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No Picnic In Sight
Upon being diagnosed with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, I saw the reality behind the greatest myth of mental illness, the myth that The Victim Is Unaware of His or Her Own Condition. A childhood flooded with media depictions of the mentally ill had lead me to believe that the afflicted had somehow been robbed of their objectivity, thrown into a dark hall-of-mirrors beyond the realm of rational perspective. Nonsense. My rational mind remained intact, albeit uncomfortably so. From the lighter corner of my mind, I watched darkness flow in. Obsessive images of violence and amorality. Urges, or rather, "pseudo-urges" to do things I did not want to. Yin (the rational mind) duking it out with yang (the imbalanced, irrational mind) on a daily basis. The word "Hell" was used often when describing this state. I'm certain that the suffering of many leads to punctured objectivity and the loss of rational self-awareness. Fortunately, I remained aware. No matter how awful I felt, I could at least articulate what was going on. The power of descriptive articulation should not be underestimated. It keeps the disorder in context as a disorder, preserving a firm boundary between the right mind and the ill mind. For me, imagining such a boundary was a vital survival tool. I focused on finding a day when Yin overran Yang, so to speak. The afflicted mind has difficulty inspiring itself to seek assistance. What a complex entity the mind is; even in sickness, it has only itself to rely upon. Unlike somebody with a broken leg, a person with an anxiety disorder cannot lean on his or her other mind. Overcoming mental duress is like trying to kiss your own lips. Quite tricky, but possible with enough imagination. Imagination and resourcefulness, that's what it comes down to. These strange ailments go just as they came. I knew that elements of my mind were strong; the challenge was getting these elements to positively influence the weaker ones. This required many analysts, many appointments, many schools of healing. Psychology, psychiatry, homeopathy, reflexology, reiki, energy healing-- these were all thrown in the pot to little avail. Finally and unexpectedly, acupuncture provided balance. I've improved significantly. I thank acupuncture and I thank my supportive family, but, most importantly, I thank counter-mythology: even when afflicted, the human mind sees itself. And in itself, it sees solutions. About The Author Eric Shapiro is the author of "Short of a Picnic," a collection of fictional stories about people living with mental disorders.
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Alternative Medicine The Myth of Mental Illness "You can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world, but when you are finished, you'll know absolutely nothing whatever about the bird? So let's look at the bird and see what it's doing that's what counts. I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something." Are Observations Objective? On the outset all observations may seem to be objective, but in reality subjectivity tends to shape the objective observations. The observations can be categorized into three for better understanding Objective, Subjective, medley of subjective/objective observations. HypoManiacs Often Misunderstood Are you a Hypomaniac? If you are you have some definite advantages over others. Hypomaniacs are often superstars in their fields, but they are often misunderstood by those who work so hard to profile personalities and put individuals into neat little boxes. The 5 Hindrances of the Mind: Are They Blocking Your Self-Esteem? The issue of self-esteem is perhaps one of the greatest determinates in creating a life of freedom and abundance, or feeling inhibited and "just getting by". Self-esteem is defined as "a feeling of pride in oneself". It is how you feel in relation to yourself rather than how others see you. It's between you and, well? you. Therefore, it's not necessary to be so concerned about what others think to determine your level of self -esteem, as the definition does not include any "others", just you. So where can you help yourself to better understand you? There are so many aspects of you but one that is of great importance is that of your mind. Time Out of Mind Let us first consider the role of time in our lives, then let us consider that role in terms of mental illness. Buddhists and Hindus, among others, propose that time does not actually exist. The Western world, however, with its dependence on clocks and deadlines, scoffs at such a notion, relying upon sayings such as "Time is money" and "Time is of the essence." What is Narcissism? A pattern of traits and behaviours which signify infatuation and obsession with one's self to the exclusion of all others and the egotistic and ruthless pursuit of one's gratification, dominance and ambition. Split Personality - A Myth or a Reality? Introduction Eating Disorders and the Narcissist Patients suffering from eating disorders binge on food and sometimes are both anorectic and bulimic. This is an impulsive behaviour as defined by the DSM (particularly in the case of BPD and to a lesser extent of Cluster B disorders in general). Some patients develop these disorders as a way to self-mutilate. It is a convergence of two pathological behaviours: self-mutilation and an impulsive (rather, compulsive or ritualistic) behaviour. Parapsychology: Maximizing Effectivity Of Targeted Controlled Remote Viewing Techniques Individuals with a solid working knowledge of Controlled Remote Viewing (CRV) have undoubtedly encountered the "plateaus" experienced at various levels throughout the ability's development. An Easy Cure For Math Phobia Why is it that one person enjoys math, while another person hates it? Anti-Social Behaviors and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Anti-social behaviors are common with ADHD individuals. About 60% of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder kids are also oppositional or defiant. Some are even getting in trouble with the law. Hypnotic Myths Even though hypnosis has been around officially since the 1700s (Franz Anton Mesmer), there are still questions as to its validity and benefits. For the most part, these questions stem from fear and ignorance. Regarding this subject, it is generally assumed that what you don't know can hurt you. People's viewpoints on hypnosis vary according to what their experiences have been and what they've heard. Biometrics ABSTRACT The Mind, Information, and Attitude Information is flowing to us at a great rate. The radio, television, the internet, advertising, newspapers and magazines are giving us information all day. We also receive information from the people we associate with in our daily lives. This article discusses some of the ways that our minds, both conscious and subconscious, process and use that information. Solution Focus Process: Solution Talk vs. Problem Talk Pt I Solution Talk vs. Problem Talk Narcissistic Personality Disorder - Who is a Malignant Narcissist? QUESTION Number 1 - Who is a Narcissist? Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is Not Related to I.Q. It's important to know that Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Intelligence, as measured by I.Q., are two different things. Christian Psychotherapy for Convicts? Repeated research studies have revealed that secular efforts at rehabilitation have been unsuccessful in preventing recidivism. Not one of the various approaches to psychological counseling has been able to demonstrate success statistically in helping inmates rehabilitate. Among nearly 300,000 prisoners released in 15 states in 1994, 67.5% were re-arrested within 3-years. A study of 1983 releases estimated 62.5% (Langan and Levin, Bureau of Justice Statistics, June 2002). Animal to Animal Telepathy There has been much study on Telepathy in the animal kingdom. Many have experienced telepathy from human to human. Some have experienced telepathy from pets, both sending and even on rare occasion receiving. There are so many studies that show it is not coincidence or explainable by probability. In fact the statistics are so strong that after reading only a few studies and pitting that against your own observations in your ego-centric life experience that any normal human would have to agree. Synchronized Swimming Advantage for Twins The Olympic Contests for Synchronized Swimming are a testament to the natural human ability of telepathy. What we find in College and University Level synchronized swimmers thru observation and data of the top athletes is that those teams which have been long time friends seem to have a mind connection, which far surpasses generally accepted scientific knowledge. Those synchronized swimmers that are twins have even a greater advantage, as results show that twins are often some of the top performers in the sport. These observations are quite obvious and statistically too high to be coincidence.
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