herbiejuan

will wonders never cease :D-->

I'm special

I've been around gay n lesbians since I was a kid. Growing up in the San Francisco area it was one of those things that sorta just came into being for everybody, not much fuss was ever made about it. This of course was when the Mitchell Bro's were expanding First ammendment rights by filming porn in SF, dope dealers were openly selling lbs of pot openly in Berkley and smoke outs were popular events at concerts. I was also raised Catholic and was aware of at least three gay priests not to mention some nuns that just looked well .... by someone... So anyways lol I never had much perception problems with lesbians EXCEPT those rare few who seem to have a fantasy of castrating males As far as gay men are concerned, I fell pretty much the same way but I do feel threatened when approached for sex, I think I developed it in response to and reaction to a situation I walked in on when I was an altar boy.

:D--> Glad for ya Vino!

J I agree with the above posters, Geer isn't THAT difficult to locate, why not do a bit of digging and call him yourself. I did have POP read to me when it came out but our extwig coordinator wouldn't allow anyone to hold or read it for themselves but I do recall alot of confusion on both sides at the time which prompted me to quit attending twig.

Oh lets quit dancing around the topic, twi's leadership was full of crap.

Way to Go Oh RascalOne !! :D-->

Chronic stress releases hormones, most notably cortisol and adrenaline which, if allowed to run amuck can cause the bodys immune system to start attacking itself which is what causes rheumatiod arthritus and several other quite common ailments. Now I realise what I just said makes no sense for someone looking for a cure for chronic pain, but it will if I relate it to ya in terms of what happened (and worked) for me. A number of years ago I was under a great deal of stress. I was also suffering from head and abdominal pain of undetermined origion and ocassionally heart palpitations. I spoke with my therapist about it and she suggested I practice meditation to lessen the symptoms. So I did I first began with my headaches (which were almost unbearable). I lay on my bed with the room darkened and focused on that area of my body, imagining the knot up there unwinding itself. This took several tries but eventually the pain went away never to return :)-->. Since then I have shared this with other folks who have achieved similar results. My abdominal pain was a bit more stubborn. It included short stabbing pains that felt like a hot poker was stuck in there and a constant ache but it too left as I cleansed my mind of the stress and visualized the tension I had stored there going away :)--> this took several months to unwind but did. My heart palpitations took the shortest time of all as I only had two attacks and both times immediately sat down, calmed myself and began telling myself over and over, this is not a heart attack, just my bodies reaction to the stress I was under and if I didn't panic them worse just might go away on their own. This calmed me (and prevented them from becoming worse due to stressing needlessly over them) :)--> My chronic fatigue also responded in similar fashion as I reduced the stress and took better care of myself. My energy increased to the point where today I have a good level of energy tho not near as much as when I was 20... So what I humbly suggest is, practice meditation eat healthy, drink PLENTY of purified water, get a handle on any stressors in your life and (if your daring) take a toke and see if that helps. There are still a few outdated medical practitioners who poo poo anything outside of their little world as being quack medicine but they are closed minded arrogant fools (imo) as there are plenty of practioners getting great (documented) results by treating physical problems from the holist point of view (not necessarly herbal).

Now I am not suggesting your symptoms are *all in your head* or that any of us are more crazy than the rest of us (we are all damaged to one extent or another) but simply include what is going on in your head along with any natural or conventional treatment options you should choose to use. btw I seem to have forgotten to include my conclusion so when I find it I'll post it.

