Issue 6
IN THIS ISSUE:
1) November Welcome Message
2) Amber by Sibyl McLendon
3) The Emperor by EagleDancing
4) Eating Disorders by Kim Newman
November Welcome
by Sibyl McLendon
Hello, and happy November. Now that fall is almost over, and Winter is upon us, it is time for us to go within. Introspection is the mood of
Winter. In the spirit of this, I want to announce that I am completely re-designing my site, The Brown Mouse Medicine Co.
Business has not been what I had hoped it would be, and new opportunities have presented themselves to me, in the form of an Angel! She was sent to
me by the Creator, I am sure, and she is now selling my things in the UK. So, I have decided to make the BrownMouse site into one that is dedicated
to the spirituality that I attempt to live my life by.
It will now feature links to important sites, information about Navajos, and American Indians in general. I will have a space from the Center for
Missing and Exploited Children, constantly showing the pictures of
missing children. I am now offering an E-Mail account that you can sign up with for free, featuring about
50 different stationery designs you will not find anywhere else! I have a greeting card site attached now with
tons of music you can send with the cards (I urge all of you to go there, and put R. Carlos Nakai's name into the music search. He is a 1/2 Navajo,1/2 Ute flute player that you will love). I will have quotes of the day,
motivational messages of the day, and many other things that I hope all of you will find inviting, comforting and informative. Look for the new site
to be up the week of Thanksgiving. I am quite proud of it.
I am thrilled to announce the start of Kim Newman's articles about eating disorders! These highly informative articles are a "must read" for us
all, because few of us know all there is to know on this subject. I'm
sure they will be real "eye-openers", and could very well save the life of someone you know.
Amber
by Sibyl McLendon
This issue, I want to talk about amber. Amber is petrified tree sap, often containing the perfectly preserved bodies of insects or bits of
leaves. It was immensely popular in the early 1900's, then faded for some
years. It is enjoying a resurgence in popularity, partially due to the end of Communism! There are vast amounts of amber in the Ukraine. Now
that free commerce is possible, the market is full of lovely amber
jewelry. Some is quite affordable, but a lot of it is very expensive. There is one thing to watch out for when purchasing a piece of amber, or
amber jewelry: fakes! Amber can be easily faked, both by using plastic, and by flash heating other types of resin. You most certainly do not want
to pay a lot of money for a piece of plastic. There are a few ways to spot real amber from fake. The easiest way is to
heat it a little and smell it! Now, a jeweler is not going to let you hold his expensive amber jewelry over a flame, but you can rub it quickly
and firmly in your hand, and then sniff it. Amber has a very distinctive smell, quite delightful. Plastic does not. Other resins do not. If you
are unsure of what you need to be smelling, try going to a store that
sells incense, sometimes you can find amber incense.
Another way to spot a fake is simply by the look and feel of the piece. Amber will get warm in your hand. It should appear creamy, with a rich
brown or gold color. If it has starburst-looking cracks in it, I would be
careful. Heated resin has a very distinctive starburst appearance to it. Some amber is magnetic. If you rub it quickly on your clothing, it will
attract and hold a small piece of tissue.
Energy-wise, amber is a great equalizer. It works to polarize you by removing highs and lows, evening out your moods. It is very soothing, and
is excellent to hold and rub when you need to relax. Amber works slowly; it took millions of years to form and it is not a high-energy stone! Few
soothing stones are.
I also highly recommend amber incense for relaxing. Try burning some while taking a relaxing bubble bath, or meditating. It works wonders.
For some photos of raw amber: http://www.stonesbones.com/amb.htm I do not recommend any commercial sites, I am just linking to good photos.
IV THE EMPEROR
by EagleDancing
This card is essentially masculine. The Emperor sits on a cement throne that has the heads of rams at the ends of it's armrest. He has a gold
crown and a long white beard. These, along with his armor-plated legs, give him an air of leadership . He wears a lavish red robe and holds a
gold scepter in his right hand. Behind him are rugged mountains which further imply his masculinity. He stands for the father-gods of
mythology, who had dominion over the skies. He stands for starting projects.
Interpretations:
Right side up:
He represents structure and order in your life. He encourages strength and following through with your plans to get ahead. You are logical and
thinking clearly. You may be on the verge of a promotion or getting a raise at work. He can represent a father figure that has been missing in
your life. He can also appear as a successful business man who is usually wealthy. He can be a source of inspiration for you to follow. Sexually,
it is the card of the hunter and the seducer who usually gets what he or she wants.
Reversed:
It seems that more powerful people are in control of your life, if you let them be. It can mean a person who is strict and does not care about your
feelings, an overbearing boss, loved one, or relative. Feeling drained
and vulnerable. Being out of touch with your masculine side. Being used by someone for their own advancement.
EagleDancing is Robert McLendon. He can be reached at
www.eagledancing.com
You can also get a phone reading from him at www.keen.com, where he
is listed under Tarot readers. Receive $5 for signing up.
EATING DISORDERS.
by Kim Newman
As a qualified Nurse here in the UK I have cared for many sufferers of Eating Disorders. I was intending to begin by explaining what an eating
disorder is. However, the article would have been very short as the answer
to that is, 'food controls your life'. That would have been it! So, after some thought and deliberation I shall endeavour to explain one
of the more well known disorders for each newsletter. There are hundreds if not thousands of eating disorders if one were to sit
and think about it. The most well recognized of all is Anorexia Nervosa, for that reason I have chosen to address that particular one for this
article.
