These mean I am one of the Donors of Writing, Halloween Poets, and Daily Poets!

Are you a dork, geek, nerd, or dweeb?
{I'm a dork myself.}
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I'm pretty much the biggest abnormal psychology nut you will ever meet. I'm in college right now, and am an English and Writing double-major, not a psychology major. People say I should be, but it would be an emotionally draining field for a person like me, and I'm not strong enough for that; I would love to teach 3rd, 4th, or 5th graders, but that's another one of those jobs. To get my "kid fill" (wow, that didn't sound creepy at all), I babysit. To get my "psychology fix"...well, I'm always dealing with people that have problems that have names. My roommate has Borderline Personality Disorder and Obsessive-Complusive Personality Disorder, her best friend is a pathological liar. I met a Schizophrenic last semester; it was an amazing experience. There is this boy that is currently obsessed with me and won't leave me alone, but I can't seem to find a name for his problem. I also just got rid of the most awful roommate ever, and I'm not sure her problem has a name; I just think she's a victim of not being raised right, and that's the reason for her incredible selfishness and lack of knowledge that she's annoying. She has Social Anxiety Disorder, but that has nothing to do with her problems. An ex-best friend of mine has Histrionic Personality Disorder.

I'm not perfect by any means; I can be found DSM-{whatever version we're up to now} (the tool psychologists use to diagnosis people). I'm an open-book; I don't mind sharing my problems:

Dysthymic Disorder

A. Depressed mood for most of the day, for more days than not, as indicated either by subjective account or observation by others, for at least 2 years.

B. Presence, while depressed, of two (or more) of the following:
(1) poor appetite or overeating {Overeating, yes. —1}
(2) insomnia or hypersomnia (Hypersomnia, yes.—2}
(3) low energy or fatigue (Low energy, yes.—3}
(4) low self-esteem {Sometimes.}
(5) poor concentration or difficulty making decisions {Poor concentration, yes. —4}
(6) feelings of hopelessness {Yes. —5}

C. During the 2-year period of the disturbance, the person has never been without the symptoms in Criteria A and B for more than 2 months at a time.

D. No Major Depressive Episode has been present during the first 2 years of the disturbance.

E. There has never been a Manic Episode, a Mixed Episode, or a Hypomanic Episode, and criteria have never been met for Cyclothymic Disorder.

F. The disturbance does not occur exclusively during the course of a chronic Psychotic Disorder, such as Schizophrenia or Delusional Disorder.

G. The symptoms are not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance.

H. The symptoms cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

Vaginismus

A. Recurrent or persistent involuntary spasm of the musculature of the outer third of the vagina that interferes with sexual intercourse.

B. The disturbance causes marked distress or interpersonal difficulty.

C. The disturbance is not better accounted for by another Axis I disorder and is not due exclusively to the direct physiological effects of a general medical condition.



Ribbon for Dissociative Identity Disorder

While I could very well devote my life to raising awareness and helping find ways to prevent these disorders that I have or others have that I've encountered, it is Dissociative Idenitity Disorder (DID) that I want to devote my life to. DID used to be called multiple personalities; the personalities have different names, different habits, different people they like, etc. Sometimes, the personalities have different genders, different ages, and different sexual preferences. The reason I care so much about DID is because it's messed with every aspect of my life. My mom has it, and while she was pregnant with me, she did some things that have messed me up for life. Growing up with a DID parent (my father was never home) was a very dangerous environment, and no child should be subjected to it. My mom was not a bad mom, and I do love her, but it would have been nice had she been relatively normal? I'm quite certain my brother has DID as well, but we don't see each other much now, so I can't study him appropriately. And, lastly, two of my exes have DID (one of which made me aware of this, and, thanks to him, my childhood, my whole life, makes sense).

As you can see, I am really a psychologist, but I don't get paid for it (nor any praise). *sigh* And how can I, a person with problems, help a person with problems? I think I'm better qualified than the "perfect people." So, in short, my mission is to save the world. What's yours?

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***MY POETRY PAGE***
<http://sites.google.com/site/leighsfavepoetry/leigh-bishops-poetry>

Two of my poems have been featured on Mainstreet: Raining Memories and The Ledge.


Raining Memories

Tell me, was it raining when you decided to think of me?
This is the kind of weather that makes me want to make love to you all night long.
To quote Kenny Chesney: 'I hear you laughing in the rain.'

I see myself walking out your door,
But you're not coming after me.
Lightning 'bout to strike me
As a not-so-friendly reminder I need to put my thoughts somewhere else.

The rain falling brings a smile to my face.
I don't have to cry
Because I know someone up there is doing it for me.
Tell me, was it raining when you decided to think of me?

© [Isis Leigh] {Featured on Mainstreet on 3/1/09}

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The Ledge

This is not fair;
Don't begin with the line that life isn't supposed to be.
For years I’ve wanted to step away from this ledge forever,
Leave it behind,
Pretend it means nothing to me,
But this ledge has made me;
Left it a few times, but the time apart only made me want it more.
I can't leave it,
It won't leave me;
I'll only jump if the voice tells me to.
What is at the bottom?
I don't know,
But I know what's behind me.
You say I've put myself in this corner,
That you have no responsibility.
Sometimes I think I’m standing on this ledge,
Other times, I think I'm sitting.
And where are you?
You are flying.

This is not fair;
Don't begin with the line that life isn't supposed to be.
Can't I fly, too?
Yes, I want your disease;
There is no ledge for you.

© [Isis Leigh] {Featured on Mainstreet on 6/25/09}