It's reader time!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Do you know trichotillomania?
Every year or so, I post about some information or patterns regarding this disorder that I have (that some people like to argue I have not been diagnosed therefore I do not have it) and this is my re-welcome entry into the subject.
I have trichotillomania. It is a psychological disorder that causes one to compulsively pull out body hairs. It is a compulsion, and is described as a type of OCD, but more specifically as an impulse control disorder. There are many other ICDs out there that people are more familiar with, such as nail biting, skin picking and non-tourette's related ticks. It is not as uncommon as many sufferers believe.
My amazing friend, Rachelle,the awesome book publicist, alerted me of a book called "Marni" which is part of a series of books called Louder than Words-a series of books by teenaged girls for teenaged girls. The story is written by Marni Bates and she suffers with trich. She is 19 years old.
The book, while a good read, is not highly focused on Marni's development of trich or struggles with it. It is mostly about her troubled family life. She doesn't begin to mention trich until page 93. In this, I was a little disappointed. I want to read or hear about other people's triggers and trials because I want to come to understand what makes this tick happen and, hopefully, how it can be stopped.
Marni does describe when she first started pulling her hair and where (specifically, her eyebrows at first) and by page 100, she describes quite the annoying habit that I share with her: the desire to pull other people's disheveled facial hairs! Javonda and Jeff know all too well that I may be staring at an out of place eyebrow hair or a criss-crossed eyelash while I'm supposed to be participating in a conversation. That is sometimes more embarrassing than the desire to pull my own hair.
Marni also mentions her discovery of tweezers-a harmless invention that can be the ultimate tool of destruction for someone with trich. I started pulling the hair around my face when I was eight, but stopped a few months later, only to have the desire arise in the eighth grade. I would pull eyelashes out by the chunk and this annoyed me, as I was only after one-the "bad" one. I soon discovered what precision I could receive by using tweezers but this ultimately fueled my pulling instead of restricting it. I didn't notice how serious it was until high school, when I saw a picture of myself and a friend and there was a gap in the thick black lashes on my right eye. I had been walking around like this and I never realized it. For poor Marni, the damage to her face was obvious in the beginning, in middle school.
It is a short book and a quick read and I would recommend it to anyone who is suffering from trich or knows someone who is. Just knowing how many people are out there that have this disorder can ease the stress of doing it. Part of the destructive cycle in trich is the shame that we feel from thinking that we are alone in experiencing this, and the shame creates stress which causes more pulling. Awful cycle, no?
My sister also suffers from very mild trich, and she has been able to get it more under control than I can. The hardest thing to deal with about having trich is having non-compulsive people telling you to just STOP. Please, if you know someone with a compulsion, do not tell them to stop, because they can't. And the embarrassment of your expectation makes it worse. When I was a child, my dad would put his dirty gym socks on my hands to keep me from pulling my hair. This, more than having someone slap my hand or yell at me, helped me to keep my hands out of my hair for a longer period of time. But clearly, the desire is still there.
One of the most relevant things that Marni says in her book is that she realized that pulling her hair cleared her mind; she was able to be free from all of the worries that swam in her mind throughout her day. This is more true than anyone may realize. I didn't realize it. I have been told that I am pulling my hair and I wasn't even aware of it. Marni was told that some people even pull in their sleep. Until I read her words, I didn't realize that pulling my hair made me concentrate. I have been trying to find my trigger for a long time now; was it stress? was it work? was it sadness? It may very well be that I need to concentrate and the only way to quiet my mind is to occupy the part that I'm not using. I pulled my hair while watching "The Time Traveler's Wife". If you saw the movie, you'd understand! So much going on that it takes a lot of effort to watch, much less care about the movie.
Reading Marni's book has been a huge revelation for me. While I try to journal every time I pull, it hadn't revealed some clear cut reason for doing it. This most recent time I had been pull free since the viewing of the above mentioned film until I started working on a project for a job I'd applied for. Intense concentration was needed. My hair was not. I thought it was odd that I didn't have the tingling sensation that usually causes me to pull and now I understand why. It's not my scalp, or stress, that causes me to pluck out those kinky black hairs, one by one, by the root. It's the need to quiet that incessant hum inside my brain that keeps me awake at night, that makes my mind wander while reading, forcing me to read and re-read the same lines over and over again, or while someone is talking to me about something that I have no personal investments in. I can now put the pieces together. I can now work on a solution, or at least an alternative. The only other time I am so clear headed is when I walk. One mile, two miles, three miles. If I can replicate this free-mindedness, I may have a way to spare my hair (and eyelashes), and recover from a little known disorder with even fewer known cures.
