By Madeline Farber | Fox News

What is Lyme disease?

New reports estimate that every state in the U.S. has seen cases of Lyme disease. What exactly is the tick-riddled disease and how can you be sure you have it?

Though anyone can develop a COVID-19 infection if they are exposed to the novel coronavirus, health officials have continued to stress that some groups of people — namely those who are older or have underlying health issues — are particularly at risk for severe infection should they fall ill.

Included in that group are Lyme disease patients, Dr. Raphael Kellman, founder of Kellman Wellness Center, told Fox News.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE

“Patients who have Lyme disease have a severely impacted immune system. A big component of Lyme disease is a hyperactive immune system that is always in a state of inflammation,” he explained, noting this factor, in particular, could make these patients more at risk for severe illness.

With some 300,000 Americans diagnosed with this tick-borne disease every year, and with summer right around the corner, read on for a look at how Lyme disease patients could be adversely impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic in the U.S.

The following has been edited for length and clarity. 

Fox News: Why are Lyme disease patients considered to be at higher risk?https://tpc.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-37/html/container.html

Kellman: Patients who have Lyme disease have a severely impacted immune system. A big component of Lyme disease is a hyperactive immune system that is always in a state of inflammation.

The coronavirus turns our own immune system against us. It activates our immune system and it overly produces different cytokines, which is further activating the immune system. Coronavirus causes a cytokine storm and overproduction of cytokine, causing much of the damage we see in coronavirus patients, such as pulmonary lung damage and pneumonia that ensues. The inflammation could be a component of the cardiovascular and neurological dysfunction, such as headaches and other neurological manifestations that we see in coronavirus patients as well.

Lyme disease patients are faced with similar neurological symptoms, like coronavirus patients, such as pain, headaches, brain fog, etc. People who have Lyme disease are more susceptible because of their inability to fight off disease. Their immunity isn’t as strong in killing viruses and microbes. People with Lyme disease are at a greater risk of incidence and severity of coronavirus.https://feeds-elections.foxnews.com/covid/public/index.html?uid=fox-covid19-heatmap-counties-1

Fox News: What concerns do you have as tick season ramps up, coinciding with the ongoing coronavirus epidemic?

Kellman: We have to be very vigilant this tick season, more so than any other year, so that we prevent Lyme disease from developing. We also have to take a more proactive stance in our treatment and prevention of coronavirus, in addition to wearing masks and tracking the virus, there is a whole realm of medicine that is not being seen. It is not only drugs and vaccines that will help us combat this pandemic. There are a plethora of natural compounds that have been shown to help other coronaviruses.

Fox News: What can be done to support those with Lyme disease as the epidemic continues?

Kellman: You want a good assessment of overall health. With Lyme disease, you’re not just dealing with an imbalanced and overactive immune system, but there are also other unhealthy systems in the body.https://tpc.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-37/html/container.html

One way to support good health is to improve the gut microbiome, which plays a profound role in keeping the gut and immune system healthy.

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We [should also] run a baseline test of vitamin levels and identify deficiencies. Many people have deficiencies and don’t realize it. It’s important to get vitamin D levels checked to make sure you’re in a good range and taking the supplement if you’re suffering from a deficiency. Strong vitamin D levels show you have a lower risk of developing the diseaseand you’re more likely to survive the virus.

Blood tests are also important to measure the baseline levels of cytokines to see who is at risk.

Zinc and quercetin is a good combination because it is anti-inflammatory and zinc has an antiviral effect. Research in China and the U.S. have found that vitamin C has a positive effect on the coronavirus infection when used both orally and intravenously.

Madeline Farber is a Reporter for Fox News. You can follow her on Twitter @MaddieFarberUDK.  

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and mental health has been on my mind more than normal. I come from generations of family members with mental illness including my father who had Bipolar Disorder.

I have treatment-resistant Bipolar Disorder which means medicines don’t always work on me. I live on a cocktail of nine medications and have been stable on this mix for six months.

I expect this to be an unpopular post, that’s okay I want to hear all your comments.

