# General Store



## Clancey

I don't seem to find a store where one can purchase those necessary items such as T-shirts, hats, mugs, window stickers, canoes, etc.  Certainly the site is getting big enough that that sort of advertising may be effective.  From a psychological stand point, it helps with stigma.  Undoubtedly while having a coffee with a friend, the question may be asked as to "What is Psychlinks?"  The opportunity to share breaks the ice in a number of ways and for a number of reasons/intentions.

This may be a way to raise money for the site to offset costs.

I see it as a win-win idea.  I'm curious to know what others might think.  Would you feel comfortable wearing something with a psych related brand on it?


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## David Baxter PhD

I'm not sure I have the energy to take this site commercial 

With my other sites, I encourage social media sharing but a site like this forum needs privacy. Balancing that with trying to promote the existence of the site can be tricky.


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## Clancey

It's a good point.  I see you bridging gaps.  Gaps that have been there from the beginning of mankind.  We try so hard to hide the fact that we are flawed and yet everyone on the face of the earth is flawed to some degree, but not everyone can admit that.

I feel it is a great virtue to know your limitations, so many people don't.  Sometimes discrete is best, and in regards to this site, you would know much more than I.  

I will see this as a secret place where I can go and share.  In all fairness, commercial can be a big pain in the backside.  The quality of life is greatly affected, a threat to good health and happiness.


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## Retired

> a store where one can purchase those necessary items such as _(Official Psychlinks Designer)_ T-shirts, hats, mugs, window stickers, canoes, etc.



Topic for discussion at the next Marketing Board Meeting, down at headquarters:


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## David Baxter PhD

Dontcha just hate those board meetings, though?


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## Retired

David Baxter said:


> Dontcha just hate those board meetings, though?



On the contrary, I especially enjoythem when they are held in the private lounge by the indoor swimming pool!




:icecream:


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## Clancey

You know you ask for support, pay pal ready.  "Whip out your credit card and donate some money."  Someone makes a suggestion and you make it a joke.  I saw this as something different than what it is, that's my fault.  You have a sweet little clique developing here, how will you undo that one David?


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## David Baxter PhD

We're not making a joke at your expense, or indeed at the expense of anyone else, Clancy. Just having fun playing with the concept. Life can be hard for many people. Sometimes you just need a chuckle to get through it all.

I apologize if you were offended. I know that wasn't the intent.


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## MHealthJo

We joke around quite a bit here Clancey but it is never directed at the expense of someone or what they have thought or said. We are so sorry if it ever comes across that way at any point - it is definitely not intended to. I have noticed the Canadian sense of humour quite often has a similar style to the Australian one that I am used to: a style of poking fun at oneself, not taking oneself very seriously, exaggerating an idea to have a bit of fun with it, stuff like that. In this thread we have done that at the expense of our humble little small nonprofit site, Psychlinks, which we do care about and are super glad that it helps people, but yeah we don't take it or ourselves so seriously that we won't have a kid around, take an idea further just for a bit of fun, etc. We're so sorry Clancey if that came across as something different - it is definitely true that humour doesn't always translate all that easily over technology.


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## GDPR

MHealthJo said:


> I have noticed the Canadian sense of humour quite often has a similar style to the Australian one that I am used to: a style of poking fun at oneself, not taking oneself very seriously, exaggerating an idea to have a bit of fun with it, stuff like that. In this thread we have done that at the expense of our humble little small nonprofit site, Psychlinks, which we do care about and are super glad that it helps people, but yeah we don't take it or ourselves so seriously that we won't have a kid around, take an idea further just for a bit of fun, etc. .



Although I feel bad that Clancey is feeling offended I am glad this thread went in this direction because I learned something.

There's been quite a few times I have read things posted and thought "I don't get it" through the years.Times I have thought/felt I have not been taken seriously or have felt like the butt of a joke that I just didn't get.Times of reading threads that to me are a serious subject and then there's suddenly some silly things that don't make sense to me.Times I have felt offended by what I have perceved as flippant remarks.Times I felt like an outsider,like I was just strange,thinking it was because I have issues and thinking maybe someday when I am completely better I will then be able to grasp the banter and be able to join in on it.

