Trauma causes us to question our beliefs. Now there’s sand beneath our feet, not the solid ground we thought. When this happens in our life, we can feel destabilized. Everything’s been stripped away, nothing’s certain any more. It’s at desperate times like these when the scales fall from our eyes … that we learn important […]
What Really Matters in Life? — Don’t Lose Hope
Enjoy the humor and try not to laugh too hard.
Melinda
Visiting your doctor is something that’s encouraged that you do every now and then, but is there really a need for it? Well, depending on the individual, you might have to either visit frequently or not at all. Your needs are most important, but it’s encouraged that you make sure you’ve had your health checked from time to time; and that you make time for the check-up when possible. It generally doesn’t take long to have your health checked, so even if you go once every few years, you can at least relax knowing you’re in good health.
If you can’t remember the last time you visited a medical professional, that should be a good sign that you need to pay them a visit. It’s recommended that you make an attempt to visit at least every 2 years, or less depending on your health. If you’ve been perfectly healthy, some find it acceptable to only visit once every 5 years. In any case, if you’re concerned about your health since your last visit, you should make sure you schedule an appointment when you next have time.
You don’t have to call your doctor over every cough or sneeze, but when you’re having repeating conditions that don’t seem to stop – that’s when it should be concerning. There’s nothing wrong with having a common cough, it can be that and nothing else. If you’ve had a cough on and off for a month; you should consider contacting your doctor about it. Even if it’s just a phone call, giving yourself a moment to talk about it with a professional could give you some insight into it.
These problems won’t go away on their own, and if you leave them hoping that they will – they could get worse. A simple cough could turn into an infection, for which you’ll need antibiotics that your doctor can prescribe.
If there are any conditions you’ve noticed but are too embarrassed to do anything about, you should try to see a doctor regardless. A lot of medical professionals exercise discretion. For example, a sexual health clinic would make sure your symptoms or conditions are treated professionally and discretely. No matter the concern you have, embarrassing or not, you should make sure it gets checked.
If you’ve recently considered taking on a new medication and you have pre-existing conditions or prescriptions, you should speak to your doctor about it. There are a lot of pills and capsules that will have negative effects on your health if the body is already experiencing something it clashes with. Go to your doctor with the new medication so that they can figure out whether or not it’s something you should take. If it does seem to cause problems with the pills you’re already taking, your doctor might prescribe alternatives that provide the same effect. In any case, you should leave it up to the medical professionals.
This is a collaborative post.
Melinda
So glad you stopped by today and look forward to hearing your comments.
Melinda
Melinda
Whether we like it or not, we’re all going to get older – it’s an inevitability. What isn’t an inevitability, however, are the sicknesses, aches and pains, and loss of memory that is often seen as part and parcel of getting old.
Although none of us can ever totally prevent the possibility of ill health, there are so many things we can all do to lower our personal risks and age as well as possible. Here are a few of the most effective:
Eat and drink well
It seems like this is always the advice, but the fact of the matter is that eating a healthy diet and drinking plenty of water while moderating your alcohol intake is the most important factor in your present and future health.
Eating a balanced diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and oily fish will ensure that you get all the vitamins and minerals you need to protect your health and keep your brain firing on all cylinders.
Do puzzles
Puzzles like crosswords and sudoku and memory games for seniors are not only a lot of fun, but they also help to keep your mind active. The more you use your brain on a daily basis, the fear brain cells you will lose as you age and the less likely you will be to develop issues like Alzheimer’s.
Obviously, when it comes to your health there are no guarantees, but a daily challenge to the brain could work wonders.
Take care of your teeth
You only get one set of adult teeth, so it’s really important that you do whatever you can to take care of them. As a minimum, you should brush and floss daily and see your dentist at regular intervals throughout the year. Doing this will not only help to protect against tooth loss and the wearing of dentures but since gum disease has been linked to illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, and stroke, it could also help to prevent serious health issues too.
Be active
Ideally, if you want to age well, you should be active every single day of your life. Whether it’s going for a brisk walk after dinner or hitting the gym for a tough workout, you need to keep moving if you want to maintain bone density, prevent strokes, diabetes, and heart disease and maintain good mental health. Active seniors are also less likely to have fallen, so although you may not be a senior now, you need to put the work in so that when you are older, you’re better able to cope and your quality of life is vastly improved.
