周五 3/22 1.囤積癖 2. 人”麗”銀行

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周五主題 3/22 1.囤積癖 2.人”麗”銀行

囤積癖

Buried Alive: Saving, Collecting and Hoarding

(Allan Schwartz, LCSW, Ph.D Dr. Schwartz's Weblog)

What is meant by hoarding? The clinical definition of a hoarder is someone who has collected so much stuff that they can’t properly use rooms in their home, such as cooking on their stoves in the kitchen or sleeping in their beds because of piles of junk that have been accumulated. The hoarder is someone who is unable to throw anything out and who must shop for more stuff. There are often health risks to the hoarder, his family and to neighbors. The clutter and garbage attracts such things as insects, rodents and diseases. There is also the danger of fire and even cave-ins caused by the weight of carelessly piled possessions.

But, what is hoarding vs. what is collecting?

There are two very interesting programs on television connected to the problem of hoarding. One of them is on TLC and is called "Hoarding: Buried Alive" and the other is on the History channel called "Pickers." What is so interesting is that, while "Hoarding" deals with people who fit the clinical definition described above, "Pickers" deals with people who collect old things as a hobby. In both case, the hoarders or collectors, there are people who are unable to part with their possessions even when offered lots of money. On Hoarders, collecting junk is maladaptive behavior that is a form of mental illness related to Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). On Pickers similar people appear to be smart businessmen who enjoy buying and collecting old junk as a kind of hobby and as a way of earning money by selling what they accumulate. The fact is that in both cases people are hoarding.

Where do the "pickers" fit in? As depicted in the program, pickers are people who rummage through the junk collected by other people for the purpose of buying items that they can sell at a profit. On the program, the two pickers own a store where their purchased items are sold to people who are either decorating anything from their own businesses to their apartments, houses or condominiums. Even though the pickers make their purchases in order to sell at a profit, is it possible that they, too, are hoarders? After all, if you have seen the program you know that much of what they buy is filled with dust, rot and rust. Is this purely picking or is it possible that this is hoarding.

Added to the mystery is where to place those who collect things for investment? There are people who collect postage stamps, gold and silver coins, and original works of art, among other similar hobbies? Is it possible that they are hoarders?

The question posed here is similar to the puzzle of what types of behavior are normal or abnormal? Like so many things in life, hoarding exists on a continuum that ranges from normal to abnormal. Collecting postage stamps in an album filled with new or mint stamps from around tbe world is a normal or healthy kind of collecting. It's a financial investment that does not interfere with living on a daily basis. On the other hand, accumlating piles of junk in one's home so that there is no place to sleep, cook, eat and even go to the toiletter, does interfere with daily life. In the wors of cases this type of accumlation can and does become a fire and health hazard.

Questions:

1. Why is hoarding a problem?

2. Is hoarding a psychological problem?

3. Can hoarding be treated?

4. Do you have hoarding tendencies?

5. Would you marry a hoarder if you knew they were one?

6. How do you keep your room tidy?

人”麗”銀行

In China, job seekers are resorting to plastic surgery

The cosmetic surgery business is booming in China as a hyper-competitive labor market has job hunters altering their looks to get an edge with potential employers. (Don Lee)

SHANGHAI — In this crummy job market, Stephanie Yang figures any little advantage will help. Even double eyelids.

So on a cold January morning, the 21-year-old college senior walked into one of dozens of plastic surgery clinics here and plopped down $730, the equivalent of one year's tuition. An hour later she came out with two big bandages over her eyes.

When she removed the dressing the next day, Yang was aghast at her red, puffy eyelids. But now she looks out with her round eyes, a sharp crease across the upper lids, ready for the next interview.

"They may not say it openly, but during the process they will pick the prettier one," she says.

Judging by the boom in plastic surgeries lately, a lot of young Chinese would agree.

In the U.S., the recession has led to a steep drop in cosmetic surgeries, which generally aren't paid for by health insurers. Nose jobs aren't covered in China either, but that's not stopping consumers here. Job hunters know that a pleasing face helps to get a foot in the door.

"I've been surprised how busy it is," says Dr. Liao Yuhua, president of Shanghai Time Plastic Surgery Hospital, one of the largest in the city. Business began to increase last November, she says, and in recent weeks has been running 40% higher than a year ago. At its busiest in January, Liao says, her team of 10 surgeons was doing as many as 100 procedures a day, raising noses, cutting eyelids and chiseling angular faces into the shape of smooth goose eggs.

Just about the only thing Shanghai Time doesn't do are leg-lengthening surgeries, an expensive and painful procedure that illustrates just how far some Chinese are willing to go to boost their employment prospects.

When the hospital surveyed patients, it learned that about 50% of the cases were job-related. Of them, one group is college students about ready to graduate, Liao says. The other: "White-collar employees after being laid off are having surgery so they are more attractive for the job search," says the retired pediatrician. Most patients are women.

Overall statistics on cosmetic surgeries aren't available, but nearly a dozen leading Chinese hospitals reported similarly strong business since late last fall, about the period when the global financial crisis began to take its toll on China's economy and the labor market.

That's also around the time that many college seniors in China start sending out resumes and hunting for jobs for the day they graduate.

