There's a fascinating little book called "The Paranoids Pocket Guide - hundreds of things you never knew you had to WORRY about. "Cameron Tuttle ( C.T.) 1997.
It's is one of those fun little books that sits on a coffee table and you dip in and out. It literally, in a fun lay-out, gives you hundreds of weird facts that get you thinking about what you could worry about if you wanted to:
" A hot steamy shower can be relaxing - unless the organism that causes Legionnaires Disease is growing inside the shower-head........all you have to do is to inhale the steam containing.. the bacteria" ( C.T. )
" You are four times more likely to get food poisoning from eating at a restuarant than eating at home" ( C.T.)
..... and then all those phobias !
scopophobia - fear of being naked
parathenophobia - fear of young girls
heortophobia - fear of holidays
Hmmmmmmm ... no wonder C.T. is a nervous wreck !!
One wonders what fears the children in our programs may live with.... fear of the dark, fear of spiders... of course!.... fear of dolls?.... What else?
Dikeledi had a fear that the adults in her life would suddenly disappear....go away, and not come back. She left the door open when she went to the toilet. Her thinking was that she could keep watch on the child care worker to be sure that she didn't disappear while she was going to the toilet. She was persuaded to close it for the sake of privacy, but she insisted that it be kept ajar and that the child care worker stand in front of the door. She would ask from inside "Are you there?" and waited for the reply " Yes Dikeledi".
Going to sleep was a problem. If she slept then she might wake up to find that all the adults have disappeared. She needed constant reassurance that child care workers would be there in the morning
Shift changes frightened her - a wide eyed fear when one left and another was on duty. A shift roster had to be visiably posted. Child care workers had to keep her well informed. "I'm going off now - I'll be back tomorrow at 2.00 "
Dikeledi's fear grew from the facts of her childhood pattern of experience. All the most important, significant. connected people in her life just suddenly drop out of her world and disappear. This was the pattern before she came into care and unfortunately that pattern continued.... even with child care workers in the Children's Home (Treatment Centre). It was the way her world worked for sure.
Is there a name for this?... the fear of abandonment ?` We will have to ask C.T
It is frightening to think that we may be feeding children with the things that they never knew they had to worry about... setting up fears through what we say or do, or what happens organisationally:
"If we don't get a lot of money soon we will have to close this program at the end of next month.... see it's true, it is even in the newspaper."
'If you play with your willy it will drop off"
" Girls if you drink too much Coke it's not good for you.... caffeine can reduce your ability to have children" (adapted from C.T.)
"Heading a soccer ball frequently (ten times or more per game) causes mild neuropsychological damage and lowers IQ" (C.T.)
Are you a really hot dancer? Dance floor dehydration can kill you" (C.T)
Oh Oh ..... am I a C.T. child and youth care worker?
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