tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post7600352486450886795..comments2024-02-23T10:53:19.705+00:00Comments on Dare to Know: Could This Be Why France is Doing So Badly?Carlottahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12686469871331093679noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-42748635040821265632007-06-25T16:38:00.000+01:002007-06-25T16:38:00.000+01:00Is the UK doing that good?http://uk.news.yahoo.com...Is the UK doing that good?<BR/><BR/>http://uk.news.yahoo.com/skynews/20070625/tuk-fury-over-pathetic-sentence-for-chil-45dbed5.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-29785691887469775102007-06-23T18:03:00.000+01:002007-06-23T18:03:00.000+01:00Just realised what I said earlier could be interpr...Just realised what I said earlier could be interpreted as though I think all it takes to change is the desire to.<BR/><BR/>I *don't* think it's that easy, of course, and I would never patronise anyone who is unhappy with any area of their life by telling them "If you *wanted* to change, you would do it!" because, of course, neither life nor people are that simplistic.33, 452https://www.blogger.com/profile/05211879747055010173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-79296437778320361562007-06-23T16:04:00.000+01:002007-06-23T16:04:00.000+01:00"Yum, yum."Is highly subjective. I wouldn't trust ..."Yum, yum."<BR/><BR/>Is highly subjective. I wouldn't trust the "yum yum"s of a person who eats candy of the nothing-but-sugar-and-additives variety for instance. :P33, 452https://www.blogger.com/profile/05211879747055010173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-36926400398323849752007-06-23T15:48:00.000+01:002007-06-23T15:48:00.000+01:00"Though extreme sports do none of those things yet..."Though extreme sports do none of those things yet they're not seen as insane..."<BR/><BR/>Yes, they do. Knowledge on what the human body and technology can achieve in the physical world.<BR/><BR/>http://www.chocs.co.uk/<BR/><BR/>Yum, yum.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-61654272970918074762007-06-23T15:39:00.000+01:002007-06-23T15:39:00.000+01:00"Perhaps it has to do with how much it seems to be..."Perhaps it has to do with how much it seems to benefit society as a whole and if it brings new knowledge that helps mankind to evolve."<BR/><BR/>Though extreme sports do none of those things yet they're not seen as insane...<BR/><BR/>"I was also thinking it might help if obese people indulge in their eating pleasure but learn to do it more rationally."<BR/><BR/>Undoubtedly. :)<BR/><BR/>"Taste many different foods instead of eating a lot of the same."<BR/><BR/>Most people already do this, I think. Not everyone is like I am! :P<BR/><BR/>"Instead of tons of chocolate bought in a supermarket, what about joining a chocolate tasting club?"<BR/><BR/>The problem with that is that it would involve a huge change in one's mindset. <BR/><BR/>It would be a very positive change,of course, but such things can't be switched on like a light. They take time and work. <BR/><BR/>I try to do this. I try to see food in this way; to take pleasure in sensuality, rather than excess. But it isn't as easy to do it, as it is to think of it. <BR/><BR/>Often *the excess* is the addiction, rather than the food itself (which is more true in my case than I'd previously realised and I will think about it as soon as I've finished writing this).<BR/><BR/>There can be a "collecting" mentality in those of us who over-eat, a sense where excess makes a person feel safe. It's the same personality type as those who hoard their posessions and never throw anything away. As though we expect disaster to strike us any second and we are trying to "pack for the crash".<BR/><BR/>Of course, it *is* irrational. I wouldn't deny that. <BR/><BR/>The problem there is that, when something is "not rational" we can't address it rationally, as this is not the area where the "problem" occurs. <BR/><BR/>If a "problem" is an emotional one, chances are it can't be addressed through reason.<BR/><BR/>When behaviours are governed by the emotions, it doesn't matter how many reasonable and sensible suggestions are given for more sensible ways to behave; the change needs to begin internally.<BR/><BR/>And, of course, this needs to start with a positive *desire* to change. <BR/><BR/>If a person has no desire to change then they won't, and nor should they have to.