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Tez

OCD-UK Member
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Everything posted by Tez

  1. Thank you very much Wil! I love Dhal!! ?
  2. I would not like to make any definitive judgements on the NHS. I was brought up to believe in it as an institution, and I have always paid my way into it. I have never worked in it directly, but I have many friends who do, and report that there is underfunding, a certain bureaucracy that it is always afflicting large structures. And a government which really would like to see it go - that is not a party political statement really: there are many Conservative Party people I know who treasure the NHS, but the free market ideologues in Parliament are of a different cut and do not understand what it is like not to have private health insurance. The "clap for the NHS" thing divided opinion: some workers I know felt that it was abhorrent to see NHS staff suddenly lauded by newspapers like the "Sun" and the "Daily Mail", who viciously attack the nurses and junior doctors whenever they strike for terms and conditions or better pay. I personally think that health care should take a more holistic approach. But I am also not a total hippie, and think that complimentary initiatives need to run alongside modern medicine. Actually, there is one judgement I would offer: we need to have - as others have suggested, a clearer and better service in mental health. When people are made to wait years for psychiatric appointments, and are then offered a therapist who dismisses them as "treatment resistant", that is when even I get angry! I thank the stars that we have OCDUK and similar charities that can help advocate on patients behalf!
  3. Hi Guys The Guardian is, I often find, "our paper", in terms of sympathetic and adult coverage of mental health issues. Even in its bear pit like message boards, which can be vicious in terms of political debate, are usually respectful of issues of mental ill health and struggle. Rugby Player Henry Slade speaks with the paper today (July 14th) about his struggle with OCD. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/jul/14/henry-slade-diabetes-exeter-chiefs-england-rugby The OCD bit is not a huge part of the article, but interesting nevertheless. I am however, personally slightly cautious about the remarks that he spoke to a plain speaking psychologist. Sounds like some of the mental health professionals that I have come across over the years - they think they can give you a stern talking to and presto! you're either cured or one of those recalcitrant, lazy treatment resistant types. Far too many professionals behave like that, blaming the patient. But that's maybe my gripe with western medicine generally. Best wishes Tez
  4. The word for silver and money is the same in 14 languages. Yes St Mike, the Welsh word "silver" and "cash" is arian. In Cornish - which of course, is related to Welsh, and not nearly so well spoken - the word for "silver" and "cash" is arghans. Tez ?
  5. Ear wax. The blood facts got me thinking about ear wax..... apparently, people of European or African ancestry tend to have yukky, gooey ear wax. East Asian people tend to have dry. flaky ear wax. Apparently, genetic researchers have studied the ear wax type distribution to determine how anatomically modern humans moved out of their ancestral homelands in East Africa and populated the rest of the world. Music facts: The first record played on BBC Radio One (when the Beeb introduced their own pop music station, in 1967) was "Flowers in the Rain" by the Move. The Move was led by Roy Wood who is most famous for "I Wish it Could be Christmas Everyday" by his subsequent band, Wizzard. A great record, but it is trotted out every year. The final record played on Radio Luxembourg, the great pan continental station that was for my parents in the forties and fifties the only pop music outlet in English, on 31st December 1992, was "Maybe the Morning" by Marion Montgomery. A version by Sunny (from the Brotherhood of Man) had been used to close the station every night during the seventies and eighties. We are used to pop music videos being everywhere now - MTV has been on the air for forty years. The last UK number one single for which no official music video was ever made was "Move Closer" by Phyllis Nelson (1985).
  6. Cleopatra (51 BC - 30 BC) lived closer to today than when the Great Pyramid of Giza was built (2580 BC ~ 2560 BC) Speaking of the pyramids, wooly mammoths were still around (though not in Egypt) when the pyramids were built, they didn't go extinct until as late as 1650 B.C. I think it's amazing to reflect on the fact that by the time the Romans annexed Egypt, the civilization was already ancient. I had read that Woolly Mammoths survived on one of the arctic islands off the coast of Siberia until well into the Bronze Age. My fact: The first advertisement on ITV when it started in 1955 was for "SR Toothpaste".
