What is Normal? Really!

Being a person of uniqueness in the modern age has its pros and cons. Given that our current society seems to be morbidly obsessed with mental health, in possibly not the most rational of ways, it is hard to say whether society is more accepting or more aggressive and intolerant. Don’t see the correlation? A quick review of today’s headlines clearly illustrates our societal obsession with mental health:

“What’s worse than a coworker who undermines you?” Adam Grant (LinkedIn)

“How Corruption is Strangling US Innovation” James Allworth (Harvard Business Review)

“You won’t believe these phobias” (MSN.com)

OK, so we talk about mental health a lot these days. At least we don’t lock people up into big asylums anymore, but are we more tolerant? If we are looking at past and present perspectives, the question becomes this: have we ever been more tolerant of these personality or mental deviations, or is that just wishful thinking?

There are references to mental illness as far back as Socrates, who considered it mystical and even inspirational (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_mental_disorders). Diagnosis and treatments were recorded throughout history in Egypt, China, and India. In the 700 and 800s we saw the first asylums, and in the 1200s people actually started experimenting (sometimes horribly so) with people who were, to varying degrees, considered insane.

According to Wikipedia,” Insanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns,” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insanity).  It can also be a deviation from social norms. I’d say that accounts for about 90% of the people I know.

Thankfully, the psychiatric community, our keepers of all that is considered mental health, also actively debates the “what is normal” question. In is 2009 article “What is Normal,” Peter Kramer cites that we have “narrowed healthy behavior so dramatically that our quirks and eccentricities—the normal emotional range of adolescence and adulthood—have become problems we fear and expect drugs to fix,” (http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200910/what-is-normal). He also goes on to say how important the fields of psychology and psychiatry are to modern society. However, if you have ever had the urge to read the DSM-4 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), you will find some pretty interesting things such as Facebook dependence, Math compulsion, Knitting dependence, hyper activity, etc. It seems that almost anything a human being can conceive to do can become a mental disorder of some sort.

A couple of years ago I attended a seminar at Thompson Rivers University about mental health and anxiety disorders. I can’t for the life of me remember the speakers name (a memory disorder?), but he did say this, “we all have anxiety and that is normal.” He also said that, “it is the degree of the anxiety and how much time we spend on our own personal rituals to manage the anxiety the drives the need for psychiatric intervention.” Essentially, what he is saying is that if you have anxiety and you spend an hour a day managing it, you are OK, BUT if you have anxiety and you spent eight hours a day managing it, then it is a problem. This is one of the first truly rational statements that I have heard when talking about mental health issues.

So, I guess my position on mental health would be that I am quirky, and I know it. I am a little eccentric and sometime neurotic. It’s a continuum. Some days I spend a lot of time managing myself. Some days I don’t need to.  Do I want to conform to some abstract standard defined by a society that appears to be irrationally obsessed with every possible form of deviation under the sun? Absolutely not, and neither should YOU!

A Not Quite Accidental Tourist

Anyone who has been following this blog knows that I have been going on lots of touristy-type outings while here in the Eastern United States. Not counting the Detroit Redwings Hockey Game, skiing the mole hills, or the Ohio Caves expedition with my dear friend the Adventurous Britt, I have visited the Toledo museum twice (this is truly an amazing and unexpected treasure) and will need an additional trip or two to see the entire thing (http://www.toledomuseum.org). I have gone to the Henry Ford museum (http://www.thehenryford.org/museum/index.aspx), which is a must see for anyone who considers themselves a student of innovation. Of course, the cars were pretty cool too. I have also recently been to “The Bodies” exhibit at the Michigan Science Center (http://www.mi-sci.org/).

This week, I decided to check out the Charles Wright museum of African History (http://thewright.org/). My favorite chef, Fernando, accompanied me. I guess all this museum hopping does make me a bit of a tourist, but I think this museum was a little different than the others. Firstly, it was information intense beyond anything you would experience at, say, an art museum like the Toledo Art Museum, or the Detroit Institute of Arts (http://www.dia.org/), which is where Fernando and I had lunch before our journey through the Charles Wright museum. Thankfully we did.

In hindsight, I think I was expecting an emotionally challenging experience given the subject matter. I was especially worried because during the visit to the Henry Ford museum I felt nauseous and overwhelmed while sitting on the Rosa Parks bus. And, while the exhibits were indeed emotionally challenging, they were even more intellectually challenging because there was so much information that went with each of them. This tour was packed with so much information and was so mentally overwhelming that I had to go home and take a nap, which incidentally lasted until this morning.

From an emotional stand point the most difficult part of the experience was the recreation of the “door of no return,” from within the Ghana trade station.  You start of in the dungeons with the chain links hooked into the walls. It is very dark and dank feeling and you walk through a long lightless corridor to the deck of a ship. For the men and women who actually made that journey, it truly was the door of no return as these people would never see their homeland again.

The experience deepens as you make your way around the ship deck and find that the only way out is down a dark set of stairs into the belly of the ship where the live cargo was kept. I have known for many years the people were laid out on tiered shelves and shackled in place. What I didn’t know was that they were not laid on their backs. They were not given any room to turn this way or that. No! These people were turned on their sides and squished together. There was barely enough room to breathe!

