One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

All I can say is how fantastic this film is, the actors (especially Jack Nicholson), the plot line and the sense of liberation that one man can bring to a group of oppressed psychiatric patients. Just brilliant; please go and watch this.

Race for Life

In June I will be running the race for life in memory of my Papa who sadly passed away last year due to Bowl cancer and a multitude of other problems. His life was inspirational to me and everyone who know him and so I've decided to do this for him (even though I can't run!) I went for a practice jog a few days ago and let's just say that it didn't go fantastically well... Fingers crossed with a bit more practice I will be ready for the 5km in time!

The Best Way to Spend 1/3 of your Life

Unlike the majority of my friends who seem to be chemically wired up to wake up at 7am every morning, I am able to carry on sleeping until mid- afternoon if it suits me, maybe even longer. Leading sleep experts say that the brain is very active at night, I think that perhaps dreams are the brain's way of unravelling your day and all of the significant things that you may have consciously or unconsciously witnessed- that's why sometimes you wonder why you dreamt of Deirdre Barlow until you realise Coronation Street has a good plot line at the moment! 

After watching A Dangerous Method I have taken more time to consider Freud's analyses of dreams. I feel compelled to agree that the major recurring themes are the result of the desires of the stripped back, instinctive, sexually driven part of a person's personality; but then I don't agree that every single part of a dream had meaning that must be interpreted in this way. I do think that a large part of dreaming is one's brain unravelling the complex world it has witnessed that day so that it does not become overwhelmed with lingering information. This is why when one is deprived of sleep, their concentration lacks and higher thinking brain stores shut down as the brain is prioritising it's unravelling mechanism that it uses during sleep. With the amount of hours I seem to be able to pack in, however, I don't think this will be a problem!

Films and Books

I have now watched A Dangerous Method and I did enjoy it. The relationship portrayed between Jung and Freud seems, in the beginning, to be Jung attempting to walk in the footsteps of Freud whom Jung deems "the father of psychoanalysis" but later as Jung rejects Freud's theory that everything spawns from sexual drives and the "labido" they begin to drift apart and eventually end their friendship. Furthermore, the techniques used by Jung seemed interesting as he tested the physical reactions of his wife during word association and concluded that she was completely focussed on her pregnancy and also worried that she may be losing the attention of Jung. Overall, I found it well acted by Knightly, Fassbender and Mortensen and thoroughly engrossing and thought provoking.

 I have also today begun reading Blue Monday by Nicci French- one of my favourite authors duos- it appears to be particularly focussed on psychotherapy: let's hope it's as good as some of their other works.

A Dangerous Method

Let's see how Cronenberg depicts Jung and Freud-should be a very interesting film

Sigmund Freud

The idol of my psychology teacher- I certainly find his theories interesting, some may write them off as ridiculous but I feel they do give great insight into personality and the conscious and unconscious mind

The benefits of sharing common interests

Just shared everything I've learnt in my psychology classes with my step-mum who seemed incredibly interested about Freud, Clive Wearing and Bowby's theory of attachments. It's really encouraging when members of your family show a genuine interest in your future career; I could honestly talk about Freud and his analyses of dreams for hours...

An Amazing Experience

Ice-Cream, Delicious but Deadly

Ice-cream, delicious but deadly (as I found out the hard way after being slightly over enthusiastic about a tub of Ben and Jerry's). After doing some reading up on what most have come to christen as "Brain Freeze" i've discovered that: a) it's not brain freeze at all as the brain has no pain receptors b) it is, in fact, the temples and the surface of the face which experiences the pain c) No-one really knows for certain why your brain suddenly feels like it has been sliced with ice. The best guess amongst scientists is that the cold substance shocks the Trigeminal nerve which is responsible for sensation in the face, the brain then gets the message the heat the area and so dilates the blood vessels around the area to heat it with blood flow. The sudden dilation causes pressure and the sudden wave of pain... well you learn something new everyday!

The First Sign of Madness

Some say it's the first sign of madness, talking to yourself. I discovered recently that I have a very active phonological loop, which means not only do I subvocalise but I also talk aloud to myself. A lot. Revision period is coming up soon, so according to leading psychiatrists I should retell everything I learn to another- thus reinforcing the information phonologically which gives it a better chance of entering my long term memory. I'd better get chatting to the dog then if I want to pass my A-Levels!