Africa

When stress becomes intense for long enough, the sufferer loses sight of the future. With hope gone, the pain becomes unbearable. Hell on earth. Any tradeoff then seems acceptable.

Unbearable pain activates a defense mechanism. Sensory information is blocked. Unfortunately, that includes sensations of a pleasant nature. The tradeoff. In it's milder form, this mechanism is called depression. Some functioning in the environment continues. In it's extreme form, the mechanism is called catatonia. Institutionalization is required.

The phenomenon can be seen clearly in the animal kingdom. A zebra being eaten alive by hyenas, having lost all chance for escape, freezes, wide-eyed. It no longer feels pain. In this way, Nature shows her compassion.

I miss Africa.

82 °F, mostly cloudy.