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bearsbybeesley Nov 28, 2005

I love Patti Duke! Her and I have a few things in common! I must say I love red wine! I hated the taste of liquor until 2 years ago! Go figure?? I think it was meno P....! Garnet says I am no longer a cheap date! His problem I figure!

Many Hugs Louise

bearsbybeesley Nov 28, 2005

Oh yah Judi! SPAM!!!!

Many Hugs Louise

shantell Nov 28, 2005

Daphne....

Je'anne'  (those little ' are suppose to be above the e's...I don't know how to do it on here) the the J is pronounced like the Zs is Zsa Zsa...with the ea pronouced like a long O...

Don't ask...I swear my mom was on drugs!!!

Je'anne' Shantell

jazzyrags Nov 28, 2005

Well i think we all go good together

Dilu Nov 28, 2005

Oh Franny baby darling girl, I am so sorry.....I get them too, and cluster headaches as well as regular headaches...and my migraine med is 19 dollars a pill- Maxalt.  I am afraid to use it because I don't get auras so I am never really really sure until the vomiting starts.  It drive hubby crazy, he wishes I would take it right off the bat.

PollyPsych Nurse wants you to know the following:  If you never think to take the pain killers until you have the pain you aren't addicted. (For migraine sufferers I would mitigate this statement to when you feel the headache starting to knock on the door)  It is only if you take them just because and not for pain that you might have a problem.  Keep that in mind.

And when you have pain like that who cares.....?

Take the medication.

A few nights ago I woke up from a bad dream where I was about to use a gun to blow away my head.  When I woke up I realized why I wanted to....  

You really do begin to think that life would be better if you weren't part of it because the pain is so debilitating.  And you can't cry cuz that makes the pain worse.  :wacko:

I'm so sorry.....

What my friends don't know;

My birth mother got married (That's where my half sisters come in- it is really interesting to see a black lady who looks like me- and she thinks its funny to see a white lady who looks like her) and my step father didn't want any of her previous kids around so good old mom gave us all away.

She was crazy, and an alcoholic and drug user.  And my adopted mom is bipolar untreated and a closet librium user.  I grew up absolutely convinced that I was insane.  Another reason for my fascination in aberrant behavior and the psychology of psychopaths.  I was convinced I was going to be the worst of both moms.

It wasn't until I went to college the first time and was able to observe family life from a different perspective, and able to experience healthy family life through friends, that I realized,  ( this is really scarry) I wasn't the crazy one.

So I got therapy....(figured it might help) a lot of it.

  Then became an ANCC certified Psych Nurse and moved through the ranks at my job really quickly to the position of evaluation and doing the 5150's .  And it helped me to truly evaluate benign crazy and mean crazy and the down right evil.

Yes Elizabeth, there really is evil.  And Maybe a Santa Claus.

  And it, evil resides in man.  And sometimes there is nothing on earth that will mitigate that evil. 

Intelectually I understand and can predict behavior based on the patterns I see in an evaluation.....but my heart has a really hard time with evil and what man does to man because of it.  Even now, after all these years, I keep thinking things will change.  :(

My son hated my job though because to survive at that kind of a job you had to learn the 'tells' and 'tics' a person has nearly immedietly to know if they are lying.  Prior to that I was pretty naive about him and what he was up to.  :lola: :lola:

So all you ladies who are embarrassed about your anti depressants, listen up!:

The anti depressants help balance out your brain chemistry- those quirky chemicals that run back and forth across the synapses that help make you tick. 

You aren't crazy, you aren't weak willed, you aren't a failure at ANYTHING! 

In our society it takes a strong person to admit there is something out of whack and to go to the doctor and have it evaluated. 

It takes a strong person to recognize the need for help and ask for it...

In the old days they would have drugged us out of our gourds on opium elixir and alcohol and kept us locked up in a room somewhere.....Yikes!

Just ask Mrs Lincoln.

So hugs to all and to all a good night....(HA coming back and no I am not going to add the butalbital to the codeine.......oops that was another post! 

:hug:

Stephanie Nov 28, 2005

Here Here Dilu!! All bow to your great and wonderful wisdom! WE ARE NOT WORTHY!!!!!

I fully agree, like I said, it's just a little serotonin problem. There are a lot worse things to have.

I used to get a lot of migraines too. The works; auras, nausea, tingly fingers, etc). They stopped when I finally removed all wheat from my diet. I guess it was the trigger for me.

