MikeLigalig.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjiO532WIZM#

aguy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4rwGeoFSXU#

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRehmX3zlwE#

I'm coming out of my cage
And I've been doing just fine
Gotta gotta gotta be down
Because I want it all
It started out with a kiss
How did it end up like this
It was only a kiss, it was only a kiss
Now I'm falling asleep
And she's calling a cab
While he's having a smoke
And she's taking a drag
Now they're going to bed
And my stomach is sick
And it's all in my head
But she's touching hisâ€"chest
Now, he takes off her dress
Now, let me go

I just can't look its killing me
And taking control
Jealousy, turning saints into the sea
Swimming through sick lullabies
Choking on your alibis
But it's just the price I pay
Destiny is calling me
Open up my eager eyes
'Cause I'm Mr Brightside

I'm coming out of my cage
And I've been doing just fine
Gotta gotta gotta be down
Because I want it all
It started out with a kiss
How did it end up like this
It was only a kiss, it was only a kiss
Now I'm falling asleep
And she's calling a cab
While he's having a smoke
And she's taking a drag
Now they're going to bed
And my stomach is sick
And it's all in my head
But she's touching hisâ€"chest
Now, he takes off her dress
Now, let me go

I just can't look its killing me
And taking control
Jealousy, turning saints into the sea
Swimming through sick lullabies
Choking on your alibi
But it's just the price I pay
Destiny is calling me
Open up my eager eyes
'Cause I'm Mr Brightside

I never...
I never...
I never...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrkeWsQZNyU#

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk9GjbbueHo#

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-y1-eXjJ_g#


Oh yeaaa !! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOg5VxrRTi0#

2. Remember the time

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeiFF0gvqcc#ws

1. Billy Jean

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B02LXuKWGTI#

A thread for all the MJ fans out there.

You're welcome bro. Ma pasalamat ta kai naka dungog ang Ginoo sa atong prayers! I'm glad your friend is safe, Brod Vince, as well as you and your family, too.

PS. Very glad that you're back here posting again. Welcome home!

I had a patient who believed that when she passes by men (when walking in the street), she believes that all the men are thinking of her and talking about her. When I asked her why she thinks this, she can't help the thoughts. This is an example of an undiagnosed paranoid persecutory synddrome. This is usually an undiagnosed disorder and very prevalent in the general (global) population.

There is a great deal of negative correlation to this disorder, which is the reason why it remains unrepresented in some parts of the world. The Philippines is a great example; a Filipino witholds going to a psychiatrist / psychologist because he or she fears that by going to a clinician and admitting these pervasive thoughts, he or she will be labeled by his or her peers and family as , "Na bu-ang".

This should not be. In fact, people should be encouraged to visit clinicians if such feelings and thoughts are pervasive and persistent. And it is normal and healthy to divulge these thoughts , feelings to one's therapist.

Quote from: taga tigbao on October 12, 2013, 07:37:28 AM
So far Bro, it is now in the waters of West Philippine Sea. No report of major damage has been accounted yet, pero mag expect ug damage from the provinces nga na direct hit - Aurora, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac and Zambales. Although it appears the LGUs were prepared.

As for Bohol, lajo ras tinai ang igo pero there are thunderstorms warning somewhere in Albuquerque although localized thunderstorms ra.

I hope nga way major damage ug loss of life from Santi.

Salamat Kaajo ni Ginoong Hesus Kristo! I'm happy that Bohol and Southern Leyte were both spared. I have a great deal of family and relatives in these two provinces. I'm happy to know that you're safe, too, bro. And that Tita Isles is okay too. When I was reading this thread last night, i thought of her and her animals and pets.

Again, thanks for the weather updates, Mr. Weatherman / Accountant !

fwew! lipay lang ko that Bohol is safe. Most especially the beautiful southern Bohol plateau....

Quote from: Lorenzo on October 12, 2013, 07:31:13 AM
I hope this storm passes by quickly and out of the Philippines. God, please protect our beloved Bohol Island. May all our fellow Bol-anons in Bohol and in other parts of Philippines remain safe !

Addendum: This prayer also includes brothers and sisters who are Leytenos, Mindanao-nons, Ilonggo, Ilokano, Waray-Waray, Kapampangan, Cebuanos, Negresense, Manilenos.

I hope this storm passes by quickly and out of the Philippines. God, please protect our beloved Bohol Island. May all our fellow Bol-anons in Bohol and in other parts of Philippines remain safe !

Quote from: islander on October 11, 2013, 05:25:08 PM

bwahahahaha , looks like we have passive aggressive room mate problems.

Quote from: hubag bohol on October 12, 2013, 07:15:24 AM
Thanks! Loud and clear. That fully explains some strange behavior I've observed around here.

You're welcome. It should be noted that while it is normal to make reference to one's position to some events, it becomes abnormal when one's cognition is affected by random occurrences. Paranoid individuals usually make important decisions based on random factors, this can be due to rapid thinking in paranoid states, which is due to the surge of catecholamines, fluctuating levels of serotonin and dopamine. The stressors , most of the time intrapsychic, can elicit such debilitating hormonal effects, which in turn becomes a cognitive problem.

The diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders include:

1. Delusions of reference
2. Rapid thinking/ thoughts
3. Repetitive thinking
4. Incoherent thinking and ideation
5. Manic episodes

Clinically, for people who hare having instances of paranoia, it is best to reduce the trigger that causes intrapsychic tension. If individuals become paranoid due to interaction of certain groups of people, people, organization, its best to reduce interaction with said stressors. Talking to a clinician is also effective. Psychiatrists can also be helpful in initiating PPP (Psychodynamic psychoanalytic psychotherapy), which has been proven to be helpful for patients.

Quote from: Lorenzo on October 12, 2013, 07:08:13 AM
Ideas of reference and delusions of reference describes a phenomenon in which an individual holds a belief or perception that is irrelevant, unrelated or innocuous and assumes a connection to something else, on account of some special personal significance, that is otherwise unrelated. It is "the notion that everything one perceives in the world relates to one's own destiny."

In psychiatry, delusions of reference form part of the diagnostic criteria for psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia, delusional disorder, or bipolar disorder during the elevated stages of mania.



Reference:
Wiki, DSM IV, Clinical Psychiatry Texts

Some examples of ideas of reference and delusions of reference:


1) Believing that events (even world events) have been deliberately contrived for them, or have special personal significance for them

2) Seeing objects or events as being set up deliberately to convey a special or particular meaning to themselves

3) Thinking 'that the slightest careless movement on the part of another person had great personal meaning...increased significance'

4) Thinking that Facebook posts or Internet blogs have hidden meanings pertaining to them.

Quote from: hubag bohol on October 12, 2013, 06:30:58 AM
Persecutory delusions seem clear enough to me, but what are delusions of reference?

Ideas of reference and delusions of reference describes a phenomenon in which an individual holds a belief or perception that is irrelevant, unrelated or innocuous and assumes a connection to something else, on account of some special personal significance, that is otherwise unrelated. It is "the notion that everything one perceives in the world relates to one's own destiny."

In psychiatry, delusions of reference form part of the diagnostic criteria for psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia, delusional disorder, or bipolar disorder during the elevated stages of mania.



