Oishiichan Posted November 10, 2006 Report Posted November 10, 2006 I haven't pooh for words this month, my left hand has been totally screwed up for most of the year and the doctors and therapist recently told me I wont get the ability to use fully ever again either, and I am having difficulty learning to type one handed. I have been very bummed. Makes it hard to find inspiration for writing lately. I did so well last year...
Guest AmazingEnthusiasto Posted November 11, 2006 Report Posted November 11, 2006 ^^Oh that's awful! I can see how it wouldn't help you get inspired. Are you like me? Not a paper-pencil kind of writer? I have more luck typing. But maybe you could just write it out...unless your dominant writing hand is affected, in which case, I might suggest you speak your ideas into a tape recorder. That way you can still have them and keep them, so when you regain your muscle control in your hands, you'll have those ideas saved. Just some suggestions. Hope things get better for you.
Oishiichan Posted November 12, 2006 Author Report Posted November 12, 2006 It is my left hand and yes it is my dominant hand but I can write and do things with my right hand just not as easily. I can get type for short bursts with the one hand, it just starts to ache after a while having to traverse the whole keyboard not to mention it can't move as fast as I want it to so it gets frustrating. I have a couple synopsis outlines but not much else down. My husband has been looking into some handed keyboards but I would have to learn how to type all over again as none of the keys are in the qwerty positions however they would reduce the strain on the functioning hand and if I got good at it increase typing speed. As for pencil and paper, haven't touched it except to draw in years...
EveKnight75 Posted December 7, 2006 Report Posted December 7, 2006 I was actually born with an issue regarding the thumb on the right hand. It makes it harder to grip things. For all of that, my parents forced me to learn everything with the right hand because of some dumb old-fashioned belief. When I was around 10, my father admitted he should have just let me use the left hand. The truth is, when I was around 9 years old, I started doing stuff with the left hand at school. By the time I reached high school, I was fully ambidextrous in everything. I'll admit it's easier to perform certain activities with the left hand (chopsticks anyone?), but I don't have any issues performing them with the right hand. Despite the comfort level with the left, I don't actually favor either hand for some reason. My mother, on the other hand, still gets all weirded out if she sees me eating french fries with the left hand (some myth about washing yourself with the left hand). The only weakness issue I have is that sometimes one hand will swell up and the wrist will become extremely sore, forcing me to depend on the other hand. As a result, I think I can give you some advice on how to deal with developing the abilities of the recessive hand or depending on one hand altogether. My first piece of advice would be "practice, practice, practice". Even if you're not used to the paper-and-pen method, try writing out a few drabbles/short stories on paper with your right hand. Eventually, it won't feel awkward anymore. Speed and increased clarity will come later. The second thing is "patience". There have been plenty of times where a wrist went bad during a time where I had to keep typing. I know that it's slow and frustrating, but keep doing what you're doing now. Don't worry about becoming slow, and remember to take frequent short breaks. A 5-minute break every 15 minutes is a good starting point. Usually, I move my hand to the center of the keyboard, allow my fingers to spread out, then keep glancing between the keys and screen when typing. You don't need to assign a finger to a key, and it's pretty fast once you get the hang of it. The main thing is to know where each key is located on the keyboard. Too bad it doesn't work that well when playing the piano. I don't think I'll ever be able to fully understand how you feel. When I have an episode, I know that the hand will be OK again, and I'm lucky. I can empathize with your situation to an extent. And you certainly have my full sympathies. I just hope some of this advice helps you out. As for the keyboard, go for it if it'll make your life easier. Don't worry about the amount of time it'll take to master it.
Guest Alien Pirate Pixagi Posted December 7, 2006 Report Posted December 7, 2006 I was actually born with an issue regarding the thumb on the right hand. It makes it harder to grip things. For all of that, my parents forced me to learn everything with the right hand because of some dumb old-fashioned belief. When I was around 10, my father admitted he should have just let me use the left hand. My grandmother was forced by her school to write with her right hand even though she was naturally a lefty. At about the same time her speech impediment started. Coincidence? Fuck no -__-
Guest echtrae Posted December 7, 2006 Report Posted December 7, 2006 I was forced to use my right hand as well. The belief used to be that kids who were allowed to use their left hands, grew up unbalanced in the mind. Personally, looking back, I think it was more the other way around.
Guest Adara Posted December 7, 2006 Report Posted December 7, 2006 I was forced to use my right hand as well. The belief used to be that kids who were allowed to use their left hands, grew up unbalanced in the mind. Personally, looking back, I think it was more the other way around. My mother told me about this when I was a girl. She said it had something to do with the superstition that left-handers were somewhat touched by evil. So parents to keep others from believing their kids were "bad" would make them out to be right-handed. They'd beat it out of them, or simply tie their left hand back. Makes you wonder who was truly evil doesn't it? Funny enough though, LOL, I'm left-handed, my older brother is left-handed and my little brother is right-handed. He's known as the freak.
Guest echtrae Posted December 7, 2006 Report Posted December 7, 2006 Society's perceptions of good and evil often seem to be rather fluid. An action performed by one of them is evil, but the same action performed by one of us is good.