<BR/><BR/>If they have only a negative desire to change (feeling bullied or pressured into it, for example) it rarely gives a person enough commitment to the idea to do the work (both internal and external)on themselves that is needed to effect the change. <BR/><BR/>Only a positive desire to change, a really *wanting* this change, can give a person enough motivation and resolve to undo the knots in their heads (both rationally and emotionally) and change their habits accordingly.<BR/><BR/>If this desire is absent, change is unlikely.33, 452https://www.blogger.com/profile/05211879747055010173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-59836439474163648552007-06-23T14:47:00.000+01:002007-06-23T14:47:00.000+01:00"Is it to do with identification, do you think? If..."Is it to do with identification, do you think? If people can imagine *themselves* wanting to do something it's heroic, if they can't it's insane?"<BR/><BR/>Perhaps it has to do with how much it seems to benefit society as a whole and if it brings new knowledge that helps mankind to evolve.<BR/><BR/>I was also thinking it might help if obese people indulge in their eating pleasure but learn to do it more rationally. Taste many different foods instead of eating a lot of the same.<BR/><BR/>Instead of tons of chocolate bought in a supermarket, what about joining a chocolate tasting club?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-62536245788004946842007-06-21T16:36:00.000+01:002007-06-21T16:36:00.000+01:00Thinking on what you said yesterday, anonymous (I'...Thinking on what you said yesterday, anonymous (I'll ditch the abreviation, but you'll have to surrender the capital "A" then! :P) this bit:<BR/><BR/>"Culture decided some risks people take with their health are insane while others are heroic" <BR/><BR/>is an astute observation. <BR/><BR/>Is it to do with identification, do you think? If people can imagine *themselves* wanting to do something it's heroic, if they can't it's insane?<BR/><BR/>The word "insanity" seems to be frighteningly close to being used as synonymous with "minority"...<BR/><BR/>I bet most people think home educators are insane, for example.<BR/><BR/>And this:<BR/><BR/>"Obesity is more about finding comfort in food above anything else. It's probably better compared to alcoholism, drug addition, etc."<BR/><BR/>is quite true. I got side-tracked thinking about the differences (and, in honesty, I was more than a little defensive for some reason) yesterday, but, on the whole, I think the analogy is a good one. :)33, 452https://www.blogger.com/profile/05211879747055010173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-36017614153170421592007-06-21T14:33:00.000+01:002007-06-21T14:33:00.000+01:00Thanks, Anon. Are you one and the same as the abo...Thanks, Anon. Are you one and the same as the above poster?Carlottahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12686469871331093679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-37244379662501433912007-06-21T12:52:00.000+01:002007-06-21T12:52:00.000+01:00Carlotta,I apologise if I misinterpreted you.Carlotta,<BR/><BR/>I apologise if I misinterpreted you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-79580749096428766622007-06-21T12:37:00.000+01:002007-06-21T12:37:00.000+01:00I have better things to do than to troll your blog...I have better things to do than to troll your blog. I read and comment on your blog because I am interested in the topic, not because I detests it. <BR/><BR/>If you don't value criticism ignore it or don't let it through. Simple.<BR/><BR/>You are getting awfully defensive and even patronizing because you don't want to admit a mistake! I'll drop it, but let's say I understand beyond what you want me to understand. ;)<BR/><BR/>Now, to go back on topic...<BR/><BR/>Doo you want to clarify what you meant by "bottom of the pile?" <BR/><BR/>Do you mean the Unicef report, where the UK is actually below France? Is this a "we are bottom but you're running there too" thing?<BR/><BR/>Wouldn't that be making Britain look a bit silly?<BR/><BR/>I mean, worry about your own country. How can it be better? Do you to be top of the pile in a Unicef report?<BR/><BR/>Should Britain look up to the Netherlands, which is top of the pile? As Unicef wants them, they forbid spanking. But also as Unicef wants them they made schooling compulsory.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-48199043911355972212007-06-21T12:22:00.000+01:002007-06-21T12:22:00.000+01:00There is a remarkable lack of common sense in psyc...There is a remarkable lack of common sense in psychiatry... <BR/><BR/>Observations have been made that depressed people have low levels of serotonin in the brain - from this there has followed a totally illogical assumption that depression is caused by this deficiency.