One of the interesting aspects of the Internet, and one that developed rather quickly, was the advent of acronymic language usage. Whether acronyms were:

• A holdover from our days passing notes in grade school (Stephanie & Billy TLA)
• The result of government/military influences in the creation of the original ARPAnet (and we all know how jargon-happy the Federal government can be)
• Or just a convenient way to type repetitive phrases

is a debate for cultural historians to decide. What we intend to do here is just create a simple list-a handbook for the new members of SafeRoom to help them be able to quickly decipher just what the heck all those funny little code phrases mean.

Before we attempt to create a list of acronyms (and any list in such an evolving language as Internet-ese would never be all-inclusive,) we must first understand what an acronym actually is. An acronym is a word formed by using letters from words in a phrase. The word 'laser' is a good example. A 'laser' is actually "L"ight "A"mplification by "S"timulated "E"mission of "R"adiation. Try saying that three times fast. Humans, being the linguistically amazing people that we are come up with cheats. It's much easier to say "scuba" than "self-contained underwater breathing apparatus."

Probably the most important acronym to the SafeRoom community is ***TA***. This word (and in a print medium such as this, any combination of letters and characters could be considered a word if it represents a specific idea,) is used to signal readers that the upcoming message or statement may contain emotionally triggering words, phrases, events, or ideas. Often, healing is an ugly process. To get to the good the survivor sometimes has to go through the bad. Please be mindful of yourself and of others when interacting in this community. If you are not in a place where reading potentially painful material may be of service to you, skip messages that use this acronym in the heading. If you need to speak of something particularly painful, by all means do so if you feel the time is right for you-just remember that we all heal at different speeds and it may not be healthy for other members to interact with your memories. Warn us in advance when your message is going to be rough.

I set ***TA*** apart since, I feel, it is the acronym we most need to be mindful of. Aside from this one, there are hundreds and thousands of additional character strings that chatters and messagers use on a daily basis. Here are just a few:

Acronym	Definition
AFK	Away from keyboard
AKA	Also know as
ASAP	As soon as possible
ATM	At the moment
B4	Before
BAK	Back at keyboard
BBIAB	Be back in a bit
BBL	Be back later
BCNU	Be seeing you
BFN	Bye for now
BRB	Be right back
BTSOOM	Beats the s--- out of me
BTW	By the way
CU	See you
CUL	See you later
CUL8R	See you later
DFL	Dead last
DYJHIW	Don't you just hate it when...
F2F	Face to face (also meeting in person)
FAQ	Frequently asked questions
FUBAR	F---ed up beyone all recognition
FWIW	For what it's worth
FYA	For your amusement
FYI	For your information
H	Hug
Huggles	SafeRoom hug
HIWTH	Hate it when that happens
IDK	I don't know
IMHO	In my humble opinion
IMnsHO	In my not so humble opinion
IMO	In my opinion
IOW	In other words
IRL	In real life
IYKWIM	If you know what I mean
J/K	Just kidding (can also stand for joking)
l8r	Later
LOL	Laugh out loud
M/F?	Are you Male or Female?
MOTAS	Members of the appropriate sex
MOTOS	Members of the opposite sex
MOTSS	Members of the same sex
NRN	No reply necessary
OBTW	Oh, by the way
OIC	Oh I see
OT	Off topic
OTOH	On the other hand
OTTH	On the third hand
Re	Re Hello
RFD	Request for discussion
rofl	Roll on the floor laughing
rotfl	Roll on the floor laughing
rotflmao	Roll on the floor laughing my ass off
SITD	Still in the dark
SO	Significant other
SOL	S--- outta luck
SSDD	Same stuff different day
SYL	See you later
TGIF	Thank God it's Friday
TIA	Thanks in advance
TIC	Tongue in cheek
TID	Thread is deteriorating
TLA	Three letter acronym
TNX 1.0E6	Thanks a million
TNX	Thanks
TTFN	Ta-ta for now
TTYL	Talk to you later
WYSIWYG	What you see is what you get

Of course, there are many others that I could add to this list, but that's one of the fun things about the Internet and the evolution of this language—it is totally dynamic. The limits of your creativity are the limits of your expression.