SEE!!!! We are all just a bunch of nuts!!!

bearlyart Nov 28, 2005

I feel so bad for those of you who are suffering with chronic conditions.  Take care of yourselves and remember to hug a teddy when you need to!  I always wish I could say something a lot more useful.
:cry:

To answer the original question... hmmm, let's see.  Here's something that isn't exactly common knowledge with a lot of people.  My first two majors in college in the late '90s were psychology and horse training.  (Yes, you can major in the latter.)  I intended to go into sports psychology, so it actually did make sense at the time.  Did just fine until I got handed a nutcase colt to break my sophomore year, that had ISSUES bigger than the schedule we had to work with him in.  I got put in a very stupid situation with him one day (not my stupid, either) and got to ride the bronc around the arena until he did a lovely spinning-rearing-bucking-ducking maneuver that landed me in the doorway flat on my back with a CRACK.  (Interestingly enough, the same horse also almost tore someone else's finger off while he was there and left it mangled.  When he was shipped back to his equally nutcase owner at the end of the semester, I heard through the grapevine that she had someone else ride him for her and he almost killed the woman.  Sheesh.)  So back to me on the floor, because this story gets better.  I had a friend take me to the local emergency room (over my protestations of 'NO drive me another 20 minutes to Bowling Green!').  Anyway, the backwater town's little emergency room basically said 'Yeah, you landed really hard.  You're urinating blood, so you hit your kidneys.  We had someone else in her earlier that fell off a horse.  We went to the trouble of doing x-rays on her and there wasn't anything wrong with her, so we're not going to do x-rays on you.  Go home and take Motrin.'  I reminded them 'I heard something crack when I hit the ground.' and they said 'uh huh.'  After having been knocked silly, I was woozy enough to say 'OK!' and went home.  Two weeks later, in excrutiating pain, I drove myself 7+ hours home on bad winter roads and my parents took me to a hospital in NY.  I had a broken back.  Fun, huh?  The doctor said 'if you had re-injured your back in those two weeks, the break probably would have gone the rest of the way through the vertebrae and affected your spinal cord.'  Ho hum.  So that's how I got into computers, when I was laid up with a broken back...

And now on to happier subjects,
Kelly

SueAnn Help Advisor, Banner SponsorNov 28, 2005

Oh my, Kelly . . . wow - so glad you didn't re-injure your back!  Well, I guess the good that came from that is your expertise in computers; however, getting that knowledge because of a broken back is a little extreme!!

doodlebears Celebration AmbassadorNov 28, 2005

Secret huh! Well I don't have too many secrets but when I was nine years old I was in the park with my sister and two friends when I saw one of the girls had something in her hand. Being nosey and liking to know everything I asked her what she was holding, she turned around and I soon found out. She had taken her much older brother's flick-knife. As she turned she released the catch and the knife flew open and sliced deeply into my arm........OUCH!!!!! There was blood everywhere. What to do!!!! My sister was rushing me out of the park when a man and his wife saw me covered in blood. They took me to their house just across from the park and bound my arm in a huge bandage. I was scarred stiff as these houses were police houses and the man and his wife were both police officers. I told them that I had cut myself on a broken bottle. This was the same story that I told my parents and to this day (many years on) I have stuck to the story. It  should have been stitched up but never was so I have a scar across my arm.
Now see what power you gals have...I've broken my silence!!

Oh yes a big confession...I love veggies, except parsnips...yuk!!!!!

Jane. 

jazzyrags Nov 28, 2005

Jane why did you keep that from everone for so long?

doodlebears Celebration AmbassadorNov 28, 2005

Hi Fran, I didn't want my friend to get into trouble for having the knife and as a child being so innocent I thought she would go to prison.

Jane. 

All Bear Nov 28, 2005

Hmmn *scratches head* tricky.  I think I'm an open book ...

Howsabout - I only passed my driving test a year ago?

That's about as mysterious as I get! 

patsylakebears Nov 28, 2005

Oh yes a big confession...I love veggies, except parsnips...yuk!!!!!

Jane I love my veggies and even parsnips baked ...... it is years since I have had spam Judi ..... use to get it alot when I was a child .....use to like it then

kbonsall Nov 28, 2005

I have a tatoo on my lower back on my right side (it is a sun which is the exact same tatoo as my hubby's (which is on his shoulder blade and his is much bigger)... I also have my belly button pierced..

Judi... I dont sleep with my teddy bears... there is always one on my night stand and I always take one on long car rides or on trips....  you probably all think I am nuts!  Danni's OJay is on my nightstand I love him to bits....

Eileen Nov 28, 2005

I think I'm probably too much of a blabbermouth to have any secrets left, but I'll rehash.

