Use it or lose it: recovery from EVLT (graphic image)

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Haarlem, today. Recovery [ discovery ]

Above: Compression stocking and bandages after EVLT, Endovenous laser treatment of varicose veins in right leg, yesterday. The vain was opened at two spots -- see bandages --and a laser -- which couldn't move all the way up in one strike -- was brought in by the vescular surgeon and his assistant, to internally heat  the vain up to the groin, eventually resulting in the closing of the vain in a few days, interrupting the blood supply to the varicose veins. Varicose veins give unpleasant symtoms. After deep venous thrombosis in this leg ten years ago -- shortly after trip to The Himalayas in Northern India for corporate film shoot -- it was treated with blood-thinners¹ The unpleasant, forced, bloodthinner-treatment 'cured' the DVT, it did not make the probable cause, the varicose veins, disapear though.This -- getting to the cause -- ironically was the topic of the short film we made there! And, as Johan Cruyff has taught us, "Every disadvantage has its advantage," the running-training has proven to be extremely benefitial -- one of the reasons for perseverance anytime anywhere. Use it, or lose it. To my amazement, shortly after the EVL teatment yesterday, there was very little pain and the leg already felt better than before -- less pain than what had gotten "normal". Prescription: 10 days NO training, that is the most difficult part of the treatment, for the patient!

Min/max temperature: 5°C/23°C; humidity: 65%; precipitation: 0 mm; sea level pressure: 999.06 hPa; wind: East 13 km/h; visibility: 21.0 kilometres; Clouds: Few 762 m .; Moon: full, 97% illuminated.

"I was waiting for a rehearsal outside Aquarius Studio on Half Way Tree, waiting for two of my musicians, and I had a little piece of roach in my hand. A guy come up to me in plain clothes and grab the roach out of my hand. So I say him, wha' happen? He didn't say nothing, so I grab the roach back from him and he start to punch me up. I say again, 'wha' happen', and he say I must go dung so. I say, 'dung so? Which way you call dung so?' That's when I realised this was a police attitude, so I opened the roach and blew out the contents. Well, him didn't like that and start to grab at me aggressively now - my waist, my shoulder, grabbing me and tearing off my clothes and things. Then other police come and put their guns in my face and try brute force on me.

[Question:] Did they know who you were?

No, I don't know. But you don't have to know a man to treat him the way he should be treated. But because I am humble and don't wear a jacket and tie and drive a big Lincoln Continental or Mercedes-Benz, I don't look exclusively different from the rest. I look like the people, seen? To them police, here's just another Rasta to kill.
Now eight-to-ten guys gang my head with batons and weapons of destruction. They close the door, chase away the people and gang my head with batons for an hour and a half until my hand break trying to fend off the blows. I run to the window and they beat me back with blows. I run to the door and they beat me back with blows. Later I found out these guys' intentions was to kill me, right? What I had to do was play dead by just lying low. Passive resistance. And I hear them say, yes, he's dead. But I survived them, by intellect. Yes I."

Peter Tosh from: 'Peter Tosh, Best Of Peter Tosh And Interviews' published by Justice Sound on Soundcloud (approx. 1:11:43). See also: 'Peter Tosh Interviews And Speeches'

"PTSD  is the latest in a long series of diagnostic terms used to describe the state of distress associated with being severely upset or traumatized. PTSD  can follow a distressing event which is faroutside the normal range of human expectation. The event is relived; it just won't go away: "the victim relives sights, sounds or even smells. A 'reminder' incident can start the process off all over again." The pains experienced affect not only the individuals themselves "but all those around them, whether family members, co-workers or close friends." [...] "What we went through in Yom Kippur wasn't pleasant . . . . I saw a lot of wounded, and a lot of guys who died of their wounds because we couldn't reach them. They cried out for help. The shelling was heavy, and you can't get to them. [. . .] I remember the feeling of utter impotence. [. . .] I saw dying men, soldiers of mine, who'd been training for several months, call me to help them. I want to go over, but I can't! My legs won't carry me. Even if it might have been possible to reach them, I couldn't have gone. I wanted to walk, but I found myself crying. I was sweating, crying, and trembling. I was shaking, shaking like a leaf. [. . .] I was rooted in one spot. I was lying there and couldn't get up." […] It was in 1980, after much research by various task forces made of veterans, that the American Psychiatric Association (APA) officially brought a new recognition to the intrusive memories and flashbacks suffered by the veterans. Post-traumatic stress disorder was firmly established in the combat stress lexicon and was recognised as a legitimate disorder."