<BR/><BR/>Did it ever occur to them that the simultaneous manifestion of two different things is not sufficent evidence to presume that one is the cause of the other? Or that it is just as likely that prolonged sadness could cause a temporary lull in serotonin levels that lasts only so long as the emotion does?<BR/><BR/>They assume the chemical deficiency causes the emotional upset, when it is just as likely to be the other way round! [rolls eyes]<BR/><BR/>This demonstrates such astounding ignorance and profound prejudice on the part of those involved in mental health research, that it should be enough to invalidate these decidedly UNprofessional and UNscientific opinions altogether! <BR/><BR/>I can imagine these researchers at home with their families:<BR/><BR/>Kid: Daddy which came first the chicken or the egg?<BR/><BR/>Researcher: The chicken did, poppet.<BR/><BR/>Kid: But, but, but... It's meant to be a riddle!<BR/><BR/>Researcher: No, pumpkin, the chicken came first. Chickens lay eggs you see.<BR/><BR/>Kid: But, but... Chickens come out of eggs too!<BR/><BR/>Researcher: What? Erm... Don't be silly! Anyway, it's past your bedtime.<BR/><BR/>;)<BR/><BR/>Adele33, 452https://www.blogger.com/profile/05211879747055010173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-55488319859753931932007-06-21T12:00:00.000+01:002007-06-21T12:00:00.000+01:00And...That the emotions felt by a "mentally ill" p...And...<BR/><BR/>That the emotions felt by a "mentally ill" person are not some twisted distortions of a misfiring brain, they are the normal reactions of a normal person to current or past stressful situations. <BR/><BR/>When a person breaks their leg, we don't assume that the fact they can't walk, and the pain that they suffer, is due to their inability to handle leg breaks, do we?33, 452https://www.blogger.com/profile/05211879747055010173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-80124801226829167932007-06-21T11:49:00.000+01:002007-06-21T11:49:00.000+01:00Which brings my chain of thought back to the anore...Which brings my chain of thought back to the anorexia/obese thing.<BR/><BR/>Someone who is killing themselves by under-eating is given the label "anorexic" - a mental health condition.<BR/><BR/>Someone who is killing themselves by over-eating is given the label "morbidly obese" - a self-inflicted physical health condition.<BR/><BR/>The differences in society's attitudes to the two groups because of the difference in the labelling in fascinating!<BR/><BR/>The moribdly obese person is given little sympathy, as their condition is deemed to be self-inflicted. They are assumed to be foolish, ignorant, selfish, lazy, greedy etc but *not* mentally ill.<BR/><BR/>The anorexic, however, is given a great deal of support and sympathy for an illness that is not their "fault". But they *are* deemed to be mentally ill and will have to carry that for the rest of their lives.<BR/><BR/>If both the anorexic and the morbidly obese person manage to reach a normal, healthy, weight; the formerly obese person is no longer chained by the prejudices that were associated with their condition. Whereas the former anorexic will bear that label for life - it will always be there - say if they wanted to adopt, their past history of anorexia would certainly be considered in-depth and may even lead to their application being refused, even though they are no longer affected by their condition. <BR/><BR/>While they have their weight problems, the obese person is treated with contempt and condemnation and the anorexic with support and sympathy. When their problems are over, the obese person is completely free of their history, and the anorexic is "watched", "monitored" and discriminated against.<BR/><BR/>So what's the answer here?<BR/><BR/>Perhaps we need to recognise that emotional problems happen and those affected by them deserve our support and sympathy, but that we, as a society, should stop treating a person's feelings and ways of expressing them as illnesses.33, 452https://www.blogger.com/profile/05211879747055010173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-83518554074046678082007-06-21T11:21:00.000+01:002007-06-21T11:21:00.000+01:00"Of course if I am "diagnosed" with such a "real" ..."Of course if I am "diagnosed" with such a "real" illness, anything I will say will certainly be deemed irrational and nothing I say will make any sense."<BR/><BR/>To take this out of current context and borrow it for the (sort of) original one:<BR/><BR/>That's the worst thing about labels. The label is always seen first, and the person second (and that's *if* the person gets seen at all).