wilkdawg
05-07-2009, 03:51 PM
I know that my replies to others have been my most helpful and well-received posts so far. However, in my own day-to-day "adventure", I often come up with revelations regarding my own success in coping. Then, I want to share with others in an honest effort to spread the knowledge, to help others cope. So, here goes.
The title of this post is "Intestinal Fortitude". For those who have never heard the expression, here's the best definition I could find:
"courage; resoluteness; endurance; guts: to have intestinal fortitude."
I wish I came up with that one but my most recent revelation has to do with WHERE this particular strength comes from. The BRAIN is located in the skull but where is our mind located? What little our scientists knows can only explain what aspects of the brain are connected to emotions, the mind and any other intangible concept with which we claim to perceive our daily life. When we realize that our brain is the problem, we feel like we can't trust ourselves. We feel that the tool with which we perceive the problem IS the problem. But the phrase 'intestinal fortitude' implies that strength comes from GUTS, a concept we associate with a part of our body that is NOT our brain.
If I have managed to navigate one bad day successfully, I feel I have to figure out why and then share it with you guys. The other day, I went from planning to call out of work with no plans for my classes to showing up to the building to improvising through classes to finishing a day of work. I was getting some lunch and finally slowed my momentum enough to ask myself how I had gotten that far. Really. Im sure you've done it. At some point in the day, you do a double take and ask yourself "How did I get here?". My answer, that day, was intestinal fortitude. I think we all learn or must learn to conceive of strength that is not related to our mind/brain. This may lead to us storing said strength in all sorts of conceptual locations, such as the GUTS, and forgetting about them. But they are there when you need them and the forces in our troubled minds cannot touch them. You develop a DRIVE, a PUSH. Is it a perfect method? Of course not. Sooner or later, our diseased minds find those locations, ransack them and leave us laid out. You know what? You take the hit and start storing strength all over again.
That was just a post that's been forming in my mind for days. I hope it made sense and was food for thought. I'm glad to have this forum so I can unload this stuff. You can also skip all this and try to find a way to convert DreamsInNeon's willpower into liquid form and inject yourself with it. Whatever works.
John
The title of this post is "Intestinal Fortitude". For those who have never heard the expression, here's the best definition I could find:
"courage; resoluteness; endurance; guts: to have intestinal fortitude."
I wish I came up with that one but my most recent revelation has to do with WHERE this particular strength comes from. The BRAIN is located in the skull but where is our mind located? What little our scientists knows can only explain what aspects of the brain are connected to emotions, the mind and any other intangible concept with which we claim to perceive our daily life. When we realize that our brain is the problem, we feel like we can't trust ourselves. We feel that the tool with which we perceive the problem IS the problem. But the phrase 'intestinal fortitude' implies that strength comes from GUTS, a concept we associate with a part of our body that is NOT our brain.
If I have managed to navigate one bad day successfully, I feel I have to figure out why and then share it with you guys. The other day, I went from planning to call out of work with no plans for my classes to showing up to the building to improvising through classes to finishing a day of work. I was getting some lunch and finally slowed my momentum enough to ask myself how I had gotten that far. Really. Im sure you've done it. At some point in the day, you do a double take and ask yourself "How did I get here?". My answer, that day, was intestinal fortitude. I think we all learn or must learn to conceive of strength that is not related to our mind/brain. This may lead to us storing said strength in all sorts of conceptual locations, such as the GUTS, and forgetting about them. But they are there when you need them and the forces in our troubled minds cannot touch them. You develop a DRIVE, a PUSH. Is it a perfect method? Of course not. Sooner or later, our diseased minds find those locations, ransack them and leave us laid out. You know what? You take the hit and start storing strength all over again.
That was just a post that's been forming in my mind for days. I hope it made sense and was food for thought. I'm glad to have this forum so I can unload this stuff. You can also skip all this and try to find a way to convert DreamsInNeon's willpower into liquid form and inject yourself with it. Whatever works.
John
Sponsor
dreams in neon
05-07-2009, 05:48 PM
You can also skip all this and try to find a way to convert DreamsInNeon's willpower into liquid form and inject yourself with it. Whatever works.
John,
Great post!