There was a lot to read in most of the exhibits and the information transfer was almost as emotionally impactful as those steps through the “Door of No Return,” only lacking in the visual experience. I think the biggest shock for me was not that the slave ships reeked so badly you could smell them from miles away. It was not that the slavers covered up the slaves sores and injuries with tar to hide them and get a better price, nor was it the fact that they could get around an insurance limitation of not being able to collect on lost cargo if the cargo was neglected or mistreated by simply tossing them over the side and declaring these men and woman to be “lost at sea.” No, I think the biggest shock for me was that the Lincoln Proclamation of Emancipation, which was ratified by most states in 1865, was not ratified by Kentucky until 1976 or by Mississippi until 1995. That was the biggest shock to this quirky Canadian.  If you ever have the chance to visit Charles Wright museum, I definitely recommend it. Just eat lunch first. You’ll need it!

Shrink Wrapped Cadavers

That’s what my chef friend, Fernando, from Michigan calls the “Bodies Worlds” exhibit we went to see at the Michigan Science Center yesterday. I remember back when the exhibit visited Vancouver Science World back in 2006 and again 2010. It was pretty controversial if I remember correctly. Even the Archdiocese of Vancouver weighed in (http://www.rcav.org/media/bodyworlds/).

Maybe it isn’t something that would appeal to the squeamish, but really, it wasn’t that bad. The first thing I noticed was that the plastination process used to preserve the bodies was nothing like shrink wrap. Shrink wrap means actually covered in plastic. These bodies definitely were NOT! Plastinatio, invented in 1977 by a guy called Dr. Gunther von Hagens, is a method of preserving anatomical specimens by extracting all bodily fluids and soluble fat from the specimens and replacing the fluids and fat with resins, then curing them with light, heat, and gasses. It uses a vacuum forced impregnation process (http://www.bodyworlds.com/en/exhibitions/questions_answers.html?edit#5). Once the process is completed the specimens are rigid and permanently in whatever pose they were in at the time. Apparently there is actually an Institute of Plastination with over 13,000 donors on their roster. So if you are really interesting in achieving a weird kind of immortality, here is where you can go to find out more information (http://www.bodyworlds.com/en/institute_for_plastination/mission_objectives.html).

I have to note that these specimens were meticulously dissected—no hack jobs here. It was a fascinating peek beneath our skin. We aren’t all colorful the way the anatomy textbooks at school present, but more of a blandish fleshy pinkish color (at least the healthy parts).  I found the detailed extractions of the kidneys, intestines, heart and lungs to be particularly insightful. By the way, the lungs are a lot smaller and a lot closer to your mouth that most text books show, and the tongue is a lot bigger and goes deep in the back of your throat, where it meets the larynx. Another surprise for me was that men’s testicles actually start from above the penis itself, even though on the outside they are positioned below the penis on the outside. Another interesting discovery was that the heart isn’t just an empty chamber that fills up and pushes out blood. It is filled with spongy-like fibers. Its walls are very thick and it looks almost like it soaks up blood into the sponge-like fibers as much as the open chamber like part does.

This exhibit was tasteful, informative, and covered every aspect of the human body from nerves to veins to the heart, of which there were many views. My favorites were the guy on the Harley Davidson and the exhibit where they had sliced the body at 1 inch intervals from top to bottom in what seemed to be one fell slice. Visiting Bodies Worlds was definitely worth the drive into Detroit; even my chef friend thought it was pretty cool.

Highway through Hell

I’ll bet if you ask anyone who lives in Kamloops, or Merritt, or even Vancouver where the “Highway Thru Hell” is, they would scratch their heads and answer honestly, “nope.”  Interestingly many of these same people would have driven this highway. Some might question all the new hype (after all the highway has been around for a couple of decades) but all would acknowledge its dangers. However, when coming up with catchy names like “Highway Thru Hell,” most local British Columbians would leave that to the folks in Hollywood, which is kinda, sorta exactly what happened.

The Coquihalla, usually referred to as the Coq (pronounced like Coke) by southern British Columbians, is that stretch of the number 5 highway between Hope and Merrit which also happens to be the star of the National Geographic and Discover Channels’ “Highway Thru Hell” (http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/highway-thru-hell/). Yes the show seems to have gone syndicate, who would have guessed?

 Traversing the Cascade Mountains it offers a haunting beauty. Drive BC (http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/coquihalla/) says the Coq passes through some of the most beautiful landscapes in the province.  Now I agree it is very beautiful highway; I have driven the Coq possibly hundreds of times and its hard beauty does wow me every time, but I would argue that Highway 1 along the Fraser River offers a little more beauty than that of the Coq.

When you approach the Cascade Mountains from Vancouver, you travel a good distance along the flat lands below the mountain range—miles and miles of lush farm lands and wet foliage. From a distance they seem large enough to reach the sky.  As you approach them, they loom over you, and suddenly you are within them, absorbed by their sheer magnitude. Then you steadily ascending towards the hauntingly beautiful summit and traverse across the higher alps, constantly winding up and down.

