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 Health › Re: Doctor In The House: Psychiatrist by beneli(m): 5:20pm On Feb 19, 2010 |
^^^ I shouldn't have time to respond to this, but what the heck! rosejen:The bolded parts are NOT symptoms of 'depression' even if it's postpartum. Once you have psychotic symptoms post partum, it's mostly likely puerperal Psychosis. As doctorkk1 rightly stated this is predominantly affective in texture, giving the impression of a manic episode with psychotic features. But it can still be predominantly a paranoid psychosis, as is the case described here. Of course psychotic symptoms are found in severe depression, so i can sympathise with snowdrops confusion, but once it is postpartum, 'Doctor', you are dealing with postpartum (puerperal) psychosis. And you should treat it as such because it is an emergency! So if you are not out of your depths here and you happen to be a doctor, then i honestly advise that you brush up on your knowledge and communication skills. You'd be a lot safer that way, both to your patients and around your colleagues. I dare say, however, that your uncouth manner is most unprofessional. It's naughty to turn up out of the blues and try to spoil a thread started by someone who seems to KNOW what he is on about. Very naughty! I apologise to doctorkk1 for this distraction. I promise i won't respond to this rude intrusion again. Like i said, you are spot on doctorkk1. Ignore snowdrops, he doesn't know what he is on about! |
| Politics › Re: Ojukwu Used Starvation As A Deliberate Strategy During Civil War. by beneli(m): 1:56pm On Feb 19, 2010 |
This should be in the 'Tribalism' section and should never have made front page. The Nigerians that I know are not as hatefilled, ignorant and Bigoted, as has been demonstrated by most of the drivel, filling these 10+ pages. Continuing to leave this topic here (if it won't be locked) is both mischevious and disgraceful. Allowing it to flow has nothing to do with encouraging freedom of expressing ones 'political' views even if they are based on ethnocentric sentiments-it rather insinuates a deficiency of wisdom on the part of whoever has allowed it to continue! Moderator, you should be Ashamed of yourself! |
| Health › Re: Doctor In The House: Psychiatrist by beneli(m): 1:12pm On Feb 19, 2010 |
snowdrops:You are wrong. Doctorkk1 is spot on. |
| Career › Re: Medical Doctors' Forum: Let Us Know You! by beneli(m): 12:34pm On Feb 19, 2010 |
^^^ I have responded to your question but for whatever reason it's not reflecting here! The moderator may have to intervene here, otherwise you may just have to click on my name and read the penultimate post. I have clicked on the notify button and hope the MOD will act on it. Best regards. |
| Career › Re: Medical Doctors' Forum: Let Us Know You! by beneli(m): 12:28pm On Feb 19, 2010 |
^^^ Your Questions: 1. How likely is a hypochondriac to respond to treatment? The response to treatment depends factors such as the ones below: i) What are the co-morbidities?- A lot of people who suffer from Somatoform disorders generally are known to have a high level of co-morbid conditions such as Generalised Anxiety Disorder, Depression, Anxious Personality Disorders etc. The intensity hypochondriacal preoccupation may be delusional (in other words psychotic) etc. ii) What treatment is offered?-Like you rightfully mentioned there is need to be clear about the diagnosis. Is this actually a Somatoform Disorder with Hypochondriasis? Is this a monodelusional psychotic disorder? Are there any neurological explanations for the presentation-in other words have we excluded the differential diagnoses? Generally, the mantra for treatment of such disorders is to approach it ‘holistically’, in other words tick the biological, psychological and social interventions boxes.: Biological-be clear about the medication. If there are no psychotic co-morbities then your anti-depressant (TCA, SSRI’s etc) should suffice. If there are elements of delusional interpretations of his experiences, a trial of low dose antipsychotic would not be out of place. But in this case the patient has insight, so it wouldn’t be necessary for him. Psychological-the psychological intervention of choice would be CBT. In the absence of CBT, psycho-education would suffice. This will involve explaining to the patient in detail about his illness, why he feels the way he does (e.g. an increased cognitive and sensory awareness of his body functions that otherwise he would not have paid attention to if he were not ill), allaying fears about dying from it etc. Social-this is to look at the exacerbating and maintaining social factors. You mentioned that it started when he was in his second year in University. Perhaps understanding the particular social stressors he is under will allow you to offer appropriate advice. The objective of treatment should really be to increase the patient’s ability to cope with the symptoms, rather than to eliminate the symptoms completely 2. Do most live with symptoms for the rest of their life? I can’t give you any evidence-based figures, regarding prognosis and outcome, but it is estimated that up to 2/3 continue to live with the symptoms. They however learn to cope with it. Like i mentioned above, the objective of your intervention should really be to make him to cope better. If he happens to be among the 1/3 whose symptoms disappear then that’s an added bonus. I hope that's useful. |
