Veterans & Suicide
I’m an armed forces veteran. British Army. I did 3 operational tours, Afghanistan twice and Iraq once. I have some thoughts from my own experience, and also some things I’ve read about veterans, PTSD, suicide, and actually testosterone… Approx 18 months ago I tried to kill myself. I pushed a kitchen knife through my arm and tried to bleed out. My wife found me and forced me to go to therapy. I can’t fully articulate what I was feeling at the time, or what my thought process was, except I felt quite helpless and didn’t see the point in carrying on. I was diagnosed with severe PTSD, and underwent therapy for around 8-10 months. I found the therapy very helpful. I think there’s an understanding that veterans and the experiences that have moulded us are different to the sorts of trauma the general public is exposed to. As is the support system that is in place. I’m no scientist - clearly I’m a fucking grunt - but I started to look into things like my testosterone levels, and the correlation of depression in men and low testosterone levels. I got my blood work done, at the time, I’m a large, bearded, power lifting looking bloke, but my testosterone was low enough that I could legally identify as female and compete at the Olympics. I got on TRT. I can’t pinpoint precisely what got me out of the funk I was in. To some degree purpose. To some degree my test levels, to some degree the therapy. I think the answer is shades of all the above. But I really really think there’s something in low testosterone and depression/suicide amongst veterans. One of the consequences of combat and PTSD, same way as it is for traumatic brain injury, is your body shuts off the testosterone and tries to calm you down. Or at least that’s my understanding of it. I’d love for you to explore this topic on your podcast. Since I fixed my levels, I’ve lost 60lb. I’m looking at trying to do physical challenges, and I feel like I’ve got a reason to stick around. If there’s anything at all in simply fixing hormone levels, I think people need to know. It could save so many of my brothers from taking their own lives. Love the podcast. Thanks for all you do.
Does decaf coffee allow adenosine receptors to clear out in the morning?
Is there still enough caffeine in decaf coffee, reportedly at only a few mg as opposed to 60+ for regular coffee, to keep adenosine receptors from clearing out in the morning? Would it still be best to wait 90 minutes or so in the morning before consuming decaf coffee as well? Has this even been studied? Any information in the literature about lower-caffeinated teas, like green tea in the 20-30 mg range? Thanks!
Could Inheritable Acquired Traits Affect Mood and Personality?
I just finished the interview with Jocko Willink, which was fantastic. My question is in regards to inherited acquired traits that was mentioned towards the end of the interview around the 3hr 35min mark. Essentially, it was about personal experiences in life (acquired traits) making an imprint on future generations physically due to the fact RNA is modifiable by experience. So, in other words there's evidence that supports acquired traits can be passed down (inherited). Is there any research on the potential effects of inherited acquired traits on brain chemicals, brain development, etc. that could/would affect a person's mental characteristics like mood, temperament and personality? When you have a child it becomes very apparent these things appear to be baked in from birth, seemingly from nowhere. We now know significant experiences in life can rewire our brain and change brain chemical production. It would seem that if a grandparent living through something like a famine (life experience that leads to acquired traits) can affect blood sugar regulation in grandchildren those same acquired traits could also impact things like mood that are connected to brain chemical production. If so, it could have serious implications for future generations should an ancestor experience trauma. For example, Vietnam veterans that now have grandchildren in their teens and 20s. I’m sure we’re years away from knowing anything close to definitive, but it would be interesting to know if this concept is being explored on a clinical basis.