Psych Archives

Behold the human brain, its lumpy landscape visibly split into a left and right side. It is true that the brain has a right and a left side. Waters (2019) explained that this is most apparent with the outer layer, the cerebral cortex. Internal regions like the striatum, hypothalamus, thalamus, and brain stem appear to be made from continuous tissue, but in fact, they are also organized with left and right sides. The left and the right sides of the brain do control different body functions, such as movement and sight. The brain’s right side controls the motion of the left arm and leg and vice versa. The visual system is even more complex. Each eye has a left and right visual field. Both left visual fields are sent to the right side of the brain, whereas both right fields are sent to the left side. Hence, the brain uses both sides to make a complete image of the world. Scientists have no idea how that crossing over has been possible. One theory is it began soon after animals developed more complex nervous systems because it gave the survival advantage of quicker reflexes. If an animal sees a predator coming from its left side, it is best if it escapes to the right. Thus, we can say that vision and movement control are two systems that rely on this left-right structure.

            This theory of the two brain hemispheres has evolved since 1960 and was popularized by a famous research psychologist and a Nobel Prize winner, Roger W. Sperry (Pietrangelo, 2019). In Sperry’s notable split-brain experiment, he discovered that this theory is based on the lateralization of the brain function (Cherry, 2020). Sperry conducted his research in attempt to treat refractory epilepsy. Thereby, he studied epileptic patients who had their corpus callosum (structure that connects the two brain hemispheres) surgically severed. As a result, Sperry discovered that both hemispheres maintain to be capable of learning after the split-brain operation, although, one hemisphere is insensible on what the other hemisphere has learned or experienced. This symptom appeared onto the patients by finding themselves unable to name the objects that were processed by the right side of the brain, in contrast to the left side of the brain. Accordingly, Sperry concluded that both hemispheres have different specialized roles. He suggested that the left side of the brain is normally used in tasks that involve analysis and language, while the right half shelters the tasks that involve space perception and music. For example, when people remember or teach directions, their right brain is definitely the one that is majorly functioning as of the moment. However, it is important to note that the right hemisphere can only produce basic words and phrases, since it is responsible in adding emotional context to language (Nobel Prize Outreach AB, 2021). All things considered, both brain hemispheres are important. Without the help of left hemisphere, you will only be able to visually recall that object and will not be able to recall it by its name.

            In a study conducted by Nielsen, Zielinski, Ferguson, Lainhart, & Anderson (2013), they evaluated the lateralized brain connections in the brain through the use of Restating State Functional Connectivity Magnetic Resonance Imaging (rs-fcMRI). The study’s findings were consistent with the previous studies’ stating that the lateralized brain regions are responsible in controlling language and visuospatial processing. This can be explained why right-handed individuals direct their focus more on stimuli that involve language, while left-handed individuals direct their focus more on stimuli that involve visuospatial processing. With the help of rs-fcMRI techniques, it has become possible to characterize whole-brain lateralization using a data-driven approach. To define which network of an individual’s brain is dominant, Nielsen et al. demonstrated that we could view the consistent lateralization connections between the left and right hemispheres through discrete hubs. Overall, the study exhibited that an individual’s brain cannot be labeled as “left-brained” or “right-brained” as a whole-brain property, instead, there is only an asymmetric lateralization property where only a specific area of connection of interest is strongly lateralized. Thus, the relation on the lateralization degree for the other connections throughout the brain happens only if there is a shared common hub with the connection of interest, but it does not necessarily mean that one network favors over the other (i.e., left-brained or right-brained).

             Problems arise when we over-extend that idea to logic and creativity. This concept began in the mid-1800s when two neurologists, Broca and Wernicke, examined patients who had problems communicating due to injuries. The researchers found damage to the patients’ left temporal lobes, so they suggested that language is controlled by the left side of the brain. That captured the popular imagination of left-brained and right-brained. Later research showed that one side of the brain is more active than the other for some functions. Language is more localized to the left, and attention to the right. As a result, one side of the brain may do more work, but this varies by system rather than by person. There is no evidence to suggest that individuals have dominant sides of the brain, or to support the idea of a left-right split between logic and creativity. Some people may be particularly logical or creative, but that has nothing to do with the sides of their brains. And even the idea of logic and creativity being at odds with each other does not hold up well. Solving complex math problems requires inspired creativity, and many vibrant works of art have intricated logical frameworks. Almost every feat of creativity and logic carries the mark of the whole brain functioning as one.

            Therefore, the concept about an individual being identified as left-brained or right-brained is a BIG MYTH! 

PRIMARY SOURCE:

Cherry, K. (2020, April 10). Left Brain vs. Right Brain Dominance: Is the analytical-creative separation true or false? Retrieved from VeryWell Mind: https://www.verywellmind.com/left-brain-vs-right-brain-2795005#citation-3

Pietrangelo, A. (2019, March 7). Left Brain vs. Right Brain: What Does This Mean for Me? Retrieved from Healthline: https://www.healthline.com/health/left-brain-vs-right-brain#takeaway

The Split Brain Experiments. (2022, May 6). Retrieved from Nobelprize.org (Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2021): https://educationalgames.nobelprize.org/educational/medicine/split-brain/background.html

Waters, E. (2019). The left brain vs. right brain myth. TED-Ed.

