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John Inverdale, BBC Sports commentator, put both feet in his mouth when he started to describe the looks of Marion Bartoli, 2013 Wimbledon Women’s Singles Winner. He said – and I quote from The Guardian - “I just wonder if her … Continue reading →

Joanna, Intern

In The Thought that Counts: A Firsthand Account of One Teenager’s Experience with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Jared Douglas Kant tells the story of how he was diagnosed with OCD at the age of 11 and dealt with the disease as an adolescent. Kant is a Clinical Research Assistant at the Massachusetts General Hospital Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Clinic and Research Unit. Written alongside psychologist Martin Franklin Ph.D., Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology in Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, & Clinical Director, Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety, and science writer Linda Wasmer Andrews, a freelance health and psychology writer, The Thought that Counts serves as a guide for teenagers struggling with OCD and is part of the Adolescent Mental Health Initiative series created through a partnership with The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands. In the following excerpt, Kant describes his new understanding of obsession in light of his struggles with OCD.

When I was younger, the word “obsession” made me think of infatuation. If a boy fell head over heels for a girl, spending an extraordinary amount of time and energy daydreaming about her and hanging on her every word, people would say, “He’s obsessed with that girl.” Naturally, it didn’t occur to me to use the same word to describe the peculiar thoughts I was having. But as I later realized, there’s a big difference between the everyday meaning of obsession and the scientific definition.

In scientific terms, an obsession is a recurring thought or mental image that seems intrusive and inappropriate, and that causes anxiety and distress. It’s different from simply being preoccupied with a cute classmate or a favorite hobby, because even after obsessive thoughts start causing serious problems, the person feels powerless to stop thinking them. At some point, the person realizes that the thoughts are controlling him or her instead of the other way around.

Obsessive thoughts aren’t just exaggerated worries about real-life concerns. Instead, they’re overblown fears and anxieties with little basis in reality. Yet once these thoughts push their way into someone’s mind, they refuse to leave no matter how hard the person tries to push them out.

Consider my obsession with images of disease, for instance. Flipping through magazines as a boy, I sometimes came across disturbing images of plague and pestilence, such as flies buzzing over open sores. When I saw such pictures, I carefully avoided touching them. Occasionally, though, I would make a mistake. My finger would drag across the ink on the page until it hit one of the infected people. Whenever this happened, I screamed inside. I ran to the bathroom, slathered myself in soap, and turned the hot water up to boil. I was steaming, and I must have looked like a lobster by the time I emerged from the bathroom.

My reaction to touching the images illustrates another critical point: Obsessive thoughts lead to intense anxiety about something bad or harmful that the person fears will occur. The anxiety is so strong that the person feels compelled to do something – anything – to get relief and ward off the feared consequence. That’s how compulsions, such as my excessive hand-washing, are born. From a scientific standpoint, then, a compulsion is a repeated act, either behavioral or mental, that a person feels driven to perform in response to an obsession, to keep something bad from happening or to reduce the associated distress.

Teenagers Need To Realize, Sooner.

    My dream job, since I was 7, is an Architect of some sort. Pictures of mostly modern day architecture is my kind of eye candy. I don’t know why, i guess it’s just the fact that architects create a structure, on paper, that eventually becomes more than just a technical drawing.

    But anyway, me being 16 years young, going into my junior year, I am entering the most important beginning of my future. I have recently been researching on how to reach my goal of earning a Masters, minimum; and just like any other career, getting a Masters degree takes a lot of education. But the worst part of going to college is…going to college; with the strong possibility of separating from your family at home for years.

    No, the worst part is not in terms of financial status towards tuition, but losing the strongest support you will have in your life. And I came to realize that when the middle of June of 2011 comes around, there’s going to be a lot of weight on my shoulders, which I will have to bestow in order to do do what I want to do.  Seeing this, I now look back at my earlier childhood, wishing: Man, I wish I had the ability to comprehend that this was coming. I do so bad, because I would have fully appreciated the care that my parents have given me, because I will never be looked after and mentored with such affection as I did during my childhood years.

Now.

   The end of senior year may, in reality, be in only a couple years, but to tell you the truth, I feel as if the end of the beginning will be over within the same amount of time as displayed by a watch. All I can do now is prepare for my future.

Image Cred

The past few days have seen a wealth of artists drawing their teenage selves, and in many cases, comparing them to their current age. Shown here is Dave Valeza, who started the whole meme, and has compiled a growing list of those playing along.

Even the Drawn! crew got involved. Here’s our lovely Ward Jenkins, and yours truly.

Good Morning:

Well, I'm a day late with my Halloween entry, but as the title says: "Better Late Than Never".

We had an all around good Halloween season with lots of decorations and festivities. Here's a photo of the glittered pumpkins we made ~~



We took my daughter Ava and her friend Nicole to "Knott's Scary Farm". Fun was had by all...

Ava, "Goldie" and Nicole


Nicole and Ava at "Knott's Scary Farm" (Photo altered by Ava)


We decided to give Trick or Treating one more whirl this year. Most of the kids in our neighborhood are getting too old for it, but wanted to participate one more year. Gary (my husband) and I worked for days on Ava's costume. She was "Link" from the "Legend of Zelda" video game. I made the tunic and hat, and Ava and Gary made the shield and sword. For any of you that may know who Link is, I hope you agree that we did a fairly fine job!!

Ava as Link ~~


and...last but not least. My 80 year old mom, who is still on hospice, dressed as a "Hippie" for the Halloween party at her senior apartment.


I'm off today, in hopes that I can spend a little time in the garden and even more time in the studio.

I hope this finds you all well and enjoying the Autumn season.

Until Next Time:
Kim
Garden Painter Art