  7. Hey Guys Bristol's two league clubs - City and Rovers, are around 5 miles apart across the city. Bristol City are actually based right at the old exit to the city on the road to Weston-Super-Mare. Rovers are - after decades of uncertainty - located in the North Bristol suburbs. The teams divide the city down the middle - Northerners prefer Rovers, the South is City Country. I have never particularly cared for either! There is a third club, Bristol Manor Farm which plays in the Western League and is based in North West Bristol.
  8. Hey Peeps Thought you might like this as a bit of a diversion... well, we all like a good mystery. Three hours of programmes about the enigma of Unidentified Lights in the Sky, on the channel Blaze (Freeview 63, also on other platforms like cable and satellite). Kicking off at 9pm this evening. Personally, I am something of a skeptic - the Universe contains hundreds of billions of galaxies, each with hundreds of billions of stars - so it would seem a terrible waste if life had only started once and only evolved to intelligence (okay, that bit is debatable about the human race) once. But the vastness of distance and time seems to me to make it unlikely that anyone would be visiting Earth. Nevertheless, there are people who have had some bizarre experiences and do not make any money from them. Intriguing. Tez
  9. A guilty pleasure of mine is the Seth MacFarlane series of shows - "Family Guy", "American Dad" and "The Cleveland Show" which show in the UK on ITV-2 late at night often back to back. They are very satirical and some would say near the edge humour, but they do cheer me up and relax me. For gentler entertainment, "The Simpsons" on a Sunday afternoon on Channel 4. Amanda - I am also a "Blackadder" fan, my favourite season being the Regency England one. "Doctor Who" of course, and science fiction generally. And history, especially Ancient History. Takes me out of myself. Tez
  10. Hello All I hope everyone is doing well and avoiding the torrential rain we have had recently!! (Certainly here in the West Country!- ITV News showed some localised flooding in Gloucestershire last night ). Anyway, to cheer us all up, I have come up with an idea. Does anyone have any nice, uplifting celebrity encounters? Have you met someone famous who was really nice or considerate? I will kick off - someone I once new who worked at Harrods said that the nicest person he had met was Penelope Keith. In 2011, I went to the Little Theatre in Bath to see the eighteenth century play "She Stoops to Conquer", starring Colin Baker. He was the Sixth Incarnation of "Doctor Who" between 1984 and 1987. http://www.colinbakeronline.com/. He was a gentleman who met about five of us Doctor Who fans at the theatre door. I explained that my elderly mother is a lifelong science fiction fan and has watched "Doctor Who" since the very first episode in 1963. Mr Baker was very kind and signed a personalised autograph for her, which still has pride of place on her bedroom wall! My friend Martin presents a programme for our local community access radio station on "Nostalgia" and vintage film / TV. He said that Janet Ellis was lovely to meet (for young people - she is Sophie Ellis Bextor's mum and presented Blue Peter in the eighties). And finally, a friend called Dom writes to a lot of celebrities. I asked him who the most kind was, and he said Don Henderson, an actor who appeared in the famous "War Council" scene in Star Wars https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Henderson . He wrote a lengthy letter, photocopied scripts and photos and sent Dom a Christmas Card every year until he passed on in 1997. What are your celebrities guys? Tez ?
  11. Hi Guys I am taking part in a community radio broadcast in my home city on Saturday afternoons. We're doing a recipe slot, and have chosen to do a different vegan recipe each week to reflect the fact that here in Bristol, we are (supposedly!) now ahead of San Francisco and Vancouver as the vegan capital of the world. I have made a few of my favourite dishes fully vegan and read them out. I am looking for ideas for this weekend. Savoury or sweet - does anyone have a vegan recipe that they can share with me? if so, I will give them and OCD Forums full credit over the air on Saturday's programme!! Tez ?
  12. Thanks mate. Yes, it's good when the media get it right. The "alternative press" tends to do it a bit better - tabloids are the ones you gotta watch. Funnily enough, the "Bristol Cable" has launched a series of articles on mental health provision. They are quite hard hitting about the NHS use of private facilities. I understand what they are trying to do - there *should* be good NHS provision for all people with mental health issues with decent in and out patient facilities. But personally, I thought that their criticisms of the Priory Group were unfair. I turned to the Priory when the NHS would not offer a good service (this is a long time ago) and found their staff and services to be extremely sensitive and kind. Take care and best wishes Tez ?