SECONDARY SOURCE:

Sperry, R.W. (1961). Cerebral Organization and Behavior. Science 133: 1749–57. http://people.uncw.edu/puente/sperry/sperrypapers/60s/85-1961.pdf

Goldie J. (2016). The Implications of Brain Lateralisation for Modern General Practice. Br J Gen Pract, 66(642):44-5. doi: 10.3399/bjgp16X683341

 “We only use 10% of our brain” the durability of this notion cultivates the perception of people tampering with the veracity of how our brain works. The root of this myth is elusive but a plethora of proponents emerged from the nature of Albert Einstein, Pierre Flourens, and William James. Based on the study of Chew, S. (2018), William James an American Psychologist elucidated that we are making use of only a small part of our possible mental and physical resources.

As inclined by Barry Gordon, a neurologist at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, the idea that only 10% of our brain is working turned out to be a fascinating belief but only a myth. This insinuation justifies by discerning every part of the brain and its cognitive functions as the cerebellum for motor coordination and gesticulation, and the brain stem for instinctive movements such as breathing. In the imposition of Chudler, E. (2005) believed that each part of the brain was developed because it has the capacity to generate.

The dogma about 10% of the brain is working can demystify by using a technique called functional magnetic resonance imaging wherein neuroscientist can manifest which parts of an individual’s brain are working. Conforming to Hammond, C. (2012) breathing, recalling, or even our heart rate are a lot of brain mechanisms. Therefore, the distortion of 10% of overall brainwork is paradoxical and a myth because our brain is multifaceted that regulates our body more than the subjective deception of 10%.

References:

Boyd, R. (2008). Do People Only Use 10 Percent of Their Brains? Scientific American. Available at: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-people-only-use-10 percent-of-their-brains/. Accessed April 14, 2022.

 Chandler E. (2005). Do we use only 10% of our brain? University of Washington website. Available at: http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pdf/tenper.pdf . Accessed April 14, 2022.

Chew, S. L. (2018). Myth: We Only Use 10% of Our Brains. Association for Psychological Science. Samford University. Available at: https://www.psychologicalscience.org/teaching/myth-we-only-use-10-of-our brains. html? msclkid=b73a8746bbee11ec87a001e7d5439a63. Accessed April14, 2022.

Hammond C. ( 2012). Do we only use 10% of our brains? Available at: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20121112-do-we-only-use-10-of-our brains?msclkid=0563e8fcbbec11ec96ee99ae23768b34. Accessed April 14, 2022.

SYMBOLISM

The Darkness/ Shadow: It is the symbol of misery, sadness, or fear. Adam has always expressed his fear of being known to have schizophrenia after the first psychotic episode that took place in his previous school. He seems to be insecure of not being “normal” and has always done his best to hide it. The shadow would always state to Adam his insecurities and fears, agitating him. It has frequently appeared to hunt Adam whenever something is about to change within his environment or himself.

The Mother: Mothers would always do anything for their children. She is Adam’s anchor and the one he fully trusts; she believed when he didn’t. She didn’t miss any opportunities to make Adam feel at least a bit better. From reading forum after forum, to researching, and going to hospitals. She has always put Adam as her first priority.

Cooking: After being left by his dad, Adam started cooking to alleviate his mother’s responsibilities. He started to become passionate about cooking to the point that he cannot see or hear any hallucinations. Cooking gives him time for the surroundings to be peaceful. It makes him feel he’s him.

Bathroom walls: “Everything they need to know about St. Agatha is in here.” When a secret is known, it will be a rumor. When Adam had another psychotic episode, the walls of the bathroom started to have large and numerous vandalism saying Adam has schizophrenia. Which made him disconcerted.

CHARACTER ANALYSIS

Adam Petrazelli

A high school boy diagnosed with schizophrenia. Adam has always tried to separate himself from his illness; he strives and wants to be normal. Adam doesn’t believe in himself. Ironically, he has given up hope on finding a cure for schizophrenia, saying that he’s part of an elite club called “treatment-resistant”. He felt suffocated by his environment and illness. He especially was not fond of Paul, the boyfriend of his mother. Paul’s actions came across to Adam as something negative, that he wanted to get rid of him. Additionally, the fear and insecurities Adam bags made him feel like he’s worthless of all the attention he gets from his mom or from the girl he likes, Maya. Nevertheless, he has his coping mechanism, which is cooking. It has become a big part of him that when he couldn’t taste anymore, one of the side effects of the drug, he felt like he was dying because he couldn’t do anything. The last straw was when he thought Paul had deliberately sent an email to the nun to suspend him. However, through the hardships, when his mom subtly explained Paul’s side, he began to accept him. Recognizing that his mother and Paul would do anything for him to have a better life. He started to accept himself as a whole. As a part of acceptance for himself and for those who helped him, he declared to everyone that he has schizophrenia at their graduation. Realizing that he became a bystander in his own life. That for something to change, he too should change.

The Priest

Typically, religious people would always push their ideals on another. However, the priest gave Adam vague advice, allowing him to attach the meaning himself. He never pushed the idea of God to Adam, knowing that not everyone shares the same beliefs like him. He was aware of how differently they perceive the world and how Adam needed more guidance. Thus, explaining to him the purpose of confessions, in hope to give him a new perspective.