Reference:
Wiki, DSM IV, Clinical Psychiatry Texts

Another theme song for the week:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZX6Q-Bj_xg#ws

Take a walk by Passion Pit.

Theme song for the week:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PilVAqMMSnc#ws

Postpartum psychosis is a severe mental illness with a dramatic onset shortly after childbirth, affecting approximately 1-2 in 1000 deliveries. However, the review notes that the true incidence may be higher.

Common symptoms include; mania, severe depression, delusions and hallucinations, confusion, bewilderment or perplexity, all of which increase the risk for both mother and child.

The review notes that there is consistent evidence of a specific relationship between postpartum psychosis and bipolar disorder. Women with bipolar disorder have at least a 1 in 4 risk of suffering postpartum psychosis. Genetics are also a factor and women with bipolar disorder and a personal or family history of postpartum psychosis are at particularly high risk with greater than 1 in 2 deliveries affected by postpartum psychosis.

However, half of women who develop postpartum psychosis have no family history or previous risk factors that put them in a high risk group of suffering from the condition.

The review emphasises the need for close contact and review from a multidisciplinary team during the perinatal period for at least three months following delivery, even if the woman is well and recommends a written plan covering pregnancy and the postnatal period which should be discussed with the woman and her family.

Dr Ian Jones, Reader in Perinatal Psychiatry, Cardiff University and co-author of the review said:

"Women at high risk of postpartum psychosis need very careful care before conception, throughout pregnancy and during the postpartum period, including pre-conception counselling and close monitoring and psychiatric assessment after childbirth.

"Postpartum psychosis is a true psychiatric emergency and it is vital that is recognised early and treated immediately. Admission to hospital is usually necessary and women should ideally be offered a specialist mother and baby unit where the best treatment options can be established."

Jason Waugh, TOG's Editor-in-chief said: "This review emphasises the importance of women at high risk of postpartum psychosis as well as the early recognition and prompt treatment of women who develop the condition.

"This paper also underlines that half of women who experience postpartum psychosis have no previous risk factors. It is therefore vital that all women are made aware of the condition and its signs and symptoms."


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130712084633.htm

They performed genotyping on all volunteers, and assessed their use of cannabis. They found that AKT1 genotype influences the risk of psychotic disorders in cannabis users, which confirmed the prior report.

"We found that cannabis users who carry a particular variant in the AKT1 gene had a two-fold increased probability of a psychotic disorder and this increased up to seven-fold if they used cannabis daily," explained the authors. "Our findings help to explain why one cannabis user develops psychosis while his friends continue smoking without problems."

"While the AKT1 genotype does not rise to the level of a clinically useful test of the risk for cannabis psychosis, it does show that this source of psychosis risk has a genetic underpinning," commented Dr. John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry. "This advance also points to cellular signaling mechanisms mediated by Akt1 as being relevant to the biology of cannabis psychosis. This may suggest research directions for novel therapeutics for cannabis psychosis."

Di Forti agreed, adding that "such findings could also help to design health educational campaigns tailored to reach those young people at particular risk."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121114083928.htm

For these reasons, it would be valuable if a biological test could be developed that predicted the risk for developing cannabis psychosis. This test could be used to advise people who abuse cannabis or to inform marijuana-prescribing decisions by physicians.

Recent research has implicated a variation in the gene that codes for a protein called RAC-alpha serine/threonine-protein kinase (Akt1) in the risk for cannabis psychosis. However, independent verification of these findings is critical for genetic associations with complex genetic traits, like cannabis-related psychosis, because these findings are notoriously difficult to replicate.

Led by first author Dr. Marta Di Forti at King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry, genetic researchers carried out a case control study to investigate variation in the AKT1 gene and cannabis use in increasing the risk of psychosis.

Di Forti said, "We studied the AKT1 gene as this is involved in dopamine signaling which is known to be abnormal in psychosis. Our sample comprised 489 patients with their first episode of psychosis and 278 healthy controls."

The ability of cannabis to produce psychosis has long been an important public health concern. This concern is growing in importance as there is emerging data that cannabis exposure during adolescence may increase the risk of developing schizophrenia, a serious psychotic disorder. Further, with the advent of medical marijuana, a new group of people with uncertain psychosis risk may be exposed to cannabis.

Reference:

http://apt.rcpsych.org/content/12/6/404.full

Conclusions

Cognitiveâ€"behavioural therapy for paranoid and suspicious thoughts draws on a range of techniques that are applied on the basis of an individualised formulation of the patient’s difficulties. However, importantly, what unites the techniques is the assumption that the patient’s subjective experiences should be taken seriously and that patients can be helped to make paranoid experiences less threatening, less interfering and more controllable. This parallels the psychological approaches taken to treat emotional disorders such as anxiety and depression and reflects a substantial advancement in the treatment of paranoid thoughts.

The techniques of cognitiveâ€"behavioural therapy for paranoia

The general strategy of trying to understand, in the context of an empathic and collaborative approach, are key whatever treatment is adopted. But for a cognitiveâ€"behavioural intervention there are many additional elements, and these are outlined here. There have been repeated demonstrations of the efficacy of cognitiveâ€"behavioural therapy (CBT) for delusions and hallucinations (e.g. see review by Zimmermann et al, 2005). The evidence base is strongest concerning CBT for persistent positive symptoms such as delusions. About 20% of patients with persistent symptoms do very well in treatment and another 40% show important improvements (e.g. Kuipers et al, 1997). Tarrier et al(1998) report that, in a comparison with routine care alone, CBT resulted in almost eight times greater odds of a reduction in psychotic symptoms of 50% or more. In acute psychosis, there is evidence that CBT can speed time to recovery (Drury et al, 1996; Lewis et al, 2002). Furthermore, there is a small amount of evidence that some forms of CBT may reduce relapse rates (Gumley et al, 2003). The intervention is certainly popular with patients. However, not all respond to this approach. It is recommended for people with distressing delusions, since it enables individuals to engage with the collaborative goal of reducing distress. It is much less likely to be of use for individuals who are not distressed by their paranoid experiences. Cognitive deficits are not a contraindication for treatment, nor is the absence of insight into having an illness.

It is important to note that at this stage of development CBT for delusions is not a brief treatment; typically, it needs to be provided weekly for at least 6 months. Although similar to CBT for other disorders, clinicians should be aware that modifications to the approach are needed for delusions. Therapists using CBT for psychosis are often working with people who have complex disorders and need a good understanding of the psychology of psychosis, cognitive therapy skills, and regular supervision and support. It is also important to be aware that CBT is provided as part of a multi-modal treatment that includes antipsychotic medication and, for example, assertive community treatment, rehabilitation, supported employment and family intervention.
Assessment and formulation: ‘making sense of psychosis’

The initial task is to develop an individualised formulation that accounts for the patient’s paranoid thoughts and the associated distress. This occurs through detailed descriptions of paranoid experiences and their development. The formulation is a personalised account of the development of paranoid thoughts based on the cognitive model and is not simply ‘education about illness’. The clinician should be thinking about the following sorts of questions:

    On what evidence is the person basing their thoughts?

    How do paranoid thoughts build on the patient’s ideas about the self and others and ordinary worries?

