Although it appears I abandoned this blog months ago, it's probably worthwhile noting that I'm finally about to submit my masters research for examination. Yep, not only did I finish the manuscript, but I actually managed to write & finish the exegesis (short thesis).
In September last year I thought it would never be done. My research & my manuscript had taken me in an entirely different direction from when I first started my master's work. Jung's shadow was no longer even relevant.
Instead, my focus was now on resilience and coping strategies in teenagers, as well as mental illness and the impact of trauma on brain development.
I'd travelled a long way in my work but it was an incredibly interesting (although at times painful) journey.
But the work is now done & it's time to put it to the test & see if it's worthy of a master's degree. Then of course the next step is finding a publisher!
Showing posts with label adolescence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label adolescence. Show all posts
7 February 2009
2 May 2007
Adolescence is a form of insanity
Not only is adolescence a form of insanity, it's a highly contagious form that is easily transferred to unsuspecting parents.
Okay, I have no scientific proof of the above. But I have found some fascinating research (thanks heaps, Leah!) that is going to work in perfectly with my exegesis.
Peter Brugger, a German scientist, has done heaps of research into phantoms of all kinds. One of his theories is that seeing 'ghosts' is related to the phenomenon of amputees who 'feel' limbs that aren't there.
In the case of people seeing ghosts, it's a case of people seeing a phantom of a full body. That is, a surge of dopamine to their brain is causing them to see something that isn't there. The dopamine surge can be a result of brain damage, but intense emotions can cause the effect as well.
And guess which group regularly experience dramatic surges of dopamine and intense emotions? Adolescents, of course.
Okay, I have no scientific proof of the above. But I have found some fascinating research (thanks heaps, Leah!) that is going to work in perfectly with my exegesis.
Peter Brugger, a German scientist, has done heaps of research into phantoms of all kinds. One of his theories is that seeing 'ghosts' is related to the phenomenon of amputees who 'feel' limbs that aren't there.
In the case of people seeing ghosts, it's a case of people seeing a phantom of a full body. That is, a surge of dopamine to their brain is causing them to see something that isn't there. The dopamine surge can be a result of brain damage, but intense emotions can cause the effect as well.
And guess which group regularly experience dramatic surges of dopamine and intense emotions? Adolescents, of course.
This weekend I have to get stuck into my first assignment (due 18 May - thank god this is a long weekend!). I'm going to attempt to bring together threads from Jung's shadow theory, recent studies into adolescent brain development and Brugger's theories on phantoms. With a bit of speculation about whether dopamine makes you see things that aren't there, or enables you to see things that others can't.
With luck, I'll be able to pull something thought provoking together. But if not, I won't stress. It's only a masters after all.
19 April 2007
Stop ranting & start researching
Tomorrow I meet with my master's supervisor to talk about where I think I'm going with the exegesis. This means that I'd better come up with something to say that's a bit more positive than the previous post.
I have come across some interesting stuff. One paper I read was written in the 1960s by a team of psychiatrists. They did a study where they sat people in front of a mirror in a dark room for 30 minutes and recorded what they experienced. Not so bad, you might think.
Except each person was in there alone (apart from the researcher) and had to look into the mirror continuously and describe what they saw. The only light in the room was provided by the little light on the tape recorder, which was recording their words.
They used four groups of people: psychotics, neurotics, sociopaths and 'normals' (who probably weren't by the end of it).
Two things that fascinate me about this study. Number 1, that they got away with doing it (obviously ethical standards were a bit different in the '60s). And number 2, every person, 'normals' included, saw weird stuff in the mirror: basically, they all hallucinated.
So people sitting in a dark room in front of a mirror at night (the tests were done between 7&9pm) all described fascinating, horrifying and bizarre things that they could see in the mirror. A few people even experienced kinetic hallucinations (eg felt like they were rocking or swaying).
Every person experienced this; not just the people with diagnosed mental illnesses.
Right now I'm reading a really interesting book by German Jungian psychologist, Kaspar Kiepenheuer, who has a special interest in treating teenagers. In Crossing the bridge: a Jungian approach to adolescence, Kiepenheuer describes adolescence as a turbulent and transitional period. He writes 'Indeed, one might even say that puberty is a more or less mild form of schizophrenia.'
Put these two ideas together - mirror hallucinations and adolescence as a form of schizophrenia - & I think I've got something that's worth investigating.
I have come across some interesting stuff. One paper I read was written in the 1960s by a team of psychiatrists. They did a study where they sat people in front of a mirror in a dark room for 30 minutes and recorded what they experienced. Not so bad, you might think.
Except each person was in there alone (apart from the researcher) and had to look into the mirror continuously and describe what they saw. The only light in the room was provided by the little light on the tape recorder, which was recording their words.
They used four groups of people: psychotics, neurotics, sociopaths and 'normals' (who probably weren't by the end of it).
Two things that fascinate me about this study. Number 1, that they got away with doing it (obviously ethical standards were a bit different in the '60s). And number 2, every person, 'normals' included, saw weird stuff in the mirror: basically, they all hallucinated.
So people sitting in a dark room in front of a mirror at night (the tests were done between 7&9pm) all described fascinating, horrifying and bizarre things that they could see in the mirror. A few people even experienced kinetic hallucinations (eg felt like they were rocking or swaying).
Every person experienced this; not just the people with diagnosed mental illnesses.
Right now I'm reading a really interesting book by German Jungian psychologist, Kaspar Kiepenheuer, who has a special interest in treating teenagers. In Crossing the bridge: a Jungian approach to adolescence, Kiepenheuer describes adolescence as a turbulent and transitional period. He writes 'Indeed, one might even say that puberty is a more or less mild form of schizophrenia.'
Put these two ideas together - mirror hallucinations and adolescence as a form of schizophrenia - & I think I've got something that's worth investigating.
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