How many around you seem suddenly "befuddled" ?

Originally posted by Bicent76
I would not say so to speak, we as a whole in the CIVILIZED, world has been dumbed down. I think we are at a technological, period in our history of man, where it has become our demise. Most people in the civilized world RELY on technology, from the alarm clock, to the calculator, to the computer to the car, the blackberry, to the ps3 etc etc etc..

When we begin to not utilize out survival instincts within our being we become out of shape, when technology substitutes basic prime mental function, the mind begins to goto waste. I am sure this can be debated, yet let us go back in time and look in amasement for just a moment..


The Egyptions.. They had no computers, no digital technology so to speak, and did not understand the theory of electricty, yet mathematically egineered one of the greatest wonders of the World.

Lets look at the greeks.. The Romans, etc. etc. etc.

At the same time the influx is information. We have access to more information then ever, at the flick of the wrist. As appose to actually researching things ourselves via, thru experience or taking the actions to READ a book about it, we have made it so simple to access information I do not beleive we feel or get what we used too from the easy access..

These are just examples, I have not gotten dumber over the years, I am much wiser I beleive. I do not forget much, yet as far as memorizing telephone numbers that is diffacult these days simply because I store everything in my cell, and highlight the name to call. If I lost my cell phone I would have a problem..

Information age The golden age or the Cursed age?

Well said......It is as if we are de-evolving....

This is my first post after lurking for almost a year. I just wanted to add for the record that I am also experiencing problems with spelling and articulation. What was once so easy for me has become a difficult task. I even have proof of this as I've kept a blog for the last 10 years. I've noticed this year that I am not nearly as articulate or well spoken as I used to be. I once considered myself to be an eloquent writer - now I have problems connecting thoughts. It just comes out choppy and poorly written.

I also wanted to add something else that nobody has mentioned, yet feels relevant to me. For the last 3 years I have been experiencing anxiety. Sometimes severe (to me), most times just low level. In fact, my husband and I were just discussing it on a long, dark drive to a friend's wedding reception. I told him I was experiencing sudden anxiety and wondered if it was the long dark drive. He said he was also experiencing it as well (unusual as he is the most logical and level headed person I know). But - he also said he was afraid of running into a deer, for what it's worth.

I went on to explain my disgruntlement regarding the anxiety. Used to be when I had that feeling I *knew* something was "off". It was an intuition thing. Something just wasn't right and the anxiety was my sensor going off. For the last 3 years it's as if I've become defective. I get random anxiety - usually in the form of horrible thoughts. Flashes of violent images that are usually in no way related to the situation that I'm in at the time. Mostly mechanical images, for lack of a better explanation. I can explain it further if it seems relevant, but I'm not sure that it is...

I chalked the anxiety up to having a child - but even still it doesn't make sense to me. I'm a stay-at-home mother by choice, in a happy marriage, the bills are paid - my life is good (truly). Sure there are stresses, but not nearly as many as I had in my 20's. Beyond that, I've always been practical, logical, self-aware and realistic - so the random onset of anxiety really threw me for a loop. In the beginning I thought it was post-partum hormones, but 3 years later it still pops up quite strongly and quite randomly.

Anyhow, I just thought I'd add my experience. It seemed relevant. Maybe it's not. Maybe I just want it to be for lack of a better explanation. But regardless, there it is.

reply to post by TaunyaD


Thank you for sharing your experiences. Don't feel alone in the boat. I went through the same thing myself and it got really bad in my mid 30's, but it lessened as I got older and now it's just mostly a few slight intrusive thoughts that I can easily put aside.

How strange that you and I had the exact same symptoms. It's very disturbing, and I feel for you. I know my faith in Christ helped me tremendously to get through that dark time in my life.

But what is really behind this? It almost seems like everyone I know has either horrible depression or Bipolar disorder and are either taking drugs, or just barely making it. Most have violent outbursts, and domestic violence especially between married couples seems epidemic.