Paul

It is most probable that he didn’t have any experience handling a single mom with a clinically diagnosed kid. As someone who is adjusting to a new relationship, he was careful about Adam. He was quite scared at first but it eventually led to an understanding on what Adam needs. His intentions are always quiet; easy to misunderstand. Though, he has learned how to love Adam as he is. He also has the tenacity to acknowledge and protect Adam, just like the mother.

SOCIO-CULTURAL RELEVANCE

Just like Adam, there are a lot of people experiencing the same problem yet only a few notice them or give them the actual help they need. Not to mention the stigma about the disorder which makes it even harder for people who have it. According to Maravilla and Tan (2021) it was estimated that at least 1 million Filipinos suffer from schizophrenia. Aligned with this, according to Manila Standard (2018) at least 42% of Filipinos who suffer from schizophrenia seek psychological treatment and consultation. However, stigmas such as portraying them as violent and “incurable” might lead to ostracization and discrimination from the society. It is important for us to understand that schizophrenics are not the illness themselves; their disorder does not define their whole identity such as what they are and are not capable of. Adam emphasized this in the movie when he was giving his speech, regarding his greatest failure, on graduation.

Another relevant point in the movie was when Adam gave his sentiment about his classmate who was suffering from cancer and part of the Make-A-Wish foundation. The school granted her wish, which was to eat lunch with her favorite boy band before passing away. Adam stated:

“...but it got me thinking, when you’re a cancer kid, people can’t wait to flock to your aid and are so eager to grant any wish you have before you die. But when you have schizophrenia, people can’t wait to make you someone else’s problem. That’s why we end up on the streets [...] no one wants to grant our wishes.”

This type of stigma is applicable especially to the Philippines since it is a conservative country. It is evident in our parents and grandparents that a sickness is considered real if it can be seen or it manifests physically to the person such as baldness of hair in cancer. However, the deal with mental disorders is that it cannot be seen, physically speaking, not unless the individual did an fMRI, and just because it is not evident does not mean it is not real. It is significant to treat every sickness as equal.

Suffering from schizophrenia can greatly affect one’s daily lives, especially in employment and studying. The disorder can hinder them from being hired due to the discrimination or more prone to bullying. Hence, why the treatment and therapy should be more accessible. Moreover, Filipinos who are experiencing mental disorders often come from low socioeconomic status and the therapy usually costs around 1,000 to 4,500 pesos while the medication costs around 130-300 pesos each tablet according to Moneymax (2021). Treatments should not be only exclusive to the middle and upper class, it must be accessible to all socioeconomic groups.

REFERENCES:

Clarke, C. (2020, November 6). Words on Bathroom Walls review – prettified portrait of mental illness. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/nov/06/words-on-bathroom-walls-review-scizophrenia-thor-freudenthal-charlie-plummer

Kee, Shaira Limson, and Myles Joshua Toledo. “Philippine Mental Health Act: Just an Act? A Call to Look Into the Bi-directionality of Mental Health and Economy.” Frontiers, 21 July 2021, https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.706483/full.

“Mental Health in the Philippines: Cost of Therapy and Medication.” Moneymax, 27 August 2021, https://www.moneymax.ph/personal-finance/articles/cost-of-therapy-philippines#How_Much_Do_Antidepressants_Cost_in_the_Philippines.

The film revolves around a U.S. Marshal named Edward Daniels with his partner Chuck. They were in a ship aboard an isolated island where a mental institution, Ashecliffe Hospital, was located. Edward was investigating the conspiracies surrounding the hospital, as they met Dr. Cawley who told them that the missing patient named Rachel was found and he refuses that there is such a "67th patient". Dedicated to uncovering the truth, he reached the lighthouse where he met Noyce, who called him Laeddis, the man he believes burned his apartment with his wife. Then he confronted Dr. Cawley who told him the whole truth: That his real name is Andrew Laeddis, and the flashbacks that he was seeing is his true life, that he killed his psychotic wife Dolores for the reason that she drowned their kids.

SYMBOLISM:

Water - it appears to be a symbol of a traumatic event that Andrew has experienced in the lake seeing his son and daughters being drowned to death. It is already foreshadowed in the beginning of the movie where Edward Daniels felt distressed in the middle of his voyage in the ocean and told himself “pull yourself together, it’s just water” but on an unconscious level of his mind, water is a suppressed association that reminds his traumatic experience in the lake and translated into fear.

Storm - While the story has considered that Edward Daniels is detached from reality and keeps fantasizing experiences that are far from reality, and storm being associated with water. The storm in the film was really occurring but the strength of the storm is not as violent as it were but rather it was created by Edward’s mind in parallel to his fear in water.

Dolores - the existence of Dolores in the fantasy of Edward is an indication of persisting hallucination, a symptom of schizophrenia and psychotic disorders. It is also a symbolic representation of voices that a psychotic patient experiences.

