Self-Abuse: Another Trend in Mental Illness

In a world of desensitation, where people see every form of violence and sex routinely--and that's on the nightly news forget the internet--is it any surprise that young people up the ante to "feel" something? Self-Abuse, a trendy teenager malady has upgraded into a trendy college malady.

Rodey, a college sophomore, said cutting became part of her daily high school routine.

"It was part of waking up, getting dressed, the last look in the mirror and then the cut on the wrist. It got to be where I couldn't have a perfect day without it," Rodey said.

"If I was apprehensive about going to school, or I wasn't feeling great, I did that and I'd get a little rush," she said.

Whitlock is among researchers who believe that "rush" is feel-good hormones called endorphins produced in response to pain. But it is often followed by deep shame and the injuries sometimes require medical treatment.

Feeling nothing, feeling pain is an improvement--at least it's something. This seems like a spiritual problem to me. Nihilistic, listening to the bad news spewed at institutions like Cornell and Princeton, convinced that the future is hopeless and that they are helpless to do anything about it, young women hurt themselves.

Too much navel gazing, not enough action. Not enough love in the form of charity. Not enough faith in a Power greater than self. Not enough hope and belief. Adrift and isolated in the misery of unfairness--college campuses emphasize and focus on life being so unfair--these girls take the tact of death by 1000 cuts, a slow suicide.

Strict Parents Create Fat Kids

So do permissive parents and so do neglectful parents create obese children by age six. The only children who are immune? Children whose parents are paragons of parenting virtue: The Authoritative parents. Of course, no definition of "Authoritative (not to be confused with authoritarian) parenting" is adequately given.

Here is the definition of Authoritative parent:

"having high expectations for self control but respectful of a child's opinions and who set clear boundaries."

So, there you go. Now, you know.

New Orleans: Moving Back to the Projects

Displaced project dwellers in New Orleans move back to take their apartments into their own hands even if the government wants them to stay out. They are cleaning their own places up. That seems like a good, proactive move indicating a level of ownership--even if they are government-owned places.

I do wonder, though, with hurricane season coming, no electricity yet, unbearable heat, mold and other forms of environmental toxins abounding, what will/can be done about those buildings. And the people living in tents are exposing themselves to great harm.

Antivenom Creation

This may not seem like a big deal to you, but it is to me. I found out that going to the local hospital for a Snake Bite is useless. They don't have anti-venom. The major Med Center down town Houston has some, but they only give it in truly life-threatening cases. Otherwise, snake bite victims are on their own.

What? Texas is like Copperhead heaven. Heck, it's snake heaven.

The part that irritates me about this story is that animals must suffer in order to make the anti-venom. Is a human life at least worth saving with anti-venom? I can understand not wanting to use Estrogen (The Pill and other synthetic estrogens are taken from perpetually pregnant horse's urine. It is not a nice process.) because the unnecessary means by which it is taken and hot flashes aren't deadly, but life and death issues like a child getting bit by a Coral Snake which can be deadly seems to rise to the level of animal pain-worthiness.

Intermittent Explosive Disorder: Yippee! Another Disease

Melissa: My name is Melissa. And I have Intermittent Explosive Disorder.

Support Group in Unison: Hi, Melissa. (Then they move away a little. They don't want to get hit.)

No, IED is not some kind of bowel dysfunction. That would be known as Post-McDonalds Explosive Disorder. That's another malady entirely. IED refers to the 7% of people who, starting in their teens, throw fits and literally throw things and people occasionally. Nice.

The really great thing, if you'll go to the above link, is that our tax dollars went for research demonstrating the obvious: some people have a temper problem. And a small group of some people have a really, really bad temper problem. Yup, you heard it here first.

Puhleeze! Must we medicalize everything? How about this: some people are complete jerks, entitled idiots who believe it is their right to have what they want, when they want it and when they are deprived of even little things, feel completely free to make projectiles of the nearest tchotchke, or person. Whatever suits them, is the point.

These angry people also have anxiety (I might not get what I want right when I want it), depression (I'm so angry that I didn't get what I wanted and it's antisocial to kill people, so I'm depressed) and drug abuse (I'll drown my misery at being deprived of what I want and deserve).

