The · Snow · Is · Dancing

A 1990 controlled study involving 768 subjects conducted at Sumitomo Heavy Industries by the Japanese Ministry of Labour and others looked at Transcendental Meditation and its effect on mental health in industrial workers. After a 5-month period the researchers found significant decreases in major physical complaints, impulsiveness, emotional instability, and anxiety amongst the meditators compared to controls. The meditators also showed significant decreases in digestive problems, depression, tendency toward psychosomatic disease, insomnia, and smoking.[111]

A 1977 study in the Journal of Clinical Psychology showed reduced anxiety in practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation technique compared to controls who relaxed passively.[112] A 1989 meta-analysis published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology compared 146 independent studies on the effect of different meditation and relaxation techniques in reducing trait anxiety. Transcendental Meditation was found to produce a larger effect than other forms of meditation and relaxation in the reduction of trait anxiety. Additionally, it was concluded that the difference between Transcendental Meditation and the other meditation and relaxation techniques appeared too large to be accounted for by the expectation effect.[113]

By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS

A neuron in the brain.
Researchers at Princeton University recently made a remarkable discovery about the brains of rats that exercise. Some of their neurons respond differently to stress than the neurons of slothful rats. Scientists have known for some time that exercise stimulates the creation of new brain cells (neurons) but not how, precisely, these neurons might be functionally different from other brain cells.

In the experiment, preliminary results of which were presented last month at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in Chicago, scientists allowed one group of rats to run. Another set of rodents was not allowed to exercise. Then all of the rats swam in cold water, which they don’t like to do. Afterward, the scientists examined the animals’ brains. They found that the stress of the swimming activated neurons in all of the brains. (The researchers could tell which neurons were activated because the cells expressed specific genes in response to the stress.) But the youngest brain cells in the running rats, the cells that the scientists assumed were created by running, were less likely to express the genes. They generally remained quiet. The “cells born from running,” the researchers concluded, appeared to have been “specifically buffered from exposure to a stressful experience.” The rats had created, through running, a brain that seemed biochemically, molecularly, calm.

For years, both in popular imagination and in scientific circles, it has been a given that exercise enhances mood. But how exercise, a physiological activity, might directly affect mood and anxiety — psychological states — was unclear. Now, thanks in no small part to improved research techniques and a growing understanding of the biochemistry and the genetics of thought itself, scientists are beginning to tease out how exercise remodels the brain, making it more resistant to stress. In work undertaken at the University of Colorado, Boulder, for instance, scientists have examined the role of serotonin, a neurotransmitter often considered to be the “happy” brain chemical. That simplistic view of serotonin has been undermined by other researchers, and the University of Colorado work further dilutes the idea. In those experiments, rats taught to feel helpless and anxious, by being exposed to a laboratory stressor, showed increased serotonin activity in their brains. But rats that had run for several weeks before being stressed showed less serotonin activity and were less anxious and helpless despite the stress.

Other researchers have looked at how exercise alters the activity of dopamine, another neurotransmitter in the brain, while still others have concentrated on the antioxidant powers of moderate exercise. Anxiety in rodents and people has been linked with excessive oxidative stress, which can lead to cell death, including in the brain. Moderate exercise, though, appears to dampen the effects of oxidative stress. In an experiment led by researchers at the University of Houston and reported at the Society for Neuroscience meeting, rats whose oxidative-stress levels had been artificially increased with injections of certain chemicals were extremely anxious when faced with unfamiliar terrain during laboratory testing. But rats that had exercised, even if they had received the oxidizing chemical, were relatively nonchalant under stress. When placed in the unfamiliar space, they didn’t run for dark corners and hide, like the unexercised rats. They insouciantly explored.

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“It looks more and more like the positive stress of exercise prepares cells and structures and pathways within the brain so that they’re more equipped to handle stress in other forms,” says Michael Hopkins, a graduate student affiliated with the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory Laboratory at Dartmouth, who has been studying how exercise differently affects thinking and emotion. “It’s pretty amazing, really, that you can get this translation from the realm of purely physical stresses to the realm of psychological stressors.”

