Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Hello everybody! Today I want to talk about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. My friend Deniz and I presented this topic in class. Firstly, I start with the definition of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder(OCD).
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is an anxiety disorder. It is described by a disabling condition throughout a person’s life. There are several symptoms of this disease such as repetitive hand-washing; extensive hoarding; preoccupation with sexual or aggressive impulses, or with particular religious beliefs; aversion to odd numbers.
I explain the treatment methods of OCD. Generally, there are 2 main therapy for OCD patients. Pharmacotherapy and behavior theraphy. One patient may benefit from behavior therapy, while another will benefit from pharmacotherapy. Medications are of help in controlling the symptoms of OCD. If the medication is discontinued, relapse will follow. On the other hand, a specific behavior therapy approach called 'exposure and response prevention' is effective for many people with OCD. For example; a compulsive hand washer may be encouraged to touch an object believed to be contaminated, and then urged to avoid washing for several hours until the anxiety provoked has greatly decreased.

HOW TO GET HELP FOR OCD?
. You should seek the help of a mental health professional.
. You can get help from family physicians, clinics and health organizations or they can make referrals to mental health centers and specialists.
. The specialists who are knowledgeable about the treatment of OCD are able to provide therapy or recommend another doctor in the area.

Well, if there is a person with OCD, what the family can do to help for him?
. They may learn specific ways to encourage the person with OCD to adherefully to behavior therapy and/or pharmacotherapy programs.
. They may read self-help books.
. They may seek the help of a family therapist.

Life is not long enough to put everything into your head. I wish you have a good time without obsessions=)

The First Conversation After Trauma

Last week, I attended a conference about 'the first conversation after trauma'. The speaker has been working at 'Morçati' for twenty years. She talked about the types of trauma. Trauma falls into two categories which are natural trauma and man made trauma.

There are variety effects of trauma. I want to talk about some of them. The trauma can include:
. Upsetting memories such as images or thoughts about the trauma
. Feeling as if the trauma is happening again (flashbacks)
. Bad dreams and nightmares
. Getting upset when reminded about the trauma (by something the person sees, hears, feels, smells, or tastes)
. Anxiety or fear, feeling in danger again
The effects of trauma causes obstacles in a person's life. It continues at least for one month.

The speaker gave an example of trauma her client had experienced. Her client's mother had died in a traffic accident when she was 9 years old. She and her sisters grew up in different relative's houses because her father could not look after them. They could not meet each other. She got married at the age of 18. Her husband was older than her. She got pregnant. One day, suddenly her husband disappeared. She was left alone with her child in Istanbul. She did several different jobs such as serving as a waiter...etc... After 2 years, her husband showed up and came back into her life. After a while and after taking all her money, he left her on her own again. Following this she started staying at the shelter. The repeating traumas the mentioned woman has experienced is called Complex PTSO.

The speaker also talked about points to pay attention to during therapy.
. Usually, client express herself with body language.
. Client should not be forced to explain her/his problems.

A good therapist should posses the following qualities:
. should make clients feel that they can easily handle the problem.
. should have deep knowledge about the trauma and its effects.
. should be a good observent.
. should know herself.
. should be a good listener.
. should give a hope to clients.
. should use the appropriate language.

April 23 Sovereignty and Children's Day

The founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, dedicated April 23 to the children of the country to emphasize that they are the future of the new nation.It was on April 23, 1920, during the War of Independence, that the Grand National Assembly met in Ankara and laid down the foundations of a new, independent, secular, and modern republic from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire. the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne on July 24, 1923, Ataturk started his task of establishing the institutions of the new state. Over the next eight years, Ataturk and his followers adopted sweeping reforms to create a modern Turkey, divorced from her Ottoman past. In unprecedented moves, he dedicated the sovereignty day to the children and entrusted in the hands of the youth the protection of this sovereignty and independence.

