A Little Katrina and Two Mental Health Litmus Tests
I decided not to make Hurricane Katrina my entire topic today. However, I do offer up some memories of that Sunday in August ten years ago.
It was a regular August day; hot, little windy, but a blue-sky-sun-shiny-day. We finished loading up our car, only taking essentials: a few clothes, an ice chest with food and drink for ourselves and our rescued greyhound, Ursula, our computers, and family photos. I knew to take family photos, but just in case I forgot, my oldest son, Scot, phoned from Cincinnati and anxiously asked, "Mom, ya got all the photos?!" And off we went with our friend, Emily, trailing not far behind.
Depending on where you lived, you had to evacuate along a certain route. As Jan and I drove our assigned get-the-hell-outta-dodge road, we discussed possibilities. We had no premonitions about the future, about what the next few days, weeks, months, years would bring. We had no idea, none...
Enough of hurricanes for today. Ya gotta know the memories still tighten my chest.
Moving right along, how about mini mental status self examinations:
OK. Diagnositic Litmus Tests for Mental Health
Test Number 1 - PBJ Sandwiches: How do you make them?
Type A: Are you the type that puts the peanut butter on one slice of bread and jelly of the other? Well, that, of course, means that you are a concrete thinker who sees most of life in black and white. You are likely to categorize your life and put things/people/events in separate little/big boxes. You do not want things/people/events to spill over/under/around/through each other. If you are unable to keep your life orderly (normal), you become anxious/irritated,angry.
Jan is Type A: ya no mixie-uppie my life.
Type B: Are you the type that mixes the peanut butter and jelly together and then puts the mixture on a slice of bread and slaps the other slice on top? That, of course, means that you are an abstract thinker and see much of life as gray - even other colors. Things/people/events do mesh into each other, spill over each other. And you are OK with that. You tend to become anxious/irritated/angry if you are forced to label things/people/events and put them into neat, little boxes.
I'm a Type B.
What Jan and I have in common is that we both like our PBJ sandwiches on whole wheat bread.
Test Number 2: The TP Roll
Type A: How do you put on the toilet paper roll on the tube? Do you put on so that the end comes from under the roll? AhHa! This tell-tale sign means that you are secretive about your life. It can also mean that you can be a little, or a lot, underhanded. You tend not to tell the whole story when asked. You also do not like to spill your guts. Therefore, your body does it for you and you frequently get the runs.
Type B: Does the toilet paper roll go on the tube so that the end comes over the top? This litmus test is indicative of a more open individual. You do not mind talking about yourself. In fact, you may spill too many personal beans and talk too much. Since your mouth tends to do a lotta talking, you often have a problem with constipation.
No comment on what type Jan is/I am.
And, of course, anyone reading the above regarding Litmus Tests for Mental Health knows that I am FOS.
Have a good day, Althea.
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