It's Difficult to Be Healthy

There is limited, but not enough, significant action when it comes to major issues facing us like global warming; income inequality; nuclear threat, and racism. Likewise, there is hardly any focus in the media or congress , except for an article in the newspaper or magazine when it comes to obesity; opioid epidemic; air and water pollution; paucity of regulation when it comes to the food, pharmaceutical,  and beverage industry; lack of physical activity and  mental and physical health. These gigantic concerns provide a backdrop for an article titled “New Hope for Alzheimer’s” found in the August 20, 2018 edition of Time.

Thanks to NFL football. the MCI acronym or mild cognitive impairment is on the minds of many, especially parents and their concern about whether or not to allow their children to play football. Unfortunately, the MCI diagnosis is increasing and currently found in about 10 to 20% of Americans 65 years of age and older. The good news is that many with the MCI diagnosis will not necessarily progress to dementia. However, about 5 to 15% of those with MCI do progress to Alzheimer’s disease. Also, older men are about 50% more likely than older women to develop MCI. However, more women develop Alzheimer’s disease than men.

Although MCI impairment does not have a strong genetic or familial component, the major risks are to no surprise- lifestyle factors. 1. Having a vascular risk factor is a powerful predictor of those that proceed from MCI to dementia. 2. Having three or more of: excess weight, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, low “good “HDL cholesterol and high blood sugar markedly raised the risk of MCI of people 65 and older. 3. Women over 75, who had a sleep disordered breathing and sleep apnea are twice as likely to develop MCI or dementia, compared to women without these conditions. 4. Regular vigorous exercise - 45 to 60 minutes a day, four times a week improved cognitive functioning in a group of people with MCI. And those getting moderate physical exercise like brisk walking, swimming, yoga, aerobics, strength training in mid-life, are 39% less likely to develop MCI.

Mild Cognitive Impairment Due to Alzheimer’s disease is a new diagnosis. Another concern is the diagnosis of dementia. Although dementia is not a specific disease, it is a group of symptoms caused by different disorders that affect the brain. For example, Alzheimer’s disease accounts for 75% of all the dementias for adults reaching age 65.

To Be Continued

Ego Identity and Young Mothers Part 4

Being unmarried, pregnant and dependent affects her child’s psychological development in that the mother’s identity was flawed with a sense of role diffusion. What values of right and wrong did the young child incorporate? What did he/she learn about choices and consequences? Generally, a mother and father dynamic, provides the child with a better opportunity for the development of an appropriate gender role. If the young mother was unable to be independent and had difficulty separating from her family, then it is more than likely that she is going to pass that  personality trait on to her offspring. Likewise, if she was unable to accept herself, that’s not a good formula for the development for healthy self-esteem of her child as the apple does not fall far from the tree. Her lack of acceptance for self can also be passed on to the child by her being overprotective. Overprotective mothers are commonly hostile mothers, and restrict their child’s freedom. By being over protective, these rejecting mothers likely employed an exaggerated denial of their indifference and rejection.  Difficulty knowing herself, has negative consequences for child rearing in that her anxiety and ambivalence, regarding decision making ,make it difficult for the child to  develop trust with his mother.

We have too many disturbed children, adolescents and young adults per statistics on antisocial behavior, poor school achievement, depression, drug use, suicide gestures and suicide behavior. A major understanding of why these statistics happen to the child, goes back to child rearing practices as personality is primarily formed within its first five years of development. This fact places tremendous responsibility and consequences on both parents. Mothers initially establish a symbiotic union with the youngster. It is in this most critical phase, that correct loving, nurturing and psychological based mothering is necessary. Because of this delicate and important period, state funds should be made available for the young, less educated, identity diffuse mothers. It’s clear that major changes are necessary if these psychological problems are going to be reversed. Parenting, takes more than stating that you view yourself as conservative or religious.

Perhaps the state could divert dollars from the overstuffed defense budget and create and implement a realistic parenting program for our future resources. This program would require professionally male and female trained non minimum wage staff; sufficient housing; additional education and/or career choice training opportunities; and creative and competent, psychological and medical care. There are certainly enough experts in government; at the universities; and local government to address this challenge. It might be unpopular to suggest that parents are failing, but it is a realization. Let’s start at the beginning and attempt to break this vicious cycle of ineptitude, inappropriate and misinformed parenting.

