Book Review #2

Although I haven't been reading as much as I have wanted lately, I was still able to finally finish some more books. November seems to always be a busy month. Prepping and planning for the Holiday's and then of course Black Friday & Cyber Monday.

I've mentioned before that I LOVE non-fiction books, so I hope you are all ready to start indulging in some great reading about amazing people around the world. The two books that I will be reviewing today involve mental health.

Sickened- Julie Gregory 

Most people don't know what Münchausen Syndrome is, let alone Münchausen Syndrome by Proxy. Julie Gregory uses her memoir to shed light on a psychiatric disorder that can be damaging in so many ways. Münchausen Syndrome is when an individual craves medical attention and finds ways to make themselves sick or to make others believe they are sick. Click here to read about an extreme case. Münchausen Syndrome by Proxy is when a parent (usually the mother) insists their child is constantly sick and seeks the attention of medical care for their child.

Julie takes you through her troubled childhood and allows you to become emotionally involved with her hardships. It took me a while to get into this book as I was expecting bigger situations to happen faster. When the bigger situations did occur, it almost seemed like it was written to not sound like a climatic point. However, one of my favourite things in this book is how Julie was able to reflect back on her life when she figured out (by a complete fluke) what happened to her as a child. Second to that is how she is able to reach out and help/support others. I was completely shocked by the end of the book and was very inspired by her courageousness.

I don't recommend this book to anyone who has an issue with child abuse. Some of the experiences Julie has had are morbid, shocking and not humane. If you can get through that you will enjoy this book of hard times, good times and overcoming hardships.

Brain On Fire- Susannah Cahalan

This is one of those books that you when you read the first page you know you aren't putting it down. Every word has you hanging on and craving more. The entire time I read this book I was constantly trying to figure out the answers to the question that Susannah was asking to herself, but I had no answers- no one had any answers. Susannah tells about her month of of madness which starts of as possible exhaustion and ends with a solution that was far out of reach for a long time. Not to ruin the book or anything, but she was diagnosed with Anti-NMDA-Receptor: AutoImmune Encephalitis (click the name to learn more!). Essentially this is the immune system attacking receptors in the brain.

The way that Susannah recalls her experience is brilliant. As you read each word you can practically put yourself in her shoes and imagine the pain, confusion and frustration she was going through. I loved that she included photos and quotes from her experience which allows you to connect even more with her. The love and support that is shown throughout this book is extremely touching. I loved knowing that she wrote this book after she was better and that you were able to read about how she is now! To learn even more about Susannah and to see how she is check out her page here! ]

P.S. I would LOVEEEEE to see this turn into a movie, it would be extremely riveting!

Have you read any good mental health books?

Weekly WTF #1

I cannot count how many times a week a particular situation causes me to go "What The Fuck?" There are angry ones, confused ones, and hilarious ones, but each one I always have to pass on to the first person who will listen. For example, a while back I saw a unicorn outside KFC having a smoke. I couldn't snap a photo, but you better believe I passed that weird image on to as many people as possible. I wish I could have seen what their imaginations drew up.

So today I bring to you my first Weekly WTF moment. I must warn you I could have played a role in "Something About Mary" with this situation.

One thing I CANNOT live without in the winter is a hot bath or shower. Every night I always have one before bed. Not only are they relaxing, but they get my blood flowing to ensure I'm warm. Best part is the steam from my skin heats up my bed (even though the heated blanket is on high).

So after a long day at work, I came home to a nice relaxing bubble bath (no LUSH products here... I've yet to try them. #shameonme) and ended up with a special surprise at the end. It wasn't one of those surprises floating around the bath like when you were a kid, or a little critter crawling on the wall. It wasn't even as special as all the fun stuff I see come out of those LUSH bath bombs (can you tell I really want to try LUSH). 

I couldn't get the body wash out of the bottle so I shook it a few times, got what I needed and moved on. I noticed some on the side of the bath and thought that was the only place it landed when I shook it. 

WRONG! The body wash landed in such a convenient location and in such a good form I couldn't help but snap a picture. The funnier part, is it took me at least 5-10 minutes before I even noticed what had happened. When I did notice I laughed so hard I thought I was going to wake the house up! You better believe the first words that left my mouth were "What The Fuck?" I couldn't even figure out at first how it happened. I must say, I'm pretty happy it wasn't a "Something About Mary"situation and is just body wash. I'm still laughing while I write this just picturing the moment I noticed what had happened. 