I usually click 'like' or 'thanks' on many posts,but I didn't in this thread,I felt the same way Clancey did,that his suggestion was made a joke and I felt offended for him.

It's good to find out you guys are just....different than those of us from the U.S. and that it's not because there's something wrong with me.


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## Retired

Clancey said:
			
		

> You have a sweet little clique developing here, how will you undo that one David?



If anyone should be the target of your critique, it should be me and if my silly sense of humor offended you, Clancey, I sincerely apologize.

We deal with some serious issues on Psychlinks, sometimes in our own lives as well as trying to support fellow Psychlinks members....many of whom have become friends over the years.

Some of us, myself included, try to see the humor in situations, perhaps as a release from the intensity of many of our discussions.  Our humor is never directed at at anyone, as we hold ourselves to the highest standards to protect the privacy and dignity of our members.  Our humor is directed toward ourselves....a form of self deprecating humor.

I've been working with David Baxter for over fifteen years on Psychlinks as well as the Tourette Canada Forum, and I am keenly aware of David's commitment to our Forums despite many challenges.  

Your very legitimate proposal that Psychlinks promote itself commercially lent itself to my playing with the idea to a point of my own absurd depictions of what Psychlinks truly is not.

We're just a group of plain old folks, with issues of our own, trying to help others deal with their own issues, in a way that can make a venue that is informative, supportive, and occasionally absurdly funny.

We're not laughing at you, but rather laughing at ourselves, Clancey.

Stick around and you'll see what I mean.

Warmest regards,

Steve


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## GDPR

LIT said:


> It's good to find out you guys are just....different than those of us from the U.S. and that it's not because there's something wrong with me.



Uh oh,thought I should clarify that I wasn't implying there's something 'wrong' with you guys....


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## MHealthJo

Hahahahaha, don't worry LIT.... there probably is!!!!   (Again, I kid. )

I must say, over where I am, the taking-of-oneself-not-seriously is so major that it actually definitely does spill over, as an absolute everyday, almost every-conversation occurrence, into doing the same thing with the person/people that you are with. It's a bit like any everyday brief friendly conversation with anyone, once you know them a little, (or even before you do..... like in order to GET to know them....) almost pretty much *requires* a stupid joke of some kind to be included. Almost like otherwise you are not really friends or friendly.  And it in fact will often take the form of a very ridiculous absurd question or comment to the person you talk to.  The actual literal way to be friendly to a young kid for example, to make them feel at ease and comfortable... let me think of an example... If the kid says they are going to use the toilet for example, the literal way to actually make friends with the kid and let them know you are friendly, would be to say "Make sure you don't fall in!" with a stupid slight smile on your face. The kid will now grin or chuckle probably and feel at ease and comfortable in your company if they did not know you very well before. Okay, saying this out loud is starting to make me think there may in fact be something quite wrong with my native culture.  hahahahahaha!

But we also notice that USA comedians will come on our comedy shows or talk shows or panel shows and be flabbergasted at what "we are allowed to say" or "allowed to joke about". Very irreverent and open and nearly everything is fair game for a laugh, but especially self,  each other (yet with respect and friendliness and equality taken as sort of a 'given'), and just people in general.... I will say I have seen this dynamic quite similarly on British TV too, and my culture is quite strongly and quite recently British-influenced with a sizeable segment of British who continue to move here. I wonder if that has sonething to do with it. I honestly don't know.