  13. Oh dear. It's not good when our heroes turn out to be rude. A friend of mine from community radio here in Bristol used to be involved in putting on "Doctor Who" related events, but found that one of the actors involved who'd she had looked up to was quite rude to her. (I shall not reveal the identity of the said person - only that they were a very important actor in the Who universe and passed on a long, long time ago). Other early crushes were Simon O'Brien who was Damon in "Brookside" when that started on Channel Four in 1982. Can't think of any more right now. Roy: We're all showing our age on here. I cannot remember a time when there were only two channels..... when I was very little, in the late seventies, there were just BBC-1, BBC-2 and ITV, unless you were lucky and had one of the very early cable services. In 1982, Channel Four came along - (Sianel Pedwar Cymru (S4C) in Wales to provide Welsh language programming). That was very exciting. I watched the whole first night, and then fifteen years later did the same thing when Channel Five started broadcasting.!! Back to celebrity crushes: my friend that met Freddie Mercury also did live out a crush - he slept with Marc Almond. A very, very long time ago. Tez ?
  14. Nick Heyward (Haircut 100, circa 1982). My friend Martin had dinner with Freddie Mercury in about 1981. He said he was a nice bloke, and not at all like the quite nasty articles some of the British tabloid papers ran about him after his passing in 1991. Paul Darrow as Kerr Avon in "Blakes 7" is a good one: he was apparently a very funny man, and if you listen to the radio, he did the continuity announcements for Jack-FM, and its sister networks. Tez
  15. Hello All I hope that everyone is well. I just picked this up at work and wanted to share with everyone. An article on living with OC spectrum disorders during the continuing health situation. This appeared today in the "Bristol Cable". The Cable is a left(ish) community newspaper operated by a workers' co-operative. It is owned by around 1300 Co-operative shareholders and is designed to hold the city to account. The paper is distributed locally free of charge through community centres, libraries, record and bookstores, vegan and health food shops and the like. It has quite a good reputation for dealing sympathetically and in some detail with mental health issues: https://thebristolcable.org/2020/06/living-with-ocd-during-a-global-health-crisis/ I hope you find the article of interest. Stay well. Tez
  16. Hi Guys Just an update on the radio appearance to mark World Mental Health Day and OCD Awareness Week. As I wrote before it took place, on Hallowe’en night, Thursday October 31st, I was given a 12 minute slot on the “ShoutOut” programme that networks out on eleven local radio stations from studios in Bristol and is also podcast on various platforms, to the tune of around 40,000 downloads a week. I was joined by a Counsellor and Mental Health professional who work for the Hope Project aimed at reducing male suicide in Bristol. We spoke about OCD from my point of view as a sufferer and also about the need for people to seek support if they are struggling with their mental health. Key points made included that: · Men need to learn to unpack their mental heath issues with friends, family and professionals. · Women have better mental health outcomes than men partly because they talk with girlfriends, relatives and professionals. · Voluntary sector organisations like OCD UK lobby for better funding for mental health services. · Self Help Organisations and Mutual Support Networks are of enormous help to many people. · Sometimes you have to lobby the NHS hard for the treatment and support you need. Be strong, get friends and family to help, and use the support of groups like OCD UK. · Hold the hope – or if you cannot hold it, have someone else hold it for you, like a family member or a friend. Or even a support group. The message is that people do achieve their goals and dreams, have relationships, jobs and contribute to society, even though they have or have had, OCD. · Recovery is possible and desirable! That was the positive message that we wanted to convey. All in all, a successful appearance on the radio, and something that hopefully will touch people who need to know that there is help for their own , or someone else’s, OCD. Best wishes Tez
  17. Hello Dave Your post got my attention on a couple of levels. Firstly, because it is not at all uncommon. Indeed, I think it is the (rather informative) OCD entry on Wikipedia that quotes some researcher as noting that (and forgive me, I am paraphrasing here) that OC anxiety about sexuality can appear sometimes to be a crisis of identity. However, it is not, it is just OCD. just that, OCD. An anxiety disorder. Secondly, because I have worked in sexual health I like to think that I have had some experience in working with people with different gender identities and sexualities, although I would never profess myself to be an expert in the field. Most of my gay friends would tell you that they knew they were gay at an early age. What you are describing is very different and seems to me to be a clear case of anxiety. Honestly, mate, if you were gay you’d know you were gay. This dialogue that is going on in your head is because you have OCD. I am going to try not to offer you reassurance, because in the long run, this