Lighthouse - It generally symbolizes hope for sea sailors as it provides guidance in the middle of the surging waves in the oceans. In the movie, it played as the center of truth where Edward’s fantasy in his own world will be unraveled. Despite Edward's urge to swim across the water and break into the lighthouse Dolores, his wife from his irrational mind warned her to not venge into the lighthouse because it is where the truth lies. But at the end of the film, Edward finally discovered that he was the Aschecliffe’s missing 67th patient

PLOT A:

It is evident right at the start that Edward despises the mental institution more than how Chuck could react with it, which is strange since if he never visited the hospital, he will never know what's in it and will refer to it as a "prison". The role-playing was also meticulously carried out by the doctors and staffs of the hospital, as everything in the plot was actually connected to his life before he was admitted to the facility, that he used to join the army and he has a family that he saved from the fire, thus him thinking that he is a U.S. Marshal and he was on the mission to catch Andrew Laeddis, who killed his wife in a fire. The role-play also reflected his fear of the water, and how stormy he thinks his life is, so much symbolisms and mysteries that made the mind of his new personality curious, without knowing that it all pertains to him and his fear of facing the truth that he actually killed his wife.

As a future mental health worker, it is important that we administer therapies beyond drugs, such as the roleplay that was depicted in the film. The doctors acted with the altered reality inside his mind, while trying to unfold the truth before him, waking him up in a slow but sure way. It is also seen that Laeddis has an established relationship with his psychiatrist Dr. Sheehan, that they even shared cigarettes even in the end of the film, which is important since us future psychologists need to establish the trust between us and our patient, in order for them to cooperate with us and to help them with the objective of healing from the past.

PLOT B:

Several scenes in the film exposed the tragic dream contents of Edward Daniels. In his first dream, it started as he walked into the hallway reaching to the end where his wife, Dolores, expressed her anger after finding a stack of bottles of wine. While Edward was walking towards Dolores, he seemed confused and out of remorse he said that he killed a lot of people. Dolores, then reminded him a gist of his horrific encounter in the lake which he initially did not understand. In depth analysis, in the perspective of psychoanalysis, the expression of his dreams such as the the traumatic events in the lake, remorse and guilt feelings in the Nazi, and hallucinations are all repressed and vented out as unconscious material where dreams serve as an outlet. This unconscious material is vital for his recovery in gaining insights of his mentality especially to his unconscious thoughts and urges. It foreshadowed unconscious wishes of Edward to kill Laeddis which had been projected to George Noyce and her grief to the death of his wife, and his son and daughters. Finally, in the end of the movie when the truth has been unveiled and when Edward Daniels/Andrew Laeddis have gained insight to his fantasy it is an indication that he is now being attached to reality.

SOCIO-CULTURAL RELEVANCE:

The profound depiction of the main character Edward Daniel displayed the significance of Delusional disorder. According to DSM-5 delusional disorder is the presence of one or more delusions by at least one (1) month but no other psychotic symptoms. Delusions are false beliefs based on indecorous inference about external reality. Edward Daniels suffers from a Delusional disorder that constructs a deceitful world to escape the dark reality of his past. As we dwell on its context, Shutter Island's movie poses the sub-reality of medical intervention and ethical considerations of psychological treatment. It sheds the light to discern the concept of psychological treatment for people who suffer from mental illness. It broadens the prospect of viewers cultivating their perception about the facet of Psychology in alleviating illnesses.

The role of psychology in society often leads to various myths and fallacies. Mental disorders are prone to objectifying people who suffer from this which is alluded to as an absurd representation of crazy people. In the modern generation, Psychology spread its influence in understanding human behavior and is one of the avenues of medical intervention. On the ground of films and movies, Psychology makes an impact as the quintessence of genre and portrayal of the complexity of human behavior.

REFERENCES:

Barry (n.d.) Shutter Island explained (Plot and ending explained). This Is Barry. Retrieved from https://www.thisisbarry.com/film/shutter-island-2010-movie-plot-ending-explained/#ending-scene-quote

Bourgeois, J. (2017) Delusional Disorder. www.emedicine.medscapre.com

Hellerman, J. (2021) What really happened at the ‘Shutter Island Ending’.

Passarelli, J. (2022) A One Way Ticket to Shutter Island. Applied Psychology Opus

SYMBOLISM

This film gave symbolism to various objects, which represent remarkable ideas not just to the mentally ill patients but also in the lives of every human being in general. Such symbols that were observed include:

BELLS

Bells symbolized as weapons from mentally disabled people who they called "crazy ."The institution perceives their patients like bad spirits that they desperately need to ward off after taking medication. These people are still humans and not monsters that we should be scared of, clowns that we should laugh about, or pests that we should avoid. They need love and belongingness from this society and proper treatment that would best help them thrive in life.

FLOUR

Peter considered the other patients in the institution as "human flour." This was rooted in his dark traumatic past where he was locked in a bakery surrounded by sacks of flour while being extremely abused by his father. For him, flour is like Tinkerbell's pixie dust. It is a magical escape from the harsh and cruel reality that he forever refuses to face.

MATCHSTICKS

Relating to Bernie's story, the people who burnt his parents alive were like matchsticks. They served as triggers to start the fire. In life, there will always be people who never fail to bring the worst shits in us, resulting in some of us seeking vengeance and clinging to aggression. When this fire escalates, it would only slowly kill our positive spirits and play with our emotions.

PLAZA

Plaza was the place where Socorro and her husband, Felipe, first met. The film emphasized that some people escape reality by reliving their past because most of their life is there. Just like Socorro, people who dwell in the past are generally afraid to compete with the present.

