Endometriosis Treatment Options | Home Remedies

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What are current endometriosis treatment options? Well … there are about 3 - 18 percent of women in the U.S (more than one million women) who are affected by endometriosis -- according to a published article on MedicineNet. And in fact, this painful disorder is one of the major causes of pelvic pain. It is also one of major reasons for women in the U.S

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LMAYQ: Relationship Advice

We have reached the part of our program where I answer your important google questions. As always, these are real true questions that I found on my 'keyword search terms'. You can see all of these posts and the questions they answer here. 

Today's theme: Relationships

1. "Is there a difference in dopamine level between men and women?"

Great question.  In my post "Neurosexism and Delusions of Gender", I present a graph from Di Liberto et al., 2012 showing that female and male (mice) brains show no difference in the amount of dopamine transporter (DAT) in the striatum.

No Difference in Male and Female Dopamine Transporter

This question is particularly interesting in light of the recent reactions to Naomi Wolf's new book: "Vagina: a New Biography"  (See also Here and Here) In "Vagina", Naomi Wolf explains that "Dopamine is the ultimate feminist chemical in the female brain." ... Which is a a pretty ridiculous simplification of what dopamine is... in that it is completely untrue. First of all, men have dopamine too. And while their may be some differences in dopamine positive cells in the hypothalamus (Lansing and Lonstein 2006), the hypothalamus is  not the brain's main source of dopamine. Basically, the death of the Substantia Nigra (which feeds tons of dopamine into the striatum), results in Parkinson's Disease for men just like it does for women.

Second of all, dopamine doesn't have anything to do with your worldview (except maybe to help color it rosy). Misogynists have dopamine just like feminists do, and there is no reason to think that the amounts differ between them.

Dopamine: the Love molecule... a grossly simplified necklace (source)

However, having not read the book, I am guessing that Naomi Wolf claims dopamine is a feminist chemical because it is released during sex. But guess what, it's released during sex for both males and females, and it's not ONLY released during sex, it is also released when you eat food, do cocaine, or talk about yourself. It is a very complex molecule, with many receptors (at least 5 different kinds).  And dopamine literally does OPPOSITE things depending on whether it binds to the D1 type receptors or the D2 type receptors.


2. "Why are all women bitches?"

Look, you sound like a "Nice Guy", so I'll give you a tip: Some women do bitchy things sometimes, just like some guys do bitchy things sometimes, but your attitude that all women are bitches is probably one of the main reasons that most women are bitches to you. For a couple of reasons:

1. Self-fulfilling prophecy: If you expect to be screwed over by every woman you meet, you will see 'bitchiness' in their actions no matter what, and will probably act preemptively defensive. This will result in women acting on average more bitchy to you.

2. You are an asshole.


 3. "Do guys like cerebral women?"

Yes, guys like cerebral women.  Do all guys like cerebral women? probably not, some might be threatened by a woman who is smart.  But that's their loss.  Those guys probably end up asking the Internet questions like "why are all women bitches?"  But really, most guys I've met do not want vapid self-absorbed or shallow ladies in their lives.

One of my favorite fantasy authors, Robert Jordan has a moderately related quote:

"When I was a boy, just old enough to be starting to date in a fumbling way, I complained something about girls. And my father said to me, “Would you rather hunt leopards or would you rather hunt rabbits? Which is going to be more fun?” And I decided I’d rather hunt leopards." -Robert Jordan

Guys don't want wide eyed rabbit easy to get simple women, they want a challenge. If you are a cerebral woman, I am sure that you are smart enough to know that acting stupid to get a guy is basically the worst possible thing you could do to yourself. You don't want a guy who would fall for that crap.

But the real advice I want to give you is to stop caring what guys like. Do what you like, find yourself an awesome cause and fight for it, or an awesome project and do it. Check out cool things like Girls Who Code and play some Mass Effect. If you are really worried about 'having a partner' doing the things that you love to do will put you near other people who like doing those same things. In my opinion that is the best way to start a deep relationship anyway.

For more on gender et cetera, see the XX tab. 

© TheCellularScale


Lansing SW, & Lonstein JS (2006). Tyrosine hydroxylase-synthesizing cells in the hypothalamus of prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster): sex differences in the anteroventral periventricular preoptic area and effects of adult gonadectomy or neonatal gonadal hormones. Journal of neurobiology, 66 (3), 197-204 PMID: 16329116

Di Liberto V, Mäkelä J, Korhonen L, Olivieri M, Tselykh T, Mälkiä A, Do Thi H, Belluardo N, Lindholm D, & Mudò G (2012). Involvement of estrogen receptors in the resveratrol-mediated increase in dopamine transporter in human dopaminergic neurons and in striatum of female mice. Neuropharmacology, 62 (2), 1011-8 PMID: 22041555

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The Truth about Best Diet for Fibromyalgia Patients

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In many cases, muscle pain and fatigue may be the most disturbing symptoms of fibromyalgia. This kind of chronic condition is also familiar referred as FMS (fibromyalgia syndrome). If you are diagnosed with FMS, you have probably wondered if there is an effective way to modify your diet so thus will be helpful to improve the symptoms of your FMS. Read also

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World Suicide Prevention Day: September 10th

Every 40 seconds someone dies by suicide. 

