Anxiety Gone Overboard: The Spring 2007 ASC Newsletter is available now. Check it out to learn how to tell the difference between normal worrying and worrying that has gone over the line. Find out about some Deaf people’s specific worries. Read about the different kinds of anxiety disorders, including social phobia, compulsive shopping, and obssessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). As always, ASC …
Read MoreVlog Summary: Candace A. McCullough reveals how “The Secret” is a modern-day version of snake oil. The vlog discusses the history of snake oil remedies and phrenology, both of which represent forms of pseudo-science. Based purely on claims, without scientific evidence, snake oils explode in popularity through hype and aggressive marketing. According to the law of attraction, the underlying theme …
Read MoreCall for Participants: If you are a Deaf woman who was sexually molested as a child by your brother, you may be interested in participating in a research study being conducted by our friend, Risa Shaw. Risa is the editor of Not Child’s Play: An Anthology on Brother-Sister Incest, one of the very few books on this topic. Below is …
Read MoreFor Every Step Forward: So far this month, we’ve seen Deaf artist Matt Daigle’s wonderfully designed breastfeeding logo win a national contest (that’s the logo in blue and white). We’ve learned of new research touting the mental health benefits of breastfeeding for children. But then, for all the progress and enlightenment we’ve supposedly achieved in our so-called advanced society of …
Read MoreWhat Exactly is Mental Health?: Mental health equals emotional well-being. It means feeling good about yourself, the people around you, your job or school, having healthy relationships, enjoying life, and being able to deal with its many challenges. Lots of things affect mental health: biology, psychology, education, politics, social structure, and religion, to name a few. In a chapter of …
Read MoreNot Just Drops of Water: Here’s an interesting finding. Frey compared the chemical make-ups of tears caused by eye irritants such as sliced raw onions, and tears caused by emotions. Tears caused by emotions were found to have more protein and beta endorphins in them. These emotionally induced tears appear to contain high levels of cortisol, an important hormone released …
Read MoreEvolving Definitions: Here’s an interesting psychology-related tidbit to think about. In their book, Deaf People: Evolving Perspectives from Psychology, Education, and Sociology, Andrews, Leigh & Weiner point out how we, as Deaf people, have changed in terms of how we define our self-esteem. The Old Days: Back in 1974, a study (Sussman) found that Deaf adults who thought they did …
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An Old Question: Once again up for debate is the seemingly age-old question: Can Deaf-hearing relationships work? Bloggers, including this one, have been weighing in with their opinions lately. A Deaf-hearing relationship can refer to a number of possible scenarios. It could be a signing, culturally Deaf person partnered with a fluent-signing CODA or hearing interpreter, or the same Deaf …
Read MoreThe Big Book: Following up on this week’s earlier postings on labeling, today we thought we’d take a look at the DSM, the hefty 943-page widely used Diagnostic and Statistics Manual of Mental Disorders, published by the American Psychiatric Association. The DSM is used by mental health professionals as a diagnostic tool. Every mental disorder, from autism to depression to …
Read MoreIdentity and Privilege: Understanding White Privilege is a book that has made us think a lot about our own privileges and power as white people. Like the author says, white people don’t often realize how much we take for granted, how easy it is to overlook what it means to be white. We basically assume, for example, that the people …
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