I will say that I used to find it a bit confusing when I was very young, I will say a big part of my family background is from a different culture and my dad was quite genuinely mean and mocking in the home environment fairly often and my brother inherited quite a bit of that. So then I would meet friendly Australian men or boys and think they were teasing me or mean. Sometimes they WERE teasing me, but not the same way. I understood it better later but it took quite a number of years of school and other experiences to really get my bearings a lot more. I also didn't integrate at school as easily or quickly or fully as many kids did. (I wonder if some fully Aussie-ancestry kids just with meanness or dysfunction at home experience a similar confusion.) It took me until not that long ago to understand that I had a certain level of a "third culture kid" type of experience, a term I came across. My generation was born in Australia and my dad and his younger sister got a full education here, but the parents and older siblings that shaped and raised my dad plus all the aunts and uncles who shaped all those cousins, they were a rural peasant immigrant family with each person having only two years of education, (some of them maybe less?) and a very dysfunctional family at that, from a place and time marred by war and fascism and various stuff.

So there you go..... I was born here, yet my culture was somewhat still confusing to me too....


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## Clancey

It's okay, remember I'm Bipolar.  I just increased my lithium, lol.

I think my issue is that I saw Psychlinks as more than a forum.  From my experience, a lot of people feel that Physical and Mental Medicine is linked.  Have you ever heard the statement that "The mentally afflicted have no voice?"  In reality, they really don't.  I get a kick out of the voice recordings I hear when I call my mental health professionals and they are not available to answer the phone.  You hear, "If this is a medical emergency, hang up and dial 9-1-1, or go to your nearest Hospital Emergency Room."  That is one big clue that mental and physical science is not linked.

If you are stupid enough to call 9-1-1, you may very well end up with a SWAT team in your front yard.  If you go to emergency, you had best pack a lunch and bring a change of clothing because you will be there a while, considering you have insurance.  Nothing will be done for you, you just have to sit.  Now, is it not reasonable to believe that the ER should call in a Mental Health Professional?  They don't, because that would be admitting that they are incapable of handling those sorts of emergencies.  In big cities, there is lots of competition.

So, I guess I saw this forum as a chance to help bridge the gap between mental and physical health in a non-confrontational way.  I also saw it as an opportunity for people from all walks of life and of all ages to get answers to questions they find hard to ask, anywhere else.  A 14 year old kid that doesn't understand how to interpret the influx of hormones and his sexual arousal.  He can't ask Mom & Dad, my gosh they are strict Judeo-Christian, the school counselor could prove to be a nightmare, because after you ask the question, you have to see the guy everyday.  Getting into a professional requires help from Mom & Dad.  So what could the kid do?  He can go online and ask those embarrassing questions where he can remain anonymous and may receive answers from highly trained professionals or someone that has experienced the male puppy humping the mop.

I pictured the young Graduate Student reading Psychlinks, searching for a topic for his thesis.  There is a tremendous opportunity here and I took it serious.  For me it is serious.  I want to have a voice.

Yes, I'm a Yank and I get off on humor, too.  I was just sensitive to the topic, because I saw a gap that could be bridged.  I would buy a Psychlinks T-shirt and wear it proudly.  The canoe?  Only if it's red.

Chill and thanks to all of you who take the time to share, it means a lot more than you know.


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## MHealthJo

Bridging those gaps is something that surely would benefit people, Clancey..... That is for sure.... Hmm, now you've got me thinking... I know there are definitely larger organizations that attempt to fill these sorts of gaps too.... I wonder if there is one that considers itself sort of global, and offers those kinds of merchandise that helps spread the word.... which could be beyond the scope of us here, but hey I wonder if there are any that could be linked to somewhere near the 'support us' buttons in case others have the same idea of wanting to raise mental health awareness and direct people to supportive and positive organisations via merchandise, like in case others reading this site would like something like that too. I am sure charities and organisations like that might have things available like that, and their incoming money probably gets reinvested into what they do. Definitely something to think about...... Thanks Clancey, my mind is ticking over about this now...


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## Retired

MHealthJo said:
			
		

> I wonder if there is one that considers itself sort of global


Perhaps one of the principal organizations operating on a large scale is the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) that Clancey may want to investigate.


