moshcosh-blog

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I don't know what to caption this but I felt the urge to share so #midnightsnacks #eats #drinks #friedegg #hotsauce #ketchup #gin #whiskey #gingerale #baconallreadyeaten #vegan #triggerwarning #sorry #goodnight

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Unintentionally interpreted my life as a an impromptu salvaged-mouldy-papaya-as-yogurt-and-diced-sorbetcicles-breakfast bowl today... A multifaceted, mixed-media study in failing and learning balance, folks! You or your fruit bowl may fall flat on its little face many a time but as long as it's not into a crevasse of eternity, there's probably some helping hands around who'd love to help get you into safe ground again 😉💓 #loveyoumomndad #papayafruitbowl #allmapillz #fishoil #highdose #regdose #lithium #vitaminb #sundaymorning #cleanupinaislezoe #reallife #balancedbreakfast #breakfastofchampions #breakfastasbrunch #fernwoodviews

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Cozy times and catch-up reading <3 first Friday of the week! #eveningnap & #magazines & #pineappleinawineglass on a #messybed oh my!! #selfcare #downtime

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Sitting in chapters, window seat above main street having really good, grounding reflections on a hungover brain. Proud of my messy morning-after mgmt today, stoked for a productive day tomorrow (getting laundry done would be great!!!) Xo

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Reflections while on the return voyage on a short and so perfectly sweet (sweet is almost the wrong word... Sweet like a perfectly concocted grill marinade, or baked squash, as opposed to honey or frozen lemonade concentrate) whirlwind weekend trip that almost didn't happen. Lovexo

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Lovely Sunday #nighttime <3 #surroundedbybooks #research #plantlearnin #Planthropology #Violettheminiaturerosebush #pluspizza

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This came up on the top of my feed; very interesting in general I think, and personally for me! My incorrigibly nutrionally-minded mother is going to love this.

Lower availability of omega-3 fatty acids associated with bipolar disorder

People with bipolar disorder have lower levels of certain omega-3 fatty acids that cross the blood-brain barrier than people who do not, according to researchers from Penn State College of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health. The finding could have implications for dietary interventions for the disorder.

Fatty acids are a major area of interest in bipolar disorder and depression because of their biological importance in the brain. Studies have shown that fatty acid supplementation may be useful for unipolar depression, but the data has been more mixed for bipolar disorder.

The researchers, led by Erika Saunders, associate professor and chair of psychiatry, Penn State College of Medicine, compared fatty acids in 27 people with symptomatic bipolar disorder and 31 healthy control subjects. The group measured levels of different forms of the polyunsaturated fatty acids omega-3 and omega-6. They also collected self-reported information on fatty acid consumption and bipolar medication use. Their results were published in the journal Bipolar Disorders.

Free fatty acids are able to cross the blood-brain barrier, while fatty acids bound to proteins are not. In study subjects with bipolar disorder, the ratio of a free-circulating omega-3 fatty acid called EPA to bound EPA was lower than in other people.

“This means that the availability of omega-3 in the body is lower in bipolar subjects,” Saunders said.

Omega-3 fatty acids are a large component of brain-cell membranes and are important for cell-to-cell communication in the brain. In the study, the ratio of free to bound EPA correlated with clinical bipolar symptoms, specifically mania and tendency towards suicide.

Fatty acids also play an important role in the immune system and the inflammatory system.

“Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids can shift the balance of inflammation, which we think is important in bipolar disorder,” Saunders said.

However, the researchers did not find altered ratios of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids in bipolar subjects.

Although the researchers did find lower levels of omega-3s in patients with bipolar disorder that correlated with symptoms, Saunders said it’s too early to advise dietary changes or omega-3 supplementation.

Omega-3 fatty acids are abundant in fish, vegetable oils, nuts – especially walnuts, flax seeds, flaxseed oil and leafy vegetables.

There was no difference in self-reported fatty acid consumption between bipolar and healthy patients.

“Is that because we only included certain foods in the survey? Or is it because people couldn’t accurately recall what they were eating?” Saunders said.

Another possibility the researchers are considering is that there are differences in how healthy people and people with bipolar disorder convert fatty acids from one form to another. Drugs that treat bipolar disorder are known to affect these conversions, but no association was found between fatty acid levels or ratios and self-reported medication use in the study.

Saunders is currently investigating whether modifications in dietary intake of fatty acids could be useful in bipolar disorder.

“We are actively pursuing the next step in this line of inquiry to get to the point where we know what changes in diets are going to help people with bipolar disorder so they can have another option beyond the medications that are currently available,” she said.

