Sunday 21 July 2019

06:00 I get up, a little later than usual, to put Lois's theory to the test, that is, that I have a habit of getting up too early, and that’s why my energy level is so often completely at rock bottom. We will see.

10:00 Lois is going out. She wants to participate in her sect's two worship services taking place today in Tewkesbury  library.

I have a little alone time and go up the loft ladder to collect all the unwanted bedware - blankets, sheets, pillows, duvets, sleeping bags, etc. - which we have stored in the attic for reasons which are not completely clear, to put it mildly. This work is the latest phase in our ongoing downsize mini-project.

To my surprise and to my delight, I find that there is actually not much bedding in the ceiling, but I still drag what’s there down the loft ladder and put them on one of the three beds in our daughter Alison's old room.

all the unwanted bedding I can find in the attic:

there is far less than I was expecting, which is nice

However, I would like to achieve a much more impressive result this morning than just a small quantity of bedding, so I go up the loft ladder again and this time I start collecting all the unwanted clothes I can find. There are lots of them -  to put it mildly. And it is particularly disappointing that there are still lots of baby clothes up there. Lois and I thought we had found all the unwanted baby clothes more than a year ago when we donated 4-5 big black plastic sacks of baby clothes to a crèche in Gloucester. Damn! Will this work never end?

I drag all the clothes, including baby clothes, down the loft ladder and dump them on the 2nd bed in our daughter Alison's old room.

All the unwanted clothes and bedding I could find this morning in the attic

- my god, what madness !!!!

It's possible that we can sell some of these clothes - it has suddenly become more fashionable with young people to wear second-hand clothes, according to my go-to news site, Onion News.

It all looks quite promising, but we’ll have to see!

13:30 I have lunch and listen a little to the radio, an interesting programme all about how accurate mental health diagnoses are. The host of the programme is the charming Claudia Hammond.

The DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual), the so-called "psychiatrist's Bible" was started after the Second World War, in an attempt to increase psychologists' general prestige - they were at the bottom of the medical pecking order at the time.

Initially (1952), this book was quite small, like a thick booklet, with only 129 pages:  and it weighed about 7.5 ounces (213g).

But the book has grown and grown with each edition over the years, and the current (5th) edition (2013) contains 298 diagnoses, and weighs about 4 pounds (1746g). People say it's thick enough to stop a bullet. And it would probably kill you if it fell on you from the top shelf of a tall bookcase – good grief, what madness !!!

DSM-5 – Health Warning: this book could kill you, it's so heavy!

The book is particularly popular among the pharmaceutical companies because it gives them the chance to come up with at least 298 different pills (and probably many more).

However, Claudia Hammond, the programme's charming host, says that the trend today is to limit the number of different diagnoses to 20 or so, and some psychiatrists even refuse to give them altogether. They claim that there are as many diagnoses as there are patients, and there is no choice but to discover the patient's symptoms by just talking to them, and finding out what their condition is a reaction to, perhaps something from their distant past. Many mental symptoms are, of course, common between more than one diagnosis, it seems.

Nevertheless, some patients like to be given a diagnosis because it provides them with some label they can tell to their friends, family, and workmates. Some of these labels are not very popular, however: "personality disorder", for example, is not good, because it sounds like the patient is a total failure as a person, which of course is not the intention at all.

Mental diagnoses are not the same as physical diagnoses, and they are not set in stone in the same way. We hear from "Suzy", a patient diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Like many mental patients, she felt excluded from society, so it was especially helpful to her to find a bipolar support group where the members understood her feelings and problems. And she found the support group really helped her cope for many many years.

But after 16 years, Suzy's diagnosis suddenly changed to "psychosis and depression" - her psychiatrist decided that this label fitted her condition more accurately. And after that, she felt that she could no longer be a member of her former support group. And after that she never signed up to any  another support group because she had totally lost faith in the validity and permanence of any given diagnosis, which is a little sad to put it mildly.

But all in all, an absolutely fascinating programme.

14:30 pm I go to bed and take a gigantic afternoon nap. Meanwhile, Lois comes back from Tewkesbury. I get up at 3:30 pm and we relax with a cup of tea and a piece of bread with homemade gooseberry jam - yum yum!

