Can a video game help with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

I saw this in the Post and on the Today show this morning.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2009/01/playing-tetris.html

A new study reports that the game Tetris can help with symptoms of PTSD for those victims who suffer from traumatic memories. I think it is a fascinating study, but I was a little surprised by the fact that it's really not a theory that's very new and that's how they are marketing it.

It almost exactly mirrors a popular treatment for PTSD called EMDR therapy- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, a treatment that I have undergone to help cope with my flashbacks. The process involves a lot of eye movements either following a light or movement underneath the guidance of a therapist while recalling traumatic memories. The theory is that by focusing on something repetitive, it can help reduce the frequency of flashbacks or at least help get you through them that can distract you from feeling like you are reliving the event in the present even while it's in the past- a symptom all too familiar for those of us who suffer from PTSD.

The more interesting thing is that, nobody seems to know including the people who invented it, why it works. I can not sit here and say that EMDR or therapeutic tactics such as this recent study have eliminated all of my awful memories from what I went through, but focusing on repetitive tasks and learning how to ground myself with my surroundings has worked to help soothe me through the fires of hell when friends or family are not around. Whatever works says the Gospel according to Michele Christine.

My feelings on the death Penalty in regards to criminal Justice

I can recall the very day at my job where me and and many of my friends were jumping up and down when Scott Peterson received the death penalty for his wife Laci and it was announced all over tv and email blasts. Everyone known to man knows he killed her and his unborn child Connor, just like the jury who acquitted OJ knows damn well he killed Nicole and Ron Goldman. Why they did, I am not sure. My belief is that it was payback for Rodney King.

After a fellow blogger friend of mine posted a link on Carlie Brucia, I almost went ape shit. She was an 11 year old girl from FL returning on a walk home from a sleepover at a friend's house where she was abducted on tape by a convicted felon out on probation in the parking lot of a gas station. She was raped and brutally murdered.

The Link is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJoID7VwRtM

Enough evidence convinced a jury he was drop dead guilty and he was sentenced to death, as well he should be. Now, his attorney is trying to over-turn his death penalty senntence. PLEASE!!!

I have not a grain of rice of mercy for rapisits or child molesters, particualarly, those who rape or molest children. The damage of sexual abuse is life long- be it child or adult. Call me a bad Catholic, but I really don't care. From my own experience, I simply do not believe sexual predators can be reformed, and I resent my tax dollars keeping rapists and murderers alive.

Not so Poppy in the Gospel according to MC

I have never had a drug problem, thank the Lord. But, I have an eating disorder that I grapple with every day that feels like just as much of an addiction as one who struggles with substance abuse. Be your vice too much booze, too many drugs, too much gambling, too much food, or in my case, too little...I don't think mental illness is something to make fun of. Jay Leno's comment that most nutritionists would find Amy Winehouse's crack addiction more nutritious than a pop tart really pissed me off.

I am guilty- I LOVE Amy Winehouse's music. I think she is incredibly talented, but I don't think her problems are anything to laugh at. My nutritionist thinks I just like her because she's a bad girl- a rebel and relate to her. She won't stop doing drugs, and I sit in front of the just eat police every two weeks and ask, when there are potatoes in my soup, why do I also need to have a baked one? Because for somebody at your weight, just soup is not enough.

I wonder if perhaps, she may be right at how I relate to Amy Winehouse. Regardless, I would love to see the day when my nutritionist appears on Jay Leno and claim crack is healthier than a pop tart, when she would probably give me a gold medal If I dared to eat one, pathetic as that sounds.

Damn it Oprah, SHUT UP ALREADY

Is anyone sick and tired of hearing Oprah bitch about how big she is? I am for sure. Why is it necessary for her to announce to the world what her weight is? I mean, who the hell gives a hoot? I don’t think she looks that bad. Not for nothing, but I find it a little ironic how the Queen of Self Esteem is whining all over the media how embarrassed and ashamed she is of herself for being so big. I mean doesn’t she preach about loving yourself all the time?

I am so sick of all these segments and reality shows like the biggest loser in the media promoting diet and weight loss. I am sick of my nutritionist’s very famous boss on TV talking about weight loss, and no, I don’t give a fuck if she reads this. I rarely hear any talk about Anorexia or Bulimia except on shows like Access Hollywood, where they debate how much Kiera Knightly weighs, and is she or isn’t she?

I understand obesity is a big problem in this country that can lead to heart disease and even death and it’s an important health issue. But so is Anorexia. It has the highest mortality rate more than any mental illness in the country. That is a published fact. I think it should be given an equal amount of attention.

How did it happen?

The sudden death of Jett Travolta is a horrible tragedy. As a person with seizure disorder who suffers from the exact same kind that he did, I know how terribly frightening they can be and how seriously one can injure themselves. In my last one, I fell down four flights of stairs, broke my nose, lacerated my jaw, and had to have four teeth extracted which are still being worked on.

There has been a lot of speculation and reports in the Media about his parents’ beliefs in Scientology, whether or not they stopped his medication, and whether or not he was Autistic. Only the family knows for sure. While I definitely have my opinions on what I have read about this case, I will refrain from expressing them out of respect for the family while they grieve the loss of their son. However, I am leaning towards the belief that his death could have been prevented.

Yet Another Diet Book

Since I am a member of the Barnes and Nobles rewards club, I get these offers for new books in my emails all the time. This one in particular pissed me off.

The statement by the author that he can make you thin, is in my view pretty ballsy. I don't think anyone can make anyone do anything they don't want to do. I also think all these books geared toward being "thin" and books like "skinny bitch" only further promote our society's obsession with beauty and thinness and play a huge role in making people at risk and more susceptible to eating disorders.

I wouldn't wish an eating disorder upon my worst enemy. It's a horrible, twisted, and very difficult disease to recover from and to cope with. A nine year old girl that I have known for years and was babysitting for yesterday kept staring at me. I said to her, why are you looking at me so strangely? She was hesitant and then said... well... it's just that you are so skinny. I wish I could be as skinny as you. I was mortified. Of course, I can't explain to a 9 year old child that I have anorexia and chalked everything up to being limited to what I can eat with my teethe, which is partially very true, but I thought to myself... You are 9 years old. If I had to live my life over again and I knew I would have developed this illness, I'd run from it from the hills. Unfortunately, once you have it, it doesn't work that way, just like it doesn't work that way with people who struggle on the opposite end of the scale that I do. I feel for them and know how hard it is, as only people who have these disorders know and understand.

This child is very talented in art and drew me a picture as a Christmas Gift, and she drew me narrower than a pencil. I was horrified that a 9 year old girl can see what I can't see and wishing she could look like me. It's time for diet books to go away and Michele Christine to get her rear in gear and gain some weight.

What a way to ring in 2009!

Just a short while ago, I was checking my email when I received a message from an ex boyfriend of three years ago to friend him. It really spooked me, especially since it did not end well. What occurred to me is how when I tried to end it, he still relentlessly pursued me, despite my repeated requests to back the fuck off and do not contact me.

And three years later, he's STILL looking for me, thinking about me. It's giving me the creeps and I just had the most massive panic attack. What part of the word NO do men not understand???