A number of trials have turned up no benefit of omega-3 supplementation in bipolar disorder, a brain disorder that causes manic episodes of elevated mood, energy and cognition, and major depressive episodes of lowered mood, energy and cognition. Bipolar disorder affects between 1 and 4.4 percent of the population.

“I think our work, along with the work of others, shows that this is an important area for us to continue to study,” Saunders said. “It’s complicated and hard to study, and there are a lot of factors, but it’s an area we need to keep pursuing.”

Most research on fatty acids in bipolar disorder measures levels of fatty acids in cell membranes. Saunders’s group instead looked at circulating fatty acids in the blood, which is a better indication of dietary intake. Fatty acids in the blood are also the type that crosses the blood-brain barrier to enter the brain.

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The more time goes by, the more I mourn/ make peace with this guy's being jilted of a fair shake at LPC / Canadian leadership. (Of course, he did do an excellent and gracious job prepping for PMTrudeau !) #BobRae #raeofhope #CanadaProud #canpoli #mentalhealth #heroes #christmasreading (at Chapters Victoria)

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todaylist: 3 good / 3 less good things

Kind of funny the resistance I felt towards saying ‘bad’ things.  It’s like I’m feeling so chill/mellow I don’t even want to harsh it my dissing things that could have gone better in my day. Anyways! In lieu of a more heartfelt/emotionally draining and vulnerable post I was crafting earlier (which, as with the first post started as a fb post that I decided to mellow out/pause on/ find a different avenue for) I am going to do a more focussing/calming/grounding simple one.

The way I’m gonna do it is start with 3 good things about today, and 3 not as good things, and I can add as many additional good things, but only as many ‘bad’ things as I have good things (getting grammatically wind-y I know butttt tired)

3 GOOD

1. Got a filling! (cavity)

(long overdue filling #1 of 3, and it was a good experience all things considered! 2nd filling of my life and actually much less discomfort and pain than the first one! I felt good about being all adult and proactive woohoo)

2. quality family time with people I don’t see that often

My aunt, uncle, cousin, his girlfriend who I’ve never met (they live in Brazil!) and her mom were in Victoria for a couple hours and we had a lovely time walking downtown, to the legislature, taking pics, and then getting lunch/dinner (linner? dunch??) at the pub where my sister works. And I really get along with the girlfriend too, lots in common in our interests, and she was wearing what seem to be the Brazilian version of Vans, another sign of kindred spiritness

3. treated my boots!

I did the full 3 spray coats of leather waterproofing-ish stuff, as per the instructions, on 2 pairs of boots I’ve been needing/meaning to treat for awhile.  The fact that they are both purchases that a 200% fiscally responsible me would/should not have made (but they are extremely practical and versatile, and were purchased at significantly discounted prices!) I think makes me feel particularly anxious and obligated to treat them well and make them last.  

3 TBC* (*TO BE CONTINUED)

1. didn’t get around to all the tasks I wrote out

2. was late for the dental appt, something I would like to work on

3. holy hummus I can’t properly think of a third thing independent of the above two!! Past/depressed Zoe would be so proud! haha. ok how about ... oh wow I’m torn between just embracing and enjoying this lapse in negative/regretful thinking, and keeping to the terms of this thing. How about a minor one? oooh i know.  - I forgot my pickle at the pub ( I meant to bring home the pickle from my burger [it’s a proper delish one! probably made from locally grown organic cucumber and all that jazz in some artisan brine!] that I was too full to properly eat and appreciate and I much have left it in the napkin I folded it up in on the table.  So I won’t be able to have that for a midnight snack tonight.  ahhh well I think I’ll be able to deal!

Night! :)

(and ps one of my favourite lovely strange cute songs: ) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJP7u7Spk04

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Not only can I make grilled cheese and spill yogurt, but I can also reheat a mean TV dinner! #Hungryman #instaturkeydinner #firstclass #domesticgodess #afterthedentisteats #mashedpotatoes salad not included

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Mindful produce/seafood/etc etc food shopping #kimchi #watermelon #happytomatoes helps me refocus #breathe and chase away the greys #mayleetoddactsoflove (at Fairway Market at Quadra Village)

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Friday night's purchases, Saturday morning luxuries in my little church of standard holiness #bakedgoodsinbed Revlon lip stuff was <50% at the Shoppers by the Cambie! ughhh #pizzaboxasmousepad @tayriaki @sublimatio all that's missing is the Holiday Double Digest! #archiecomics

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start-of-the-day gratitude

It is 7:30 AM now, and I am feeling awake, settled, calm, and generally in a really grounded, solidly positive state emotionally & mentally, and I felt the need to acknowledge and write about that a bit.