This has to be one of the most important threads on ATS. Thank you again for sharing, I know it took guts, but we need to band together on threads like this and forget our pride if we are ever going to get any answers about what is causing this.

I want to mention one more thing. I have now posted something similar about how I thought Bipolar disorder was so much more prevalent than is being reported. The thread I posted on another site was deleted, and the thread I posted on this site about the same never got many replies. There is still quite a stigma to admit things are not quite right mentally.

I wish you the best, and if you need any advice about how I was able to overcome the intrusive violent images I would be happy to help. God bless.

[edit on 13-1-2010 by skepticantiseptic]

maybe they're mass testing some sort of mental weapon on people - with all this 'intrusive violent images' being broadcast to people?

i have always thought schizophrenia might have been similar to this.

they have the technology to mess wiht your mind; they've had it for years. if you dont think thats true, you havent done enuf research.

Hmm interesting seeing this thread...

I'll chime in and say the last year or so ive found myself readily getting more and more forgetful, not in a complete lose of memory but more like a haze, where before I could remember what i had for tea a few nights back i cant really remember what i had the night before without actually thinking about it. Things or routines, or even names of things and places or concepts I used to be able to recall real easily just take ages to remember... the thing is I remember that i easily remembered them previously, if not the actual thing itself. I regularly find myself saying... "why the hell cant I remember that" or "why'd that take so long to recall" Which just makes me more frustrated.

Ive done nothing different the last year, my routines are no different, I sleep the same length, i do all the same things.

Another thing i find odd is ive sort of lost any desire to do artwork... which for me being an artistic person is kinda scary. even my usually strong imagination is almost sort of switched off, i can do it, but my desire and depth for it have sort of whittled away. Heck the last piece of artwork I did was the 3d sculpt for my avatar and that was a good 6 months ago.

Its definitely bizarre, especially since my older brother who lives in the same house as me is also having similar problems that ive noticed, my younger brother isnt that I can see but hes out most of the day. Parents arent much different than normal, although being old it might not show up so much with them. Whats annoying is I had a 2 day stint about 3 months back where I felt normal, didnt last. heh im only 30 so i dont see why it'd be due to age

I thought it might have been the new nonstick pan we got, since it sort of started around the time we started using it... I hate the things but the parents want it used. Hasnt been damaged but still weary about em.

Seeing all the other examples in here makes me wonder... something definitely seems strange.

Its like 'desire' has been completely sucked right out of me... wouldnt have thought to much about it until seeing this thread. Who knows maybe where all empathic to a degree and where feeling something big on the horizon. I know its cliche but I think humanity as a whole or large parts of it have some sort of ability in that regards, weather strong or slight. Would be interesting to find out personality types and the like for everyone and see if theres a pattern to whos effected.


[edit on 13-1-2010 by BigfootNZ]

I have just read all the posts to date on this fascinating thread. While reading some of the replies I thought of my responses and was going to note them in this reply but, guess what.. I can't remember what I was going to say!

The symptoms described by many go for me also. I was reknowned for my spelling, my grammar was reasonable, and my 'nick name' where I used to work was "Oracle" because if anyone needed an answer for the crossword or quiz etc. they came to me. Since then however my typing, spelling, grammar and recall have all declined.
The most pronounced symptom is my "cotton wool" brain. It feels like my skull is stuffed with cotton wool or that someone has their thumb at the top of my spine, their fingers on my frontal lobes and is squeezing my grey matter!
I keep fit walking at least 5 miles per day, I eat a mostly healthy diet, with organic, and some home grown, produce. I dont drink to excess, don't do drugs so why do I feel like this?

Originally posted by unityemissions
reply to post by TarzanBeta

 

Um...so what you're saying is that those people here who are feeling ill just don't care?! I agree the average person may be indifferent, but ATS isn't really the norm in that department. I think your superior logic needs a tune up. In my view, you've won the lottery. Most everyone I see over the age of about 24 is quite rundown unless they're doing extensive work to better their selves nonstop.

That is not how I meant it.