| Career › Re: Medical Doctors' Forum: Let Us Know You! by beneli(m): 5:12pm On Feb 18, 2010 |
^^^^ Let’s break it down point by point. 1. 5 year hx of neck pain, feeling of heaviness in the head, associated with feeling of collection in the occipital scalp(?) 2. Mild alteration in sleeping pattern. Belief that if he doesn’t sleep before 12am he has been afflicted with serious illness; believes the problem can only be solved by divine intervention from an highly experienced doctor or a priest 3. Limitation in his functionality for the past 5 years 4. On antidepressants (TCA) which brings mild symptomatic relief, only to become refractive to treatment. 5. Current trend in the mgt. Some questions we need to clarify- 1. How did it all start? Were there any clear precipitants or did it develop insidiously? 2. Has the neck pain and feeling of heaviness been progressively getting worse over the past 5 years? 3. Are there any neurological signs associated with these complaints (weakness in specific parts of the body; visual disturbances; dyspraxia etc) 4. Are his beliefs about being afflicted with ‘serious illness’ delusional in intensity-in other words are they unshakeable in spite of all contrary evidence?-i’ll help out here. Most people back home would share the same belief! So if he continues to hold on to the beliefs in spite of all investigations to rule out a space occupying lesion for instance, such as a CT-scan, then you could add ‘Over valued ideas’ to his symptomatology, given that culturally we believe in divine intervention and that sort of thing. That, however, doesn’t change much. People can have overvalued ideas even if they have serious illnesses! 5. What functions exactly are limited? The approach to management is to move from the most simple to the more complex: i) Use physical examination (including neurological examinations and cranial nerve exams) to rule out lesions in the neck region; then carry out basic blood investigations (check for inflammatory markers etc); doing a radiology (X-ray of the neck region) should be a must; ideally a CT-scan/MRI of the head to exclude space-occupying lesions etc should be included. You wouldn’t be forgiven if you don’t recommend it here (UK), but one can understand financial considerations back home. ii) Based on the findings, you would make your formulation-neurological vs non-neurological (psychological). If there are no findings then you could work on the hypothesis that the patient suffers a Somatoform (pain) disorder, with hypochondriasis. iii) Somatoform disorders are usually difficult to treat with medication alone. The approach should be Cognitive-Behaviour based psychological intervention, which will challenge his reasons for believing that he has a ‘serious illness’. Selective serotonin re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRI) are the medications of choice, but I can understand the rationale for a TCA, like Nortryptiline, especially if the concern is that the patient has Neuropathic pain. I hope the above is helpful 1 Like |
| Travel › Re: Why Don't Africans Spend Their Holidays More In Africa by beneli(m): 5:37pm On Feb 17, 2010 |
morpheus24:An Indian colleague says that she did the East Africa circuit once. Her destination was Victoria falls by road from the South (i think she started off in Botswana). She can't seem to get over the experience of suddenly 'discovering' the falls in all of it's magnificence from the bush path they had stumbled on, which was rarely traveled by tourists. She and her little adventurous group had wanted to 'discover' it for themselves. And they did! 2 Likes |
| Travel › Re: Why Don't Africans Spend Their Holidays More In Africa by beneli(m): 5:11pm On Feb 17, 2010 |
AjanleKoko:I don't think the journey from Lagos to Ghana (Accra) is complicated. It wasn't when i did my own West Africa adventure which was in the late 90's. Then i had gone by public transport without any defined route in mind, which made the discoveries even more exciting. I just had the final destination (which was Banjul) in mind and wanted to travel the longer route, so attached myself to other travellers from city to city-I really doubt you'd want to do that, unless of course you're as madly adventurous as i am! 1 Like |
