Women experience more pain

Just because women experience childbirth, they do not necessarily have a higher pain threshold, according to new research:

Women generally experience more recurrent pain, more severe pain and longer lasting pain than men.

Not only this, but they feel pain in different ways to the opposite sex, offering different symptoms for the same conditions.

Different hormones, body composition and central nervous systems means women are more susceptible to a range of painful conditions, according to experts at a conference for the International Association for the Study of Pain.

Interconnection

Do animals experience emotions? Of course they do, and solid science, combined with countless stories, show this to be so. It is bad science to rob animals of their feelings. When someone tells me they are not sure if dogs, for example, experience joy or grief, I say I'm glad I'm not your dog.

This week's picture of Gana, the 11-year-old gorilla shown grieving the loss of her infant, was one of the most poignant images I have ever seen of an animal in distress.

It's sad but true that humans have been so cruelly over-confident to think that animals don't have feelings. The Telegraph article continues:

Since we already know so much about the emotional lives of diverse species, arguments to the contrary are often excuses to retain the status quo – in other words, human superiority.

The real question is why emotions have evolved, not if they have evolved.

The Pill affects choice in partner

Scientists believe taking the pill changes the way a woman reacts to a man's smell.

One consequence could be that they are more attracted to partners with whom it will be harder to conceive if they want children.

A man's aroma can give a clue to his type of genes and ability to fight disease, although it is complicated by factors such as soap and aftershave.

Women subconsciously react to a man's smell to pinpoint a partner with dissimilar genes to themselves. It is important to have a mixed immune system to combat different diseases.

Via The Telegraph.

Quite a drawback to something which has been such a boon to women's sexual life. Yet really makes you reconsider pumping your body with artificial hormones...

As an aside, the researcher commented:

As for evidence that a weakening of relationships had occurred as a result of the introduction of the contraceptive pill, he said: "Divorce rates were certainly lower before and up to the mid-60s when pill use became commonplace, but as you can imagine, there are plenty of alternative explanations for increasing divorce rates since then. A definitive study has yet to be done (I'm seeking funding for this)."

Increase your chi

Surge of Chi Exercisers or Chi Machines, provide a form of passive exercise that allows all ages to enjoy a stimulating workout in the comfort of home. They originated in Japan 15 years ago - where they emerged from the understanding within shiatsu and elsewhere about the value of swinging the feet to create a harmonic response through the torso. Often referred to in the West as 'Chi Machines' - after the original Japanese model found its way to the West under this trade-marked product name - they have a long history, and many fans.

The rhythmic movement generated acts to both release tension in the back and shoulders, and to stimulate respiration and the nervous system, giving a distinct boost of chi energy -while the user lies down and focuses on letting go to the motion and completely relaxing..!

The Japanese realised that benefits occurred at many levels. The concept was recognised as a remedial medical device by the Ministry of Health & Welfare in 1990, and with their health-conscious and busy lifestyles, the Japanese quickly became enthusiasts. This newly found way of exercising became known in Japan as kingyo undo - or 'goldfish exercise' - and its popularity then spread to the Chinese, who realised the strong connection with 'chi' energy.

Available here. Very cool...

Fascinating 'elite suppressor' of HIV

It's amazing to think that this woman has such powerful CD8 T-cells that the virus which has done so much damage to people cannot penetrate.

A woman who has never shown symptoms of infection with the AIDS virus may hold the secret to defeating the virus, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

Tests showed that immune cells known as CD8 T-cells from the wife stalled HIV replication by as much as 90 percent, while the husband's T-cells stopped it by only 30 percent, Blankson's team reported in the Journal of Virology.

Her virus has also mutated in apparent response to this immune attack, becoming weaker, while her husband's virus has remained strong.

"Elite suppression offers clues to vaccine researchers on many fronts: how CD8 killer T-cells can attack HIV and how a stronger immune response can force HIV into a permanent defensive state," Blankson said.

Another clue: the woman may have unusual activity in her human leukocyte antigen system, or HLA, Blankson said. This important component of the immune system helps recognize antigens -- protein identifiers -- of enemies such as bacteria and viruses.