Schedule regular health appointments
Perhaps most importantly of all, if you want to age well, you should make an effort to look after your health by having regular physical exams, hearing tests, and preventative treatments. If you avoid healthcare professionals like the plague, you’re less likely to catch issues early before they become a bigger problem.
Live well and look after yourself now and you can expect to live well and have a great life as you get older!
This is a collaborative post.
Melinda
Thanksgiving started with our ancestors, the English pilgrims in 1621 as a festival to give thanks for the plentiful crops and successful year. Many countries today have Thanksgiving celebrations including, Canada, Germany and Korea. Thanksgiving is a time of gratitude.
What we know today as American Thanksgiving was first held in 1621 by the English pilgrims who were celebrating their first successful harvest. They held the occasion to thank God for the great harvest in the preceding year. The 16th president of the US, Abraham Lincoln, declared the event a national holiday in America in 1863 during the American civil war. He declared that the fourth Thursday of November should be set apart to give thanks to God in prayer. Now, Americans observe Thanksgiving to celebrate good health, blessings in their family, and prosperity. On this day, families come together and prepare different meals with turkey meat being a major part of the meal.
You are in my thoughts this Thanksgiving Holiday. You’ve shared your stories, pain, growth and comments with me this past year, I’m so thankful. My life would not be as full without you in it and that would be a shame.
Happy Thanksgiving
Melinda
These beautiful flowers were for my anniversary the other day. They also smell good and are ethically grown.
Have a great day!
Melinda
Bella and Grace by Stampington
Enjoy your day!
Melinda
Have a great day!
Melinda
Have a great day.
Melinda
A good friend is there to offer a shoulder to cry on when it’s needed. Indeed, simply being there for a friend when they come to you with a problem can, in and of itself, be helpful to them. However, there are correct and incorrect ways to respond to problems. It doesn’t mean that the solution is always the same, but that there are definite ways you can worsen the situation before you improve it. Before you jump to help that friend, consider looking at the way that you respond to problems.
One of the most frustrating things you can do to someone who is expressing their emotions about any given experience is rush past those emotions to try and promote a solution as quickly as possible If someone is struggling with their mental health, the very first thing you should do is listen to them, take in their emotional response, and validate it. You might want to get to the solutions that can help them in no time, flat, but it’s not helping them to neglect their feelings.
Empathizing with your friend can be a good thing. It can help you develop some sense of shared perspective that can make it a little easier for them to open up about their problems. However, if you’re going to say something like this, you need to know the difference between empathy and compassion. Empathy is a quick reaction to a situation or emotional state that we see and can understand. Compassion is the deliberate attempt to understand their feelings and how they’re reacting to that situation or state. Don’t go off into stories about your own similar experiences or downplay their emotional response by stating that it affected you in a different and less harmful way. Even if you don’t mean to, you’re making it harder for them to be honest about their own feelings.
If you are a great problem solver and you do know a very concrete suggestion that will help them, you can share it. Make sure they’ve had the time to express their feelings and what they want to say, first. However, if you don’t have any great ideas for advice, then don’t feel like that you have to share them. Unsolicited advice can be a risky thing to give and that’s especially so if you don’t know what kind of advice to give.
Get an idea of “brutal honesty” out of your head. A lot of people go in with that mindset, but often what they get is brutality, not honesty. Even if you believe that your friend’s own mistakes led them to the predicament that they are in, who does it help to say as much? If you judge them when they are at their most vulnerable, that is what they will remember and, as a result, they’re less likely to come to you in the future. Check to make sure you’re not judgemental when trying to be helpful.
If your friend hasn’t opened up to you in such a way before then they can feel a little awkward and vulnerable about the way they have expressed themselves. You can reassure them that you are there to support them and that you are open to that kind of relationship by checking up on them and asking them how they are doing with the problem the next day. It shows that you’re genuinely interested in their wellbeing and can alleviate any feelings of guilt they might have about “burdening” you with their problems.
If you do think that you can play an active role in helping them with their problems, then that’s great. Rather than rushing to do it yourself, however, you should ask how you can support them. They might just want someone to listen to them, they might want someone to offer advice, or they might be open to more practical and hands-on assistance. The words “what can I do to help?” can be a very important step in making sure you’re not stepping on any toes.
Again, that you’re willing to listen to and help a friend is a great thing, by itself. But if you want to make sure that you are, indeed, being on the helpful side, you need to consider the above mistakes that you might be making.
