DWQA Questions › Tag: self-limiting beliefsFilter:AllOpenResolvedClosedUnansweredSort byViewsAnswersVotesA viewer asks: “According to psychologist Laura L. Carstensen later-life couples often prioritize stability in their relationship over disagreement; they communicate gently and avoid overt conflict. They prioritize emotional closeness and positivity in interactions and tend to minimize negative exchanges. But this reduction in visible conflict can mean grievances and resentments are unresolved and can become a pattern of indefinite avoidance. When important concerns are unresolved, partners may feel unheard, isolated, or disconnected, even within long-standing relationships. Is this a wise recognition of time being finite and reaching for love or a shortcoming in addressing problems? Is talking enough?”ClosedNicola asked 6 days ago • Divine Guidance58 views0 answers0 votesA viewer asks: “Many families have a “conspiracy of silence,” where airing upsets is seen as disloyal. Men are expected to absorb pain and appear strong; women to maintain family harmony. This can lead to resentment, passive-aggression, emotional withdrawal, or illness. Fear of distress or abandonment often motivates a withdrawn silence. Talking about problems is the pop-psychology remedy but with dubious success as it often backfires. Perhaps changing the “conspiracy” seems to requires self-differentiation, boundaries, emotional regulation, and additional support before opening up. Is it wiser to build these qualities first, perhaps requesting divine support in doing so, before airing grievances?”ClosedNicola asked 6 days ago • Divine Guidance41 views0 answers0 votesWe have shared comments about the paper in JAMA blowing the whistle on medical dangers, in pointing out that the U.S. healthcare system was the third leading cause of death in America (Starfield, B. Is US health really the best in the world? JAMA 2000 284:483-5). Things continue to raise questions. I just saw a citation of an editorial by Richard Horton, editor of The Lancet, one of the world’s top medical journals, published in 2015 in which he says: “The case against science is straightforward: much of the scientific literature, perhaps half, may simply be untrue. Afflicted by studies with small sample sizes, tiny effects, invalid exploratory analyses, and flagrant conflicts of interest, together with an obsession for pursuing fashionable trends of dubious importance, science has taken a turn towards darkness.” While this is largely focused on the pressures to publish because of the vested interests of researchers, as well as journal editors, is there a deeper reason that quality and integrity suffer?ClosedNicola asked 6 days ago • Extraterrestrial Corruption of Human Institutions36 views0 answers0 votesA viewer asks: “‘You create your own reality’ has become a New Age mantra. It’s really though referring to a person’s inner experience, not an outside situation or circumstances. However, there do seem to be some leverage points on creating the inner experience and on intentional action. Perception depends on: what is selected for attention (based on threats, rewards, goal-relevant cues), questioning first impressions as final truth, moderation of strong emotional reactions (defensiveness, overreaction, etc.), cognitive appraisal (based on beliefs and past experiences), and then a story that integrates it all. To what extent can a person influence this process of constructing their inner reality for the better?” What is Creator’s perspective?ClosedNicola asked 6 days ago • Divine Guidance43 views0 answers0 votesA viewer asks: “In his 1970s book, Medical Nemesis, Ivan Illich suggests medicine isn’t the primary reason people survive illness; sanitation, nutrition, and housing matter more. He goes on to say over-treatment and exaggeration of disease are widespread, that healthcare fosters dependency, and that illness is seen as unacceptable. Healthcare often operates less for the benefit of patients and more to serve political, social, or bureaucratic interests – public image, economic concerns, or voter approval over medical advice. His views jarred badly with me. Is it right to say, in 2026, that people avoid confronting mortality and that modern healthcare is more about socio-political optics than illnesses?”ClosedNicola asked 6 days ago • Extraterrestrial Corruption of Human Institutions41 views0 answers0 votesA viewer asks: “An overlooked aspect of modern medicine is perhaps that now normal human experiences—such as minor stress, aging, ‘high’ blood pressure, ‘high’ cholesterol, or childbirth—are labeled as medical problems that require professional intervention. Society has arguably become increasingly dependent on doctors and healthcare institutions, losing confidence in self-care and mutual support. Medical institutions now dictate social norms, defining what is ‘normal’ or ‘deviant,’ and expanding their authority into everyday life. Is this intended to weaken society’s resilience, creating a population that depends on the medical system for a ‘pharmaceutical invasion’ and even the conception of who is ‘ill?'”ClosedNicola asked 6 days ago • Extraterrestrial Corruption of Human Institutions39 views0 answers0 votesA viewer asks: “High blood pressure is conventionally regarded as a health risk and that lowering it reduces risk, especially in moderate-to-severe systolic BP of 140-159 mmHg. Dr. Malcolm Kendrick author of Doctoring Data claims that cardiovascular risk increases more steeply after systolic BP reaches around 160-170 mmHg—well beyond the 140/90 threshold often used to diagnose and treat hypertension. A rule of thumb in medicine is that for older individuals, a systolic BP of around 100 + age is a reasonable upper limit beyond which cardiovascular risks