    How do the thoughts make sense given previous life events?

    Is the person reacting to puzzling and confusing experiences?

    How is the person reasoning about their experiences?

    What behaviours are keeping the thoughts going?

The answers to these questions are then fed back to the patient for their opinion (e.g. ‘I may have this wrong, but could it be that, given the things that have happened in the past, your first reaction now is to think that others will be bad to you?’ or ‘From what you’ve said, you seem to rely on your instinct to know that there is threat, rather than think of many different explanations for others’ behaviour and weigh up the evidence â€" do I have that right, do you think?’). Gradually the therapist will develop a formulation â€" a multifactorial account of the development of the paranoid thoughts. Sometimes all, sometimes parts, of the formulation are shared with the patient.

There are a number of benefits to good formulation:† a full description of the patient’s subjective experiences is made, which is empathic, normalising, makes the experiences understandable and does not treat the patient as if they were ‘mad’; it enables patients to revisit their decision-making processes with the benefit of time and new information; it can provide an alternative non-delusional account of experiences; and it identifies targets of therapy. One of the most important elements in the therapy is that the clinician slows down and ‘unpacks’ the decision-making processes that lead to paranoid thoughts. This enables patients to gain distance from their thoughts so that they are more likely to review (often implicit) interpretations at any or all of the different steps in the development of their paranoid accounts. It also allows the clinician and the patient to introduce fresh information and other ideas that enable a different sense to be made of experiences. Given this renewed attempt at making sense, patients can consider how they might proceed differently in thought or behaviour.

Cognitive therapies were developed in a tradition that interventions should be assessed for their efficacy, and therefore formal measures of symptoms are routinely taken by therapists in individual cases to monitor treatment effectiveness (using, for example, PSYRATS; Haddock et al, 1999).
Interventions after formulation

Making sense of persecutory experiences illuminates many potential therapeutic paths. Thus, if anomalous experiences are assessed as central to delusion formation â€" for instance, the paranoid thoughts are provoked by feelings of depersonalisation, a sense of reference, perceptual disturbances or hallucinations â€" therapy may aim to reduce the frequency of such experiences using a functional analysis (examining the triggers and reactions), to change the interpretation of the anomalous experiences, or simply to enhance coping strategies. Where anxiety and worry contribute to the persistence of paranoid ideas, other ways of dealing with thinking about fears can be introduced and worry-reduction strategies used (Wells, 1997). In some cases it is possible to review with patients the evidence for and against different explanations for their experiences and to conduct behavioural experiments (i.e. to test out the persecutory thoughts).

Obstacles to good engagement

There are, of course, obstacles to forming a good collaborative relationship with an individual who has paranoid thoughts. Elements of the role of a psychiatrist bring problems. Two key issues are hospitalisation and medication. An individual with paranoid thoughts may be worried about revealing these and being admitted compulsorily to hospital (or not discharged, if already an in-patient). The psychiatrist will often be keen to prescribe medication, which the patient may take as an indication that the clinician’s mind is already made up or which might conflict with the wishes of the patient. Such difficulties need to be acknowledged, discussed openly and resolved by negotiation. Specific techniques for developing appropriate medication adherence, including forming a collaborative relationship, using motivational interviewing, provision of information, and monitoring symptoms and side-effects, are described elsewhere (e.g. Randall et al, 2002).

There is also the issue of the use of language. Mental health professionals may use diagnostic terms such as schizophrenia and give only biological explanations for experiences. Illness accounts of experiences can be helpful to some patients but there are two main difficulties with them. The first is that they contain within them a number of potential further or other meanings. For example, for some patients ‘schizophrenia’ carries connotations of madness and violence, they believe it to be an uncontrollable organic condition that will not improve and they fear that they will be shunned by others. There is an emerging and important literature indicating that careful attention should be given to appraisals of illness â€" concerning, for example, cause, course, outcome, loss, entrapment and humiliation â€" because they can lead to distress (Birchwood et al, 2000a; Lobban et al, 2003).

The second difficulty with illness models is that they mostly provide a poor causal description of a person’s subjective experiences. For example, telling Mr Smith that he is ‘ill’ does not necessarily provide a compelling account of why, when he goes outside, he feels very anxious, senses that something odd is going on and notices that people in the street are looking at him. A delusional explanation that people seem to recognise and know about him, are aware of bad things about his past and, as a consequence, are hostile may provide a richer account for Mr Smith of his subjective experience and draws on his own knowledge. Patients may favour the delusional account, being richer, over the illness account.

In psychological therapies, as shall be seen, an elaborated alternative account that draws on both the patient’s and the therapist’s knowledge is made: for example, that the patient has had previous adverse experiences with others (e.g. has been bullied) and therefore expects threat, may be more prone to notice it in ambiguous social information and to jump to the conclusion that they are to be harmed whenever there is any sign of danger. The therapist also tries to ensure that there is a simple, non-stigmatising label for such an account (e.g. that the person is ‘alert’ or ‘sensitive’ to threat). These accounts developed in therapy, similar in explanatory power to the delusional accounts, may make a more plausible alternative than either the ‘illness’ or the ‘delusional’ accounts.

Another obstacle to engagement can be that the clinician becomes incorporated into the delusional system. If the clinician’s approach is empathic and based on understanding, this happens less often than they fear it might. However, the clinician should anticipate the problem by checking at the end of initial meetings whether the patient has any concerns about them (e.g. ‘You have described mistrusting people. I therefore wondered whether you’ve had any such worries about me?’). If the patient does have such concerns the clinician should first explain their role very clearly. If the patient does not respond to simple reassurance the clinician should use problem-solving techniques to address the difficulty in the therapeutic relationship. For example, the clinician might suggest that the patient does not talk about the most private aspects of their experiences until they feel greater trust or may ask whether there is anything that they could do to ease the patient’s worries about them. It can be helpful for the clinician to show the patient the notes being taken in the meeting. It can bring down the emotional impact of paranoid thoughts in meetings if the clinician points out that it is not surprising that the patient is suspicious about the clinician, given the delusional system, and that it is simply a problem that can be discussed like any other and compromises and solutions can be found.

Therapeutic style

Therapeutic style is, of course, important for any type of intervention. For instance, the quality of the therapeutic alliance has been found to be a predictor of patients’ adherence to antipsychotic medication regimens (Day et al, 2005). The cognitiveâ€"behavioural approach to reducing the distress of people with paranoid thoughts follows directly from the theoretical understanding outlined above. As we have said, there is a consensus that delusions are explanatory accounts of experiences. Delusions are the most compelling explanation that the person has arrived at on the basis of previous childhood and adult events, knowledge, emotional state, memories, personality and reasoning processes. It can be helpful for clinicians to keep in mind Maher’s idea that ‘the delusional belief is not being held “in the face of evidence normally sufficient to destroy it,” but is being held because of evidence powerful enough to support it’ (1974: p: 99). Therefore the clinician will want to learn more about the chain of events, experiences, feelings and judgements that has led to suspicious thoughts. Thus, the style of engagement is based on what Kingdon & Turkington (2002: p. 3) have called ‘a journey of exploration into patients’ beliefs’, which should be undertaken with an open mind and a willingness to understand the individual and find out about them.

