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All posts for the month February, 2016

IF the SNAKE ….

Published February 21, 2016 by Nan Mykel

 

                              IF THE SNAKE SHOULD FALL ON YOU:  TRAUMA

Out of the Blue


        Out of the Blue

I had to write a note on trauma when I saw this photo. When I did research on my book on incest, I learned about trauma and realized that I had once been traumatized.  There are degrees of trauma–sometimes the birth of a stillborn baby, rape, incest, an automobile accident, combat, violence. Those severely traumatized are labeled PTSD.  I was not significntly traumatized by my own damaging experience of incest; I came close to being traumatized during a mad late-night ride with my drunken father, but in reviewing the various  definitions,  I  realized that I was traumatized when I gave birth to my dear Downs Syndrome daughter 44 years ago.  One of my main symptoms was  feeling vulnerable to bad things happening, out of the blue.  I no longer felt safe. I felt like fortune had turned against me and anything could happen.

Janoff-Bulman and Frieze (1983) described trauma  as “the abrupt disintegration of one’s own inner world…the shattering of very basic assumptions that victims have held about themselves and their world.  “

Maddock and Larson (1995) referred to trauma as “an emotionally intense experience that occurs without a suitable framework of meaning within which it can be placed for understanding and mastery.”

According to Van der Kolk (1987), “The essence of psychological trauma is the loss of faith that there is order and continuity in life…the belief that one’s actions have no bearing on the outcomes of one’s life.”  And I have to feel great compassion for the thousands of new mothers of microcephalic infants, due to the recent mosquito (Zika) infection.  I wanted to write a poem to express my feelings about them , but there seemed to be no words for the tragedy.

Well, I had to get that off my chest since the photo was such a metaphor for impending trauma.

A Body of Evidence

Published February 21, 2016 by Nan Mykel

Michelle at The Green Study's avatarThe Green Study

canstockphoto8980615I finally forced myself to go for a physical, stirrups included. Yee-haw. It was embarrassing when the receptionist announced I’d have to fill out new patient paperwork, since it’d been nearly 6 years since I’d last shown up. After a flu last month kicked off a party of hot flashes and inexplicable pains, I forced myself through the door of the clinic.

As they reviewed my information, I stood there stiffly, until I blurted “I’m having an anxiety attack.” My heart was pounding so hard I could barely focus on what the woman behind the desk was asking. Age? 48. When the nurse took my blood pressure, it was through the roof. She chuckled knowingly about “white coat syndrome”. All that damned meditative breathing did nothing.

The doctor was a woman about my age. I do what I usually do under stress, which is to start cracking jokes. I did…

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Stone the Sky and Huff

Published February 20, 2016 by Nan Mykel

whimsygizmo's avatarWhimsygizmo's Blog

…..

We’ve only got a few magic beans left, remember, Love?
We sold the rest for a stray cow and a song. If the tin
-tinnabulation of her dwindling bell tells
you nothing else, let’s recall that
here there be giants, and we are Lilliputian small.

Huff out that angry fear all you want, Love. The
sky’s still stoned with our madness and our tears.
Come, play connect-the-dots with me, in stars;
perhaps Orion’s got some answers on this belt.

Let’s claim a midnight cloud for our own,
wait around and watch the moon melt
from period to comma. Maybe our story’s still written
here somewhere, in inky haze and days of un
-held breath. Maybe we’ve actually won. May
……………..-be our once
upon a time has just begun.


Prompted by Quickly in September, day 24.

Linking up to dVerse Open Link Night, February 2016.

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The incubators birthday

Published February 19, 2016 by Nan Mykel

So sad that she infused you with all this anger that is eating you up. Someone said that the best retribution is to live a good life, but it’s always difficult to come from a minus to a plus. I’m not really religious, but there was a time that I prayed daily to be relieved of my hate for someone, because of what it was doing to my insides. Hate doesn’t hurt her….Keep on writing!

dissociatedsurvivor's avatarmothersdollfatherstoydotcom

So today is my incubators birthday. It will be turning 58. There are no cards or well wishes sent and certainly no visits from one of her children given the fact she tortured her from the moment she was born. All I hope for is pain loneliness & misery. I hope that she is ridiculed with some painful disease which leads to a long miserable life ending in a painful slow death. If I had my way she would have her womb ripped out without any anaesetic. Still what goes around comes around and no suffering will be enough for her.

This poem was written on Mother’s Day. It’s just as applicable for her birthday.

