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HOW BDD AFFECTS LIVES – SOCIAL CONCEQUENCES – EFFECTS ON SCHOOL AND WORK: “I HAVEN’T MET MY POTENTIAL”

admin — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 15:01:21 +0000

“If I’m supposed to be in a meeting at work but I have blemishes, I don’t want to go,” Dan said. Alicia didn’t work at all because of her appearance. “I’m too ugly,” she said. “I don’t want people to see me and comment negatively.”
As I showed in table 8, 90% of the people in my studies experienced interference with work, school, or other important activities. When they considered the period when their BDD was at its worst, 10% of people said that BDD interfered with their work or school functioning only mildly, whereas 30% said it interfered moderately, 23% severely, and 34% extremely. Eighty percent said they had periods when they completely avoided work or school. Like social difficulties, problems in this area range from relatively mild to extremely severe. Most people find that their preoccupations and rituals make it harder to focus and concentrate. They become less efficient. Grades or job performance may drop. Extra time may be needed to make up for time wasted on BDD-related thoughts and behaviors.
People with BDD may be late for school or work or not go at all. They may be reluctant to interview for jobs because they assume they’ll be rejected because of how they look. Those with more severe BDD may never even try to get a job or may quit school or work. They may become financially dependent on others. As table 8 shows, a high percentage of people avoid school or work, or drop out of school altogether.
Elizabeth, a fashion designer in her thirties, had been obsessed with her “rat’s nest” hair for ten years, ever since she’d gotten a bad haircut. She thought that the shape wasn’t right and that it looked a mess. “It’s the first thing I think of in the morning: I think ‘My hair looks so awful!’ I have nightmares of having been widely acclaimed for her innovative work, she hadn’t been employed for the past four years. “I’ve always been told how much promise I have, but I’m so upset by my hair that I can’t work,” she said. “I’ve passed up lots of opportunities, all because of my hair. I can’t work because I’m so depressed and demoralized. I don’t want people to see how I look. I worry I’ll never be pleased with my appearance.”
Erica, fourth-grade teacher, couldn’t do her job as well as she’d like. “Sometimes when I’m teaching I feel okay. But then I look in a mirror, and I get down and want to leave school. I start obsessing about my skin—it’s what I think about for the rest of the day. It’s like a carousel in my mind. The thoughts go round and round and never stop. ‘Does my skin look okay? Is it red? Do I look rashy?’ It’s hard to focus on the students and their needs. By the end of the day, it’s affected my teaching. I’m obsessing, and I feel agitated and depressed.”
Reggie dropped out of his band because of his appearance worries. “I was too self-conscious to perform,” he said, “and I couldn’t groom my beard the way I wanted on the road. The other guys in the band thought I was crazy.”
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ALCOHOLISM TREATMENT TECHNIQUES AND APPROACHES: CLIENT RESPONSIBILITY

admin — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 15:00:45 +0000

The counselor expects the client to assume responsibility for his actions. You do not buy into the client’s view of himself as either a pawn of fate or a helpless victim. An ironic twist is present. You make it clear that you see the client as an adult who is accountable for his choices. Simultaneously, you are aware that an alcoholic, when consuming alcohol, is abdicating control of his life to a drug. By definition, an alcoholic cannot be responsible for what transpires after even one or two drinks. Therefore, being responsible ultimately means that the attempt to manage alcohol must be abandoned. Here again, facts about the drug, alcohol, and the disease, alcoholism, are important. A large chunk of the client’s work will be to examine the facts of his own life in light of this information. People’s ability to alibi, to rationalize, and to otherwise explain away the obvious varies. But the counselor consistently holds up the mirror of reality. You play back to the client the client’s story. You share your observations. In this way the client is enabled to move toward the first step of recovery: admitting the inability to control alcohol.
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SEX AND DREAM: EXERCISE THEORY

admin — Fri, 08 May 2009 09:32:09 +0000

From research conducted in sleep laboratories, we know that dream erections occur irrespective of the kinds of dreams a man is having, even if the dreams have nothing to do with sex. Male erections coincide with each period of REM sleep night after night without exception. It is difficult to explain with Freud’s theory why all males from young boys to geriatrics have exclusively sexual dreams every time. Dream erections are a basic physiological function of the body and have little to do with the psychology of the mind or the contents of dreams.

Whenever we want to understand the importance of some biological function of the body, we try to observe what happens if that function fails, as, perhaps, in some illness. In the case of dream erections, we look at the illnesses that prevent erections even during REM sleep. This condition is called secondary impotence, in which the patient is unable to have an erection at any time after a physical illness. W. Masters and V. Johnson of The Reproductive Biology Research Foundation in Missouri are leading sex therapists. In their book Human Sexual Response they state: ‘… data … suggest that the penis of the secondarily impotent male attains states of pathological hyperinvolution (when compared to previously established norms), after two to four years of unremitting impotence.’ In other words, the size of the penis begins to shrink. Many geriatric patients with secondary impotence have shrunken penises—some of them are nearly non-existent. Hence, if the penis is not in use for a period of time, it involutes and becomes functionless.

This in fact happens to other biological functions. If a part of our body is put out of use, it will waste away. Paraplegics, often the unfortunate victims of car accidents, completely lose the use of their legs. After a few years the muscles of the legs are wasted and shrunken because they have been unable to function for so long. However, the arms are very muscular and well developed, much more so than before the accident. This is because they have the regular exercise of pushing a wheelchair.

We read in the Bible how man first came to populate this planet. Adam ate the forbidden apple, and Eve got pregnant. From then on there were little Adams and little Eves. Of course, with the apple alone, Eve could not have got pregnant. Our Great Creator had developed a special exercise program for Adam’s penis. Whether Adam liked it or not, his penis was being exercised regularly night after night whenever he entered REM sleep. This regular exercise prepared Adam with a strong equipment, so that he could use it on the night he ate the apple.

Theory states that dream erections are physiological functions, important for the propagation of mankind. Further support for this theory could be obtained by studying other animals to see if they have dream erections during REM sleep, as this may be essential for the propagation of their populations. Of course one can still argue that the animal is having a sexual dream.

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THE SELF-MANAGEMENT OF ANXIETY: KEEP THE FEELING OF RELAXATION DURING YOUR EVERYDAY TASKS

admin — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 10:22:30 +0000

It. is good to achieve mental relaxation and calm during the mental exercises. But we want more than this. We want the calm and ease of mind to carry through in all the aspects of our everyday life. So once we have mastered the relaxation of our body and the relaxation of our mind, the next step is to consciously sustain the feeling of mental relaxation. At first it is easiest to practise this when we are doing relatively simple things, such as walking slowly along the street. During the course of the day when we have to pause or wait for something, we can consciously practise our exercises by allowing ourselves to recapture the feeling of relaxation of our mind. Although we have to do this consciously at first, we soon find that it comes naturally of its own volition. Gradually this ease of mind begins to penetrate all through us, as it were, so that it is with us in all that we do.

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