Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Panic-Man

Apparently there’s a new computer game designed to show how the brain reacts to threats. The game, modeled on Pac-Man, has a predator chase down a player; if caught, the player receives a shock. The results of the study are allegedly explaining why some of us unfortunate souls suffer from anxiety and panic.

"When our defence mechanisms malfunction, this may result in an over-exaggeration of the threat, leading to increased anxiety and, in extreme cases, panic, he said. Although brain-imaging studies like ours cannot directly help to cure such disorders, they do improve our understanding of how the emotional system operates. This is the first step to helping people with anxiety-related disorders."

Huh…I’m not sure what to make of this. I guess one could say I “overreact” to certain situations, but, when your heart starts pounding, your palms start pouring sweat, your vision becomes blurry and your arm goes numb, it’s kind of difficult not to overreact.

11 comments:

Addie said...

Amen to that! I appreciate them trying their hardest to understand how the brain works in an anxiety prone person...but research only goes so far. How are you doing, L?
-Addie

Leila V. said...

Addie:
I’m doing surprisingly well. Knock on wood, but my anxiety is much less today than it has been in years. How are you doing?

Anonymous said...

Glad you're doing well.

Not much doing here.

Leila V. said...

Barbora:
Good to hear from you. That job must be keeping you busy. Don't be a stranger.

Sean said...

I merely appreciate the way those Brits spell "defense."

Leila V. said...

Sean? Can this be THE Sean? Where the hell have you been? How the hell have you been?

Sean said...

I'm alive! Though just barely. I got lazy. Ran out of energy. And now I have woman trouble and am up all night agonizing, etc. I now have mounds of energy. Hence, my guest appearance in your comments box!

By the way, you're great.

Leila V. said...

No, you're great, and always welcome in my comments box.

Spill it, which woman is it?

Sean said...

No... you're great! And it's the original woman friend. She was the one from my very first posts in February. The axiom for this type of thing is... "don't go back into your own vomit."

Leila V. said...

Details, Sean, I want details...

Sean said...

I can't give details Leila. We're just incompatible. It's like I keep sticking my LAN line in her WiFi card slot.