Moving to a different country; What they dont tell you at the embassy (paperwork)

There are all sorts of documents to remember when you move to a different country, And here i’m gonna talk about my experiences.

1. Work permit. If you want to work in a foreign country you have to make sure you’re allowed to work there. For a norwegian moving to England that isn’t an issue, because we’re both in the EEA. Technically, I should be able to apply for any job in the UK without extra documents from any of the two governments.
2. National insurance number/sosical security number/identity number: It has different names in different countries, but most countries today operate with some form of identity number, and this is unique in each country. My norwegian identity number is useless in England. In theory you shouldn’t strictly need this to apply for jobs in the UK, but these days most job applications are on online forms, and they wont let you go to the next step without filling in your national insurance number. The big problem with this number is that you can’t even apply for one without actually being in the UK. For me it took 10 days from i arrived in Leeds and untill my “proof of identity interview” was scheduled, and nearly a month after that untill i actually got my number. This meant more than a month without even being able to apply for a job!
3. Proof of identification and/or adress: This is something they ask for everywhere over here, and something that gave me big problems. Basically, proof of identity is passport/birth certificate or driving lisence (there’s a full list of what documents they accept on the official government website), and proof of adress is any official letters, bank statements or utility bills in your name sent to your adress within the last 3 months. The last one was the problem for me. I moved in with my boyfriend, all the bills were already in his name, and i had no official letters. When i tried to sign up with a bank to get a bank statement they asked me for two different proofs of adress, and when i rang the gas and water companies they asked for my bank details! I was stuck for ages, untill a bank in the end agreed to use the letter with my national insurrance number (official document) as enough proof.
4. proof of english skills: Some employers have asked for some kind of proof that my english is good enough. This is quite rare, but if you are applying for a job over here, or want into a university, be prepared to have to sit an english exam! And save money for it, they’re not cheap.
5. Taxes: your home country might require you to pay tax to them for several years after you’ve moved abroad. However, with a national insurrance number your taxes are automatically deducted from your wages and sent to the state of England. But the rules says you should only pay taxes to one country at a time. This means that you’ll have to apply for a refund from England at the end of the tax year, so you can pay your own country. Check how high the rates are back home, you dont want to end up having to pay more than you get refunded!

As long as you know what you go to and are prepared for some suprises it shouldn’t be too hard. But make sure you have some savings! And be ready to wait for a while for all the paperwork to come through. Good luck =)

Compulsive skin picking

A serious case of CSP, this is not me but a random picture from google

This is a very hard post for me to write, but it has to be done, this is one of the major reasons I decided to make this blog. I am a compulsive skin picker; i’ve got a mental disorder called dermatillomania, and i’ve suffered with it for nearly 10 years now. I suffered the social stigma of horrible acne all over my face and body for years, spent thousands on treatments and creams, went to multiple skin therapists and dermatologists, and not a single one of them could tell me what caused it, not one told meI was the source, that it was my picking that was behind it all. I always just assumed that I’d stop picking if the acne went away, cos I wouldn’t have anything to pick at! So it got worse and worse, untill i asked a doctor online if it was possible that i was causing it myself, and he said yes. For the first time i heard the expression dermatillomania; compulsive skin picking.

So what is dermatillomania? Wikipedia says:

Dermatillomania (also known as neurotic excoriation, pathologic skin picking (PSP), compulsive skin picking (CSP) or psychogenic excoriation) is an impulse control disorder characterized by the repeated urge to pick at one’s own skin, often to the extent that damage is caused.

Compulsive skin picking (CSP) is an inability to control the urge to pick ones own skin, often in an attempt to improve its appearance (get rid of spots and blackheads), but with a result that looks much worse than the starting point. Now, almost everyone have picked on a spot, and that’s completely normal. It don’t become a problem untill it affects your day to day life. To put it into perspective; before I movedin with my boyfriend i’d spend up to 4-5 hours a day just sat picking. I picked every single spot, blackhead, pore, you name it. I’d pick first thing in the morning and last thing at night. I’d miss lectures and labs. Some days i never left my flat, and i’d NEVER leave without makeup on! Recent studies have shown that 63% of us pick their skin regularly, and about 15% pick it so much there’s noticable tissue damage. Around 4% does it seriously enough to fall into the category of CSP. So why haven’t we heard of it? Why is it that not even my dermatologist, the lead dermatologist at the university hospital in Oslo, knew about it? WHY could no one tell me I caused it? Yes, I’m bitter! And I’m writing this in the hopes that someone will see it and not have to go through years and years of hell because the professionals don’t know any better!