CHARACTER ANALYSIS

Two people who cannot get away from their past: a patient with an isolated condition is Socorro (Gina Pareño) and the intern assigned to her, Maricel (Candy Pangilinan). Socorro was a comfort woman during the Japanese colonization in the Philippines. She was sexually abused, deprived of food, and abandoned by her husband. Aside from having a hallucination, direct exposure to sexual violence, and recurrent distressing memories of her past. She shows symptoms that are consistent with the criteria for the three mentioned disorders in the film: PTSD, Schizophrenia, and OCD.

The intern, Jessa Cawagas (Yumi Lacsamana), and her patient, Peter Pan (Baron Geisler), both have experienced an adverse childhood. Hence, they displayed some sort of act of childishness in the film. Peter had already experienced extreme physical and mental abuse from his father at a very young age. Peter pointed out that no one could escape the pain and sadness no matter how much the person tries. He specified that the people who did us wrong or harmed us are not the real enemies. It is our mind. If we failed to control it, it would be our worst rival.

Espie (Donnalyn Bartolome) is ambitious, selfish, and has all the privileges in her life. She got assigned to Bernie (Chad Kinis), a government-paid arsonist who burned squatter houses before their demolition. During one of his operations, he witnessed how the settlers set off his parents to fire, leaving them to die. The tragic event left Bernie with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), resulting in an abnormal coping mechanism by playing with his feces.

SOCIO-CULTURAL RELEVANCE

The film is an eye-opener to its audience that those with mental health problems are also human beings with the right to humane treatment and access to dignified mental healthcare-related services. With the recent enactment of the Republic Act No. 11036 in 2018, also known as the mental health act law: mental health has become a universal right. Our government should secure and invest in the people's mental health in terms of mental health facilities, specialists, and related services. Overall, the film sets our fight against the stigma on mental health several steps backward. Instead of picking up meaningful lessons about mental health, it only disturbs, misleads, and permits the stigma to live in the minds of many Filipinos continuously.

References:

Director Darryl Yap Reveals What Controversial "Tililing" really means. Random, Republika, 2021. Retrieved from https://randomrepublika.com/director-darryl-yap-reveals-what-controversial-tililing-really-means/.

Martinez, A. B., Co, M., Lau, J., & Brown, J. S. (2020). Filipino help-seeking for mental health problems and associated barriers and facilitators: a systematic review. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology.

The Psychology of why People Dwell in the Past. (2022). Retrieved from Act for Libraries: http://www.actforlibraries.org/the-psychology-of-why-people-dwell-in-the-past/.

What mental illness looks like. (2021). Retrieved from https://manilastandard.net/opinion/editorial/346562/what-mental-illness-looks-like.html#:~:text=%E2%80%9CTililing%2C%E2%80%9D%20 according%20to%20the,illness%20is%20a%20serious%20issue.

Philippine mythologies are prose narratives embedded in a culture that has been passed down throughout generations of Filipinos. It constitutes the larger part of the Philippine's history from its intricate pre-colonization period and literature from the early recollections of our ancestors. According to Prof. Tatel, Jr, an anthropologist and coordinator of folklore studies at the University of the Philippines, Folklore was born out of a broader concept of myth. The word folklore is defined in two terms: folk, which refers to people, and lore which pertains to stories and narratives about a group of people. He further added that the concept of folklore comes down to knowledge of people in their daily activities and events on what's on their minds that make up the so-called 'kaalamang bayan' or kwentong bayan. These stories typically revolve around human protagonists, gods, supernatural phenomena, occult entities, spirits, animals, or deified cultural heroes. And remembering this 'kaalamang bayan' as a part of folklore myth can be rooted in people's 'collective consciousness,' wherein when people talk about it, some will remember what happened. Consequently, it will be transmitted from one generation to another, which eventually makes it a part of the culture-making.

Furthermore, according to Zúñiga, Filipinos still clung to old animism beliefs, which entails that all elements of the material world possess a spirit that connects them and the indigenous religious beliefs. To which implies healthy respect for nature and the environment. Aligned to what Eugenio entails (2001), there are two kinds of myths: the 'pure' tales of the Philippine ethnolinguistic groups and the 'mythological stories and legends. The pure myths are derived from the daily religious life of ethnolinguistic groups, while the mythical tales and legends come from Christianized lowland ethnolinguistic groups.

All in all, mythology characterizes us, Filipinos, to be folkloric people. It is ingrained in our beliefs, cultural diversity, and how we interact and make sense of the world around us. They become part of our lives that create an invisible, mysterious world for us. And it's up to us to either choose to believe in it because of the meaning that it adds to our lives and preserve our sense of wonder or outgrow these myth beliefs.

Have you encountered any of these creatures? Feel free to comment or share your experience/s with us!

PRIMARY SOURCES

Beebe, R. (2021). The Filipino Folklore & Culture highlighted in Tan and Baldisimo's ' Trese.' CNN Philippines Life. Retrieved from The Filipino folklore and culture highlighted in Tan and Baldisimo's 'Trese' | by Reed Beebe | MEANWHILE | Medium

Estrella, F. (2018). Where does an urban legend come from? Meanwhile. Retrieved from Where does an urban legend come from? (cnnphilippines.com)

Eugenio, D. L. (2001). Philippine Folk Literature: The Myths. Quezon City: The University of The Philippines Press.

Gaverza, J. K. (2014). The Myths of the Philippines. 5.