Put on a happy face

How to be an Optimist:

1. Play interpersonal Ping-Pong.

If you serve up a smile to people, they usually bounce it back. Hit them with a snarl and watch them scowl instead.

* Research shows that facial expressions and the moods that accompany them are contagious, probably because they evolved as a means of nonverbal communication between people.
* You can use the infectious effects of a grin to jump-start an optimistic outlook in yourself by sending others what you want them to lob back at you. A kind word to the man behind the deli counter can get your day bouncing in the right direction.

2. Short-circuit pessimism.

There's another reason for putting on a happy face: it influences your brain in a positive way.

* In one study, subjects who were asked to hold a pen in their mouth (causing them to inadvertently make the facial muscle movements characteristic of a smile) rated cartoons to be funnier than did other subjects, even though they were unaware that it was the smile that was boosting their reaction.
* There's an interesting biological reason for this effect: When you feel down, your brain tells your face you're sad and your facial muscles respond by putting on a depressed expression—and convey back to the brain that, yes, you're feeling blue. Consciously changing the facial muscles so they don't correspond to what you're feeling is a way of sending a different message: "Hey, it's not so bad down here after all." The brain will respond by beginning to change your mood accordingly.

3. Explain success and failure like an optimist.

Research shows that it's not what happens that determines your mood but how you explain what happens that counts.

* If an optimist encounters a computer program she can't figure out, she's likely to say, "Either the manual is unclear, or this program is hard, or maybe I'm having an off day." The optimist keeps the failure outside herself ("the manual"), specific ("this program") and temporary ("an off day"), while the pessimist would make it internal, global and permanent.
* When success occurs optimists say, "Of course dinner turned out; I'm a good cook," while pessimists say, "Boy, was I lucky today," literally snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. If you start to speak to yourself in a more positive way when you succeed and fail, you'll gradually become more optimistic.

4. Stack the deck in your favor.

It's easy to be envious: Compare yourself to those with thinner thighs and fatter bank accounts and you'll always come up wanting—and pessimistic. But the corollary is also true: No matter how bad things get, there's always someone who's worse off.

* In one simple study, subjects were randomly divided into two subgroups. One group was to finish the sentence "I wish I were a ___." The other was asked to complete the sentence "I'm glad I'm not a ___." When individuals rated their sense of satisfaction with their lives before and after this task, those who completed the "I'm glad I'm not a ___" sentence were significantly more satisfied than before.

5. Learn to shift your focus.

Pessimists can't stop depressing facts or negative thoughts from poking into their consciousness, but they can choose not to dwell on them.

* If you look through a camera lens, you'll find that when one part of the picture is in focus, the other areas blur a bit. (This is a distortion, sure, but sometimes we need to sustain the idea of being in a protective bubble to feel optimistic.) This active self-direction of your own moment-to-moment perspective allows you to create a new life story, one in which you take charge of your emotions and actions.
* Since research shows that those who feel they have a better sense of control tend to be the most optimistic, why not take charge of where your psychological lens is focused?

How to become happier?

Oprah.com offers 10 strategies for "Choosing Happiness":

A popular greeting card attributes this quote to Henry David Thoreau: "Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder."

With all due respect to the author of Walden, that just isn't so, according to a growing number of psychologists. You can choose to be happy, they say. You can chase down that elusive butterfly and get it to sit on your shoulder. How? In part, by simply making the effort to monitor the workings of your mind.

Research has shown that your talent for happiness is, to a large degree, determined by your genes. Psychology professor David T. Lykken, author of Happiness: Its Nature and Nurture, says that "trying to be happier is like trying to be taller." We each have a "happiness set point," he argues, and move away from it only slightly.

And yet, psychologists who study happiness—including Lykken—believe we can pursue happiness. We can do this by thwarting negative emotions such as pessimism, resentment and anger. And we can foster positive emotions, such as empathy, serenity, and especially gratitude.

Strategy #2: Cultivate Gratitude
Jon Haidt, author of The Happiness Hypothesis, teaches positive psychology. He actually assigns his students to make themselves happier during the semester.

