"Mothering the Mother" was a common theme and practice I heard and saw across cultures in my years as a maternal/child clinical nurse specialist, from Native American to Appalchian to Spanish Migrant to inner city Black Americans. "Whatever MeeMaw is feeling," I was told, "would be felt in the cradle" (and in the womb before that). So mo…
"Mothering the Mother" was a common theme and practice I heard and saw across cultures in my years as a maternal/child clinical nurse specialist, from Native American to Appalchian to Spanish Migrant to inner city Black Americans. "Whatever MeeMaw is feeling," I was told, "would be felt in the cradle" (and in the womb before that). So mothers MUST be nurtured. It was only in my own white culture that I didn't hear or feel that deep truth. Instead, a pregnant lady was/is still expected to work as long as she could during her pregnancy (and open her own doors), then she was allowed a few weeks off after the birth "to recover," and if she still insisted on breastfeeding, a corner would be provided in the rest room for her to pump on her break. We grow indifference in the USA.
Yes - there was an kind of "abandonment" when his mother was hospitalized for mental illness (maybe depression). His father, himself totally lacking in compassion, did not alter his workaholic schedule to fill in. See Mary Trump's biography "Too Much and Never Enough."
Thank you for adding evidence to this 'long game' of the void of empathy. Trauma is not something easily realized outside of the being experiencing it. And the 'reaction' to it is perhaps stochastic in nature, random, and the responses to it from society can either nurture a healing or expand a damaging event into a setup for more damage, real or imagined. Damage becomes repetitious, urging its own addiction, even setting up a weird kind of Stockholm Syndrome of enjoying or identifying with drama/trauma. Then, whenever a 'low' in the nor-epinephrine cycle occurs, which is narcotic in nature, the 'need' is overwhelming to create another drama/trauma. Persons can become completely habituated to this cycle, and without it become, unbalanced to the point of nihilism.
I had to look it up amygdala again, even though I have a Masters Degree in nursing. Research is always discovering other functions of our human anatomy. Briefly: "almond-shaped structure located in the temporal lobe of the brain. It plays a crucial role in processing emotions, particularly fear and anxiety.
Functions of the Amygdala:
Fear and Anxiety Processing:
The amygdala is highly sensitive to potential threats and triggers the body's fight-or-flight response. It processes information from the senses and determines whether a situation is dangerous.
Emotional Learning:
The amygdala is involved in associating experiences with emotions. It helps us learn from positive and negative events and remember them for future situations.
Memory Consolidation:
The amygdala works with the hippocampus to strengthen memories that have a strong emotional component.
Social Interaction:
The amygdala plays a role in processing social cues and understanding the emotions of others.
Reward Processing:
While the amygdala is primarily known for its role in fear, it also contributes to the processing of rewards and positive emotions.
Other Functions:
The amygdala is also involved in, Regulation of aggression, Control of heart rate and blood pressure, and Decision-making.
Importance of the Amygdala:
The amygdala is essential for survival and well-being. It helps us protect ourselves from danger, learn from experiences, and form emotional connections. Dysfunction of the amygdala can lead to various mental health conditions, such as anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and phobias. "
Hello Daniel. There is no need to exercise your amygdala in this response. I was asking what you meant in your somewhat cryptic post, relating 'genetics' to one animal WO this brain center. MaryPat gave a textbook def. of the known features. I also knew most of that, being a biologist/ecologist myself, but are you saying that wolverines are somehow in the same category as humans with no empathy? Is having no empathy genetic, as in empathy is somehow built into DNA in all animals but wolverines? If so, what does that have to do with fascists/Nazis/psychopaths displaying a lack thereof? That was my question to you. I know you are a regular responder, and a very educated and experienced person. But even you can sometimes utter a phrase that needs further elaboration. And although I am a secular fan of the teachings of Jesus, I am not inclined to look to those teachings for why/how a human would behave without empathy. So could you clarify, because I am inclined to trust your observations as having credibility. Thank you.