History.com Editors. (2021, October 25). Halloween 2021. Retrieved from History: https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween

Medina, B. J. (n.d.). Philippine Mythical Creatures. Retrieved from Myth Museum: https://l.messenger.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fmythmuseum.weebly.com%2Flist-of-philippine-mythical-creatures.html&h=AT3jiFFOsMbUTD0Dbj8mjd7glymBL2jq-o2Sj-nzVnNoIyqcGH0acKekbUHMji5C13Vrw6KRmy0g3w2L0qXt7LS0jeZeUzi_FmA7W8gWE3Wgcbx2XZMk7egzT048BYyedm0cZQ

The Philippine Urban Legends Creatures. (2021). Retrieved from Thinking Pilipinas: https://thinkingpilipinas.wordpress.com/2017/10/12/the-philippine-urban-legends-creatures/

SECONDARY SOURCES

FilipiKnow. (2019, June 23). An Ultimate Guide To Philippine Mythology’s Legendary Deities. Retrieved from FilipiKnow: https://filipiknow.net/philippine-mythology-gods-and-goddesses/

Minokawa. (2021, March 15). Retrieved from A Book of Creatures: https://abookofcreatures.com/2021/03/15/minokawa/

Samar, E. (2015). 101 Kagila-gilalas na Nilalang. Adarna House Inc.

To ascertain whether this statement is a fact or a bluff, a German professor of Psychology, Peter Gollwitzer, and his colleagues published research insinuating that an act of sharing your goal with other people can decrease the chances for you to achieve it. In this particular study, law students were given a tasked to fill out a questionnaire about their personal goals and their commitment in achieving various educational opportunities. The groups of law students were classified into two groups depending on their level of commitment to becoming a lawyer. The first group was asked to confirm the answer they envisioned based on the questionnaire that was given to them. However, for the second group, they were asked to drop their responses into a box anonymously. Furthermore, both groups were assigned to work on legal cases for 45 minutes. The result of the experiment showed that the first group spent less time working on the cases while the second group worked the entire 45 minutes. Conclusively, this study established that when people acknowledge your personal goals it may cause you to reduce your efforts and motivation.

PRIMARY SOURCES

Chu, M. (2017, August 8). Research Reveals That Publicly Announcing Your Goals Makes You Less Likely to Achieve Them. Retrieved from Inc: https://www.inc.com/melissa-chu/announcing-your-goals-makes-you-less-likely-to-ach.html

Gollwitzer, P. M. (1999). Implementation Intentions. American Psychological Association, Vol. 54 No.7, 493-503. Retrieved from ResearchGate.

Iny, D. (2017, April 18). Wants to Achieve your goals? Keep them to Yourself. Retrieved from Inc: https://www.inc.com/danny-iny/the-problem-with-public-accountability-and-your-goals.html

Pangambam, S. (2018, January 19). Derek Sivers: Keep Your Goals to Yourself. Retrieved from The Singju Post: https://singjupost.com/derek-sivers-keep-your-goals-to-yourself-transcript/

Rigby, A. (2018, February 23). The Science-Backed Reasons You Shouldn't Share Your Goals. Retrieved from Trello: https://blog.trello.com/science-backed-reasons-you-shouldnt-share-your-goals

SECONDARY SOURCES

Alhulaibah, E. (2016, February 11). Never tell your goals and plans to anyone. Retrieved from Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/never-tell-your-goals-plans-anyone-elham-alhulaibah

To investigate whether Love At first sight (LAFS) is a form of love, a group of Dutch researchers surveyed almost 400 Dutch and German young people (63% women; 96% men) across three separate studies. Conclusively, the LFAS study reported 49 times by 32 different individuals with a total average of 8% of all participants experiences Love at First Sight for someone they barely know. However, there was no found evidence to prove that LFAS has the qualities of love but might be distinguished as a physical attraction.

Having determined that someone is attractive at first sight, an individual may become emotionally attached to that person and communicate their affection via a copulatory gaze, in which the individual gazes into the other person's eyes for many seconds (Fisher, 1992). The attraction of the individual to another person can be conveyed by their eyes, i.e., via copulatory gaze, such that the more an individual likes that person, the longer they want to gaze into their eyes in order to express the strength of our feelings (Rubin, 1970). This notion perceived that when a person looked into the other person’s eyes to see if determined if they are attractive, that person continues to gaze into the other person’s eyes for many seconds. As stated by Myers (2012) the gazing back may reinforce the individual's belief that the receiver of their attraction is suitable, and as both individuals gaze into each other's eyes, they perhaps realize that they are both attracted to each other, and so an immediate unspoken emotional union is potentially formed in which both individuals become emotionally attached to each other, and love at first sight occurs between two people at the same time.

