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Friday, October 21, 2016
1:34 AM
Basics for fall 2017 | 24hur.tk
And of course, every season has its
trends. Some of them are going to be with us for the whole year (that
means you can keep your bomber jacket, your high waist jeans, and your
bodysuits), but some others are meant to keep us warm for a while and a
small group is making a comeback from last fall, so hopefully you didn’t
throw them out just yet. Let’s see what we have!
Velvet........
Ok, here is where I start having some problems. I’m not a fan of this
fabric or any look that you can get out of it. My business partner,
though, she hates it. She wants to eliminate all velvet from earth. Not
kidding, all of it. But it looks like this year the world turned against
her and put this material back on the map. And let’s face it since it
is warm it can be really helpful in cold weather. And you can wear on
any piece, from top to skirts to chokers or shoes, depending on the
level of the risk you want to take. If you really want to stand out,
wear a velvet dress, but mix the texture with some other fabric, never
use it head to toe and keep the accessories simple.
Thursday, October 20, 2016
4:46 AM
The Defense Cascade | 24hur.tk
In recent times there's been a lot of increasing emphasis on the
emotional and psychological aspects of conflict management, self defense
and combat.
The industry of self defense and combative and even some progressive
martial arts schools have emerged themselves in the psychological and
emotional aspects of violence to give their students a much more
realistic training experience and most of all understanding about the
basic defensive instincts that are embedded into our brain and neural
responses.
A couple decades ago you could shout the term "Fight or Flight
response" and an entire gym could fall quiet and look at you like you
spoke some ancient dialect.
Nowadays most the self defense and combative instructors can give you a proper in depth definition of the term.
Although this development can only be applauded, there's still a lot
of knowledge that's left untouched by the mainstream self defense
training.
This article will delve into this knowledge that will expose advanced psychological theories and research done by the most accomplished parapsychologists and psychotherapists as well as my own experiences,
study and research in the field of combative psychology, neural
functions and
Determining the main functions of defensive instincts is as easy as can be.
They are there to defend and protect us in the face of threatening,
dangerous and stressful situations and help our bodies and minds thrive
to deal with the situation.
Every living being has the primal and instinctive will to survive,
however understanding and defining the inner workings of these responses
and their functions requires a deep look into human neural responses,
instincts and stress induced behavior.
First we need to take a look at the neural and physical responses and their functions under stress.
Let's say you're walking down the street and you see a group of loud,
seemingly intoxicated youths heading your way. You see them shouting,
harassing and provoking other pedestrians and are now coming closer and
closer to you.
In this phase the Alameda, a small component of our brain based
underneath the thalamus and in front of the hippo campus that plays an
essential part in emotional learning, reactions and instincts, will
perceive the situation as threatening and will send signals to the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland, which will in turn trigger the
adrenal response and prepares our body to deal with the situation.
I can write an entire article on this event alone but for the purpose
of this article I've summarized it to what it practically comes down
to. The following effects or physical responses might be experienced at
this point:
- Tunnel vision
- Sweaty/shaky hands and legs
- Increased pulse rate
- Shorter breaths
- Auditory exclusion
- Decrease in fine motor skills
- Decrease in cognitive thinking capacity
- Feeling heavy or slow
- Urge to empty bowels or bladder
- Change in voice tonality
- Inability to speak
- Inability to move
Overall this is what is often referred to as the fight or flight
response. How we react in the face of danger or violence depends for a
large part on our training, instincts, background, mindset and previous
experiences with similar situations.
This is where it gets interesting. While most training, research and
education is primarily focused on the actions of "fight" of "flight",
there is another response category that is often overlooked but happens
much more often than most people realist and that is what we refer to as
the "freeze" response.
These responses of paralysis, disconnection and immobility are a
crucial part of the Defense Cascade and vary in their manifestations and
triggers.
We will discuss these variations and responses in depth in the next chapter.
For now it is important to understand that the definition "Fight or
Flight response" is incomplete and therefore outdated when addressing
topics such as fear, adrenal management, combative psychology and human
instinctive defensive responses.
