Mental & Emotional Health

So, weeks ago Mad asked me about smiles. I listed 1-50 in what makes me smile, and here is 51-100 … kinda. My numbering was off and I didn’t want to correct it. Deal.

1. the monkey on my keychain. My friend Lynn bought these monKEYs and gave me the blue one … he makes me laugh
2. browsing fancy stationary online
3. feeling fabrics (all but velvet/velveteen/velour/courduroy) at the fabric store
4. talking craft-talk with my friends
5. an empty & clean kitchen sink
6. when my ice-maker dumps it’s tray (MissMiss will understand this one … when we’re IM’ing and my ice tray dumps I always write: “ooooooh! more ice!!!”)
7. speaking of MissMiss, cute socks make me smile
8. my air-freshener I bought with MissEnnPee, I’m not in my car enough to enjoy it full there, so I put it in my bathroom. LOL *shrug* It works!
9. completed cross-word puzzles, 1,000-piece-puzzles, and all other word puzzles. I don’t give a rats patooty about number puzzles though.
10. 105.1 The Buzz … their morning show NEVER fails to make me laugh.
11. driving with the window down - I’m cheap & never use the AC and so it’s a damned good thing I like this!
12. cracking the spine on a brand new book. Some people deliberately try not to do this … I LOVE to do it.
13. the word “pompelmuese” - in German it means grapefruit … I don’t particularly like grapefruit, but I do love the German word
14. LOLCats … I Can Has Cheezburger makes me howl some days.
15. my nails when they’re long-ish
16. the recycling letters; “HDPE” … while as an adult I know it stands for high density polyethylene, growing up I swore it meant “help dumb people everywhere” and that my milk carton was just trying to better the world
17. sore muscles from dancing
18. dancing the Samba … seriously, it’s FUN … and seriously, I look JUST like that when I do it! LOL
19. white hoodies … I don’t know what it is about ‘em, but they make me happy. I own three of them.
20. telling people I’m going back to school - I’m really proud of this fact
21. stargazer lilies
22. Justin Timberlake … he makes me more than smile … he makes me swoon (the concert was great, btw)
23. the song Rockstar
24. little kids who haven’t quite mastered running … they just kinda amble quickly
25. my mom bloggers … I love reading about little kid antics
26. comfortable underwear
27. comfortable PRETTY underwear
28. gift cards
29. seeing feeds to read in Google reader
30. iGoogle - thank you Talana for showing me the greatness that is iGoogle!
31. Apricot Pyramid beer - right after Black Butte Porter, I’ve learned this is a favorite!
32. long hot showers
33. sleeping in
34. falling asleep to music
35. click of high heels on hardwood (one thing I will miss from this job)
36. Beavers football! I think I get to go to the Stanford game this year!!!
37. using Facebook/MySpace to catch up with old friends
38. the idea of changing my last name
39. dresses that spin out when you turn quickly
40. bright pink toenail polish
41. new purses … who doesn’t like a new purse?
42. The Best of CraigsList - especially the few & far between Portland ones
43. Jon Stewart quotes
44. alliteration … oh how happy hearing h’s makes me
45. Judy Garland songs … Julie Andrews songs … Marlene Dietrich songs … I have a thing for older singers apparently
46. some boys … yeah, there are a few who make me smile. Most of them are married or gay though. That makes it even nicer for me.
47. NOT dating. I’m really enjoying this being single and not feeling the need to date thing!
48. my interview questions for TWO upcoming interviews that will be featured here
49. making new friends thanks solely to 451Press - thanks guys
50. being DONE with this list! I had forgotten about it until this morning!

mental & emotional health, things that make me smile, monkeys, stationary, fabrics, crafting, crossword puzzles, cute socks, 1051. The Buzz, Samba dancing, stargazer lilies, underwear, mom blogs, high heels, OSU, Beavers, football, Pac-10, beer, Facebook, Myspace, CraigsList, Jon Stewart, Judy Garland, Julie Andrews, Marlene Dietrich, dating, not dating, 451Press, blogs, blogging companies, long lists

Terra, of Eating Disorder Talk asked me about medication interactions for the recent question contest I ran. While her question was specific with regards to the types of medication she is taking/has taken for her cyclothymia, obsessive-compulsive & attention-deficit disorders, I am going to provide some resources for you that will help you check your own medication interaction risks.

(more…)

So, I drew names from my hat, and took pictures of the entire process!

(more…)

So, the contest has been closed, I have six entries, and on Monday night, I will take pictures of me drawing a name out of a hat. That person will have a book sent to them as soon as I pick it out - which it actually is dependent on who won. I’m that cool - catering specifically to my readers!