can form its own cycle of OCD thought. But I will offer you my observations, for all they’re worth…… firstly, you never experienced any sexual tension towards men until you were older and had a “freak out”. It’s easy to misinterpret anxiety for something else – lots of people do it. I tend to interpret my anxiety as a special awareness that I am at risk and have to therefore perform my compulsions. But it is just anxiety. Lots of straight guys experience some kind of tension in a situation like the one you described at the beginning of your post, and lots of gay guys experience some kind of tension if they were leaning over a female person. I think this is simply a human reaction to being in someone else’s personal space – it does not reflect the core identity of the person. You refer to bullying at school. I am sorry to hear this, kids can be cruel. A lot of people – straight or gay – are picked on, for any perceived difference. I know I was for a while for being socially awkward. However, it doesn’t reflect your sexuality. Damon Albarn from the band Blur told the New Musical Express that he was bullied and called gay because he was a good looking and intelligent boy. Doesn’t mean anything. Do you have a therapist? If you do, I would imagine that they would try and cultivate a sense of non-reaction to these intrusive thoughts and anxieties. So what they might say, buy a gay magazine and have it in your bag. That kind of thing. You might even go to a gay pub or club and just let yourself be there. When I was ill in 2001 with lots of superstitious fears, my therapist had me carry and pentagram in my bag as a form of exposure therapy. There was a good essay I once read by a gay man who was also a psychologist. His piece was published in a science journal and was called “I’m Gay, But You’re Not!” and gave a good low down on what “HOCD” is and how it manifests. (Although we shouldn’t really call is HOCD – it’s just plain old OCD and follows the usual pattern). I did a quick search for it on Google, but cannot locate it. Lots of other resources come up though….. much to read through, but I would suggest you don’t – because we obsessives love to read and overanalyse everything and it can just become a form of reassurance seeking. Well, I am no expert but those are a few of my observations. Perhaps they are of use to you. Try not to seek reassurance and instead reframe the internal discourse as “this is just OCD”. I hope you start to feel better soon!! Kind wishes Tez
  18. Hello All Just spotted this interesting article today from the LGBT newswire Pink News on a young gay man's book on living with OCD and seeking help and support. Nice to see that the editors have popped a link to OCD-UK on their website for any readers who are experiencing OC symptoms. https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/11/03/ocd-gay-obsessive-compulsive-disorder/ Kind wishes Tez ?️?
  19. Hello All I spotted this well written and reasoned article in Monday's "Guardian" and thought it might interest people. There has been some interest in recent years on the use of cannabis derived medicines for the treatment of a range of mental health disorders, including anxiety driven states such as OCD. Now a new report suggests that there is not enough evidence of beneficial effects, and some contrary evidence of less welcome occurances, which means that for the time being, use of these medicines is not evidentially supported. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/oct/28/risks-of-cannabis-use-for-mental-health-treatment-outweigh-benefits My personal experience of this substance dates from around 2000 when I was first formally diagnosed with OCD (although I had done my own research and knew what I had some years previous to reaching that crisis point). I was in a lot of distress and found that taking cannabis did reduce the driving factor in my OCD - a chronic and terrible anxiety. For a few days I did get relief from my symptoms, but I was pretty whacked out generally. It was not a recipe for functioning normally! Eventually, after many years of struggling on, in 2009 I was put on a dual course of medication: citalopram for depressive symptoms and olanzapine (an anti-psychotic) for my obsessional thoughts. The combination has worked very well. Kind wishes Tez
  20. Ah, hi Ashley. It gets the better of us all at times. You have my sympathies. I hope you are feeling a bit better now. I still struggle after 30 years, although I have never had proper CBT! I've had what Professor Salkovskis calls NVGCBT! Well, I have some good news - kind of! Unfortunately, my big moment was deferred because of a live discussion on Black History Month. However..... Steffi apologised to me that the show ran out of time and has instead given me more than twice the airtime (12 minutes) on Thursday 31st October. Hallowe'en night! I will be on the air with Hans, a counsellor who specialises in work with men experiencing emotional distress and who is very knowledgeable as well about mental wellbeing and health issues. So, October 31st it is. Gives me more time to elaborate on OCD and how we can work together as sufferers and activists to alleviate the condition. I will be there with my message of hope - and so will Hans. I am also selling OCD wristbands and lapel pins at work for clients and staff. So expect an order from me at the shop soon!! Will keep you all updated!