PRIMARY SOURCES

Barelds, D. P., & Barelds-Dijkstra, P. (2017). Love at first sight or friends first? Ties among partner personality, trait similarity, relationship onset, relationship quality, and love. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. Vol. 24(4): 479–496. DOI: 10.1177/0265407507079235

Beil, L. (2011, May 16). Love or Lust? Retrieved from Women's Health: https://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/a19909235/lust-body/

Grant-Jacob, J. A. (2016, July 28). Love at First Sight. Retrieved from Frontiers in Psychology: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01113/full#B17

Vrangalova, Z. (2017, December 9). 'Love' At First Sight Is Actually Simply Lust At First Sight. Retrieved from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/zhanavrangalova/2017/12/09/love-at-first-sight-is-actually-simply-lust-at-first-sight/?sh=413de4937d0f

Wu, K. (2017, February 14). Love, Actually: The science behind lust, attraction, and companionship. Retrieved from SITN: Science In The News: https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2017/love-actually-science-behind-lust-attraction-companionship/

Sigmund Freud, the pioneer of Psychoanalysis proposed that dreams signify one's expressions of his or her unconscious desires. He proclaimed that bad dreams allow the brain to gain control over the feelings emerging from distressful experiences. In preference by Carl Jung, the founder of Analytic Psychology claimed that dreams speak in a distinctive language of symbols, images, and metaphors, a language that is the unconscious mind's natural means of expression. Jung agrees with Freud that dreams may look back to past experiences, but he argues that dreams also look forward to anticipating what the dreamer's future developments may be. According to Ferenczi, a Hungarian psychoanalyst, a dream expresses something that cannot be expressed outright. Several theories suggest that dreams involve one’s repressed emotions that are fantasized during sleep.

Carder Stout, a licensed psychotherapist and dream analyst, believes dreams play a significant role in our lives. He expounded that you are not actually dreaming about a certain person but rather the people in your dreams actually "represent aspects of yourself. Having recurring dreams are a common phenomenon, with two-thirds of us experiencing it.These dreams may not mean that you are obsessed with this individual but may symbolize your feelings and worries (Riordan, K. 2018). Dreaming about someone over and over again should not be interpreted in a literal way, conversely, that person might be symbolizing the stress or anxiety we are going through (Mayer, J. 2017).

For example, if you dream about the same colleague, you might not have an issue with that particular individual but a more general work situation to work through. Once a certain conflict in your life is resolved, the occurrence of repeated dreams ought to end. (Riordan, K. 2018)

Conclusively, dreams are the facet of our thoughts, emotions, desires, and subconscious minds that we experience during sleeping. Dreams can be the manifestation of our latent desires, modification of our mental schema, or maybe a distinct circumstance that we happen to witness through visual or auditory perception in our everyday lives.

PRIMARY SOURCES

Brolley, B. (2019, July 15). What It Really Means When You Dream About Someone. Retrieved from The List: https://www.thelist.com/158559/what-it-really-means-when-you-dream-about-someone/

Feist, J., Feist, G. J., & Roberts, T. (2018) Theories of Personality, Ninth Edition Published by McGraw-Hill Education, 2 Penn Plaza, New York, and NY 10121

Marano, H. E. (2016, June 9). Why We Dream. Retrieved from Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/200503/why-we-dream

Riordan, K. A. (2018, February 14). If you have recurring dreams about the same person, this is what it means. Retrieved from Country Living: https://www.countryliving.com/uk/wellbeing/news/a3336/recurring-dreams-same-person-meaning/

SECONDARY SOURCES

American Sleep Association. (n.d.). Dreams: What They Mean & Psychology Behind Them. Retrieved from American Sleep Association: https://www.sleepassociation.org/about-sleep/dreams/

Dreams and Dreaming. (n.d.). Retrieved from Lumen: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-psychology/chapter/reading-dreams/

Jung, C. (1965). Memories, dreams, reflections. Vintage.

According to DiDonato (2018), high intelligence specifies an array of desirable heritable traits, including creativity and problem-solving, and suggests stimulating companionship for a long-term relationship. This study acknowledged that having a pleasing personality such as kindness, sense of humor, and intelligence is desirable traits that women can have, but super high IQs are even preferable. Thus, the advantage of having a high intelligence makes women look even prettier and sophisticated.

A research study conducted by Dijkstra (2017) inclined that gifted single men tend to look for partners who themselves are smart, valuing intellectual attributes more than personality or orientation to having a family. With the used approach of Similarity Theory of Relationships, being like your partner in personality and intelligence means that you are companionable to have more “shared emotional experiences” accompanied by fewer disagreements.

However, Binazir (2013) affirmed that the smarter you are, the more clueless you will be, and the more problems you are going to have in your dating life. As stated by Dr. Alex Benzer, a hypnotherapist from Harvard and Cambridge University, smart people have spent more time on achievements than relationships. Yet, finding a relationship is not only hard for those “smart” people but, because of the broad population, the world comprises people who are complicated, neurotic, problematic, and with massive baggage of personal issues that disrupts and challenge people to find a significant other.

87 % of men said they would date a woman who was more intellectual than they were (Fisher, 2018). Conforming to Birch (2018), there are plenty of smart and independent women who encountered bad relationships and struggle to find healthy relationships despite having qualifying standards. When men were outperformed by a woman in a particular domain that challenges the level of intelligence — men are more anticipated to feel threatened by the weight of their self-ratings of masculinity. Even though men expressed their ideal women that include having an intellectual capacities, this sentiment was proven 1% accurate in the reality.

As per McClintock (2014), most women attained a higher education than men. In her research study, 71 % of women who graduated from high school in the year 2012 got into college, compared to 61 % of male high school graduates. This statement depicts a gender reversal in career aspirations that more young women are more likely to prioritize a high-paying career and profession than engaging in relationships and marriage. As reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2013), women who are employed, college-educated women, and men are equally likely to marry by age of 46 with 88 % of women and 90 % of men, and childlessness is usual among the most highly-educated women.