Every year, the children in Turkey celebrate this "Sovereignty and Children's Day" as a national holiday. The foreign children are housed in Turkish homes and find an important opportunity to interact with the Turkish kids and learn about each other's countries and cultures. Schools participate in week-long ceremonies in large stadiums.

Today, this important day was celebrated in different parts of Turkey and also in Ankara. I went to my niece's school because she was participate in folk dance. We watched Zeynep's performance and she was excellent. I added Zeynep's photo here=)

No to the Sexual Abuse of Children!

'SİİRT'te ilköğretim öğrencisi 7 kıza tecavüz ettikleri gerekçesiyle 17 kişinin tutuklanması, 25 kişinin de gözaltına alınması bomba etkisi yarattı. Vali Necati Şentürk, kentte büyük tepki çeken olaya adı karışan iki kamu görevlisinin açığa alındığını söyledi. Siirt Cumhuriyet Başsavcısı Mustafa Karamık, cinsel istismarla ilgili soruşturmanın sürdüğünü ve konu hakkında gizlilik kararı bulunduğunu belirtti.Siirt'te bir ilköğretim okulunda kız kardeşler 16 yaşındaki S.T., ile 14 yaşındaki H.T'ye Müdür Yardımcısı F.K.'nın tecavüz ettiği ve daha sonra kentte başka kişilere pazarlandığı iddia edildi. Bu iddialarla ilgili olarak Cumhuriyet Başsavcılığı'nın yürüttüğü soruşturma kapsamında bugüne kadar, 7 ayrı kıza tecavüz edildiği gerekçesiyle 17 kişi tutuklandı, 25 kişi gözaltına alındı. Siirt Cumhuriyet Başsavcısı Mustafa Karamık, soruşturmanın halen sürdüğünü ve soruşturma kapsamında gizlilik kararı aldıklarını açıkladı. Karamık, basında çıkan haberler üzerine de ayrı bir soruşturma başlattıklarını söyledi.'

This morning, while I was reading the news on the internet, these news drew my attention and it curdled my blood. Unfortunately in recent years, such incidents have increased rapidly. So that today I want to talk about child sexual abuse.

According to the definition of wikipedia, child sexual abuse is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent abuses a child for sexual stimulation. Often these involve body contact, but not always. Exposing one's genitals to children or pressuring them for sex is sexual abuse. In the light of the researches, it can be found that most sexual abusers know the child they abuse. They may be family friends, neighbors or babysitters. About one-third of abusers are related to the child. Most abusers are men. On the other hand, sexual abuse by a family member is a form of incest, and can result in more serious and long-term psychological trauma, especially in the case of parental incest. Sexually abused children and their families should get help from family physicians, clinics and psychiatric consultation.The most-often reported form of incest is father-daughter and stepfather-daughter incest, with most of the remaining reports consisting of mother/stepmother- daughter/son incest. Although there are several abuse cases that are reported, there are also the ones that are not reported. Because the children are afraid to tell anyone what has happened or the abuser may threaten the child with violence or loss of love.

Well, how we prevent our children from sexual abuse? According to experts, parents can prevent or lessen the chance of sexual abuse by:
- Telling children that if someone tries to touch your body and do things that make you feel funny, say NO to that person and tell me right away
- Teaching children that respect does not mean blind obedience to adults and to authority, for example, don't tell children to, Always do everything the teacher or baby-sitter tells you to do
- Encouraging professional prevention programs in the local school system

I talked about this unpleasent topic today because I wanted to raise awareness and I also wanted everbody to taken precautions. I wish for a world where our children, siblings, nephews and nieces live safely.. No to the sexual abuse of children!

Reggie Ramirez and ''Endless Love''

Reggie Ramirez, 34, a singer from Davao City, Philippines, has become a famous after performing a brilliant cover of the Lionel Richie/Diana Ross classic duet "Endless Love" without partner on the show "Pilipinas Got Talent". He was the winner of this competition.