These people also tend to have more stressful events like financial troubles and divorces. Chicken and the egg dilemma don't you think? I mean do angry axxholes lose jobs or do really, really nice people turn into angry so-and-sos when they get fired? Likewise, do otherwise nice people get divorced and turn into raving lunatics or were they short-of-fuse which got-on-last-nerve of spouse which resulted in divorce? It's kinda like a cycle: angry creates job loss creates anger creates beat-the-crap out of whoever is around creates divorce which creates more anger.

So, out with it dear readers: who is an I.E.D. sufferer, do you believe I.E.D. exists or is this just another psychobabble diagnosis to make bad people seem "sick" instead?

Prematurity & ADHD

More premature kids have ADHD says new research. That's to be expected. Premature kids have more of everything bad. There is a reason why babies should stay en utero for 40 weeks.

The biggest cause I see of prematurity (not severe) but in the 34-37 week range earliness, is inductions. Some babies cook slower. Some parents have the conception date off--sometimes up to a month. And then parents want a certain doctor, or like a couple I know, wanted to take their vacation at a certain time, so induced two weeks early.

All this is insanity. A baby should, at the very least, be born when he or she is ready. These same parents will lament their child's immune system weakness (in the form of asthma, allergies, chronic ear infections, and general sickliness), their child's behavior problems (lack of attention, lower I.Q., hyperactivity, defiant personality), their child's motor function delays (trunk weakness, extensor bias--the baby needs to be balled up for long enough to develop properly, bilateral coordination required to crawl and walk, general floppiness) and cognitive delays. And they will have caused it, or their OB will have caused it by induction.

No one can be for certain when the baby is "done", but all the inductions for "insufficient pelvis" (completely bogus dx 90% of the time), "primagravida" (1st time mom), "geriatric mother" (mom over 30), doctor's vaction, parent's vacation, "overdue" (miscalculated dates), "ultrasound indicates large baby" (almost never true), blah, blah, blah.

The unconscious motivation on the part of the doc, is that C-sections are controlled--by him. He likes this even though complications are greater. He knows exactly when the baby will come. He knows how to plan his day. He can manage the liability risks (or thinks he can). A lot of mothers like this too. Childbirth is such an out-of-control experience. It feels crazy waiting for the day when the baby shows up. It's nice to plan. It is unnerving to see the calendar click by and those last few weeks are hell--but if you know the date, it's not so bad. For you.

The baby suffers with all this meddling. Small babies work harder and burn more calories to stay warm. Their suck reflexes are weaker. Their immune systems aren't fully developed. Their lungs are immature. They have less fat and so losing weight is dangerous and the parent may be encouraged to feed the kid formula. They must eat more often, tiring the mom out, because their stomachs are smaller. The list of potential down-sides for the baby is long.

Let the baby gestate. Let the baby have its own time table. Soon enough, he or she will be at the will of the world. It seems that at least one moment could be his or hers to decide. The baby benefits, and the parents will too.

Caffiene: Open-minded People Imbibe

Now, that headline is a complete mis-representation of the research, but I'll bet that's what makes it into the popular press. Caffiene without distractions, the research says, causes people to change their mind about controversial topics.

The research was conducted on 120 college students. Whatever dudes! Research like this is silly.

I Don't Believe In "Isms" I Just Believe In Me: Leftists--Who's Your Daddy?

Put this post in the Ferris Bueller philosophical category. Dr. Sanity discusses "isms" and deconstructs them and the Left again. She references an Ace of Spades post which is also worth reading where he equates Ego-identification with Leftist "isms" thus the excessive emotional responses to debated topics. They are defending themselves, not the issue, thus the fuss. For some of my readers, this is like throwing blood in the water, but that can be fun, too.

For the more rabid Leftists (and I'm not talking the union-belonging, working-class Democrat whose values are more conservative but who favor socialist government policy), there seems to be underlying their worldview an intense distrust, dislike, fear, and general lack of comfort with any strong authority--especially strong male authority.

I have to wonder about their parentage. Were these people abused by a man? Abandoned by a man? Raised only with women? Dominated by their mother?

I have to wonder about their education? Public schools? Private schools? Take too many Women's Studies classes in college?

I have to wonder about their religious training? Driftless? Catholic secularism? Fundamentalist sect? Bland protestantism?

The interesting thing about the rabid anti-authority crowd is that when those espousing this worldview get into authority, they seem to swing between extremes--simpering, self-loathing indecision and hyper-aggressive domination. It is like a caricature of a woman, or female-sensitive metrosexual, and man, or tough-broad masculine woman.

