Bunny’s TMI

No word on the house yet. Had to wear my mules today since I kicked the tub faucet yesterday morning and sliced open my heel. Got my external drive and laptop back thanks to Meow picking them up on his way in. Just gotta reinstall my laptop, find a way of syncing my laptop and external drive and then start recovering my pictures. I grabbed the few I had up on cafepress. Flickr and Shutterfly will take longer since I have a LOT there. A lot of it is overlap, but not all of it. The only recipe I think I might have lost that I want to recover is the pepper cookie one from the Princess.

Some good articles on touch on Psychology Today:

You Can Touch This
A parent or infant’s touch can convey emotion as well as a facial expression or spoken word.

By: Matthew Hutson

“At birth, touch is the most developed sense. But scientists have always thought touch conveys only a general positive or negative affect. According to a paper in the journal Emotion, touch can communicate distinct emotions—about as well as faces or voices. People “expressed” 12 emotions to a stranger who had put his arm through a curtain. Recipients guessed six of the emotions well above chance, scoring between 48 and 83 percent. MC Hammer didn’t know what he was missing.”

Touching News
An interview with Tiffany Field, founder of Touch Research Institutes, explains why healing is all in our hands.
By: Nancy K. Dess

The good bits:

What are some of massage therapy’s important effects?

Babies gain more weight, sleep better and relate better to parents. Their brain waves indicate more alertness, and they learn faster. Kids with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or autism also become more attentive. MT alleviates depression, too. It decreases stress hormones and increases serotonin, the body’s own antidepressant. It also improves sleep. That relates, I think, to MT’s alleviation of pain syndromes, such as fibromyalgia and migraine, which seem to be exacerbated by sleep disorders.

MT also alters the immune system. In autoimmune problems such as asthma, lung functions improve and asthma attacks decrease. Immune cell counts improve in people with HIV. In a breast cancer study, natural killer cells are increasing, which is good, because they kill cancer cells. The list goes on.

Any practical advice to offer?

Everybody needs to either get massaged by a therapist or a significant other, or self-massage by doing yoga or using a long-handled shower brush. Being touched in this way is as important as proper diet and exercise, and should be part of one’s regular daily activities.

What happens when people don’t get their share of touch?

Touch deprivation impairs development. Romanian nursery children, for example, were stunted, and MT helped them grow. Interestingly, nonhuman animals that are touch-deprived not only lose weight but become aggressive. In a study of 49 non-industrialized cultures, groups showing physical affection toward children had little adult violence; in groups that were less affectionate to kids, adults were significantly more violent.

Bonobos, an ape closely related to us, live in intimate physical contact with each other—and they’re pacifists.

That’s fascinating. This principle seems to apply generally. In a study, we found that there exists more physical affection toward children and less aggression among adults in France than in the United States. The power of touch in our lives seems rooted in our nature, as individuals and as social beings.

The Grown-up Picky Eaters Club
Kids may palm off veggies to the dog, but some adults are still just as finicky.

The parts I relate to:

“Pelchat has found that certain textures are an even bigger turn-off than tastes for many picky eaters.”

“Others cringe at “inclusions,” such as nuts or raisins embedded in muffins—even if they enjoy eating such snacks in their pure form.”

“The adult picky eater was almost always a choosy child”

“And those who harshly punish non-plate-cleaning children … exacerbate the situation.”

Though the guy in the article is waaaaaaaay more extreme, I have none of the problems mentioned in on his site pickyeatingadults.com. I’m not at all bothered by or ashamed of my pickiness, and don’t care at all about others being surprised or annoyed. Plus I can almost always find something that I’ll eat at any event or restaurant. I know what I like and what I don’t, and why (taste and/or texture) and I see no reason to suffer by eating things I don’t like.

A related article:

Food: The Science of Scrumptious
Why do we loathe lumpy food, pick at our plates, and believe that chocolate will cure all ills? They say there’s no accounting for taste, but science is giving it a try.

“In short, we’re all weird about food. An anthropological analysis found that more than a third of us reject slippery food like oysters and okra. Twenty percent of us don’t like our foods to touch on the plate. The next time you wander a grocery-store aisle packed with jars of pickled jalapeños and boxes of instant scalloped potatoes, consider this: One-fifth of us eat from a palate of just 10 or fewer foods.

The rich blend of instincts and habits that shape our eating patterns has baffled biologists. Although, new knowledge of the neurological highways that connect gut and brain, combined with psychophysical studies probing the perception of flavor, has shed light on the gourmand within. The study of “hedonics”—the pleasure of eating—has determined that we are hardwired to prefer sweet and avoid bitter and that the love of fat seems to be an acquired taste. The flavors we sample while we’re still in the womb stay with us into infancy and perhaps well beyond. And, as anyone who has heard the call of a cream puff at 3 a.m. will not be surprised to hear, eating beloved foods stimulates some of the same neural pathways as addictive drugs like cocaine. Other research suggests that our stomachs may literally be thinking for us: A separate sensory system located in the gut sends subliminal messages to the brain about what’s good to eat and what’s not.”

