“A Family in a Coma from Carbon Monoxide Poisoning”
“Death of Old Couple from Carbon Monoxide Gas”
This was news that I heard every winter season. Not only a generation ago, there were many accidents due to carbon monoxide poisoning. I was even a witness to an old man living next door, who had breathed in the briquete gas from his kitchen furnace and collapsed. He was carried on someone’s back and taken to the hospital. Those were the days when it was an everyday affair to see families and neighbors lost overnight from briquete gas; to the extent that one would greet the other in the morning with, “How were you all night?” Every house was busy inspecting their floor heating stone and fixing the stove pipe.
These days, there are fewer houses that use briquete and carbon monoxide poisonings have decreased due to better living environments; however, there are still occasional news about accidents that happen from negligent management of the heating on the camping ground. Moreover, there have been more cases of people committing suicide by lighting a briquete or a charcoal in a small room or inside a car.
The exact culprit of briquete gas is carbon monoxide gas. Carbon monoxide gas occurs when the fuel burns in a state of a lack of oxygen. It is mainly contained in automobile exhaust gas, fine dust, and cigarette smoke. One can’t feel the existence of Carbon Monoxide because it has no smell or color. Therefore, it is called the murderer of silence. How easy is it to take away a life when carbon monoxide itself does not have any poison!
Carbon Monoxide Prevents Oxygen Supply
Humans live by breathing the oxygen in the air. Oxygen enters the body and is delivered to the tissues of the human body in an oxygen carrier called hemoglobin in the blood. Oxygen binds well with hemoglobin, but is well separated and well transported to the cells. When carbon monoxide enters the body, it is 200 times more potent than oxygen and binds quickly to hemoglobin, interfering with the binding of oxygen and hemoglobin. In addition, carbon monoxide molecules are imperfect in shape and large in size, so it is tightly bound to hemoglobin and does not fall off easily. Hemoglobin does not play a role in providing oxygen because it carries carbon monoxide. The body that consumes carbon monoxide will reach a state of asphyxiation after a certain period of time; in mild cases, it causes symptoms such as headache, vomiting, tinnitus and, in severe cases, death. In particular, the brain and spine, which are sensitive to oxygen deficiency, are damaged first; so even if a person’s life is rescued, the human body is hit hard.
People Who Are Addicted to Dark Thoughts
I am sorry to hear the news of people who become addicted to carbon monoxide and lose their precious lives. What is even more sad, however, is to be addicted to dark thoughts and live a miserable life. This also leads to death. Since thoughts cannot be seen or felt, it unawaringly comes into one’s heart. It is fortunate if those thoughts are bright and positive; however, unfortunately, dark and negative thoughts tend to grow fast, filling the entire heart tightly not even coming out. “I failed my life since I didn’t get employed” “I think that person dislikes me. I will also not deal with them” “There is no one who can understand me.” These kinds of dark thoughts tightly fill the heart without coming out and drag life towards a miserable end. At first, a small idea comes into the heart and grows bigger, and it shakes not only one’s own life but also the lives of people around them. Just as the diagnosis of carbon monoxide poisoning is difficult since symptoms are similar to that of a body ache cold, if you are addicted to thinking, most of the time you do not know the seriousness of it until it is revealed as a problem.
Lubitz’s Foolish and Terrible Choice
In 2015, an aircraft crash occurred in the Alps of southeast France. The German Wings Aircraft that was bound to Dusseldorf, Germany, crashed and killed 150 passengers and crew. Later, however, it came as a shock to everyone to know that the accident was not an accident caused by an aircraft fault or an operational error, but was deliberately crashed by Andreas Lubitz, the co-pilot. According to the police investigation, Lubitz was diagnosed with blindness shortly before the accident after being examined for a problem in his vision. A desperate thought captured him as he faced unwanted difficulties of blindness. “It is better to die before I can’t see!” “It is unfair to die alone!” This dark and desperate thought completely filled his mind and led him to make a foolish and terrible choice. Today, many people’s minds are growing in desperate thoughts like Lubitz.
Treatment and Prevention of Thought Addiction
The treatment of carbon monoxide poisoning is simple. It is to supply 100% fresh oxygen steadily. If symptoms are severe, high pressure oxygen therapy is also attempted. It does not need to separate carbon monoxide from hemoglobin, but steadily injects large amounts of fresh oxygen to reduce the half-life of carbon monoxide. The treatment of a person who is addicted to thinking is similar. It is to recognize the identity and the result of the thought that one harbors and accept the bright and positive thought. It is also in the same context to prevent being addicted to dark thoughts. It is important to have bright thoughts and to communicate with people with a positive mind. If you are easily exposed to dark thoughts, I encourage you to talk to someone with a bright mind around you. Just by expressing your thoughts and knowing the identity of your thoughts can prevent your life from becoming unhappy. It is time to check whether there are dark thoughts deep inside your mind, and if your negative thoughts are not capturing your life.