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## Clancey

No, you are missing my point.  If I really want the T-shirt, I can go to an office supply store and for $10.00 I can buy the software and the stencil to create an iron-on replica of Psychlinks.  Problem solved.  Let me give you a prime example of what I am talking about, something that happened to me, personally.

Okay, so I'm Bipolar and on medication and in a different location, working on a house to get it ready to put on the market.  I am away (450 miles) from my regular Physicians (Mental & Physical.) I have a massive stroke and I'm not found for 6 days.  The wife didn't hear from me so she called the local police for a "Wellness Check."  The police go to the house where you are suppose to be, to check on you.  A neighbor found me the day before and I'm laying in the hospital labeled as "John Doe," because I was taken to the hospital naked.  I was taking a shower when I had the stroke.  The wife calls the hospital and it's revealed that I'm Bipolar and on meds.  

I was in ICU, in and out of coma for 10 days.  Then, off to rehab with Physical Doctors you know, heart, lung, brain, spleen, etc.  My mental Doctor (mind) prescribes 900 mg of lithium and 150 mg of Seroquel.  The Physical Doctor thinks "That's an overload of lithium, all at once,"  So she dolls it out at 300mg/ 3 times a day.  For those of you who understand lithium, you know that unless it is taken all at once, it has no stabilizing affect.  So now they have a stroke patient who is venturing into full blown mania and trying to learn how to walk.  Some days he can remember his name.

After physical rehab I talked to my rehab physician and she shared with me that "The Doctors don't know what to do with psych patients, they don't understand the science."  My question was "Why wasn't a Psych Professional called in to join my treatment team?"

Fast forward a few months.  I've returned home and discovered that my wife of three years was hiding as a malignant narcissist.  I file for divorce and return to the location where I stroked.  I have no Physical or Mental Doctor.  I get a new Internist who got into medical school by first getting his PhD in engineering.  (It's where he should have stayed.)  I'm out of Seroquel and experiencing withdraw.  He refuses to write a script for me.  In the mean time my blood pressure is creeping up, that he will address.  Mental health professional appointments are weeks away.

In another thread we discussed "Anxiety and the use of Marijuana, alcohol, etc."  No Seroquel, a week goes by and I have not slept.  I drank alcohol and ended up in the local ER, by ambulance.  $5,000.00 later, no resolutions, no Seroquel (because no one will prescribe it,) I'm back to the street.  Next stop, Health & Welfare, better known as Wealth & Hellfare.  "We are sorry, our patients are chronic, we won't help you."  

By chance, I get ahold of the original Psych Doctor who diagnosed me (she is now a professor) and she writes a script.  Everything changes.  I am finally able to function correctly.  For those of you who have been through forced withdraw off of addicting drugs, you can imagine the panic I was in.

My anger is towards the Physical Doctors who put me on the edge of a second stroke because number one, they didn't listen and two, they have turned a blind eye to the science.  Physical affects mental.  Mental affects Physical.  I am sorry, but the two are connected.  The Mental Doctors?  "Oh, I'm sorry, you missed your last appointment, we can't renew your medication, go to your nearest Emergency Room."  "What?"

So in regards to "Marijuana, alcohol and anxiety,"  If you are a psych patient, you may want to keep some available in case you have a physical emergency.

That is what I mean about bridging the gap.  Is it possible to get the two sciences to overlap?

---------- Post Merged at 09:58 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 09:52 AM ----------

Steve, I would like to talk with you about "Tic's."  Do I need to sign in on the other forum?


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## Retired

Clancey said:
			
		

> Steve, I would like to talk with you about "Tic's." Do I need to sign in on the other forum?



Not necessarily, Clancey.  There is a Tourette Section here on Psychlinks where a discussion about tics would be appropriate, even if the tic symptoms are not Tourette related.

Hope I can help with your concerns.


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## Clancey

Sounds like more reading.  My experience with Tourette syndrome is very hokey.  Mostly through the movies which always exaggerate that which the Director finds interesting.  Thanks, I need to explore more.  More like "Shut-up and explore more." lol  I might want a T-shirt for that too.  

