about my formative years in terms of touch
before. I only knew the abusive kind I guess... :(
I'm aware most childhoods are dysfunctional
and mine's no different. Since you asked, and perhaps in a way this may explain
some of my reluctance to let go; Im a girl with daddy issues! ...my father left my mother when I was very young not to return. After 18
months old my mother only ever fed me bread and water, as a consequence I have a
severely limited diet and food problems today, although somewhat improved. I had
a non-relationship with my stepfather. They had two daughters but I remained
out-cast and used as a childminder. Soon after I made bad relationship and life
choices involving sexual/physical abuse some of which I experienced while
underage with my stepfathers friend... The first 20 years sucked!
I also need to return your umbrella!
Regards,
C "
Wednesday 18 July 2012
Tantra, The Kama Sutra & the Song of Songs - שִׁיר הַשִּׁירִים: a comparison
Rape, Murder and Misogyny - The Real Revelations of the Kama Sutra
“The
following women are not suitable as lovers: A leper, a lunatic, an older woman,
a woman ostracized by her caste..., a woman who is too black...”
Kama
Sutra of Vātsyāyana (Part One, Ch:5)
“I am
black and beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Cedar, as the curtains
of Solomon.”
The Song of Songs (1:5)
The Song of Songs (1:5)
“How
beautiful your sandaled feet...
Your
graceful legs are like jewels, the work of an artist’s hands.
Your
navel /vulva is a rounded goblet that never lacks blended wine
Your waist is a mound of wheat encircled by
lilies.
Your
breasts are like two fawns, like twin fawns of a gazelle
Your
neck is like an ivory tower
Your eyes are the pools of Heshbon
by the gate of Bath Rabbim. Your nose ...
Your
head crowns you like Mount Carmel
Your hair is like royal tapestry;
the king is held captive by its tresses.
How beautiful you are and how pleasing,
my love, with your delights! Your stature is
like that of the palm...”
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