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Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

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Janet (ocdtalk)'s avatarocdtalk

by kittisak freedigitalphotos.net by kittisak freedigitalphotos.net

Well, I had an interesting week. I was impaneled on a jury for a criminal case, and was also selected as the forewoman for that jury. (Before you get too impressed, I was chosen at random).

Each of us on the jury listened intently, not only to all of the evidence presented in the case, but also to the words of the judge, who continually stressed to us that in order to arrive at a guilty verdict, we had to be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did  indeed commit the crime for which he was accused. The judge went on to say that while most people know what beyond a reasonable doubt means, it is a difficult concept to actually explain.

Not surprisingly, my thoughts turned to obsessive-compulsive disorder. As we know, doubt is what fuels the fire of OCD, so much so that…

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Three Endorsements

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I wanted to share with you three services that I love– and if you think you might love them too, you can sign up through me! Thanks for bearing with me through this self-benefiting blog post– please know that if I didn’t really love these services, I wouldn’t throw them at ya!

1. Dropbox.

Dropbox has revolutionized my life. That probably sounds extreme, but it’s true! Dropbox works like a freakin’ wormhole between all my electronic devices. It installs a folder, and I can access anything in the folder anywhere else I’ve downloaded Dropbox– as well as online! I have it on my personal computer, my work computer, and my phone. No more worrying about Oh, that file is on my other device. I always have access to everything in that folder. In addition, I love saving my work to a cloud. It’s such a nice backup in case my hard-drive ever self-destructs. And you can get 2 GB of space for FREE. If you want to start a Dropbox account, sign up here (because then you and I will both get an extra 500 MB of space!).

2. Dollar Photo Club.

I want my blog to look as amazing as possible, and my creativity was really feeling squelched by having to search the Creative Commons images all the time (these images are free and available for use on blogs– there are varying levels of license which dictate how much freedom the poster has to alter the image). So, I decided to shell out the small fee of $10 a month to get 10 downloads each month that I can choose from among over 25 million images. This way I can always find something that fits my post perfectly– and I can modify it to add my post title, website, etc. I love it. Below are some of the images I’ve downloaded through Dollar Photo Club and modified over at PicMonkey (including some spoilers for some upcoming posts!). If you want to start your own account, sign up through me here (so I can earn commission!).

dollar photo club collage

3. Dollar Shave Club.

I hate buying razors. They’re expensive and a nuisance to purchase. I signed up with Dollar Shave Club, and now I have my blades delivered automatically once every other month (you can sign up for every month too, if you want), and the blades are inexpensive, awesome, and I don’t even have to think about it. There are three different kinds of blades to choose from. The most basic blade starts at just $1 (plus S&H) a month– though I’m a big-shot (ha!) and get the executive plan (4 cartridges of six-blade awesomeness every two months for just $9 [and that includes S&H]). If, like me, you hate the inconvenience and expense of buying razor blades, you can sign up through me here (and I earn dollars against my next payment to DSC!).

Thanks, guys. If you have questions about any of these, just ask!

Back to my regular blog topics on Thursday.

(Although, it’s not like I’ve never promoted stuff I really, really love before:

Sites & Services I Love
Sites & Services I Love, Part II
Sites & Services I Love, Part III)

 

How to Stop Enabling OCD Sufferers

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Good stuff here from my friend Janet. This is so, SO hard to do … but such a critical part of the healing process!

Janet (ocdtalk)'s avatarocdtalk

FreeDigitalPhotos.net by David Castillo Dominici FreeDigitalPhotos.net by David Castillo Dominici

Over the years, I’ve written quite a few posts that discuss OCD and family interactions, and the general consensus seems to be that the single most helpful thing loved ones can do for those suffering from OCD is not enable them. While our instincts might tell us to do whatever we can to reduce our loved one’s suffering, instincts are typically not correct when dealing with OCD, an illness that follows no logic.