18:00 We have dinner and settle down in the living room. Alison, our daughter in Haslemere, Surrey, calls us and talks about her 3 children, Josie (12), Rosalind (11) and Isaac (8). Josie goes to high school and her school's summer break started last Friday. Rosalind and Isaac go to primary school and their summer break starts on Thursday.

our 3 grandchildren in Haslemere: a recent picture (yesterday)

I tell Alison that I have a box of all her high school notes, which I dragged down from the attic as part of our current downsizing mini-project, and will bring it with us next time we visit her. Both Alison finds it amusing that while Lois and I are slowly emptying our loft, she is slowly filling hers up. What a mad world we live in!

We spend the rest of the evening watching a bit of television, yesterday's concert in the BBC Proms season. The programme hosts are the charming Katy Derham and Jess Gillam.

Tonight we can enjoy the famous American soloist, Joshua Bell, playing Dvorak's violin concerto, which is nice. This is one of our favourite concertos because Dvorak did not leave any pauses between the movements: he was a busy man, with a long to-do list, it seems, and he wanted to minimise the length of the many musical festivals he attended, which is understandable.

And it is nice from mine and Lois's point of view, because we can relax and enjoy the music - there is no risk that some of the audience members will feel tempted to applaud between the movements, something which always annoys us when it happens - which is all too often, unfortunately: what a sick world we live in !!!

22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzzz !!!!

Danish translation: søndag den 21. juli 2019

06:00 Jeg står op, lidt senere, end normalt, for at prøve Lois’ teori, dvs, dét, at jeg har for vane at stå for tidligt op, og derfor er mit energiniveau så ofte helt i bund. Vi får se.

10:00 Lois skal ud. Hun ønsker at deltage i sin sekts to gudstjenester, der finder sted i dag i byen Tewkesburys bibliotek.

Jeg har lidt alenetid, og går op ad loftstigen for at samle alle de uønskede sengetøj – tæpper, lagener, hovedpuder, dyner, soveposer osv – som vi har gemt i loftet af grunde, der ikke er helt klar, for at sige mildt. Dette arbejde er den seneste fase i vores igangværende downsize mini-projekt.

Til min overraskelse og til min glæde finder jeg, at der faktisk er ikke ret meget sengetøj i loftet, men jeg slæber dem alle alligevel ned ad loftstigen og sætter dem på én af de tre senge i vores datter Alisons gamle værelse.

alle de uønskede sengetøj, jeg kan finde i loftet:

der er langt mindre, end jeg frytede, hvilket er rart

Jeg har imidlertid lyst til at opnå et langt mere imponerende resultat i formiddag, end bare et lille kvantitet sengetøj, så derfor går jeg igen op ad loftstigen og denne gang samler jeg alle de uønskede tøj, jeg kan finde. Der er masse af dem, for at sige mildt. Og det er særligt skuffende, at der stadig er bunkevis af babytøj deroppe. Lois og jeg troede, at vi havde fundet alle de uønskede babytøj for mere end ét år siden, da vi donerede 4-5 store sorte sække babytøj  til en vuggestue i Gloucester. Pokkers!  Vil dette arbejde aldrig komme til ende?

Jeg slæber alle de tøj, inklusive babytøj, ned ad loftstigen og dumper dem på den 2. seng i vores datter Alisons gamle værelse.

Alt de uønskede tøj og sengetøj, jeg har kunnet finde i morges i loftet

- du godeste, sikke et vanvid!!!!

Det er muligt, at vi kan sælge nogle af disse tøj – det er blevet pludselig mere moderagtigt at bære brugte tøj, ifølge mit go-to nyhedswebsted, Onion News.

13:30 Jeg spiser frokost og lytter lidt til radio, et interessant program, der handler om, hvor akkurate er psykisk helbred diagnoser. Programmets vært er den charmerende Claudia Hammond.

DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual), den såkaldte ”psykiaterens bibel” blev startet efter den 2. verdenskrig, i et forsøg på at øge psykologernes generelle prestige – de var dengang i bunden af hakkordenen i den medicinske verden.

I begyndelse (1952) var denne bog ganske lille, ligesom en tyk pjece, af 129 sider: det vejede omkring 7,5 ounces (213g).