This ‘voyage of discovery’ attitude will be more helpful in engaging the patient than any simple implementation of a set of techniques. The exploratory approach must be combined with an empathic, collaborative style. The patient needs to feel that their problems are being taken seriously. The therapist should listen empathically and regularly give brief summaries of what the patient has been saying. This will ensure that the clinician has understood and will help structure the discussion. The therapist should comment on the distress caused by the experiences, but without agreeing that the perceived threat is real, for example ‘It must make you very anxious’ or ‘Believing that the neighbours are trying to harm you must feel very intrusive and be upsetting’. The clinician should be collaborative, drawing up a list of goals with the patient, discussing what will happen in the meetings and regularly asking the patient for both positive and negative feedback on the meetings. Providing written information on paranoid thoughts can be helpful (Freeman et al, 2006). Any immediate concerns (e.g. thoughts of suicide, difficulties getting to therapy sessions) should be dealt with before a full assessment is carried out. The clinician needs to be flexible in both the length of sessions and the degree to which key material is focused on. They must also keep a close eye on whether there are aspects of the sessions that the patient finds upsetting. In the early sessions, the therapist should not start challenging delusions, but perform the more difficult task of listening and trying to understand the patient’s perspective: challenging delusions in an inexpert way is equivalent to not listening to the patient’s experiences. It can also be extremely helpful not always to focus on problems but to find out about the positive aspects and achievements of the individual and show that you have noticed them. Patients with suspicious thoughts often present with low self-esteem, difficulties with trust and fears that others think they are ‘mad’. A clinician who shows positive regard can help circumvent these negative self-views, which sometimes hinder engagement.

The cognitiveâ€"behavioural way of talking to people with paranoid thoughts

Reasoning

The final piece of the puzzle is reasoning. It needs to be remembered that persecutory delusions are inherently a judgement and therefore reasoning processes are of central importance. Persecutory ideas are more likely to reach a delusional intensity if there are accompanying biases in reasoning such as reduced data gathering (jumping to conclusions) (Garety & Freeman, 1999), failure to consider alternative explanations (Freeman et al, 2004) and a strong belief confirmation bias (Wason, 1960). When reasoning biases are present, suspicions become near certainties; ideas of threat are held with a conviction unwarranted by the evidence and may then be considered delusional.

Our model contains further hypotheses concerning the maintenance and emotional reaction associated with persecutory delusions. For example, since the explanations contain threat beliefs, the fears will be maintained by processes similar to those outlined in the anxiety disorders literature, such as the use of safety behaviours (e.g. avoiding other people) which prevent the processing of disconfirmatory evidence (Clark, 1999). Furthermore, the individual’s relationship with the persecutor may be important in determining emotional reactions; the belief that the persecutor is powerful has been associated with higher levels of depression (Birchwood et al, 2000b; Freeman et al, 2001). Thus, we conceptualise paranoia as resulting from individuals’ attempts to understand their experiences, particularly unusual internal states, while under the influence of emotional states such as anxiety and biases of reasoning. Careful assessment is needed to determine the relevant factors in each individual case.

Emotions

Suspicious thoughts often occur in the context of emotional distress. They are often preceded by stressful events such as difficult interpersonal relationships, bullying and isolation. Further, the stresses may happen against a background of previous experiences that have led to beliefs about the self (e.g. as vulnerable), others (e.g. as potentially dangerous) and the world (e.g. as bad) that make suspicious thoughts more likely (Fowler et al, 2006).

Anxiety may be especially important in the generation of persecutory ideation. This is because anxiety and suspiciousness have the same cognitive theme of the anticipation of danger. In our model we hypothesise that anxiety is central in the interpretation of internal and external events and provides the threat theme of paranoia. Hence, we argue that emotion has a direct role in delusion formation (for a review see Freeman & Garety, 2003); this is in contrast to a popular view that delusions conceal emotional distress or low self-esteem (e.g. Colby, 1975; Bentall et al, 1994). Typically, therefore, in paranoid thinking a person having unusual experiences that they find it hard to identify and correctly label interprets them in line with their emotional state. If they are anxious it is more likely that the interpretation will be of threat.

Anxious thoughts are truly persecutory when they contain the idea that harm is actually intended by the perpetrator. The cause of this idea of intent is underresearched. We think that most often ideas of threat contain an implicit attribution of intent. Irritation, resentment or anger â€" often not expressed because of fears of others’ reactions (‘timidity’) â€" may perhaps contribute to this idea of hostile intent, since judgements of blame and attributions of intent are central to anger. A lack of trust in others, an unwillingness to discuss emotions, or social isolation mean that the feelings of threat and intent are not shared with others but are ruminated on alone, preventing disconfirmation of their persecutory nature.

Making sense of events

The key opening for the psychological understanding of paranoia is that such thoughts are individuals’ attempts to explain their experiences, that is, to make sense of events (Maher, 1988). The sorts of experiences that are the proximal source of evidence for persecutory delusions are external events and internal feelings.

Clinical experience indicates that ambiguous social information is a particularly important external factor. Such information is likely to be both non-verbal (e.g. facial expressions, people’s eyes, hand gestures, laughter/smiling) and verbal (e.g. snatches of conversation, shouting). Coincidences and negative or irritating events also feature in persecutory ideation.

Unusual or anomalous internal feelings often lead to delusional ideation. For example, the individual might be in a heightened state or aroused; feel that certain events are significant; experience perceptual anomalies (e.g. things may seem vivid or bright or piercing, sounds may feel very intrusive); feel that they are not really ‘there’ (depersonalisation); and might have illusions and hallucinations (e.g. hear voices). Experiences of this sort can also be caused by use of illicit drugs or sleep deprivation.

Typically, individuals who exhibit paranoid thinking are trying to make sense of their internal unusual experiences, often by drawing in negative, discrepant or ambiguous external information (e.g. others’ facial expressions). For example, a person may go outside feeling in an unusual state and rather than thinking ‘I’m feeling a little odd and anxious, probably because I’ve not been sleeping well’, interprets their feelings, together with the facial expressions of strangers in the street, as evidence of a threat (e.g. ‘People don’t like me and may harm me’). But why a persecutory interpretation? We interpret internal and external events in line with our previous experiences, knowledge, emotional state, memories, personality and decision-making processes and therefore the origin of persecutory explanations lies in such psychological processes.

How is paranoia understood psychologically?

The prevalence figures are consistent with the idea that paranoid thoughts are an appropriate strategy that can, in particular circumstances, become excessive, just like anxious thoughts. Consideration of the potentially hostile intentions of others can be a highly intelligent and appropriate strategy to adopt. Walking down certain streets can be dangerous. Friends are not always good ones. Whether to trust or mistrust is a judgement that lies at the heart of social interactions, and since it is not always an easy decision to make it can be prone to errors. Most people can think of instances where they have misread the intentions of others. Most obviously, this is particularly likely to be the case immediately after negative events that question our trust in others. For example, for several months after being mugged, people can understandably be very wary, vigilant and suspicious when walking in the street.

Persecutory delusions are explicable in terms of normal psychological processes. However, there is an important caveat: no single factor is likely to account for paranoia.

How common is persecutory thinking?