It is as though the very notion of feminine, woman leader or masculine, male leader offends. No one should follow too closely to gender norms or their leadership is suspect. Everyone should become this androgynous humanoid so that everyone feels "safe".

Better yet, don't hold any strong positions because strong positions, like strong gender, indicates strength which is wrong. Except ofcourse, the strong opinion that strong opinions, gender-identification and views are wrong. One must be "open" and "nuanced" and "sophisticated" and not too, too.

No amount of argument against a position works, because the adherence to any position that is not deemed the open-minded position is fixed, calcified and authoritative. That would make the argument wrong inherently.

Ultimately, the question is: Who's your Daddy? With more people being raised without one, or not especially liking/knowing/trusting the father they have, the question takes on vital importance. Many people, justifying their lack of father seek to rid the world of fathers to justify their deprivation. "I don't need a father. Who needs a father?" Or, like Dennis Rodman said, "I had to be my own father."

Lefists don't want a leader to be like a Father. They don't even want the leader to be like a a Mother, well not one connected to a Father anyway.

The androgynous world, one where every opinion is valid--except the strongly held, logical one that disagrees with the right view (aka the leftist view)--and no one takes charge (because that would be mean). Now that's perfection, bliss and enlightenment.

NY Dem Wishes President Mortal Harm

Neanderthal Alan Havesi seems to forget that even saying that you'd like to "put a bullet between his eyes" is viewed as a threat by those who protect the President, and rightfully so. Michelle Malkin calls it Bush Derangement Syndrome.

Since he's sorry though, that should make it all better. When surrounded by people who think just like you, utterly convinced of your own moral rightness, superior in your convictions, having contempt for anyone of a different opinion and owning the bully pulpit, it is so easy to speak from the heart.

Makes me think of the scripture, "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks." Havesi represents the hearts of many.

Iran & Diplomacy

Glenn Reynolds calls Bush a "Cold War Liberal" in respect to his approach to Iran. My personal feeling is that Bush feels that not enough political will allows him to act aggressively with Iran so he's pulling a Clinton--conceding the fight and letting the next administration pick up the pieces (of what is left of Israel if this is let to go far enough).

The End of Pretention

Katie Couric seeks an end to pretentious news delivery.

Buwahahahaha!

Cruising for Disaster

We may be going on a cruise, planning to anyway, but I keep reading stuff like this which makes me nervous. The other Dr. thinks cruises are "unnatural" because you're on the water for days and days. Everytime he hears things about hurricanes, he tsk, tsks about the cruise idea.

Ibuprofin Doubles Heart Attack Risk

Update: Sorry about the bad link. This one should work.

Doubles it.

Thats the OTC meds Motrin, Aleve and Advil, folks. NSAIDS all.

Please, please, please people, treat all OTC meds with extraordinary care and use them sparingly. Asprin kills more than 10,000 people a year. These medications change your biochemistry dramatically. Sometimes we are lured into complacency because they are over-the-counter.

Overcoming Adversity

Nancy Clark over at Success Strategies for Working Women linked to my post about Overcoming Adversity. She quotes Helen Keller who says:

Although the world is full of suffering,
The world is also full of the overcoming of it.

Go read her whole post on Women and Stress. I looked around and her website seems to be a great resource for working women. Hello, female executives who sqeeze in my blog every blue moon, perhaps you might hit her site too, in your spare time.

Speaking of adversity, my husband and I just cannot fathom and get over the Doctor who threw his children--his one child witnessed the death of his sibling at his own father's hands before dying himself--and then himself to their deaths. The whole thing is so horrible and sickening. How does that mother survive? How does she go on? Most of us will never see a day that bad. Ever.

The Keller quote was just what I needed.

600th Post Today! Celebrating Pleonasm

Over at Yahoo and on my Google homepages, I get a word of the day. The Yahoo words are always easy. I don't think there has been one yet that I didn't know. But today, a new word that essentially describes my blog popped up:

Pleonasm which means using more words than necessary to express an idea.

Ha! If that isn't the definition of blogging, or at least my blog, I don't know what is. Well, much as I try to be brief, non-redundant and insightful (not inciteful), sometimes I fail.

Pleonasm. Don't you just love it?