All people have to be held accountable for their actions. The thought that came to mind this morning was a murder case that disturbs me to this day. A woman in Texas drowned all five of her children in the bathtub. She pleaded temporary insanity. I would have to agree she was insane, how could someone kill their five children? She only spent five years in a mental health ward in the prison. Is five years of medical oversite enough punishment? Is she no longer insane? I think not. I’m responsible for all of my actions regardless of my mental state.

My father sexually abused me, was it ok because he was mentally ill? It wasn’t his fault? I don’t buy into that theory. My father never sought help for his mental illness and committed suicide at 52 years old. He made the decision to not seek treatment, at the end of his life he was too sick to see how far down he was. He’ll be held accountable by a higher power than me.

I was nine years old the first time I attempted suicide, it was the first of many attempts throughout my life. As an adult educated on my illness, I have a support system in place. I have to be disciplined in taking my medication, going to therapy, seeing my Psychiatrist, and communicate with my husband or pay the price of becoming unstable.

I have Dementia brought on by Lyme Diseases and my mind slips a little each day. I watched my granny slip away and have chosen not to live that way. I plan to commit suicide before my memory is completely gone. I don’t want my husband to have to go thru all the pain of caring for me. It’s gut-wrenching to watch someone disappear behind their eyes.

We don’t talk about it often but he accepts that he can’t change my mind. My Therapist and Psychiatrist know, they wish I felt different but know the truth, you can’t change someone’s mind. Last night I told my husband that it was selfless of me, it’s the only word I could come up with. He said it’s love, that’s exactly how I felt in my heart. I want to protect him from the pain I witnessed my gramps go thru as my granny slowly died.

I’ll be held accountable for my actions by a higher power.

Melinda

Posted By Mary Kuhlman, Ohio News Connection on Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 9:38 am

COLUMBUS, Ohio — With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing folks to cope with loneliness, job loss and grief, the National Alliance on Mental Illness is teaming up with Instagram to connect young people to mental health support resources during this challenging time. 

On its Instagram page, NAMI is posting tips and recommendations to help folks feel less vulnerable and more connected. The organization’s chief medical officer Ken Duckworth said the project is targeting young people because three-quarters of all mental-health vulnerabilities begin before age 25, and social distancing could intensify those feelings. 

“Our goal is to get resources, get things that are easy for them to digest and to make it appealing for young people to have a conversation about what all of us are experiencing, which is a challenge to our sense of routine and, in some cases, the development of anxiety problems,” Duckworth said. 

For tips, go to NAMI’s Instagram account at @NAMICommunicate or call their hotline at 1-800-950-NAMI. 

If you’re feeling anxious while stuck inside alone during the pandemic, Duckworth recommended limiting news intake and avoiding social media before bed. He said social distancing doesn’t have to mean social isolation and recommended reaching out and strengthening relationships. 

“If you have an elderly neighbor you can shop for or you want to reach out to a nephew you haven’t talked to in a while – if you can find meaning in adversity, that seems to predict long-term well-being from adverse situations,” he said. 

According to federal data, about 10 percent of Ohio youth between 12 and 17 years of age reported suffering from at least one major depressive episode over the past year. The NAMI Ohio chapter has more resources online at namiohio.org.

Tags: Mental Health, Instagram, Social Media, Image

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Sleep is your life-support system and Mother Nature’s best effort yet at immortality, says sleep scientist Matt Walker. In this deep dive into the science of slumber, Walker shares the wonderfully good things that happen when you get sleep — and the alarmingly bad things that happen when you don’t, for both your brain and body. Learn more about sleep’s impact on your learning, memory, immune system and even your genetic code — as well as some helpful tips for getting some shut-eye.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference, and was featured by our editors on the home page.ABOUT THE SPEAKERMatt Walker · Sleep scientist, professor, authorMatt Walker is a brain scientist trying to understand why we sleep.

Dorothy Kupcha Leland

27APR2020

It was a crazy moment.

“Now we’re going to vote on whether we vote to re-vote on the original question.”

(That’s the gist of what Co-Chairman David Walker told the Tick-Borne Diseases Working Group this week, though not an exact quote.)

I’m sure I wasn’t the only person listening in to scratch their head and say “Whhhhaaaat?”