Paranoid thoughts have traditionally been viewed as a symptom of severe mental illness. Sartorius et al(1986) present findings from a World Health Organization prospective study in ten countries of 1379 individuals with signs of schizophrenia making first contact with services. Persecutory delusions were the second most common symptom of psychosis, after delusions of reference, occurring in almost 50% of cases. Persecutory beliefs are the most likely type of delusion to be acted on (Wessely et al, 1993) and are a predictor of admission to hospital (Castle et al, 1994).

There are many other psychiatric and neurological diagnoses in which persecutory delusions occur in a substantial minority of patients. These include depression, mania, post-traumatic stress disorder, dementia and epilepsy (Manschreck & Petri, 1978).

Increasingly, however, paranoid thoughts are considered not just as a symptom of a disorder but as an experience of interest in its own right, which occurs outside clinical groups and is frequently a cause of distress. The focus is on understanding and treating the distressing experience rather than on the diagnosis. Many have argued that psychotic symptoms such as delusions might be better understood on a continuum with normal experience (e.g. Strauss, 1969). Delusions in psychosis represent the severe end of a continuum, although such experiences are present, often to a lesser degree, in the general population. Thus, a relationship of degree is suggested between, for example, a clinical persecutory delusion about government attempts to kill the person, non-clinical delusions about neighbours trying to get at the person and everyday suspicions about the intentions of others. However, it should be emphasised that there are different forms of the continuum view (Claridge, 1994). The distribution of symptoms may well be quasi-continuous, lying between dichotomous (i.e. most people have no paranoid thoughts and a small proportion have many) and continuous (i.e. there is a normal distribution of paranoid thoughts in the general population similar to, for example, blood pressure), which will depend on the number, prevalence and interaction of causal factors (van Os & Verdoux, 2003).

A review of 15 studies shows clear evidence that the rate of delusional beliefs in the general population is higher than that of psychotic disorders and that delusions occur in individuals without psychosis (Freeman, 2006). The frequency of delusional beliefs in non-clinical populations varies according to the content of the delusion studied and the characteristics of the sample population (e.g. age structure, level of urbanicity). About 1â€"3% of the non-clinical population have delusions of a level of severity comparable to clinical psychosis. A further 5â€"6% have a delusion but not of such a severity. Although less severe, these beliefs are still associated with a range of social and emotional difficulties. A further 10â€"15% of the non-clinical population have fairly regular delusional ideation. For example, Jim van Os and colleagues (2000) studied delusions in the large epidemiological Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study (NEMESIS). In the sample, 2.1% received a DSMâ€"IIIâ€"R diagnosis of non-affective psychosis. However, a greater proportion had a ‘true’ psychiatrist-rated delusion (3.3%) or had a ‘clinically not relevant delusion’ (8.7%), defined as the person not being bothered by the belief and not seeking help for it. A separate group of people (3.8%) had endorsed a delusion item, but these beliefs were considered plausible or founded.

Many studies do not differentiate between delusion subtypes, and therefore it is harder to estimate the prevalence of persecutory thinking in particular. A conservative estimate is that 10â€"15% of the general population regularly experience paranoid thoughts, although such figures hide marked differences in content and severity (Table 2â‡"). It is also likely that the studies underestimate the true frequency of paranoid thoughts since large epidemiological studies from a psychiatric perspective are unlikely to record more plausible fleeting everyday instances of paranoid thinking. Johns et al(2004) report findings from a British survey of over 8000 people. The results of individuals with probable psychosis were removed from the analysis. The assessment of delusions was fairly rudimentary but the results are still striking: 20% had thought in the preceding year that people were against them at times, and 10% felt that people had deliberately acted to harm them. The least plausible paranoid item, fears of a plot, was endorsed by 1.5% of this non-clinical population. Interestingly, there is evidence from more elaborate epidemiological research that odder, less plausible paranoid thoughts build on commoner, more plausible ones, indicating a hierarchical structure to paranoia (Fig. 1â‡").

In contrast to the debates about defining delusions, diagnostic criteria for subtypes of delusional beliefs based on content have not been a topic of comment. This is perhaps because the issue is thought to be self-evident, but it is more complex than might be considered at first sight. There is great variety in the content of thoughts of a persecutory nature, for instance, in the type and timing of threat, the target of the harm, and the identity and intention of the persecutor (Freeman et al, 2001). Furthermore, terms such as paranoia, delusions of persecution and delusions of reference have been used interchangeably and to refer to different concepts. Freeman & Garety (2000) clarify the definition of persecutory delusions: the individual believes that harm is occurring, or is going to occur, to him or her, and that the persecutor has the intention to cause harm (Box 1â‡"). The second element of this definition distinguishes persecutory from anxious thoughts.

What is paranoia?

Paranoid or persecutory delusions are a subtype of delusional beliefs. In essence, a delusion is a fixed, false belief. In clinical settings the belief is likely to be distressing or disruptive for the individual. However, there has long been debate about such definitions, in that most proposed criteria do not apply to all delusions. A more sustainable position is that of Oltmanns (1988). Assessing the presence of a delusion may best be accomplished by considering a list of characteristics or dimensions, none of which is necessary or sufficient, that with increasing endorsement produces greater agreement on the presence of a delusion. For instance, the more a belief is implausible, unfounded, strongly held, not shared by others, distressing and preoccupying, the more likely it is to be considered a delusion. The practical importance of the debate about defining delusions is that it informs us that there is individual variability in the characteristics of delusional experience (Table 1â‡"). Delusions are definitely not discrete discontinuous entities. They are complex, multidimensional phenomena (Garety & Hemsley, 1994). There can be no simple answer to the question ‘What causes a delusion?’ Instead, an understanding of each dimension of delusional experience is needed: What causes the content of a delusion? What causes the degree of belief conviction? What causes resistance to change? What causes the distress? And clinicians need to think with patients about the aspect of delusional experience that they are hoping will change during the course of an intervention.

In the past the content of paranoid thoughts was not to be discussed with patients. In the influential textbook Clinical Psychiatry, the view was expressed throughout the three editions from 1954 to 1969 that

"‘Although it is a waste of time to argue with a paranoid patient about his delusions, he may still be persuaded to keep them to himself, to repress them as far as possible and to forgo the aggressive action they might suggest, in general to conduct his life as if they did not exist’ (Mayer-Gross et al, 1954: p. 280)"

Such ideas were not confined to psychiatry. A number of psychologists applied reinforcement techniques to try to reduce the time that patients spoke about delusions (e.g. Wincze et al, 1972; Liberman et al, 1973). However, there has been a remarkable transformation in how delusions are viewed. Together with medication, recommended treatment now encourages clinicians to give most patients time to talk about their experiences and to use particular cognitiveâ€"behavioural therapeutic techniques to reduce distress (National Institute for Clinical Excellence, 2002; Lehman et al, 2004).

But how should the content of delusional ideas be discussed? There are clearly lingering uncertainties in the mental health professions about this, as illustrated by a study of psychiatristâ€"patient routine consultations (McCabe et al, 2002). It was found that patients repeatedly tried to talk about the content of their psychotic symptoms and in response doctors hesitated, responded with a question rather than an answer and, when a carer was present, even smiled and laughed.