Happy Mothers Day
to the woman who gave birth
who ensured my coming years
would be nothing but hell on earth
Happy Mothers Day
to the woman who I had to trust
to meet my…

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WHY MY ROYALTIES ARE MINISCULE

Published February 19, 2016 by Nan Mykel

I spoke recently at a Writers Fair in my home town. One of many presentations, it was videotaped.  Recently I reviewed the tape and to my surprise discovered that I make horible, gibbering faces when I address an audience. For example:

awfulface3

Really now, would you trust anything this shifty-eyed creature wrote?

Hehheh

Or this one?

Screen Shot 2016-02-12 at 12.13.03 PM

I’m glad I’m blogging now instead of publishing books. This way, no one has to eyeball the real me.

 

Beginning of the end

Published February 18, 2016 by Nan Mykel

Empathic, loving expression

AB's avatarPerspectives on Life, the Universe and Everything

Those rhymes I sung
When I was little
Front bells I rung
Before running away
Shouting top of my lungs
Old anthems of brave
Bees who stung
Anywhere I could touch
On those trees we hung
As days passed away
Bit by bit I am losing you all
Memories where art thou
Where else dear old fellow
Just on the tip of your tongue

20140124-042531 pm.jpg

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PTSD Re-traumatization and Self Isolation

Published February 17, 2016 by Nan Mykel

gentlekindness's avatarGentleKindness

PTSD is a term most people have heard, but often they do not really know what it means.

If you tell someone you have PTSD, it may be hard for them to know what you mean by that, unless they have it themselves or maybe they have a close friend or family member with it.

People with PTSD have trouble with relationships, but not for the reasons people think.

Once you have been traumatized, and then re-traumatized by triggering situations, you feel generally unsafe and there is a natural tendency to want to retreat…back up your steps and run for cover.

People with PTSD can be re-traumatized by people who do not understand, and by people who are more concerned with their own agenda than really understanding.

When someone with PTSD has certain triggers, and explains those triggers to someone, it is important that they are validated and respected…

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Collecting Words and Sentences

Published February 17, 2016 by Nan Mykel

What a good shot in the arm for living! I’m reblogging to my site. Visit my journalling page at nanmykel.com

Well, I guess I don’t have re-blogging down pat yet. See original at

Thank You

Published February 17, 2016 by Nan Mykel

Beautiful and recommended.

Jen Benito's avatarRaising Peanut

IMG_1582A quick update on Jana:  She has another upper respiratory infection!  Just got on meds yesterday so I am hoping for a quick recovery.  She has a horrible cough, infected eyes and is very congested.  She is not sleeping very well at night, however none of that stops her from playing with her siblings and trying so hard to figure out this crawling thing 🙂  Recently she started attempting to eat her toes and hates it when I put socks on her feet!

So on to today’s post!  Written by Jana’s Daddy, Juan…you might want to grab a tissue 🙂

IMG_7539 Instantly a Daddy’s Girl!

We will most likely never meet in person but we share one precious gift in common and I wanted to take the time to say Thank You.

Over 1 year ago, you conceived a child and made the decision to give her birth even though you…

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WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Published February 17, 2016 by Nan Mykel

What are you doing, man? Loitering?

Why? Is this your corner?

Nah, I don’t deal. Just curious, You look so out of it.

I’m meditating.

Mediwhatting?

You know—clearing my mind and focusing on nothingness.

Nothingness—you hungry?

Nah, It’s kind of like free tripping.

You a Hari Kristie?

It’s Hari Krishna and no, I’m not one of those.

Well what are ya?

Just a poor dumb shit with nothing better to do than seek enlightenment.  What are you?

Well, I was looking for a little action.

You do deal! What gang do you run with?

Not!

Well what then?

Oooh  oooh  oooh, stayin’ alive.

You a rapper!  Rap me somethin’.

Nah, I’m just tryin’ to keep from spitting on the sidewalk and getting shot.

They after you?

Not yet. You don’t see me spitting on the sidewalk, do ya?

Well, that’s cool. Black Lives Matter.

I wish.

Yeah… Any protests around here?

You new  or sumpthink?

Yeah – ‘bout a week.

They’s a march on Main  Saturday night.  Legit.

I know—you don’t spit on sidewalks.

You got that right, my man.

Do you think they’d shoot me for meditating?

I dunno. It’d sho’ make CNN if they did.

You start like this:   Ommmmmmmmm….                                                                                                      Nan

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