increase significantly. Is hypertension over-treated, given that aggressively lowering blood pressure—especially in older individuals—can be harmful?”ClosedNicola asked 3 months ago • Extraterrestrial Corruption of Human Institutions144 views0 answers0 votesA viewer asks: “A 2018 book, Medical Nihilism, by Jacob Stegenga claims the healthcare system over-adopts treatments and under-recognizes risks. He states confidence in the effectiveness of medical interventions should be low because empirical evidence for the efficacy of many treatments is weak due to methodological flaws, publication bias, the influence of commercial interests. He claims positive studies are more likely to be published, screening programs tend to detect and treat cancers that would never cause harm, common treatments can cause long-term complications, short trial durations miss long-term harms etc. How accurate is his view that evidence is systematically skewed and harms are undercounted?”ClosedNicola asked 3 months ago • Extraterrestrial Corruption of Human Institutions122 views0 answers0 votesA viewer asks: “Dr. Bernard Lown, a Harvard cardiologist in the 1980s, criticized the rapid rise of surgical Coronary Artery Bypass Grafts (CABG), noting 20–40% were potentially avoidable, especially in stable angina, and many patients had uncertain survival benefit. He advocated medical therapy—nitrates, beta-blockers, lifestyle changes—for symptom control. How accurate is it to say that in 2026, evidence-based guidelines and trials have reduced avoidable CABG to <10% for high-risk, guideline-selected patients, and that for low-risk, stable patients, surgery rarely improves survival, and that beta-blockers, nitrates, ACE inhibitors, lifestyle changes are to be preferred?”ClosedNicola asked 3 months ago • Extraterrestrial Corruption of Human Institutions114 views0 answers0 votesA viewer asks: “A 2012 paper in the British Medical Journal “Use of relative and absolute effect measures in reporting health inequalities” concluded that “75% (258/344) [of 2009 papers] reported only relative effect measures.” Absolute risk reduction is often far less impressive and less often stated. This suggests that physicians will overestimate the efficacy of treatments and patients may have a misplaced belief in both effectiveness and risks. To what extent does this practice mislead patients and clinicians and benefit pharmaceutical manufacturers?”ClosedNicola asked 3 months ago • Extraterrestrial Corruption of Human Institutions73 views0 answers0 votesA viewer asks: “Dr. Malcolm Kendrick in his book, Doctoring Data, suggests more patients are harmed by over-treatment than helped. He claims published treatment benefits are often exaggerated by hiding behind relative risk (to mask how tiny most benefits are), selective reporting (such as statistical significance without meaningful benefit), or clever framing (such as natural variation in cholesterol or blood pressure) is medicalized as a treatable condition. To what extent is published medical research actually the fabricated appearance of scientific rigor to sell a product?”ClosedNicola asked 3 months ago • Extraterrestrial Corruption of Human Institutions88 views0 answers0 votesA viewer asks: “What percentage of patients take drugs for almost no real benefit, even while risking side effects and penalized by the cost?”ClosedNicola asked 3 months ago • Extraterrestrial Corruption of Human Institutions117 views0 answers0 votesA viewer asks: “Many people struggle with setting personal emotional or opinion and perspective boundaries. They fear rejection, worry about appearing selfish, or grew up in environments where boundaries weren’t modeled. It’s common to feel guilty initially when enforcing new limits, even though boundaries are fundamentally about self-respect. Is one aspect of Divine Principle for living #7 (…meet your responsibility to be your soul’s guardian, and take care of its safety and protection from harm) to be bold in holding the line, even when it feels uncomfortable, without being blunt, cold, or confrontational? Is this about practicing self-love through behavior, not over-accommodating or over-sacrificing?”ClosedNicola asked 3 months ago • Divine Guidance95 views0 answers0 votesA viewer asks: “Many people assume the self is mostly fixed, defined by circumstances, something to “find,” not something you shape or choose. But modern psychology sees the self as constructed, context-sensitive, and changeable. Some philosophers and New Age advocates also claim we can choose who we become. We seem to have part of us that defines an “automatic experience of reality” that decides what becomes “real” for us but we also seem to have a capacity to choose a new “intentional reality” as a story we choose and create by changing how we interpret things via our beliefs and biases. Can Creator give a brief tutorial to explain this dilemma to help us intentionally create better versions of ourselves?” What can Creator tell us?ClosedNicola asked 6 months ago • Divine Guidance149 views0 answers0 votesA recent national survey reports that half of American schools require ‘Equitable’ Grading and most teachers are opposed. The report identifies five equitable grading practices: unlimited test retakes, no late penalties, no zeroes, no homework, and no required participation. Critics cite examples of the policy enabling students to survive by going through the motions, but in the end losing out. Many school districts report a majority of students being as much as three years behind in basic proficiency. What is Creator’s perspective about American K-12 education and the reasons for chronic underperformance?ClosedNicola asked 8 months ago • Extraterrestrial Corruption of Human Institutions172 views0 answers0 votes