NOTE TO SELF: Invest in LUSH products and stop shaking the bottle!! 

What was your Weekly WTF moment? 

Facing Your Fears

This is Hallowe'en, This is Hallowe'en, Hallowe'en, Hallowe'en..... Yes I'm still singing, but I can't help it. The song is such a perfect transition from Hallowe'en to Christmas and it's addicting.

This past Hallowe'en, I got inspired by the lovely Nicole Guerriero and her Killer Clown Couple Make-up Tutorial. Here's the catch.... I'M AFRAID OF CLOWNS!!!!!! I know, I know, who in their right mind would be what they are afraid for Hallowe'en. Seems crazy, but it just felt right. As soon as I told my friends and family they thought it was completely ironic.

I have to mention that the Bloody Scab Makeup I used did me one better! Half way through the night this happened....

Which resulted in this by the end of the night...

Basically the blood took on a mind of it's own and it looked like I was actively bleeding. I absolutely LOVE that this happened! **see the pluto in the back...he gets mentioned later :)**

This is a terrible picture, but it's the only half decent one of my outfit! I'm wearing TuTu's around my ankles because well why not? My hair was done up in a faux mohawk. You'd think it would be easier with A LOT of hair, but it's not. 

Last year I was super stoked about how well I did my make-up that I thought I would share two shots of the killer cracked doll :) 

Now on to the point... I'm not writing this post about Hallowe'en or about how crazy it was that I actually pulled off this make-up with my sister's assistance. What I want to talk about, is facing fears.

Sharon from Under The Blush wanted to show me the tutorial, but was worried it would scare me. Fortunately the complete opposite happened, I fell in love.  I got thinking about why I was afraid of clowns and how I could find a way to push on from the fear. I know for a fact, that I hate how I can't read the emotions on their face. They could be beeming with excitement and have a painted on sad face. They could be narcissistic and have the biggest smile you've ever seen. What's worse is these creepy faced clowns are randomly produced ALL YEAR ROUND. Hallowe'en is one thing, but I can't seem to figure out what possesses someone to want to look like that and act weird for entertainment. Couple that with all the killer clowns that have been made in Hollywood over the years and you have yourself a great concoction for fear.

This next fear should come as NO surprise, but I don't like mascots and I don't like masks. Again with the exception of Hallowe'en. If I can't see your eyes or read your expressions, I'm mortified. AT my first job I was chased around the football stadium by the mascot and I've never let that memory go. There is also a picture of me from my first trip to Disney World as a child with Pluto and I look terrified. The sad part I was SOOOO excited to finally meet Pluto (or Plulu as I called him) since I've always loved him. I have at least ten different pluto's kicking around my house. He's quite the security blanket (dog).

So you're probably wondering how I deal with this since clowns, mascots and masks are actually a part of everyday culture and not just Hallowe'en. I face them head on. Mascots are still a bit tricky, but I don't freak out unless they are within an arms length to me. If they touch me or get close to me I start to feel a bit vulnerable. Plus since they are still human they can sense fear and will act on it since their identity is protected. I still work with the same company from time to time and have small run in's with the pesky Ti-Cat, but it's tolerable.

As for masks, it's same idea. It's a little strange for someone to randomly be wearing one, but even just taking a walk down the strip at Niagra Falls can create a run in. I can now walk by the entertainers without freaking out, I just can't interact with them. I used to have to stay across the street, but I challenge myself each time I see them.

Clowns however were/are more challenging, which is why I took Hallowe'en as the perfect opportunity. I'm going to be what I'm afraid of and show myself they are just "normal" people too. I would like to say this worked...but at one point during the night someone with creepy clown mask scared the shit out of me. I guess I didn't realize that by being a clown I was participating in some type of "ALL CLOWNS UNITE" party as they all kept coming to me. Regardless I think I did a great job getting through the night with only one minor (major!!) scare.

My best advice is to face your fears dead on if you can. I know for me I'll probably never face the fear of spiders (especially big ones), but that's okay. I can handle the little house spiders and I think that's good enough for me.

What are you afraid of and how do you handle it?