Let me back up and give a little context.

The TBDWG is a federal panel under the auspices of the US Department of Health and Human Services. Over the past year, it has held meetings, received and voted on recommendations from its various subcommittees, and started the process of compiling a report to Congress that’s due in November 2020.

There were still issues to sort through at the April 27 meeting, which the public could watch online.

About that federal inventory

One question had to do with recommendations from the Federal Inventory Subcommittee.

The TBDWG had previously asked all pertinent federal agencies to provide an inventory of all of their programs that relate to tick-borne diseases. The goal was to figure out what’s already happening and what still needs to happen. (Seems like a good idea to me.)

Based on this research, this subcommittee offered several recommendations that sailed through without a problem. Then things hit a snag with the following proposal:

Recommend that IF the CDC posts any Lyme treatment guidelines, that they include guidelines on persistent Lyme disease.

(Note: the CDC website currently only offers information about early Lyme—offering nothing for people with persistent Lyme, still sick and suffering long after the acute phase has passed.

And after years of actively endorsing the IDSA’s Lyme treatment guidelines—which do not recognize persistent Lyme—the CDC does not currently list any Lyme guidelines on its website. Furthermore, as the Lyme community well knows, the question of persistence in Lyme is a highly contentious issue.)

Here’s what happened at the meeting, as near as I could tell.

The recommendation was moved and seconded. Then, for reasons not made clear, five panel members abstained from voting. At one point, the vote was announced as 5 abstaining, 5 yeses and 3 no votes. (Though shortly later, some people disputed those numbers. Nobody clarified the official vote for the folks tuning in from home.)

It appeared the abstainers felt that they had defeated the issue, because “yes” votes didn’t comprise a majority of panel members. But here’s the rub: abstentions don’t count one way or the other. So, the recommendation passed, 5-3.

Pandemonium

When that reality sank in, pandemonium broke out. One panel member said he wanted to change his abstaining vote to “no.” Not allowed.

Things got very bizarre very fast. Some people wanted to vote on the original question again. Some didn’t. Some people wanted to re-open discussion, others didn’t. “Robert’s Rules of Order” (which are supposed to guide meetings like this) were mentioned a few times, but nobody seemed to care much. Several new motions were proposed and seconded.

Co-chairman Walker kept saying things like “We’re voting on whether we should vote on whether we should vote…” and I could imagine a collective “HUH?” reverberating throughout the audience.

There was about 15 minutes of this nonsense. The kindest face I can put on it is to conclude that these people are so wigged out by the coronavirus pandemic that they’ve pretty much all lost their ability to be lucid and well-behaved.

With one notable exception. The Lyme Disease Association’s Pat Smith, the only patient advocate on the panel, kept steady, measured tones. And in the end, she prevailed.

It was, after all, her recommendation to have the CDC acknowledge persistent Lyme disease. The Working Group did not ultimately re-open discussion or voting on the original motion. So, for the moment anyway, the following recommendation still stands:

Recommend that IF the CDC posts any Lyme treatment guidelines, that they include guidelines on persistent Lyme disease.

Supposedly, this means the TBDWG will include this point in its upcoming report to Congress. (But there’s another public meeting in July. Any bets on whether this proposal will actually make it into the final document?)

Pat Smith did another solid favor for the Lyme community during the meeting as well. At one point, she asked if and when the federal inventories of Lyme-related programs could be released to the public. After what seemed like hemming and hawing from various members, the panel asked the Designated Federal Officer if such a thing would be allowed.

Her reply: “I see no reason why not.”

Me neither. In my view, the more information like this we can make public, the better.

May 1, 2020, update: After musing for a few days, I have revised my take on this. It was much more than poor behavior. It was devious behavior. 

The five abstainers sure gave the impression they were trying to game the system—to gain a “no” vote without out having to own up to it. When that ploy didn’t work, there was a mad scramble to go after their initial objective—which was to flush the proposal regarding persistent Lyme disease. (Lucky for us, that didn’t happen.)

That’s what this whole kabuki dance has been about since the inception of this 2019-2020 version of the Working Group. There’s been a concerted effort to minimize Lyme disease as much as possible—and heaven forbid, don’t mention the dreaded words “chronic” or “persistent.”