Human nature and its many mechanisms are astonishing and incredibly profound.
One of our strongest instinctive urges is to survive and prolong our
lives, so our body, mind and spirit will do whatever they can to help us
do just that.
Although fight or flight are preferable options in comparison with
freezing they might not always be our natural trigger responses when
confronted with a certain threatening or violent situation or possible
for some people to perform.
The following example I'm about to give you is based on an actual case that I studied some years back.
Let's say a young woman is at a party through the invitation of one
of her friends. She goes to the party and finds out she's one of the
only women there.
She sees that there's a lot of alcohol and other substances flowing
around and that most of the young men are intoxicated. By the end of the
evening she's the only woman left and is getting a lot of attention
from the men who insist she goes with them to the basement where more
liquor is stocked.
She doesn't want to be a buzz kill or provoke the guys so she comes
with them. After feeding her more alcohol then is good for the guys
start to pin her down to the floor and try to have their way with her.
Now here is where the definition "Fight, Flight or FREEZE Response" comes into play.
The girl can't fight because one she's intoxicated and two she doesn't know how to fight.
Her brain has no programmed answers or reflexes for this situation.
The girl also can't flee because she's got the weight of two strong
and athletic young males on top of her in the middle of a cold and dark
basement.
Her body becomes numb and she experiences a state of paralysis in
which her emotion and connection with the present seem to have vanished.
In this case the young woman actually experienced a freezing or paralyzing response.
The authorities gave this woman a hard time because they couldn't
wrap their heads around the fact that this woman didn't resist the acts
of sexual violence committed against her. This is a phenomenon which we
refer to as "Secondary Victimization".
These situations happen a lot unfortunately and are due to the lack
of relevant and advanced training and conservative views on social
dynamics between men and women (the "if she didn't fought back she must
have wanted it" sort of mindset) by authority figures and specialists
working or dealing with victims of sexual violence.
This is exactly why it is of paramount importance to educate
professionals on the Defense Cascade and human instinctive defensive
responses in the face of danger and violence.
With this example I've showed you that the so called freeze response
is a legitimate instinctive defensive response and one that should be
studied if we want to continue to unravel the mysteries of human actions
under stress and danger.
Instinctive Defensive Actions and Responses:
Now that we know the primary fundamentals and functions of
instinctive defensive responses we can move on to the actual Defense
Cascade which can be seen as a variety of instinctive defensive
responses to help us survive and deal with a dangerous or threatening
situation.
Before we take a deeper look into these actions and responses I must
note that what kind of response manifests itself depends on the person
and the situation.
A person that has spent a considerable amount of time training
martial arts, self defense or combative under emotionally stressful
conditions is much less likely to freeze as someone who's been abused by
her husband for the past twenty years and has suffered severe physical,
psychological and emotional trauma in the process.
So our reaction pattern depends on our mindset, training, background and past experiences. The last one is of great importance.
If we reacted to a certain situation in a certain way (such as
freezing, fighting or fleeing) in the past, it is almost certain that we
will react in the same way in the future if no substantial steps have
been made to create a different instinctive reaction pattern.
Now that we've cleared that up we can take a look at the Defense Cascade layout.
The following responses and actions make up our overall Defense Cascade:
Anxiety: We'll start with the first and most basic
response in the Defense Cascade which is the anxious and shock response
we experience when perceiving a threat, danger or other stimuli that can
affect our physical and emotional well being.
This is what you can refer to as a kind of "selection" phase of a
threatening situation. Anxiety triggers the fight, flight or freeze
response and prepares our body to deal with the threatening situation.
When our brain is confronted with certain stimuli it needs time to
process that information.
The Alameda perceives it as threatening or dangerous and will set the fight, flight or freeze response in motion.
Often times people practicing self defense refer to this response as
the freeze response, however in my opinion this title is a bit misplaced
for this response, as it is based on a very logical and usual
processing response for the brain.
However in the face of violence or danger the shock or anxiety factor
might be much higher. But it is not the "freeze" response illustrated
in this article as the effects of immobility and paralysis are not part
of this particular response.
