The loss of self-esteem & self-confidence may deteriorate into feelings of degradation & depression.

Don't retaliate - eliminate... When others hurt us, we want to strike back. But if anything that's a very temporary bandage & usually has a reaction like staph germ on an open wound.

In Dwight D. Eisenhowers book, At Ease: Stories I Tell to Friends, he said,

"I make it a practice to avoid hating anyone. If someones been guilty of despicable actions, especially toward me, I try to forget him.

I used to follow a practice-somewhat contrived, I admit to writing the man's name on a piece of scrap paper, drop it into the lowest drawer of my desk & say to myself,

The drawer became over the years a sort of private wastebasket for crumbled-up "spite."

There are several so-called emotions that are inherently stuck. Feel them & you stay in them. They remain around forever, unless the real truths beneath them are felt.

Some inherently stuck feelings are:

• guilt
• jealousy
• depression
• humiliation
• shame
• degradation

Feeling them for any longer than it's necessary to recognize them isn't productive. Be on the lookout behind these stuck feelings for other unwanted feelings (such as childhood hurt, love, fear, rage or grief) which, if felt, could help change the immobility.

It's often, but not always true that:

• guilt indicates repressed anger at early parenting figures
• jealousy indicates a fear of loss of early parenting figures
• depression indicates repression of difficult feelings
• humiliation, shame & degradation indicate difficulties with self-esteem (or with judging others if others are judged as humiliated, shamed or degraded) 

It's suggested that you use this paragraph as a likely starting point for exploration of your own stuck emotions.

degradation isn't withheld for insult of feelings between men & women - it can also be used against races...

the year 1848

The First American Women's Rights Convention takes place in Seneca Falls, New York.

Benjamin Roberts, a free black living in Boston, attempts to enroll his daughter Sarah in the public schools, but she is denied entrance because of her race.

Roberts, joined by anti-slavery activist Charles Sumner sues the city, challenging its segregated school system. Anticipating arguments that would be made a century later, Roberts & Sumner argue that black schools have inferior resources to white schools & that segregation injures both races.

domestic violence includes inflicting feelings of degradation...

Mental & Emotional Abuse is harm to a partner's ability to think, reason or have feelings, intimidation, degradation & humiliation, or demonstrations of omnipotence.

Emotional abuse takes the form of systematic degrading of the victims self-worth.

This may be accomplished by:

• withholding of affection

• name-calling

• using put-downs

• making threats

• abusing pets

• discussing love affairs

• refusing to talk

• showing extreme jealousy

• taking anger with spouse out on the children

• refusing a partner friends, time, money & interests of their own

• acting in other ways that imply that the victim is crazy

Emotional abuse can be the hardest for women to identify.

Source: Barry Reisberg, Silberstein Aging & Dementia Research Center, NYU

Alzheimer solutions

There really isn't much that can be done about the degradation of the brain & associated skills that come with old age if the person is inflicted with a disease such as Alzheimer's. Medical science is working on drugs & therapies that can delay this process.

Activity can delay process

Other people who are in their senior years can delay this process thru maintaining their health & staying as physically and mentally active as possible.

The brain is like a muscle & exercising it will help to maintain knowledge & skills. Physical activity allows a person to be able to perform the various tasks, as well as providing amble blood supply to the brain.

In conclusion

10 Ways to Raise Children to Use Drugs - by Leah Davies, MEd

1. Obey their demands. Give in to their tantrums. Deny them nothing. If they want it, indulge them. Make sure they know you'll always be there to get them out of trouble. If they break a toy or wreck a car, replace it.

2. Overlook, defend, or rescue them from the consequences of their negative behavior. Accept their excuses or blame others by saying things such as, "My child would never do that!", "It can't be her fault; it must be the school's fault!", or "The other child made him do it."

3. Disregard moral principles. Be dishonest. Involve your children in lying or cheating others & taking pleasure in the misfortune of others. Encourage insecurity by telling them to keep secrets from other family members or family secrets from others.

4. Avoid touching, hugging & taking time to interact with your children. Deny the existence of their emotional & social needs. Discourage them from expressing feelings & isolate them from friends, organizations & activities. Disregard their physical needs.

5. Ignore their worthwhile & constructive habits. Avoid complimenting or praising their efforts. When they've done something well, make fun of it. Belittle their ideas, interests & accomplishments. Dwell on their weaknesses. Expect them to fail. Express hopelessness in their ability to succeed or to cope positively with life's stresses.

6. Pretend you never make mistakes or have problems. Expect perfection from your children. Judge them harshly if they make a mistake or misbehave. Never forgive, but instead hurt & degrade them by yelling, blaming, shaming, whipping, humiliating, or threatening to abandon them.

7. Establish & enforce tough, rigid rules. Discourage thought & questions by demanding that they do what you want, when you want it done. Never help them think of ways to work thru their own problems. Demonstrate your distrust of them by questioning everything they do & discount their right to privacy & independence as they mature.

8. Keep children constantly on guard by being unpredictable. Become angry at an action one day & laugh at it the next. Avoid any kind of routine. Let them decide when to eat & sleep. Allow them to watch television continually without your supervision or guidance. Avoid traditions. Rarely eat dinner as a family. Treat them differently. Have a "favorite" child who can do no wrong & a "bad" child who can do no right.

9. Remain uninformed about drugs & drug use. If you smoke, drink alcohol excessively, or use other drugs, make excuses & deny your own use. Never discuss your attitudes or feelings about drugs. Disregard the facts concerning the negative effects drugs have on the mind & body.

10. Above all else, discount your own value as a human being. Communicate anger & resentment toward life. Engage in self-indulgent, self-destructive behaviors.