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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by linkadge on September 29, 2002, at 11:52:13
Someone told me recently that menatall illness
is exceptionally high in left handed people. I
am left handed and am wondering how many others
out there are too. ?
Linkadge
Posted by Phil on September 29, 2002, at 12:11:19
In reply to Depression - And Left Handedness, posted by linkadge on September 29, 2002, at 11:52:13
You know it's the right wing right handers that are pushing this theory.
Most people I know are nuts and right handed.
My first love was a lefty, she wasn't nuts but she lied and cheated which took me from mild depression to the treatment resistent nightmares.
Her life has been great these past 20 years; my life is a wee bit inconsistant, okay, I'm crazy.
So..I don't think left handers have more mental illness but I think they cause most of it. : )
Posted by BrittPark on September 30, 2002, at 11:47:01
In reply to Depression - And Left Handedness, posted by linkadge on September 29, 2002, at 11:52:13
> Someone told me recently that menatall illness
> is exceptionally high in left handed people. I
> am left handed and am wondering how many others
> out there are too. ?
>
>
> LinkadgeI haven't heard of any linkage between left-handedness and depression. But I understand that lefties are 3 or 4 times more likely than righties to have dyslexia and migraines.
Britt
Posted by shar on October 1, 2002, at 22:07:05
In reply to Depression - And Left Handedness, posted by linkadge on September 29, 2002, at 11:52:13
I did a paper on cerebral organization and handedness and it is true that lefties are slightly over-represented in "abnormal" populations. But, it is a big question mark as to why with lots and lots of possible directions to go in to answer the question.
One big question is what caused the handedness in the first place (there are lots of guesses on that), plus to what degree is a person left-handed or ambidextrous--lefties tend to be more ambidextrous (if you think of handedness on a scale from totally left-handed to totally right-handed). Those that I call "profoundly" left handed use their lefts for everything, and most "lefties" don't do that, and many lefties are not "left dominant" (ie, use their left hand to throw, left leg to kick, left eye to wink, or bat or bowl or golf left-handed, etc.). Even how a left-handed writer holds their pencil (curled above the line they write on or more even or below the line) is studied as a clue to cerebral organization.
Lefties are also slightly more prevalent in artistic profession, and, for some reason, as architects.
I am a lefty for writing, and do just about everything else with my right hand, and am right-side dominant.
Shar
Posted by Sinister on August 31, 2003, at 23:33:14
In reply to Re: Depression - And Left Handedness » linkadge, posted by shar on October 1, 2002, at 22:07:05
> I did a paper on cerebral organization and handedness . . .
>
> One big question is . . . to what degree is a person left-handed . . . .
> Those that I call "profoundly" left handed use their lefts for everything, . . .
> and many lefties are not "left dominant" (ie, use their left hand to throw,
> left leg to kick, left eye to wink, or bat or bowl or golf left-handed, etc.).
>
>
> I am a lefty for writing, and do just about everything else with my right hand,
> and am right-side dominant.
>
> SharVery interesting, Shar, and thank you.
I grew up spontaneously doing all of (but only) those things left-handed
which require (ironically) dexterity (the Latin root of which means "right-handed"),
and everything associated with strength or athleticism only with the right.I am not ambidexterous: I cannot use either the right or the left with equal ease
for any given activity -- except in winking, or caressing the small of a girl friend's back,
and perhaps in pointing or aiming, in which case the dominant eye switches
to correspond with the hand or the finger which aims a pistol or points a finger.So I use forks and spoons but not knives with the left hand.
It feels mildly awkward but not impossible to do the opposite.Only with the left hand do I write, shave, brush teeth or comb hair,
wash or insert contact lenses, deal cards, catch baseballs with a mitt,
and use forks and spoons.Only with the right hand (or leg) do I play all sports which come to mind:
batting or throwing (baseballs, footballs, basketballs),
serving (tennis and volleyball), golfing, bowling.
I use all tools requiring the slightest strength right-handedly
(even knives at the table), while those requiring dexterity (e.g., screwdrivers)
probably lean slightly to the left. I shoot a bow and arrow
(as well as a rifle or a pistol) only right-handedly.I favor shaking hands with the right hand.
I prefer to hold the joystick of an airplane with the right hand.
It appears that I've crippled myself with depression for forty years,
although I've hidden that knowledge from myself for the first half
of those forty by wearing a happy mask and "not letting such little things
bother" the well-behaved kid who must never object, correct, or complain.
This is the end of the thread.
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