Re: I have to say this to you guys!

[Guest guest]

I cant watch Secret Millionaire, or any of those shows where someone struggling

gets helped. I bawl.

When I was at uni I adopted a cat - a big siamese stray called Boogs from a

shelter who had had a tough life. He was a real sweetie. Unfortunately he got

feline flu after a few weeks. Vets told me to take him home and he would either

pull through or he wouldnt. I remember sitting with him all night

I cant even write this, it makes me so upset

I sat with him all night as he struggled to breathe, and all he wanted to do was

crawl into my lap and purr if I touched him, despite the fact that he was dying.

The idea that even an animal would be happy to have my company, and show me

affection when he had hardly the energy to take in a breath staggered me. I

cried all night. He did pull through (barely, and didnt fully get back his

health), only to be run over a month later.

I cant imagine how much of a sook Ill be with children, if Im like this with a

cat!!!

>

> Tell me if you can connect to this. I was just watching a movie--okay--where

> a lady leaves her baby on a stoop and abandons it. Normal, I get this

> doesn't bug me one bit. Then a caring and concerned priest picks it up and

> has compassion for it and I start crying so baaaaad.

>

> So for a long time in my life it's not the cruelty that gets me but when I

> see an act of kindness, real or fictional, it tears me up!

>

> Am I the only one? It hurts me because human kindness is rare! How is this

> possible?!

>

[Guest guest]

You're a good pet-mom, and your empathy and tender, loving heart will make you a

wonderful mom to your own children, sez I. I can't imagine my nada sitting up

with a sick cat all night, although she did feel sad when she had to have an

elderly cat put to sleep. My nada is a " Jekyll and Hyde " type, and kind of

unpredictable in her moods, so, perhaps she was feeling sad for herself when her

elderly cat needed to be euthanized. But, I'm just guessing.

On a slightly different note: I just heard from my Sister, who told me that she

recently took our nada on a 3-day trip with her that required a 90-minute plane

ride each way, and our nada had a meltdown rage-tantrum at the destination

(fortunately Sister was the only witness/recipient of the tantrum, not any of

the other people they were there to visit.)

So, it seems pretty consistent that our mother does not travel well by air: a

rage-tantrum or a hysterical crying jag, or paranoid thoughts and accusations

occur after each flight!

Nada used to love any kind of travel when Sister and I were growing up and has

never been afraid of flying (believe me, if she was afraid of flying she'd dwell

on it and ramp up her bad behaviors ahead of time.) Yet she's had these

unusually intense breakdowns each time I've traveled with her by plane, and now

she's doing it with Sister as well.

So, I am wondering if the increased mood instability / emotional lability

resulting in melt-downs could be at least partially due to her getting less

oxygen on a plane, perhaps? For the last 15 years or so she has developed lung

problems and is now just oxygenated enough to not need a mobile tank of oxygen

yet, but that's probably coming up in her near future.

I'm going to do some research about oxygenation level affecting behavior and see

if there's any cause-and-effect theories worth pursuing there.

-Annie

>

> I cant watch Secret Millionaire, or any of those shows where someone

struggling gets helped. I bawl.

>

> When I was at uni I adopted a cat - a big siamese stray called Boogs from a

shelter who had had a tough life. He was a real sweetie. Unfortunately he got

feline flu after a few weeks. Vets told me to take him home and he would either

pull through or he wouldnt. I remember sitting with him all night

>

> I cant even write this, it makes me so upset

>

>

> I sat with him all night as he struggled to breathe, and all he wanted to do

was crawl into my lap and purr if I touched him, despite the fact that he was

dying.

>

> The idea that even an animal would be happy to have my company, and show me

affection when he had hardly the energy to take in a breath staggered me. I

cried all night. He did pull through (barely, and didnt fully get back his

health), only to be run over a month later.

>

> I cant imagine how much of a sook Ill be with children, if Im like this with a

cat!!!

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks Annie! I can tell people horrific details of nadas treatment of children

without batting an eyelid, but talking about a sick cat makes me bawl. Go

figure.

Just found something - have a look at a book called Enviromental Psychology in

Google Books, and find the section about changing barometric air pressure and

behaviour: " In general, researchers have observed three types of effects that

air pressure changes have on people: increased medical complaints, increased

suicide rates, and increased disruptive behaviour. "

Mix that with your mothers low oxygen levels and it sounds like a recipe for

off-the-wall behaviour.

> >

> > I cant watch Secret Millionaire, or any of those shows where someone

struggling gets helped. I bawl.

