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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 18 of 18. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Willow on January 7, 2002, at 1:12:18
Santa brought my youngest a little aquarium. We got around to getting two fancy tailed goldfish for it. Now I find myself mesmerized by them. Asked hubby if I was going off the deepend. Rolled his eyes and replied that many people like to watch fish that's why we keep them in aquariums. Oh!
Anyway as an added bonus I find it relaxing. They are a cheap little TV.
Willow
Posted by IsoM on January 7, 2002, at 1:51:40
In reply to Watching Goldfish, posted by Willow on January 7, 2002, at 1:12:18
Willow, have you ever noticed how we love to watch moving things - clouds scuddling across the sky, birds swooping about, trees moving in a breeze, leaves falling from trees in fall, flames dancing in a fire, snow falling from the sky? I think it's genetic - people somehow find it so totally relaxing. I think it's really unnatural living inside with nothing moving. It's not healthy. Life should be in a constant flow of motion.
> Santa brought my youngest a little aquarium. We got around to getting two fancy tailed goldfish for it. Now I find myself mesmerized by them. Asked hubby if I was going off the deepend. Rolled his eyes and replied that many people like to watch fish that's why we keep them in aquariums. Oh!
>
> Anyway as an added bonus I find it relaxing. They are a cheap little TV.
>
> Willow
Posted by susan C on January 7, 2002, at 12:57:04
In reply to Watching Goldfish, posted by Willow on January 7, 2002, at 1:12:18
branches trail in the moving water of the stream
Mouse on a rock
> Santa brought my youngest a little aquarium. We got around to getting two fancy tailed goldfish for it. Now I find myself mesmerized by them. Asked hubby if I was going off the deepend. Rolled his eyes and replied that many people like to watch fish that's why we keep them in aquariums. Oh!
>
> Anyway as an added bonus I find it relaxing. They are a cheap little TV.
>
> Willow
Posted by dreamer on January 7, 2002, at 19:38:19
In reply to Re: Watching Goldfish and » Willow, posted by susan C on January 7, 2002, at 12:57:04
> branches trail in the moving water of the stream
>
> Mouse on a rockMy grandmother used to sit and watch an un-tuned tv no sound just interferance /snow , kept her calm . Sadly she was xxtremely wiggy most of her life but a very big hearted lady.
Posted by Willow on January 7, 2002, at 22:52:18
In reply to Re: Watching Goldfish and, posted by dreamer on January 7, 2002, at 19:38:19
*but a very big hearted lady.
Dreamer she must have know much happiness then.
Susan our minds must be in the same place. I've been trying to think of other moving things I like to watch since reading Iso's post and finally waves came to mind. I'm a little more temptestuous though.
Great insight Iso! The one pyschchiatrist I've seen said I had no insight, so it's been one of my goals to figure out what it is.
Whistling Willow
Posted by Mitch on January 8, 2002, at 0:16:24
In reply to Watching Goldfish, posted by Willow on January 7, 2002, at 1:12:18
> Santa brought my youngest a little aquarium. We got around to getting two fancy tailed goldfish for it. Now I find myself mesmerized by them. Asked hubby if I was going off the deepend. Rolled his eyes and replied that many people like to watch fish that's why we keep them in aquariums. Oh!
>
> Anyway as an added bonus I find it relaxing. They are a cheap little TV.
>
> WillowWillow,
Someone told me that even "fake" goldfish (the magnetic ones that float) are pretty good too. They are supposed to wiggle in all the bubbles and move around. A coworker told me that he found his 3-year old daughter's magnetic goldfish tank very relaxing. I think their was a little horticultural harvesting involved..:-)
Mitch
Posted by fi on January 8, 2002, at 7:57:12
In reply to Re: Watching Goldfish » Willow, posted by Mitch on January 8, 2002, at 0:16:24
I like these ideas- and the magnetic version wouldnt even require any worrying re keeping it alive...
Its a good point which I have forgotten re moving things- I've had some particularly relaxed times lying in the back garden in the sun (seems amazing idea now) watching the clouds. Particularly when the swallows are swooping around in the afternoon.
Fi
Posted by Willow on January 8, 2002, at 9:23:57
In reply to Re: Watching Goldfish , posted by fi on January 8, 2002, at 7:57:12
> I like these ideas- and the magnetic version wouldnt even require any worrying re keeping it alive...
Magnetic goldfish? What will they think of next? I don't believe they've reached my neck of the woods yet. If they become demagnatized do you flush them still?