Ego Identity and Young Mothers Part 3

I concluded, from my research, that non-pregnant teenagers did not have the same concerns about their femininity; thought more clearly about their own     values and personal ideology,  were more  self-accepting [egocentric, determined, outgoing] and able to perceive their behavior patterns more  clearly [less denial]; and had less negative worries about their present and future self.

The non-pregnant were also better adjusted psychologically; more dominant [aggressive, confident, forceful, strong]; more sociable [Intelligent, talkative, self-confident}; had a stronger need for achievement within the structured environment [efficient, loyal, reliable, reasonable]; and were more intellectually efficient [clear thinking, confident, logical, rational].

No one can argue the child rearing is not difficult and our countries future is based on the optimum development of this natural resource. Yet, it is overlooked and not addressed enough. It’s as if all women were born to be natural mothers. I beg to differ.

Briefly, some characteristics that correspond to healthy development, since the mothers personality is of prime importance for the child’s personality growth. A mother’s sense of ego identity is extremely important as it means that her values, ideas relating to career, morality, intellectual efficiency, independence and her sense of self in the present and future become clearer and more coherent.  The mother’s development of conscience, ego ideal and identity development, require meaningful and significant interjections and identifications. They are necessary and play a significant role for her and her child throughout the life cycle.

To Be Continued

Ego Identity and Young Mothers Part 2

To provide insight into the importance of ego identity on the personality development of young, limited educated mothers, I turned to my research that I presented to a professional   association of therapists and school psychologists years ago. In my study, 19 never pregnant adolescents were compared to 19 pregnant adolescents. Both groups were matched according to intelligence and  level of education attained by both father and mother. In the non-pregnant group, 84% of the parents were married and 16% divorced .For the pregnant teens, 53% of their parents were married and 26% divorced. Another difference were that 88% of the mothers, of the never pregnant adolescents, were employed in non-manual occupations compared to 50% of the mothers in the mothers to be group.

Ego identity is an important component in the development of personality. According to Erich H. Erikson, the major task of adolescence was to form an identity by successfully completing [by synthesizing and integrating all previous social roles as well as by incorporating the many new identifications and additional roles] these tasks so the adolescent can develop a sense of ego identity. This means that the adolescents are expected to become increasingly clear about their commitments and values in the areas of personal relationships, career choice, morality, ideology and sex as they prepare for their adult role. If unsuccessful, the adolescent developed a sense of role diffusion instead.

The success or relative lack of success, in this ego identity stage of development, has implications for dealing with the next stage of psychosocial evolution as well. The adolescent in the next psychosocial stage was expected to master the intimacy versus isolation task.  When successful, the adolescent then should be clear about who she is and what she stands for, if she is to establish a mutually satisfying intimate relationship in preparation for marriage. Ego identity personality components follow.

The statistically significant results of my research were as follows: 1. Pregnant teenagers had higher scores associated with identity diffusion. 2. Pregnant teenager’s drawings were more feminine. 3. Non pregnant teens perceived their behavior with less distortion 4. Non pregnant youth had higher self-acceptance scores 5. Non pregnant had less maladjustment scores 6. Non-pregnant had higher dominance scores 7. Non pregnant had higher sociability scores 8. Non pregnant had higher intellectual efficiency scores.

To Be Continued

Ego Identity and Young Mothers

An article titled “Data on Mothers Reveal Schisms across America” in the August 5, 2018 edition of The New York Times highlighted another major concern facing our country. For instance, the age of first time mothers varied according to level of education and geography. Analyzing birth certificates since 1985, they found that women with college degrees, on average, give birth to children 7 years later than women without a degree .These degree women were in their early 30’s while non degree women were in their early 20’s. Moreover, first-time college educated mothers were older and lived in the big cities and on the coasts while the less educated resided in rural areas, the Great Plains and in the South. The researchers found that the first time, less educated and living in the rural areas, Great Plains and South mothers were more conservative and religious; had younger grandparents who lived nearby; were unmarried; had difficulty affording birth control; were economically challenged with unplanned pregnancies; did not consider abortion; and were without a nearby medical provider . These mothers also had identity formation difficulties, along with a dependent personality. Regardless of age, becoming pregnant is easy, but caring full-term and child rearing is difficult. We know that the nutritional and emotional state of the mother is of major importance for her and her embryo. Also, the quality of the mother’s relationship with her partner adds another important positive dimension. On the other hand, the older mothers, the researchers reported, tended to be liberal; splitting bread winning and caregiving responsibilities with men; had middle-class wages; had more years of earned money for investment in children’s lessons and their college accounts, had advanced in their careers before giving birth; tended to be married and were less likely to be divorced. To Be Continued