Okay, so we know we are not supposed to enable. But how, exactly, do we stop? When I’ve been posed this question before, I usually recommend families discuss their individual situations with their loved one’s therapist. Unfortunately, I’ve heard from many family members who are shut out completely from their loved one’s therapy, and are left trying to figure it all out on their own.

So let’s take an example. Perhaps…

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OCD Twin Cities event with Jeff Bell!

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Residents of the Twin Cities, mark your calendars for Sunday, October 12: Jeff Bell will be speaking at our event to kick off OCD Awareness Week 2014!  If you have never heard Jeff Bell speak, let me tell you now: you do NOT want to miss this!  He is amazing. I had the pleasure of meeting Jeff back in 2012 when he interviewed me at an OCD Foundation event. If you’ve heard or met Jeff before, then you already know that this event is not to be missed.

Details are here.  Let me know if you have questions!

ocd twin cities

Jonah Griggs’ favourite Footy team has made the Grand Finals

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YES to anything Jonah Griggs.

melina marchetta's avatarMelina Marchetta

In honour of South Sydney making the NRL finals for the first time since 1971 (I shouted myself hoarse on Friday night at a pub in Jonah Griggs’ territory) I thought I’d share mention of them in my work.

They are a true working class underdog’s footy team. My friends, Ben and Patrick who came along on the Jellioce research road trip back in 2005 are so fanatical that we’re not allowed to reference the colours as merely red and green, but cardinal red and myrtle green.

south-sydney-rabbitohs-logo-14yf1rq

***

On the Jellicoe Road (the novel) Taylor’s discussing one of the few times Jonah Griggs is out of Cadet uniform.

He’s wearing boxer shorts and a long-sleeved South Sydney football T-Shirt)

***

(On the Jellicoe Road the filmscript – Cadet laundry day

BEN
Unless you can identify his bloody underwear, we haven’t got a hope of knowing where his tent is.

TAYLOR

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the writer of faith

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As a Christian writer, this blog post fascinated me. It is something I worry about: how will the faith community react to the “savagery” in my writing? But, in the end (and beginning and middle), it is between me and God.

Also, I too recommend Mystery & Manners!

martineleavitt's avatarWrite at Your Own Risk

Some time ago a friend who is of my faith said to me, without any sort of prompting, “I’m sorry, but I can’t allow your books in my home.” She did not elaborate. We both knew what she was talking about.

Some of my students who love their religion have asked me how I, as a writer, cope with the expectations of people in a faith community. These young writers have no desire to rebel, and yet in an effort to portray the truth, sometimes fiction offends.

When I am writing, it is between me and God. I don’t allow anything, not my parents or my religious leaders or my children or my neighbor whom I am obligated to love, to interfere with what happens when I am putting pen to paper. I find that every book I write demands that I wander in the wilderness for a time. I’ve…

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10 More Random Facts about Me

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unsplash7.21. I am more scared of the slow ride to the top of the rollercoaster than of the rapid plummet down.

2. I always thought I’d leave Minnesota for college, but when I started visiting out-of-state schools, all I wanted was to be back in Minnesota.

3. My siblings and I were always creating clubs while growing up. We had the Friends Forever Club, the Exercise Club, and the Story Society.

4. Science fascinates me, but it’s the hardest subject for me to understand. This dates back to fourth grade when I couldn’t hook up wires and a battery the right way to make a light bulb light up. That’s the first and only thing I failed in school, kindergarten through undergrad.

5. My strengths themes are learner, input, achiever, strategy, and ideation.

6. I have a German and Irish heritage.

7. I love being a writer and would never trade those skills– but I very much wish I was a visual artist as well.

8. I have a very strong interest in etymology, especially in onomastics, the study of proper names.

9. For most of my life, I’ve had a curiously strong memory, to the point where it shocks people.

10. I’m quite claustrophobic. My nightmares often involve tight, closed spaces. I can barely stand the idea of being underwater or in space.