In this article we focus on paranoid and suspicious thoughts, drawing on developments in the cognitive understanding and treatment of such experiences to describe how best to talk with patients about them.

Helping patients with paranoid and suspicious thoughts: a cognitiveâ€"behavioural approach

Abstract

Paranoid and suspicious thoughts are a significant clinical topic. They regularly occur in 10â€"15% of the general population, and persecutory delusions are a frequent symptom of psychosis. In the past, patients were discouraged from talking about paranoid experiences. In contrast, it is now recommended that patients are given time to talk about them, and cognitiveâ€"behavioural techniques are being used to reduce distress. In this article we present the theoretical understanding of paranoia that underpins this transformation in the treatment of paranoid thoughts and summarise the therapeutic techniques derived. Emphasis is placed on the clinician approaching the problem from a perspective of understanding and making sense of paranoid experiences rather than simply challenging paranoid thoughts. Ways of overcoming difficulties in engaging people with paranoid thoughts are highlighted.

Today my sister came by to pick up some supplies from my apartment that I won't be taking with me to my new place. I gave her 2 AC units, some decorations, cleaning supplies, my stainless steel cooking wares, my cutting knives, some furniture and some food supplies that I did not want. It was good seeing Inday today...exchanged some personal talks and asked about how she's doing in her medical reviews. I missed my little sister and it was good to see her today. Unsaon lageh, we all grow old, and we all have to make our own print in the world.

Dear Lord God, please watch over my sister and guide her footsteps in Medicine. Make her the best physician that she can be. And remove any and all worries she might have, fill them with strength, prudence and perseverance. Guide us both, Lord. I ask this in Jesus' Name. Amen. 

Title: Power and Influence in Leadership: Mao Zedong as case study


Lussier and Achua (2013) define power as the leader’s potential to influence others. Because power is the potential to influence, a leader does not necessarily have to use power to influence individuals. It should be noted that people usually are influenced by the perceptions of power rather than the actual use of power that influence people. There are different types of power and they include Legitimate Power, Coercive Power, Referent Power, Expert Power and Information Power (Lussier and Achua, 2013)


Legitimate power is based on the individual’s power, given by the organization and it is also called the legitimization of influencing tactic. An example of this are when managers assign work to workers, when generals order certain divisions to attack, or teachers to award grades to students (Lussier and Achua, 2013). Coercive power deals with punishment and withholding of certain rewards to influence compliance to the leader, Referent power deals with the user’s personal relationship with others. One can say that referent power is influential for certain leaders to network with others to meet a certain agenda. Expert power is based on the user’s skill and knowledge. One can say that being an expert makes other people dependent on you. Informational power is a type of power that is based on a user’s data desired by others, it involves access to vital information and control over its distribution to others (Lussier and Achua, 2013).


When I think of a certain historical leader who wielded great clout over an entire nation, and influenced the direction of that country’s growth, the name of Mao Zedong comes to mind. Mao Zedong was brought up in China during a time if great upheaval and political instability due to the fading power and influence of the centuries old Qing Dynasty of Imperial China. Mao, who was born as part of the working class in Hunan region of China, learned of the concept of Socialism when he studied in Peking. It was there where he became involved in the communist ideology and became influential in the founding of the Chinese Communist Party (Knight, 2002). When he assumed the leadership of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, he had so much clout so as to turn China into a nation, which had been a former glorious nation in terms of cultural and academic promise centuries prior, into a regional player. He utilized legitimate power to select certain party officials to run the government , especially in education directives and informational control (Knight, 2002). One can say that by controlling the media and information distributed to the masses, he also utilized informational power, which is the involvement of access to vital information and control over its distribution to others (Lussier and Achua, 2013).


Mao Zedong was also brilliant in that he, unlike his predecessors, believed that cyclic revolutions was a healthy and natural phenomenon for a nation state. He held to the premise that revolutions allow the participation of the youth in national identity and community. This is the reason why he endorsed the Cultural Revolution in the 1970’s, which was an attempt of the new regime to move away from the old superstitious and religious culture of China, and towards one that was more party-focused and socialist-focused (Schoenhals, 2007). In the prosecution of the Cultural Revolution, which led to the deaths of many individuals, Mao utilized his coercive power as well as well as legitimate power. To maintain legitimacy, he utilized his referent power to maintain personal relationships with leaders in the party, and also to maintain a communication channel with the Soviets (Stalin’s Dialogue, 1991).

The following is my rough draft of my first paper for this course.









Title: Are Leaders Born or Made?



Leaders are expected to provide the decision-making skills for an organization, either it be a financial corporation or a nation state, and with this requires proper training as well as experience in the working level. There are individuals who claim that leaders are born with these effective leadership skills. It is in my belief that a leader is not born, but is made and this is done through training, education, the role of environment is critical (Lussier and Achua, 2013). Leadership skills  can be acquired through proper learning and training , which will allow potential leaders to flourish  within their organization. Lussier and Achua (2013) specify that leadership requires certain traits , which include influence, organizational objective, charge,  as well as people to people skills. Influence is one’s ability to communicate one’s ideas to other people and thus by doing so, allowing the target audience to accept such ideas.


Essential to influence is one’s communication skills (Lussier and Achua, 2013). A leader should also have in mind the objectives of the organization, which allow these individuals to influence followers to focus not on personal interests, but on the interest of the organization to which they belong. One notices the interrelationship between leadership influence and objective ascertainment, especially in the pronounced acquisition of goals in an ethical and manner that benefits not only the organization, but also the needs of the players involved in said organization. Effective leadership depends on the leader’s ability to adapt to any situation and critical to this is one’s ability to react to change in such a way that interpersonal skills allows one to use one’s influence and communication technique to influence followers to identify threats to success, the effective policies that can answer said threats (Lussier and Achua, 2013). One way to gain the allegiance of followers requires transformational leadership (Carpenter, Fusfeld and Gritzo, 2010), which is when the leader recognizes an existing need or demand of a potential follower. These leaders identify potential motives in followers, seek the satisfaction of higher needs, and engages the full person of the follower (McManus, 2006)


A man who exemplifies astute transformational leadership in the last 50 years is Mr. Nelson Mandela. Mandela was born in 1918 and lived, for the most of his life, under the apartheid system of South Africa, which effectively segregated the white South Africans from the black South Africans. Mandela was involved in political rallies that targeted the unfair policies of colonial South Africa and noted the violation of civil rights the black South Africans had. He was imprisoned to life sentence after he was linked with the anti-government attacks in 1962 and thus served over 27 years in prison (Morodi, 2011). Mandela, through his adoption of non-violence policies and through his public speaking throughout the country , he epitomized his social role, which refers to the expected behaviors and attitudes that come with one’s position in society (Bjorklund and Bee, 2008). Considering the fact that Mandela was a black South African who experienced social and environmental limitations in the country of his birth, this led to his development of understanding of the issues that affected the welfare of the majority of the people, the black South Africans. Had Mandela been born a white South African, he would not have experienced the discrimination that Apartheid enacted, and the leadership qualities he had developed as a black South African, namely, his interpersonal skills in communicating ideas with the local community, research on civil rights, probably would not have developed as astutely (Morodi, 2011).