Sahava Solomon quoted by J.G.J.C. Barabé in: 'The Invisible Scars of the Peace-Field: The Operational Commander's Impact' , page 6, first published in 1999 by Canadian Forces College, North York, Canada

Medical marijuana works for PTSD unlike any other medication. [The ] reason for medical marijuana’s efficacy is its effect on stabilizing both the mind and the body separately. Medical marijuana is touted as a drug that restores homeostasis to the body. Perhaps it does the same with the mind. Our bodies can fall out of balance in a number of ways – appetite, sleep, weight, adrenaline, our bowel schedule, metabolism, progressive chronic pain, etc. Marijuana seems to have an effect on bringing things back to the middle, the default, neutrality. For this reason, appetite is increased in those suffering from failure to thrive and cachexia but decreased in those who eat too abundantly. For insomniacs, sleep is restored. Inflammation is suppressed. Over-sensitized nerves are reset to baseline. This is the way balance is restored and the body returned to its usual state, otherwise known as homeostasis. How does this relate to PTSD? Perhaps marijuana has a similar effect on the homeostasis of the mind. Patients suffering from PTSD have hypersensitivity to certain stimuli that trigger emotional responses anchored to the original incident(s) that caused the disorder in the first place. Thus, marijuana may inhibit dysfunctional neurological pathways from firing. Since the evoked response is a result of afferent sensory neuronal signals, it can be construed that cannabinoids would likely have the same effect as they do on the afferent sensory fibers traversing our dorsal horns. 

Dr. Roman in 'PTSD Most Important Disease to Treat with Medical Marijuana'  on Natures Way Medicine.

See also: 'General use of cannabis for PTSD Symptoms'  and 'Dr. Sue Sisley Shares The Challenges She’s Faced In Researching Cannabis As A Treatment For PTSD' 

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¹ Making the blood so thin, resulting in spontaneous nose-bleedings that went on 'for ever and ever', as happened during a meeting with the Netherlands Society of Cinematographer's board -- the secretary of the board thought is was due to heavy cocaine use, flattering me with the nickname 'Cocaine-king' -- although graduating from filmschool, working for television and film, travelling trough Bolivia, Peru. Equador and Colombia.... with the exception of 1/2 x 1 XTC (MDMA) pill at a new-years eve party in 1997-98 in Amsterdam, I never felt inclined and have never used any other harddrugs. Why should I? Running is my laboratory, it creates the perfect chemical balance, the natural way! 

Work Out

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Kennemer Dunes Parallel Universe in 360°, today. Winter training ends here [ ten days rest ]

Above: The mind works along identical operative characteristics (is my experience) as the body does. Example. Trough vaccination the immune system is activated: "Vaccines are examples of antigens in an immunogenic form, which are intentionally administered to induce the memory function of adaptive immune system toward the antigens of the pathogen invading the recipient.¹" Mentally we benefit trough the deliberate activation and confrontation with subconscious material, and, as the Germans call it "durch-arbeiten" -- "to work out", and -- trough that process -- stimulate conscious "immunity" and endurance: raise hell, to raise consciousness. This is my personal experience during a life of training.

Min/max temperature: 5°C/11°C; humidity: 65%; precipitation: 0 mm; sea level pressure: 1019 hPa; wind: NW 19.3 km/h; visibility: 10.0 kilometres; Clouds: Few 1219 m., Mostly Cloudy 1432 m .; Moon: Waxing Gibbous, 99% illuminated.

"Exposure to deeply disturbing events is liable to produce long term effects as well as immediate reactions. […] A recovery phase of up to six months is considered to be within the normal bracket. Individuals showing prolonged disturbance and maladjustment extending beyond such a spell of time are ready candidates for a PTSD diagnosis. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a recognised psychiatric category. Its present status as a textbook disorder originates from its spectacular, in a sense epidemic incidence among Vietnam veterans. About a third of these veterans suffered from serious psychological problems even 20 years after the war. Their problems have been extensively examined. […] A person is classified as a PTSD victim if he or she was exposed to a traumatic incident in the past and is troubled by a cluster of symptoms which uncover a disturbed or incomplete coping process. In order to be able to live with a trauma […] it is necessary to proceed trough a number of stages. A final stage of integrating the experiences in the domain of personal growth can only be achieved after going trough an initial phase of disbelief and bewilderment, followed by a period of avoiding memories and associations interrupted by the painful and irresistible intrusion of flashbacks. PTSD is basically a state of being arrested in the latter stage where denial and overwhelming images and emotions alternate and the conflict between these tendencies debilitates and absorbs the individual to a degree which impedes a satisfying social or professional existence."

