I am currently re-reading Norman Doidge's book, "The Brain That Changes Itself". The book deals primarily with how the brain can be rewired in order to deal with various types of mental conditions.
There are two key laws of neuroplasticity which are highlighted in the book. (Neuroplasticity is the term used to indicate that the brain retains plasticity, or in other words, the ability to be rewired.) We retain the ability to make some changes to how our brains operate throughout most of our lives in order to cure or mitigate many agonizing conditions.
The first law or principle is the finding that "neurons that fire together wire together" and the second is the finding that "neurons that fire apart wire apart".
To illustrate these principles, I will refer to the anxiety condition of "obsessive compulsive disorder" (OCD). By doing something else - something pleasurable - instead of performing the compulsion, individuals suffering from OCD form a new circuit that is gradually reinforced in place of the compulsion. And, by not acting on the compulsion in the first place, the link between the compulsion and the idea that it will ease anxiety is weakened. Weakening the link is crucial because while acting on a compulsion eases anxiety in the short term, it worsens the condition of OCD in the long term. As individuals apply themselves, this 'manual gear shift' becomes more automatic. The episodes become shorter and less frequent and although relapses occur, especially during times of high stress, regaining control comes about more quickly.
D.
The Brain That Changes Itself, Norman Doidge, M.D., Penguin Books 2007, p. 174.
About Me
- Deborah K. Hanula
- Deborah K. Hanula has a year of Journalism training from Humber College, a Political Science degree from the University of Waterloo, and a Law degree from the University of British Columbia. In addition, she has Diplomas in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Child Psychology, and Psychotherapy and Counselling as well as a Family Life Educator and Coach Certificate and Certificates in Reflexology, Assertiveness Training, and Mindfulness Meditation. She is the author of five cookbooks, primarily concerned with gluten-free and dairy-free diets, although one pertains to chocolate. As an adult, in the past she worked primarily as a lawyer, but also as a university and college lecturer, a tutor, editor, writer, counsellor, researcher and piano teacher. She enjoys a multi-faceted approach when it comes to life, work and study, in order to keep things fresh and interesting. Check out her new book: A Murder of Crows & Other Poems (2023).
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
The Fluidity of Female Sexuality
Attention heterosexual men: I don't want to cause you to be overly leery, but, it turns out that there's no guarantee that the significant heterosexual woman in your life will not, at some point, desire a female partner. So-called 'straight' women are aroused by both male and female erotica: by images of men and women having sex, by men having sex with men, and by women having sex with women. They are enticed by the faces and bodies of both sexes.
"Straight women may be particularly ambidextrous in their attractions, but gay women seem to share some of the female inclination to ambiguity."(1) Two studies carried out in the 1990's indicated that about 80 percent of gay women have had sex with a man while just over half of gay men have had sex with a woman.
In my personal life, I don't know of any cases where a woman has gone from partnering with a man, to then partnering with a woman, and then back to a man. In my experience, the woman leaves the man for another woman and then stays with that woman or continues on to have additional relationships with other women. One high-profile case, however, indicates more fluidity. Lou Diamond Philips' wife, Julie Cypher, left him to pursue a relationship with Melissa Etheridge then years later split with Etheridge to marry a man.
A 2003 study found that behavioural plasticity isn't exclusive to the area of sexuality: female identity appears to be more malleable in general. Over the course of a single week, women reported conflicting traits far more often than men did. Individual women reported that they were submissive and argumentative, compliant and forceful. If their conceptions of their true selves can be so fluid, then it is not much of a stretch to consider that their sexualities may also be more fluid and responsive to outside stimuli - whatever that stimuli might be.
Female sexual fluidity has coursed through most sexuality studies that have been carried out since 1940, beginning with the landmark studies by Alfred Kinsey. Like most other traits, the degree of fluidity most assuredly varies along a continuum. Being somewhat attracted to both sexes seems to be built into the mating psychology of females.
D.
(1) Psychology Today, July/August 2012, "Flex Appeal", Katherine Schreiber, p. 36.
"Straight women may be particularly ambidextrous in their attractions, but gay women seem to share some of the female inclination to ambiguity."(1) Two studies carried out in the 1990's indicated that about 80 percent of gay women have had sex with a man while just over half of gay men have had sex with a woman.
In my personal life, I don't know of any cases where a woman has gone from partnering with a man, to then partnering with a woman, and then back to a man. In my experience, the woman leaves the man for another woman and then stays with that woman or continues on to have additional relationships with other women. One high-profile case, however, indicates more fluidity. Lou Diamond Philips' wife, Julie Cypher, left him to pursue a relationship with Melissa Etheridge then years later split with Etheridge to marry a man.
A 2003 study found that behavioural plasticity isn't exclusive to the area of sexuality: female identity appears to be more malleable in general. Over the course of a single week, women reported conflicting traits far more often than men did. Individual women reported that they were submissive and argumentative, compliant and forceful. If their conceptions of their true selves can be so fluid, then it is not much of a stretch to consider that their sexualities may also be more fluid and responsive to outside stimuli - whatever that stimuli might be.
Female sexual fluidity has coursed through most sexuality studies that have been carried out since 1940, beginning with the landmark studies by Alfred Kinsey. Like most other traits, the degree of fluidity most assuredly varies along a continuum. Being somewhat attracted to both sexes seems to be built into the mating psychology of females.
D.
(1) Psychology Today, July/August 2012, "Flex Appeal", Katherine Schreiber, p. 36.
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