(more…)

Right now I have three entries for my mental health question contest. That kinda depresses me. *wry smile* Of all the things to depress me, a lack of questions about depression does it! *eye roll* So, if any of you lurkers would like to ask me a question, do it now or forever keep your trap shut! I’m closing the hat on Friday!

There have to me some of you who are curious as to where why depression is such a “popular” diagnosis, or someone who wants to know why alcoholics become alcoholics, or why running makes you high, or why smell is such a strong emotional sense for most people. COME ON; you have to have questions! Okay, yeah, now I’m begging for entries. This is sad. Email your questions to mental.and.emotional.health@gmail.com!!!

Have a mid-week-me.

1. Whats one thing thats heavily weighing on your mind? Finances
2. Whats one thing you’ve learned from a good friendship gone bad? If both parties aren’t willing to put the effort into creating friendship, it won’t last.
3. Whats one thing you’ve learned lately from love? Familial love will always be the strongest.
4. Is there anyone special in your life in general at the moment? Yes, there are always special people in my life. I wouldn’t want anyone in my life NOT to feel special.
5. What’s a happy time you’ve had in the past week? Leaving work today. Sad but true; I was ready to get out of there.
6. Is there anything in your past that you’d like to try again? Marriage. One day. With the right man.
7. Who do you like to spend your nights with? Me.
8. Are you an emotional person? Highly emotional.
9. Are you self conscious? Depends on who I’m around and what I’m doing. In Viennese Waltz class I’m VERRRY self-conscious.
10. Do you think of others before yourself? Yes, I’ve been told I’m too nice for my own good; so I’ve been standing up and taking instead of always giving.
11. Whats something that can always make you feel better? Singing The Little Mermaid songs.
12. Who was the last person you had a crush on? A boy.
13. Where do you see yourself this time next year? In Greece, getting ready to start school there.
14. Do you tend to make relationships complicated? Yes, I am complicated so it’s natural for a relationship with me to become complicated.
15. Who do you feel the most comfortable around? MissEnnPee and MamaDee
16. Is there something that you’re waiting for? Yeah!
17. One thing you’re not looking forward to? Getting up and going to work tomorrow.
18. How do you feel about change? Change is great. Change makes the world go round. I am a fan of change.
19. What are you most looking forward to? School starting, going to San Diego.
20. What are your plans for your next birthday? Celebrate.
21. Do you even care about your birthday? Not really.
22. Do you think anyone in general out there loves you? I know people out there love me.
23. When do you think the world will end? When it does.
24. Whats the most expensive piece of clothing you own? My ski jacket
26. Do you still talk to the person you LAST kissed? Yeah
27. Have you ever seen your best friend cry? Yes, she’s had a baby, of course I’ve seen her cry!
28. What kind of vitamins did you take as a kid? generic ones
30. Did you get any compliments today? Yeah, “that dress looks great on you!” and “you’re so tan!” while I was trying on my Grand Opening dress
31. Are you friends with your neighbors? Yup, Judy and I talked for a bit earlier!
32. What were you just thinking about? Judy
33. Name the places you have lived in. Oregon, Florida, Alaska, Washington
34. When was the last time you drove more than 15 minutes? Today on the way home it took me quite a while.
35. Have ever had a crush your on your sister’s/brother’s friend? Nope

So there are secrets for being a true smile detective and the best technique there is involves looking at the eyes. There are muscles around our eyes (the orbicularis oculi) which create the real feeling expressed in our smiles. When real smiles are “activated” (not quite the word I was looking for, but it made me laugh (hah! I smiled writing this entry!)) the orbicularis oculi move and create a “twinkle” effect in our eyes. *starts singing “Irish Eyes are Smiling”*

I know that when I start looking at photographs to edit them, I don’t always look at the mouths. I look for expressive eyes. I can always spot the real smiles because of those eyes, and find that most of my really great pictures have NATURAL eyes and “twinkling” eyes. I use those and get astounding results once I start editing them. I love real smiles … and I have a few favorite tricks to GET people to smile. With children I start making monkey noises – who doesn’t laugh when an adult starts making monkey noises? With adults, if it’s just adults, instead of saying “Say cheese!” I ask them to “Say vagina!” It catches most adults completely off guard and I end up with a picture-full of smiling and laughing adults. I love it!

So, why did we develop a “fake” smile? Probably to protect ourselves. Many scienctists believe that we smile to “cement” bonds and ease tension. This may have sparked the uneasy feeling we get when we see someone faking their smile – we know that they are trying to hide something from us. Are they lying? Are they planning malice against us? Your goal for today is to start being a smile detective. Watch for people who aren’t really smiling – and then do something to make them smile!