| Travel › Re: Why Don't Africans Spend Their Holidays More In Africa by beneli(m): 4:37pm On Feb 17, 2010 |
Dis Guy:I think Dis Guy has a point here! Another point, i guess, is that people don't actually know what we have in our back yard. We are not very good at selling our tourist attractions so it doesn't really sound cool to say you spent your holiday in Ouagadougou. Coming back from Paris sounds a lot cooler! But, honestly though, we need to begin exploring our backyards. There are a lot of interesting experiences that could be had, if one isn't too taken to the whole luxury thing. I did a land (and rail) journey across West Africa once. It took me through Benin, Togo and then Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal and then ending up in Gambia. I had wanted to follow the trail of the river Niger and had fantasies of going up to it's source (they say it starts in the Futta Djallon mountains somewhere between Senegal and Gambia). Unfortunately, it wasn't all pleasant. There was a lot of unsavoury encounters with immigration officials that wanted to be 'bribed' in order to let me through, even though i held an ECOWAS passport; emotionally draining encounters with young Nigerians enroute to a place they called Las Palmas, from where they planned to eventually enter Europe and sob stories from the half-crazed bunch stranded in places with names like Tambacounda, after they had been repatriated from Europe and were now feeling too ashamed to make the journey homewards. There was also the whole getting to experience first hand what our cousins in ECOWAS think of us-they don't think very highly of us because of the reputation we have for fraud, drug dealing etc. In spite of the negatives, it was still an experience richer than i have ever had visiting the concrete jungles of New York, Berlin or Moscow; or even visiting half forgotten Orthodox churches clustering around the black sea in eastern europe and middle Asia. I will make that West Africa journey again one day. This time i will ferry up to Cape Verde for the 'Latin America' experience it supposedly offers in our backyard. Africans don't spend their holidays more in Africa because a lot of us don't know that, in spite of her troubles, Africa is still the most naturally beautiful continent. I don't mind being called prejudiced for the bolded part of my statement-not at all! 4 Likes |
| Christianity Etc › The Ritual Of Sacrifice-the First Religion by beneli(op): 9:27pm On Feb 05, 2010 |
Ever since man succumbed to the desires of the flesh and lost the purity of his first estate, he has been trying to reconnect with God. And through religious rituals he has been sowing metaphorical leaves in order to cover his ‘unclothedness’. The truth that seems to elude us; however is that we can never really apprehend God through our blemished rituals, which are only corrupted shadows of the truth and yet the redemption process-revealed through the Christ-was itself based on the ritual of sacrifice. Interestingly that ritual, which was first of all demonstrated allegorically in the ‘garden of Eden’, has been coated in a mystery that eludes rationalization. The bible actually recognizes this and describes it as ‘foolishness to the Greeks and a stumbling block to the Jews’ (1 Cor 1:22-23) Here is my formulation, using the limiting medium of words: From my hiding place I hear the voice- ‘unclothedness is not covered by the coat Adam makes with blemished hands From the leaves of figs Only the lambs’ skin covers the man’ Apokalupsis- ‘Blood In paradise following the fall it was necessary That the lamb be sacrificed to make atonement for the man’s sin- his hands work not accepted at all…’ I hear the voice And come forth in my fallen state I understand now the meaning of grace And rise through faith To embrace the Christ The lamb has paid the price. The question for discussion: Did God give man religion in the 'Garden of Eden' after man lost the ability to walk with Him without the need for symbols and metaphors, or is it man that first created religion(s)? |
| Politics › Re: Akunyili Rebuffs Pdp, Says "i Cannot Withdraw My Memo" by beneli(m): 2:14pm On Feb 05, 2010 |
mikeansy:The above, i am not proud to say, pretty much sums up everything! |
| Christianity Etc › Re: Indaba, My Children - God's "origin" And The Sacred Tree Of Life. by beneli(m): 5:26pm On Feb 02, 2010 |