Bo's Mental life Part 3

A lack of perfection occurred when Michigan had a punt blocked while playing Missouri in 1969. The following week, in practice, Bo had his players perform numerous punting drills. In fact, he boasted that he would pay a player who could block a punt. Then, the unforgivable happened, and a punt got blocked. Coach Schembechler believed that Jim Brandstatter made the mistake allowing the punt to be blocked. Bo, ran after Brandstatter and caught up to him, yelling, spitting and berating his player. Even though Coach Jerry Hanlon, told Bo that Jim was not at fault, Bo told him that Jim needed it anyway. Once again we see the power of the emotional need for perfection and the fear of failure reality. In other words, the unrealistic drive for perfection and fear of failure go hand-in-hand. Another example of the identification and introjection was illustrated by Bo’s father was when the senior Schembechler was taking a civil service exam for a job promotion. He found out that his competition had the test questions prior. The senior Schembechler went into a rage about how unfair that was. However, playing by the rules were modeled and Incorporated in Bo’s psyche. While Michigan’s head coach, Bo was told of an alumni booster who paid a player to cut his mother’s grass in Buffalo. At the time, the NCAA would have penalized the Wolverines for violating one of their rules. Schembechler told Fritz Seyferth working in the Ad’s office to take away the boosters football tickets, and to that overzealous booster from the football program. The ground floor for Identification, introjection, ego ideal, conscience and self-begin early in the development of one’s mental life. It’s like the standard is set and we add to it with the identification of numerous idols, celebrities, literary figures, stars and so forth throughout a lifetime of experiences. For Bo, there was nothing greater than the roar of the crowd; the adulation; the team; the mastery -satisfaction and all the positive feelings fulfilling his personal ambitions. The losses and all the accompanying negative feelings like guilt, unworthiness, disappointments and shame fueled his fear of failure and drove him in an attempt to obtain perfection. His teams became his family. At times, being human, he was unjust to himself as well. For more about Bo Schembechler and his Wolverines, check out Bo’s Warriors Bo Schembechler and the Transformation of Michigan Football.

Bo's Mental life Part 2

As an adolescent, Bo did have a fantasy and in his imagination and dreams, he was pitching in the seventh game of the World Series. In reality, Bo had an opportunity to become the hero for his high school baseball team. Bo was brought in as a relief pitcher with the bases-loaded in and all-important playoff game. Unfortunately, Bo gave up a hit that cleared the bases; his team lost; the team was knocked out of championship contention; and Bo never pitched again. Bo, in his psyche, let down his coach, teammates, school, self, and of course mother .In his conscience, he felt a tremendous amount of guilt and shame along with negative self-talk. Within one’s conscience and ego ideal, one’s sense of self gets established. That game loss resulted in being “bad” with tremendous behavioral consequences. It set up and reinforced the dreaded mechanism for fear of failure. Bo’s fear of failure was significantly reinforced again when he played in an all-important and the most physical high school football game of his life. Again, he experienced failure when his team lost that game 7-0. Bo cried after that heartbreaking loss. Those defeats and negative feelings were implanted in the memory of his conscience forever. Psycho dynamically, this was a narcissistic injury for Bo. Other heroes, identification figures, and ego idols for Schembechler included legends from Notre Dame Football like Knute Rockne-the Gipper, The Four Horsemen, and Elmer Layden. Bo wanted to be a star and play football for Notre Dame, but was not recruited. Instead, he was recruited by Sid Gilman from Miami of Ohio. Gilman was fired, and then replaced. Bo’s head coach became Woody Hayes. Once again, another major disappointment and the fear of failure was highlighted and reinforced in Bo’s psyche as he did not become a football hero for the fighting Irish. Bo, essentially learned from Woody Hayes about compensating for the fear of failure through practice and the endless repetition of do overs. Football, like other sports has the human element of making mistakes. Woody, in order to minimize mistakes and shoot for perfection or mastery, ran the same offensive play over and over. The same football repetition occurred when Bo took over as head coach for the University of Michigan. Further, Coach Schembechler had the players performing unorthodox and gut wrenching conditioning during the winter. Once again, one has to become stronger than his opponent and hope that it protects and is a defense against failure. To Be Continued