At a Chinese restaurant they had some finches. The songs coming from the birds was mesmorizing. Perhaps they'll be my next project? Get a pair and teach the children about the birds and the bees! I could hang them up in the corner near the computer. If they begin to keel over I'll know I'm smoking too much and thus affecting the air quality.
Whistling Willow
Posted by IsoM on January 8, 2002, at 13:28:32
In reply to Magnetic goldfish, posted by Willow on January 8, 2002, at 9:23:57
hi Swaying-In-The-Breeze Willow...
Failing magnetic goldfish (I prefer the real fish) why not get some light-weight wind chimes & put them some place in the house where you can watch them flutter from the rising heat or from an heat register? You don't have to get the real nosiy ones, something with a gentle tinkling sound like Chinese glass chimes. Or even a silent mobile that moves. I used to keep a glass one hanging over my woodstove in winter - always had music.
Or how about a small fan turned on low behind some tall plants (for those who have them) blowing on them so they move. You can adjust the distance from the plant so it just moves a little like it was outside.
Your parents sound a bit like me - I was one of those hippies. I love Nature. My hair's short now but one son says he'll always think of me like that. I was delighted when long, flowing skirts again became fashionable.
As a little child, my Mom had trouble keeping me inside, even during lightning storms. I snuck out during one to play in the sandbox when a bolt hit a metal hydro pole (Ontario used to have them) close to where I was. I still *vividly* remember the glowing ball of fire at the top of the pole - like looking right into the sun! For a little while afterwards at least, I listened to my Mom.
> > I like these ideas- and the magnetic version wouldnt even require any worrying re keeping it alive...
>
> Magnetic goldfish? What will they think of next? I don't believe they've reached my neck of the woods yet. If they become demagnatized do you flush them still?
>
> At a Chinese restaurant they had some finches. The songs coming from the birds was mesmorizing. Perhaps they'll be my next project? Get a pair and teach the children about the birds and the bees! I could hang them up in the corner near the computer. If they begin to keel over I'll know I'm smoking too much and thus affecting the air quality.
>
> Whistling Willow
Posted by allisonm on January 8, 2002, at 14:59:58
In reply to Watching Goldfish, posted by Willow on January 7, 2002, at 1:12:18
I started with goldfish. They all died. Sometime in there with the goldfish, I got an apple snail. They are the coolest things!! Better than goldfish. Mine started out about the size of a golfball, but it's grown so that I don't think I could put it in my fist and bbe able to touch my fingers to my palm. Here's a good website on them (http://www.applesnail.net/) They eat lettuce, spinach, zucchini, fish food, algae disks, etc. But it's when they move around that they make such a show. The two sets of tentacles floating around, and the grace with which they move is incredible. I bought my snail for $1.97 at Wal-Mart. Very relaxing to watch them move around, across and up and down the tank. Very slow and graceful and elegant. Very calming.
allisonm
Posted by Mitch on January 9, 2002, at 0:05:46
In reply to Re: Magnetic goldfish and Wind chimes » Willow, posted by IsoM on January 8, 2002, at 13:28:32
> hi Swaying-In-The-Breeze Willow...
>
> Failing magnetic goldfish (I prefer the real fish) why not get some light-weight wind chimes & put them some place in the house where you can watch them flutter from the rising heat or from an heat register? You don't have to get the real nosiy ones, something with a gentle tinkling sound like Chinese glass chimes. Or even a silent mobile that moves. I used to keep a glass one hanging over my woodstove in winter - always had music.
>
> Or how about a small fan turned on low behind some tall plants (for those who have them) blowing on them so they move. You can adjust the distance from the plant so it just moves a little like it was outside.
>
> Your parents sound a bit like me - I was one of those hippies. I love Nature. My hair's short now but one son says he'll always think of me like that. I was delighted when long, flowing skirts again became fashionable.
>
> As a little child, my Mom had trouble keeping me inside, even during lightning storms. I snuck out during one to play in the sandbox when a bolt hit a metal hydro pole (Ontario used to have them) close to where I was. I still *vividly* remember the glowing ball of fire at the top of the pole - like looking right into the sun! For a little while afterwards at least, I listened to my Mom.
>
>
> > > I like these ideas- and the magnetic version wouldnt even require any worrying re keeping it alive...
> >
> > Magnetic goldfish? What will they think of next? I don't believe they've reached my neck of the woods yet. If they become demagnatized do you flush them still?