Resistance: In broad terms this response might be
seen as part of the so called "fight" response which we will illustrate
later in this article; however there are some important differences
between the two.
You can resist a violent situation for example without resorting to
violence yourself by shouting, commanding or trying to communicate.
Many people who are confronted by a violent or dangerous situation
will first use their verbal assets to defuse the danger before
undertaking any combative or physical action.
In practise this fits in perfectly with the self protection
methodology of using violence as a last resort and relying on
communication and conflict management skills to DE-escalate the
situation.
However in many cases as soon as the situation escalates and violence
is inflicted on the person they can't properly cope with it and either
submit or transfer into a state of immobility.
Both responses will be discussed in depth shortly.
Another example might be someone in a violent encounter who is trying
to duck, cover or fend off any violent actions but fails to do anything
about the threat or person violating him.
This individual is resisting but he isn't fighting back.
These kind of responses come out more than most people realize.
It's a much overlooked response and often misplaced as a "fighting"
or "combative" response. Although many traits can be considered similar
as you can see there are some important differences between the two.
Fight: The fight response in itself is a very
straightforward response. However the way people are fighting back might
be more interesting to look at in this stage.
Whatever kind of physical action or combative action of a certain
individual under stress is based on their background, training, neural
programming, past experiences and finally the stimuli they need to deal
with.
A dedicated practitioner of b-lan crag, martial arts or self
defense most likely as a large variety of responses for a large variety
of aggressive actions, that if trained properly under the right
emotional conditions will come out instinctively under stress.
Then there's the untrained person who hasn't got extensive combative
training, but has thought about the possibility of an assault thoroughly
and selected an appropriate response if such a situation was about to
happen.
One of those response people often select for themselves is shouting
loudly for help while slapping, punching or kicking wildly at their
assailant.
Let's say the kind of situation these people rehearsed in their head
was about to happen, it can be reasonable to assume that such a response
or anything like it will come out.
But if a violent situation happens outside the context that these
individuals have rehearsed inside their heads, the chances are higher
that such a response wouldn't come out at all because the mind can't
find an appropriate memory or response.
The last example is someone who's never even considered the possibility of violence coming upon them.
When violence strikes them these are the kinds of people that are
most likely to freeze or submit without any combative or physical action
other than basic resistance.
These are often people that fear violence and don't have the mindset in place to deal with it properly.
Or they've suppressed memories or possibilities of violence due to traumatic experiences in the past.
So as you can see there are many ways in which people generally fight
back. What comes out will for a good part be determined by their
mindset, training and neural programming.
Flight: Contrary to the fight response, the flight response is selected to get oneself out of a dangerous situation as fast as possible.
The adrenal response is triggered to help us either "fight" or "flight" as it prepares the body for immediate action.
For many people this is the desired option in the face of violence
and danger, definitely those without martial or combative prowess
because they assume they have more chance of survival by fleeing than
through fighting.
Human beings are always likely to pick the path which according to
their perspective will give them the best chances of survival and damage
control.
These choices, as illustrated before are greatly influenced by the
background, mindset, training and past experiences of similar kind of
these individuals.
The flight response fits in quite nicely with the self defense methodology of evading potential conflicts whenever possible.
However one should never rely only on the option of flight but prepare himself for physical action.
Submission: This is another response which is often neglected by the mainstream students of self defense and combative psychology.
But those of us that have studied this topic intensively will realist
that they've seen it happen quite often in cases of violence and
conflict.
Some people believe or have programmed themselves by using submission
as a tool to minimize damage and believe that by submitting themselves
to their assailant's will they won't get hurt or get hurt less.
This response can be seen a lot in cases of sexual violence were
women often submit because they think fighting is useless or because
they believe it will minimize damage.
The reason why this response is seen more often by women than by men
is because most women in society are groomed to be ladylike, soft and
directly or indirectly submissive to their male counterparts.
Even in western society this is still often the case.
Which means that in cases of assault the submissive responses are
more instinctive for many females because that's in line with the way
society has groomed them.