<BR/><BR/>Mental health labels especially do this. Those with such labels attached to them are no longer permitted to have moods or react to circumstances like the non-labelled population do - every emotion they display is deemed to be a "symptom". <BR/><BR/>This is, perhaps, the most horrific consequence of accepting a diagnosis - from then onwards everything the person says and does will be attributed to their "illness". Their humanity will no longer be recognised.<BR/><BR/>This is too high a price to pay to avoid bullying from unsympathetic and ignorant teachers and other such people. Labelling a child might make their life easier in the short term, but in the long term it could well destroy them. :(<BR/><BR/>Adele33, 452https://www.blogger.com/profile/05211879747055010173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-36980204734374794922007-06-21T09:52:00.000+01:002007-06-21T09:52:00.000+01:00"You are trying to make yourself sound proper with..."You are trying to make yourself sound proper with big words now, but saying exactly the same thing. You can't know how consistent it would actually be. Cerebral palsy is not the only set of neurological disorders who manifests motor problems like spasms, dyskenesia, ataxia, etc."<BR/><BR/>I am not sure about the merits or otherwise of trying to convey a message in public about the benefits of reading accurately, but the mild irritation that I feel when you repeatedly misrepresent what I write and the meaning of what I write spurs me to continue. <BR/><BR/>Of course it is possible that your remarks are deliberately obtuse for the purposes of trolling, in which case I write this not for you, but simply to clarify the situation for any other readers who may have made it thus far.<BR/><BR/>I never said that CP was the only way in which his symptoms could have been explained. I was trying to convey the problems he clearly had by saying that a diagnosis of CP would not have been incongruent. Do you really not understand the difference here? <BR/><BR/>"I think we could solve the problems we have been having"<BR/><BR/>"The problem I see here is you don't want to admit you made a mistake because it would make you look bad and spoil your popularity."<BR/><BR/>No, the problem is one of you, for a reason that is unclear to me, misunderstanding and misrepresenting what I wrote. <BR/><BR/>You should rest assured, I am fully acquainted with being unpopular as a result of the expression of my views in writing and in person, and I am also fully acquainted with changing my mind when I am convinced by good argument that I should. <BR/><BR/>"What about the etymological meaning of the word arrogant? Is that familiar to you? :P"<BR/><BR/>I think it has something to do with "arrogate" and is Latin in origin...so yes, I think so, but how does that pertain to the situation here? Please be aware that ad hominems are a reason for moderation on this blog.Carlottahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12686469871331093679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-47247826788686106482007-06-21T09:26:00.000+01:002007-06-21T09:26:00.000+01:00Dear Carl (or should I call you Otta?)"were of a k...Dear Carl (or should I call you Otta?)<BR/><BR/>"were of a kind that would have been consistent with a diagnosis of CP"<BR/><BR/>You are trying to make yourself sound proper with big words now, but saying exactly the same thing. You can't know how consistent it would actually be. Cerebral palsy is not the only set of neurological disorders who manifests motor problems like spasms, dyskenesia, ataxia, etc.<BR/><BR/>"I think we could solve the problems we have been having"<BR/><BR/>The problem I see here is you don't want to admit you made a mistake because it would make you look bad and spoil your popularity.<BR/><BR/>"in the etymological meaning of the word dyspraxia"<BR/><BR/>What about the etymological meaning of the word arrogant? Is that familiar to you? :P<BR/><BR/>"YOU were the one who imagined"<BR/><BR/>LOL! Brilliant, soon I am going to be pointed out as having a kind of something consistent with a diagnose of schizophrenia.<BR/><BR/>Of course if I am "diagnosed" with such a "real" illness, anything I will say will certainly be deemed irrational and nothing I say will make any sense. So yeah, poke people with that assumption, that will work.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-59149080903844175912007-06-20T19:27:00.000+01:002007-06-20T19:27:00.000+01:00"From dyspraxia we moved to cerebral palsy?"Dear A..."From dyspraxia we moved to cerebral palsy?"