> >
> > At a Chinese restaurant they had some finches. The songs coming from the birds was mesmorizing. Perhaps they'll be my next project? Get a pair and teach the children about the birds and the bees! I could hang them up in the corner near the computer. If they begin to keel over I'll know I'm smoking too much and thus affecting the air quality.
> >
> > Whistling Willow
I have been thinking about this "movement" thing for a while now. I was trying to find a connection between the environment (other than heat or sunlight) and my seasonal depressions. I thought about this a few months ago and then "dropped" the idea. Well...the idea was that in winter it gets real dark (that makes sense), and in the summer (when I get my 2nd major depression), NOTHING MOVES. It is hot, stifling, and I have thought for many years this is the HORSE LATITUDES. --even before I made this seasonal depressive connection. Now the HORSE LATITUDES was where the Spanish got caught in the trade winds (16th C?) near the Equator and "lost their sail" right?? Imagine, oppressively HOT, HUMID, days on end on the sea, with NO WIND, NO MOVEMENT. I hear they tossed horses overboard to lighten the ships-hoping they would move into areas of the ocean that would have wind to pick them back up. I think the Doors made a song about it-I can't remember what it is like. But that is a good description.Maybe fun things that create a lot of visual/auditory movement would be therapeutic for summertime seasonal depressions as light boxes would be for wintertime ones??
Mitch
Posted by IsoM on January 9, 2002, at 1:10:56
In reply to Re: Magnetic goldfish, Wind chimes, therapy? » IsoM, posted by Mitch on January 9, 2002, at 0:05:46
Well, Mitch, maybe there's money to be made here? :)
Trouble is, I'm terrible at marketing & economics. I want to just give everything away for free. Think we could sell butterflies tied to little flexible leashes so people could tie some up near their flowers & watch them?
About movement, I don't think it's just people either. Many animals don't really notice something unless it's moving. Even birds are far more attracted to a puddle or birdbath if there's water dripping from above so the water forms little ripples for them to notice.
Interesting about the summer depression. I experience a bit of a dip but always attributed it to the extreme heat (for me that's temperature's in the 80sF). I think I'll seriously try to incorporate a lot more movement in my life & see.
>
>
> I have been thinking about this "movement" thing for a while now. I was trying to find a connection between the environment (other than heat or sunlight) and my seasonal depressions. I thought about this a few months ago and then "dropped" the idea. Well...the idea was that in winter it gets real dark (that makes sense), and in the summer (when I get my 2nd major depression), NOTHING MOVES. It is hot, stifling, and I have thought for many years this is the HORSE LATITUDES. --even before I made this seasonal depressive connection. Now the HORSE LATITUDES was where the Spanish got caught in the trade winds (16th C?) near the Equator and "lost their sail" right?? Imagine, oppressively HOT, HUMID, days on end on the sea, with NO WIND, NO MOVEMENT. I hear they tossed horses overboard to lighten the ships-hoping they would move into areas of the ocean that would have wind to pick them back up. I think the Doors made a song about it-I can't remember what it is like. But that is a good description.
>
> Maybe fun things that create a lot of visual/auditory movement would be therapeutic for summertime seasonal depressions as light boxes would be for wintertime ones??
>
> Mitch
Posted by Mitch on January 9, 2002, at 11:06:28
In reply to Re: Movement therapy? » Mitch, posted by IsoM on January 9, 2002, at 1:10:56
> Well, Mitch, maybe there's money to be made here? :)
>
> Trouble is, I'm terrible at marketing & economics. I want to just give everything away for free. Think we could sell butterflies tied to little flexible leashes so people could tie some up near their flowers & watch them?
>
> About movement, I don't think it's just people either. Many animals don't really notice something unless it's moving. Even birds are far more attracted to a puddle or birdbath if there's water dripping from above so the water forms little ripples for them to notice.
>
> Interesting about the summer depression. I experience a bit of a dip but always attributed it to the extreme heat (for me that's temperature's in the 80sF). I think I'll seriously try to incorporate a lot more movement in my life & see.