J. Extra in 'NL Arms', 'Dealing with Danger and Stress', edited by A.L.W. Vogelaar, K.F. Muusse, J.H. Rovers, page 159, first published in 1997 by RNMA, Breda, The Netherlands

After finishing Mark Divine's Unbeatable Mind Academy some time ago, -- being part of the network -- I recently received an invitation for a team/sponsor-participation to "Walk the Path of the Spartan 300, Where The Warrior’s Code Of Honor Was Born.²" Mark Divine continued in the invitation/announcement: "I am leading  [ a ] team of committed [ people ] to Greece on an 8-day ruck following the path that Spartan King Leonidas and his 300 warriors rucked to take on the invading Persian King Xerxes. Please consider joining us for this epic adventure, and simultaneously helping my new Courage Foundation heal victims of PTSD. The mission will commence on September 14th and end on the 23rd. This is not a race, but you will need to be in reasonable shape to avoid injury and thrive with the team. Each day will include Unbeatable Mind training before, during and after the event.[…] I can’t imagine a better way to challenge ourselves, serve warriors in need, and do some deep self-reflection on what it means to live a life of honor, discipline, courage, and commitment… like the Spartan 300.³"

For this trip the coming weeks we will start to raise funds. Take a look at the Courage Foundation website.

___________________

¹ "Antigen", From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

²  Mark Dvine, Email invitation, last Friday

³ Ibid

Today/training/after_footprint/30K_book

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Today/training/after/footprint. The 30kms. training started fresh. As time progresses air temperature and general feel unite. Dry and sunny.

Todays training dedicated to Mark Divine's book 'The way of the Seal'. Two fragments:

1) "Much of our fear in today's relatively safe world stems from an imagined but unknown future, so those who orient their minds towards that future by visualising failure and all the horrible things that might happen find themselves trapped in a constant loop of negative input."

2) "The creative mind operates in the present, while the rational, thinking mind rests in the past or future. Therefore, you must be able to tap into all three without getting stuck. You want to be optimistic and goal-oriented for the future, and then learn from and reconcile history. Finally, you must remain front-sight focused on new opportunities in the present. If you can readily shift focus from future to past to present, you will easily be able to spot gaps between old and new realities and detect openings for breaking things that other miss." (both quotes from 'The Way of the Seal", page 123)

Ignorance

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Kennemer Dunes, today. Learn [ or burn ].

Min/max temperature: 3°C/9°C; humidity: 100%; precipitation: 12 mm, sea level pressure: 988 hPa; wind WNW 52.0 km/h; visibility: 10.0 kilometres; Clouds Few 243 m., Scattered Clouds 304 m., Mostly Cloudy 548 m

"[People] interested in creating high performance teams are unafraid of incertitude and unresolved issues and are able to remain open-minded. [Prepared] to accept a condition what the poet John Keats termed "negative capability": "when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts without any irritable reaching after fact and reason" […] It is important to maintain a state of deliberate open-mindedness -- the ability to keep imagination alive without having the urge for closure. […] Paranoid and depressive anxieties are major emotional drivers within a group-as-a-whole. At the core of these primitive regressive processes is a basic feeling of helplessness, a state of mind that produces the deepest source of anxiety in human beings […] If these regressive forces are not dealt with, the group-as-a-whole falls victim to a paranoid mindset, expressed as mistrust, untruthfulness, suspicion, hostility, immoral behaviour, rivalry, jealousy, envy, spite, and fear. […] Within this paranoid framework, scapegoats will be targeted within a group or team. Scapegoating is a way of deflecting our aggression onto safer targets, instead of directing it towards the target we are really frustrated with. People who become scapegoats act as receptacles for the projections of the unacceptable impulses experienced by the group-as-a-whole. […] As an additional "benefit" this act of projection may bind "good" group members closer together, by creating a common enemy. In many instances, scapegoats are chosen because of some special or unique characteristic that makes them different from the other members of the group […] some low-status individuals frequently become associated (forced by the group) with the unacceptable, unseemly, or foolish aspects of the group."

Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries in 'The Hedgehog Effect', page 145, 146, 147, 151. First published in 2011 by John Wiley and Sons, USA

Knowing ignorance is strength.
Ignoring knowledge is sickness.

If one is sick of sickness, then one is not sick.
The wise are not sick, because they are sick of sickness.
Therefore they are not sick.

Lao Tsu in 'Tao Te Ching', translated by Gia-fu Feng and Jane English. Originally published by Knopf, New York, 1972