Interesting (and appalling) that Lyme disease—which the CDC acknowledges is responsible for 80% of tick-borne disease cases is the US—will get about 12% of the TBDWG’s upcoming report. (One chapter out of eight.)

Interesting (and appalling) that Dr. Eugene Shapiro, who hasn’t attended recent Working Group meetings, managed to show up for this one. So he could vote against the measure having to do with “persistent Lyme.” (More than 37,000 members of the Lyme community signed a petition to keep him off this panel. READ MORE.)

TOUCHED BY LYME is written by Dorothy Kupcha Leland, LymeDisease.org’s Vice-president and Director of Communications. She is co-author of When Your Child Has Lyme Disease: A Parent’s Survival Guide. Contact her at dleland@lymedisease.org.

PS. My colleague Lonnie Marcum live-tweeted the meeting. Here’s her summary of how it went.

https://embed.wakelet.com/wakes/ekI0Z5KUoatX06_a_nLRF/list

Related Posts:

1. TOUCHED BY LYME: Working Group weirdness. What gives? 
2. Read draft of TBD Working Group’s report to Congress here 
3. TBD Working Group meets Jan 28-29 in Washington, DC; view reports now 
4. TOUCHED BY LYME: Proxy votes violate spirit of TBD Working Group 

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May is National Mental Health Awareness Month and I wanted to repost a very personal story. If someone you know needs mental health support, more now than ever please reach out to the many resources available. If you would like to find some resources you can look at the top of my home page and follow my Twitter feed.

Melinda

Twenty-eight years ago my father killed himself, I was twenty-eight years old. It’s strange that my father has been dead as long as he was alive in my life.

I’ve written about his suicide many times over the years but this year feels different. It’s hard to put into words but I’ll share what words come to mind.

I knew you were going to kill yourself, you brought me to my knees with grief when you started yelling about dying. You said you needed money, I paid your bills for a year, that didn’t change anything. You were no longer the person I knew, you were delusional, you were hallowed.

I arrived at my grandparent’s house last, I walked in and said I knew daddy was going to kill himself. I don’t know if anyone felt anger towards me for knowing and not saying anything.

I felt guilty for a couple of years that I couldn’t stop his suicide but the fact is you can’t change anyone’s mind. Only the person in pain can decide to reach out and get help.

If you are trying to help someone who is saying they are going to kill themselves, don’t think you can help them by yourself. Be there for them but the only way for a positive outcome is to get professional help.

If the person is like my father and refuses to see how sick they are, do everything you can to make sense but know you can’t change a person’s mind.

Melinda

Join us May 4 at 7 pm ET

Nicole HemmenwayInterim CEOU.S. Pain Foundation

April 24, 2020 By 23andMe under Health and Traits

by Samantha Ancona Esselmann, Ph.D., product scientist at 23andMe

From an early age, I knew my great-grandmother had superpowers. “Mimi,” we called her. 

She was born in the late 1800s, earned a graduate degree from Berkeley in 1919, sipped a glass (or two) of sherry every evening, and charmed us with her wit until the very end. And, like her mother “Nanan” before her, Mimi lived to be over 100.  

During the course of her remarkable life that straddled three different centuries and two millennia, she survived tuberculosis (which killed her father), the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the 1918 Flu, retro-peristalsis (the reversal of intestinal smooth muscle movement), and two C-sections before the discovery of penicillin.

In her late 90s — coincidentally, during the late 1990s — she recovered from a broken hip, sepsis, and flu that would have felled a woman half her age. Well into her hundreds, she still walked every day, required no prescription medications, and ate ice cream every night. 

I thought she was invincible

When she died at 103 shortly after a bad fall, it wasn’t an infection that killed her. It was organ failure. Her own body simply turned off the switch. 

I think about Mimi — and her immune system — a lot. Apart from the obvious privilege that comes with being a white, middle-class woman in California, she lived a charmed life. 

