TranceAddict Forums (www.tranceaddict.com/forums)
- Chill Out Room
-- Triple amputee now 'happier than ever'

Triple amputee now 'happier than ever'

quote:

Published Date: 20 May 2008 An amputee who lost an arm and both his legs in a failed suicide attempt said he has been given "a second chance" to dedicate his life to helping disabled children. Craig Bowler tried to take his own life by climbing a 30ft electricity pylon and he survived a 30,000 volt shock, but was left severely injured and doctors were unable to save his limbs. Despite the trauma of living through the electrocution, Mr Bowler, a former bricklayer, told the Chronicle & Echo he was far happier now than he ever had been. The 29-year-old has now launched a campaign to raise money for Operation Sunshine, which gives support to children and adults with physical and mental disabilities. He said: "If I could go back and still have my arms and legs but live the life I had before, I wouldn't do it. "Being an amputee hasn't stopped me doing anything. I got down on one knee to propose to my girlfriend, Abby, at Christmas, and although it took me about an hour to get up again, it was worth it. "I had suffered from depression for years; there wasn't any specific reason which made me decide to do it. The doctors told me it would take me two years to learn to walk, but I did it in six weeks. "I think it was because I had a really positive mindset after that. I realised I'd been given a second chance and I wanted to do something with it. There's no way on earth I'd do something like that again." After his failed suicide bid, on January 16 2007, Mr Bowler, of Olney, spent two weeks in an induced coma and did not realise he had lost his legs until three days after he woke up. While recuperating, he met his now fiancee, Abby Williams, 22, who is due to qualify as a physiotherapist next year. Miss Williams said: "He's got a lot of determination and that's how he's made such a quick recovery. I'm proud of him." Mr Bowler will take part in a two-and-a-half-mile walk around Olney to raise money for Operation Sunshine on Saturday, June 21.

Source

"failed suicide bid?"?
that seems like a horrible way to put it

He wouldn't go back and stop himself from trying to commit suicide and lose 3 of his limbs?

Am I the only one who think that sounds fucking crazy?

and he landed a 22 year old, decent looking chick after that.

it is only after we have lost everything, that we are free to do anything.

I'm gonna go out on a limb here...

quote:

Originally posted by kadomony it is only after we have lost everything, that we are free to do anything.

try climbing a 30 ft electric pylon then and report back to us

That article is really shocking to me.

quote:

Originally posted by ziptnf He wouldn't go back and stop himself from trying to commit suicide and lose 3 of his limbs? Am I the only one who think that sounds fucking crazy?

Yeah man... I'm with you. I see stories all the time about how people say their lives are so much more rewarding AFTER going into a wheel chair or losing a limb, etc. I mean, who am I to call them a liar? I guess I can't understand because it hasn't happened to me but I just don't see how someone could enjoy their lives more after losing the ability to walk. fuck that. There are other ways to learn life's lessons.

Quite a cool way to attempt suicide!

quote:

Originally posted by kadomony it is only after we have lost everything, that we are free to do anything.

Wow, you should write for books or movies or something.

quote:

Originally posted by The17sss Yeah man... I'm with you. I see stories all the time about how people say their lives are so much more rewarding AFTER going into a wheel chair or losing a limb, etc. I mean, who am I to call them a liar? I guess I can't understand because it hasn't happened to me but I just don't see how someone could enjoy their lives more after losing the ability to walk. fuck that. There are other ways to learn life's lessons.

There is a book that discusses this that I read a while back, I thought it was Happiness Hypothesis but now I can't remember. Anyways, it went on to say how siamese twins who were separated always felt something was 'missing'. Basically, we perceive happiness to be a certain way, and, we often (incorrectly) assume that to be how others see it as well. So, in our heads, we can't imagine why one would want to be attached to someone else their whole life (in the siamese case) and when some of those twins (that were separated later in life) were asked they said they were happier prior to the operation.

quote:

Originally posted by kadomony it is only after we have lost everything, that we are free to do anything.

Alright brad pitt...

There are much better ways to kill yourself. Like a fistful of benzos and a bottle of shiraz. I guarantee you that shit works.

quote:

Originally posted by Swamper There is a book that discusses this that I read a while back, I thought it was Happiness Hypothesis but now I can't remember. Anyways, it went on to say how siamese twins who were separated always felt something was 'missing'. Basically, we perceive happiness to be a certain way, and, we often (incorrectly) assume that to be how others see it as well. So, in our heads, we can't imagine why one would want to be attached to someone else their whole life (in the siamese case) and when some of those twins (that were separated later in life) were asked they said they were happier prior to the operation.

Daniel Gilbert's "Stumbling on Happiness".



According to the book "happiness is relative" and depends on the different cognitions that everyone has. And since it heavily depends on cognition, it is prone to all the cognitive biases of attention, perception, memory and thinking. One very important bias is the one which states that "when people make predicitons they run imaginary simulations which take into account their present experiential state". Gilbert (who is an excellent experimental social psychologist) has actually elaborated this "current-state bias" into a psychological model called "Affective Forecast model of Prediction and Expectation" in which people make predicitons in the same way that weather scientists (meteorologists) create forecasts which are pften based on present-state data. And whilst present data can be valuable, they are never enough in predicting a chaotic system such as the weather or our future mental states. (as far as i remember these are not explicitly stated in the book but the basic ideas and the data are mentioned) .


Another idea stated in the book which is related to such incidents is the "psychological immune response". According to this hypothesis, small negative effects can cause considerable distress and psychological turmoil to an individual. This is the reason that in long-term relationships (such as..marriage!)even the smallest of negative events can lead to considerable conflict, fights etc. . When the "negativity of an event" exceeds a certain "affective magnitude" which is capable of having a devastating impact to the organism,then the mind seems to react with a kind of "immune response" in which the individual no longer feels the (psychological) pain. This IMO can be related to a psychological/psychiatric symptom present in many mental disorders known as "depersonalisation". Highly depressed individuals or individuals who are found under constant long-term stress can feel that they are "emotionless" and feel detached from reality, whereas their surroundings can feel "dream-like" and "unreal". In even higher negative events such as the direct experience of death, this kind of "immune response" can be so high that the affective outcome is actually positive and individuals often report "mystical-kind" experiences, in which they see a higher purpose to themselves and the existence. Ofcourse this is a new hypothesis and further research need to be done heh.

More power to him. I mean I have no fucking clue what hes talking about, but if he is happier this way (ie not trying to kill himself) then more power to him.

this man's story is electric

There was a show on tv about people that actually cut their limbs off on purpose. All sorts of people did that and then went to say that it completed their lives and made them feel happier in the end.
IMO i think its some kind off mental instability,funny thing is on the show not once anyone mentioned any kind of instability

Powered by: vBulletin
Copyright © 2000-2021, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.