Yahoo Goofs...
Yahoo has been experiencing some strange issues latey. Over the past week, Yahoo has been extremely difficult to hold a connection with, including accessing clubs at all, let alone chat and Messenger. For those of you are unaware, some have better connectivity using Cheeta Chat, which can be used across a few chat systems, including Yahoo. For those who are having problems with Messenger, try using ICQ, which most members already have.  Please know that we are aware of these problems, and any complaints as such should be directed to Yahoo Forum Bugs

We have always had an interest in the arts in Saferoom, particularly in writing poetry and prose. Our members have always been willing to share thoughts and feelings that could not be expressed in general discourse through creative writing. After members hosted some poetry readings in the main Yahoo room, we decided to cultivate that aspect of healing into a regular chat.

Every Tuesday at 10pm EST, an Open Mic chat is hosted to share and discuss original writings of members, as well as significant lyrics and poetry by other writers. To find out more about how to participate in Open Mic, join the SRPOpenMic mailing list at Onelist.

This was a statement that I heard several years ago when I was in college. It intrigued me. I am a music lover and I wanted to know how my love for music could be advantageous to my healing process.

An endorphin is a hormone that is released in the brain that affects moods, perceptions of pain, memory retention and learning. It is the brain’s natural pain killer. Endorphins are thought to “bestow” euphoric or uplifting feelings. (Feelings that I knew that I could use more of.) I thought about that statement again. No wonder, when I put in my favorite artist and listened the dulcet lyrics, my mood was usually changed for the better. It made a lot of sense. So, I investigated the statement further.

Endorphins are produced naturally in the brain. It has been recently discovered that if the production of these hormones decreases, that is, the natural balance is disrupted, a variety of painful conditions often occurs.

So how can the use of music to release endorphins be used as a healing technique? Well, it has been proven, through extensive research, that music can help lessen anxiety associated with painful memories. The music acts as a catalyst to release the euphoric feelings to help produce a comfortable, peaceful state of mind. The use of music that may be associated with happy memories can help in this process.

Anxiety is simply defined as an absence of familiarity. Music is thought to have the ability to soothe the “loudness” or anxiety that may enter our minds when we begin to work on memories that are triggering and anxiety ridden. The sound or sounds that you listen to, can release energy and help your mind and body heal. It can quiet our minds and relax our bodies. And the best part of all of this, it that it relatively inexpensive and it is a technique that we can learn to do for ourselves.

I recently read about a lady that listened to a CD into her car stereo, that caused her to cry 25 miles on her way to work. She hadn’t realized how much strain her body had been harboring until she arrived at work, refreshed from the release given by this “tonal prescription.”

Our bodies can be used as tools for healing. Our ears have the ability to collect sound waves and send such impulses to the brain. These waves are then interpreted by our brain and sent to areas that help control breathing, heart rate, blood pressure and muscle tension. These sound waves are even sent to areas of the brain that release endorphins when the emotional or physical pain becomes to great. Perhaps, with all of these steps coming together, it is then that the body begins to heal itself.

We simply must find and learn to access the use of such “power.” By no means am I implying that it is an easy undertaking, but I also do not want to imply that it is very hard. Listening to music that we enjoy is very easy. It is probably something that we do everyday anyway.

So if we can do the simple act, for a brief moment, of listening to music that we enjoy, we may be able to relax and keep our minds a bit calmer when going through some difficult emotional stages in our healing process.

Many psychiatrists are beginning to use music to help a patient to open up in their sessions. They use music that parallels their mood. It assists the patient with their ability to open up emotionally.

Some music recommendations……….

• J.S. Bach’s Pasacaglia and Fugue in C Minor
• Mozart’s Sonata for Two Piano’s in D Major
• Mannheim Steamroller’s Fresh Air
• Brahms’ Lullaby

________________________________________________________________________

Sources from
Crowe, Barbara, past president of the National Association for Music Therapy.
Ehrenpreis, Seymour, clinical explanation of endorphins, (statements made have not been evaluated by the FDA.).
Giffith,, Joy D., Out in the Mountains,“Music to Soothe the Beasts in Us”, September, 1998.
Powell, K., Affects of Music on the Mind, “How music affects you mentally, physically, and spiritually, March, 1998.

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