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| "SAD- seasonal affective disorder - provides the
strongest evidence to date between the biological clock, the body’s 24 hour
time-keeper, and mental health; a proof of principle that circadian rhythms
that are out of sync could underlie some mood disorders. But there is
increasing evidence that circadian disturbances are involved in other common
mental ailments, such as bipolar disorder and more obscure syndromes, such as a
syndrome in which people compulsively eat at night. In recent years
psychiatrists working with small groups of patients have shown that correcting
abnormal circadian rhythms through exposure to light, melatonin pills or even
sleep deprivation can help treat some of these disorders.” Etc, etc. So we know
what melatonin does in seasonal breeding animals, and we know it is very
responsible for maintaining circadian rhythms in the human, but as we move
along we may find many other important aspects of this particular hormone that
is released from the pineal gland. Interestingly, philosophers used to refer to
the pineal gland as the third eye. This is before we knew about all about the
suprachiasmatic tract, etc."
Science Magazine, 9/14/2007, "Is Internal Timing Key to Mental Health"
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| I'm here on campus studying, bringing closure to my nice long break away from studying. Obviously Xanga is my study break at the moment.
From Wednesday to Sunday, it has been the longest break I had since starting medical school. It's been over two months and little more than a month I'll be done with this block (aka trimester). Last Friday was our Convocation. A ritual similar to graduation, except that it is a ritual that celebrates our entry into the medical field. We're given our white coats & pins. It seemed like a long tradition from the way the ritual was ran, but apparently this tradition started at Columbia about 14 years ago and started at my school 10 years ago. It was a designed as a way to bring more humanism into the education of our future doctors. We got a pretty nice speech, which ended with the quote "Good doctors treat the disease, but great doctors treat the patient." That quote wasn't particularly inspiring, but it was an opportune moment to dwell over what I signed up for.
This past month or so, I've been unusually obsessed with sports. It helps that Cal is doing really really well. Go Bears! And that teams or players I like are also doing okay (Federer, 49ers). It has really been a vicarious experience for me. I miss playing as much sports as I used to. I miss the rush from competing. There are times when I wish I was professional athlete. Money aside, I'm sure that most athletes compete to win and go all the way in their sport. It's really a glorious experience. And its one of the most praised form of competitiveness in our society. But yet, sports parallel many of the things we go through in life. Particularly school & work. There is a great deal of competitiveness regardless of whatever level you're at. And there's a hierarchy of success, a measure how of much you accomplished. For school, we compete for grades & entry into college. And the hierarchy can be in the form of number of degrees and years of education.
And in this way, most of us aren't so different from those athletes that compete. Like athletes who compete to reach the pinnacle of their sport, we all compete to reach a pinnacle in a certain facet of our lives. Athletes compete for the Super Bowl, World Series, Wimbledom Grand Slam, etc, etc. For the rest of us, the pinnacle that we strive for can be in school or work, but even in family or relationships or balance. It could be to get the Nobel Prize or get into law school. It could also be becoming the most loving Dad or best girlfriend. My pinnacle is in the healthcare field and its becoming a doctor. Part of that pinnacle is becoming that 'great doctor.'
I'm really excited because we're entering into the head & neck portion of anatomy. That means we're going to dissect our face. We're going to take the cover off the face of our cadaver for the first time. It will be creepy at first. But once we get passed that, it will be easier to better appreciate our cadaver for the person that he is as opposed to the body we cut into. It will help bring that intimate element into our anatomy lab experience.
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| New York Medical College
Class of 2011
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