Again, background, neural programming and past experiences set the scene for which response we use under stress.
If the assailant is quite intimidating or dominant it might only reinforce this response by some people.
Another example might be a submissive response in a fight.
Sometimes people opt to fight the threat they're confronted with only to submit during the endeavor.
Again self preservation is the key here.
If they're on the losing end of the fight they might fear that more
damage might be caused to them if they continue to fight or resist,
therefore they submit in the hopes of preventing any more pain or
damage.
Regardless of whether this kind of response is recommendable as a
tactic of self protection or self defense, it's the perspective some
people posses.
Therefore training people without a combative mindset takes knowledge of the various responses people generally posses.
Tonic Immobility: This response can be addressed as a
response that fits in the "freeze" category. Tonic immobility often
occurs when a person is overwhelmed by fear and shock and instead of
fighting or fleeing goes into a state of paralysis, inaction, and cut
off from the outside world.
This doesn't necessarily mean that the person would simply freeze and
collapse to the ground, in the case of tonic immobility it might be
much more subtle than that. The person might shut down vocally, goes
pale and becomes disconnected; also dissociation and even depersonalize are possible effects of tonic immobility. There are
various aspects that can help in triggering this kind of response.
The first is being overwhelmed by the powerful sensations triggered
by a dangerous or violent situation and the adrenal response. Many
people don't know the mechanisms of the adrenal response and thus can
get overwhelmed by it when it happens.
The term "knowledge is power" is very applicable here.
This is reinforced by the DE-motivational and fear stimulated
thoughts that enter or head when we are under stress and intimidation.
Some people can get so overwhelmed by these responses that they lose
control over their bodily functions and find it difficult or even
impossible to do anything at all or enter a state of mental withdrawal
in which they disconnect with themselves and the world around them.
This is mainly caused by the decline of our cognitive thinking process under stress.
That means that we have to rely on our instinct and per-programmed
reflexes and responses. If a person has none for this situation and gets
the load of fear and the adrenal response on top of that, the person
might experience such a response under the pressure.
That's why learning how to deal with fear, intimidation and the
adrenal response is such a vital component of a proper, reality-based
self defense curriculum.
Another example might be a person who's not or no longer able to
fight or flight, like the situation of the young women we discussed
previously.
She was unable to fight back because she was pinned down and didn't
know how to fight back. She couldn't flee because she was trapped, so
she basically shut down to the point in which she could no longer feel
or use her body, disconnected herself from the outside world and went
into mental withdrawal.
This reaction is very common in cases of sexual assault. Tonic immobility in cases of sexual assault is often referred to as Rape Induced Paralysis.
The last trigger I want to discuss is past experiences, more particularly people with a certain trauma such as POTSDAM.
Whenever people with a certain trauma find themselves in a similar
situation that has created their trauma in the first place. This can
lead to severe panic attacks or mental withdrawal and might also induce a
state of tonic immobility.
Tonic Immobility is by no means a reaction were we just fall down and
freeze. It's a much more complicated reaction which causes a mental
withdrawal, disconnection and inability to access certain functions.
Other cases of immobility such as collapsed immobility might be far
easier to identify due to more physical signs and effects, tonic
immobility mostly takes place inside someone's head, which makes it
harder to identify.
Collapsed Immobility: Often confused with tonic
immobility, collapsed immobility has one important feature which tonic
immobility doesn't necessarily have. That's the feature of physically
collapsing to the ground.
Although many triggers and circumstances for tonic immobility and
collapsed immobility are the same, collapsed immobility sets itself
apart in the physical collapse of the individual.
Collapsed immobility is often referred to as fear induced fainting.
People that experience collapsed immobility will shut down and
literally collapse where they stand, which isn't necessarily an aspect
of tonic immobility.
During collapsed immobility signals from the brain stem are interrupted that normally maintain muscle tone.
Unconsciousness might go accompanied with this response but isn't always the case.
Past experiences, being overwhelmed by shock and anxiety and
inability to fight or flight remain primary triggers for this response.