I'm 61 and barely notice--unless in a bridal shop full of beautiful flawless almost-brides, when it hits me all of a heap!! Too many mirrors at too many angles. No escape.  :lol:

I'm on antidepressents and will fight to stay on them. They gave me myself back, after years of stressful struggling with my youngest daughter's Anxiety Disorder and OCD. We're both much better, but I'm not giving up my meds, hear?

I talk to squirrels, other people's dogs and cats, just about anything that moves and breathes.

Nothing scares me much, except preying mantises.  I don't talk to them.

What else. I usually terrify my poor Hubs by embarking enthusiastically (and expensively) on new projects. So far, fortunately, I've been right.

The thing that's suprised me most about myself is my huge capacity for patience with kids and teenagers. I love tutoring them. Who knew?

Eileen

kbonsall Nov 28, 2005

Oh also, SueAnn I have a scar on my forehead too!  my siblings and I were out in our yard when we were younger and our parents werent home.... we were playing with my dad's golf clubs that we were told not to play with and my sister did a huge swing back with her club and cracked me in the forehead... i blacked out for a minute and realized that I had blood all over... it was bad!  when my parents came home, I told them that our aluminum ladder for our travel trailer was lying on the ground and I stepped on the end and it flew up and cracked me in the head... this happened when I was about 14... I had bangs for years afterwards.... I just told my mom three years ago what REALLY happened... she just laughed and said that she didnt believe the story about the ladder! Also... I have two brothers and a sister..... I have had asthema since I was 7... but it is ok now... just when I run or have a chest cold does it rear its ugly head!

kbonsall Nov 28, 2005

Nothing scares me much, except preying mantises.  I don't talk to them.

Eileen

they are freaky lookin things... look like aliens! I dont like clowns or spiders... everything else I am ok with.... dont mind mice or snakes just hate spiders! blech!

MerBear Nov 28, 2005

I got my first tattoo last year at age 57. My Mom died suddenly a couple of years ago and since she loved daisys my five sisters and I decided we would each get a daisy tat in her memory. The funny thing is that she's up there calling us a bunch of idiots but probably laughing her head off at us.

I love most veggies but unfortunately have a weakness for chocolate and licorice.
I was obese for years (250 lb) but at age 52 joined Weight Watchers and lost 120 lb in 2 years. Then after my Mom died, depression came and I've gained 40 lb which I'm trying to get rid of again.

I'm still a cheap drunk, which my husband appreciates. One drink is about all I can take at a time.

I suffered from cluster migraines for years but the actual pain from the cluster stopped about ten years ago and now I only get the side effects, if that makes sense. The only thing that helped was demeral and sleeping pills so I would spend a week or more in lala land.

Oh, and I've worked  in a law office but am not actually a lawyer so that should count in my favour.

I would dearly like to stop taking my depression meds but I'll listen to Dilu and stay on them for at least the winter. 

Marion

Daphne Nov 28, 2005

So what is the link with depression, bi-polar, anxiety disorders, etc. and teddy bears?

If you went to a glass blower's forum and asked what their mental/physical challenges were do you think they'd have the same problems?

I'm sure it has something to do with the cute, cuddly, comforting powers a teddy bear has to make us feel better as we go through our trials but so many of us have gone beyond collecting to actually making them.

***rubbing chin*** Very interesting!

I don't know about you all but I'm proud to be a teddy bear addict and relish every moment I get to be a child while playing with them! I talk to all of them! It's a nice break from reality! (I also talk to squirrels, chipmunks, moose, bunnies.........maybe even a praying mantis if I had the opportunity but NOT a spider!!!!)

Hugs from the non-depressed child and the totally frazzled adult in me!
Daphne

Deb Nov 28, 2005

I thought it might be fun to ask if there is anything about you that we didn't know about you and maybe even close friends of yours don't know about you?

I don't think I'll "tell all" on a public board, but ... hmm ...

- Like many others, I treat for anxiety/depression.

- I also treat for an "acquired" seizure disorder.  Which I guess means it's probably a result of one of those accidents when I was in my 20's.

- I had a lot of responsibility for my younger siblings when I was young.  I was helping my Mom by doing laundry and preparing meals at 13.

- I'm definitely more introverted than extraverted.  I've been told before that I'm unapproachable.  I absolutely don't mean to be, but am sometimes perceived that way.  I know I'm always holding something back though.  Much less here on TT, than in my daily life.

DebbieD Nov 28, 2005

Well, I can't say I suffer from any disorders or anxiety attacks (knock on wood), but I do have lots of friends that suffer from them, and bipolar, and the Winter Blahs (can't remember the proper name for it). 