Every 41 seconds someone's left to make sense of it.

That's over 1 million people who die by suicide each year. And millions more who grieve and mourn the loss of their loved one.

Suicide is THE most preventable kind of death. Education, resources, intervention and outreach can help children and adults who struggle with staggering sadness, hopelessness and despair.

World Suicide Prevention Day is September 10th sponsored by The International Association for Suicide Prevention, The World Health Organization, The United Nations and many more grass root health organizations and agencies world-wide.

This is the 10th anniversary of the World Suicide Prevention Day. Ten years of research, ten years of prevention, ten years of education and dissemination of information. This year's theme is "Suicide Prevention across the Globe: Strengthening Protective Factors and Instilling Hope."

• To learn about the warning signs for suicidal behavior go here.

• For suicide resources in the USA use this link - and for global resources go here.

• My book Living with Depression is also a great resource that can offer you hope and healing. 

• And remember, there is always someone ready to talk to you any day, any time at 1 800 273 TALK

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The Optimism Bias in Science

"I have always believed that scientific research is another domain where a form of optimism is essential to success: I have yet to meet a successful scientist who lacks the ability to exaggerate the importance of what he or she is doing, and I believe that someone who lacks a delusional sense of significance will wilt in the face of repeated experiences of multiple small failures and rare successes, the fate of most researchers"     -Daniel Kahneman

The Brain: Irrational, Positive, Deceptive

I just finished reading The Optimism Bias by Tali Sharot.  The book explains that most people have an "Optimism Bias," a tendency to over-estimate how smart, good-looking, and capable they are as well as the likelihood that good things will happen to them. 

Sharot points out that in a 1981 study (Swenson O) 93% of participants rated themselves as in the top 50th percentile (i.e. 'above average') for driving ability.  Other studies have shown that this "Better than Average Effect" applies to many aspects of our self-image.  Think about yourself right now... do you think you are smarter than average? better looking than average? nicer than average? etc.  You probably do.  And even though it is logically impossible for 93% of people to be better than the 50% mark, you probably still think that you are actually  better/smarter/nicer. 

So even though you think you are smarter than most people, the reality is that most people think they are smarter than most people.

Similarly people under-estimate the likelihood that bad things will happen in their life and over estimate the likelihood that good things will happen. Ask any newly engaged couple what they think their chances of divorce are, and if not too offended by such a rude question, they will probably rate the chance of divorce as very low or even zero.  However reality says that they actually have a 41-50% chance of divorce. 

divorce cake (source)

But as Sharot claims, this optimistic skew to reality is actually beneficial. Which newly engaged couple would actually get married if they fully realized and believed that their chances of staying married were no better than the chance of flipping heads or tails on a coin? The irrational belief that we are somehow exceptional is motivating. Sharot even suggests that the optimism bias is so prevalent in our species and culture that people who realistically evaluate their situation are not the norm, and may even be clinically depressed. 

While The Optimism Bias has a great premise and recounts some exciting research, I thought the book in general was way too long.  Some very simple concepts (like that people have an optimism bias) were repeated over and over and over, and some (interesting) concepts were introduced that had pretty much nothing to do with optimism (like that memories are unreliable). 

The book didn't really teach me much about how the brain works, but it did set me thinking about how a strong optimism bias is an essential trait in academia.  As the Kahneman quote above states, most scientists face critique after critique and failure after failure.  Successes are few and far between and the same sense of realism that would prevent many a marriage, would also prevent a potential scientist from entering a Ph.D. program. Who would even apply to graduate school if they fully understood and believed the dismal statistics about finishing Ph.D. programs and the subsequent tenure-track job search. 

We have to believe that we are special, that our work is crucial, and that our contributions are significant.  No scientist will succeed if they get their peer-reviewed paper back from a journal and immediately think: 'yep, the third reviewer is correct, this work is flawed and has little impact, I should quit and become a cab driver.' A near-delusional sense of significance and an "it's not me, it's them" attitude is required to stand by your ideas and abilities in the face of these kinds of criticisms. 


© TheCellularScale



Sharot T (2011). The optimism bias. Current biology : CB, 21 (23) PMID: 22153158

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Fibromyalgia Symptoms in Women and Men!

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What are fibromyalgia symptoms in women and men? Well, fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a kind of chronic condition. It is one of common health problems affecting the muscles leading to disability. Unfortunately, the clearly answer for the exact cause of this chronic condition is still unknown. But some doctors believe that it may be closely related to

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Is Fibromyalgia Real or Fake | Is It Hereditary?

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Unfortunately till today, fibromyalgia is often misunderstood and even sometimes misdiagnosed. When you have been diagnosed with this problem and are making efforts to learn all about it, you may come across many misconceptions and myths about it! Is fibromyalgia real or fake? Is it hereditary? What else you need to know about this problem? -

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