Hi Dove, I did a paper recently for my abnormal psych class dealing with stressors and health. From my few years on this board I've come to the conclusion that we all had more than our share of them. Abstract: Anxiety and panic disorders are common today. They affect close to 15% of Americans in any given year. These disorders are generally caused by major life stressors such as physical or emotional trauma coupled with a biological vulnerability. These events cause a flight or fight reaction in the body which if left untreated can cause heart disease, angina irregular heart rhythms headaches and in extreme cases, death. Cognitive behavior therapy shows promise as a viable treatment option for patients exhibiting stress related disorders by allowing them control over their thought process and thereby mitigating the effects of this disease. This paper is designed to explore the connection between anxiety disorders and their relation to physical sickness and disease. Is there is a connection between the two and can treating one lessen the severity of the other? Are there treatment options that can mitigate the effects of long term stress and how does this relate to the primary diagnostician, the nurse in determining the most beneficial treatment program for a patient suffering from physical symptoms of undetermined origin. Methods: I have used online psychiatric journals as well as medical textbooks and reference books to obtain the data for this paper. I have initiated a Galileo search using key words anxiety, stress attacks as well as searched the above stated material looking for references to anxiety attacks and physiology. Intro: Anxiety disorders are quite prevalent today. According to the National Institute of Health, “Approximately 19.1 million American adults ages 18 to 54, or about 13.3 percent of people in this age group in a given year, have an anxiety disorder” and “approximately 2.4 million American adults ages 18 to 54, or about 1.7 percent of people in this age group in a given year, have panic disorder.” (NIH) Stress is the body’s physiological response to a stressor which is an event or change requiring adaptation. (Barlow et al. G-14). Stress can cause the body to release hormones and chemicals in response to the flight or fight syndrome. “Because the hypothalamus is the neural clearinghouse for both autonomic (visceral) function and emotional response, it is not surprising that some people under acute or unrelenting emtional stress fall prey to visceral illnesses, such as high blood pressure and heartburn.” (Marieb 455) These chemicals while beneficial in the short term can cause the body great harm if allowed to continue. Anxiety attacks cause negative mood states coupled with physical tension and apprehension over the future. Physical symptoms of anxiety disorders may include: • Sensation of shortness of breath or smothering • Dizziness or faintness • Palpitations or pounding heart • Trembling or shaking • Sweating, chills, or hot flashes • Feeling of choking • Nausea or upset stomach • Numbness or tingling • Chest pain or discomfort • Fear of dying • Fear of losing control • Feelings of unreality • Feelings of detachment ( Smyth) According the National Institute of Mental Health : “Depression and anxiety disorders may affect heart rhythms, increase blood pressure, and alter blood clotting. They can also lead to elevated insulin and cholesterol levels. These risk factors, with obesity, form a group of signs and symptoms that often serve as both a predictor of and a response to heart disease. Furthermore, depression or anxiety may result in chronically elevated levels of stress hormones, such as cortisol and adrenaline. As high levels of stress hormones are signaling a "fight or flight" reaction, the body's metabolism is diverted away from the type of tissue repair needed in heart disease.” (Depression and Heart Disease) There is also a suggested link between certain types of behavior known as low emotional expressiveness and cancer: “In addition to work in the cardiovascular area, emotional suppression/repression has been examined in relation to caner, Indeed, low emotional expression is a key feature of a “type C” behavior pattern that has been suggested as a possible cancer risk factor.” (Contrada et al. 67) Thus it becomes clear that anxiety and panic attacks (and mood disorders in general) can cause significant physical problems. This becomes problematic when the patient shows up at his or her Physicians office complaining of them particularly if such symptoms are taken on their own and not considered in terms of their co-morbidity with psychological issues. This then poses a dilemma to the nurse practitioner in that treatment of the physical symptoms may provide little genuine relief without psychological treatment as well. It then becomes clear that it is vital to conduct a life history study to determine if the presenting problem (irregular heartbeat, abdominal pain etc.) are caused by a physical problem or if in fact they are psychological in origin particularly if the patient presents the same problems through repeated visits without significant improvement via traditional medical care. “The nurse can expect to see symptoms in any of the dimensions of the person; for example, the stress of the crisis may exhibit as an emotional instability, a physical illness or an inability to concentrate. These reactions to the stress of crisis are highly individual; information from the client about past history and coping will assist the nurse to recognize and interpret the varied symptoms of crisis for an individual.” (Frisch et al. 167) Smyth, Angela . "Panic Disorder." 19 2004. Medical Encyclopedia. National Institute of Health. 23 Nov. 2004 http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000924.htm Marieb, Elaine. Human Anatomy & Phsyiology. 6th ed. San Francisco: Benjamin Cummings, 2004. Barlow, David , and V.Mark Durand. Abnormal Psychology. 4th ed. Belmont: Thomson Wadsworth, 2004. , . (2002, may ). Depression and heart disease. National Institute of Mental Health, NIH Publication No. 02-5004. Retrieved Nov 21, 2004, from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/depheart.cfm. Contrada, Richard, and Max Guyll. Handbook ofHealth Psychology. 1st ed. Mahway: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers, 2001. Frisch, Noreen , and Lawrence Frisch. Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing. 2nd ed. Albany: Delmar Thomson, 2002.