Men bogen er vokset og vokset med hver udgave gennem årene, og det nuværende (5.) udgave (2013) indeholder 298 diagnoser, og vejer omkring 4 pund (1746g). Man siger, det er tyk nok til at stoppe en kugle. Og det ville sandsynligvis dræbe dig, hvis den faldt på dig fra den øverste hylde af en høj bogreol – du godeste, sikke et vanvid!!!

DSM-5: denne bog kunne dræbe dig, den er så tung!

Bogen er særlig populær blandt de farmaceutiske selskaber, fordi det giver dem chancen for at komme med mindst 298 forskellige piller (og sandsynligvis langt flere) – du godeste, sikke et vanvid!

Claudia Hammond, programmets charmerende vært, siger imidlertid, at trenden i dag er at begrænse tallet af forskellige diagnoser til 20 eller deromkring, og nogle psykiaterer afviser overhovedet at give dem. De påstår, at der er så mange diagnoser som der er patienter, og der er ikke andet valg end at opdage patientens symptomer, tale med ham/hende og finde ud af, hvad deres tilstand er en reaktion mod, måske noget fra deres fjerne fortid. Mange psykiske symptomer er selvfølgelig fælles mellem flere, end én diagnose, lader det til.

Ikke desto mindre kan nogle patienter godt lide at modtage en diagnose, fordi det giver dem en eller anden etiket, de kan fortælle til deres venner, familie og arbejdskammerater.  Nogle af disse etiketter er ikke særlig populære imidlertid:  ”personlighedsforstyrrelse” for eksempel, fordi det lyder som om, de er en total fiasko som person, hvilket selvfølgelig ikke er hensigten.

Psykiske diagnoser er ikke det samme som fysiske diagnoser, og de er ikke sat i sten på den samme måde. Vi hører fra ”Suzy”, en patient, der blev diagnosticeret med bipolar affektiv sindslidelse. Ligesom mange psykiske patienter følte hun sig udelukket fra samfundet, så det var særligt behjælpeligt at finde en støttegruppe, hvor medlemmerne forstod hendes følelser og problemer.

Men efter 16 år blev Suzys diagnose pludselig ændret til ”psykose og depression” – hendes psykiater besluttede, at denne etiket passede tættere hendes tilstand.  Derefter følte hun, at hun ikke længere kunne være medlem af sin tidligere støttegruppe. Også hun meldte sig aldrig igen i en anden støttegruppe, fordi hun totalt havde mistet troen på validiteten og stadigheden af nogen given diagnose, hvilket er lidt trist, for at sige mildt.

Men alt i alt et helt fascinerende program.

14:30 Jeg går i seng for at tage en gigantisk eftermiddagslur. I melletiden kommer Lois tilbage fra Tewkesbury. Jeg står op kl 15:30 og vi slapper af med en kop te og et stykke brød med hjemmelavet stikkelsbærmarmelade – yum yum!

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og sætter os til rette i stuen. Alison, vores datter i Haslemere, Surrey, ringer til os og snakker om sine 3 børn, Josie (12), Rosalind (11) og Isaac (8). Josie går i højskole og hendes skoles sommerpause startede i fredags. Rosalind og Isaac går i folkeskole or deres sommerpause starter på torsdag.

vores 3 børnebørn i Haslemere: et nyligt billede

Jeg fortæller Alison, at jeg har en kasse med alle hendes højskolenotater, som jeg slæbte ned fra loftet som en del af vores nuværende downsize mini-projekt.

Vi bruger resten af aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn, gårsdagens concert i BBC Proms-sæsonen. Programmets værter er de charmerende Katy Derham og Jess Gillam.

I aften kan vi høre den berømte amerikanske solist, Joshua Bell, spille Dvoraks violinconcert, hvilket er rart. Denne er én af vores yndlingskoncerter, fordi Dvorak ikke efterlod nogle pauser mellem satserne: han var en travlt mand, med en lange gøremålsliste, lader det til, og han havde lyst til at minimisere længden af de mange musikale festivaler han deltog i, hvilket er forståeligt.

Og det er rart fra mit og Lois’ synspunkt, fordi vi kan slappe af og nyde musikken – der er ikke nogen risiko for at nogle af publikummedlemmerne vil føle sig fristet til at applaudere mellem satserne, hvilket altid irriterer os, når det sker -hvilket er alt for ofte desværre: sikke en syg verden vi lever i !!!

22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzzzz!!!!