MT6.3

The system of brain chemistry exchanges is like a washing machine.

I think this just over simplifies the brain’s activities. To say it is just like a washing machine dumbs down the brain’s complex nature. It doesn’t have any kind of dangerous affects. People still know it is a machine with some complexity. It is just that it seems to lessen the brain’s chemistry functions down to nothing more that running water over the brain, to clean it off.

Blue moods can be compared to the scratchy music coming from a radio that is not properly tuned to the station

I didn’t understand what blue moods were. Does it just mean like being sad? I understand the metaphor though, if it does have to do with being sad. When you are sad it is like you are mentally out of whack. Nothing seems to go right or be right. So what you have to do is to find what makes you happy and focus on that to help get you through your troubles. That goes along with the radio being out of tune metaphor. You just have to tune in to what comes in clear. I think this is actually a very helpful metaphor. In a time with depression and sadness seems to be a real problem, simplifying it is probably for the best. If you think about it too much then it will probably get progressively worse. That is at least what my experiences have shown to work.

Exploring the brain’s past to find out what is wrong now. This is like archeological work on the brain.

I think this metaphor is a little misleading. It makes looking into someone’s past by examining their brain seem like a very simple act. It gives the impression that you just open up someone’s head and start digging for what you are looking for. In actuality I think the digging would have to be figurative, like by using CAT scans or some kind of medical device. This metaphor is a hindrance to what it is trying to describe.

Hysteria involves the raising of tension. This is compared to raising walls of defense, like the boundaries of a castle or something like that. I can see how this metaphor makes sense. Hysteria is like a kind of defense mechanism. It over simplifies hysteria though. I see hysteria as this uncontrollable thing that just happens to people when stress or tension drives them over the edge. This makes it sound like some kind of conscious effort to deal with stress and tension. I think this metaphor is a little misleading.