Arty Kitkat
I'll be honest - I've taken pics of some of my projects that are food based and thought they looked a bit yicky so I can get that someone would put a pic of a strawberry when they made a face mask. My Korma was touch and go whether it made it onto the web as it didn't photograph well 
Posts by Arty Kitkat
There is a button now for reporting a user so I assume this is in response to this kind of problem. I agree though that rude messages on a project isn't the way to draw attention to an iffy project. It just tends to reflect badly on the person leaving the message.
I think it works a little like using a lightbox in the sense that its about the wavelengths that make up the different colours and the effect they have on the retina. I'm not totally sure though and it seems like a pretty safe type of therapy to try as there are no meds to change or memories to churn up. Have a look on wikipeadia and see what that says. Good old wikipeadia
I remember emailing Cat a while back because one of the featured projects was stolen off another website! Someone hadn't just done it and called it their own idea, the whole thing was lifted straight off another site and it was a pretty popular site too. Several people noticed and commented but it stayed the featured project which I felt was a bit wrong. I don't know how you get round this though without slowing down the publishing of projects and how tos. As far as I'm aware its mainly Tom and Cat who run the site and they do a pretty amazing job. I suppose all we can do is draw their attention to anything that seems suspect. I also think there's nothing wrong commenting and drawing peoples attention to dodgy makes The one I emailed Cat about was the embroidered knitted boots. They were off another site called Urban Threads. I did message the person who posted it here to ask if they were Urban Threads but heard nothing back. I would assume if the person posting here was the person who made the original then they would be more than happy to have people link back to their own site.
As far as people joining up and not posting creations or how tos - I don't have a problem with that. Its probably a large chunk of the users of this site and that seems fine with me.
Are you taking your meds again now? I wish mine weren't reduced. I got a bit caught up in the excitement of not taking them but thats well and truly worn off and now just feel a bit crap. I'm having the day off sick from work today as I was up in the night with headaches and feeling rough.
mine are being reduced and I'm feeling pretty meh - mood swings driving me potty too
I tend to think teaching art is tough - to be a good art teacher you need to inspire and be willing to nurture creativity and to be that person you probably aren't much of a rules person and not necessarily that good at getting people through the hoops you have to get people through at school like exams, coursework etc.. I know I'm probably making leaps where I shouldn't but my best art teacher was probably not the best teacher in the strict sense of the word. He was amazing but he never seemed comfortable in the role of school teacher and had a breakdown not long after I left school. He's still knocking about but apparently went off and did work in theatre production and lighting. My best memories of him are of him playing Bob Marley really loud and letting me play my Chili Peppers albums and he used to let people smoke in the art cupboard and stay after class or work through the breaks or even skive off from other classes.
I think your teacher probably needs to learn a thing about constructive criticism. He is probably also 'good' at getting people through the school 'sausage machine' so everyone probably comes out passing the course. He probably doesn't get many artists though.
Sorry if this sounds a bit rambling, but what I would suggest is to toe the line at class - i.e. turn up, jump through the hoops and come out with your exams, but it maybe worth looking into something like life classes or another art class with an outside group. I did this and you get to mix with a whole different set of people and get to experiment more and try out different things.
Good luck though and although its hell at the time, school doesn't last forever
My mum had a similar reaction too - it felt as if she thought it was an over reaction or something but once she realised how serious things had got she was okay with it. I think parents (my mums been a nurse since she was 17) come from a generation when psychiatric medication was ladened down with lots of nasty side affects and it was pretty obvious that people on the medication were 'on something'. Medication has changed a lot though and I've been on prozac and had no side affects at all. Unfortunately even on a high dose it wasn't really touching the sides as far as the depression and anxiety went but some of my clients are on it and its literally been a life saver.
I've decided to slim down my account and just have the bare minimum on it at the moment. I'm also giving myself a fb holiday. I want to get out of the habit of checking it daily. I figure I'll get an email if someone has contacted me via it. Its such a shame though, when I first joined it was a great site but I feel like they've sold out. I think part of the changes were due to legal reasons - apparently (or so I've read) the idea behind the site was pinched off someone. The two programmers who were employed to set up this site apparently did a deliberately slow and crappy job as they were using the idea to set up fb. Apparently this all went through court and changes had to be made so that it wasn't the same as the original blokes idea. I think thats roughly what happened. The really recent changes though don't appear to have anything to do with that. They seem to be for the sake of money and cashing in on people's dependency on the site.