Feeling ill and being ill are two different things.

I agree that ATS is not the norm in the careless department.

I think it is PATHETIC that anyone over 24 would be run-down! 24 is only a quarter through life to me!

Did I hit the genetic lottery? It's a possibility. But my mind says otherwise.

I do not make friends well because I do not accept weakness too often. I accept it when it is necessary. However, I do not baby someone if they're crying about being cold or uncomfortable. I will gladly keep someone warm or comfortable, but it's the whininess that gets me.

Most people I know have -got- to complain about how cold it is or how hot it is. No one seems to be able to make up their minds or just accept it for what it is! Yeah, shoot it's cold. So...? Need we dwell? These same people will be crying once it's summer-time. Oh good grief, will you people just pick a season and love it! But, alas... people are like the jews in the desert following Moses. Cry about this, cry about that.

Of course, here I am crying about people crying.

But this is my main weakness -- it is that I have little patience for weakness! Imagine how tortured I might be!

The more I think about it, the more I am CERTAIN that it is a MINDSET. I am not saying that it is impossible for chemicals to be messing with us. That is very true, I believe. But we are adaptable. We are AMAZING machines. What we convince ourselves is much more real than what is empirical. We are MENTAL CREATURES. And yet, we allow our carnal nature to take over.

I love the people here at ATS. I believe that the some of the brightest and most interesting minds are here. Having said that, I think people could be much, much brighter. I am not sure that it would make for a more interesting site, though.

It is pretty rare that something gets me so badly that I feel like I can't handle it. If I remember God, though, I become like titanium.

I remember that Jesus said, "I came not for the strong, but for the weak." I believe He meant that He didn't come for those who didn't think they needed saving. Well, my worst weakness is my past. And I need/ed saving. But physically, mentally, emotionally, and now spiritually I am like a titanium bullet!

I drink the water! I drink the whole milk! I eat all sorts of processed foods! I smoke about 6-10 cigarettes a day! (This is, indeed, making me weaker.) I don't take any medications, so maybe that's a big part of my keeping my physical and mental strength. Some days, I will eat a lot. Some days, I will eat nothing. Some days, I will be lazy-ish. Some days, I will be energetic and gettin' it done! PEOPLE ARE LIKE THIS.

Yet, people stress day in and day out about their health. I do not. I think it is pathetically and sadly ironic that the people who are constantly stressing out over their health are the ones that are making it worse. Always running, focusing on the perfect foods/vitamins, counting calories and cholesterols and God only knows what else they're counting...

What STRESS!

I feel for people. I do... but I just want to smack them. I don't think a hug is sufficient to wake people up. A hug is comforting. People need comfort NO LONGER. People need to be thrown on their ass in the thorns in the dark and find their way out!

People need to appreciate life for what it is instead of always trying to make the "quality" or "quantity" of it better. What have you gained if you live to be 100 and yet you spent 20-30 years of it stressing about living longer? In fact, if you do stress over it, you will NOT live to be 100.

If you pay attention, you find that people who live to be 100 live their lives pretty modestly. People who live to be 100 didn't wear themselves out everyday. People who live to be 100 do not stress over these things. Granted, also, people who live to be 100 are either really selfish or really unselfish. But atleast they're not caught up in the middle, wondering and/or wandering.

People need to stop fearing death. People need to stop fearing time-loss. People need to accept it for what it is : inevitable and unavoidable. Only in this way can you truly be strong.

reply to post by TarzanBeta


Are you so sure feeling ill and being ill are different? The rest of your post seems to imply otherwise. I do agree that people can create a negative feedback loop from dwelling on if they're unwell. That this will impact the immune system and may actually cause disease. I don't think that most people who are stuck in this loop have no affliction save "hypochondria". In my view, don't dwell, but be aware of the situation. Much like you say. If you're sick, find out why. That's what I did.