Marni's book is available on Amazon and there's more info about her on the Louder than Words site.
All of my posts about my trich are here
I have trichotillomania. It is a psychological disorder that causes one to compulsively pull out body hairs. It is a compulsion, and is described as a type of OCD, but more specifically as an impulse control disorder. There are many other ICDs out there that people are more familiar with, such as nail biting, skin picking and non-tourette's related ticks. It is not as uncommon as many sufferers believe.
My amazing friend, Rachelle,the awesome book publicist, alerted me of a book called "Marni" which is part of a series of books called Louder than Words-a series of books by teenaged girls for teenaged girls. The story is written by Marni Bates and she suffers with trich. She is 19 years old.
The book, while a good read, is not highly focused on Marni's development of trich or struggles with it. It is mostly about her troubled family life. She doesn't begin to mention trich until page 93. In this, I was a little disappointed. I want to read or hear about other people's triggers and trials because I want to come to understand what makes this tick happen and, hopefully, how it can be stopped.
Marni does describe when she first started pulling her hair and where (specifically, her eyebrows at first) and by page 100, she describes quite the annoying habit that I share with her: the desire to pull other people's disheveled facial hairs! Javonda and Jeff know all too well that I may be staring at an out of place eyebrow hair or a criss-crossed eyelash while I'm supposed to be participating in a conversation. That is sometimes more embarrassing than the desire to pull my own hair.
Marni also mentions her discovery of tweezers-a harmless invention that can be the ultimate tool of destruction for someone with trich. I started pulling the hair around my face when I was eight, but stopped a few months later, only to have the desire arise in the eighth grade. I would pull eyelashes out by the chunk and this annoyed me, as I was only after one-the "bad" one. I soon discovered what precision I could receive by using tweezers but this ultimately fueled my pulling instead of restricting it. I didn't notice how serious it was until high school, when I saw a picture of myself and a friend and there was a gap in the thick black lashes on my right eye. I had been walking around like this and I never realized it. For poor Marni, the damage to her face was obvious in the beginning, in middle school.
It is a short book and a quick read and I would recommend it to anyone who is suffering from trich or knows someone who is. Just knowing how many people are out there that have this disorder can ease the stress of doing it. Part of the destructive cycle in trich is the shame that we feel from thinking that we are alone in experiencing this, and the shame creates stress which causes more pulling. Awful cycle, no?
My sister also suffers from very mild trich, and she has been able to get it more under control than I can. The hardest thing to deal with about having trich is having non-compulsive people telling you to just STOP. Please, if you know someone with a compulsion, do not tell them to stop, because they can't. And the embarrassment of your expectation makes it worse. When I was a child, my dad would put his dirty gym socks on my hands to keep me from pulling my hair. This, more than having someone slap my hand or yell at me, helped me to keep my hands out of my hair for a longer period of time. But clearly, the desire is still there.
One of the most relevant things that Marni says in her book is that she realized that pulling her hair cleared her mind; she was able to be free from all of the worries that swam in her mind throughout her day. This is more true than anyone may realize. I didn't realize it. I have been told that I am pulling my hair and I wasn't even aware of it. Marni was told that some people even pull in their sleep. Until I read her words, I didn't realize that pulling my hair made me concentrate. I have been trying to find my trigger for a long time now; was it stress? was it work? was it sadness? It may very well be that I need to concentrate and the only way to quiet my mind is to occupy the part that I'm not using. I pulled my hair while watching "The Time Traveler's Wife". If you saw the movie, you'd understand! So much going on that it takes a lot of effort to watch, much less care about the movie.