<BR/><BR/>Dear Anon,<BR/><BR/>That is a very poor rendition of what I said for the reason that it is likely to lead to conclusions about what I wrote but which I did not actually write. <BR/><BR/>eg: I did not say that this child HAD CP. I said that his problems were of a kind that would have been consistent with a diagnosis of CP. <BR/><BR/>I think we could solve the problems we have been having, Anon, if you made an attempt to read what was written, and in conjuction with this, made an attempt to understand what was meant. <BR/><BR/>"You saw a child didn't seem to have much motor control. That's what you saw."<BR/><BR/>Yes, that is what I meant and, as I have already explained, in the etymological meaning of the word dyspraxia, this is what I wrote. <BR/><BR/>YOU were the one who imagined I meant to imply that I had applied the DSM meaning of the word, which I did not and in fact, would not, use for the reason that I, much like the rest of human kind, have no idea what that term is actually meant to designate.Carlottahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12686469871331093679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-72268343938160560242007-06-20T17:49:00.000+01:002007-06-20T17:49:00.000+01:00Seems we cross-posted then, Anon! :)Seems we cross-posted then, Anon! :)33, 452https://www.blogger.com/profile/05211879747055010173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-18680096714315790032007-06-20T17:45:00.000+01:002007-06-20T17:45:00.000+01:00I think what we're looking at here is an intoleran...I think what we're looking at here is an intolerant society that has difficulty with the word "can't".<BR/><BR/>If people felt more confident to be able to stand up and say "I can't do x, y, or z" without feeling that this reflected badly on them as people, and if others would receive this information as exactly that, make no judgements, accept that people don't use the word "can't" unless they mean it and not try to challenge the person's statement ("Yes, you can! Everybody can! Look it's easy!" etc) then there wouldn't be any "need" for labelling at all.<BR/><BR/>As it is, labels bring a bizarre kind of prejudiced tolerance, which sounds like a contradiction, yet seems to apply well.<BR/><BR/>Labels give excuses to normal differences between individuals when *these need no excusing*. Labels excuse a person's identity. Can you imagine living as though you have to excuse who you are? "My personality isn't my fault; I have ADHD" - as though your differences are something to apologise for? :(<BR/><BR/>If a person has problems reading non-verbal signals or taking things too literally,for example, then they should be able to say "I have trouble reading non-verbal signals, and I tend to take things to literally" and that should be information enough to help others understand where they're coming from without having to muddy the waters with medical terms like ASD.<BR/><BR/>This is how it *should* be, but, unfortunately this is not the case presently and that reflects very badly on our society. :(<BR/><BR/>I am fairly certain that I could recieve a diagnosis of dsypraxia if I were inclined to seek one. I have terrible motor skills, hyper-sensitivity to sounds, smells etc, and varying other things that I can't think of off the top of my head. I was constantly in trouble at school for messy and lazy presentation of my work. I would be told that I hadn't taken care in drawing a margin, for example, when in actual fact I had made about twenty attempts to do so. Had I been a child today I would have recieved the diagnosis and the bullying by the teachers would have stopped.<BR/><BR/>It is this that leads people to mistakenly believe that labels are a good idea, when what we actually need is to understand and accept that different people have different strengths and weaknesses.<BR/><BR/>Had my teachers been able to do this then the bullying would never have *started* and I wouldn't have needed a label to stop it. People shouldn't have to open themselves up to a lifetime of prejudice and constrictive defintions, in order to be shown respect and understanding.<BR/><BR/>Adele (tired of being nothing more than a number in a faceless system! LOL)33, 452https://www.blogger.com/profile/05211879747055010173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-50144124387762130972007-06-20T17:34:00.000+01:002007-06-20T17:34:00.000+01:00Hi Carl,"When I say things like dyslexia or dyspra...Hi Carl,<BR/><BR/>"When I say things like dyslexia or dyspraxia, I personally take them to mean their etymological roots, and do not mean to convey anything more than a difficulty reading or difficulty moving."