Interesting article:

How Not to Talk to Your Kids
The Inverse Power of Praise.
By Po Bronson

I definitely can relate to the - I’m smart, this thing is hard, so therefore I should focus on the easy stuff and forget about the hard stuff “logic.”

So, hard drive is unrecoverable. But as upset as I was I managed to not cry about it, or do anything really stupid (like driving to Sac through nasty Friday rush hour traffic to get my external drive to start recovering data to) and just went home early to relax with the kitties.

At some point I realized that the stuff I cared about losing was the stuff I’d created - and really that stuff was just a part of me. And as my pirate pointed out, I could recreate it. It’s not like I lost a finger or an eye or something. So I managed to have a relaxing and productive weekend. Got more stuff done in the den, and the tree undecorated and put away. Projects left to do are get the curtains up and put the lights up in my bedroom.

I really want a dishwasher, so I’m looking into getting a free one via Craigslist possibly.

I also managed to pick up the bug spray I like from ACE about five minutes before they closed on Saturday. The other day I had to clean up an infestation of queen ants and their drones (they all had wings) that tried to get in my bedroom window. So definitely time to spray around all the doors & windows for bugs.

I like the organization concept behind this medicine cabinet idea. Using stuff you’re storing anyway, to organize other stuff, thus saving space. Doesn’t look bad either!

I really like how this lamp looks, and was trying to think how to do something similar but cheaper involving a shaped hole puncher or three and heavy paper or light plastic sheeting. I can never find affordable lamp shades I like so I have a bunch of lamps with bare bulbs.

The same company has these great little mirrored shapes… or shaped mirrors to decorate with.

I would love to use this adorable espresso set to serve tea in, or maybe even ama-zake. The saucer is petal shaped, and the cup handle is shaped like a twig. The spoon looks like leaves.

I need speakers at some point for my computer/media center. These JBL Spyro’s are soooo cute! The satellite speakers are shaped like flowers. I doubt I’d actually go with just a 2.1 system though.

Clocky runs & hides if you snooze the alarm! Now that’s a good way to get forced to wake up on time. You have to find it to turn it off!

I prefer the glide rocker I have (less chance of pinched kitty paws or tails - or kid’s hands for that matter) but this rocking chair’s shape is just downright sexy.

This is a spiffy little bag cushion play thingy.

Happy Heartbreak - it’s funny, just watch the commercial. (And for those who are slow, no it’s not real.)

Still trying to sell my WoW trading cards.

Seven Things I Learned from World of Warcraft by John August

[Private Content Removed]

Sex by Schedule
The link between sexual behavior and your hormones, and why regular sex is good for you.
By:PT Staff

Biologist Winnifred Cutler found that regular sex is good for you. It orchestrates a woman’s body biologically, regulating the flow of hormones that make it fertile and, in turn, increase well-being. It also props up testosterone levels in men.

Embrace once a week. Weekly intercourse—but not less—tunes the menstrual cycle to 29.5 days, optimal for fertility and general endocrine health.

Here’s the tricky part: the findings mandate monogamy. Only committed relationships allow sex so regularly. If regular sex is not possible, then it’s better to abstain altogether. That’s because intermittent sex drives hormones wild, sending estrogen to lower lows (and higher highs) than the more moderate lows of celibacy. (Lows are responsible for bone loss, depression, and even heart disease.)

Banish the thought that you can keep yourself hormonally humming with your own hand. It isn’t the orgasm but the presence of another person, preferably male, that does the trick. Men add chemicals that fire off nerve signals to the brain and alter endocrine patterns.

Saturday I got to hang out with Meow which was great since I’ve been missing having him across the hall from me. We did a bunch of stuff around the house, though we didn’t quite finish any of the projects - but I can finish them off on my own or with my pirate since Meow got the complicated stuff done or figured out. I also had some of the scrap wood left from having cabinet bottoms made cut in half and set up as extra shelving in the den, so it’s really coming along.

Sunday I mostly relaxed with the kitties and did a few chores, then grabbed dinner from the Nugget with MM (I got the sushi which was pretty good) and then we watched some Orphen since that was the only thing we could get to play on my old dvd/ld player.

Monday was more relaxing & chores and then my pirate made it back early and surprised me.

I love three day weekends.

Got the official offer on the house the other day, just sent in the counter offer today. *fingers crossed* Hopefully they accept and we can get into escrow and be done before April! That would be an awesome birthday gift.

Got my will & power of attorney stuff set up, I just need to figure out where it is going and tell my folks where that is so they can find it if they ever need it. Probably going in my black rolling hanging file cart. After that I went to SubQ and got my piercings reopened - so I only had to buy the earrings, saving over $20. Yay! And pain free too. I even really like how the little rings look and they’re totally comfortable when sleeping or on the phone. Then I hit Godiva for the post V-Day sale, which they dropped to 25% instead of 50% sadly. I still got two boxes plus a mini box for a friend.

