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stayfree - Stay F---! | 28 September

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  • From: Carrie McLaren <stay.free AT verizon.net>
  • To: stayfree AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Stay F---! | 28 September
  • Date: Mon, 27 Sep 2004 20:25:00 -0400

Hey folks,

Some new old stuff is now on the website. From issue #21, the psychology
issue:


BORDERLINE HYSTERIA: THE HISTORY OF PSYCHOSOMATIC ILLNESS
An interview with Edward Shorter

In _Paralysis to Fatigue: A History of Psychosomatic Illness in the Modern Era_, Edward Shorter sets out to illustrate a few simple ideas. Most of the medical symptoms your typical American suffers from are psychosomatic--in other words, they can't be traced to any organic cause but are rather the result of some mind-body interaction. The symptoms may be real, but the cause is psychological, stemming from depression, anxiety, or stress.

While exploring the history of psychosomatic illness, Shorter looks at how the symptoms have changed over time and at the forces behind those changes. His thesis is that psychosomatic symptoms change with the culture--meaning that they evolve to match the prevailing medical diagnoses of the day. In the early 1800s, for example, doctors talked about "spinal irritation," believing that when a certain point along the spine was pressed or hurt, it created peripheral pains and other motor (muscular) system problems. Conse-quently, doctors increasingly began seeing patients whose problems conveniently fitted the diagnosis. These patients--usually women--complained of temporary blindness, paralysis, and other ills. Some couldn't walk, others couldn't move their arms, many remained paralyzed for months in bed. Doctors would come across patients so catatonic that it was impossible to tell whether they were alive. Unable to detect pulses or respiration, doctors found that the only sure sign of death was when the body emitted a "cadaverous smell."

Continued at:
http://www.stayfreemagazine.org/archives/21/edward_shorter.html



SICK IN THE HEAD
Stay Free! asked our readers and contributors to tell us about their psychosomatic complaints.
Here's what they said.

"Several years ago my longtime boyfriend and I got engaged. The ring was a sterling silver band engraved with the words vous et nul autre (French for "you and no other"). It was a long engagement, and I wore the ring for at least two years, never removing it. After wearing the ring for so long without incident, all of a sudden it began to irritate my finger. I developed a painful, itchy rash and had to stop wearing the ring. It turned out that my fiance was cheating on me at the time--my subconscious was trying to tell me so!" --Victoria Sweat

"Over the past year or so I have been hearing voices that aren't there, usually as I'm waking up. I can hear them trail off as I look around to see who's there. The strangest occurrence was at a friend's barbecue. I heard someone scream, "Hey!" in my right ear, but everyone was just sitting around eating and drinking beer. When I asked if anyone had just yelled "Hey!" they cautiously replied that they hadn't. I'm not overly worried, since the voices only seem to want to get my attention at this point. Also, it could have been someone yelling on the street that no one else noticed. But it's odd that this only started happening when I moved into my new apartment, which used to be a public school. Am I haunted by a dead, disgruntled vice principal? I don't know. However, I promise to get help when the voices start bossing me around." --Chris Karwowski

Continued at:
http://www.stayfreemagazine.org/archives/21/psychosomatic_illness.html



CALLING ALL ARTISTS!

Stay F---! is looking for a few more works to include in the Illegal Art Exhibit when it opens in Portland, Oregon, in March 2005. If you or someone you know has created exceptional works that appropriate copyrighted or trademarked material without permission, please get in touch. We're especially interested in hearing about artists who have run into legal trouble or other roadblocks due to intellectual property law. Send URLs with examples of your work to stay.free AT verizon.net; or send video (VHS, DVD) to Stay Free! 390 Butler Street, Brooklyn NY 11217. (For your own good as well as mine, please do NOT send anything that needs to be returned.) Works in all media will be included in the show. For more information on Illegal Art Exhibit, visit http://www.illegal-art.org or contact Carrie McLaren (stay.free AT verizon.net). Deadline: December 1.



  • Stay F---! | 28 September, Carrie McLaren, 09/27/2004

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