<BR/><BR/>Since they are DSM diagnoses you should avoid using such terminology in a child you don't even know.<BR/><BR/>"We are talking of the order of a child with reasonably severe problems such as one with CP, for example."<BR/><BR/>From dyspraxia we moved to cerebral palsy?<BR/><BR/>You saw a child didn't seem to have much motor control. That's what you saw.<BR/><BR/>I don't agree about labels being useful because they are for life and those problems might be temporary. You have to believe in the myth of the average child to accept a label judging their ability for this or that.<BR/><BR/>Having a paper in public databases saying you are not normal, that's quite a big thing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-42528655156061246032007-06-20T16:56:00.000+01:002007-06-20T16:56:00.000+01:00Hi Anon,"You cannot make a diagnose just by lookin...Hi Anon,<BR/><BR/>"You cannot make a diagnose just by looking at a child for a few minutes, no matter how much you have read about it." <BR/><BR/>Nor did I, nor would I dream of doing so, and I think it was merely a matter of using words in different ways which may have led you to imagine that I did try to do this. <BR/><BR/>When I say things like dyslexia or dyspraxia, I personally take them to mean their etymological roots, and do not mean to convey anything more than a difficulty reading or difficulty moving. I certainly would not mean to imply anything more by such designations and hope that this could be generally understood henceforth! <BR/><BR/>However, as a nurse in a former life, who did have responsibility for triage and history taking, I am pretty sure that I could have been struck off had I not been able to tell the difference between goofing around and genuine contractures and difficulty moving. We are talking of the order of a child with reasonably severe problems, such as one with CP, for example. <BR/><BR/>"You don't see a shy child and call the child autistic, and then go "well, I meant a child with non-specific difficulties in relating with others".<BR/><BR/>No, but this is not a fair comparison, as autism is a term which for me does not have a general meaning, though does designate a DSM. Nor would I assume that shyness was anything other than that. <BR/><BR/>However, if a child demonstrated severe difficulty with co-ordination, severe contractures of wrists, knees and hips, not much evidence of motor control, I think one could the difficulty moving!!! THIS IS ALL I DID. :) Geddit?<BR/><BR/>"Although violence against children under any guise should not be excused, you are most likely to criticise an ear pull that can be of little consequence than a parent that pathologises their children's human imperfections and makes them dependent on the psychiatric industry and very likely state compulsion for life."<BR/><BR/>I agree that this would be wrong. However, this is not what I did, as I hope you can understand. <BR/><BR/>There is another point here too...it can be harmful not to acknowledge neurological differences, since this too can lead to regarding a person as morally deficient, when sometimes, they are simply incapable. I have seen people with a complete and intractable inability to read facial and bodily expressions marginalised and bullied, despite extensive help from parents to get them to understand what people were saying when they didn't say things literally. The bullying and parental pressure stopped almost as soon as the child was labelled ASD and the child was simply allowed to then get on with playing to his strengths. <BR/><BR/>ie: labelling can have it's benefits too.Carlottahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12686469871331093679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-76189578608932088752007-06-20T16:38:00.000+01:002007-06-20T16:38:00.000+01:00Don't worry, 33....am enjoying the debate, and wil...Don't worry, 33....am enjoying the debate, and will try to do something to eradicate deleted comments permanently, though since blogger went over to google, haven't entirely got a handle on their new comment system, which appears to differ only very slightly, but thoroughly confusingly!Carlottahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12686469871331093679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-34133155449888769832007-06-20T13:19:00.000+01:002007-06-20T13:19:00.000+01:00Oops! I didn't realise it would leave the comments...Oops! I didn't realise it would leave the comments up and mark them as deleted! So sorry for making your comments box look messy, Carlotta! On mine it just removes the comments as though they never existed, and doesn't make such a mess, so I thought it would be the same here - I do apologise!33, 452https://www.blogger.com/profile/05211879747055010173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-19465603190943212942007-06-20T13:13:00.000+01:002007-06-20T13:13:00.000+01:00(Am deleting my last three comments, making a few ...