"They have to say exactly what technique they will use," says Haidt, a professor at the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville. "They may choose to be more forgiving or more grateful. They may learn to identify negative thoughts so they can challenge them. For example, when someone crosses you, in your mind you build a case against that person, but that's very damaging to relationships. So they may learn to shut up their inner lawyer and stop building these cases against people."

Once you've decided to be happier, you can choose strategies for achieving happiness. Psychologists who study happiness tend to agree on ones like these.

In his book, Authentic Happiness, University of Pennsylvania psychologist Martin Seligman encourages readers to perform a daily "gratitude exercise." It involves listing a few things that make them grateful. This shifts people away from bitterness and despair, he says, and promotes happiness.



Strategy #3: Foster Forgiveness
Holding a grudge and nursing grievances can affect physical as well as mental health, according to a rapidly growing body of research. One way to curtail these kinds of feelings is to foster forgiveness. This reduces the power of bad events to create bitterness and resentment, say Michael McCullough and Robert Emmons, happiness researchers who edited The Psychology of Happiness.

In his book, Five Steps to Forgiveness, clinical psychologist Everett Worthington Jr. offers a five-step process he calls REACH. First, recall the hurt. Then empathize and try to understand the act from the perpetrator's point of view. Be altruistic by recalling a time in your life when you were forgiven. Commit to putting your forgiveness into words. You can do this either in a letter to the person you're forgiving or in your journal. Finally, try to hold on to the forgiveness. Don't dwell on your anger, hurt, and desire for vengeance.

The alternative to forgiveness is mulling over a transgression. This is a form of chronic stress, says Worthington.

"Rumination is the mental health bad boy," Worthington tells WebMD. "It's associated with almost everything bad in the mental health field—obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, anxiety—probably hives, too."

Strategy #4: Counteract Negative Thoughts and Feelings
As Jon Haidt puts it, improve your mental hygiene. In The Happiness Hypothesis, Haidt compares the mind to a man riding an elephant. The elephant represents the powerful thoughts and feelings—mostly unconscious—that drive your behavior. The man, although much weaker, can exert control over the elephant, just as you can exert control over negative thoughts and feelings.

"The key is a commitment to doing the things necessary to retrain the elephant," Haidt says. "And the evidence suggests there's a lot you can do. It just takes work."

For example, you can practice meditation, rhythmic breathing, yoga or relaxation techniques to quell anxiety and promote serenity. You can learn to recognize and challenge thoughts you have about being inadequate and helpless.

"If you learn techniques for identifying negative thoughts, then it's easier to challenge them," Haidt said. "Sometimes just reading David Burns' book, Feeling Good, can have a positive effect."

Strategy #5: Remember, Money Can't Buy Happiness
Research shows that once income climbs above the poverty level, more money brings very little extra happiness. Yet, "we keep assuming that because things aren't bringing us happiness, they're the wrong things, rather than recognizing that the pursuit itself is futile," writes Daniel Gilbert in his book, Stumbling on Happiness. "Regardless of what we achieve in the pursuit of stuff, it's never going to bring about an enduring state of happiness."

Strategy #6: Foster Friendship
There are few better antidotes to unhappiness than close friendships with people who care about you, says David G. Myers, author of The Pursuit of Happiness. One Australian study found that people over 70 who had the strongest network of friends lived much longer.

"Sadly, our increasingly individualistic society suffers from impoverished social connections, which some psychologists believe is a cause of today's epidemic levels of depression," Myers writes. "The social ties that bind also provide support in difficult times."

Strategy #7: Engage in Meaningful Activities
People are seldom happier, says psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, than when they're in the "flow." This is a state in which your mind becomes thoroughly absorbed in a meaningful task that challenges your abilities. Yet, he has found that the most common leisure time activity—watching TV—produces some of the lowest levels of happiness.

To get more out of life, we need to put more into it, says Csikszentmihalyi. "Active leisure that helps a person grow does not come easily," he writes in Finding Flow. "Each of the flow-producing activities requires an initial investment of attention before it begins to be enjoyable."

So it turns out that happiness can be a matter of choice—not just luck. Some people are lucky enough to possess genes that foster happiness. However, certain thought patterns and interpersonal skills definitely help people become an "epicure of experience," says David Lykken, whose name, in Norwegian, means "the happiness."