I couldn't help but smile at the last sentence of your post. If truth be told, I don't give up easily and I'm certainly not going to let bipolar defeat me. I'm sure there are many others on the board who feel the same way. :)
John,
Great post!
I couldn't help but smile at the last sentence of your post. If truth be told, I don't give up easily and I'm certainly not going to let bipolar defeat me. I'm sure there are many others on the board who feel the same way. :)
windimeria2000
05-07-2009, 11:24 PM
I think the word your looking for is Resilience.
1. the power or ability to return to the original form, position, etc., after being bent, compressed, or stretched; elasticity.
2. ability to recover readily from illness, depression, adversity, or the like; buoyancy.
1. the power or ability to return to the original form, position, etc., after being bent, compressed, or stretched; elasticity.
2. ability to recover readily from illness, depression, adversity, or the like; buoyancy.
dreams in neon
05-07-2009, 11:28 PM
Actually, the word fortitude is also accurate since it means that a person possesses the mental and emotional strength to face adversity or difficulty.
Llama
05-07-2009, 11:29 PM
Good post John! Thanks for that! :) It's definitely food for thought.
dreams in neon
05-07-2009, 11:30 PM
I don't think it's possible for a person to recover from bipolar per se since it's a lifelong disorder that requires constant monitoring, med adjustments/changes and causes "breakthrough" episodes that are due to biological and environmental factors.
BipolarPrincess
05-08-2009, 03:11 PM
That was just a post that's been forming in my mind for days. I hope it made sense and was food for thought. I'm glad to have this forum so I can unload this stuff. You can also skip all this and try to find a way to convert DreamsInNeon's willpower into liquid form and inject yourself with it. Whatever works.
John
ha ha ha. I NEED HER WILLPOWER. I have some,but not much. I need to find it I guess.:confused:
John
ha ha ha. I NEED HER WILLPOWER. I have some,but not much. I need to find it I guess.:confused:
dreams in neon
05-08-2009, 03:21 PM
ha ha ha. I NEED HER WILLPOWER. I have some,but not much. I need to find it I guess.:confused:
If I could share my willpower with you and everyone else on this board through osmosis, I would! :)
If I could share my willpower with you and everyone else on this board through osmosis, I would! :)
bluegreensky
05-09-2009, 07:34 AM
Hey all, some interesting facts regarding the gut…
Your enteric nervous system manages your gastrointestinal tract. Known as the second brain, the enteric nervous system is relatively similar to your central nervous system, as they both use the same structures of sensory and motor neurons, information processing circuits, hormones and neurotransmitters, including dopamine and serotonin. In essence, your brain and gut are interlinked. One hundred million neurotransmitters line the length of the gut, approximately the same number found in the brain. Added to this, is the belief that, just like your brain goes through 90-minute sleep cycles, so your gut also goes through a corresponding 90-minute cycle, of slow-wave muscle contractions interspersed with corresponding short bursts of rapid muscle movement. That feeling of butterflies in your tummy, anxiety and stress are all physically felt in your gut. Research has found that 'undigested traumas' live in your stomach. In order to emotionally protect oneself, the body may develop holding patterns, places where tensions are held to prevent the experiences of particular emotions, traumas, memories and stress.
Your enteric nervous system manages your gastrointestinal tract. Known as the second brain, the enteric nervous system is relatively similar to your central nervous system, as they both use the same structures of sensory and motor neurons, information processing circuits, hormones and neurotransmitters, including dopamine and serotonin. In essence, your brain and gut are interlinked. One hundred million neurotransmitters line the length of the gut, approximately the same number found in the brain. Added to this, is the belief that, just like your brain goes through 90-minute sleep cycles, so your gut also goes through a corresponding 90-minute cycle, of slow-wave muscle contractions interspersed with corresponding short bursts of rapid muscle movement. That feeling of butterflies in your tummy, anxiety and stress are all physically felt in your gut. Research has found that 'undigested traumas' live in your stomach. In order to emotionally protect oneself, the body may develop holding patterns, places where tensions are held to prevent the experiences of particular emotions, traumas, memories and stress.