This a collaborative post.
Melinda
I’m getting my tea grove going now that the temps have cooled down.
Melinda
Winter is a hard time for many of us. The days are dark and cold and the nights are long. No wonder we feel down and have to fight to change our mood. If this describes you, then maybe try the following: 1. Stay active – Make sure you build exercise into your life. 2. […]
7 Ways of Dealing with the Winter Blues — Coaching Skills International
Nineteen years ago we said I do in a small chapel in the snowy mountains. It was not our first but knew it was our forever. We had met just 11 months earlier, at New Years Eve party and from the beginning knew we were meant to be together.
We’ve been down many roads in our 20 years together but we’ve always gone down them side by side.
Happy Anniversary, Honey. I love you.
Your Wife
Melinda
This is a night time view in the fireplace mantle. It’s our first year to decorate it and we like how it turned out.
Melinda
Bella and Grace by Stampington
Enjoy your day!
Melinda
On November 21, 1980, 350 million people around the world tune in to television’s popular primetime drama “Dallas” to find out who shot J.R. Ewing, the character fans loved to hate. J.R. had been shot on the season-ending episode the previous March 21, which now stands as one of television’s most famous cliffhangers. The plot twist inspired widespread media coverage and left America wondering “Who shot J.R.?” for the next eight months. The November 21 episode solved the mystery, identifying Kristin Shepard, J.R.’s wife’s sister and his former mistress, as the culprit.
Thomas Edison announces his invention of the phonograph, a way to record and play back sound. Edison stumbled on one of his great inventions—the phonograph—while working on a way to record telephone communication at his laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey. His work led him to …read more
On November 21, 1976, Rocky, starring Sylvester Stallone as the underdog prizefighter Rocky Balboa, debuts in New York City. The movie, which opened in theaters across the United States on December 3, 1976, was a huge box-office hit and received 10 Academy Award nominations, …read more
On the evening of November 21, 1934, a young and gangly would-be dancer took to the stage of Harlem’s Apollo Theater to participate in a harrowing tradition known as Amateur Night. Finding herself onstage as a result of pure chance after her name was drawn out of a hat, the …read more
French physician Jean-François Pilatre de Rozier and François Laurent, the marquis d’ Arlandes, make the first untethered hot-air balloon flight, flying 5.5 miles over Paris in about 25 minutes. Their cloth balloon was crafted by French paper-making brothers Jacques-Étienne and …read more
Enjoy your day!
Melinda
‘Look for the small things in life to bring joy’ – Confucius Joy! Just the word makes me feel happy! But did you know that experiencing moments of joy helps you think more clearly and helps you navigate through the difficult times? It’s actually a scientific fact! When you experience a moment of joy, your […]
A Moment of Joy — Happy Healthy Me – a Journey
Did you know that one in five people with prediabetes in America don’t know they have it?
November is National Diabetes Month, a time when communities across the country team up to bring attention to diabetes. This year’s focus is on prediabetes and preventing diabetes.
Prediabetes is a serious health condition where your blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough yet to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes. According to the CDC, more than 1 in 3 U.S. adults have prediabetes—that’s 88 million people—but the majority of people don’t know they have it.
The good news is that by making small healthy lifestyle changes, it is possible to prevent type 2 diabetes and even reverse your prediabetes.
Here are some tips to help manage prediabetes and prevent diabetes.
Be sure to stay on top of your health with regular check-ins with your doctor.
Melinda
Mindfulness is the practice of bringing your attention to present moment experiences. It is actively paying attention to your thoughts, body sensations and mood in a non-judgmental way Mindfulness: Is noticing all that is going on both around you and within you, at the present moment. Enables one to become an expert in knowing oneself. […]
Mindfulness:Many people are alive but don’t touch the miracle of being alive — Readers choice
Enjoy the humor and try not to laugh too hard like I do each week.
Melinda
On November 19 International Men’s Day celebrates worldwide the positive value men bring to the world, their families and communities. We highlight positive role models and raise awareness of men’s well-being. One of the six pillars of International Men’s Day is to improve gender relations and promote gender equality not only for men but for women too. In this light our theme for 2021 is “Better relations between men and women.”
We provide suggestions on how you can celebrate International Men’s Day, and how to get your local community and council involved to create a community event and or a special award ceremony.
