Anhedonia

Greek history must have been quite colourful to have so many English words derived from it.
'Hedone' was the daughter of Greek Gods 'Eros' and 'Psyche'.What does that lead to?An erotic psyche or psychotic eroticism!
'Hedone' was the search for pleasure that would lead to something good.It veered away from our normal hedonistic pursuits of pleasure.
Anhedonia is lack of interest in anything pleasurable.It is a feature of depression and believed to be a side effect of depressed Dopamine.
'Proteus' was a gentle marine deity who could predict the future.Protein,proteolytic, prokaryotic got nothing to do with it.
'Nymphs' were worshiped as Goddesses of fertility.We have 'nymphomania' which is often used for female addiction to sex!
'Hebe' was the Goddess of youth.There is a variant of schizophrenia called hebephrenic schizophrenia,which is basically a psychotic disorder.
'Hygea' was the Goddess of health and cleanliness. Hygiene is the  recommended prophylactic antibiotic for many ills.
'Nyx',the Goddess of night,had many children,among them,'Hypnos'(sleep) and 'Thanatos'(death).Nyx used to share house with her daughter 'Hemera'(day) without meeting her.Nyctalopia and Hemaralopia is what they used to suffer from!(night and day blindness).
'Pandora' was an all-endowed woman because of the many gifts she received at birth.The surgeons believe the abdomen to be a Pandora's box because of the many unsuspected problems they encounter when dealing with it.
'Apollo' was the God of music and prophecy and the twin of 'Artemis''the Goddess of hunt.I wonder why they were drafted as talismans for our healthcare institutions.
'Algea' was the personification of sorrow and grief.Analgesics are taken to lessen the sorrow of pain.
'Dendritus',the Goddess of trees was sculpted to be the name for the nerve branches in the body.
'Atropos' was the terrible Goddess who was unbending and cut the thread of life.Atropine is a lifesaving drug in many conditions.      
'Philia' was the personification of friendship,as in hemophilia!
May 'Nike',the Goddess of victory, give us the 'techne'(skill)and not 'invidia'(envy) to lead us to 'Panaceia'.the all-encompassing goddess of healing!

How to win over heat & influence sweat

I do not exactly know how to.I have heard that receptors adapt..blah blah..This is the story of my stay at Aligarh recently.These are pages  from my imaginative diary because I don't keep one.
The night was hot.I lost a few liters of sweat as usual.There was a power-cut for about four hours during which I shifted from the bedroom to the hall and slept on the floor trying to catch a few ml of cold air.
The morning sun woke me.Since the apartment was on the third floor,we beheld sunrise a few nanoseconds earlier than the lower floors.The sun scorched me at 6AM and I shifted to the bedroom.Thankfully,the power was back on and the air-cooler(!) was back on.
I walked to the AMU library and a few more litres of body fluids evaporated.I sat down in front of the aircoolers in the library and went through the usual motions.
Lunch time!I skipped going home,which was about half a km away because I wanted to save sweat.There was a power-cut in the library,but only for a few brief while.I walked back home in the evening braving the heat,mosquitoes and the drainage pit.I had a bath(my second one) and I sat down to study.A few hundred ml gone again.
 I wish I could have captured the heat and kept it for posterity and also to not get a skewed view of the Indian weather by living in Bangalore.

Pro -proverb

Proverbs have a tendency to come true as you age.Because they were formed by aged people?:)
How often have we gone through situations and realized that they are apt for particular proverbs.
For example:getting slapped after proposing to a girl-'Show your other cheek when you get slapped on one'!
A more appropriate one would have been-'Do unto others what others do unto you'.
When you fail in an exam-'Try,try,never say die' or a better one would be-'Try,try until you dry out!"
  Some nice thoughts about life:

1. One of my favourites goes like this- Life is what happens to you when you are busy making plans for something else!!
2. Live life KING SIZE!!
3. It's better to die on your feet than live on your knees.

These are my wife's!I had to force her to fork out these!I will keep adding to these in future.

Foods and moods

Although this topic comes under the domain of a psychiatrist,it is interesting for a layman(me!) as well.
Foods affect mood and the converse is also true.How often have we felt like grabbing something to eat or gone on an eating binge just to beat the stress of something stressful?
When we are depressed,we tend to go for carbohydrates and proteins.The term 'sugar rush' says it all
Chocolate,the staple of love:) releases endorphins which are hormones that make us feel good.These are also released in exercise.
Many foods that lack vitamins,if consumed for a long time cause deficiencies that can affect mental functions .
Carbohydrates release Serotonin and a host of other neurotransmitters.
Fats make the food palatable.Imagine having a pizza without cheese or a dosa without ghee!
Some articles on the relevant topics can be found here. 
http://www.nuggetize.com/reports/fc65a8974c6b40ab_foods%20affecting%20moods.html

Emotions and neurotransmitters

How does everyone exist?By sweeping your emotions away?By analysing each and everything so that each thought starts to look like a wet cloth after wringing water out of it?
Depression is described as the 'blues'.I thought blue was a happy colour.How would you rate 'jazz',thet happy-go-lucky music?It is due to Acetylcholine,Dopamine and Norepinephrine imbalances.

Happiness is due,predominantly to Dopamine.When you feel like you want to jump with joy,beware!You are just dopaminising your reactions.It is the same thing that causes sleep,food craving,hunger etc.

Sleep is due to Serotonin and a little contribution by Norepinephrine.All those people fond of sleeping tablets are just drugging themselves with serotonon,albeit indirectly.

Sadness involves the same neurotransmitters as depression in a lesser degree.

Anxiety involves mainly noradrenaline and to a lesser extent serotonin and dopamine.
Which is your favourite neurotransmitter?A bit of research regarding the following can be found below.
 http://www.nuggetize.com:8196/reports/1a3a9e7cfb437cb9_sleep%20neurotransmitters.html
http://www.nuggetize.com:8196/reports/bf16f3f7ab49caf8_sadness%20neurotransmitters.html
http://www.nuggetize.com:8196/reports/a0bbf177ad61caf7_anxiety%20neurotransmitters.html

wedding bells

One of my friends is getting married in the near future.He was composing his personal card and asked for my suggestion.He was thinking along the lines of 'With bliss in heart and smiles in/on lips'.
A few suggestions –
'With smiles on lips
Bliss in heart
Miles to go
But first,let's start!'
Another one-
 'With bliss in heart
kiss on the lips
 let us start
before we miss the moment,sweetheart'
Yet another one-
'Lips to kiss with
Heart to fuss with
A life to live with
And a sweetheart to mess with!'
Still another one-
'smiles,hugs and kisses..
A life of near misses.
I am sure it won't be..
but please come and see!'
The last one-
'The dawn of a new life
One of sharing and caring...
I am sure there will be strife
but that's the whole point of  loving!'
These were just figments of my idle mind.The card ran thus-
'With bliss and smiles in heart,
a life of sharing & caring
together dawns...

The edge and beyond

It is fun to choose interesting titles for the insignificant material that is going to be churned out.

When we come across a fork in our life-paths, different roads start beckoning us with their varied advantages.The power to make the right decisions differentiates people with respect to their success.Taking the correct decision is like standing on the edge of a cliff.We know that there is something different when we step off.But beyond a certain point,the visibility is poor.The thrill of stepping off the edge and finding out for yourself whether the decision was right or wrong is itself worth the risk.There are so many variables to be considered before taking the decisions.And while you are treading your chosen path,many things change.Variables ,by definition,have a tendency to change!

Initiative is an invitation to hypertension!But,rather be bland in life, it is better to rock your blood vessels and live your life!