dreams in neon
05-09-2009, 08:40 AM
Hey all, some interesting facts regarding the gut…
Your enteric nervous system manages your gastrointestinal tract. Known as the second brain, the enteric nervous system is relatively similar to your central nervous system, as they both use the same structures of sensory and motor neurons, information processing circuits, hormones and neurotransmitters, including dopamine and serotonin. In essence, your brain and gut are interlinked. One hundred million neurotransmitters line the length of the gut, approximately the same number found in the brain. Added to this, is the belief that, just like your brain goes through 90-minute sleep cycles, so your gut also goes through a corresponding 90-minute cycle, of slow-wave muscle contractions interspersed with corresponding short bursts of rapid muscle movement. That feeling of butterflies in your tummy, anxiety and stress are all physically felt in your gut. Research has found that 'undigested traumas' live in your stomach. In order to emotionally protect oneself, the body may develop holding patterns, places where tensions are held to prevent the experiences of particular emotions, traumas, memories and stress.
What does this have to do with this thread or bipolar? <confused>
Your enteric nervous system manages your gastrointestinal tract. Known as the second brain, the enteric nervous system is relatively similar to your central nervous system, as they both use the same structures of sensory and motor neurons, information processing circuits, hormones and neurotransmitters, including dopamine and serotonin. In essence, your brain and gut are interlinked. One hundred million neurotransmitters line the length of the gut, approximately the same number found in the brain. Added to this, is the belief that, just like your brain goes through 90-minute sleep cycles, so your gut also goes through a corresponding 90-minute cycle, of slow-wave muscle contractions interspersed with corresponding short bursts of rapid muscle movement. That feeling of butterflies in your tummy, anxiety and stress are all physically felt in your gut. Research has found that 'undigested traumas' live in your stomach. In order to emotionally protect oneself, the body may develop holding patterns, places where tensions are held to prevent the experiences of particular emotions, traumas, memories and stress.
What does this have to do with this thread or bipolar? <confused>
dreams in neon
05-09-2009, 08:52 AM
I did an Internet search and learned that Chinese Taoists as well as healers in Japan, Africa, India and China believe that the stomach is the source of our emotions.
However, this belief is not widely accepted in the U.S.
However, this belief is not widely accepted in the U.S.
bluegreensky
05-09-2009, 09:24 AM
What does this have to do with this thread or bipolar? <confused>
sorry, was looking into theory of mr wilkey and came across some interesting facts linking brain and gut and seeing as intestinal fortitude and gut instinct is kinda similar thought that you guys might appreciate it as much as i did...guess i got little carried away..sorry, my mistake...
sorry, was looking into theory of mr wilkey and came across some interesting facts linking brain and gut and seeing as intestinal fortitude and gut instinct is kinda similar thought that you guys might appreciate it as much as i did...guess i got little carried away..sorry, my mistake...
dreams in neon
05-09-2009, 10:33 AM
sorry, was looking into theory of mr wilkey and came across some interesting facts linking brain and gut and seeing as intestinal fortitude and gut instinct is kinda similar thought that you guys might appreciate it as much as i did...guess i got little carried away..sorry, my mistake...
Your theory doesn't exactly relate to the original thread since "intestinal fortitude" has to do with reading the body's emotions through the stomach (i.e. "cleansing the gut") whereas mr wilkey's post addressed a person's inner desire to persevere despite the challenges of having BP. That was my interpretation anyway.
Your theory doesn't exactly relate to the original thread since "intestinal fortitude" has to do with reading the body's emotions through the stomach (i.e. "cleansing the gut") whereas mr wilkey's post addressed a person's inner desire to persevere despite the challenges of having BP. That was my interpretation anyway.
bluegreensky
05-09-2009, 11:03 AM
Your theory doesn't exactly relate to the original thread since "intestinal fortitude" has to do with reading the body's emotions through the stomach (i.e. "cleansing the gut") whereas mr wilkey's post addressed a person's inner desire to persevere despite the challenges of having BP. That was my interpretation anyway.
I hear ya.
I hear ya.
seaturtle
05-09-2009, 11:40 PM
Thanks, John, how true.
I think all of us here who endure through terribly tough time re also very tough people with inner resources that border on the amazing.
I think all of us here who endure through terribly tough time re also very tough people with inner resources that border on the amazing.