Well, the kind of heat I experience in the summer where I live (southern Mo), is really bad, no wind, and temps in triple digits. When I mow my lawn I have to do it in three or four tries. I get so exhausted I start getting dizzy and tingly-then I dart inside, drink some water, and stand in front of a fan for about 20 minutes, then go back out again. The depression usually strikes in late June, intensifies rapidly through July, lingers and withers slowly through August and into early September. This year was very bad. I was just snapping out of it and the terrorist attacks hit and added another two weeks to it. The timing of the start of the winter and summer episodes is very predictable (I usually can nail it within a couple of weeks). The "movement thing" struck me, because I was feeling better in late September (actually slightly hypo), and I noticed that the wind had kicked up and all the trees were moving and swirling around (with the leaves just beginning to change)-that's when the idea got me.Mitch
Posted by IsoM on January 9, 2002, at 15:01:36
In reply to Re: Movement therapy? » IsoM, posted by Mitch on January 9, 2002, at 11:06:28
Whooaaaa, Mitch! Sounds like you need to vacation in a cooler, windy place come summer. Why not let the lawn dry up during summer so you don't have to mow? I love gardening & faithfully water my flowers & shrubs, but come hot summer weather, I let my lawn go brown. More & more people are doing that now. Environmently friendly too.
Is MO, short for Montana? The Prairie summers I experienced were either hot, humid & still, or very hot, dry, & windy. On the hot windy days, I'd work outside with a hose near me. Every ten minutes or less, I'd spray myself down from head to feet. Only way I could survive outside.
>
>
> Well, the kind of heat I experience in the summer where I live (southern Mo), is really bad, no wind, and temps in triple digits. When I mow my lawn I have to do it in three or four tries. I get so exhausted I start getting dizzy and tingly-then I dart inside, drink some water, and stand in front of a fan for about 20 minutes, then go back out again. The depression usually strikes in late June, intensifies rapidly through July, lingers and withers slowly through August and into early September. This year was very bad. I was just snapping out of it and the terrorist attacks hit and added another two weeks to it. The timing of the start of the winter and summer episodes is very predictable (I usually can nail it within a couple of weeks). The "movement thing" struck me, because I was feeling better in late September (actually slightly hypo), and I noticed that the wind had kicked up and all the trees were moving and swirling around (with the leaves just beginning to change)-that's when the idea got me.
>
> Mitch
Posted by susan C on January 9, 2002, at 18:15:30
In reply to Re: Hot summers » Mitch, posted by IsoM on January 9, 2002, at 15:01:36
I have been saving this thread for a couple days...now you get all my observations in one go...I have never heard of an applesnail...but i just heard of, then watched Sponge Bob Square Pants. Gary is Sponge Bob Square Pants' snail pet that meows like a cat...If I weren't unpredictable I would be the one to help you mitch, market and make money on the visual movement+relief from depression concept (I would start with 'as shown on TV') and finally, my grand tips for keeping cool in the summer, Do anything strenuous at night and spend the days with a Water Soaked Cotten Hat with a Wide brim along with a Tea Towel, drapped around the neck...kind of like a swamp cooler.
mouse off balance
Posted by Mitch on January 9, 2002, at 23:55:10
In reply to Re: Hot summers » Mitch, posted by IsoM on January 9, 2002, at 15:01:36
I wish that MO meant Montana, but it doesn't-it means Missouri! (Montana is MT-postoffice-wise) I used to also live in Northern Arkansas (so I am a "southerner", too). My family is from Northern Arkansas. I call it West Apalachia (it *is* similar to Mirkwood). Interestingly, the first time I saw shrinks and had to deal with the mental health establishment was when Bill Clinton was just elected governor of Arkansas. He did a good job with mental health funding in the state. It was easy to get in, saw prob. three psydocs in about a year's time, plus MSW's for therapy, it didn't cost a lot either. This, in a town with a population of just about 5,000.
I get about 40+inches of rain every year. I *never* water my lawn. It is a little like a tropical rain forest (except of course if there's a drought or heat wave). If that happens I let it go brown too, not for environmental reasons-I just don't want to mow the damn thing! (there is 1-acre of dense Bermuda grass-I get worn out sharpening mower blades). Uh oh, that is like Slingblade! That movie...wow..Robert Duvall plays his Dad and he talks and has mannerisms just like my great Uncle (who was hospitalized in the 50's and had ECT). My Grandma (his sister) also was hospitalized in the 60's and had ECT. I remember my great Uncle sitting on the porch of his house and shooting red wasps with a .22 rifle off of branches, sipping homemade wine and bragging about his marksmanship. I remember him driving a '63 Chevy Belair 4-door sedan. There was a hog butchering that I remember very vividly-blood everywhere and lots of squealing. Very strange, turbulent times. Vietnam was still going on. Nixon was just elected. My sister and I were doing our damndest (at 8-9 years old) to find a rock and roll station on AM radio....