Reading Marni's book has been a huge revelation for me. While I try to journal every time I pull, it hadn't revealed some clear cut reason for doing it. This most recent time I had been pull free since the viewing of the above mentioned film until I started working on a project for a job I'd applied for. Intense concentration was needed. My hair was not. I thought it was odd that I didn't have the tingling sensation that usually causes me to pull and now I understand why. It's not my scalp, or stress, that causes me to pluck out those kinky black hairs, one by one, by the root. It's the need to quiet that incessant hum inside my brain that keeps me awake at night, that makes my mind wander while reading, forcing me to read and re-read the same lines over and over again, or while someone is talking to me about something that I have no personal investments in. I can now put the pieces together. I can now work on a solution, or at least an alternative. The only other time I am so clear headed is when I walk. One mile, two miles, three miles. If I can replicate this free-mindedness, I may have a way to spare my hair (and eyelashes), and recover from a little known disorder with even fewer known cures.
Marni's book is available on Amazon and there's more info about her on the Louder than Words site.
All of my posts about my trich are here
Thursday, October 15, 2009
a bunch of fun vids
I have been slacking on posting but I hope that some of these funny videos make it better. I can't help myself, I love goofy comedy.
Obama's healthcare reform in auto-tune. It's funny. I avoided it at first but it is actually LOL worthy.
What does that hand say to the face? SLAP. REMIXED. Thank you, Dave Chappelle.
Vince Schlomi's Slap chop remix.
I don't think this guy is trying to be funny, but if he is, he's a genius. Watch him sing up to five octaves. Watch out, Mariah. Shane's coming up!
And on the heals of the Hammond judge that wouldn't marry an interracial couple, I offer THE BLIND DATE. This guy and his group are hilarious.
And for some sweetness, this video is of the most awesomely coordinated Halloween light show ever. I'm never going back to the Halloween laser show at the planetarium again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83VJ6fzQ-1s
Obama's healthcare reform in auto-tune. It's funny. I avoided it at first but it is actually LOL worthy.
What does that hand say to the face? SLAP. REMIXED. Thank you, Dave Chappelle.
Vince Schlomi's Slap chop remix.
I don't think this guy is trying to be funny, but if he is, he's a genius. Watch him sing up to five octaves. Watch out, Mariah. Shane's coming up!
And on the heals of the Hammond judge that wouldn't marry an interracial couple, I offer THE BLIND DATE. This guy and his group are hilarious.
And for some sweetness, this video is of the most awesomely coordinated Halloween light show ever. I'm never going back to the Halloween laser show at the planetarium again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83VJ6fzQ-1s
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Stuff you should know
I've been away! I've slacked on my articles! But here are some good ones to check out:
News
Oldest human skeleton found. Huge deal, since she is MUCH older than Lucy. What I don't understand is that they are saying that this disputes the missing link argument when, to me, it seems to be evidence for it.
Toyota makes huge recall on nearly 4 million cars.
Everything you need to know about the Swine Flu vaccine.
A few quick facts about H1N1 flu:
People born before 1957 were exposed to ancestors of the new pandemic virus, which are in a lineage that goes back to the notorious H1N1 virus that touched off the raging pandemic of 1918-19. That's why people older than 52 are likely to have some protective antibodies that "cross-react" with the new H1N1 flu.
In 1957, for reasons flu experts don't fully understand, H1N1 viruses disappeared for 20 years. They were supplanted by other seasonal flu strains, such as the currently circulating H3N2. So younger Americans didn't get exposed to H1 viruses while they were growing up.
Then in 1977, H1N1 came back into circulation, possibly because of a laboratory accident in Russia that released an archived virus. Since then H1 viruses have evolved further away from earlier versions.
On average, 20,000 Americans die of the season flu, also known as H3N2-this far surpasses the current number of fatalities due to Swine Flu.
It's also important to acknowledge that though this is a mutation, it is still a previously existing virus and there shouldn't be alarm about this new strain. The approximation for deaths in the U.S (that I can find) is under 200.
Getting the vaccine is a personal decision, just like getting the season flu shot. This is just information to help make your own, informed, decision.
Scientists may have a vaccine for the HIV virus.
Helpful
29 ways to change a habit. All very true.
