I have never had problems with phobias, schizophrenia, OCD or anything along the lines of those type of disorders. I’m not really afraid of anything, and I have never been one to be obsessive over having a clean room.  I would consider myself relatively normal, though if you ask my friends they might tell you otherwise. Like most college and high school students, I have suffered from test anxiety before. It is not a serious case, however. Usually when I go to take an exam I get really nervous before, sometimes I get a little worked up when I’m waiting for the exam, but usually the symptoms go away after a while. I have been this way for the last couple of years, especially in high school where I would stress out about getting into college at times.

However, last semester I experienced my first ever full-blown panic attack. Let me tell you, it was one of the scariest experiences of my life. I am not the most physically fit person, and I seriously thought I was having some sort of freak medical issue or something along those lines.

But it happened whenever I was studying for this exam that had been stressing me out for almost 2 weeks. I was in the library, and I felt my chest tighten up, like what happens when you get nervous. I just assumed that I was getting nervous about the exam, and chose to ignore it. However, after a few moments the feeling didn’t subside. Instead, it got a lot worse. And of course, I started panicking which only made things worse. I felt like I could not breathe and I was gasping for air; I was basically hyperventilating. I seriously thought I was going to die at a young age in the Penn State Library. My panic attack only lasted about a minute or two, but it felt like forever. Everything that was said in class about the panic disorder symptoms are completely true; especially the part where you feel like you are going to die.

Eventually I calmed back down, and I called my mother about it. It turns out that she suffers from slight panic attacks as well, and she had similar symptoms like me.  She doesn’t get them often, and she explained to me it happens more frequently when she is stressed out over something with work. Apparently this is a common thing that happens on my mother’s side of the family that I did not know about. But when we spoke about the panic disorders in class, it kind of freaked me out that it is possible to have a second one in my lifetime. However, I now know what to expect, and I hopefully will react better than I did the first time; which is “don’t panic, everything will be ok.”

My father never does well around needles, blood, surgeries, or doctor visits. Ever since we were kids, he would always have to stand outside of the room when my sister or I had to get our vaccines. Usually, he will get very queasy and have to look away. Though ironically, he doesn’t get sick whenever he is the one receiving the medicine or whatever.

My little sister, Cameryn, had to get dental surgery to fix some problems with her teeth. Normally, my father never comes to surgeries unless it’s to drive someone home from the hospital. However, he decided to come with my mother, mostly because my sister wanted him there. So the surgery went fine and my parents were allowed to come into the room as my sister was slowly waking up from the anesthetics that they gave her. Her mouth was kind of bloody from the surgery, and of course my father doesn’t do well with any of that stuff. Long story short, he ended up passing out and cracking his head open and had to be taken the hospital.

Now you may be wondering why I’m telling you all this information. Well, it turns out that my father forgot that happened just before he walked into the room after the surgery to the time he was in the hospital bed. When I first called him after it happened and he was able to talk, I asked him what he remembered. He basically said he didn’t know how he got in the hospital room. Crazy right? He hit his head in just the right spot that it caused him to forget passing out and going to the hospital.

This happened a little less than a year ago. Today, if you’d ask him what happened, he will tell you a different story. My Uncle Frank, who is my dad’s older brother, told my father that he had a slight heart attack and that’s what happened. He implanted the memory that my father didn’t pass out due to the blood, but rather he had a small heart attack. The weird thing is, my father agrees with the heart attack story and the passing out story. He tells me all the time (when I ask) that he knows it wasn’t a heart attack, but his memory reminds him of “how his chest hurt” and “how he remembered the pain in his arm.” Just like the little boy, Chris, my father created this story that never actually happened. So not only did my uncle implant memories, but my father now believes in a false memory that never actually happened. Moral of the story, don’t listen to your older brothers and don’t go into surgical rooms if you’re afraid of blood and doctors.

I’m sure we have all seen or at least heard of the “Spinning Dancer.” For those who have never seen or heard of the illusion, all it shows is a silhouette of a female dancer who is spinning around in a circle. It sounds simple enough until you realize that the dancer can be seen spinning two different directions; which is either clockwise or counter-clockwise.  Growing up, I was always told that depending on how you saw the dancer spinning determined if you were predominately “right-brained” or “left-brained.” In popular psychology, being right or left brained determined your personality, way of thinking, and your strengths and weaknesses.

Those who are “right-brained” tend to be more creative, better with English and poetry, they are usually more sensitive, more intuitive, imaginative, and are usually left handed. Right-brained people will see the silhouette spinning in a clockwise motion.

Those who are more “left-brain” tend to be more analytic, more logical, always in control, better with science and numbers, logical, detail orientated, and usually right handed.  Left-brained people will see the silhouette spinning in a counter-clockwise motion.

That all sounds pretty cool right? Unfortunately, there is no such thing as being “right-brained” or “left-brained.” Scientists at the University of Utah had tested over 1,000 brains, and found no evidence that proves people use one side of the brain more than the other. All of the participants were shown to use both sides of the brain completely equal, but at different times. Information that is viewed on the left part of the brain is processed by the right.

Even though there is really no such thing as “right-brained” or “left-brained” people, the concept of this theory is quite interesting. To think that your entire personality is based the dominant side of your brain is quite fascinating. It is possible that damage to the brain can cause personality shifts, like what was seen in Phineas Gage, who had the pole go straight through his head and lived. His personality completely changed once the damage was done; which still baffles many scientists. In the scheme of things, you can choose to believe in whether or not personality is defined on what side of the brain you use more. Scientists have proven the theory is flawed, but the idea of a personality based on the brain still remains popular in modern society.

Personality Quiz: http://en.sommer-sommer.com/braintest/

Article: http://www.livescience.com/39373-left-brain-right-brain-myth.html