"When Hearing Voices is a Good Thing"

I found this article to be extremely interesting as it takes a mental illness (that is thought to be purely bad for both the person and society) and sheds some light on why it's not always bad. Schizophrenia is the mental disorder that people often associate with being "crazy". People suffering from the disorder often experience some sort of hallucination, whether its visual, auditory, or olfactory.  In the article, it explains that many of the auditory hallucinations Americans experience are violent and hostile; but research shows that's not the case for those in collectivist cultures.  While the voices heard by Americans said things such as torturing people and cutting someone's head off, the Indians and Africans studied reported that their voices were friendly and even reminded them of their friends or family. They were able to talk to their voices as if they had a companion or friend with them. Just changing the way they perceived their voices altered what they said. So hearing voices isn't as bad as one would think.

"Can Loneliness kill you"

         Humans are an intellectual specie with complex cognitive and emotional capabilities and yet with such advantageous minds it seems as though it there are some repercussions. In the article "The Lethality of Loneliness," Judith Shulevitz delves into the serious dangers of true loneliness. Shulevitz discusses the earliest exploration of loneliness by psychoanalyst Frieda Fromm-Reichmann. The German therapist defined loneliness as "the want for intimacy." This strong feeling of rejection has real notable effects on a person's physical well-being showing that there is little dichotomy between the mind and body. Scientist have figured out that "...loneliness sends misleading hormonal signals, rejiggers the molecules on genes that govern behavior, and wrenches a slew of other systems out of wack." This can lead to other health-related complications and in some cases even death. But what's most interesting about loneliness is that it's more likely to affect a certain subgroup of the population. They are those who are often discriminated against, the poor, women and those who are retired or unemployed. When they are singled out they often feel the pain of rejection more which puts them at a more vulnerable biological position to combat illness. But loneliness can be caused by ones environment in combination with their genetics.The idea of nature needs nurture deems true when considering the development of loneliness.  

Body Integrity Identity Disorder also known as BIID, has recently become a phenomena many psychologists and neurologists have taken interest in. Although the disorder may have existed for centuries, the vocalization and advocacy of the condition has brought more attention to the community and research for possible psychological or neurological causes.

            Jesse Ellison defines BIID in the article “Cutting Desire” as “…an exceedingly rare condition characterized by an overwhelming desire to amputate one or more healthy limbs or become paraplegic.”  The overwhelming concern with the condition is the procedures many people will perform on their own bodies to amputee or paralyze themselves. Ellison mentions a few of the practices people have done which include sawing ones hand off, freezing a leg off with dry ice and blowing a leg out with a shotgun. These self-inflicted mutilations can result in a number of health issues such as infection and even death. However many of those with the condition feel this is the only way to feel relief from their obsessive thoughts. Sean O’Connor, of transabled.org and biid-info.org states “Nothing touches it, other than surgery. Psychotherapy doesn’t work. Psychiatry doesn’t work. Medication doesn’t work. I’m a pretty typical example of someone who’s attempted a [number] of ways to address the problem, done years of therapy of many types, including cognitive-behavioral therapy, and nothing helps.”

            Although it seems ineffective, I believe people with BIID should go through Cognitive-Behavioral therapy to refrain from inflecting any harm upon themselves. Similar to other body image disorders, psychologist should approach this condition in a way that doesn’t discount any of their thoughts and feelings on their body but should find ways to help people live as normal as possible with their disorder. Cognition, or thoughts have a direct relationship with our behavior, or our actions. If one can control these thoughts of being an amputee or a paraplegic, they can resist the urges to handicap themselves using dangerous methods. I believe the goal as of now should be to uncover the causes of BIID, whether it be a physical deformity in the brain or a psychological disorder. The disorder resembles gender identity, where many people feel they were not intended to be the sex they were born as, people with BIID feel they were not meant to have certain limbs. This choice of becoming disabled seems to more complex than that. Without proper research it’s difficult to accuse people with BIID with wanting something they shouldn’t want. It seems as if they are already suffering from a mental disability, which is difficult enough on its own.

            In “Cutting Desire,” Elllison asserts that many people with BIID are “…white middle-aged males.” I find this extremely interesting as the majority of people who suffer from any body image disorder are overwhelmingly women. A plausible cause of this might be the standards set for males when it comes to their physical strength and ability. Males are pressured to be physically strong and have bigger, muscular physiques. A man’s inability to reach this ideal body might lead to developing any body image disorder but a man deemed in capable of any physical strength might specially develop BIID. This is in contrast to women who are pressured to have slimmer bodies and as a result are more likely to become bulimic or anorexic.

                                                                        First Draft:

                                                                Breaking Standards

            With the increasing power of social media, children at extremely young ages are predisposed to the incredibly unrealistic standards society has labeled “fit” or “healthy”. In order to be considered healthy there must be a balance of physical, emotional and social well-being, however, to complete two aspects of health, there is a need to reach beyond oneself and find reflection in the world. Social media platforms such as Instagram, only portray a portion of what health really is. Bodybuilders Roxanne Edwards and H. Cassils take the idea of a perfectly healthy body and toss it out the window. Even though they encompass all three aspects of health, they develop their own views and expand the idea of health by challenging the standards set for women and fitness.     