How to turn anxiety into inspiration
Stuff:
Malawian man powers town with windwill. Amazing video embedded.
Come stream the "Where the wild things are" soundtrack
Thom Yorke and Flea formed a new band. This should be interesting!
Watch out, Twitter worm steals user info. I hate Twitter.
Blockbuster FAILS. They are reported to close as many as 960 stores due to slumping sales in competition with Netflix and Redbox. Yeah, they should go down since they don't carry "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia"...
For your funny:
Riverdancing dog. He does a good job...
News
Oldest human skeleton found. Huge deal, since she is MUCH older than Lucy. What I don't understand is that they are saying that this disputes the missing link argument when, to me, it seems to be evidence for it.
Toyota makes huge recall on nearly 4 million cars.
Everything you need to know about the Swine Flu vaccine.
A few quick facts about H1N1 flu:
People born before 1957 were exposed to ancestors of the new pandemic virus, which are in a lineage that goes back to the notorious H1N1 virus that touched off the raging pandemic of 1918-19. That's why people older than 52 are likely to have some protective antibodies that "cross-react" with the new H1N1 flu.
In 1957, for reasons flu experts don't fully understand, H1N1 viruses disappeared for 20 years. They were supplanted by other seasonal flu strains, such as the currently circulating H3N2. So younger Americans didn't get exposed to H1 viruses while they were growing up.
Then in 1977, H1N1 came back into circulation, possibly because of a laboratory accident in Russia that released an archived virus. Since then H1 viruses have evolved further away from earlier versions.
On average, 20,000 Americans die of the season flu, also known as H3N2-this far surpasses the current number of fatalities due to Swine Flu.
It's also important to acknowledge that though this is a mutation, it is still a previously existing virus and there shouldn't be alarm about this new strain. The approximation for deaths in the U.S (that I can find) is under 200.
Getting the vaccine is a personal decision, just like getting the season flu shot. This is just information to help make your own, informed, decision.
Scientists may have a vaccine for the HIV virus.
Helpful
29 ways to change a habit. All very true.
How to turn anxiety into inspiration
Stuff:
Malawian man powers town with windwill. Amazing video embedded.
Come stream the "Where the wild things are" soundtrack
Thom Yorke and Flea formed a new band. This should be interesting!
Watch out, Twitter worm steals user info. I hate Twitter.
Blockbuster FAILS. They are reported to close as many as 960 stores due to slumping sales in competition with Netflix and Redbox. Yeah, they should go down since they don't carry "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia"...
For your funny:
Riverdancing dog. He does a good job...
Monday, September 21, 2009
12 states we could all do without
A friend and I were talking about band tours and traveling and he ended up mentioning how much I dislike Arkansas. In case you didn't know, I hate the state of Arkansas. I thought everyone knew this. He did. And he made a joke that I would be a 39 state theorist and I have been so challenged to name 11 states that I could stand to live in America without. I'll do him one better and give you 12.
Arkansas
Besides obvious reasons such as the fact that the state is full of idiots, it is just a completely useless state. It is not currently nor has it ever really contributed anything to this union. If you've ever driven through or across Arkansas, it was probably one of the worst moments of your life. This state is mooching off of other states by having towns named "Texarkana" and "West Memphis". Get your own towns, Arkansas!
Montana
This state is named Spanish for "mountain". Yeah, we get that. You're not the only state to have those tall, pointy, snow capped things called mountains. If this is their only bragging point, then they should go on and give up now. Well, that and it's ranked as the fourth largest state. Why do they need to hoard all that space? Go on and give Idaho a little of that land back so they can be nice and square, too.
Oregon
I know that there are some people who are huge fans of Portland; I've even been told that I would love it there. However, that doesn't mean that we need the whole state. Oregon isn't contributing anything to our union. They don't have grass grown from gold or or giant puppies. Just a lot of space between California and Washington. If we want to keep Portland, why don't we just drop the Washington state line a few miles and give our great city a new home and stop making Portland carry all of the dead weight of the entire state?
West Virginia
You might think I'm just being a jerk when I say that we could all live without West Virginia, but the truth is, do we really need a state that is just named "West" of the state it's next to? The true irony of our sad, loser states is that West Virginia is nicknamed "The Mountain State". Sucks that they gave the real name to Montana. West Virginia couldn't even do that right.