I was really nervous getting my ears re-pierced. After being flaked on by another piercer in town I called SubQ even though it’s a bit of a drive for me. They were much more informative and reassuring. The guy there was able to reopen my old piercings at no charge and though he said it might hurt about the same as piercing I’ve had no pain (this was a week ago). They were even out of the smaller diameter rings and he had someone go make a pair for me in about five minutes. Really friendly, great atmosphere, I’d definitely recommend them to anyone thinking of getting pierced or even just buying jewelry. Customer service is important to me, and they have it!

- They don’t have a web site yet so I can’t link to it, but I submitted the above review on 4-5 sites.

So far causes of 2 day headaches have been:

Precurser to getting sick (solution - exercise more & eat better & stress less - better immune system).

Wearing contacts for two weeks (solution - wear contacts every other week).

I have something new to talk about with my therapist next week. I thought it was just a bad habit I hadn’t managed to break….

All from articles on: http://www.ocfoundation.org/

Compulsive Skin Picking (Neurotic Excoriations)

Exerpt from the
Jenike, Baer, Minichiello book,
“OCD: Practical Management”
(1998, Mosby)

Neurotic excoriations are lesions produced by patients as a result of repetitive skin picking (e.g., Gutpa et al., 1987; Stein et al., 1993). The behavior takes the form of an extensive cleaning ritual (Van Moffaert, 1992), and the patients intend to remove small irregularities on the skin. In more severe cases the habit is uncontrollable and may turn into an urge to dig deep into the skin. Unlike patients with dermatitis artefacta, those with neurotic excoriations usually admit the self-inflicted nature of their lesions (Gutpa et al., 1987). Skin picking occurs secondary to delusions of parasitosis, but these patients have a psychotic character and differ from those with typical presentations of neurotic excoriations.

… The lesions are in areas of the body that the patients can easily reach, such as face, upper and lower extremities, and upper back (Obermayer, 1955). They are usually a few millimeters in diameter and crusted, weeping or scarred (Griesemer & Nadelson, 1979, Obermayer, 1955). The excoriations are produced with fingernails or small instruments such as tweezers or pins. Picking occurs most frequently in the evening or at night (Freunsgaard, 1984; Zaidens, 1964).

Visual inspection and touching of the skin often precedes picking. Patients describe an uncontrollable urge to pick blemishes, and a temporary feeling of relief when blemishes are removed. This is soon replaced by a sense of disgust, depression or anxiety (Phillips & Taub, 1995).

Stressful circumstances usually increase picking behaviors. Some patients describe being in an almost trancelike state while picking at lesions. Patients often report that they try to resist the urge, but they usually find it difficult to control. A few of the patients we saw in our clinic looked somewhat disfigured because of scarring that resulted from skin picking. Most of them had mild acne. Patients were very embarrassed about their behavior and camouflaged the resulting lesions with make-up or clothing. Skin picking typically does not occur in the presence of other people. Occasional patients reported picking at other people’s skin. Several studies described patients suffering from neurotic excoriations as “perfectionistic or having obsessive-compulsive traits, depressive symptoms, anxiety, hysteria, hypochondriasis” (for a review see Gutpa, et al., 1986). The lack of modern diagnostic criteria limits the value of these studies. Skin picking has many similarities with OCD, since it is ego-dystonic, repetitive, ritualistic and temporarily relieves tension (Gutpa & Gutpa, 1993; Stein et al. 1993; Stout, 1990). The compulsive and self-destructive quality of the behavior also resembles nailbiting and Trichotillomania. …
Demographics and Course

No data is available on the rate of occurrence of neurotic excoriations in the general population, but the incidence is estimated to be 2% among dermatology patients (Griesemer, 1978). Prevalence is higher in women than in men (Freunsgaard, 1984; Fisher & Pearce, 1974) and the mean age of onset is in the range of 30 to 40 years. However, some researchers reported a peak in the 20s (Obermayer, 1955). The intensity of compulsive skin picking seems to fluctuate, and the mean duration of symptoms is reported to be 5 years (Seitz, 1953) with the majority of patients having symptoms for 10-12 years (Freunsgaard, 1984).

Treatment

Although dermatologic treatment may help to improve the skin condition, the treatment for neurotic excoriations is primarily psychiatric. Several case reports describe that these patients benefit from treatment with serotonin reuptake inhibitors (Gutpa & Gutpa, 1993; Stein et al., 1993; Stout, 1990). In our anecdotal experience, the patients responded well to the use of SRI medications and/or with behavior therapy. Sometimes, symptoms have been completely eliminated with these approaches.

—————–

Some disorders that closely resemble OCD and may respond to some of the same treatments. They are trichotillomania (compulsive hair pulling), body dysmorphic disorder (imagined ugliness), and habit disorders, such as nail biting or skin picking.

————

What if I feel as if I’ve failed because I need a drug to help me?

A way to think about the use of medication for OCD is to compare your illness with a common medical disorder such as diabetes. There is growing evidence that OCD is, a neurologic or medical illness not simply a result of some problem in the environment or of improper upbringing. As the diabetic needs insulin to live a normal life, some OCD patients need anticompulsive medication to function normally. Diabetics often feel angry and upset about having to take insulin. There is no evidence that OCD is a result of anything that the patient or their parents have done. It is best to consider it a chemical or neurologic disorder affecting a part of the brain.