From the past antecedents in line with the concept of marriage, women who were more educated than their husbands faced a higher risk of divorce compared to couples in which husbands were more highly educated. In addition to Schwartz & Han (2014), the relative stability of marriages between equally-educated spouses has increased, compared to marriages in which spouses’ education levels differ. Consequently, the notion of equality today is prominent in which it reflects relatively to the modern type of couples such as marriage. Modern couples generally do not expect women to be just a housewife but exclusively responsible for economic provision as with men.

In spite of what has been preceded, being smart does not doom a woman to poor relationships – it is possible to experience satisfying levels of intimacy by adapting your personal strengths and weaknesses as a woman. A truly deserving man must know how to handle the epitome of an independent, strong, and brilliant woman.

PRIMARY SOURCES

Binazir, A. (2013, August 15). Why the Smartest People Have the Toughest Time Dating. Retrieved from Huffpost: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/why-the-smartest-people-h_b_169939

Gignac, G. E., Darbyshire, J., & Ooi, M. (2018). Some people are attracted sexually to intelligence: A psychometric evaluation of sapiosexuality. . Intelligence, 66; 98-111.

Mcclintock, E. A. (2014, August 25). Are High-Achieving Women Doomed to be Single and Childless? Retrieved from Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/it-s-man-s-and-woman-s-world/201408/are-high-achieving-women-doomed-be-single-and-childless

Noble, M. (2009, March 6). Is Dating Harder for Smart People? Retrieved from Association for Psychological Science: https://www.yourtango.com/200913540/dating-harder-smart-people

SECONDARY SOURCES

Binazir, A. (2013, August 15). Why the Smartest People Have the Toughest Time Dating. Retrieved from Huffpost: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/why-the-smartest-people-h_b_169939

Gignac, G. E., Darbyshire, J., & Ooi, M. (2018). Some people are attracted sexually to intelligence: A psychometric evaluation of sapiosexuality. . Intelligence, 66; 98-111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2017.11.009

Mcclintock, E. A. (2014, August 25). Are High-Achieving Women Doomed to be Single and Childless? Retrieved from Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/it-s-man-s-and-woman-s-world/201408/are-high-achieving-women-doomed-be-single-and-childless

According to Guy Winch, a Psychologist in England, he stated that our brains are reinforced to respond in both physical and emotional ways. There are particular areas of our brain that become activated when we experience rejection as we experience physical pain. Therefore, our emotional pain is activated, wherein it influences the stability of our well-being. The vulnerability of an individual to accept rejection can cause damage to mood and self-esteem that can elicit anger and aggression.

Social rejection can influence emotion, cognition, and even physical health (Weir, K. 2012). As specified by Jaffe, E. (2013), Psychologists ascertain that physical pain has two separate components. There is the sensory component, which gives basic information about the damage, such as its intensity and location. There is also an effective qualitative interpretation of the injury, such as how distressing it is. Beyond what has been uttered, our brain is the primary informant of our emotions, thoughts, and behavior that signals our physical body to have a conscious awareness of all of these.

The study of Roberts, N. (2015) specified that even though the brain does not process emotional and physical pain identically, the reaction and cascading event are comparable, and a natural chemical (mu-opioid) is released during both events. Therefore, the amygdala processes the strength of the emotions, and the pregenual cingulate cortex determines how your mood changes because of the particular event. Hence, emotional rejection is highly sensitive than the physical pain that can cause a long-term emotional impact on an individual.

As claimed by Social Psychologist Ethan Kross of the University of Michigan (2011), he articulated that not only does the brain process rejection like it does physical injury, but that personality traits such as "resilience" are fundamental to how we perceive pain. The findings of his study are reliable with the conception that the occurrence of social rejection or social loss mainly signifies a distinct emotional experience that is uniquely associated with physical pain.

Next time you get passed over for a job or dumped by a romantic partner, it may help to know that the sting of rejection has a purpose. (Weir, K. 2012). With the encapsulation of several articles that tackles how emotional pain is similar to physical pain, it is foremost to value ourselves more than the rejection and discomfort we encounter.

PRIMARY SOURCES

References

Kawamoto, T. (2017, August 17). What happens in Your Mind and Brain When You Are Excluded from a Social Activity? Retrieved from Frontiers for Young Minds: https://kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2017.00046

Roberts, N. F. (2015, 25 December). Rejection And Physical Pain Are The Same To Your Brain. Retrieved from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicolefisher/2015/12/25/rejection-and-physical-pain-are-the-same-to-your-brain/?sh=240b33604f87

Winch, G. (2015, December 8). Why rejection hurts so much--and what to do about it. Retrieved from Ideas.ted.com: https://ideas.ted.com/why-rejection-hurts-so-much-and-what-to-do-about-it/

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References

Arbon, A. (2011, March 25). Study illuminates the 'pain' of socail rejection. Retrieved from Michigan News, University of Michigan: https://news.umich.edu/study-illuminates-the-pain-of-social-rejection/

Jaffe, E. (2013, January 20). Why Love Literally Hurts? Retrieved from Association for Psychological Science: https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/why-love-literally-hurts