But the drastic collapsing response might indicate that some
psychological or emotional instability or trauma is often the main
trigger for such a response.
Quiescent Immobility: The last of the so called
"freeze" responses is quiescent immobility. This response is often
triggered as a result of severe pain, damage or injury.
Its objectives are to help the person deal with the pain and trauma and to aid physical healing.
This doesn't necessarily go accompanied with collapsing or paralysis,
however many people describe responses like not eating, resting
excessively and not moving much or at all.
Many of the effects can be compared with induced comas but obviously less drastic.
In terms of conflict situations this response isn't necessarily
relevant for the conflict or situation itself but must be seen as a
potential aspect of the aftermath. Like I said before the mind, body and
spirit are all geared towards protecting us and help us survive.
4:42 AM
Seven Ways to Improve Your Life with Augmented Reality | 24hur.tk
Augmented reality has always been considered a futuristic idea, but
its roots date back to the 20th century, when the "father of virtual
reality", Morton Height, patented a new device known as Sensory
Simulator. The researcher called the device "The Experimental Theater".
This item was a starting point for the further development of
applications that use computer-generated images, which are overlaid on
the real surrounding to produce the desired effect. Since the time of
the first introduction, the technology has affected different spheres of
human activity. Let's talk now about seven ways to improve the quality
of your life with augmented reality.1. City Exploration
Do
you find yourself in a strange surrounding somewhere abroad and do not
know where to go? AR apps may help you find your way. These applications
may show you where to go and what objects are found around you.
2. Museums
Are you in a museum? Depending on its location,
you may benefit from uploading and using special augmented reality
applications that will give you a hint on what paintings or objects to
pay attention to. This may sound unreal, but such applications already
exist, although, they may not be so widespread and popular as
three-dimensional programs.
3. Shopping
Augmented
reality can make it possible to look through the interactive virtual
catalogues of apparel and accessories offered by the world-famous
brands. In some cases, it is even possible to wander through the virtual
shops or make purchases there. According to the representative of the Gold run Company, Vivian Rosaleen, "augmented reality can notably improve
the whole perception of commerce and shopping by changing habitual
places like parks and airports into real trade centers".
4. History, Education and Traveling
If you are looking for
a cheap travel offer or just wish to have good time during the weekend,
augmented reality offers a perfect option as well! Using the
technology, you can "virtually build", let's say, the Eiffel Tower or
the Tower of Pisa, and organize a virtual excursion around these
objects. This is a nice way to have good time and find out more
interesting facts about the world popular places of interest. This is
also a nice educational tool for the kids. Such AR apps can be used at
home and at school. Teachers can make use of them to improve the
knowledge of pupils, making the material both entertaining and easy to
remember.
5. Customer Support Servicing
No one likes to
call to customer support centers, because this is often a waste of time
and effort. You have to wait for the attention of a specialist for a
long time just to be left without an answer to your question. Using AR
apps, you can get standard instructions on how to behave in a situation
you find yourself in. These instructions may come with virtual support
of experts to improve the effect.
6. Safety and Rescue Operations
The
efficacy and value of augmented reality applications may go far beyond
entertainment or everyday activities. These apps may be developed to
help specialists save human lives during the rescue operations. Rescuers
often find themselves in chaotic situations, facing urgent necessity to
find the right route to get to people in the shortest time possible.
Isn't that crucial to have virtual maps of an object with all the
surrounding details in those locations they are in? As of today, such
technologies are not widespread, but their implementation in the field
is of vital importance and may help save human lives.
7. Home Interior Design
There
is nothing worse than purchasing new furnishings to find out that there
is not enough place for them in your dwelling. Meanwhile, such
situations are not rare and people face lots of problems associated with
them. Now, imagine the situation, when you are given a chance to design
your home interior long before you actually go shopping or start the
remodeling process. Such brands as IKEA have already started
experimenting with augmented reality applications and ways of their
implementation in the manufacturing process.
To some extent, the
opportunities mentioned above seem unreal, but many companies have
already started developing them. Hopefully, the technology will be
available in different fields in the nearest future, changing the
quality of our life for the better.
