Is this real life?

I had to watch this again and it never gets old. As a kid my dentist didn’t believe in the gas, Novocaine and used a minimal amount of other medical pain relievers. As a consequence, sitting in the lobby reading my Highlights, my thoughts were often interrupted by the shrills of pain by the many kids getting teeth pulled or cavities drilled.

When my dentist retired in high school, the practice replaced him with a younger, less tolerant dentist that over applied the nitrous for even a cleaning session. Who’ hasn’t compared finger trails, asked “Is this forever?” and wondered uncertain of their own reality?

Best line besides the screeming:
Why is this happening to me? Is this gonna be forever?

Drugs to cure shyness? What a concept

It’s my impression that chemicals, plants and liquids have been consumed for centuries to break down communication barriers and improve social interactions. Why do people go to bars? So the latest news that a hormone, Oxytocin released during childbirth or after an orgasm has been tested and is being extended to improve social recognition and bonding, reduce anxiety, and improve maternal behaviors is not new news. This research has been on going for years but has sparked renewed interest from a story out of the UK that states Oxytocin “cures” shyness. Well to be fair this doesn’t cure shyness, it just improved a sense of familiarity and bonding between people which may lead to reduce anxiety when speaking with new people.

It’s being called the “trust drug” or the “love drug” for it’s role in social attachments and a behavior of enduing human trust or bonding among other humans. This may be natures natural drug to increase motherly behavior between mothers and their children, or between mating humans because oxytocin has been detected in elevated levels in the bloodstream during orgasm, childbirth and breast-feeding. [ABC]

This “love drug” is not a new concept and in the 70s and through to today, one other substance was tied to bonding: MDMA or Ecstasy. Some studies have linked the use of Ecstacy to the production of Oxytocin in humans which has caused the welcomed effect of bonding and loving thy neighbors during its use (from the Journal of Neuroscience). This effect was a primary reason Ecstasy was prescribed during in psychology sessions and during couples therapy. Of course it was the psychedelic side effects of the drug that lead to it’s persecution and subsequent illegal stature.

Of course all good things seem to come under the eyes of the FDA when they aren’t able to get their own money from the usage so even Oxytocin usage has been recently scrutinized. Shyness is not a disease but more of a social behavior which takes more than drugs to “get over”. Therapy is probably a better solution to overcoming the anxiety from being social, than chemical therapies. Big Pharma at it again….