Lyme on the Brain: Part 2 - Hemispheres

Although I REALLY hate Advertisements...(especially those for "luxury items"), I DO have to give props to the person who created this particular advertising campaign...Well Done Sir! : )

"Know Thyself"

            - Socrates 

It's interesting to me how most people don't realize that they are essentially walking around with two very different "personalities" that ultimately work together in such an amazingly integrative and complex way, that they not only end up NOT realizing this, but assume that the patterns of thought and what they essentially care about are simply "who they are", and are completely unaware that their own "individuality" is really the result of an elaborate combination of the two (right and left) brain hemispheres working in a particularly unique and intrinsically harmonic way.

Right Brained Vs. Left Brained

It's safe to say that every person relies more dominantly on either their "right brain" or "left brain", but rarely are they exclusive to only one side. 

Note: The following is a two-part, fun and easy test to help determine not only which side of the brain you are most dominant in, but also, the results will give some insight into what type of "personality" you have from the end results.

Out of all the different methods of determining which side you are most dominant in, this is the easiest way I've ever came across of finding out: Take a quick moment to cross all of your fingers together and notice which thumb (right or left) is on top. To get the most accurate results please do which ever way "feels" most natural to you...Lol - this is NOT a pass or fail test! 

 If your left thumb is on top, then you are pre-dominately "right-brained". And (obviously) if your right thumb is on top, you are predominately "left brained". Write which thumb is on top (Mine is the left thumb), and then continue on to the next part:

 Cross your arms together and notice which arm the right or left is on top. (Mine is the right arm.) If your right arm is on top then it's an indication that you also have "left brain" qualities...and vice versa.


What does all of this mean: Check it out. There are only four possible combinations here and each can tell you a little more about your particular personality.

1) Right Thumb on top (Left Brained), Left arm on top (Right Brained):

• These people like to take care of others, and often display Leader-Type qualities. They innately have keen observation abilities, and are effortlessly able to "see through" situations, being able to discern the root-cause of any problem. They are often quite good at serving as mediators, and are considerate and kind to both conflicting parties. Because of their cool and calm nature, and strong sense of responsibility, they tend to become the "head" of a group and are often popular among people. However, they may not be able to help themselves in becoming involved in the affairs of others, but only because they have a "protective" sense and want to make sure everyone around them is safe and okay. They also can be very concerned about how others view them, and are always on alert.

2) Left Thumb on top (Right Brained), Right arm on top (Left Brained): my personality...

• These people are by nature, considerate, traditional, and often indirect; they dislike conflict, and direct confrontation. They are instinctively able to "read" others, and often adapt their behavior to make those around them as comfortable as possible. Although they are not very good at taking initiatives,  they will always be willing to take a step back to support others. They often have stable personalities, and are very "protective" of the people they love.  Their weakness is that they cannot say no to those in need, and will often put other people's needs in front of their own.

3) Left Thumb on top (Right Brained), Left arm on top (Right Brained):

• The people are very creative, curious, imaginative, free-willed spirits who love to be challenged and are extremely straight-forward in expressing their needs. Once they decided to do something, there is no talking them out of it, and they must do it right away. They are daredevils and often put themselves into dangerous situations (just for the rush) without first thinking it through (sometimes foolishly). Their weakness is that they don't listen to others, and will filter in only what whey want to hear in a conversation. However, because of their straightforward attitude, they tend to be fairly popular.

4) Right Thumb on top (Left Brained), Right arm on top (Left Brained):

• These people are dedicated, cold, perfectionist types who use  logic in all aspects of their life. They are not emotional beings, and the only way to defeat (or win over) them is through reason alone. They have a lot of pride, and a strong impulse to "do the right thing", however, the "right" thing to do is often seen as either "Black or White" to them. There are no grays in their world. If they are your friends, they are extremely trustworthy. However, if they are your opponents, they can be very tough to deal with. Their weakness is that they can be a very 'anal' perfectionist, and as a result, often leave a bad first impression of being hard to deal with.

Interesting game, huh? Of course, I cannot say it is 100% accurate, but I do notice that a LOT of people displaying these type of qualities once completing the game, and usually can even guess which of the four personality types they are before they even try it! (Challenge me - I dare you! Lol...)

You may be asking yourself...How does this relate to Lyme Disease? Well, if you take a look at the following diagram of what the right and left frontal lobes are responsible for, you might just find yourself completely SHOCKED at how (in the Later Stages) pretty much ALL of these abilities seem to be completely stripped and affected by the disease:

Lol - did your lower jaw just drop to the ground when you saw this? - I KNOW mine sure did : )

Sigh, sooo - we already know that through SPECT scans, Lyme patients often display decreased blood flow through specific areas of the brain, but that it is not a diagnostic tool, since other illness (particularly auto-immune) like Lupus and MS can also display the same features. 

However, what really GETS to me, is that at NO point in my illness, even when I was showing the onset of severe dementia, and mimicking aspects of parkinson's and ALS, besides a "decreased signal to my right ventricle, and some scarring"... my MRI tests (which show brain structure, not function) ALWAYS came back relatively normal. The question I pose is this: How can that possibly be?

I can't help but think of only one reason why this is...and, of course, it will greatly challenge the beliefs of Western Medicine. So, please tune in on my NEXT post where I will attempt to connect another very important, but highly unrecognized part of the Central Nervous System and its affects on the brain. For those of you who haven't guessed already, the "part" I'm referring to is the Craniosacral System.

Many Blessings,

Sarah