David's sitting there thinking, "Thank God, the lithium is finally kicking in." lol


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## Retired

> My experience with Tourette syndrome is very hokey



You are not alone.  TS is widely misunderstood mostly due to the distorted information usually portrayed in the media, often referring to TS as the "swearing disease".

It's none of that and great strides have been made in recent years that can help individuals afflicted with the disorder to help manage their symptoms.

If you're looking for more research material, go ahead and browse around our sister Forum Tourette Canada Support Forum 

If you have any questions, comments or concerns, I'd be pleased to help.


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## David Baxter PhD

Clancey said:


> David's sitting there thinking, "Thank God, the lithium is finally kicking in." lol



No... more like, "Thank God, the server transfer is finally finished."


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## Clancey

That was a big deal for you.  I know I don't think about what goes on behind the curtain.  What it takes to maintain a forum type website.  Did computers and the Net come naturally for you, or was there a huge learning curve?  I notice you advertise a website development service.  You also teach, so how do you balance the whole thing?  In another post you shared about depression.  How do you have time to get depressed?  Yeah, I know, it's the mechanics of depression.  It affects a person regardless.


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## David Baxter PhD

Yeah you don't have to have time to be depressed. It finds the time for you. 

I was always interested in computers. I was originally going to make it a career but I got sidetracked into psychology for a few decades. Back in the old days, before PCs, I wrote my first programs using punch cards and a mainframe. Now that was an adventure.

It remained an interest over the years... even when I was doing other things. And gradually, computers became more and more omnipresent in pretty much every field, so my previous experience and interest came in handy.


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## Retired

David Baxter said:
			
		

> Back in the *old days*, before PCs, I wrote my first programs using punch cards and a mainframe



David's original computer:



Needed to keep the pilot light from blowing out under the steam kettle!


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## David Baxter PhD

Not quite that old... 

The two I remember best are

the IBM360:



and the Burroughs 6700 which replaced the IBM at Queen's University:



Apparently they all came with pretty young women...

This is a punch card... you might need to create a few thousand of these or more, each with a single line of code for the compiler:



And one of the machines used to create those and sort those cards:


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## Banned

That would require the patience of a saint. And if you drop your deck of punch cards....


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## David Baxter PhD

Turtle said:


> That would require the patience of a saint. And if you drop your deck of punch cards....



I did that once, debugging a program. I was trying to do one last compile before the computing center closed late at night and rushing to the card feeder I dropped them all over the floor.

Now the card punch machine could sort your cards for you automatically in just a few minutes... *IF* you numbered them sequentially. 

I hadn't bothered to number them. What could go wrong?

After sorting about 2000 cards manually, that was the last time I didn't number them.


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## Clancey

So technology has greatly improved, or has it?  If you drop your Smart Phone in the lake aren't you screwed?mg:


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## MHealthJo

It's simply stunning to think of how many obsolete pieces of equipment must exist in the world and how quickly they become so. I really hope that governments etc will make more and more responsible decisions about recycling and disposing of it all.  (As well as about planned obsolescence, which I started reading about..... Ugh.)


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## David Baxter PhD

I see that happening more and more in Canada. You can drop off electronics to be recycled or provided to 3rd world countries in many stores and locations now.


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## MHealthJo

Awesome!! :thumbsup:


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## Clancey

In the world, don't forget the ocean and even on Mt Everest.  Seems I read that there was numerous obsoletes orbiting in space.  Fortunately in regards to electronics, everything seems to be getting smaller.  Requires less space for dumping.


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## Pop Alexandra

I'm a bit late but I'm really happy to see everything's still working properly.
___________________________________________
Alexandra from Studio Azura


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## David Baxter PhD

Some of us are a little slower and rustier than we used to be but yes, we're still here plugging along. 

Happy to see you back again, Pop Alexandra.


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