Why do we pick? I dont know. But it seems to be partially genetic, and is inherrited alongside other impulse control disorders, like hair pulling, pyromania, gambling and gaming addictions and nail biting. It also seems to have an indirect genetic connection to ADHD, alcoholism and drug abuse. (PM me if you want to see the articles, I’ve got loads!)

Personally I pick when I’m upset, stressed or bored. When I pick I enter a sortof trance, and sometimes I’m not even aware that I’m picking. Sometimes I realise I’m doing it, but I just can’t stop. And sometimes I have the willpower to stop. But everytime I’ve picked, everytime I’m done, I’m hit with an owerwhelming sense of guilt, shame and dissappointment. Which ofc makes me want to pick more. Its an evil circle! I resent myself for doing it. I dont understand why I can’t quit. There is nothing I want more than to stop, and it destroys me that I can’t. It seems like such a simple thing… But trust me, its not.

As I’m sure pretty much everyone knows; acne is embarrassing in itself, and with CSP follow a ton of social stigma. I didn’t go to a single party while in high school or college, because I couldn’t find any nice clothes that would cover all the areas I’d been picking. I isloated myself from everyone but my closest friends. Finding a dress for christmas was always hell; try finding something for a 16 year old that fully covers chest, arms and back, and still looks cool! I’d always wear long sleves, even in summer, etc. I hated my skin, and i was obsessed with no one seeing the state it was in. And this is pretty much the norm for anyone with CSP. Depressions, social phobias and anxiety are very common side-disorders, and anti-depressants are commonly used to help reduce the picking.

Which brings me to the positives; there are effective treatments! There is help to get to manage it. It took me years to find it, and I will write an other post on that, but there is hope for everyone! Cognitive behavioural therapy, hypnotherapy, medicines and other methods have proven effiicient. And for me the single biggest help was to find out that i wasn’t alone. I wasn’t a freak of nature, the exception. I simply have a mental illenss, which is more common than most people know. So if you or someone you know have or might have CSP, here’s where to read more and get help:

UK: http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/support-info/related-disorders/compulsive-skin-picking/

Scandinavia: http://www.triko.dk/

http://www.skinpick.com/skin-picking-forum

http://www.stoppickingonme.com/

Also, dermatillomania and tricotillomania are considered to be different versions of the same disorder, which means treatment/info for one will work for the other.

Thanks for reading, please help spread the knowledge!
Camilla x

A lot of people have asked me why i decided to move from my home in Norway to Leeds, England. The standard answer is because I finished my bachelors degree in December and can’t start a master untill september, so I had a few months to kill and wanted to try something new. Which is true, but its not the whole truth.

When I finished my bachelors degree there was one thing I was sure of; I would not have enough will power to do a masters degree in something I’m not passionate about, and at the time i was really fed up with biochemistry, biostatistics and unorganic chemistry. I really needed a break! So it was rather convinient that I’d have to wait untill september to start in Leeds!

Also; I’ve wanted to do parts of my studies in the UK for years, ever since I went to Edinburgh for the first time when i was 17 and walked past the university. Its been part of my plan, my dreams for so many years, but I never had the guts to go through with it untill now! Most of my close friends moved away from Oslo to study years ago, and they’re now all over the world; Canada, France, Manchester, Denmark, etc, so I wasn’t the first, it just took a lot for me to move away from home. But in todays international society I believe studying abroad gives you an edge ahead of everyone else when you go out in the job market, in addition to invaluable life experience!

An other reason is that the master i want to do over here is 1 year, not 2 like back in Oslo, so that’s a whole year of students loan and lost work profits gone! Sounds tasty, dont it?

