Dissociated Thoughts

Insights on Cabbage and Fright

"Journalistic Intentions"  - October Entry 2 - Cabbage

Cabbage is an acquired taste. There are people out there who won't touch the stuff no matter how it is cooked. But for me, it has always been a part of my life. Cabbage dishes are found at every family holiday gathering; boiled up with some bacon on Thanksgiving and Christmas, chopped up and made into slaw to accompany fish or burgers on the Fourth of July. Momma made cabbage rolls in the colder months while I was growing up too. I always looked forward to those. And sauerkraut as a side to smoked sausages. Cabbage in our salads. The women in my family always believed that cabbage helped with ills as well as putting food in our stomachs. Having urination issues? Eat some boiled cabbage. Constipated? Boiled cabbage. Need to lose some weight? I have had family members who actually went on all cabbage diets and did in fact lose weight. Now, whether or not that was a healthy way to do it is still in question. But there are circumstances in life where a person isn't able to eat this delicious vegetable due to its Vitamin-K content. All green (and some red and purple) fruits and veggies have notable amounts of Vitamin-K in them. People who have to be on blood thinners, like Coumadin, are told to reduce the amount of greens they eat. Vitamin-K helps blood clotting in a person's body, something that is needed to remain healthy. Fewer greens means less cabbage as well as less salad greens, okra, green beans, olives, etc. Let me just tell you, it's hard going from having cabbage as an important part of a diet to being restricted on the intake of it. But, I still cheat sometimes during the holidays. Sometimes, there's nothing better at soothing the soul than cabbage.


DAY 3258 October 14, 2021
Let's talk about the psychology of fright. What do so many people enjoy about being terrified? Discuss the physical and emotional needs that are filled through this experience.

I think it's all in the chemicals our bodies put out when we put ourselves through things that scare us. The adrenaline is a rush better than any drug. That is why someone somewhere coined the term "adrenaline junkie" - some people just cannot get enough of it. So here's pretty much how it all goes down.
1. A person experiences fright in some manner
2. The fear response starts in a region of the brain called the amygdala. The amygdala is an almond-shaped area in the temporal lobe (base) of the brain that is dedicated to detecting how stimuli will affect us emotionally.
3. When the amygdala interprets the signal as one of fear, it sends signals to the pituitary gland which in turns signals the adrenal gland, where the Fight-or-Flight response is triggered: "our breathing and heart rate can increase rapidly, the peripheral blood vessels can constrict which can cause our extremities to lose the capability to perform fine motor functions whilst central blood vessels around our organs dilate to pump oxygen and nutrients to them so they can keep functioning at a high level. Our muscles will be filled with blood priming them for action."
4. Once these signals are running rampant through our bloodstream, it finally reaches the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex which help the brain interpret the perceived threat. They help a person know whether a perceived threat is real, or when a threat has passed. This is when a person will begin to "come down" from their adrenaline high, as the brain begins to signal that the threat is not a real one or that the threat is over.

These responses are primal and deeply ingrained in each of us. WHy do some people love to be frightened? Easy. They like the high.