I've become a bit obsessive with my health, because of the fact that I was previously so run down. Pathetic you say? How arrogant and ignorant. People do come down with all sorts of diseases, regardless of age. The truth is that we are being bombarded by an ungodly amount of toxins, pathogens and radiation. It's not that it may impact people, it most definitely does. This is variable based on many factors. One of those is definitely someones ability to handle stress without dwelling, however this is just part of it. I refuse to think that faith could be any type of cure-all. God is not so great. The evidence is abundant. People of the greatest faith still die from diseases. Some even as a child. Is this pathetic of them? Do they deserve this from karma or from a lack of faith?

I actually see people who think they're okay, say they're okay, but obviously are not okay. It seems to me thinking one is made of titanium or invincible is the easiest way to die early. This type of thinking usually seems to bring a lack of awareness as it's founded in an obvious absurdity. If someone is ill, it's best for them to realize this. Accept it and do what they can to overcome this, no?

So I guess the middle path would be best. We're not invincible, and we're not weak PATHETIC creatures. We're human beings. Fallible, impermanent, and capable of creating great chaos and order, both within our selves and beyond.

[edit on 13-1-2010 by unityemissions]

reply to post by TarzanBeta


your partially right and partially wrong i'm not gonna make it a big discussion but i dont ever take meds i only get sick twice a year and even then i dont take meds i actually think people who depend on going to the doctor everytime they get sick just stay sick all the time your immune system is like working out you dont take steriods and cheat thats like taking medicine when your sick you body has to learn to rebuild stronger by itself if you let your immune system do the work alone it builds it up and makes it stronger taking meds all the time keeps it weak thats my take on it because my immune system is a bad sob because i've taught it to fight or die only the strong survive

reply to post by metalholic


This thread is in the conspiracy topic area so you could make a case that doctors sometimes profit by pushing "BIG PHARMA" solutions. Certainly if there are environmental triggers that are causing sleeplessness or anxiety it would be smarter to eliminate the environmental cause than to cover it up with a drug?

reply to post by Bordon81


well in the pst before last on here i did admit i think chem trails have alot to do with things and i do believe the gov feeds us chem goods thats why people are developing way younger then they used to has anyone else noticed that sometimes 14 yr olds have bodies like 18-20 yr olds not that i go out of my way to check them out but i'm sure i'm not the only one to have noticed! hormones and other chems in the food i think are the cause of this also! even if it is genetic it probably still hurry's it or activates it!

reply to post by metalholic


Entirely agree. It's the xenoestrogens and endocrine disruptors in general. Well I also think it's growth hormones that are used in the animal meat we ingest. Girls are going through puberty earlier each decade. Men are losing their testosterone and sperm numbers plus quality. It's really bad news and it's all happening way too quickly. Evolution doesn't naturally happen at these rates. If half the sperm has been lost in 50 years alone, wtf will happen in 50 more years?! Did you know that the level for infertility has been re-normed every few years?! Bad news, people. Really bad.

If you are not taking extra vitamin supplements and are having these problems now would be a good time to test them out. Vitamin C is by far the most important and Vitamin D shortages are common during winter. If you are taking supplements and have symptoms like those being discussed try cranking them up a notch temporarily. For me this is part of some sort of unexplainable cycle that usually won't last but a few days. I just need to ride it out; things will turn around.

Regarding other people; I have noticed a huge increase in driver stupidity over the past year or so. People pull right in front of other vehicles without seeming to notice they were there and other drivers reluctant to slow down when they do pull in front. Speeding and tailgating are also on the rise. It may well have something to do with electromagnetic frequencies. To match the driver stupidity there has also been a large increase in cell phone use, GPS systems and satellite radios.

Has anyone else noticed sleeping and eating patterns being affected also?

This isn't sudden, it seems to have been going on a long time.

Could it be the state of education?

So many, you wouldn't even be able to comprehend.

[edit on 17-1-2010 by SpiritHipHop]

reply to post by silent thunder


I don't know what your getting at.

I think a lot of people whom have been out of work for an extended period of time aren't using their brains anymore and instead are sitting around watching television.

Is this possibly what your referring to?