WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2023, MENTAL UNDERSTANDING AND THE SPECTRUM

 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2023 MENTAL UNDERSTANDING AND THE SPECTRUM

I don’t understand thinking.  Space has been described as the final frontier, but I think the brain is really the final frontier.  

Humans can be quite rational and also quite irrational.  

I can’t predict what I'm going to do in the future.   Is there rational thought behind my actions?  Can drugs cause a change in thinking?   Can I do random acts?  

“Human psychology is defined as the science of the mind and behavior. It encompasses the scientific study of the mind and behavior and the application of these principles to help prevent, treat, and diagnose mental health conditions. Psychologists explore typical and atypical behavior to fully understand the human experience.”

I wasn’t much of a Star Trek watcher.  The ship got in trouble early in an episode and, by the end of the hour, had solved the problem.  (Just like most serious television shows)

But I remember one segment of one show.  Mr.Spock, the logical man, and one other crew member were stranded on a vast planet.  The Enterprise couldn’t locate them (technical malfunction?). The rational man (Spock)  did something illogical - he shot off a pistol.  Amazingly, somebody on the Enterprise saw the spark from the gun, directed the Enterprise to their location, and rescued them.  (Okay, it was a television show!!). 

Asked why he did such an illogical action, Mr. Spock said it wasn’t logical, but it worked, and thus, a solution that worked - although not logical became logical.

*****

Sometimes, my brain works in a logical progression.  (After all, I was a mathematician and a computer professor.)  And, sometimes, my brain does irrational things.

Some people are considered mentally incompetent but able to function quite well. Some analysts have suggested that Napolean and Hitler were mentally deranged but functioned. 

*****

Okay, off to what I want to talk about today. It is National Coming Out Day.  

National Coming Out Day is “coming out of the closet.”  Some people’s brains have misfired, and men think they are in love with other men; women are in love with other women.  

Genesis 1:27 says, "So God created man in His image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them."

So, men and women marry and have children to carry on the human race - that is normal.  

My friend BB had three children - twin boys and a girl.  One of the boys was “normal” and married a wife and had children.  One of the boys was “irrational” and has married a man. WHY?

IDK (I don’t know).  That son was raised in the same home as his twin brother, but somehow, he has accepted that he is gay - a “homosexual,” if you will.  

Another friend, KW, had three children - two daughters and a son.  And, somewhere, her thoughts made her a lesbian - a woman loving another woman.  

There are autistic people.  Autism, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech, and nonverbal communication. According to the Centers for Disease Control, autism affects an estimated 1 in 36 children in the United States today. There seems to be a “spectrum” - from mild to severe—some of these people have brains that are “wired” differently. 

WHY?

(And, the same answer - IDK - I don’t know).

And (at least to me), the strangest one - a child born with male gender characteristics considers himself female, and a child born with female gender traits feels herself as male.

Why do some people become homicidal killers? IDK.  Are they on the spectrum?  IDK.

I can’t speak for others.  I say a two-by-four smacked me, and a ton of bricks fell on me.  I KNOW it was genuine - and very scary.  As a seventy-year-old man, how could I think I needed to be a woman?  

Note - I fought it.  I did a program that said I was a sinner for thinking that I was a woman in a Christian context.  I also contemplated suicide.  What weird things were going on in my brain?  I didn’t do drugs.  I didn’t try LSD.  (Okay, like many college students, I did try marijuana about four times).  Was that enough to affect my brain?

Today, people who have experienced trauma are encouraged to step out of the closet and say, “I’m not who you think I am - I’m a complex human being like you who somehow fell in love with someone of my gender.

So, to me, today is more of a day to say “I DON’T KNOW” about mental health.  Years ago, such people were locked up.  Others were subject to electronic shocks.   

So, I applaud those willing to stand up and say, “I’m different.” I’m also willing to say, “I love you.” 

Is Space the final frontier - or is the brain the final frontier?  IDK - but I am still learning a fundamental truth for me - that LOVE WINS.

Let’s consider God as infinite, all-loving, all-knowing, and all-compassionate.  Let’s say, “I don’t understand why John became Jane while Suzy is in love with Sarah or why Albert acts the way that he does. Or that Johnny can’t concentrate in school or on the job, or Renee has relationship trouble. I tend to believe that all of us have some kind of flaw.  Nobody is perfect.  And, so, I need to respect all people. 

I call that LOVE - and I believe that ultimately, LOVE WINS!!!

That LOVE can change a person - if they are willing to step out of their closet and say, “I am different.”  LOVE TRANSFORMS

KAREN ANNE WHITE, ©, OCTOBER 11, 2023