:)--> Shell, thanks I couldn't have worked through this without the help I got from you and a couple of folks from here, many thanks to you and those who listened to my venting. This could have ended even more tragicly than it did because terminating the sob was a very real option (for me) at the time. Nearly everything on the wheel rings true in my situation, from telling the spouse she can leave, just with no $ or property, to talking through the children (or girlfriend), to getting others (including the town drunk) to do their dirty work to minimizing the damage done, not only to the spouse but also to the children and grandchildren. This long term abuse led to a very low self esteem for my ex spouse and deep seated belief that she and her children (and me) were losers, this inspite of them (and her) being bright intelligent caring individuals. And of course this person feels totally self justified and blameless. The heaviest part of the whole thing for me was the secrets which prevented me from knowing what was going on and made my job that much more dificult. I was told (recently) that I could of tortured her (the ex spouse) and she wouldn't have told me what was going on. The upside to this is I was also asked if the codependant cycle can be broken to which I said yes but with a lot of work.

Thanks for the wheel Shell :)--> Recently I spoke with an exinlaw who apparantly believes I did nothing during the recent family troubles. I suppose 50-60 therapy sessions, two co-parenting classes (one lasting 8 weeks, the other 2), making sure my kids got off to school on time with a full stomach good attitude and work done counts as nothing. I suppose understanding what my ex was going through and trying to stay connected enough for when the meltdown happened counts as contributing nothing... But then I think from whom this came, This came from the woman who didn't press charges against the abuser even tho his criminal behavior continued to escalate and eventually led to serious emotional consequences for all involved.

:)--> Ex

Sky I agree and have been pondering this very topic since I got up this morning (and before I saw yer post oddly enuf). I think twi's theory of believing is founded in practical truth. Practical because it is the first step towards accomplishing ones goals, namely becoming clear on what one wants. This isn't magic nor really THAT big a spiritual truth as any good manager visionary or crackpot dictator will tell you, clarity of goals is the first thing one must do to achieve said goals. Heck every profitable company in America has whats known as a mission statement which essentially is nothing more than the goals the org wishes to *believe* into manifestation. A mission statement in and of itself is worthless unless it is accompanied by clear concise movement towards said goal. This is where many folks in twi failed, they kept imagining something coming to pass (a better job, new car, pretty girlfriend etc) yet never got into the doing part. It is by putting ones words into action that goals can be accomplished, NOT setting at home SIT'ing like a house afire. That will be $250 thank you very much, Dr Herbie yer one stop shop for truth justice and the capitalistic way ;)-->

What will be interesting is when these adopted kids decide they want to meet their birth mother. Has twi taken that into consideration? What will their policy be? Will they respond like they did with the cemetary or will they be a bit more *helpful*?

No Just temporarily unavailable If you go to the *GO* button at the top of the page and click on it there is a button that will direct you to another chatroom.

A well tanned reprobate mind you ;)-->

Happy B'day Paw

I don't see any real reason to reinstate the draft, even with another terrorist attack because there would be so many redblooded american kids voluntarily signing up to whoop a little terrorist tail, there would be little need for one.

Have a good one

MJ you are right when you said: and they love denial it's such a warm fuzzy safe place, until it all comes crashing down and then the excuses and more denial or whatever but... it sure would be nice if twi would admit, even in an roundabout way that they are human too and have made mistakes They really should close down the Ohio facility and relocate somewhere with better weather. I mean shoot if I was running a cult I'd at least pick someplace with decent weather and a decent view of the ocean or sumthing... Oh and form a seperate non profit to see after that elder housing you suggested

I never could imagine why folks were so psyched to go to these weekends... We usually went to Florida for the holidays, I told them it was a long standing committment to go, that we would have an opportunity to speak the word to someoneoranother and we'd contact and attend a local twig if time and schedule worked out. We called it our vacation time, went to Shell Island (betcha didn't know Shell had an island named after her now did you) and playing in the ocean.

Very Cool Bow :)-->

I think we are all damaged people. I think abuse is more common than people are aware of. I think keeping those kinds of secrets is bad and the more we talk about it, the less it will happen. I think this is a touchy subject.

Neither girl was mine, one was the daughter of a restarant manager where I clean glass the other a friend of one of my kids neither girls actions could be misconstrued. There are 3 million children currently being sexually abused in this country. And for every one case of child molestation reported to the authorities, there are at least two that go unreported. 1 in 4 girls will be sexually abused by age 18. 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused by age 18.