            To understand the actions of both Edwards and Cassils one needs to have a mental image of the ideal body that women are pressured to achieve. When looking at any fitness magazine, there are certain body parts of the model such as the hip and butt area that are emphasized more in order to show off her “femininity”. She will usually have a slim silhouette with a smaller torso and a sizable chest. This ideal physique follows women everywhere. Celebrities such as Kim Kardashian capitalize on this as they embody this ideal figure.

            In her interview with DIS magazine, Roxanne Edwards is very open about the journey she went on to reach her intimidatingly large stature. What started out as just a quest to “look better naked” (Massey) ended up being a life changing experience in which she has personally grown from, both spiritually and mindfully. Edwards remarks on the common issues that are prevalent within the scene of bodybuilding. She unapologetically admits to the use of steroids in order to aid in her progress and states that as long as “…it makes you work twice as hard” (Massey) she sees no reason not to continue using it. She also addresses the comments of her masculine physique and the standards set for women in bodybuilding competitions by saying that femininity is a choice that is different among all women. Having the biological aspect of a female (i.e. breasts) doesn’t grant you the power of being feminine, it’s more about “elegance and how you carry yourself” (Massey). Roxanne argues that her body is a representation of her inner power, “I wear my strength outward” (Massey). After a while, bodybuilding became less about her physical strength and more about the fight to express her femininity the way she feels and understands it. After completion of her physical health, she diverted her attention more on her relationship with herself and the world. In doing this, Edwards has established a new set of standards of well-being that are unrelated to her appearance. In this sense, Roxanne is successful in her quest for physical health and has now began her attempt to find well-being in her emotional and spiritual state. By reflecting what she has learned to the world and trying to empower femininity in anyone who embraces it, she has found a much bigger picture of health that H. Cassils has also discovered.

            Cassils acknowledges the ideals set for a “perfect body” and attempts to embody it down to the T. The only catch is, she aims to achieve the perfect masculine physique that is captured in ancient Greek sculptures. During her 23 weeks of training, the artist and personal trainer, experiences many ups and downs in which she documents in “Cuts: A Traditional Sculpture” a video project filmed by Robin Black followed by an article. Similar to Edwards, Cassils engages in the consumption of steroids as a means of “bulking up” as she gained 23 pounds in the span of the project. During Cassils journey to blur the lines of a male/ female body, she stated that “It was also empowering” (Cassils). Transforming her body had an overwhelming influence on her emotional well-being. She felt as if she gained more respect while attempting to break through the ideal female body by accomplishing a “perfectly” masculine one.

By having these uncanny bodies, Edwards and Cassils are able to grab the attention of the world and achieve their emotional and social health. They are promoting well-being for all by building a bridge between the standards set for a male and female body. They expand the idea of health by attempting to establish fluidity. The cliché idea of “you can be whatever you want to be” is exactly what these two empowering individuals are striving to establish in a world built on rigid societal expectations.

Although Roxanne Edwards does not define herself as super human, she in fact is. When setting aside her impressive physique, it's her outlook and perspective on humans and society that make her such a powerful individual. In her interview with DIS Magazine, Edwards explains that her journey of bodybuilding began at the age of 30, much later than one would expect. Even as she lived a good portion of her life with an average body type, she hands down would choose her life with a "Hard Body" every time.

This choice would then signify an importance that Stuart Ewen's "Hard Bodies" overlooks. Edwards mentions that her bodybuilding was initially motivated by her want to "look good naked" but as she progressed through her journey, she discovered more of her strength from within. Edwards makes several comments about femininity throughout the interview, however, "I wear my strength outward" was the most impressionable. When considering Ewen's article, those who strive to achieve this body are in search for the "perfect" body that symbolizes power and wealth. Edwards take on her body isn't either and in fact is the opposite. She sees her body as her inside strength displayed for the world.

Edwards recognizes people’s negative depiction of her body and responds that “We judge by our own wishful thinking.” Because one wants the “perfect” body they take that idea and project it on to every person that they see.  For Edwards, her personal views of herself matter much more than any words pitted against her.  This is clearly visible when she discusses the idea of femininity. There are different versions of femininity across the world. It cannot be simply defined just by the way one looks. Having the biological components of a female, according to Edwards, doesn’t make you a woman. It’s about excepting who you are, just the way you are and acknowledging the beauty in it. Her example of drag queens teaching her how to walk in heels exemplifies the attributes one needs to have in order to be feminine. Despite them lacking the physical features of a women, those drag queens who worked twice as hard to learn how to be feminine is what being a woman is.

Contrary to Ewen’s idea that Hard Bodies have no biography, Edwards sees her body as everything she is proud of. Her body represents her determination, hard work and most importantly her inner strength. Bodybuilding, to her, is about working on who is she as a person while working on her outer appearance. Her insecurities are completely unrelated to her body or her image but rather how she interacts with the world. I completely adore and respect the way she embraces her body in her photo shoot. Edwards is photographed in various “feminine” outfits, from a bikini to a club-like dress and in each photo her confidence is radiant. She proudly displays her large muscles in each item she wears including an image of her hand with her nails done and a bracelet