February 17th, 2011 admin
Erving Goffman, other researchers, and authors such as Lucy Grealy have vividly and movingly described the burden, emotional pain, and social isolation of people with visible physical deformities. Such disfigurements may result from birth defects, illnesses, accidents, or other causes. I’ve been struck by how similar the experiences of many of these people are to those of people with BDD. This makes sense. Because people with BDD think—and may be completely convinced—that their defect looks unattractive, even grotesque, it’s not surprising that their experience might be similar to that of people with actual disfigurement. Indeed, some people with BDD describe themselves this way: “I’m the third ugliest person in the world,” “I look like a burn victim,” “I look like the Elephant Man.”
Research suggests that people with facial disfigurements are very aware of their deformities and other people’s reaction to them. They feel stigmatized. They may assume that all of the behavior of others who interact with them is a reaction to their appearance. This awareness of being obviously deviant in a negative way profoundly shapes their self-concept and self-esteem, which may be quite low. The visibly damaged often feel a profound sense of shame and vulnerability to exposure, devaluation, and rejection. They may feel deeply defective and not quite human. These experiences are similar to those of many people with BDD.
Disfigured people generally need more energy to prepare for going out in public and must cope with emotional hurdles in social situations in which the defect will be visible. When they do go out into the world, they may hide the defect by disguising it. They often try to fade into the background rather than stand out “deviantly” in the crowd. They struggle to maintain self-esteem and be accepted by others. McGregor describes one reaction to facial disfigurement as “social death”—that is, badly disfigured individuals may cut off their relationships with the world and go into a closet existence. People with BDD— especially more severe BDD—experience strikingly similar feelings, fears, behaviors, and isolation.
*223\204\8*
AREN’T WE ALL CONCERNED WITH HOW WE LOOK? THE BURDEN, PAIN, AND ISOLATION OF ACTUAL DISFIGUREMENTErving Goffman, other researchers, and authors such as Lucy Grealy have vividly and movingly described the burden, emotional pain, and social isolation of people with visible physical deformities. Such disfigurements may result from birth defects, illnesses, accidents, or other causes. I’ve been struck by how similar the experiences of many of these people are to those of people with BDD. This makes sense. Because people with BDD think—and may be completely convinced—that their defect looks unattractive, even grotesque, it’s not surprising that their experience might be similar to that of people with actual disfigurement. Indeed, some people with BDD describe themselves this way: “I’m the third ugliest person in the world,” “I look like a burn victim,” “I look like the Elephant Man.”Research suggests that people with facial disfigurements are very aware of their deformities and other people’s reaction to them. They feel stigmatized. They may assume that all of the behavior of others who interact with them is a reaction to their appearance. This awareness of being obviously deviant in a negative way profoundly shapes their self-concept and self-esteem, which may be quite low. The visibly damaged often feel a profound sense of shame and vulnerability to exposure, devaluation, and rejection. They may feel deeply defective and not quite human. These experiences are similar to those of many people with BDD.Disfigured people generally need more energy to prepare for going out in public and must cope with emotional hurdles in social situations in which the defect will be visible. When they do go out into the world, they may hide the defect by disguising it. They often try to fade into the background rather than stand out “deviantly” in the crowd. They struggle to maintain self-esteem and be accepted by others. McGregor describes one reaction to facial disfigurement as “social death”—that is, badly disfigured individuals may cut off their relationships with the world and go into a closet existence. People with BDD— especially more severe BDD—experience strikingly similar feelings, fears, behaviors, and isolation.*223\204\8*
Posted in Anti Depressants-Sleeping Aid | No Comments »
May 8th, 2009 admin
Caffeine is the number one enemy for people who cannot sleep. This is present in coffee, tea, cola, cocoa, and chocolate. It is estimated that the average cup of coffee contains about 100 mg of caffeine, a normal serve of tea or cola contains about 50 mg, and a cup of hot chocolate about 10 mg. Caffeine is a strong stimulant. It has been demonstrated that three cups of coffee can totally cancel out the hypnotic effect of one sleeping pill. (250 mg of caffeine can reverse the effect of 100 mg of barbiturate.) Some people find that they cannot sleep at night because they have been drinking a few cups of cocoa or hot chocolate every night. It is very easy for us to forget that these drinks contain caffeine.