And while Mimi’s immune system never faced this coronavirus, I wonder if some people are just born better equipped to fight infection than others? After all, each of us has that family member who “gets sick a lot” and that one relative who is “never sick” (lookin’ at you, Mom). 

We don’t know much yet about what factors can influence our immune systems’ responses to COVID-19. Research shows there are clear genetic differences in susceptibility to other infectious diseases — with much of that variation found in genes involved in the immune system.^[1] But our environment likely plays a big role in how well our immune systems function, too.^[2] Good news for me because I probably only inherited around 12.5% of Mimi’s DNA. 

The more I learn about the complexity of the human immune system, the more I realize it may not have been a particularly “strong” immune response that saved Mimi. It might’ve just been the “right” response. After all, an overzealous immune reaction — like anaphylactic shock — can kill a person. 

And an overzealous immune reaction seems to be contributing to COVID-19 deaths. 

COVID-19 vs. the Immune System 

When a person is infected with SARS-CoV-2 (aka novel coronavirus), the virus invades cells lining the patient’s respiratory tract and hijacks their cellular machinery to make more coronavirus, which goes on to infect more and more cells. 

Next, the body’s immune system starts to take notice. But in some patients, the immune system gets carried away and they become sicker from their body’s own inflammatory response than from the virus itself. 

Widespread inflammation of the lungs — triggered by a wave of inflammatory molecules in your body called cytokines — can lead to a condition called Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, or ARDS. In ARDS, the barrier between the blood and the lungs’ delicate air sacs breaks down and the lungs fill with fluid. This breakdown impairs the lungs’ ability to oxygenate the blood and clear carbon dioxide, which can lead to organ failure. 

The drugs being deployed in hospitals to fight COVID-19 are not just experimental antiviral drugs like remdesivir. ^[3] Some of them are drugs that dampen the body’s immune response, in the hopes that they will give the patients a chance to take a deep breath (literally and figuratively) and get back to the business of fighting the virus. 

During recent infectious diseases division grand rounds at UCSF, Dr. Michael Matthay, an ARDS expert and professor at UCSF’s Pulmonary Medicine department, speculated that once a patient has arrived in the ICU and developed ARDS, antiviral therapy may “not be effective.”^[4] Some experts think it may be more effective to intervene with antiviral drugs during earlier stages of the disease when symptoms are not yet severe.^[5] Or, perhaps an immune overreaction only affects certain patients, while others with severe symptoms could still benefit from antiviral treatment. 

So what can make some peoples’ immune response to COVID-19 different from others?

Sex and the Immune System

We’re beginning to see clear sex differences in the rate of COVID-19 infection and mortality: not only are men more susceptible to infection by SARS-CoV2, but they are also more likely to die from the disease. In a recent European surveillance report from the World Health Organization, about two-thirds of COVID-19 deaths that week were men.^[6] 

Some of these differences could be environmental. In many parts of the world, for example, men smoke more than women (which reduces lung health) and men are more likely to have preexisting chronic health conditions, such as heart disease, or high blood pressure. 

But biological sex is known to play a differential role in the immune system. Women are much more susceptible to autoimmune diseases in which their own immune systems turn against them and attack healthy tissue such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and lupus. 

At the same time, women often have a more robust immune response to pathogens like viruses and bacteria — a pattern that may be repeated with SARS-CoV-2. 

Some researchers are speculating that women may have a stronger immune response to SARS-CoV-2 in the early stages of a viral infection than men. ^[7]Compared to SARS (the classic kind), COVID-19 viral replication seems to peak earlier and at higher levels during the course of the disease, meaning an early and robust immune response could be the difference between life and death. ^[8] 

A delayed immune response can be doubly dangerous. After the virus has a chance to wreak havoc in the lungs, an overzealous immune reaction can set off a widespread inflammatory response that causes further damage, accelerating progression to ARDS.

But sex is not the only variable that influences our body’s ability to fight infection.

Age and the Immune System

You’ve probably heard by now that mortality from COVID-19 is much higher among older people. ^[9] (Though it’s important to note that all age groups are susceptible to severe infection and young people can die from it too.) 