The stress-reducing changes wrought by exercise on the brain don’t happen overnight, however, as virtually every researcher agrees. In the University of Colorado experiments, for instance, rats that ran for only three weeks did not show much reduction in stress-induced anxiety, but those that ran for at least six weeks did. “Something happened between three and six weeks,” says Benjamin Greenwood, a research associate in the Department of Integrative Physiology at the University of Colorado, who helped conduct the experiments. Dr. Greenwood added that it was “not clear how that translates” into an exercise prescription for humans. We may require more weeks of working out, or maybe less. And no one has yet studied how intense the exercise needs to be. But the lesson, Dr. Greenwood says, is “don’t quit.” Keep running or cycling or swimming. (Animal experiments have focused exclusively on aerobic, endurance-type activities.) You may not feel a magical reduction of stress after your first jog, if you haven’t been exercising. But the molecular biochemical changes will begin, Dr. Greenwood says. And eventually, he says, they become “profound.”

from the NYTimes

More posts that I found:

Vinitas in Los Angeles:
So true, so true the work is overburdensome. I worked as a paralegal, before the phrase paralegal was invented, for over 30 years. This is not a job for the faint of heart or anyone a little bit on the lazy. Be prepared to miss dinner. I have left the office only to learn I forgot something and then got sandbagged and had to work until after midnight. This left me enough time to get home, showered, and about 6 hours of sleep (I stopped long enough to get something to eat). You will miss your children's events because the client can only come in at that time, etc., etc., etc. Plus you get blamed for all of the attorney's mistakes…

Pinkfusion in Irvine:
I appreciate all that have shared their experiences. My sister was warning me (she works at a university) that many of the students that completed the paralegal studies program were VERY unhappy when they began working as paralegals. At first I dismissed her. Now I believe it.

Yes, H.R. in big law firms are snakes. They only listen to the attorney. An attorney can be known to be impossible to please, or a rotten dictator, and you are expected to perform miracles. They will never say the attorney is wrong. They are too chicken. I was let go after 28 years...I don't think I've comprehended it yet....after six months. It makes me crazy if I start thinking about what they did to me, and I believe they believe they did the right thing. I wish it would happen to their mother or sister. You have no one to protect you as a floater in a large firm. It's like land mines all over the place, and your own ego hangs in the balance.

KMM in Wilmington, DE:
I was a Paralegal for 10 years. At the end, I hated it all- because of the stress, which was destroying my life, and the attornyes who eventually did destroy my life.
Shelf life of para is about 10 years.
I FELT EXACTLY, EXACTLY, EXACTLY AS YOU HAVE WRITTEN.
I lived the tortured stressfull days..when I just didn't know how much more I could take.
I eventually went down in flames in 2006, a toiled thankless life that ended very badly.

Emily in Denver:
I just came across this board while searching for employment - I've been a legal secretary/legal admin asst for over 25 years … I have been chewed up, spit out and stomped upon so much, I can’t describe.

For many paralegals, they end up in a relationship with their attorney that is very similar to a battered woman syndrome. So, look up the definition and pattern of this and you will see what being a paralegal is like.

You will have the same stages: The tension-building phase, followed by the explosion, followed by a honeymoon phase. Over and over and over

Attorneys are socialized in their education and training to be the aggressor, the manipulator, always trying to control the situation. Really, this should all be targeted to opposing counsel, for those of us in litigation, but they are equal opportunity aggressors and will treat their own staff like they are on the other side of a case.

And since the battered woman syndrome is a type of post-traumatic stress disorder, you will also come away from your emotionally abusive paralegal job(s) with some lingering issues related to it.

It's best to avoid the experience altogether.

"I must add my two cents. Do NOT do it!! I spent two years of my life in school and actually did get my AS in Paralegal Studies and was employed for about one year as a paralegal. I quit and am now preparing myself to invest one more year in an LPN program.
The stress of the legal field was overwhelming and unsettling. The stories of attorneys throwing chairs at their paralegals and tyrannical behavior was not a secret once I entered the field. If I had known about it prior, I may not have completed my paralegal education.
Working as a paralegal is FULL of stress, deadlines, "post-it" notes, and serious disillusionment. I was completely disappointed with the legal field and am very excited (and nervous) to be starting on a new path in nursing in just one week!

As far as attorney bashing goes, unlike Mary I'm not under any constraints. Just realize that attorneys are among the most difficult bosses walking the earth.

My experience is some attorneys are okay, but they are rare. A significant number of attoreys are intense, abrupt, anal, very rude and ungrateful. Those individuals will think nothing of imposing on your free time but will snarl at you if you beg for a few nanoseconds of their time. Attorneys are articulate but lack two words in their immense lexicons: "thank" and "you."