The caffeine cycle. There is a condition which I call the ‘caffeine cycle’. People who suffer from insomnia do not get enough sleep and feel sleepy in the daytime, so they drink a lot of coffee to keep themselves awake. This increases the caffeine content in their brains and, at nighttime, this stimulant reduces their chances of falling asleep. Hence they suffer from increasing insomnia each night, which leads to more and more sleepy feeling in the daytime. Consequently more and more cups of coffee are required to keep themselves awake in the day, and the caffeine cycle goes on. The only way to break the cycle is to stop drinking coffee altogether at the expense of feeling sleepy in the daytime for a few days. Ultimately, however, this will increase their chance of sleeping better at night.
Caffeine tolerance. There are people who drink ten cups of coffee a day, but do not have any problem sleeping. However, as we get older, our tolerance to caffeine deteriorates. Caffeine is absorbed and metabolized in the liver, then excreted in the urine. When we are older our liver is unable to handle the chemical as effectively as when we were younger. If you have sleeping problems, coffee and tea should be the first drinks to cut down on. If you still like a cup of coffee, why not try decaffeinated coffee? It is like changing from butter to margarine. After a while you become used to margarine and find it just as tasty as butter. The old technique of extracting caffeine by chemical solvents such as methylene chloride made most coffee drinkers suspicious of decaffeinated coffee. But the new technique is a water process, whereby warm water is circulated over the coffee beans until most of the caffeine is extracted.
Alcohol. Alcohol is to be avoided, although it may induce sleep in some people. After a few hours, when the effect of the alcohol has passed, alcohol drinkers experience a mini-withdrawal, wake up with a hangover, and find it difficult to fall asleep again. This is because alcohol has an extremely short half-life. There is of course the potential of addiction to alcohol if it is taken on a regular basis. Addiction means that you need a bigger and bigger drink each night before you can sleep, and you will also find that you cannot do without the drink.
Smoking. Smoking cigarettes is also detrimental to sleep. It has been shown that smoking delays the onset of sleep. Nowadays, in fact, more and more people are giving up cigarettes, not just because they are detrimental to sleep but also because they cause so many serious medical problems.
*68\174\4*
Posted in Anti Depressants-Sleeping Aid | No Comments »
April 29th, 2009 admin
This is the condition in which the man comes to a climax too soon. It is disturbing to the husband and even more disturbing to his wife. It is a complaint which women often make about their husbands to a psychiatrist, but rarely tell the husband himself for fear of hurting his feelings. And this is very wise too, as many men are extremely sensitive about such matters.
Premature ejaculation is a common symptom of anxiety. In fact, when we are anxious all our responses come too quickly—we rush at things, we move too quickly. If someone calls us, we turn immediately. There is no leisure about our reactions. It is the same in our sports. In tennis and golf we swing too quickly; when skiing we turn too quickly and the natural rhythm has gone from us. So it is in the sexual response. It is too quick. It is all over in a minute. There is no time for the easy flow of emotion; and both husband and wife are left unsatisfied. From talking with those who visit me, I believe that minor degrees of this condition must be very common.
The relaxing exercises reduce our anxiety. The special exercises concern the relaxing of the deep muscles of the parts. These muscles are basically similar in both men and women. In the women they have to relax to allow free and easy penetration; and the feeling of this relaxation helps the proper emotional response. In the man, a similar relaxation of these muscles holds off the climax, and allows time for both his emotional fulfilment and the biologically slower response of his wife.
*90\57\2*
Posted in Anti Depressants-Sleeping Aid | No Comments »