Mandela is revered as a model leader in South Africa and throughout the world due to certain traits that are to be vied for. These traits include his forgiveness, his compassion and his humility in regards to the apartheid program and to the government leaders who were responsible for implementing apartheid on the whole of South Africa (O’Fallon, 2012). One unique aspect that Mandela implemented during his presidency was Ubuntu, which is a word that means forgiveness. It is a concept in the Zulu language where in which an individual will forgive the offenses of one who committed a crime for the sake of unity of a tribe, it is interesting that when he took power as president, instead of sacking the politicians who controlled government during apartheid years, he asked for the entire country to implement Ubuntu (O’Fallon, 2012). This was tactic that he utilized as unity device, by instituting Ubuntu, a general healing occurred in South Africa where both white and black South Africans were able to realize the violations of human rights during the apartheid years and work together in the development of the future of a multicultural post-apartheid South Africa (Morodi, 2011).


When one studies the organizational management skills of Mr. Mandela, it is akin to how college faculty chairs operate in a collegiate setting. When a college faculty chair is selected, he is selected by the entire faculty and lead through open communication with each member, identify weaknesses and collaborate in creating a solution either it be an academic, personal, or research issue (Sirkis, 2011). Mandela’s implementation of Ubuntu allowed the financial institutions, which were primarily run by white South Africans, to be unaffected by the transition of post-Apartheid South Africa. By collaborating with different segments of society, despite color, Mandela literally transformed the country from  a segregated nation to one that was multicultural, accepting, and unified (Grover and Lynn, 2012). A literal example of transformational leadership (McManus, 2006).


The leadership skills of Mandela included decision making skills, intrapersonal skills as well as technical skills. These skills were all created and developed through his experience in life. His education influenced the development of his legal and political skills, considering that he graduated from law school. His interpersonal and intrapersonal skills were developed by communicating at the grass roots level in villages, towns, cities to universities. He was not born with such skills, but the skills were developed due to his education, situation in life as a black South African civil rights worker looking to find solutions to the underlying discrimination of the day (Morodi, 2011). The environment in which Nelson Mandela lived in shaped the man who he became, and the leader of the Republic of South Africa that he is today.

Started my 6th Ph.D class called Psychology of Leadership. There are 22 other doctoral learners in the course, a lot of them are so much older than I. I hope to learn from their experiences. Cheers to the next couple of months. So begins my 2nd year of the Ph.D journey! Next year I have to design my doctoral thesis. Yikes! Hadlok ko gamay.

Today i'm spending my afternoon downtown Chicago at the local Intelligentsia cafe. Doing some studying here and enjoying the beautiful and sunny Chicago afternoon. Spent the morning sitting by the river front and absorbing the beauty of this city. It's not all that bad, really.

Gyu Kaku interior:

Had sushi at a 5 star sushi place in downtown Chicago called Gyu Kaku. It was with 4 other people.

be safe, friends! will be praying all will be alright.

ingon sija nila, "au revoir , merde connards !" 

Quote from: hubag bohol on October 11, 2013, 09:28:18 PM

maybe its a toy gun?

Quote from: Lorenzo on October 11, 2013, 06:32:15 AM
What is Arrhythmia ? How can we treat Arrhythmia ? Can you tell me more about the different types of drugs for Arrhythmia ?

1. Arrhythmia is a type of pathology that affects the heart. The heart, like a machine, is powered through electrical system, which is called the cardiac conduction system. If there is an anomaly in the electrical system, there will be abnormal contraction of the cardiac muscles, which in turn leads to the symptoms of rapid heart beat (tachycardia), skipped beats, feelings of palpitations. All of these are a result of abnormal heart rhythm due to the abnormal cardiac conduction system. The word ARRHYTHMIA , if we break it down, means ABNORMAL HEART RHYTHM.

2. Arrhythmia, which is divided into different types, can be treated through different types of anti-arrhythmic medication. Let's talk about the different types. Anti-arrhythmics are local anesthetics that are able to slow or block the conduction (especially in depolarized cells). These drugs decrease the slope of phase 4 depolarization and increases the threshold for firing in abnormal pacemaker cells. There are 4 classes of anti-arrhythmic medication: 1) Class I, Class II, Class III, and Class IV.

Class I anti-arrhythmics are Sodium-Channel blockers; these drugs block the sodium channels on the myocardial cells. Some popularly prescribed drugs of this class include; Quinidine, Procainamide, Disopyramide, Lidocaine, Mexiletine, Tocainamide, Flecainide.

Class II anti-arrhythmics are Beta-Blockers that block the beta-receptors of the myocardial cells. Some prescribed drugs of this class include: Propranolol, Esmolol, Metoprolol, Atenolol, Timolol.

Class III anti-arrhythmics are Potassium-channel blockers. Some drugs of this class are Sotalol, Bretylium, Dofetilide and Amiodarone. Note: we usually administer this when all other classes are ineffective.

Class IV anti-arrhythmics are Calcium-channel blockers: Verapamil and Diltiazem are commonly prescribed.


Reference:
PDR 2013




Regards,
Dr. Lorenzo

What is Arrhythmia ? How can we treat Arrhythmia ? Can you tell me more about the different types of drugs for Arrhythmia ?

Quote from: hubag bohol on October 10, 2013, 05:22:23 PM

i think the lady with the pink jacket has a hot tushie.

just being honest.

Roman Legion Commander surveying troops after the burning of Jerusalem

The Jewishâ€"Roman wars were a series of large-scale revolts by the Jews of Iudaea Province and the Eastern Mediterranean against the Roman Empire between 66 and 135 CE. The revolts integrated nationalist, religious and ethnic elements, all spiraling towards violence upon polytheist Roman and Greek population and Roman representatives and symbols. While the Great Revolt of Judea (66-73 CE) and the Bar-Kokhba Revolt (132-135 CE) were nationalist rebellions, striving to restore an independent Judean state, the Kitos War was more of an ethno-religious civil, mostly fought outside of Judea province. Hence, some sources use the term Jewish-Roman Wars to refer only to the First Jewishâ€"Roman War (66â€"73 CE) and Bar Kokhba revolt (132â€"135 CE), while others include the Kitos War (115â€"117) as one of the Jewishâ€"Roman wars.

The Jewishâ€"Roman wars had an epic impact on the Jews, turning them from a major population in the Eastern Mediterranean into a scattered and persecuted minority. The Jewish-Roman Wars are often cited as a disaster to Jewish society. The events also had a major impact on Judaism, after the central worship site of Second Temple Judaism, the Second Temple in Jerusalem, was destroyed by Titus' troops.

reference:
wiki

 Welcome back Mr. Weather Man!

bwahaha! luoy'a pod si ondoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r87o6bLoUsg#

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VL8G9i1VKcI#ws

bwahaha!

The glory of Rome.

interesting.

Quote from: islander on October 09, 2013, 10:39:35 PM

bwahaha! why are you crying Michelangelo? did someone take your pizza?

Quote from: Lorenzo on October 05, 2013, 08:34:13 AM

405 years old!? wow! it was born in 1608 diay.



a las! a las! the philippines had already been colonized by the spaniards.

maybe ming's mom and dad was alive during the time of lapu lapu and humabon.

pwede pod ko mo apply?

sig heil!

bwahahahahah!

bwera bujag, thanks!