New Hampshire
I don't particularly like states that are named after a direction or the "new" version of something else. I won't hate on the significance of the original colonies, but what has N.H. contributed since? It's yet another stretch of land between more interesting states. Do they have tall trees there, or something?
Minnesota
What did Minnesota do to anyone, you may ask? Everything. Even its own residents don't like it. More than half of the entire state's population lives near St. Paul. That's a LOT of people for the twelfth largest state. What are you running from? The stinking smell of cheese that's floating over your border? Also, Minnesota has one of the more annoying U.S English dialects. Can't you just hear someone mocking them by stretching out that "mean-ahh-so-tahhhh"? If I were doing a list of cities, for that reason alone, Boston would be on my list.
Alabama.
...
It's Alabama. Do we need to talk about it? They eat baby souls while sitting on their front porches in year-round hell heat. And they're damned proud of it.
New Mexico
New Mexico's just sitting there, being all hot and just stealing some of the interest from Arizona. The fact that the majority of its population is still Native Americans and Mexicans suggests that we should just give the damned state back. Adding the "new" in its name doesn't make it any more or less like the original.
Indiana
Aside from now being the memorial ground for Michael Jackson, can anyone name anything interesting or important about the state? The state's unoriginal name simply means "Land of the Indian"- not because there are a ton of red feathers left in the state, but because they let them live there a little while before hauling them off to the reservations. Aside from the Indi 500, which could be done in any state, Indiana has not lured us to its border for any good reason.
North Dakota
Again, directional state names annoy me. The state may have had an honorable name but being named after a native Indian tribe but couldn't that name have sufficed? Just...Dakota? Ew, now I'm thinking of Dakota Fanning. Ruined. North Dakota hasn't given us any yummy foods (yes, Idaho has been spared because of it's potato crops. I love potatoes. I'm the Bubba Gump of potatoes), interesting innovations or sexy people. All of these are important parts of our country.
South Dakota
It's south of North Dakota. What else is there to say? A friend just argued that South Dakota should be spared because of the "Teton National Park" but that's not even in this state. She also mentioned the Black Mountains but I could just as well go to another mountainous state when it's not snowing. There, they're black.
Wyoming
It's a complete rectangle. That, for me, is reason enough. However, it also has a "W" and an "M" in the name and that just ruffles my feathers like no one's business. "W" is for WINNERS. Wyoming is for LOSERS. It has the lowest population of all the U.S.. Did you know that there's a place called "Dead Indian Pass"? It sounds like a hate crime, and I hate Wyoming for it.
Arkansas
Besides obvious reasons such as the fact that the state is full of idiots, it is just a completely useless state. It is not currently nor has it ever really contributed anything to this union. If you've ever driven through or across Arkansas, it was probably one of the worst moments of your life. This state is mooching off of other states by having towns named "Texarkana" and "West Memphis". Get your own towns, Arkansas!
Montana
This state is named Spanish for "mountain". Yeah, we get that. You're not the only state to have those tall, pointy, snow capped things called mountains. If this is their only bragging point, then they should go on and give up now. Well, that and it's ranked as the fourth largest state. Why do they need to hoard all that space? Go on and give Idaho a little of that land back so they can be nice and square, too.
Oregon
I know that there are some people who are huge fans of Portland; I've even been told that I would love it there. However, that doesn't mean that we need the whole state. Oregon isn't contributing anything to our union. They don't have grass grown from gold or or giant puppies. Just a lot of space between California and Washington. If we want to keep Portland, why don't we just drop the Washington state line a few miles and give our great city a new home and stop making Portland carry all of the dead weight of the entire state?
West Virginia
You might think I'm just being a jerk when I say that we could all live without West Virginia, but the truth is, do we really need a state that is just named "West" of the state it's next to? The true irony of our sad, loser states is that West Virginia is nicknamed "The Mountain State". Sucks that they gave the real name to Montana. West Virginia couldn't even do that right.
New Hampshire
I don't particularly like states that are named after a direction or the "new" version of something else. I won't hate on the significance of the original colonies, but what has N.H. contributed since? It's yet another stretch of land between more interesting states. Do they have tall trees there, or something?
