Author Archives: furthernewsfromtheshire

Pottery and Japanese Aesthetics

Lately, I’ve been thinking about pottery. I should probably back up and provide some context. When I was around 13 or so, I somehow got it in my mind to make sculptures. Maybe I tried it in art class, but I don’t recall. But I managed to obtain some self-hardening clay and made some animalContinueContinue reading “Pottery and Japanese Aesthetics”

The Old Hag-A Special Kind of Sleep Terror

It’s a night like any other. You go to bed and drop off to sleep, but just as you start to drop off, you are jolted back into wakefulness. You hear a loud humming in your ears, and you try to sit up, but you find to your dismay that you are completely paralyzed. YouContinueContinue reading “The Old Hag-A Special Kind of Sleep Terror”

Koro: The Genital Retraction Syndrome

Back when I was researching unusual psychiatric symptoms, I came across a group of diagnoses that have been referred to as “culture-bound” disorders. The term refers to specific types of disorders that occur only in a specific culture, and they tend to be caused by a specific pattern of symptoms that only occur or makeContinueContinue reading “Koro: The Genital Retraction Syndrome”

Unusual Psychiatric Disorders: Another Occasional Feature

Ever since I became a psychologist, I’ve been fascinated by some of the unusual diagnoses and syndromes that lurk in the dark corners of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association, 5th Edition (DSM-5) and academic databases. At one point I even started a book on the subject, but life got inContinueContinue reading “Unusual Psychiatric Disorders: Another Occasional Feature”

Starting a Blog

If you haven’t noticed already, I’m new to this whole blogging thing. As I get older, I find that certain aspects of technology are passing me by; I guess that’s how it happens when you become a gentleman of mature years. I recall some of the phone calls I used to have providing basic techContinueContinue reading “Starting a Blog”