All of that said, no one will argue the dangers presented by the Coquihalla, especially that section that runs about 20 kilometers north of the old toll booths almost to Hope itself. I will never forget the day I was driving towards the snow shed, and my car turned sideways and continued to slide down into the snow shed, which is intended to keep the snow from the avalanches off the road . Cars were passing on either side and I was sliding at about 100 kilometers an hour down the hill. Even my daughter had an accident and totaled her car at the summit. THAT was pretty scary.

According to the Discovery Channel and Drive BC, the highway has some pretty steep hills such as one that runs about 8% grade all the way up. I am pretty sure that was the hill my old Honda Civic over heated on way back in 1990. I will never forget the terror of feeling those large semi-trucks whizzing by my little car, shaking the ground, knowing that only a few feet of gravel and pavement stood between me and a very long drop into the valley below.

During the winter the four lanes are usually reduced to one OK lane and one slushy slippery lane. Furthermore the single lane is constantly being treated with gravel and many, many, many large semi trucks travel that highway both winter and summer.  During one trip along the “Highway Thru Hell” I did try to pass one of those semis by driving on the slushy lane. The semi kicked up so much gravel and wet snow that my windshield wipers and cleaner couldn’t even keep up with it. With no visibility and the car slipping and sliding, I managed to white knuckle it by, but I don’t ever try to pass since that experience. When driving the Coke in the winter, I just focus on making it to the other side alive; even if that means driving at 40 Kilometers an hour ½ a Kilometer behind any large trucks to avoid the rocks that they kick up from the gravel.

Winter driving on the Coq is something that many locals just avoid if at all possible. Better to fly or take the bus, but I didn’t think of any of that when I drove the Coquihalla last Thursday the highway was clear, clean, with only a little traffic. However, I did think of all of those things knowing that my son was driving that highway last night!

No Snow Divas Allowed (aka, I will ski in any snow)

Anyone who knows me knows that skiing is a really important part of my life. Not that wussy cross country, low hill skiing either. I am talking BC Mountains on Champaign snow. That said, anyone who knows me also knows I am terrified of heights. So much so, that there are some runs where I can’t look any further than 10 meters or so in front of me, and some runs I just can’t stomach at all because they are too steep and too high. Even though logically I know I can’t really fall off the mountain and I know I have very good skills, I just can’t work up the courage. I guess that classifies me as a “let’s just get down the mountain safely” kind of skier and not a “hot rod, ski any height” skier.

However, I love the challenge of overcoming my fear of heights and the speed, the daring, the fresh air, even when I find myself on a particularly steep and high run and have to remind myself that I chose this sport and to suck it up buttercup!

When I made the decision to move to the United State, I knew the first year would be mostly out east in the Toledo area. I did a lot of internet research on Ski Hills near the Toledo/Detroit area. I found six ski resorts within 2 hours of Toledo, seven between 2 and 3 hours, and eight ski hills between 3 and 4 hours from Toledo.

Over the course of the last few months, I have been able to visit three of the six that are about 2 hours from my apartment. I decided not to bother visiting the closest hill because it is said to be a flat low hill built on what used to be a garbage dump! The three that I did visit were sadly also very small hills, so much so that their black diamond runs wouldn’t actually qualify for blue runs according to the ski resorts I have been to back home in British Columbia. Apparently, there are no actual global standards and run standards tend to vary by country and region. The double black runs in Michigan are about a 21 degree slope, which translates into a very easy blue or moderate run in British Columbia. Consequently, in Michigan, I am a perceived as a very good advanced skier; whereas, at home, I am a decent intermediate skier. I did wonder what would happen to a Michigan skier who thinks they can ski black diamonds if they were to ever find themselves out on an actual mountain and real black diamond run. As many skiers know, once you get to the top of a hill there is usually only one way to get down!

Obviously I love skiing so much that I am willing to drive 2 hours from my home to a teeny tiny little ski hill that not only has no decent slope, but is also only about 30 seconds long! However, as noted, I am only a decent intermediate skier, and I started skiing later in life (about 5 years ago), therefore, I make those long drives, exploring each hill in turn, just to keep my skills up a little bit.

Last week, I had the good fortune of finding myself in Vancouver for the weekend and I managed to get out to the Cypress Ski Hill that was the official free style skiing venue for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games (http://cypressmountain.com/). It isn’t as big as “my” mountain, but the blue and black runs are real blues and blacks.

Of course, because I’m a chicken and a little afraid of heights ,I started with the Greens (double blacks according to where I am now), and worked my way up to the blues. I even crossed the top of a black run called Rainbow-three times!

This week, I came home to Kamloops and my favorite mountains Todd and Morrissey at the Sun Peaks resort (http://www.sunpeaksresort.com/). My first day out was yesterday.  The snow sucked! Almost as bad (or even worse) than manmade snow.  It was heavy, wet, and sloppy. On the flats where there is no inertia it grabs your skis so hard it almost stops you and makes you fall over. I didn’t ski any greens, only hard blues, and I realized two things: 1. The only thing that holds me back is my own fear of heights; and 2: I will ski in any snow, because I just put on my gear and I’m heading back out there today.