Does anyone else get a bit freaked out by facebook these days? Its been changed so much over the last 6 months that I really don't like it but I feel a bit trapped as everyone seems to be on it. I came extremely close tonight to deactivating my account. It just feels like its just a matter of time before everyone on the planet is on it and it makes me feel really weird.
Also the final straw came tonight when I found a really weird comment my mum made about something I'd said to my niece. It just made me think 'do you know what I could do without this'.
In the UK we were going to have ID cards introduced and I was one of the people who really disagreed with. I didn't want the government snooping in on my life but I feel with all the changes made to fb I feel like a bit of a hypocrite.
What are others thoughts about all the recent changes - i.e. new privacy settings, changes to interests and setting up pages for everything you like, listen to, watch, read.....
I'm with Michelle on this one - your friend is talking out of her arse. Its not bollocks, anxiety is horrendous. Unfortunately some people just don't get it.
On the issue Squizita raised I was actually the opposite. I've had CBT and it was great while I was having it and the psychologist was amazing I don't think I was well enough to hold onto what I was learning. Now that my meds are working and I feel stronger I feel in a better place to benefit from therapy. I've been referred for psychotherapy so fingers crossed the appointment will come round soon.
I also find distraction a great help. I sometimes play freecell or something simple like that if I'm feeling shit. It's sometimes just enough to focus my attention away from how I'm feeling. I also find it near impossible to make a decision when I'm really anxious so simple things like doodling, playing freecell are really handy. I also got myself a little book on origami and a tiny pack of origami paper that I used to carry around with me. I made a whole load of little boxes but its good for keeping your head and hands busy.
Basically I think everyones different and you sometimes have to try a few things to find what works for you. Unfortunately we're in the majority - most people will experience some problems with their mental health at some point in their life and your experiences will give you the empathy that your friend is sadly lacking.
Sorry your arthritis is playing up. I run a pain support group at work and have problems with my posture and knees so I can kind of empathise. I've got one leg longer than the other (which is apparently really common) and it means my weight isn't evenly distributed so it causes a lot of achiness.
Glucosamine in apparently good for arthritis but you apparently have to be taking it about 2 years before you start to notice the difference. I only found this out recently when I had a dietitian come into the pain group. I've restarted taking it now but unfortunately its not a quick fix at all.
Does your pain get better with heat/cold? You could try heat packs or frozen peas. Its not a long term help but it can give some relief. Also I love a long soak in the bath. You can add essential oils like chamomile, juniper,rosemary, celery, black pepper, marjoram, lavender and eucalyptus. One of my friends who has rheumatoid arthritis has found accupuncture helpful too and she has regular massages to help her circulation. I also wear tubagrips round my knees when they're bad too. They give them a bit of extra support, warmth and compression.
I've actually applied for another job. Its not in mental health and although I haven't heard anything I think it maybe time for me to gently start looking around and seeing whats out there. I'm just a bit scared as I feel a bit limited. I've done my job for so long that I'm not sure how you go about making a big career change. What I had forgotten until the other day - I am a qualified massage therapist! I'm thinking I may try building up my business a bit more. You never know, it may give me a way out. I already work part time so I could try doing a bit more on my day off. I like it as its physical and it keeps me fit. Thanks though for the comments. I didn't realise till just now that any more had been added.
I'm sorry you're being affected by these. Panic attacks are horrible Somewhere I've found useful is no panic http://www.nopanic.org.uk/ I've bought things of their website before and found them helpful and they also have a helpline, which although I haven't used I've been told its pretty good.
Mind also do some really good leaflets that you can download online http://www.mind.org.uk/page404
The Mental Health foundation also do some good stuff http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/welcome/
If you still have my mobile feel free to text me too I have lived with depression and anxiety on and off since I was small. I also work in mental health so find out about bits and bobs through there too. The main part of my job is working with 18 - 30 year olds and I've been doing that job about 8 and a half years so I'm more than happy for you to pick my brains if it helps. If you don't have my number and you'd like me to send it let me know and I can pm it to you.
x
I'm so sorry. A big cyberhug is winging its way to you. x