I often watch talent shows in Turkey or other countries but I had never seen a creative or original performance like that! Ramirez performs as half-man and half-women, complete with a pink dress on the left side of his body and a tuxedo on the right. And his paint on his face is also amazing and magnificent! Does not he look simply gorgeous as a lady? Go ahead and put your hand over the man side and take in how beautiful he could look as a female. Ramirez sings both the male and female part of the song, turning towards the audience to show that side of his dress and face when he is singing the corresponding part. Two voices in one person. That is very very nice!

His stunning performance has lead people to speculate of what sex the singer could be, with some wondering if he is both. Dr. William Turner who is an expert on gender dynamics says it's possible that Ramirez is intersexed, a condition that occurs when a person is born with atypical genitals that can be mistaken for either male or female. But in my opinion, Ramirez is a man and just has the ability to sing high like a woman. Either way, Reggie Ramirez's performance is well worth a look so you can watch it here. I am sure that you like it, enjoy =)

The Age Disease: Anorexia Nervosa

Hi everybody. Today, I submitted my AFEA report about Anorexia Nervosa to my teacher. I have worked on this assignment for about 3 months. And eventually I completed it last night. Now I want to share my knowledge about Anorexia Nervosa here.

Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder described by extremely low body weight, distorted body image and an obsessive fear of gaining weight. There are several diagnostic criteria which help for diagnoses Anorexia Nervosa such as requiring below 85% of healthy weigth, menstrual irregularities, intense fear of gaining weight. I understood from my investigations that adolescents are highly risk group for Anorexia Nervosa and generally Anorexia Nervosa is seen in women more than men.

There are many causes for this illness. The Barbie syndrome, childhood sexual abuse, perfectionism are some of the psychological reasons of Anorexia Nervosa. On the other hand, social reasons also play a big role in causing Anorexia Nervosa. For example, the approach among friends to certain body types may leads to Anorexia Nervosa or teenagers who perceive family communication, parental caring, and parental expectations as low are at increased risk for developing this disease. Moreover, while I was working on this report I noticed that media plays a major role in Anorexia Nervosa by increased numbers of diet articles and encouraging extreme thinness with models.

Although there are treatments of Anorexia Nervosa, if people with this disease do not use treatments methods, Anorexia Nervosa may leads to deaths. But according to the result of the searches individual therapy, group therapy and family therapy may all be beneficial in recovering from Anorexia Nervosa.

I tried to explain to you Anorexia Nervosa briefly. I hope it was interesting for you. Have a nice day with delicious food =)

Gülşah Beştav and Hypnosis

Today I attended a conference about hypnosis, which was presented by Gülşah Beştav, an expert psychologist. Although the topic was interesting, the attendance was low. I found the answers to these questions during the conference: What is hypnosis? What are the types of hypnosis? For whom is hypnosis available? I listened to her carefully as she was very merry and had a nice tone of voice. Gülşah Beştav cures her clients by hypnosis. She seeks solutions to her clients' problems by turning to the events in their past during sessions. Generally, the problem is based on an event from childhood. She has very interesting memories, and I want to share one of them with you: One day, a trikotillomanic client consulted her. This is a disease with which patients pluck their hair, eyebrows and eyelashes. This was the outcome when they went back to the person's state as a 4-year-old child during the hypnosis session: When the client was 4 years old, she wanted a Barbie doll from her mother but did not get it. The following day they went to a relative's home. The host called the little girl over and asked her to make a wish. As you may guess, she took her eyelash that fell off and asked "bottom or top?". The girl answered "top", upon which the woman told her her wish would come true. Incidentally, the next day her mother came home with a "Barbie doll". On that very day, the little girl generalized that event in her subconscious this way: With every hair falling off my body, one wish will come true! So she started plucking her hair, eyebrows and eyelashes. Isn't that interesting?

Sentences we use when we interact with children are very important. We should be able to base what we do when we communicate with them on a reason-outcome correlation and make the necessary explanations in a correct way.