Quote from: islander on May 06, 2013, 10:43:07 AM
mga iro nga may pagka liwat sa ilang yutang natawhan...


Trickdogs (L-R): Pepper, Ben and Tom Tom pose with a German flag, a whistle, a board rading "Champions League" and a mini football during a press conference to promote the fair 'dog and pet' in Dortmund, western Germany.

http://www.voanews.com/

haha! sig heil!

hehe who knows. my lola was related to the chinese consulate general in cebu. back in the 1940's. so who knows, i'm sure mr. lucio tan's relatives knew relatives of relatives. tan is a large clan in china. that's why chinese are so successful, they help each other out.

it will. i think st. luke's hospital in manila is in the midst of acquiring one.

Before and After

Quote from: Lorenzo on October 09, 2013, 12:10:40 PM
Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy, or SBRT, is a treatment procedure similar to brain stereotactic radiosurgery and radiotherapy, except it deals with tumors outside of the brain. SBRT works by delivering high doses of radiation to accurately target the tumor while sparing normal organs. Due to a high radiation dose being delivered, there is an increase in the treatment time for each fraction. However, treatment is usually complete within 5-10 days as opposed to the standard 40 day course of treatment. Features such as a high precision Multi-Leaf Collimator for IMRT delivery and Cone Beam CT imaging for precise target localization allow for small treatment fields so that there are minimal side effects to the patient. Some procedures will use the combination of an ultra high dose rate and mixed treatment energies which allow for better dose conformity to tumor. The ability to conform the dose to the shape of the tumor allows the clinician to treat a smaller volume which in turn offers an alternate choice of treatment for patients with inoperable tumors or elderly patients who are high risk for surgery. SBRT can be used to treat primary, metastatic and previously irradiated cancer sites. The surgical procedure has a success rate of 96%.


reference:
http://nyp.org/radonc/gammaknife.html

This is the thesis of nano technology as we see it. I have personally assisted radiology oncologists during my medical internship and have seen the efficiency of this new technology. We had a patient stage 4 Osteocarcinoma. The cancer cells had nefariously spread to the breast, the brain. The attending Radiologist Oncologist performed the SBRT on the thoracic tissue that was affected, in addition to some malignant growth that had metastasized to the pancreas. The procedure was effective. With synergistic gamma knife procedure, the metastatic cells that had spread to the frontal lobe was pulverized. Through the use of chemoradiotherapeutic ablation, the cancer went into remission.

Exciting kaajo.

Quote from: Lorenzo on October 09, 2013, 12:09:36 PM
Doctor, what is Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy  ?

Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy, or SBRT, is a treatment procedure similar to brain stereotactic radiosurgery and radiotherapy, except it deals with tumors outside of the brain. SBRT works by delivering high doses of radiation to accurately target the tumor while sparing normal organs. Due to a high radiation dose being delivered, there is an increase in the treatment time for each fraction. However, treatment is usually complete within 5-10 days as opposed to the standard 40 day course of treatment. Features such as a high precision Multi-Leaf Collimator for IMRT delivery and Cone Beam CT imaging for precise target localization allow for small treatment fields so that there are minimal side effects to the patient. Some procedures will use the combination of an ultra high dose rate and mixed treatment energies which allow for better dose conformity to tumor. The ability to conform the dose to the shape of the tumor allows the clinician to treat a smaller volume which in turn offers an alternate choice of treatment for patients with inoperable tumors or elderly patients who are high risk for surgery. SBRT can be used to treat primary, metastatic and previously irradiated cancer sites. The surgical procedure has a success rate of 96%.


reference:
http://nyp.org/radonc/gammaknife.html

Doctor, what is Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy  ?

Quote from: Lorenzo on October 09, 2013, 12:06:56 PM
Doctor, what is Gamma Knife?

Gamma Knife® Radiosurgery is a non-surgical medical procedure recognized as the preferred treatment for brain tumors, arteriovenous malformations and brain dysfunctions such as trigeminal neuralgia.

Gamma Knife® provides an alternative option for many patients for whom traditional brain surgery is not an option. With precise delivery of high doses of radiation, Gamma Knife® is able to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors while avoiding damage to healthy brain tissue. The lesion being treated receives a high dose of radiation with minimum risk to nearby tissue and structures leaving little discomfort if any to the patient. Due to the absence of an incision, there is no risk of hemorrhage or infection and treatment can be effectively administered in a single session. Patients can usually go home the same day and return to work or school immediately.

The Gamma Knife® is not a knife, but rather a highly developed treatment system, capable of directing up to 201 beams of gamma radiation to converge on a targeted abnormality within the brain. When concentrated, the rays provide enough radiation to treat the diseased area effectively; while the low intensity of each individual beam ensures the safety of the surrounding healthy brain tissue.

With the Gamma Knife®, areas of the brain for which other therapies or conventional surgery are ineffective, can be successfully treated. The Gamma Knife®'s precision and safety make it a highly appropriate choice for both pediatric and adult patients.

reference:
http://nyp.org/radonc/gammaknife.html

Doctor, what is Gamma Knife?

Stereotactic radiosurgery is the most accurate way to use radiation to destroy tumors or abnormally functioning tissue in and around the brain. A Swedish neurosurgeon, Dr. Lars Leksell, conceived of the technique more than 50 years ago. His idea for a safer way to perform neurosurgery has evolved over the past half century to become an extremely important technique used for the management of cancer and other conditions affecting the brain.

Stereotactic radiosurgery is very rarely associated with complications, and each patient’s case is different, so that all discussions of possible complications should occur with the neurosurgeon and radiation oncologist at the time of the initial consultation.

A number of tumors are treated with stereotactic radiosurgery with excellent results. Commonly treated tumors include metastatic cancerous tumors that have spread to the brain from elsewhere in the body as well as tumors arising in and around the brain such as meningiomas, acoustic neuromas, and pituitary adenomas. Occasionally, other types of brain tumors or tumors arising from tissues around the brain and skull are treated with stereotactic radiosurgery as well. Other conditions that are commonly treated with stereotactic radiosurgery at Yale include trigeminal neuralgia, in which stereotactic radiosurgery is used to treat an abnormally functioning nerve that is causing severe facial pain and arteriovenous malformations (AVMs), in which abnormal blood vessels exist in the brain and predispose patients to strokes.

The team that provides stereotactic radiosurgery includes not only a radiation oncologist and a neurosurgeon, but also a physicist and a nurse. Important logistical support in obtaining insurance preauthorization and scheduling on the day of the radiosurgical treatment is provided by a dedicated administrative assistant.

On the day of treatment, before treatment can occur, a dedicated set of images to guide treatment is obtained after the placement of a stereotactic headframe on the patient’s head by the neurosurgeon. These images may include MRI, CT, and angiography. These images are sent to a dedicated computer where the treatment plan is developed by the physicist, radiation oncologist, and neurosurgeon. The plan is evaluated in virtual reality and optimized before any treatment is delivered. Only after the treatment plan has been approved by the radiation oncologist, physicist, and neurosurgeon can treatment start.


http://radonc.yale.edu/clinical/gamma.aspx

The Leader of Medicine in the Midwest !

Medical Excellence in the Greater Chicago Region !

Brennan Entry Pavilion