Apart from being more likely to have chronic “comorbid” conditions such as heart disease, type II diabetes, or high blood pressure, older people are more likely to have dysregulated immune systems. ^[10]

Like a trailer slowly fish-tailing out of control, our immune system’s ability to cope with pathogens decreases as we age, and our inflammatory response increases.^[11]

Fewer precision-guided missiles. More carpet bombs.

While we may never be able to stop or reverse the aging of our immune systems — and genetics likely play a role that’s outside of our control — there are certain things we can do to slow it down and keep it in a “goldilocks zone” for as long as possible. ^[12]

Exercise. Get enough sleep. Avoid stress (where possible). And eat a healthy diet. 

Not too hot. Not too cold. Just right. 

Like Mimi. 

References:

[1] Tian, C., Hromatka, B.S., Kiefer, A.K. et al. Genome-wide association and HLA region fine-mapping studies identify susceptibility loci for multiple common infections. Nat Commun 8, 599 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-00257-5. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-00257-5#citeas[2]Broden P et al. (2015). “Variation in the Human Immune System Is Largely Driven by Non-Heritable Influences.” Cell. 2015 Jan 15;160(1-2):37-47. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2014.12.020.https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(14)01590-6[3]Martinez MA (2020). “Compounds with therapeutic potential against novel respiratory 2019 coronavirus” Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2020 Mar 9. pii: AAC.00399-20. doi: 10.1128/AAC.00399-20. [Epub ahead of print]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32152082[4]Martinez MA (2020). “Compounds with therapeutic potential against novel respiratory 2019 coronavirus” Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2020 Mar 9. pii: AAC.00399-20. doi: 10.1128/AAC.00399-20. [Epub ahead of print]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32152082[5] “UCSF Experts on the Epidemiology, Science, & Clinical Manifestations of COVID-19, and UCSF Response” YouTube https://youtu.be/bt-BzEve46Y?t=2139 [6] “UCSF Experts on the Epidemiology, Science, & Clinical Manifestations of COVID-19, and UCSF Response” YouTube https://youtu.be/bt-BzEve46Y?t=2139 [7] “Weekly surveillance report – COVID-19 ” WHO http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/health-emergencies/coronavirus-covid-19/weekly-surveillance-report[8] > “UCSF Experts on the Epidemiology, Science, & Clinical Manifestations of COVID-19, and UCSF Response” YouTube https://youtu.be/bt-BzEve46Y?t=2139 [9] “U.S. official says data show severe coronavirus infections among millennials, not just older Americans” STAT News 2020 Mar 18https://www.statnews.com/2020/03/18/u-s-official-says-data-show-severe-coronavirus-infections-among-millennials-not-just-older-americans/[10]Pawelec G (2018). “Age and immunity: What is “immunosenescence” Exp Gerontol. 2018 May;105:4-9. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2017.10.024. Epub 2017 Oct 27. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32152082[11] Franceschi C (2007). “Inflammaging as a major characteristic of old people: can it be prevented or cured?” Nutr Rev. 2007 Dec;65(12 Pt 2):S173-6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18240544[12] “Can I Boost My Immune System?” New York Times 2020 Mar 10]https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/10/well/live/can-i-boost-my-immune-system.htmlTags: COVID-19, Featured, immune response

I’ve been using CBD oil, sprays, gummies, gels caps, and vaping for several years. I can’t say that I’ve noticed a difference in my pain. It’s hard to say since pain changes day to day.

So, I decided to buy bulk Hemp buds and rolled smokes.

The first thing I did was smoke one of the rolled smokes, easy, just me and a lighter. It’s scary how quickly I was holding the smoke just like I held my cigarettes. I sat outside enjoying the fresh air getting some Vitamin D and smoking. No smoking allowed in the house.

The first thing I noticed is the acid feelings in my lungs like when I smoked cigarettes. I don’t know what I expected but I quess my mind went back to my pot smoking days, I don’t recall those days being so harsh on the lungs. Maybe age has a big difference.

I looked around at what to buy for smoking and decided on a pipe, good ole grandpa pipe. The package came with filters, pipe cleaners, tool to clean ashes out of and screens for the bottom of pipe.