Deep Sight:I would rather say 'Eternal Time' is contained in the Self-Existent Continuum but, on it's own, does not equate to the great 'I am that i am'. Eternity-and it's product time-is one of the few thing that we can almost understand within that complexity that we try to define as the Self-Existent continuum. We understand eternity in relation to time; be it the absence or constance of time, or whatever term that may excite our intellect at any given time! Eternity will always be defined in relation to 'time' because we know not better. But saying that 'time' itself is God, is rather inaccurate IMO. That was what i noticed, insinuated in the poem. If Time were God, then anything can happen given enough 'time'. This would be the materialists' argument. They would argue that given enough time, that which we call 'nothingness' gives birth to existence. And with 'time', existence gives birth to 'consciousness' and the complex materail 'life' forms that we have come to know. No, i think that the great 'I am that i am' is much more than a function of time', 'timelessness' or 'eternal time'. Time is not sentient. Time is not conscious of me. It is i, that is conscious of time. My consciousness is a product of something else that is contained in that self-existent continuum, other than time-something else that is sentient and which is conscious of me. 'I' may be temporarily boundaried by time, yet 'I' is not contained by it. 'I', like that which it mirrors, is not 'time'. |
| Foreign Affairs › Re: Is African Unity Necessary For The Total Liberation Of Black Africa? by beneli(m): 12:05pm On Feb 02, 2010 |
Negro_Ntns:Much as one can argue that the ‘ancients’ in the different cultures of mankind where in some ways ‘repositories of wisdom’, a lot of the stuff that they espoused-truth be told-were based on ignorance. So I don’t quite agree with you that our ‘redemption’ lies in the beliefs that our forefathers practiced. Negro_Ntns:I can see where you are coming from. And it’s quite interesting. However, it’s the practicality of it all that i am really struggling to grasp, especially as it relates to the technological advancement of our people, which i think was the gist of Chiweizu’s argument. I agree, for instance, that there is need to tweak up the syllabi (or is it syllabuses) in our various academic institutions to reflect a bit of afro-centric ideologies and that sort of thing, but quite honestly, what really needs to be done is to provide our people access to very good education. The way I see things, is that we can’t at this point in history, with all the information exploding onto us, go around trying to re-invent the wheel. Our direction should be for us to understand how the wheel works, improve on it, where necessary, and then use its principles to make other things. In other words our ‘redemption’-if we want to use such a word-is our proper education. The greatest stumbling block that we have in Africa is ignorance. |
| Christianity Etc › Re: Indaba, My Children - God's "origin" And The Sacred Tree Of Life. by beneli(m): 11:03am On Feb 02, 2010 |
Deep Sight:I supppose one has to concede that for want of a better description, the transcendental state of timelessness could be referred to as 'eternal time'! |
| Foreign Affairs › Re: Is African Unity Necessary For The Total Liberation Of Black Africa? by beneli(m): 5:25pm On Feb 01, 2010 |
Negro_Ntns:I am just curious about some things you raise in your post, Negro_Ntns: 1. What is 'our' philosophy that you mention? 2. What will this adapted education that we need, look like? @ Question asked in the title of the post-African Unity is not necessary for the total liberation of 'black' Africa. Chinweizu makes his point very clearly and articulately. Though I am a bit sceptical about his obsession with Arab domination, which seems to border on the paranoid, i agree with him that, as a people, we have run out of excuses for our underdevelopment: waiting for a US of Africa to happen before we are 'liberated', is definitely not one of the most responsible ones! |
| Christianity Etc › Re: Indaba, My Children - God's "origin" And The Sacred Tree Of Life. by beneli(m): 3:56pm On Feb 01, 2010 |
In this poem, that which the author calls 'Time' is like the primordial substrate of creation. From the authors perspective 'time' is self-existent (something i know from previous discussions that you agree with) and-one can almost infer-is one of the building 'blocks', so to speak, of the essence that s/he conceptualises as God- 'Nothingness had been floating For no one knows how long Upon the invisible waters of time –' In my mind’s eye, 'transcendental reality' is outside of Time. In other words, 'Time' does not exist in the abode of the gods. So i do not quite agree with the author when he/she describes that which was created for the 'pleasure' of man, as though it were 'god' itself- 'That mighty River with Neither source nor mouth, Which was – Which is And which shall ever be' But it is not very difficult to see why we are seduced into adorning Time with the halo of divinity. ‘Time’-like other created ‘particles’- is almost 'god' to man on this realm of ‘living’ that we inhabit. On this realm, bordered as it is by the materialists ‘heaven’, Life cannot exist, without the essence we call ‘Time’: here man is really ‘nothing’ without it; so one can then almost sympathise with the author when s/he states- 'And as a result of this strangest mating Of Time and Nothingness – A most tiny invisible spark Of Living Fire was born ' Having said that, it's still beautiful. |