"Mothering the Mother" was a common theme and practice I heard and saw across cultures in my years as a maternal/child clinical nurse specialist, from Native American to Appalchian to Spanish Migrant to inner city Black Americans. "Whatever MeeMaw is feeling," I was told, "would be felt in the cradle" (and in the womb before that). So mothers MUST be nurtured. It was only in my own white culture that I didn't hear or feel that deep truth. Instead, a pregnant lady was/is still expected to work as long as she could during her pregnancy (and open her own doors), then she was allowed a few weeks off after the birth "to recover," and if she still insisted on breastfeeding, a corner would be provided in the rest room for her to pump on her break. We grow indifference in the USA.
P.S. I read somewhere that Trump's mother was ill after his birth, and he did not have consistent, loving care.
Yes - there was an kind of "abandonment" when his mother was hospitalized for mental illness (maybe depression). His father, himself totally lacking in compassion, did not alter his workaholic schedule to fill in. See Mary Trump's biography "Too Much and Never Enough."
Thank you for adding evidence to this 'long game' of the void of empathy. Trauma is not something easily realized outside of the being experiencing it. And the 'reaction' to it is perhaps stochastic in nature, random, and the responses to it from society can either nurture a healing or expand a damaging event into a setup for more damage, real or imagined. Damage becomes repetitious, urging its own addiction, even setting up a weird kind of Stockholm Syndrome of enjoying or identifying with drama/trauma. Then, whenever a 'low' in the nor-epinephrine cycle occurs, which is narcotic in nature, the 'need' is overwhelming to create another drama/trauma. Persons can become completely habituated to this cycle, and without it become, unbalanced to the point of nihilism.
The only animal without an amygdala is the wolverine. Genetic.
Could you explain what you mean by 'genetic' and what an amygdala has to do with empathy or a lack thereof?
I had to look it up amygdala again, even though I have a Masters Degree in nursing. Research is always discovering other functions of our human anatomy. Briefly: "almond-shaped structure located in the temporal lobe of the brain. It plays a crucial role in processing emotions, particularly fear and anxiety.
Functions of the Amygdala:
Fear and Anxiety Processing:
The amygdala is highly sensitive to potential threats and triggers the body's fight-or-flight response. It processes information from the senses and determines whether a situation is dangerous.
Emotional Learning:
The amygdala is involved in associating experiences with emotions. It helps us learn from positive and negative events and remember them for future situations.
Memory Consolidation:
The amygdala works with the hippocampus to strengthen memories that have a strong emotional component.
Social Interaction:
The amygdala plays a role in processing social cues and understanding the emotions of others.
Reward Processing:
While the amygdala is primarily known for its role in fear, it also contributes to the processing of rewards and positive emotions.
Other Functions:
The amygdala is also involved in, Regulation of aggression, Control of heart rate and blood pressure, and Decision-making.
Importance of the Amygdala:
The amygdala is essential for survival and well-being. It helps us protect ourselves from danger, learn from experiences, and form emotional connections. Dysfunction of the amygdala can lead to various mental health conditions, such as anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and phobias. "
Jesus. Did you have biology in school?
Hello Daniel. There is no need to exercise your amygdala in this response. I was asking what you meant in your somewhat cryptic post, relating 'genetics' to one animal WO this brain center. MaryPat gave a textbook def. of the known features. I also knew most of that, being a biologist/ecologist myself, but are you saying that wolverines are somehow in the same category as humans with no empathy? Is having no empathy genetic, as in empathy is somehow built into DNA in all animals but wolverines? If so, what does that have to do with fascists/Nazis/psychopaths displaying a lack thereof? That was my question to you. I know you are a regular responder, and a very educated and experienced person. But even you can sometimes utter a phrase that needs further elaboration. And although I am a secular fan of the teachings of Jesus, I am not inclined to look to those teachings for why/how a human would behave without empathy. So could you clarify, because I am inclined to trust your observations as having credibility. Thank you.
Mary Pat laid it out for you. Wolverines have absolugtely no fight or flight mechanism.
Some people have genetic predispositions.....