This morning I took the pipe and put two clumps of hemp in there and went outside for fresh air and a smoke. I was surprised how long the buds lasted, I didn’t break them down, I just put straight into pipe.

The smoke in the lungs was a little better but not enough to convince me to continue to smoke after this purchase is complete. I’ll be going back to oils, gel caps, sprays and vaping. My mind is still open and look forward to the day Texas legalizes majaruana, but hell may freeze over before that happens.

Melinda

The coronavirus pandemic is a devastating mass trauma—but some people with anxiety and depression have seen their symptoms improve.Laura BradleyEntertainment ReporterUpdated Apr. 06, 2020 10:27AM ET / Published Apr. 05, 2020 5:10AM ET 

When the novel coronavirus lockdown first began in early March, Grace Weinstein noticed something strange. In the span of 48 hours, three people reached out to her because they’d experienced an anxiety or panic attack. Weinstein has a diagnosed panic disorder, in addition to anxiety and depression—so for her newly distressed friends, she was an obvious person to consult.

But Weinstein herself has not had even one panic attack since the quarantines started. In fact, she’s been doing pretty well—so much so that she’s become a stabilizer for those around her.

“It’s suddenly becoming like a steady pace throughout this,” Weinstein told The Daily Beast during a recent phone interview. “Where people can come and [say], ‘I’m freaking out. I don’t know why you’re not freaking out, but please tell me what to do and how to get to where you are.’”

“To some degree I feel like I’m conditioned for this,” Weinstein said, “based on things I’ve experienced in the past.”

As COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, has spread around the globe, many people have found themselves struggling to cope, regardless of their mental health histories. And to be clear, many if not most depression and anxiety patients have seen their symptoms worsen. But a fraction have, paradoxically, actually felt their symptoms alleviate. Like Weinstein, I am one of those people.

It’s not that I’m unaware of the terrible toll the global pandemic is exacting. I’ve cried about it late at night, like I imagine most have. I’ve worried for my grandmother, and boiled with rage as various wealthy blowhards suggested that the best thing she and other elderly people could do for this country is to die. I’m furious at the gross incompetence and indifference to human life within our country’s leadership. I check the news often—too often—staring at my phone in disbelief every night into the early hours of the morning.

And yet, when I wake up, I don’t feel as sluggish as I normally do. I find it easier to get out of bed. The intrusive thoughts that normally buzz around my brain like flies on a feeding frenzy have disappeared. My family is healthy, I tell myself. I am healthy. We are all doing what we can. And for whatever reason, that has been enough. My mood has stabilized after years of oscillating between paralyzing anxiety and debilitating, at times suicidal, depression. Despite everything, I realize, I am OK. More OK than I have been in years.

That’s a strange thing to admit. But evidently I’m not alone.

Elizabeth Cohen, who has practiced psychology for 15 years with a specialty in anxiety, estimates that 20 percent of her clients have actually seen their symptoms alleviate in recent weeks. Roughly the same portion have seen their symptoms worsen, she says, while the remainder have seen little change. Elizabeth Visceglia, a psychiatrist who has practiced for 16 years (and, full disclosure, is the wife of our editor-in-chief Noah Shachtman), has not seen such a substantial number of her clients’ symptoms alleviate amid the outbreak—only one out of 20 she’d seen during the week of our interview fell into that category. But both offered several possible reasons that a person with a history of depression and anxiety might find some relief at a time like this.

A big part of anxiety, Cohen pointed out, is the anticipation of the unknown—worry about something bad that will inevitably happen. With the outbreak, she said, “a lot of people are saying, ‘The terrible thing happened.’ So in a lot of ways you’re not in the anticipating state.”

The course, taught by psychology professor Laurie Santos, focuses on understanding happiness in life

By  Eric Todisco March 24, 2020 10:55 AM

Yale University has the perfect solution to keeping happiness alive amid the trying times of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Connecticut-based Ivy League college is making its widely-popular “happiness” course available online for free via Coursera.

According to Yale’s news site, the online course, titled “The Science of Well Being,” is taught by psychology professor Laurie Santos. The class features lectures from Santos on discovering what makes humans truly happy.