Bo's Mental Life

Bo Schembechler was born in 1929 on April Fools’ Day. He was given the reins 40 years later to become the University of Michigan’s head football coach in 1969. He retired from that position in 1989. Schembechler’s Wolverines were victorious in 194 games and lost just 48. During his tenure, his Michigan teams won or shared in 13 Big Ten titles, and made 10 Rose Bowl appearances. He was voted national coach of the year 1969, by the American Football Coaches Association and the Football Writers Association of America. The psychodynamic basis for Schembechler’s coaching success follows. At about three years of age, Bo’s ego ideal and conscience began to be developed as a result of the introjection and identification mechanisms that resulted from his parents, parenting. Ego ideal refers to the unconscious desire, wish to attain perfection and achievement or the idealized picture of self [stronger than Hercules, smarter than Athena, more attractive than Helen, faster than Damysus and so on]. Conscience is related to good and bad, right and wrong, ethics and moral behaviors. For instance, if you strike out while playing baseball, that feels awful or when you make a basket in a basketball game, that feels terrific. Bo’s mother was a devout fan and follower of the Cleveland Indians. She listened to their radio broadcasts and even attended games. Her favorites likely were pitcher Luke Sewell and perhaps Lou Boudreau. Bo interjected his mother’s favorable attitude regarding the Cleveland Indians and more than likely, young Bo in latency, these Indians became lodged in his ego ideal. Cleveland Indian idols and heroes like pitchers Luke Sewell and or Joe Dobson became his heroes, and young Bo created fantasies, and dreamt about being a major-league pitcher in the big leagues. Listening to the radio broadcasts, the announcers embellished the miraculous athletic feats to the roar of the crowds of these larger-than-life athletes. Bo’s imagination ran wild with Herculean exploits of greatness and fame. With sports, individuals experience a wide range of emotions, within the safety of the group. As a result, Bo had permission to express and feel emotions. To Be Continued

Functional Medicine and Nike Part 2

Although this was not a random sample of runners and there were problems with actual identification of various running shoes, the conclusions supported Nike’s claim. For example, the speed increases associated with the Vaporflys were consistent with the increases in a Nike funded study. Runners who improved their performance in the Nike shoe and then switched to another shoe found their running times got slower. At the moment, the shoes cost $250, even though some runners claimed that they were good for only about 100 miles. Further, Nike’s newest version of the shoe, the Elite Flyprint cost about $650 and will be used by a limited number of runners in the 2018 London Marathon. I do not have a dilemma at the moment. I am determined to evaluate if my amino acid supplements work in my 2019 races to see if my running times improved. After completing those 4 runs of two 10 milers and two 50 K’s, I plan to asses and decide whether or not to purchase the Nike running shoe. Another option would be to begin track workouts as another variable. In essence, I shall have at least three options for consideration. In any event, I plan to keep moving.

Functional Medicine and Nike

Last year I attended a continuing education class, and learned more about medical foods and about functional medicine doctors. Not only did the class enhance my knowledge, it also provided the impetus to seek a functional medicine doctor in my area. I liked the idea of digesting certain foods and supplements to improve my health. So, I made an appointment, and then had to figure out why I was seeing that physician. I told that doctor that I wanted to run faster. Dr. Kristin took a history, provided me with information regarding medicinal foods and set up an appointment for bloodwork. The results came back from Genova Diagnostics and indicated that my riboflavin-B2 and folic acid-B9 were low. She then referred me to a company that created a personalized supplement that I currently take in powder form. Although I was in good medical health prior, I will continue taking this supplement at least until I run my first four races in 2019. At that juncture, I will compare my running times to years past to determine if I have increased my running time speed. Then out of the blue, I ran across a July 22, 2018 article in the New York Times titled “What If a $250 Shoe Actually Made You Run Faster?” I now have at least two options for increased running speed. In this article, a survey was implemented to see if the Nike claim that their Zoom Vaporfly allowed people to run 4% faster. The article, Incorporated, a statistical model based on runner traits such as weather, age, prerace training ; runners previous race times; runners who ran in the same pair of races; personal record when switching shoes; and after runners switch to new shoes in an attempt to verify Nike’s claim. The authors employed Strava to track runners running times, and personal runner communication, per the type and/or model of running shoe used for 500,000 Marathon and half Marathon running times since 2014. To Be Continued