I DO still sleep every night with my teddy, and sometimes drag him downstairs to watch movies with me.  Hubby gets rather jealous of all the hugs my bear gets 

Helena Nov 28, 2005

The whole depression/anxiety/panic thing puzzles me too..... I've noticed in recent years how just how many women (mostly women) suffer and how many are on medication. That's just my family and friends. I wonder if it's always been around or do more of us suffer it now?

Bear-making is definitely my escape from real life..... 

MerBear Nov 28, 2005

I have to think it's always been around but previously when we went to the doctor they'd give us valium....oh for the good old days.

Marion

Shelli Retired Help Advisor, Banner SponsorNov 28, 2005

Shelli, Patty Duke spoke at the TOBY Awards Banquet when Linda Mullins hosted it at her 2001 August show and did mention her battle with being bipolar.  Her parting words were, "Thank goodness for Teddy Bears!"

Yes, I've read a lot about her disease process over the years, most of which she's offered herself.  She's very much helped to normalize and de-stigmatize bipolar disorder by putting a human face on it... and a beloved one at that.  Her connection to teddy bears makes it only that much more acceptable!

I do find it interesting that many of us here struggle with the need for some seratonin-reuptake-inhibition, to keep more of that feel-good stuff floating around... and that there are health issues across the board.  Literally.  Perhaps it is the warm, cuddly, feel-good nature of bears themselves, and all the implications of snuggly warmth and denning and just plain being hugged and held and safe that draws many of us to them, as much as any kind of artistic drive or talent or inquisitiveness or attraction to the form.  It's just... fascinating!  I love stuff like this, which I can't quite wrap my head around, but which my gut tells me has an underlayer of "something more than the eye can see..."

Sandi.S. Nov 28, 2005

Well, let's see here...

I have a tatoo on my ankle that I got when I was 16 while my parents were away on vacation. It's starting to look crappy and faded now. I also had my navel pierced but had to take it out when I was pregnant. Well, I don't know if I had to, but I got so damn big I thought my belly would rip open if I didn't take it out. Never put it back after the birth because it wouldn't go back through. And that's okay, because now I have a tummy that no one needs to see!

I've already come out of the closet for not liking chocolate...thanks for not kicking me out of here! Actually, I don't like too many sweets at all. I never get a birthday cake because I hate cake. I got a pumpkin pie with Happy Birthday written on it for my last b-day. I do like fruit pies and cheesecake. mmmmm

I love animals of all kinds. I talk to anyone and everyone's pets. Spiders don't get killed at our house. I catch them in a glass and take them outside. Now, I don't like them the same way as kittens and puppies, but I love them as one of God's creatures. Plus I don't want my daughter to be scared of spiders and other creepy crawlers, so that means I can't be scared of them. So, yes, when they are caught in the glass, I talk to them also to show my daughter there is nothing to fear. Oh, and I should have a bumper sticker that says "I brake for birds". I'm always scared I'm gonna hit one if I don't slow down.

Okay, here's the weird one...I have self-diagnosed myself with obsessive compulsive disorder. I'm no clean freak or have to wash my hands obsessively, my problem is peeing.  :redface: For instance, I have to have an empty bladder before I can go to sleep. I can go to the bathroom before bedtime and if my fiancee talks to me for 2 minutes after we lie down, I have to get back out of bed and go to the bathroom again. I panic when I have to go to the OBGYN because I know that the doctor will never get to my exam room immediately after I have went to the bathroom. So I sit in that little room driving myself crazy because after I'm in the gown, I want to get dressed again and go back to the bathroom. Actually, I have done that a couple times!

Here's a bit that isn't top secret but for my sister's sake I'm not advertising to all of my friends. But I doubt you're gonna tell anyone! My sister wants to have a baby but she can't because after so much trouble with endometriosis, both of her ovaries were taken out. So she asked and I agreed to donate eggs to her. We're just starting the whole process so maybe in a couple months she will be pregnant. I really hope it works, she has wanted a baby for so long. I'm very glad to help her but the process itself has me a little freaked. I will have to take meds for 3-4 weeks by means of giving myelf a shot. The first week it will be 1 per day, then the next 2-3 weeks I will have to have 2 per day. The doctor said it will be similar to giving oneself an insulin shot so I'm hoping that Judy will tell me that it's not that scary.  Also, once I start the second med I will have to go to the doc every 2-3 days over 2-3 weeks for an ultrasound. We're not talking the kind on your tummy like when you're pregnant, but the more "invasive" type. Yeah, that will be fun with my peeing problem!