The course was initially started in 2018 as an in-person lecture by Santos titled “Psychology and the Good Life.” Before launching the happiness course, Santos said that she would eat daily with students and was “shocked at the kind of mental health issues” she was witnessing.

Since beginning the class, it grew in popularity, drawing in 1,000 students for enrollment and becoming one of the most popular courses at the university.

After its high demand — with nearly a quarter of Yale University students enrolling a year — it was transitioned into an online class.

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Now, both students and non-students can enroll in the class online and complete assignments, submit them for a grade and earn a certificate of completion. (Sign up here)

“We’re in a particularly challenging time not just for this health crisis, this physical health crisis, but also a potential mental health crisis as well,” Santos told CNN.

She also shared with the outlet that while many believe that happiness derives from things like finding a more attractive partner or buying a bigger house, it actually comes from the simpler things in life.

“What plays a much bigger role are our simple practices, simple acts like making a social connection, or taking time for gratitude, or taking time to be in the present moment,” Santos explained.

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Catie Henderson, a 29-year-old from Atlanta that had studied philosophy in college, took the course last year, wanting to continue her “learning and development.”

After completing the course, Henderson said she learned a lot about the misconceptions surrounding happiness in life.

“Getting your dream job or dream spouse won’t create happiness. You have to build habits,” Henderson said. “And connecting with others is important, but getting right with yourself is equally important.”

• By Eric Todisco@etodisco15

I turn on the salt lamp, get the diffuser going with some soothing essential oils, and roll an essential oil blend on my shoulders, and chest. I also use a relaxing Lavender scent hand cream and a Lavender essential oil stick to use under my nose for extra relaxing benefits. 

All lights out, no computers, no reading, no television, nothing but the soft glow of the salt lamp.

Part of the new routine also includes sleeping 10 hours a night or as close as I can. It has made a huge difference in my mental health. Physically I feel rested and much less fatigued. I also allow myself naps if Fibromyalgia is ruling my day.

If you can’t sleep the extra hours or take naps, you can still incorporate most of the self-care tips into your daily routine. Self-care is so important whether you have a chronic illness or not. Make sure to put your health first as often as possible to have your best life.

Melinda 

March 3, 2020/ U.S. Pain Foundation

Headache and migraine diseases captured attention nationally throughout February thanks to features on ABC’s Good Morning America, CBS’s Sunday Morning Show, and PBS’s NewsHour. Members of the INvisible Project were highlighted on all three stations.

On Feb. 25, Dr. William B. Young, a headache specialist at Jefferson Headache Center and contributing writer for the INvisible Project, discussed the reality and severity of millions of Americans who have migraine disease on the Sunday Morning Show.

Watch Dr. Young on Sunday Morning Show segment here

That same week, Good Morning America (GMA) ran three segments on migraine. Jaime Sanders (also known as the Migraine Diva) and Robert Pushis and his family were filmed at their homes to show life with chronic migraine. Producers on the medical team for the show found the INvisible Project: 3rd Edition Migraine Diseases online and reached out to the participants to be featured on the show.

Watch Robert Pushis’s GMA story here

Watch Jaime Sander’s GMA story here

On Feb. 26, PBS’s NewsHour aired an eight-minute segment on migraine disease, exploring the state of treatment and advocacy efforts. PBS sent their camera crew to Washington, D.C., the week prior to film parts of Headache on the Hill. The segment featured cameos from two past INvisible Project participants—Dr. Amaal Starling, a headache specialist at Mayo Clinic; Shirley Kessel, founder of Miles for Migraine, whose three generations of family were featured in the first edition—along with INvisible Project writer, Dr. JoAnna Kempner, a sociologist at Rutgers University was also featured as she discussed the stigma of migraine throughout history.

In fact, a total of 19 INvisible Project participants and contributors were spotted.

Watch the NewsHour segment here 

“This has been an amazing month for the migraine and headache disease community,” says Nicole Hemmenway, interim CEO and Director of the INvisible Project. “We are so proud of our past participants for using their voices to speak up, and thrilled we were able to play a small role in helping them get the platform they deserve.”

READ THE LATEST INVISIBLE PROJECT: MIGRAINE DISEASE