Mitch
> Whooaaaa, Mitch! Sounds like you need to vacation in a cooler, windy place come summer. Why not let the lawn dry up during summer so you don't have to mow? I love gardening & faithfully water my flowers & shrubs, but come hot summer weather, I let my lawn go brown. More & more people are doing that now. Environmently friendly too.
>
> Is MO, short for Montana? The Prairie summers I experienced were either hot, humid & still, or very hot, dry, & windy. On the hot windy days, I'd work outside with a hose near me. Every ten minutes or less, I'd spray myself down from head to feet. Only way I could survive outside.
>
> >
> >
> > Well, the kind of heat I experience in the summer where I live (southern Mo), is really bad, no wind, and temps in triple digits. When I mow my lawn I have to do it in three or four tries. I get so exhausted I start getting dizzy and tingly-then I dart inside, drink some water, and stand in front of a fan for about 20 minutes, then go back out again. The depression usually strikes in late June, intensifies rapidly through July, lingers and withers slowly through August and into early September. This year was very bad. I was just snapping out of it and the terrorist attacks hit and added another two weeks to it. The timing of the start of the winter and summer episodes is very predictable (I usually can nail it within a couple of weeks). The "movement thing" struck me, because I was feeling better in late September (actually slightly hypo), and I noticed that the wind had kicked up and all the trees were moving and swirling around (with the leaves just beginning to change)-that's when the idea got me.
> >
> > Mitch
Posted by Mitch on January 10, 2002, at 0:03:45
In reply to Snails, movement, heat, and wind, posted by susan C on January 9, 2002, at 18:15:30
> I have been saving this thread for a couple days...now you get all my observations in one go...I have never heard of an applesnail...but i just heard of, then watched Sponge Bob Square Pants. Gary is Sponge Bob Square Pants' snail pet that meows like a cat...If I weren't unpredictable I would be the one to help you mitch, market and make money on the visual movement+relief from depression concept (I would start with 'as shown on TV') and finally, my grand tips for keeping cool in the summer, Do anything strenuous at night and spend the days with a Water Soaked Cotten Hat with a Wide brim along with a Tea Towel, drapped around the neck...kind of like a swamp cooler.
>
> mouse off balance
You know, I will tell you something about balance....I was very depressed and it was mid-summer. I was working in this little factory (just out of high school) in the middle of nowhere (the best place to be). It was probably mid-90's in there. I was fighting the urge to spontaneously cry-it was that bad. I looked over by the time clock in the corner of the factory and I saw this mouse hopping up and down trying to get into this cardboard box that all of the workers threw their orange peels, lunchtime scraps, etc. into.. Well, it made me laugh out loud. It was one of the smaller mice that hung around the plant hoping to pick up on a big meal that we would cast out unthinkingly during lunch. It jumped and hopped, and couldn't get into that box to retrieve even the smallest morsel. That "action" comedy completely switched my mood and snapped me out of the depression. I can't remember how long it lasted, but I do *remember* that very clearly. How odd...
Mitch
Posted by IsoM on January 10, 2002, at 1:34:19
In reply to Re: Snails, movement, heat, and wind » susan C, posted by Mitch on January 10, 2002, at 0:03:45
I think these little stories, like the one you related, stay with us forever helping to ground us during our "lost" periods. I'm glad I've got a collection of memories to think on when times feel bleak. To me, they're like memory jewels - something to take out & turn about in your mind's hand, to study & just feel good about.
>
> I was very depressed and it was mid-summer. I was working in this little factory (just out of high school) in the middle of nowhere (the best place to be). It was probably mid-90's in there. I was fighting the urge to spontaneously cry-it was that bad. I looked over by the time clock in the corner of the factory and I saw this mouse hopping up and down trying to get into this cardboard box that all of the workers threw their orange peels, lunchtime scraps, etc. into.. Well, it made me laugh out loud. It was one of the smaller mice that hung around the plant hoping to pick up on a big meal that we would cast out unthinkingly during lunch. It jumped and hopped, and couldn't get into that box to retrieve even the smallest morsel. That "action" comedy completely switched my mood and snapped me out of the depression. I can't remember how long it lasted, but I do *remember* that very clearly. How odd...
>
> Mitch
This is the end of the thread.
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