| Christianity Etc › Re: Indaba, My Children - God's "origin" And The Sacred Tree Of Life. by beneli(m): 2:00pm On Feb 01, 2010 |
The poem is interesting. The 'god' conceptualised in it, cannot, however, be accepted as the 'God' that we know as the uncreated creator. I think that the poem tries to describe the 'beginning' of the 'process' through which space, time, matter and energy were born. In other words it describes the 'big bang' in beautiful words, but doesn't quite describe 'God'. It can, of course, open up windows of further discussion about how sentient the 'universe' is and whether there is a lot more to 'dark matter and dark energy' than meets the telescopes! 'And as a result of this strangest mating Of Time and Nothingness – A most tiny invisible spark Of Living Fire was born This tiny Living Spark could think And grew conscious of it’s lonely state – “I exist – I am what I AM!” – |
| Health › Re: Generalized Anxiety Disorder And Depersonalisation by beneli(m): 1:16pm On Feb 01, 2010 |
sd-6:I am not quite sure what 'comments' you are expecting here, but i will just give an overview of the phenomena you are experiencing. Depersonalisation phenomena can occur outside of an anxiety disorder, as a 'normal' physiological response to stress, whether acute or prolonged. On it's own, or even with its twin-derealisation,which is when the individual feels slightly detached from what is going on around them-it doesn't really need treatment. The understanding that it can occur 'normally', in most cases is enough to make it gradually wane in both its intensity and frequency.It can also be part of the experiences following sleep deprivation; fasting; physical or emotional trauma; use of certain drugs, including caffeine, alcohol and other psychostimulants; or it can be part of other illnesses associated with panic attacks (see below). The other symptoms that you have described (‘gastrointestinal/abdominal and breathing problems’, ‘a choking sensation in the throat sometimes, like a lump in the throat, muscle aches, legs and feet getting cold and feet feeling very light 'like there is no blood there') are in keeping with Panic attacks. Panic attacks can exist on their own or be part of a complex of other disorders, like Social Phobia (the fear of being in social situations/extreme shyness), Agoraphobia (the fear of being in place from where you can’t escape), Generalised Anxiety Disorder (free floating ‘panic attacks’, with no clear precipitants) etc. What a lot of people don’t know is that Panic attacks and the anxiety spectrum disorders are very common. Unfortunately they are regularly misdiagnosed as malaria, typhoid fever or given other types of external attributions such as spiritual attacks, witchcraft etc. Ideally the treatment of choice would be Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Your therapist would help you recognise these symptoms and explain how they come about from a physiological perspective and then gradually help you to find better ways of distracting your thoughts from engaging in the catastrophic mode that leads to the symptoms. In the short term medication helps but it doesn’t deal with the cognitive issues that needs to be sorted out. If the symptoms are associated with Depression as it occasionally does, then Imipramine and other such Tricyclic antidepressant would not be out of order. Unfortunately the better recommended antidepressants such as the so-called Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI’s) would be a lot more expensive than Imipramine, which is not the first drug choice in countries where the drugs are heavily subsidised by the government. So having said all this, what you should be looking for, if you can afford it and if your 'illness' is not too debilitating, is somebody (a trained psychologist or a Psychiatrist) who can offer you a short course of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). CBT-of about 12-16 sessions- would give you longer lasting benefits and also equip you with the coping mechanisms that you need to deal with the experiences, were the symptoms to resurface in the future. I hope that my ramblings have been useful to you. 1 Like |
| Career › Re: Medical Doctors' Forum: Let Us Know You! by beneli(m): 11:41am On Jan 30, 2010 |
