A Day In The Life. No, not The Beatles' song.

I have had some words sitting in my drafts folder for far too long. I have not published them for fear that someone might point an angry finger at me and have me exiled from society for having bad thoughts. After much consideration, I have decided that my thoughts deserve to be shared. This decision was partly influenced by the fact that I am in a pretty good place with life right now. I haven't had these bad thoughts for a couple of weeks now. They'll be back, I'm sure of it, but in the meantime I wanted to give people a glimpse of what unedited and unbridled depression looks like.


"They don't know what's it like to be depressed, not this kind of depressed at least. Only those who are truly weighed down by this invisible plague know how difficult it is to simply exist, especially when existence is the very thing you're running from. Let's talk first about what it feels like, physically that is. When I wake up in the morning- and by morning I really mean afternoon- I am already carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders. It looks a bit like Atlas, but less majestic. I don't shower because I don't plan on going anywhere. I don't plan on going anywhere because I don't want to see anyone. I don't want to see anyone because it takes too much energy to pretend to be okay. I wish I had the kind of depression that causes a loss of appetite... But I don't. I binge eat every day. After a binge session, I feel complete and utter self loathing. When I'm not binge eating or making angry remarks towards my loving family members, I am usually stuck in my head. What goes on inside my head? Death.

I picture death in all its most sought after forms. The most attractive form is death by accident. In this scenario, my family doesn't have to live with the shame of a late daughter, sister, etc. that society views as crazy. A classic scenario is the one where I get to die a hero. Of course this one is the most outrageous because I've never done anything heroic, and I probably never will. It's simply not in my nature. Then there's the middle ground, the ambiguous death. A true mystery. Did she commit suicide? Was she murdered? Maybe it was manslaughter. Or maybe it was an underlying health condition that caused her to go naturally. The possibilities are endless and that in it of itself is strangely electrifying to me. That's why the latter form of death is my favorite."

Psychno

Over the past couple of years I have noticed a steady increase in people "coming out" on social media about mental illnesses. As with every controversial topic there are supporters and haters. The haters label said bravery as a means of getting attention and the supporters- well they support it obviously.  On one extreme side, it is thought that any conversation surrounding the "coming out" is evidence of society condoning this attention seeking behavior. On the flip side, this mentally unstable bandwagon is the life-saving flotation device for someone drowning in a treacherous pool of liquid self loathing.

Why is there such a huge discrepancy between these two perspectives? Is it a lack of understanding and compassion for the human condition when not represented by idealistic behavior? Who really knows... Unfortunately the majority of conversations surrounding this topic are concerning the act the discussing the topic itself. Some people comment on the topic by saying, it's a real thing... I know exactly how they feel. While others push it the other way by saying how it's all made up and the people who make confessions are just being mellow dramatic and those that do it are selfish. The cold hard facts, the truth, and the science behind it all is sometimes too complicated for every single person to wrap his or her head around. Instead of accepting the evidence alongside of the fact that there is a lack of understanding for it in the first place, these people choose to reject it entirely and stick to their old ways. Evidently, this leads to an ignorance among the masses that bleeds through communities faster than wine on snow white carpet.

In either case, a true solution has yet to be found. How can society as a whole embrace the misfortunes of mental illness, take some notes and strive to achieve a better understanding of its causes and implications?

Isis

A few weeks ago I gave a presentation in my seminar class on the company Isis Pharmaceuticals. I chose this company because they have a unique and innovative way of treating rare and severe diseases. They use antisense technology to target mRNA that would normally be translated into a protein that is thought to be the cause of a particular disease. This upstream method of treatment has been quite successful and the company currently has two drugs that are on the market with many others in phase two and three clinical trials. Here's a quick link to their website where you can learn more about what it is exactly that they do.  https://www.isispharm.com/about/

With the recent attacks happening in Paris and the numerous other terror-related events occurring worldwide, the word Isis has been on a lot of people's minds. The term, which was chosen by this pharmaceutical company over 20 years ago, has developed more than one connotation in recent years -not all of which are entirely pleasant either. In light of everything happening, I would like the biotech community to continue to recognize and support Isis Pharmaceuticals for all of their hard work and the brilliant discoveries they have made over the last couple of decades. Take the time to do a little research on the company, I promise you'll learn something new. It's the type of place I would love to have the opportunity of working at one day.

Hipsters, Hippies and High Fashion

Since the fruition of nomadic civilizations, whether it be humans, neanderthals, orangutans or dolphins, social conformity has always sat at the top of the list of necessary survival activities.  Many terms have been used to identify the various levels of group conformity. Pack, flock, herd, pod, mob, gang, and the recently established group known as Hipsters. This dynamic group can be recognized by its unique style of clothing and social conventions. In the beginning a common goal shared between these Hipsters was to set themselves apart from the mainstream culture. It started out as a rather small population. Non-Hipsters looked upon the slowly emerging culture with their heads cocked sideways just a bit- that was normal.

Over time the Hipster culture grew larger and larger, eventually drawing in new members much like the behavior of celestial bodies surrounding a black hole. Although the exact moment is unknown, it is clear now that the Hipster culture has taken over all previous mainstream cultures. Hipsters look upon the Non-Hipsters with their heads cocked sideways- this is normal. Spotting an individual wearing colors that are aesthetically pleasing to the eye is a rare occurrence. In fact, so rare that it permits a double-take just to confirm it's reality. Meanwhile, spotting an individual wearing a pair of floral print leggings and a plaid lumberjack blouse hardly merits the batting of an eye.

The evolution of Hipsters may seem a bit strange at times. Occasionally it might even come across as bizarre, much like sparkly vampires and cuddly werewolves . People think to themselves, "What has this world come to? These look-a-like hippies are everywhere...and yet we still have global warming to look forward to". Well, the good news has come. In all actuality, this odd type of social conformity is just another aspect of history repeating itself and is nothing to be worried about. Remember the decades of high fashion models striving to achieve the junkie look with every chicken broth flavored cotton ball they ate? These long haired, free spirited, breakout artist following young adults trying to emulate the Baby Boomers of the Woodstock era are exactly what history would have predicted. 

Annihilation by Ambiguity

Why is it that when you ask someone what their thoughts are on the LRA/Joseph Kony they immediately say, "He's a monster! He needs to be captured and killed, he's taken so many lives!" Meanwhile, when asked about abortion they are quick to say "Women should be able to make a choice!"
The death toll from abortion is somewhere around 500x that of the LRA. (This is a rough estimate used merely to make a statistical comparison. Don't read too much into the reference itself). 
Who then is responsible for all the casualties associated with this Pro-choice era? Is it the mothers- who are often making a short sighted decision to get through 'the now'? Is it the people of the church who are not fighting hard enough against Congress to abolish Pro-choice? Is it the scientists, professors and teachers who do not spend enough time thoroughly educating students on embryonic and developmental biology?
Is the current war between Pro-Life and Pro-Choice based upon Women's rights to their bodies, or is it fueled by the ambiguity regarding the definition of life itself?
17th century English philosopher, John Locke, is known for his thoughts on natural rights, which he expresses in his Second Treatise of Government. His famous words, "The right to life, liberty and property", were of great inspiration to Thomas Jefferson while drafting the Declaration of Independence. Would it not it seem that Pro-choice is without a doubt unconstitutional?