But the biggest reason i moved over is my beloved boyfriend. We met online nearly 3 years ago, on World of Warcraft (dont laugh!), and we kept the online relationship up for a few years, but in the end we got to the point where we had to either give it a real chance, or give up. And since he already had a full time job over here it made sense for me to move! And I’m happy I did! Ofc there’s been moments where I’ve regretted it, where I’ve missed my home, my family and friends, and especially my animals! I miss my family’s dog every day, and I’ve even shed a few tears over it, but he gives me so much love and support (and flowers), it really helps!

Norway vs England
So what are the biggest differences between Norway and England? Well, I notice subtle little differences nearly every day, but there’s a few huge one that i want to mention;

• The winter: In Norway we often have snow for 3-4 consecutive months in the winter, and temperatures can drop below -30 even in Oslo (that’s very rare though!). I couldn’t help giggling when it started snowing over here and the entire country just froze! In Norway when it snows big ploughs come and push it to the side and we get on with our everyday life, here in Leeds everyone stopped and waited for a couple days untill it had melted. And we’re talking about like 3 cms of snow here, which is nothing! I have to admit, it felt great to walk on the green grass in the park in mid-january, knowing they had about a meter snow back in Norway I love snow, but not for 4 months, it gets very depressing very fast…
• The people; Strangers talk to eachother in England! It still kinda stunns me a little when a complete stranger starts talking to me on the bus or while im doing my shopping, there’s just no culture for that in Norway! That don’t mean we’re cold or dont welcome strangers, but talking to someone you dont know is considered very strange and most of the time you wouldn’t even get a reply! I quite like it though, I’m a very chatty person and enjoy meeting new people.
  On the other hand; people over here seem MUCH more concerned with keeping up appearance. Fighting with my boyfriend for instance has to happen in shushed voices, deffinitely not outdoors or in the garden, and especially not in public. And apparently me not knowing something (because I’m foreign) and appearing dumb makes him look bad which is horrible (?). Oh and taking a bravissimo magazine to the park is a horrible offense, because there’s girls in their underwear in the magazine, and in the other end of the park there’s kids playing. … Yeah, i find that really silly, and i totally dont get it at all!
• The prices: BIG difference here. In Norway wages are much higher than in England, but things cost more as well. Still, you generally get a little more for your money in Norway than over here. But there are exceptions ofc. Alcohol and tobacco are very heavily taxed back home; a pint will cost you atleast £7 at a pub in Oslo, but usually more. Cars are stupidly expensive to buy in Norway too, so much so that I’d never be able to afford it atm!
  There’s a few things that seem disproportionally expensive in England as well; petrol for instance cost more per litre over here than back home, even though they earn like three times more in Norway, making the prices over here pretty insane! And healthy/unprocessed food; so expensive over here! In Norway frozen fillets of salmon is just about the cheapest meat you can get; but not over here! And fruit and veg is sooo expensive here! Its much MUCH harder to eat healthy in England than in Norway, that’s for sure!

I could ramble on like this all night, but I think I’ll leave it at that for now. I just want to say I absolutely adore Leeds, and Yorkshire is amazing! I just wish it’d stop raining…

Camilla x

Hello world!

My name is Camilla, i’m a plus size girl in my mid twenties from the cold and expensive country of Norway. I was born right outside Oslo, in a teeny tiny community where everyone knew everyone, and i was probably very sheltered. We had a huge garden on the edge of a lake, nature on our doorstep, anour closest neighbours were all family. I spent my early years riding horses, gathering mushrooms, playing the violin, taking singing lessons and having minor parts at the local theatre. I was the teachers pet, and finished both high school and college with flying colours. I thought I knew what I wanted to do, and went straight to vet school, which wasn’t for me at all! After that I’ve felt somewhat stranded, and been on a never-ending quest to find my place.

I have since finished a bachelors degree in biology, and in january 2012 I moved to England to live with my boyfriend. My current job gives me a lot of time to kill and even more random thoughts running through my head, so i decided to find a place to write them down. For now i will just write what i feel like, with no particular audience targeted, but that might change in time!

One thing I will write about is my dermatillomania; compulsive skin picking, which is a very distressing mental illness that actually affects atleast 4% of us, yet most people have never heard of!
If you made it this far, thank you x
Camilla