gmyguy:What information do you want? |
| Health › Re: Evil Nurses & Doctors In Nigerian Public Hospitals by beneli(m): 11:23pm On Jan 28, 2010 |
What stops aggrieved health service-users in Nigeria from getting legal advice and going down the route of suing? The above is an honest question, which i ask, because i think that people should quit complaining and do something about the situation. I might be sounding harsh, but the fact is, even if we can complain until the 'cows come home', nothing will change unless the service-users (i.e. the patients) make the health professionals (i.e the doctors and nurses) know that they can-and wil-be sued for clinical negligence, improper conduct etc, if they fail to provide the service they are being paid to provide. I have practiced in Nigeria and currently practice in the UK. While in Nigeria, i am sure that i would have stepped up my level of delivery a notch higher if i knew that somebody would sue me for phucking up (excuse my latin)! But you know what? though i wasn't as insensistive as some of the cases described in this thread, if i will be honest, i wasn't really that bothered to brush up on my knowledge etc, because there was no motivation to do so. So in the course of my short practice there, i gradually slid down the slippery slopes of quackery! Here in the UK, i have to keep abreast of what's happening around me, because if something goes wrong, some smart lawyer is going to get another of my colleagues to ask me some very very serious questions. So i am consciuos of how i treat my patients and what i say to them. Basically i am forced-or encouraged, if you prefer-to be a nice person and a good doctor to my patients. I don't want to be sued, even if i do pay a lot of money to be insured against bad practice! What i am trying to say is that we allow things to fester in Nigeria because of too much complaining and too little action. As long as the doctors and nurses in Nigeria are not properly paid; as long as the overall health infrastracture continues to collapse around us all; i doubt that anything is going to change that much in the kind of service you get. So instead of waiting for the doctors to change their attitudes or the government to start spending more on health, the service users could at least take their lives into their hands and sue whomever needs to be sued, whenver they phuck up (pardon my latin again)!. That's what i would do, if i wasn't a doctor! 1 Like |
| Christianity Etc › Re: My Rational Case For The Existence Of God. by beneli(m): 1:59pm On Jan 28, 2010 |
Chrisbenogor:What is that conclusion? |
| Politics › Re: Suicidal Man Holds Officials Hostage In Lagos by beneli(m): 12:02pm On Jan 28, 2010 |
Kx:I am not a constitutional lawyer, but one thing i can say is that this gentleman's self-harming behaviour is psychosis driven. If we are talking about any 'rights' here, what the poor fellow has, is the right to be treated and not to kill himself. |
| Christianity Etc › Re: Reincarnation - Deepsight, Let's Talk Here by beneli(m): 11:47am On Jan 27, 2010 |
Deep Sight:I couldn't help smiling when i read the above. At the risk of digressing from the topic, can i just say that that, which you state as your prayer, should be the prayer of us all who engage in these discussions of what constitutes 'truth' and/or 'reality'! But the way i see it; if my worldview, concerning God and the path of salvation which He has revealed to man, is a lie in the eternal scheme of things, then i lose nothing. If, however, it is a shadow of the 'truth' then i gain everything! But on the topic of reincarnation: though the concept makes some sense-evidenced by the fact that a lot of 'reasonable' people believe in it-i am not very convinced that it was part of the message that the Christ was trying to reveal to man about the eternal truths. None of the scriptures quoted can really stand up to very serious and laboured scrutiny. But then, that's just my laymans opinion. |
| Christianity Etc › Re: My Rational Case For The Existence Of God. by beneli(m): 6:21pm On Jan 26, 2010 |