(Am deleting my last three comments, making a few very tiny edits, and amalgating them into one for the sake of clarity! Hope that's okay, Carlotta!)<BR/><BR/>Do you think anorexia is just about a desire to be thin?<BR/><BR/>It isn't just about looks. Anorexic's look in the mirror and see something very different to what others see when they look at them. Their self-perception is distorted.<BR/><BR/>You believe an obese person should lose weight? So do many anorexics, and often anorexics believe that *they* are obese.<BR/><BR/>It can also be about fear of physical maturity. Starving ourselves of food stops our periods and desexualises our bodies.<BR/><BR/>Many anorexics (though by no means all) have been sexually abused.<BR/><BR/>The biggest factor is control. A person feels lost, frightened, and powerless, and they try to take what little control they can by pushing their bodies to the point of collapse.<BR/><BR/>To say that anorexia is about a person not wanting to be seen in a bikini is ignorant and unfair.<BR/><BR/>I never claimed that it was a "psychiatric disorder" or "insane" - I said it was highly complex and emotionally based.<BR/><BR/>"There isn't usually a goal like in anorexia."<BR/><BR/>True. That's a big difference. Though the anorexic's "goal" is more complex than you accept. <BR/><BR/>"It's a vicious circle of sorts, because the more weight you gain, the less opportunities to find other sources of enjoyment in life you have."<BR/><BR/>Again, very true. However many of us are not *gaining* weight - so the circle isn't there! :) <BR/><BR/>"Obesity is more about finding comfort in food above anything else. It's probably better compared to alcoholism, drug addition, etc."<BR/><BR/>It's good that you recognise the comfort thing, as I think that's frequently the biggest factor.<BR/><BR/>But re the alcoholism/drug addiction compasion:<BR/><BR/>Alcoholics and drug addicts can't "just cut back a little" and obese people can't "go cold turkey".<BR/><BR/>It is harder for an alcoholic to quit as they have to quit completely. Drinking in moderation is not an option for an alcoholic.<BR/><BR/>At the same time, the fact that it is not possible to quit eating completely makes it harder for an obese person addicted to over-eating (not all obese people have this "addiction" of course; just talking about those who do) to quit, as for many people it is harder to do something in moderation than to simply stop doing it altogether.<BR/><BR/>Plus alcoholics and drug addicts have to go through terrible withdrawal symptoms when they quit their addictions. Whereas, the worst an obese person is likely to get is a mild de-tox headache.<BR/><BR/>An alcholic or drug addict can remove drink and drugs from their environment, so they aren't immediately accessible in moments of weakness or temptation. An obese person can't do that with food.<BR/><BR/>Thinking on the anorexia/obesity similarity/differences thing some more, I think the control thing is the biggest difference. Many obese people feel out of control so stop trying to gain it. Some anorexics feel out of control so fight even harder to gain it.<BR/><BR/>I guess society finds the latter excess more palatable than the former?<BR/><BR/>And, just as an obese person may find comfort in excess; an anorexic may find comfort in control.<BR/><BR/>On reflection, I do agree there are certainly many differences between anorexia and obesity. The two conditions are actually opposite extremes in many ways, but they can be opposite extremes of the same basic problem that often originates from the same emotional origins.<BR/><BR/>(Did I *really* just say that something can originate from the same origins?? Not up to my usual high standard of eloquence that... LOL!)<BR/><BR/>Just to clarify, I am certainly *not* saying any of this applies to all obese people or all anorexics- I hope that's clear.33, 452https://www.blogger.com/profile/05211879747055010173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11652148.post-71837409601783719362007-06-20T12:41:00.000+01:002007-06-20T12:41:00.000+01:00This comment has been removed by the author.33, 452https://www.blogger.com/profile/05211879747055010173noreply@blogger.com