  21. Hello Guys Thanks very much for your ideas!! I am getting from your responses that we need to get across that the phrase "OCD" is often misunderstood and misused by wider society - an inadvertent consequence perhaps of the fact that the condition is talked about much more these days. I think I will get it across by comparing it to the way in which a lot of people misappropriate the term "depression" (which of course, can also be coterminus with OCD). People say "I was so depressed last night" but what they mean is "I was feeling down last night". Clinical depression is so much more than that - it is consistent low mood and often is debilitating. Well, the same is true of clinical OCD. I think I will use an example that Professor Salkovskis has used on his TV appearances (I think I am right in remembering this) that everyone can relate to OCD feelings - how many non-clinical people have gotten half way to the bus stop and had a very strong intrusive thought that "Have I locked the front door?". It can be briefly be quite a strong urge to go back at check, but "normal" people can easily dismiss such an idea, as Roy states. I also intend to get across the web address of OCD UK. The show is live at 7pm and will then be podcast on various platforms. You can read more about it at: http://shoutoutradio.lgbt/ Thanks again for your support. Have a great day and hope that OCD Awareness Week is going well for you! Best wishes Tez
  22. Hi There I agree with dksea - it's definitely just OCD. I worked with a HIV prevention charity for many years and put simply, head lice bites do not transmit HIV or Hepatitis. I know I should not be offering any reassurance, as this can add to the cycle of OCD, but I have also worked with lots of homeless people: they no more have head lice than do anyone else. Hope you feel better soon. Kind wishes Tez
  23. Hello Everyone As some people on the Forums might know, I have been involved in radio in different capacities for a long time. I started as a teenager on a local pirate radio station (the UK did not legalise community radio stations until the Labour government of Tony Blair, after decades of civil disobedience), have done hospital cable radio (Aberystwyth's Radio Bronglais - still going and marking its fiftieth anniversary this autumn), and then joined local community radio when it was (legally!) introduced to the city of Bristol. I thought I would pull a few strings to see if I could get some airtime for OCD Awareness Week and I am delighted to say that my dear friend Steff has invited me to go on the West Country's largest magazine programme for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. This is broadcast from station B.C.F.M. in Central Bristol and is networked out to a grand total of eleven radio stations, including Bradley Stoke Community Radio in North Bristol, Gloss FM in Thornbury, Glastonbury Community Radio, Frome FM, Tiverton Community Radio in Devon and Radio Tircoed in Greater Swansea. The show boasts around 40,000 weekly podcast downloads, and the audience listening on conventional radio is estimated to be several times larger. I am very indebted to Steff to allow me the airtime. I have five minutes and will be joined by one of my friends who is a radio presenter and a counsellor. I have spoken about Living with OCD on community radio before, and was once also able to appear on the regional BBC station, Radio Bristol. Because I just have five minutes, I want to make sure that I get the key messages across about OCD and the help that is offered by OCD UK. Does anyone have any nuggets of advice, support, wisdom, insight I can include in my little presentation? Your ideas are welcome! Stay tuned, as they say. Tez ?️??
  24. Hi Guys Just a little piece for the Media monitoring page of the Forum, which I've been meaning to pop up for a while. Comic and raconteur Tom Rosenthal was given a full page spread in the daily free newspaper "Metro" on Friday August 30th, to talk about his new show "Manhood". Journalist Ashley Davies writes "Tom's Show contains lots of funny stories about his life, and he talks a little about having OCD - something he's dealt with in more detail in earlier shows. He often has a compulsion to touch things and people a specific number of times, and the disorder is exacerbated by stress". I understand that the comedian is touring through the Autumn. He will be at Swindon Arts Centre on October 3rd. All the best Tez ?
  25. Yes, Koala. I do I do!! I am often engaged in what i believe is called "metacognition" by pschiatrists, when you analyse and dissect the thoughts that are plaguing you. And then, when you think you have sorted one aspect of them out, another doubt will appear in your mind and the cycle starts again! I am often thinking about my thoughts and comparing them to others i have had, to make sure that they are just OCD..... it goes on and on! Tez
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