> >

> > When I was at uni I adopted a cat - a big siamese stray called Boogs from a

shelter who had had a tough life. He was a real sweetie. Unfortunately he got

feline flu after a few weeks. Vets told me to take him home and he would either

pull through or he wouldnt. I remember sitting with him all night

> >

> > I cant even write this, it makes me so upset

> >

> >

> > I sat with him all night as he struggled to breathe, and all he wanted to do

was crawl into my lap and purr if I touched him, despite the fact that he was

dying.

> >

> > The idea that even an animal would be happy to have my company, and show me

affection when he had hardly the energy to take in a breath staggered me. I

cried all night. He did pull through (barely, and didnt fully get back his

health), only to be run over a month later.

> >

> > I cant imagine how much of a sook Ill be with children, if Im like this with

a cat!!!

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Wow, thanks for the tip RE the book on changing barometric pressure; I thought

it has to be more than just coincidence that she has such noticeable emotional

breakdowns after air travel. I was attributing it to increased stress at first,

but perhaps it does have more to do with artificial air pressure maintained in

the plane affecting oxygenation levels in the blood.

Thanks,

Annie

>

> Thanks Annie! I can tell people horrific details of nadas treatment of

children without batting an eyelid, but talking about a sick cat makes me bawl.

Go figure.

>

>

> Just found something - have a look at a book called Enviromental Psychology in

Google Books, and find the section about changing barometric air pressure and

behaviour: " In general, researchers have observed three types of effects that

air pressure changes have on people: increased medical complaints, increased

suicide rates, and increased disruptive behaviour. "

>

> Mix that with your mothers low oxygen levels and it sounds like a recipe for

off-the-wall behaviour.

>

[Guest guest]

I don't know, my nada used to ALWAYS melt down while traveling - even if it

was just a few hours from home. . . so I wonder if its a change in routine,

fear, abandonment. . . who knows. . . She does not travel well. Is that

common?

On Mon, Nov 8, 2010 at 11:23 PM, anuria67854 wrote:

>

>

> Wow, thanks for the tip RE the book on changing barometric pressure; I

> thought it has to be more than just coincidence that she has such noticeable

> emotional breakdowns after air travel. I was attributing it to increased

> stress at first, but perhaps it does have more to do with artificial air

> pressure maintained in the plane affecting oxygenation levels in the blood.

> Thanks,

>

> Annie

>

>

>

> >

> > Thanks Annie! I can tell people horrific details of nadas treatment of

> children without batting an eyelid, but talking about a sick cat makes me

> bawl. Go figure.

> >

> >

> > Just found something - have a look at a book called Enviromental

> Psychology in Google Books, and find the section about changing barometric

> air pressure and behaviour: " In general, researchers have observed three

> types of effects that air pressure changes have on people: increased medical

> complaints, increased suicide rates, and increased disruptive behaviour. "

> >

> > Mix that with your mothers low oxygen levels and it sounds like a recipe

> for off-the-wall behaviour.

> >

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

In my nada's case, she doesn't have these distinctive melt-downs if its a car

trip, even several hours/several days' worth, and she does fine on bus trips,

boat cruises and trains. Its only after plane trips that she has these weird

meltdown episodes that last either for a few hours or for the whole damned trip

(she had a fixed paranoid idea about our elderly aunt on one entire effing week

of a trip to Europe as a threesome.)

The most obvious answer would be that she has a fear of flying, but she looks

forward to plane trips, is not nervous or agitated at all during the flight, is

excited about the destination. Happy little camper before a plane trip.

I suppose she could be in total bpd-denial about having a fear of flying and is

masking it. But I think a masked fear would still betray itself in

psychosomatic symptoms or horrible behavior in the days leading up to a flight.

In my nada's case its a mystery, but I'm leaning toward altered barometric

pressure affecting her blood oxygenation level as the culprit.

-Annie

> > >

> > > Thanks Annie! I can tell people horrific details of nadas treatment of

> > children without batting an eyelid, but talking about a sick cat makes me

> > bawl. Go figure.

> > >

> > >

> > > Just found something - have a look at a book called Enviromental

> > Psychology in Google Books, and find the section about changing barometric

> > air pressure and behaviour: " In general, researchers have observed three

> > types of effects that air pressure changes have on people: increased medical

> > complaints, increased suicide rates, and increased disruptive behaviour. "

> > >

> > > Mix that with your mothers low oxygen levels and it sounds like a recipe

> > for off-the-wall behaviour.

> > >

> >

> >

> >

>

>

>