Darwin was not the confident naturalist history remembers. He suffered panic attacks severe enough to keep him housebound. Heart palpitations. Nausea. Dizziness. For 40 years. He never medicated. He built a system instead.
Every morning at Down House, Darwin walked the same path. The Sandwalk. A small loop of trees. Flint stones on the ground so he could count his rounds without thinking. Five loops. Every day. Without fail. Not for fitness. For his nervous system.
Modern neuroscience calls what Darwin discovered rhythmic bilateral stimulation. The body moving in rhythm. Left, right, left, right. Walking does three things at once: • Drops cortisol • Activates the prefrontal cortex • Interrupts the threat loop Darwin called it Show more
After his walk, Darwin observed specimens for hours. Not analyzing. Observing. A barnacle. A worm. A root. Close attention to one small concrete thing pulled his mind completely out of abstraction. This is exactly what drawing does to the nervous system. Same mechanism. Same Show more
Churchill had bricks. Jung had stone. Darwin had the Sandwalk, the specimens, and the letters. All three used the body to think. All three used their hands to survive their minds.
Darwin’s anxiety lasted his entire adult life. He still wrote On the Origin of Species. Corresponded with hundreds of scientists. Never stopped working. Not because he overcame his anxiety. Because he built a life his nervous system could live inside.
On May 26th I’m running a free live session on the method that releases what your analytical brain cannot touch. Drawing. Live. The way Darwin used his specimens — but faster. Here’s the link:
Life event that changes all: Horse riding accident in Zimbabwe in 1993, a fractured skull et al including bipolar anxiety, chronic fatigue …. co-morbidities (Nietzche 'He who has the reason why can deal with any how' details my health history from 1993 to date). 17th 2017 August operation for breast cancer (no indications just an appointment came from BreastCheck through the Post). Trinity College Dublin Business Economics and Social Studies (but no degree) 1997-2003; UCD 1997/1998 night classes) essays, projects, writings. Trinity Horizon Programme 1997/98 (Centre for Women Studies Trinity College Dublin/St. Patrick's Foundation (Professor McKeon) EU Horizon funded: research study of 15 women (I was one of this group and it became the cornerstone of my journey to now 2017) over 9 mth period diagnosed with depression and their reintegration into society, with special emphasis on work, arts, further education; Notes from time at Trinity Horizon Project 1997/98; Articles written for Irishhealth.com 2003/2004; St Patricks Foundation monthly lecture notes for a specific period in time; Selection of Poetry including poems written by people I know; Quotations 1998-2017; other writings mainly with theme of social justice under the heading Citizen Journalism Ireland. Letters written to friends about life in Zimbabwe; Family history including Michael Comyn KC, my grandfather, my grandmother's family, the O'Donnellan ffrench Blake-Forsters; Moral wrong: An acrimonious divorce but the real injustice was the Catholic Church granting an annulment – you can read it and make your own judgment, I have mine. Topics I have written about include annual Brain Awareness week, Mashonaland Irish Associataion in Zimbabwe, Suicide (a life sentence to those left behind); Nostalgia: Tara Hill, Co. Meath.
canisgallicus 