The Importance of Identification Part 3

I supported, and overlooked his unorthodox behavior of sleeping in a recruit’s room or even attending high school with that recruit. He held spring practices in Florida, and took his teams to Italy and France. In 2015, my Wolverines lost to Michigan State when on the last play the game, the punt was blocked and a Michigan State player ran it into the end zone. I could not objectively listen to criticism when it came to coach Harbaugh’s call to punt the ball. Moreover, it was as if my conscience was frozen, nonfunctioning, malleable or absent as Jim’s sense of morality became like my own. I could not employ my conscience independently when it came to Jim’s behavior. I could easily use my words, and/or defense mechanisms or even ignore the coach’s behavior. I could not even apply rational thought and thinking properly. Or simply put, my rational thought and my conscience were objectively ineffective when it came to coach Harbaugh. It would probably take losing seasons to dislodge my identification with coach Harbaugh. Otherwise, my feelings of approval and support continue to be obtained by allegiance to this external authority. These few examples demonstrate the power of unconscious identification. Irrational judgment, non-effective immature conscience, submission to the leader, inability to listen to reason or criticism, and the employment of denial, rationalization, and intellectualization occur within .Jim Harbaugh, as the messiah, can do no wrong at this moment. His will, commands, and precepts or principles becomes my moral laws. Because of our cognitive ability, we can come to any conclusion possible. We don’t have to be consistent; we don’t have to be rational; we don’t have to make sense; we don’t have to think in complete sentences nor do we have to be reasonable. We can even convince ourselves of the unbelievable. Facts are easily discounted and become not important. Often, our unconscious introjections, identifications and emotions interfere with and rule reality. As a consequence, our moral and ethical conscience and development are often out of balance, flawed, and not representative of Judeo-Christian values. Who is your Pied Piper? It’s clear that the vast array of Pied Pipers help define and establish one’s personality as a result of the power of the identifications.

The Importance of Identification Part 2

As a University of Michigan alumnus, I have followed the football and basketball programs. In 2015, Jim Harbaugh took over, and became the leader for the football program. I knew that Jim was previously a quarterback for the Wolverines, played for Bo Schembechler; was a successful NFL quarterback; was a head coach at the University of San Diego , Stanford; and the San Francisco 49ers. His whole career was about high-performance, dominating and winning. Michigan’s illustrious football program was in decline after coach Lloyd Carr retired. Coaches Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke did not rescue the Wolverines. The Wolverines had been previously elite. It was difficult following them, and I was resentful about their mediocracy and poor play, especially against Ohio State. It was an embarrassment to say the least. Jim Harbaugh was brought in to resurrect the football program and restore it to its former glory. He had a reputation of being a narcissist, powerful, controlling with an authoritarian personality style. Identifying with the Wolverines resulted in my experiencing either jubilation or despair, depending upon the outcome of the game. The hiring of Jim Harbaugh resulted in an unconscious identification with Jim. Translated, this means that his personality, his rationality, and his conscience became like mine. In other words, Jim was correct or right, regardless of what he said or did. He could do no wrong, and I was unable to evaluate him and his accomplishments rationally. Further, no one could effectively reason with me about any of his negatives. He could walk on water, and I would experience hardships [having a poor won and loss record] if necessary. To Be Continued

The Importance of Identification

We live in an economic, political and social system. Our capitalistic economic system favors the top 1%; we have a serious political divide; we are confronted with potential nuclear war, terrorist attacks, opiates/drugs, global warming, massive personal and national debt, and all the insecurities and so on. Within these elements, personality, character and conscience are influenced. For instance, as newborns, we are born helpless and dependent and rely on our parents for survival. They gratify our physical and psychological needs and meet the requirements for our development. With techniques of praise, loss of love, disapproval, and/or physical punishment, we began to understand parental attitudes and witness parental rigidness, inconsistencies, non-rational contradictions and ambiguities while developing our conscience. By five or six years of age, we have incorporated and learned parental interpreted notions, attitudes, values, ethics, good, bad, morals and prohibitions as our own. We now have the beginnings, or the ground floor for further conscience development. The following “being honest; obeying rules and regulations; resisting temptations to cheat, lie or steal; acting in kind, considerate, altruistic ways; considering the rights and welfare of others; treating people in egalitarian rather than authoritarian ways; making moral judgments in which justice is tempered with mercy” become the components of our conscience. In other words, we have introjected the moral foundations of our parent’s conscience and behavior, and established and instituted our conscience by identifying with them. Realistically, we have likely incorporated more of not “do as I say,” but instead “do as I do.” And, further, that our identification is not only strong but has incorporated the essence or the power of parental authority. Throughout our lives, we identify with others of importance like older siblings, peers, teachers, coaches, professional athletes, role models, heroes and so forth. A brief example of the power of unconscious identifications follow. Remember, unconscious means, not being aware. To Be Continued