In short, one needs Kevlar skin, titanium nerves and an iron constitution to work for attorneys and in law. Think carefully if you want to endure this kind of environment before going forward.

Have fun.

You can enter a group conversation by asking a question.

WHAT IS WORK ABUSE?

Work abuse is the brutalizing and dehumanizing of a person through patterned ways of interacting at work. This includes systematic denial that emotional abuse is happening.

The interactions are determined by a "work culture"--a set of unconscious rules, or "norms," about how things are done, what is allowed or not allowed, and what is, or is not, faced openly and talked about.

Work abuse can affect a whole organization, a work group within the organization--or it can be focused on one individual, the scapegoat for the department. The scapegoat takes the focused blame and negative feelings, the abuse, of everyone. When the scapegoated person inevitably leaves or is fired, someone else may be selected by the group to fillthe slot. Sometimes an entire office or department performs the scapegoat function, the negativity sink, for the organization.

Hypnotic Denial Keeps Work Abuse Hidden

Work culture rules are mirrors of unconscious rules of interaction in a family. Abused employees feel to blame for feeling abused, the same as a dysfunctional family makes the kids feel bad and crazy for dad's abusive behavior at home. Worst of all, a work culture is hypnotic--it defines how employees see reality.

Abused employees cope in the same way as abused children, by going numb--they enter a hypnotic trance that denies the pain by seeing the situation as impossible. Employees enter the hypnotic trance of protective denial as they get off the elevator at work each morning.

Employees in denial about their abuse often end up with illness: addictions, depression, violent behavior. Then they feel guilty about--and they are blamed for--having to take time off from work to treat the symptoms.

How Work Abuse Causes Mental Health Problems

How does work abuse affect mental health? Like overkill, work abuse effectively creates stress through 5 levels of assault: l) the abuse itself, 2) the inability to protest it, 3) being blamed and feeling guilty for reacting against it, 4) having to live in denial of all of this,5) feeling guilty for the symptoms that then develop and further disrupt the employee's functioning.

In the same way, entire organizations must deny their fear-ridden work cultures. Work cultures can be healthy, but many are sick and headed by managers who need unempowered workers in order to feel superior.

Those marginal employees who "can't take the heat" of the sick culture become physically or mentally ill. Marginal employees--often the most sensitive persons--become the scapegoats within systems that can't face their sick cultures openly.

Turn on the lights. Your body responds naturally to changes in light, so if it's unnaturally dark where you're working or sleeping it may make staying alert a lot harder. Try keeping your blinds open a bit so you'll wake up naturally in the morning or adding a few extra lights to your workspace to keep you from feeling sleepy throughout the day.

Exercise. While it may seem counterintuitive, exercising can wake you up and give you an energy boost that lasts all day. Make time for even 30 minutes of exercise in your day and start reaping the benefits.

Find things to get excited about. Of course you're going to be exhausted in the morning if all you can think about doing is things you dread. Try to find at least one thing you can get excited about doing each day.

Eat smaller, more frequent meals. Medical experts agree that infrequent eating can cause your blood glucose to spike and crash, leaving you tired and hungry. And digesting huge meals can steal energy you need for other things. Instead, eat smaller meals throughout the day so you can keep your energy level and keep yourself feeling great.

Make sure you are getting enough protein. Protein is an important part of a balanced diet and not getting enough can leave you feeling wiped out.

Do some simple chores. If you're having trouble getting motivated to do a big project because you feel tired, try starting out with a few simple household chores. The activity will help you wake up and feel more up to getting what you need to do done.

What Are The Benefits of Journaling?:
Journaling allows people to clarify their thoughts and feelings, thereby gaining valuable self-knowledge. It’s also a good problem-solving tool; oftentimes, one can hash out a problem and come up with solutions more easily on paper. Journaling about traumatic events helps one process them by fully exploring and releasing the emotions involved, and by engaging both hemispheres of the brain in the process, allowing the experience to become fully integrated in one’s mind.As for the health benefits of journaling, they've been scientifically proven. Research shows the following:

* Journaling decreases the symptoms of asthma, arthritis, and other health conditions.
* It improves cognitive functioning.
* It strengthens the immune system, preventing a host of illnesses.
* It counteracts many of the negative effects of stress.