Anorexia Nervosa might be classified as an obsessional-compulsive disorder. It overlaps considerably with disorders normally classed as
obsessional, in terms of it's population of sufferers. It is sometimes
thought that Anorexia is a disease of 'modern times'. Although it may appear more
prevelant now, there is well-documented evidence that it has in fact been around for a very long time. In some ways it has been proven
to be an alternative strategy for coping with psychological pressures, be them of any kind. It can be used by the sufferer as some form of
'mastery'. It is something that they themselves can control even though
they are destroying themselves in the process. The Anorexic could be described as obsessed with attaining slimness or having a phobic avoidance
of fatness. In Anorexia we see the same perverse logic in terms of the
difference between the patient's perception of an aspect of reality and the consensus view, and the same resistance to rational persuasion.
There is always an amount of guilt within the sufferer. There is a pathological exaggeration of reasonable 'goal-seeking', in this case to
attain slimness. There is a dilemma of whether to eat or not. If food is eaten then should it be purged? All of these questions are answered within
the power of the sufferer. The illness is more prevelant in young women, though there are cases
amongst young men. This poses the question , is it hormonal? I would say yes, to a certain degree, as a great deal of sufferers have there first
encounter with symptoms around the onset of puberty. I have had the experience of nursing some 14-15 year old young women who felt ashamed of
various parts of their bodies. As puberty progressed and their breasts grew they saw the opportunity to stop their growth by not eating. The same
applies to young boys as they approach puberty, because of the lack of nutrients the genitalia remain juvenile. These purely natural acts of
'growing up' will return even if somewhat later in life, if treatment is sought and successful. I would like to add at this stage that there is no
such thing as a cured Anorexic. They merely learn through therapy to control their eating patterns in a healthy manner instead of a destructive
one.
If the illness goes untreated, and believe me when I tell you that I have seen teenagers looking like skeletons on admission to Hospital, not only
is the outer appearance altered but inwardly such untold damage is being
done. The brain if starved of food cannot think rationally and the Anorexic sinks deeper and deeper into the illness. All internal organs
fail to function correctly as they are literally being starved of food. A 'goal' of losing 10 pounds might be set by the person, that never
satisfies them. They need to lose more, and more and more, so it goes on. Deaths are not uncommon. In a lot of cases it takes several stays in
hospital to control the eating pattern and re-educate.
Group Therapy helps in a great deal of cases, as people can relate to one another. Others may feel unable to relate their feelings to other people.
If that instance arose, I personally would request that they used magazines and tore out words that related to their feelings and put them
into a 'scrap book'. In that way the feelings were being expelled even if not in a verbal fashion. It also gave me an insight into the psychological
possibilities for the illness manifesting initially, by their choice of words. It could be anger, body image, sexual abuse when younger, the list
is endless and each case should be treated on it's own symptoms, no two Anorexics are the same.
I mentioned sexual abuse above, this is one of the prevalent reasons for an Anorexic torturing themselves. For that is exactly what they are doing.
When this is the reason, there is usually self mutilation involved too.
Razor blades to slash and gouge at their flesh. I have even known one young woman to use eye-brow
tweezers to self harm. Anorexia can make the sufferer very sly and deceitful as in eating then
purging. Even as far as at the onset feeding their meal to the family dog!! They will drink vast amounts before a meal is due, so as to appear
full and unable to finish a meal. School age youngsters will skip lunch without their parents knowledge.
Anorexia constitutes an independent syndrome in the following respect:
* The fundamental causes of Anorexia remain elusive.
* There is a vulnerability of personality.
* Pituitary Gland is affected manifesting in amenorrhoea (lack of
menstruation) in women.
* Lack of sexual interest in men and or lack of potency.
* If the onset is before puberty the sequence of pubertal events is
delayed or arrested.
* Wearing 'baggy' clothes to hide their bodies.
* Withdrawing from society in general.
* Withdrawing from their previously normal family life.
* Refusing to eat at the meal table 'I will eat in my room'
* Purging food/Vomiting.
* Teeth become damaged over prolonged vomiting (due to Acid from the
stomach removing enamel). This can result in the teeth having to be
extracted if they haven't already fallen out.
* Irreversible damage to the esophagus due to vomiting.
There are many more, far too many to mention here. I would like to add that not all of the above need to be evident for diagnosis. One or more
symptoms may be absent. In this case it is referred to as Atypical Anorexia. Patients who have all of the symptoms but to a mild degree are
classified as Atypical also.
What one must remember is that Anorexia is a killer. If you suspect with good reason that a friend or family member has this horrific debilitating
disease, please seek help for them. They will deny all to begin with,
sometimes until they are so weak that they are admitted to hospital and even then they refuse to eat.
It is only with excellent Medical Intervention that Anorexia can be truly addressed.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel..................I should know.
Please read this poem I wrote and think.......deeply.
ANOREXIA TO DESPAIR.
Down, down the Helter Skelter,
Down, down, down, yet on a high.
Deeper, deeper into trouble,
As you soar toward the sky.
Weaker, weaker, body's failing,
But the mind is gaining strength.
Ever faster down the tunnel,
Of never ending length.
Complete control, perfection,
You say "Was the choice mine ?"
But there is only one direction
And you are running out of time.
Food is there that can't be eaten,
There is a life that can't be reached.
A gaunt body it lies beaten,
All it's colour has been bleached.
You know there is love,
But you cannot feel it
The pain is just too deep.
You see the candle...........
It must be lit..............
but
You just long for permanent sleep.
******************************
Kim Newman. RGN; RMN; RNT; ONC
Clinical Nurse Specialist Eating Disorders.
You can contact Kim at www.keen.com, where she is listed under the
"eating disorders" category.
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