^^^ That gravity thing sef get as ee be. Isn't the understanding of 'gravity' itself, changing these days. Recently i heard that gravity may be mediated by something they call 'graviton's'-some form of elementary particles. The concept of 'gravitons' surely didn't exist in the days when we used to cram Nelson and Parker and then look for A-level physics concepts to also cram!. My point is that science only makes observations, but doesn't really explain the true nature of things. We lack the capacity, as humans, to know the 'true' nature of things IMO. We can only explain things in terms of our own experiences and body of 'knowledge' available to us at any given time. In church this sunday gone, the pastor was asking what people thought was the most profound question of all. He concluded that the answer is 'who am i?'.I think that people who hold the superficial belief that God does not exist, have not asked themselves that most profound of questions. I think anybody who is honest enough to ask themselves that question and is honest enough to begin the search for the answer will not be too quick to dismiss the fact that there is more to life than this that we see and feel around us. So to make a rational case for the existence of God, i honestly think that one needs to have answered the simplest, yet most profound question(s) of all: who am i? what is the true nature of man? If we can answer these questions then-and only then-will we be able to apprehend God; until then we only dance around in shadows of half-truths and veiled ignorance. I think that 'wisdom' in all this, is found when we have the humility to aknowledge that we really know nothing, and that all we are doing is really grope around in the darkness. |
| Career › Re: Medical Doctors' Forum: Let Us Know You! by beneli(m): 5:17pm On Jan 26, 2010 |
@Allycat, Thanks for your response. Sorry to hear about your colleague that got killed in a RTA. I thought i heard that okada's had been banned in Lagos already, or did i hear incorrectly? The involvement of their private sector in Postgraduate training is quite an interesting concept. I wonder how they are able to ensure that standards in training are complied with-not that government hospitals are any better, if one were to take the Nigerian experience as an example. What i mean is that the private sector would be more tempted to be guided by mercantile interests, as opposed to real training needs. Anyways, one thing that can be said of the Indians, is that they do take postgraduate training and specialisation very very seriously, and it seems to be paying off for them. In an ideal world there should be a natural-or something almost natural-progression from Internship/house job to specialist training. The bottleneck that exist in Nigeria that makes a lot of people end their training immediately after Medical school is not a very healthy thing for our health sector! Thanks again and hope you find a new 'help' soon! |
| Politics › Re: Chinua Achebe - What Nigeria Means To Me by beneli(m): 3:33pm On Jan 23, 2010 |
mikeansy: mikeansy: |
| Christianity Etc › Re: Drawing God And Heaven by beneli(m): 10:36am On Jan 23, 2010 |
Cyberfreak:I know you were not looking for any answers but i will try to give you one all the same. Such a God, as the one, you would have concieved' would then not be God but just another man made falliable creation. Mind you, people have tried to box God into one form or the other, trying to make Him into becoming more 'reasonable' and thus 'believable' or culturally acceptable. That's why there have been different icons, images and myths accross the millenia all trying to represent God in ways that man is capable of connecting with. Perhaps, in that, one can say that the different religions of man have created their own images of God in order to understand Him or appropriate Him better. But God is not limited by man's conceptualisations of Him. He exists in spite of what man makes of Him. Man, with our puny and falliable capacity to concieve of concepts that exist outside of our dimension, is not even able to wrap our heads around such extradimensional creations of God as 'timelessness' and 'nothingness', how much more will we be able to apprehend the entity that made these things. So it's not difficult to understand the dilemma of those who would rather not believe in Him. That is the path of least resistance. It's God's prerogative to reveal Himself to man in ways that man can understand. He may choose to reveal Himself as the soothing voice in the wind; or as the burning bush that refuses to burn; He may reveal Himself as man or as an unseen spirit that comforts; He may decide to be a God that shows mercy or one that rains down retribution. 'God is not physically tangible, so can reveal himself to any one who so desires in anyway He so desires'. |
| Christianity Etc › Re: Drawing God And Heaven by beneli(m): 10:02am On Jan 23, 2010 |
seeklove:If that's the interpretation that rocks your boat, then i don't know what to say! seeklove:Ignorance is, indeed, even worse. |
| Christianity Etc › Re: Questions For Christians by beneli(m): 10:44pm On Jan 22, 2010 |