Guest Alien Pirate Pixagi Posted December 11, 2006 Report Posted December 11, 2006 You know what the funny thing is? People who are left handed are usually rulled by the right half of their brains. This means that they usually are better artists, writers and generally more creative.
Guest Adara Posted December 11, 2006 Report Posted December 11, 2006 You know what the funny thing is? People who are left handed are usually rulled by the right half of their brains. This means that they usually are better artists, writers and generally more creative. You know, I've heard the same thing! I've also heard that those who are right-handed tend to be better at Math and the Sciences. Funny enough though, my older brother is left-handed, can draw like nobody's business, can write music and teach it, but he's great at the sciences too! LOL *grumbles* Friggin' over-achiever! Don't get me wrong though, I love my brother!
Guest Alien Pirate Pixagi Posted December 11, 2006 Report Posted December 11, 2006 Funny enough though, my older brother is left-handed, can draw like nobody's business, can write music and teach it, but he's great at the sciences too! LOL *grumbles* Friggin' over-achiever! Don't get me wrong though, I love my brother! I'm much the same way: Artist, writer, and great at biology. ^__^ Though, I'm a righty.
EveKnight75 Posted December 12, 2006 Report Posted December 12, 2006 I'm a very creative person, but I'm also very logical. I've always been good at math and science, but I'm also good at creative writing, designing clothes, and working with colors. Basically, I have a strong left brain (logic), and a strong right brain (creativity). Maybe that's why I'm ambidextrous. We actually had a survey done in the 12th grade on exactly this theory. 82% of the righties found math and science easier, and 88% of the lefties found social studies and the arts easier. I was the only ambidextrous student they had come across, and I claimed to find it all relatively equal. My grades backed that statement up. It was an interesting study and it definitely supported the theory, but I'm still not sure I believe in it. There's still a significant percentage to prove the contrary, and I say that there's a lot more to favoring a hand and personal mental strengths. In fact, tools from the Bronze Age and further back suggest that our early ancestors didn't have any notions about right-handedness or left-handedness. Some schmuck made it up along the way to opress the lefties. A lot of scientists say it's evolution that made the majority favor the right hand and that lefties are an anomaly. Sure.
StoryJunkie Posted December 12, 2006 Report Posted December 12, 2006 Sinister The Latin word for Left is Sinister. Betcha didn't know that! My grandma was lefty, two eldest siblings are lefties, my son is a lefty, that makes about 1/4 of my family evil! Conversely, the western world reads from left to right, while the oriental world reads from right to left. (Arabic, Japanese...ever try to read a Manga? I go cross-eyed!)
Guest Knorg Posted December 12, 2006 Report Posted December 12, 2006 SinisterThe Latin word for Left is Sinister. Betcha didn't know that! I for one did know that! But possibly only because one of my favourite comic strips is Sinister Dexter.
EveKnight75 Posted December 16, 2006 Report Posted December 16, 2006 I actually shocked my opthalmologist by knowing that. I've been wearing glasses for more than 10 years, I have a thing for languages, and I plan on going into law. The chances of me not knowing that were slim to none. Ah, the ancient Romans. Damn lefty-phobic drunken sexual deviants whose main attire happens to be bedsheets or leather miniskirts for men... Just kidding! I find ancient Roman culture interesting. Besides, they weren't the only ones who had serious issues with us lefties.
StoryJunkie Posted December 17, 2006 Report Posted December 17, 2006 well, in olden days, before toilet paper was introduced...there was a time when...meh, I'm not going to finish that sentence....
Neito Posted December 17, 2006 Report Posted December 17, 2006 You know what the funny thing is? People who are left handed are usually rulled by the right half of their brains. This means that they usually are better artists, writers and generally more creative. Actually, i read that's not true..... Now if only my infosponge brain would work right and remember where i read it, but here's what i remember They did a study of a whooooooole buncha lefties, righties and ambidextrous people. They found that artistic talent, mathmatical talent, etc., where statistically insignificantly clustered. Which is a fancy way of saying no correlation.
Neito Posted December 17, 2006 Report Posted December 17, 2006 Six people isn't really a defining majority, first off. Secondly, this isn't a scientific study. I'm not saying the study can't be wrong. I'm just saying that people in this thread being lefties doesn't really count. And i'm ambidextrous, for the record.
StoryJunkie Posted December 17, 2006 Report Posted December 17, 2006 i was going to say something significant here...um...lost my thought...OH YEAH. Anyway, when people get hypnotized (I'm not sayin I ever have , how embarrassing!) when told to fall forward, 20% of those under these conditions will actually fall back.
Guest Adara Posted December 17, 2006 Report Posted December 17, 2006 Six people isn't really a defining majority, first off.Secondly, this isn't a scientific study. I'm not saying the study can't be wrong. I'm just saying that people in this thread being lefties doesn't really count. And i'm ambidextrous, for the record. I don't think we were trying to pass it off as a scientific study. I'm sure everyone here kinda knows that it would require more than just a poll.
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