But this year is turning out to be particularly tough. Government officials estimate that 6.1 million students will graduate from vocational schools, colleges and universities, up 9% from 2008. Researchers predict one-fourth of them will still be looking for work by year's end, adding to the unemployment rolls that have swelled with millions of migrant workers cut from factories.

Questions:

1. What do you think of plastic surgery?

2. Will cosmetic surgery help job seekers land jobs?

3. How plastic surgery can boost one’s career?

4. Would you ever get plastic surgery?

5. Do you think Taiwan is safe for cosmetic surgery?

6. How one’s appearance impacts one’s success?

囤積癖

雜物淹床小強亂爬 空姐妻怒離婚 　斯文男囤積成性 醫:恐罹患強迫症 　囤積癖應速就醫 避惡化心理障礙 (2013/3/4 林注強 報導)

不愛乾淨，小心會把另一半嚇跑，桃園一名男子，因為生活太邋遢又節省，很多東西捨不得丟，一堆雜物堆滿臥室，連床上都被蓋滿，還導致蟑螂四處爬，擔任空姐的妻子看不下去，憤而與丈夫離婚，如果您也有這樣的懷習慣，小心有可以已經罹患了囤積物品的強迫症。

髒亂不堪的房間，令人難以想像，這裡居然是男女主人的主臥室，仔細一看有紙箱、堆積如山的袋子，甚至還有鞋子，這些雜物都是男主人堆放的，幾乎都看不到床在哪，做妻子的忍無可忍，提出離婚結束髒亂夢魘。

髒亂到連床都看不到在哪，民眾也看不下去。

這名被老婆休掉的丈夫長相斯文，是一名玩具商，因為生性節儉，捨不得丟包裝袋和紙箱，臥室堆滿了，男子就跑到爸爸的房間睡，妻子認為丈夫不單單是不愛乾淨，還有嚴重的心理障礙。

醫師指出，這種屯積癖，當事人往往不自覺，如果您週遭有人有這種症狀，最好建議當事人找心理輔導師諮商一番，免得情況越來越嚴重，影響到其他家人的生活品質！

人”麗”銀行

大陸新聞中心 綜合報導

記者在採訪中了解到，每年的暑假期間，都會迎來學生整形的高峰期。『為應對就業，不少學生在大三和大四之間的暑假，就開始整形了，這種現象從前幾年開始就有，只是這兩年數量更多了。』姚飛主任對記者稱，這些學生大部分都沒有明顯缺陷，就是為了讓自己更完美。而大學生們選擇的整形專案，主要是一些『面部整形』專案，例如鐳射祛痘、鐳射去痣、光子嫩膚、韓式微創雙眼皮、無痕開眼角、韓式隆鼻、注射瘦咬肌等，花費上少則數千元，多則上萬元，總體而言還是比較便宜的。據了解，來做整形手術的大學生中除了女生外，也不乏一些男生的身影，其男女比例大概是2：8。

外表也是擇才的直接標準

面對大學生需要靠整形來謀得職位的現象，絕大多數用人單位都矢口否認會『以貌取人』，但也有不少企業負責招聘的人士坦言，除學歷和經驗，外表也是擇才的直接標準。『初次見面，用人單位不可能對應聘者很了解，學歷、經驗和外表自然就成為擇才最直接的標準。如果應聘者在硬體上不分伯仲，外表強的人勝算肯定更大。』某外資企業人力資源部負責招聘的趙女士說，雖然以貌取人不可取，但長相好的人在找工作時肯定會有一些優勢，尤其是女性，這種情況應聘秘書、前台等崗位時更加明顯。

為求職整容是一種無奈的“取悅” (千龍網)

單眼皮“變”成雙眼皮、鼻子也“長”高了……為找到一份好工作，武漢大學碩士研究生三年級男生曾凡(化名)花費上萬元整容，他認為“變臉”後可掃除一切求職障礙。 為找到一份好工作，不少大學生不惜在自己臉上“動刀”。 來自協和醫院的統計顯示，目前整容大軍中，大學生佔了三成。《武漢晨報》)

人長得漂亮，是一種優勢，這是任誰都無法否認的，但為了求職而去整容，則顯得有些無奈，本來，企業招聘員工，看的顯然不會是人長得怎麼樣，而該是其能力、特長以及文明素質等方面，但現在我們也不無悲哀地發現，外貌也成為了求職的一個重要籌碼。

長得不好看就找不到好工作？ 有多少用人單位是“外貌協會”？ 對於這樣的質問，實在沒有必要駁斥。 長得不好看，當然會找到工作，用人單位當然不會承認自己是“外貌協會”，但事實上，人長得漂亮些，人長得俊一些，必定會有一定的優勢。

男大學生加入整容隊伍，只為取悅企業，這是被迫的無奈，如果企業還是以貌取人，那就別指責大學生為求職整容了。 （王軍榮）

SOAPBOX ENGLISH CLUB 說吧英文讀書會

每周一句2013/3/13

to run in the family 世代相傳----

If a characteristic runs in the family, it can clearly be seen members of different generations.

examples:

1. My brothers and I have grey hair. It runs in the family.

我跟我弟弟有白頭髮 這是世代相傳

2. Plumpness seems to run in the family.

肥胖似乎是這家庭中的特色。