It's All In Your Head Blah-Blah-Blah...

Been quiet lately, hiding behind work and life. Wish I was writing -- that's come hard of late, my head's morphed to mush. Maybe it's the low pushed ahead by the tropical storm wending itself up the eastern seaboard. Maybe it's thoughts of grant proposals I'll need to develop over the next few months, a tremendous endeavor that taxes my creative juices. Maybe it's ennui or the change of seasons which always tinges me with melancholy. Maybe I'm just tired...

Or maybe I'm sad. Three of my friends lost parents this past week, and a lot of friends are out of work. My family has it's own pressure and anxieties as well...

Or maybe I need to see the doctor. But my doctor never calls me back. I worry about health care reform -- do we have enough doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other health care providers? I mean, if someone like myself with better-than-adequate insurance and insider savvy on working the system can't get her doctor to pay attention to a radiology report, then how the hell will the system deal with the rapid expansion of twenty percent MORE patients in the pool? This keeps me up at night. Think of it -- the queues of Canada meld with the over-priced bloated US health care 'system'...

Just back from a two day conference in DC sponsored by the National Institute on Mental Health that looked at the psychiatric aspects of health care reform. No answers, not yet, but at least I came back re-energized and with ideas for grant proposals. I stayed north of Dupont Circle and south of the zoo, old stomping grounds when I was a college intern. Drank too much coffee, probably the culprit behind the nagging ache in my brain...

Speaking of brains, Charlie Rose recently hosted a series on The Brain. Lots of talking heads talking about the insides of our heads -- addictions, anxciety, schizophrenia, memory loss. Fascinating stuff. You can buy the DVD series from amazon, or just view them for free here...

And speaking of free, one of the absolute best things I've read this week, ANYTHING AGAIN by Claire King, a gorgeous story of loss and food. And the other absolutely best thing I've read is Lou Freshwater's LOVE. Check them out, along with 35 other 250 word stories about 'the last time' up at 52-250.

I suppose I should go write a poem or something, stuff's due, but maybe I'll just eat mango ice cream. Peace, Linda

Bipolar Brains: Different From All the Rest

NIMH: Bipolar Youth Show Distinct Pattern of Brain Development

A fascinating new study shows how cycles of depression and mania change the actual structure of the brain in youth. Go to the link, click on the flicks - and see the dramatic gains in the growth of working tissue in the left hemisphere, the cingulate, and other areas regulating mood function. Meanwhile, grey matter loses ground in the right hemisphere. Spoken and written word functions reside in the left side of the brain, as does as the memory of words.

Neuroscience is proving what social scientists and psychologists have theorized for years - creativity, at least that related to the literary arts, does have some basis in mood. As a study of one (also known as an anecdote), I can attest: I write best when a bit of hypomania fuels my brain.

IN MEMORIUM... Please remember those whose lives were lost in planes, too-high towers, and the Pentagon six years ago today. Peace and prayers to the survivors. And a special tribute and thanks to those who perished trying to save their fellow humans. Peace, Linda