In the second part of the conference, the psychologist tried to carry out a group hypnosis on us, but did not manage because of the noise and light factors. As I thought you might be interested, I am hereby sharing a video regarding Gülşah Beştav with you. Hope you like it, enjoy.

Class Distinction

Cem Karaca- Tamirci Çırağı


Hi everybody =) Today we learned 'statification and class' in class. We talked about 3 theorists regarding the class system. One of them is Karl Marx and his concept of communism. According to Marx there are two classes. The two main classes consist of capitalists who own these new means of production and the working class who earn their living by selling their labour to them. These two classes are in a natural, universal, inevitable and constant fight of interests with each other. Unfortunately, class distinction has always existed until now and will continue existing. I wish there were no class distinctions but this will only remain an utopia. The Cem Karaca video and song which I share with you here reminds me of this class distinction once again. Hope you like it, enjoy =)

"Üniversite için ilk viraj 11 Nisan'da"

"Üniversiteye giriş için değiştirilen yeni sınav sistemi bu yıl ilk kez uygulanacak. Buna göre üniversiteli olmak isteyenlerin ilk adımı olan Yüksek öğretime Geçiş Sınavı (YGS) 11 Nisan Pazar günü yapılacak. Lisans Yerleştirme Sınavları (LYS) ise haziran ayında 5 ayrı kategoride gerçekleştirilecek. YGS yaklaştıkça, sınava girecek adayların kaygıları da artıyor...Fem dershaneleri rehberlik uzmanı Faruk Ardıç, sınava az kala öğrencilerde görülen şiddetli huzursuzluk, ders çalışırken dikkati toplayamama, kalp atışlarının hızlanması, diğer arkadaşlarının sınava daha iyi hazırlandığı, kendisinin az hazırlandığı düşüncesi ve panikleme hallerinin doğal olduğuna dikkat çekti. Ardıç 'Kaygının giderilmesinin en etkili yolu, hedeflere ulaşabilmek için gerekli planlamayı yapmak ve bu planları uygulamaya koymaktır.' dedi. "

This morning, while I was reading the news on the internet, these news drew my attention: Worries observed with students reminded me of what Ülkü Tosun said in last class. According to the 'Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy', the founder of which is Albert Ellis, there is an 'ABC model' which is interdependent in itself. 'A' is an event and it can not be changed. 'B' is the way we interpret the event. 'C' is the behaviour we display in terms of how we interpret the event and it can change depending on 'B'. In this event, YGS represents 'A'. Interpreting the test as an intelligence test is 'B'. The worry this causes is 'C'. The point of view should be changed for changing the result of the event. Students should often be reminded that the test is not an intelligence test but a test taken by those who want to get higher education. Worries and stress can be prevented or decreased this way.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

'It's the 21st century, but the gods of Mount Olympus and assorted monsters have walked out of the pages of high school student Percy Jackson's Greek mythology texts and into his life. And they're not happy: Zeus' lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect. Even more troubling is the sudden disappearance of Percy's mother. As Percy finds himself caught between angry and battling gods, he and his friends embark on a cross-country adventure to catch the true lightning thief, save Percy's mom, and unravel a mystery more powerful than the gods themselves.'


Today, I went to this movie with my boyfriend. I hadn't read the book of the movie and gone to the first movie before. My friends who read Percy Jackson and Olympians: The Lightning Thief said that 'There are several differences between the book and movie'. I think, it is not a bad movie but it caters the children mostly. It blends Greek mythology and nowaday's elements. Although it sometimes annoyed me, generally it was funny and amusing. I wasn't bored while I watching the movie. It may be watched because despite actresses and actors are no more famous, they are very qualified. Uma Thurman, Sean Bean and Logan Lerman are some of them but in my opinion, Uma Therman might be in a different role. The musics of the movie are also interesting. For example; Lady Gaga's song plays =)
Finally, if you like fantastic and science fiction movies, you should watch this movie because it worths watching!