The month of November is important for the masculine soul because it gathers several events that are important to men. Movember is the month we focus on raising money for mens health. On November 20 we celebrate International Children’s day which then forms 48 hours of celebration for men and children, and the special relationship they share.
So we have plenty of reasons to celebrate International Mens Day. We invite you to check out our fact sheet on how to run a community event for International Mens Day. Feel free to use the International Mens Day Logo or adapt the IMD logo into your own language as the French have done.
You might like to thank some men who are positive male role models in your community and use our IMD Appreciation Award certificates. You can download our posters and other resources here.
International Men’s Day encourages men to teach the boys in their lives the values, character and responsibilities of being a man. Mahatma Gandhi said, “We must become the change we seek.” It is only when we all, both men and women, lead by example that we will create a fair and safe society which allows everyone the opportunity to prosper.
There are several men in my life now and in the past who have made a positive impact and made my life better.
Melinda
Your health, wellbeing, and mental and emotional happiness should be top of your list of priorities in life. All too often, we get caught up in other things – responsibilities, careers, relationships, and other elements of day-to-day life – and fail to provide ourselves with the support we need to lead a happy and healthy existence. You need to take active steps to improve your lifestyle to get the most from each day. Here are a few suggestions that can help you to achieve this!
Tackle Bad Habits
We all have bad habits of some sort. At the end of the day, we are all just human. But you do need to make sure that you tackle any bad habits that are proving detrimental to your health or that are posing problems for you. There are many habits out there and the best way to overcome them will depend on the habit itself and you as an individual. If you smoke, you can quit by seeking support from your doctor and using quitting aids, such as nicotine patches or nicotine gum. If you are addicted to drugs, inpatient drug rehab can help to get you back on the right track. If you eat excessive unhealthy foods, a nutritional meal plan and meal prepping can help you to avoid unhealthy convenience foods and to know what you should be putting in your body for a healthy diet. Sure, tackling bad habits can be difficult. But be patient and persevere. You will see the result you want as long as you stick to your support plan.
Removing Negative Elements from Your Life
Is there something in your life that consistently makes you unhappy? It’s time to remove it or to remove yourself from it. If you find that you dread going to work each morning, it may be time to consider a new career or working for a new company. If you find that your partner constantly makes you unhappy, or that you are constantly arguing, you may want to consider ending the relationship or seeking couples therapy. If you are bored, you should pick up some hobbies. If you are lonely, you should reach out to friends and family or engage in activities where you can make new friends. If you are struggling with your mental health, you should seek support from doctors, therapists, or counselors. Whatever your struggle, there will be a logical solution for it.
Relax
Make sure to take some time to relax. All too many of us get caught up in our routines and responsibilities and fail to make time for ourselves. It’s important that you do take time to do either nothing or to let your hair down. Different people find different relaxation techniques beneficial. Whether you want to run a bath, sit and watch a show or film, go for a long walk, or anything else, make sure to schedule time in your routine.
These suggestions should help you to lead a healthier, happier, and more positive life! Give them a try.
This is a collaborative post.
Melinda
So glad you stopped by today and look forward to hearing your comments.
Melinda
The United States was known for developing a concept called “The American Dream,” the idea that anyone can be successful if they put in the effort. While there are different speculations about the notion of the American Dream still being a thing, it is what contemporary America was built on.
But maybe — could it be ever so possible — the American Dream is harder, or even much harder, for some to reach? What about those who grew up in poverty that has lasted for generations? Sure, the cycle can be broken, but that is no trivial task. How about those, in correlation with poverty, suffer from a piece of knowledge or — in this day and age — a digital divide? Another population to consider is that of individuals who suffer from disabilities. More is to be said on that momentarily.
Like many things in life, the way an individual lives the entirety of their life is contingent upon their foundation. In this context, a foundation of poverty, financial illiteracy, and a lack of resources are much more likely to lead to failure in the context of the American Dream as opposed to someone who grew up in a middle-class home. Again, that is where interpretations of the American Dream remain subjective.
Now, think about individuals — adults and children — who suffer from disabilities; think especially about them in terms of the American Dream.
The scientific community and increasing society have come to terms that disabilities take a wide variety of forms. They are not only physical and visible but also mental and invisible. Naturally, this increased understanding has led to a more voluminous DSM and more contests behind its long-held authority. Thankfully, the increased understanding has come to greatly benefit those who suffer from physical and cognitive disabilities. At the same time, we’ve recognized we were wrong on some “disabilities”; for example, homosexuality was listed as a disability for a long time.