Waking up to a feeling of calmness and neutral/positive emotions towards starting a new day is a pretty huge thing for me.  For 6-8 (sometime closer to 9) consecutive months of the year, my mornings are very very very different.  For a start, I kind of stop having legit mornings because on days that I don’t have to get out of bed for work or any other equally pressing obligation I tend to just stay there all day and pretend/hope my roommate thinks I’m not home.  I’ll leave for the odd food-run to the kitchen, or a bathroom break (although when I’ve reached a certain point, I would rather have to pee in a random container than face unplanned social interaction with anyone, even my incredibly nice, understanding, and super chill roommate, it’s pretty terrible)   and sometimes a late night outing for more food (usually a grocery store or two, and fast food- pho, pizza, or McDonalds, or some combination), but I’d say a conservative estimate would be 2/3  - 3/4 of my non-work days are spent this way, and many months of this definitely leaves my soul in a not-optimal state.  

I need to add that even though this may sound (and is!) decidely on the shittier/unfulfilling side of ‘ways to live’ it is a hugely positive change from my earlier, age 11- late teens, even early 20s situation. (I’ll maybe get into that later because I think it deserves a little more depth, and also I want to wrap up soon so I can go back to bed for a little bit and then start my day:) And this brings my full-ish circle back to my original sentiment which is gratitude.  At the risk of sounding like a terrible, self-satisfied dingleberry, as I sometimes tell my clients in the opening “how are you today?”exchange, any today I actually feel like getting out of bed in the morning is wonderful.

Ciao for now.

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Please learn from my foolish ways and, when in doubt, consider spooning, not pouring, not shaking, not shaking vigorously, your yogurt into your vessel of choice. #spooning #PSA #yogurt #nospoon vs #bigspoonlittlespoonanyspoon #probiotics #chaotics #CLEANUPINAISLEZOE #kitchendisaster

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My room may be a bloody mess at the mo, but at least I can sleep soundly at night knowing the don is watching over me! #ispy #coconutwater #rose #pez #tictacs #tp #lush #mugs #speakers #cattshirt @tayriaki #blessthismess yes????

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Midweek day-off means I eat a late #brunchlunch for breakfast and eat it cold because I have the luxury of time to stage it. #goodeats #grilledcheese #eggs #salsafresca #thenewyorker

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Hullo Hello Better Intro Later Peut d’etre

This is a song + reflection post. If TLDR : Born Ruffians are super rad!! Their new album is a gem if you heart them and have been hoping for a return to the more minimalist of their sounds, with a bit of a punk flava.   I got to see them when they were at Sugar 2ish weeks ago, and I got to talk to Luke Lalonde (that’s the guy who sings) and was super relieved to find him super down to earth, easy to talk to, and appreciative (apparently no one has ever thrown flowers onstage before! I totally popped Born Ruffians flowers-thrown-on-stage cherry [also, lemon-ginger tea bags but anyways that I’m not so surprised at]), whaattttt! ).  And he drew a pretty impressive cat face with his autograph (I’m assuming it’s because I got him to sign the back of the my “cat personalities” T that is an inadvertent heirloom from my late auntie Louise, who died of uterine cancers several years after I got the shirt from her in a bag of hand-me-downs…[ I didn’t mention all that, it was more like ‘oh sheet the Sugar bouncer guy is telling us we need to wrap up our convo and and now the merch table is closed and I have nothing OH WAIT could you sign my cat shirt?!!! It’s one of my favourite most comfy Tshirts, I got it from my aunt who died, and it’s white so it’ll be perfect!!“ mad hugs shoutout to my M side.  Cancer fucking sucks. ] Today I find myself feeling probably the most grounded and reserved I have since getting out of my latest longterm dysthymia on election week (thanks election week! Now I’ll actually be able to chart at least one 2015 mood switcheroo within a few days! : p ) and it feels really nice.  The last week has been fucking nuts, in the best, I’m-living-life-by-the-safest-most-mindful-seat-of-my-pants way possible, and this post actually started out as a FB post that was going to be me posting “Stupid Dream” by the aforementioned band and saying how it’s a good/appropriate song re: mental health and my last week, finding that mix of keeping my lid on and literally and metaphorically dancing my squirrelies out when need be, and sending out thanks to everyone who helped me through that.  

Anyways, I can feel my energy fading and I think it’s time for a restorative mini-nap and breakfast.  At some point I’ll figure out all/some of the details on how to post what and all that, but until then I’ll try to post said song as a link… fingers crossedddddd

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Igp66C6go8I