Another Vlog from ASC: Sharon Duchesneau shares her perspective on the potential negative implications of the ASL sign for “therapy” or “counseling”. ASC would like to know your thoughts on an alternative sign, borrowed from other countries.

To cite:

Duchesneau, S. (2006, September 29). Rethinking the Sign for Therapy. ASC on the Couch. Retrieved September 29, 2006, from http://www.ascdeaf.com/blog/?p=232

What 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 a book devoted to multicultural mental health, Marsella and Yamada (2000) describe how society’s long-standing and deep-rooted social injustices can hurt people’s mental health. We thought about the implications of these injustices for our Deaf community’s mental health, especially today at Gallaudet, where so many Deaf people are struggling with issues that impact their mental health. Summarized below are the authors’ main points, which we think are well worth repeating.

There can be no mental health:

Where there is powerlessness, for powerlessness breeds despair.

Where there is poverty, for poverty breeds hopelessness.

Where there is inequality, for inequality breeds anger and resentment.

Where there is racism, for racism breeds low self-esteem and self-denigration.

Where there is cultural disintegration and destruction, for cultural disintegration and destruction breed confusion and conflict.

The Overlooked Sense: Ask people which of their senses they’d be willing to give up first – chances are, it’s the sense of smell. Either that, or the sense of taste, with taste being more likely if they belong to the Picky Eaters Club. Smelling isn’t usually up there at the top of anyone’s favorite conversation topics list, but it’s really a fascinating sense. There’s research that shows people respond to the smell of male and female hormones in all sorts of ways, including mood changes, increased aggression, and sexual drive. Aromatherapy is growing in popularity, with research even suggesting it is effective in preventing infection during cancer treatment. Smell is also strongly associated with memory, something many of us can identify with, when a certain smell reminds us of a person, a place, or a particular event in our lives.

Do Deaf People Smell Fear Better?: For a long time, animals have been thought to be able to detect chemicals that are produced by other animals when they experience fear. Now research is finding that people can also identify the smell of fear, possibly from chemicals in sweat, which is often produced during times of fear. What about Deaf people and the sense of smell? Do Deaf people detect more smells than hearing people? Are we more more attuned to smells, the same way many of us seem to be more visually alert than many hearing people? What’s your experience with the sense of smell?

Not 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 during times of stress. When we cry from emotional stimulation, we may actually be releasing toxins from our bodies, in the same way we do when we sweat or breathe out air. Through crying, we help ourselves heal.

The Gender Gap: Although all over the world, women are more likely than men to cry, the difference in frequency is not that great. American men, for example, have been found to cry about 1.8 times per month. American women cry about 3.5 times per month. Women may cry more often because they have naturally higher levels of prolactin, a hormone found in tears. Prolactin is also the hormone that triggers milk production.

Jackson went to a psychiatrist. “Doc,” he said, ” I’ve got trouble. Every time i get into bed I think there’s somebody under it. I get under the bed, I think there’s somebody on top of it. Top, under, top, under. I’m going crazy!”

“Just put yourself in my hands for two years,” said the shrink. “Come to me three times a week, and I’ll cure you.”

“How much do you charge”

“A hundred dollars per visit.”

“I’ll think about it.”

Jackson never went back. Six months later he met the doctor on the street. “Why didn’t you ever come to see me again?” asked the psychiatrist.

“For a hundred bucks a visit? A bartender cured me for 10 dollars.”

“Is that so! How?”

“He told me to cut the legs off the bed.”

Source: Reader’s Digest