Selfie

My mom is new to the world of cell phones.  When she first got her phone she would text me asking what commonly used acronyms meant.  Turns out my brother was communicating with her using some complex language she didn't understand.  So she used her daughters to break the codes for her: lol, wtf, ttyl and other commonly used acronyms used in texts, emails and even *gasp* when people are talking.  Yeah, I know, it bothers me too when people say 'lol' instead of just laughing.  I don't get it either.

Foot in mouth disease, I have it.

"Because I am hard, you will not like me.  But the more you hate me, the more you will learn.  I am hard but I am fair." - Gunnery Sergeant Hartman

I looked back in my posts to see if I had written the story of how my father gave me away as an infant. But I couldn't find the story.  Suffice to say when I was a baby my father, who was kind enough to pass on his legacy of lunacy sprinkled evenly among his fine children, gave me away to my grandmother.  Story goes, my father threatened to steal me away to Mexico but my mom wouldn't have it.  And then the details are a little blurry.  My mother stayed with my father and agreed to give me up to live with my grandmother.  Something about a suicide threat from my father bla, bla, bla.  My grandmother's youngest child at the time was just about to graduate high school.  So she was young enough to take on a baby in the house.  With the help of my aunt and uncles I was raised in my grandmother's house.

In my about I talk about my gramps suffering from Michael J. Fox disease with a little extra dose of Alzheimer's.  My aunt ended up having to quit her job to help care for me and my grandfather whose health deteriorated at a rapid rate.  When my aunt stopped working she pretty much became my, "Sir! Yes, sir!" or as I affectionately called her, "Mommy-tia."  She was hard on me because I needed to learn.  She was hard on me because I was difficult.  She was hard on me because I had to grow up and function as a normal member of society.  Though now I thank her stern, rigid way of disciplining me.  I also know that some of my hang-ups and hiccups in personality probably stem from abandonment issues and authoritarian parenting by my guardian.  Pile some of that on top of some of the traits my dad left behind, which if diagnosed would land him in a category close to my own.  If not the same category I was diagnosed as when I was still too young and angry to make use of my therapy.

Unfounded Allegations

If the last episode of Reluctant Motherhood wasn't enough to make me want to run for the hills screaming, it's gotten even better.  Or is it worse?  We got a phone call from Child Welfare Services because we have been reported for domestic violence and drug abuse.  The only abuse going on is my poor, frail mind having to assist in rearing a child that is not mine and not right.  Maybe CWS can take me away.  Whoever reported these lies is more than welcome to take Andy home and tell me if they survive, sanity in tact, after 2 weeks.  No, even one week with him.

So the day we got the call advising us to come down and answer some questions at the CWS office, they had already interviewed Andy at school.  And at first I was worried about having CWS poking about our business.  And then I got curious as to who would possibly make such wild allegations!  And then it was mild amusement that some busy body had nothing better to do than make up stories about two people trying their best to raise a mini-tyrant.  Bring it, we have nothing to hide and are not doing a damn thing wrong.  Investigate away!

How to solve modern pal problems

Sometimes I think Psychology Today is psychic... I was talking to a friend about friendships. How sometimes they come and go... sometimes you grow really close and suddenly never talk again. I know it has happened to me where a friend I once had is suddenly not as close or ever close again.

So I am posting this link for anyone who has felt that their friendships have died, grown apart, been interrupted for whatever reason.

This article has some common issues that come up between friends and how to tackle them in the right frame of mind.

Psychology Today article.

Trashing Teens

You tell your kids to act like an adult but treat them like children…. mixed signals anyone?

Check out the article it’s a good read.

“Psychologist Robert Epstein argues in a provocative book, “The Case Against Adolescence,” that teens are far more competent than we assume, and most of their problems stem from restrictions placed on them.”

Bitterness a mental disorder?!?!?!

Link to Psych Today article.


Holy fucking hell you have GOT to be kidding me. When the new DSM comes out I will have to do an in depth comparison study of how ridiculous the American Psychiatric Association has gotten.

Bitterness is "so common and so deeply destructive," writes Shari Roan at the Los Angeles Times, "that some psychiatrists are urging it be identified as a mental illness under the name post-traumatic embitterment disorder." "The disorder is modeled after post-traumatic stress disorder," she continues, "because it too is a response to a trauma that endures. People with PTSD are left fearful and anxious. Embittered people are left seething for revenge."

Seriously? I mean seriously?! Man I can understand PTSD (to some extent, but we all know how people get over/mis diagnosed so often)... but people staying bitter at the world?! Fucking move on! Why are they modeling this 'embitterment disorder' after PTSD? How are they willing to compare an angry bitter person who is discontent with life to someone who has endured a serious trauma in their life (rape, torture, witnessing murders) that will haunt them for most if not the rest of their lives?

Hey let's give people an excuse to be angry, bitter, assholes! Whaaaaa leave me alone I have post traumatic embitterment disorder.... Oh geez what next?! What the hell is this world coming to?! For as much as I love the field of psychology I am SO glad I didn't finish my schooling to pursue a career in psychology.

10 Habits of Happy Couples

Spending time together and having that time be positive and meaningful can help make a relationship a happy one. Keep the chemistry and stop trying to find the bad in your partner, look for their good qualities and rejoice in them. Learn to communicate effectively and be an active listener during arguments. No one is 100% right 100% of the time. Be willing to look at your own short comings and not just view your partner's.

Clicky Link to article.