Minnesota
What did Minnesota do to anyone, you may ask? Everything. Even its own residents don't like it. More than half of the entire state's population lives near St. Paul. That's a LOT of people for the twelfth largest state. What are you running from? The stinking smell of cheese that's floating over your border? Also, Minnesota has one of the more annoying U.S English dialects. Can't you just hear someone mocking them by stretching out that "mean-ahh-so-tahhhh"? If I were doing a list of cities, for that reason alone, Boston would be on my list.
Alabama.
...
It's Alabama. Do we need to talk about it? They eat baby souls while sitting on their front porches in year-round hell heat. And they're damned proud of it.
New Mexico
New Mexico's just sitting there, being all hot and just stealing some of the interest from Arizona. The fact that the majority of its population is still Native Americans and Mexicans suggests that we should just give the damned state back. Adding the "new" in its name doesn't make it any more or less like the original.
Indiana
Aside from now being the memorial ground for Michael Jackson, can anyone name anything interesting or important about the state? The state's unoriginal name simply means "Land of the Indian"- not because there are a ton of red feathers left in the state, but because they let them live there a little while before hauling them off to the reservations. Aside from the Indi 500, which could be done in any state, Indiana has not lured us to its border for any good reason.
North Dakota
Again, directional state names annoy me. The state may have had an honorable name but being named after a native Indian tribe but couldn't that name have sufficed? Just...Dakota? Ew, now I'm thinking of Dakota Fanning. Ruined. North Dakota hasn't given us any yummy foods (yes, Idaho has been spared because of it's potato crops. I love potatoes. I'm the Bubba Gump of potatoes), interesting innovations or sexy people. All of these are important parts of our country.
South Dakota
It's south of North Dakota. What else is there to say? A friend just argued that South Dakota should be spared because of the "Teton National Park" but that's not even in this state. She also mentioned the Black Mountains but I could just as well go to another mountainous state when it's not snowing. There, they're black.
Wyoming
It's a complete rectangle. That, for me, is reason enough. However, it also has a "W" and an "M" in the name and that just ruffles my feathers like no one's business. "W" is for WINNERS. Wyoming is for LOSERS. It has the lowest population of all the U.S.. Did you know that there's a place called "Dead Indian Pass"? It sounds like a hate crime, and I hate Wyoming for it.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
More science links than not
I don't think this should really be considered science, but it is amusing nonetheless: What's that glow in the night sky?
Swimming pool chlorine may raise health risks for kids. Don't go getting all super paranoid, but then there's this : showerhead bacteria may make you sick
Then beware of what you eat; Fatty foods can trick your brain into making you fatter
Music is more healing than you thought: it can alter your perceptions of other people
Work tips: a book on how to keep the peace in the office
An American author traces the evolution of God
LoTD: 7 least convinicing movie high schoolers
Swimming pool chlorine may raise health risks for kids. Don't go getting all super paranoid, but then there's this : showerhead bacteria may make you sick
Then beware of what you eat; Fatty foods can trick your brain into making you fatter
Music is more healing than you thought: it can alter your perceptions of other people
Work tips: a book on how to keep the peace in the office
An American author traces the evolution of God
LoTD: 7 least convinicing movie high schoolers
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Shopping and swapping
Somewhere in my evolution, I became a shopper. An ONLINE shopper, no less. I've also become an online SELLER; anything that I've bought that I don't like or doesn't fit has to go somewhere; I've found a fantastic place for it to go.
http://www.swapstyle.com/
You can list items just as you would on Amazon or Craigslist but you have the option of selling it OR swapping it for something else!
I am amazed by this site. It has just rocked my world. I am in no position to shop but if I feel that ever-nagging desire to acquire new things, I can do it easily and without breaking the bank. I love it.
http://www.swapstyle.com/
You can list items just as you would on Amazon or Craigslist but you have the option of selling it OR swapping it for something else!
I am amazed by this site. It has just rocked my world. I am in no position to shop but if I feel that ever-nagging desire to acquire new things, I can do it easily and without breaking the bank. I love it.
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