mazaje:Yes i can. But then the subjective reality that I would point to is outside of your cognitive abilities to appreciate, anyway, so we’d end up where we started off! This is not meant as an insult by the way. It is a 'fact' that some scientists argue, stating that belief in God is an evolutionary function of the brain and not anything really that special. They say that those of us, who have religious experiences, have parts of our frontal and temporal regions slightly over stimulated! But the question was actually about why YOU, Mazaje, persist in your unbelief, in spite of the fact that YOU have no evidence for the Non existence of God. mazaje:Here are some. Matter cannot spring out of nothingness. Dust can never ever give rise to life even if you give it 5 billion years to do so! Human consciousness is not explained by biochemistry etc etc. Yet you still hold on to your clearly ridiculous dogmas that somebody less cultured would cast vituperative aspersions on! mazaje:My friend, I have an idea of what I am talking about, alright. It’s you who needs a bit more cognitive stimulation, in the neurophysiological sense of the words, to get the hang of what I am on about. Otherwise it will continue to elude you! |
| Christianity Etc › Re: Questions For Christians by beneli(m): 4:50pm On Jan 22, 2010 |
mazaje:I, too, am interested in how 'unbelievers', whatever they are, persist in their unbelief. The inconsistencies in the materialists worldview, to which a lot of 'unbelievers' like Mazaje subscribe, also puzzles me! Is it likely that it is just human nature? Mazaje, as a representative of this unfortunate group of beings, perhaps you will be kind enough to give us a bit of insight into how you persist in your unbelief. |
| Christianity Etc › Re: Drawing God And Heaven by beneli(m): 4:39pm On Jan 22, 2010 |
Cyberfreak:Is this response, below, good enough for you? Mavenb0x: |
| Career › Re: Medical Doctors' Forum: Let Us Know You! by beneli(m): 6:27pm On Jan 18, 2010 |
daguru:I have read your write-up. If it gives you any consolation, I know a lot of doctors, who have graduated and still wonder whether they made the right decision! One of my friends, who graduated as one of the best in his year, abandoned the profession after his house job and now works as a manager in one multinational firm that has nothing to do with Medicine, somewhere in Ireland. To say whether you have made the right decision or not, is something that only you will have to answer, with time. People can only give their own subjective opinions, so I will give you mine. I think that it is very important that you pursue a career pathway that your heart resonates with. If your heart is not in Medicine, then my good man, you would have only ended up very frustrated in it. Another friend of mine, who like your self was into the whole Mathematics and Engineering stuff (by our class 4 he had already Aced physics and mathematics in the GCE and was making model aeroplanes), is now an obese, beer-drinking Aba doctor practicing ‘paraquackery’ with minimal enthusiasm! He too had been literarily coerced into Medicine, as his parents wanted him to become a Doctor, in spite, of what he really wanted to do with his life (he wanted to become an aeronautical engineer). So, the obedient son he was, he became a Doctor. Albeit a very sad and unfulfilled one with not a lot going for him, except the money which he makes that hardly gives him much pleasure. The truth is that the story of parents trying to live out their own dreams and aspirations through the lives of their children is one that repeats itself in the lives of professionals and none professionals, in villages, towns, hamlets and cities all over the world. So if it gives you any consolation, you are not alone in some of your experiences. What is most important though is what people do with their lives, in spite of these experiences. Some people subsequently live their lives blaming their parents and these experiences for everything that goes wrong in their lives, insidiously internalizing a belief that they are failures in life and then living out that self-fulfilling prophecy. While others become gripped with an anger that subsequently inspires them to succeed against odds that appear in the paths of their lives, after they have broken free from the hold of their parents. The bottom line in all this is this: it is what becomes of your life, subsequently, that will give the final verdict about whether you have made the right decision or not. In other words, you, and your actions alone, will decide if you have made the right decision. A word of advice though. Please try not to dissipipate yourself in too many things. Be clear what it is you really want to do with your life and focus on it. In your post you started off being interested in Engineering. Now you are studying Psychology and you also want to become a chartered accountant, while freelancing with IT skills. So my good man, the key word should be for you to ‘focus’, listen to your heart and then pursue what it tells you. All the best 1 Like |
? So he can appear to someone as Hitler