All of this is to say that the American Dream is more difficult to obtain for people with disabilities — physical and mental. Thankfully, in the United States and many other parts of the world, there are resources for those who suffer from disabilities but are still able to be or become productive members of society. One of those resources is occupational therapy.
First thing’s first: a definition that can be agreed upon is in order. According to Merriam-Webster, occupational therapy is defined as “therapy based on engagement in meaningful activities of daily life…especially to enable or encourage participation in such activities despite impairments or limitations in physical or mental functioning.”
Some examples Merriam-Webster lists about occupational therapy include self-care skills, education or work, and social interactions.
Understood.org recognizes that starting occupational therapy as soon as possible leads to more success with it; really, the same could be said for most if not all treatments. It also recognizes that occupational therapy is more beneficial for children than adults, though the latter can certainly benefit from it. The other challenge is that while occupational therapy is provided for minors at academic institutions, adults who wish to engage in occupational therapy usually have to see a private, for-profit expert. Additionally, insurance may or may not cover occupational therapy for adults.
Occupational therapy, evidently, is not possible without a dedicated, well-trained workforce. While like any career it comes with its challenges, there are many satisfactory rewards that come from this occupation. Schools offering this graduate-level specialty are known as MOT programs or Masters in Occupational Therapy.
This should not be confused with occupational therapy assistants. While both play a crucial role in uplifting those individuals with disabilities, there are different educational and payment requirements and structures. Occupational therapy assistants need to graduate from an associate degree program at a community college; occupational therapists, on the other hand, need to complete a specialized master’s degree program from a graduate school.
Both occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants should expect satisfactory pay and strong job growth, though there will be even more job growth for the latter than the former. The U.S. resource known as the Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that from 2019 and for a decade afterward, the projected growth rate for new occupational therapy assistant jobs should increase by 32%. Occupational therapists will still see excellent growth but only by 16%.
The key to setting yourself up for success is to take the initiative early on but later is better than never.
This is a collaborative post.
Melinda
Bella and Grace by Stampington
Enjoy your day!
Melinda
I want to say a special thanks to Linda Snow-Griffin for providing me a copy of her book Hope and Learning, Our Journey with Schizophrenia for a review.
Published 2021
Cherish Editions
Linda Snow-Griffin, Ph.D. is a retired psychologist. She is the mother of two, stepmother of three adult children and grandmother of sixteen. She has practiced in a variety of settings – college, university and community mental health – and spent the last 30 years in private practice in Cincinnati. Her desire is to provide hope to families coping with mental illness, especially schizophrenia, and to dispel misunderstandings about the illness.
When her son was diagnosed with Schizophrenia, Linda Snow-Griffin, a psychologist in private practice, felt devastated and overwhelmed. There were thousands of questions going through her mind: How can I help him? What does he need to get better? Will he be able to get better?
Hope and Learning narrates the 20-year journey Linda and her son embarked on, as they navigated their way towards recovery and a better understanding of what it is like to live with schizophrenia.
This book combines personal experience with schizophrenia with substantial data to create a heartwarming and informative resource.
Linda shares her journey of her son’s diagnosis with Schizophrenia thru her intimate and raw writing. She discovered a journal of her son’s written in high school that set the wheels in motion that changed their life forever and in surprising ways.
I have Bipolar Disorder, which is a serious mental illness, yet I have been around only one person with Schizophrenia and it was during one of my hospital stays. Being around “John” was not scary but he was totally detached, walked the halls constantly talking to other beings who controlled his life. As you can imagine, that was my perception of Schizophrenia. A stigma/myth that Linda changes in this wonderful book.
Her son is highly functioning with medication and even attended college, it was quite difficult and presented some unique challenges when it came to writing his papers but with the understanding of his mother and love of his family, he made it thru.
Linda’s book is heart-wrenching, at times it’s hard to imagine how difficult it must have been on a mother and family but what she shows us is love and understanding concurs all.
I am so glad I read her book, my stigma of what Schizophrenia looked like changed and for that I am thankful.
I recommend this book to anyone who thinks they may have or suspect a family member or a loved one has Schizophrenia, you will learn so much and walk away with some answers and tools to take with on your journey.
Melinda
Looking for the Light 