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.
LeAnn Rimes wants to “take away the shame” associated with mental health.
The 37-year-old singer has opened up on her battle with depression and anxiety, and says that facing her “pain” helped her process how she was feeling, rather than “getting lost” in her emotions.
She said: “At first I didn’t want to face my pain because I thought I would get lost in it. But I didn’t. People are so ashamed to talk about it and ask for help. But taking away the shame is so important.”
LeAnn became a child star in her teens, and has admitted she was struggling with “emptiness and sadness” behind the scenes.
She added: “There was so much emptiness and sadness amidst joy. And I had to be LeAnn Rimes, the entity, not LeAnn Rimes, the person. I was very fragmented.”
The ‘How Do I Live’ hitmaker says things reached breaking point in 2010, following her divorce from Dean Sheremet and her affair with now-husband Eddie Cibrian.
She explained: “There was something in the press every week that was just so fabricated. Obviously there are mistakes that I take great responsibility for. But my whole life I had cared what everyone thought of me. So the public shaming was a deep thing that I took on. I had so much underlying grief. Everything accumulated and I had to give in.”
After her 30th birthday, LeAnn entered a treatment facility to help combat her mental health struggle, and says she now focuses on maintaining her “self-worth”.
Speaking to People magazine as part of their Let’s Talk About It mental health initiative, she said: “It was the first night I was ever alone, ever. There was a lot of co-dependency. And a lot of healing that needed to be done.
“I know who I am now. And I try to keep things in perspective. The need for others’ approval has changed big-time. Self-worth is key.”
When Tamar Canady thinks about the upsides to the coronavirus pandemic, she thinks about how she and her 15-year-old daughter sleep in more these days.
But the downsides are difficult.
Ella Canady, like many teens, often hides her emotions. But recently at her home in Phoenix, she has had some uncharacteristic breakdowns in front of her mom. She misses her friends. And school – the real kind, not the kind where she sits in front of a computer for five hours a day.
“I’m sorry,” Tamar says as she soothes her daughter. “I know you didn’t want this.”
Nobody knows when or if life will return to normal after the coronavirus pandemic. But as the weeks of stay-at-home orders and school closures continue nationwide, parents are questioning whether isolation measures and physical distancing are doing lasting damage to their kids’ emotional development.
Will this generation grow up fearful of touching or standing too close? Will they know how to make friends or interact in group gatherings? And how will it affect their academics and job prospects?
Psychologists and economists are still gathering data, but here’s the consensus for the short term: Most of the kids will be all right.
Some experts see younger children poised to bounce back better than adolescents and teens, who are going to face some stress. But in general, children’s resilience is inherently tied to the stability and safety of their families.
That’s why children from families who are already vulnerable – with the tightest finances, facing job losses, food insecurity, housing instability or fractured relationships – are likely to fare the worst and will need the most help. Without solid emotional and financial supports, those children are likely to face the biggest blow to their social, psychological and academic development.
“We really are facing two crises,” said Ariel Kalil, a developmental psychologist at the University of Chicago and director of the Center for Human Potential and Public Policy. “We have the economic crisis, but we also have this school crisis that will have uneven impacts, depending on a family’s income.”
In general, high-income families will have the means and habits to make up for school closures. But low-income families will face more stress and have less access to resources.
“They’ll have fewer habits and supports for stimulating their children in the home environment to make up for that schooling loss,” Kalil said.
Life may be weird right now, but many kids will build resiliency through this period, child development experts say.
There’s no precedent in the research literature for this kind of collective impact. But social and emotional outcomes for children will depend largely on how close they are to stress and how long it lasts, the stability of the resources around them and the presence of relationships that help moderate the stress, psychologists say.
“I don’t think this is going to have an everlasting effect,” said Seth Pollak, a psychology professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and director of the Child Emotion Lab. Much of his work focuses on how disadvantaged children develop. But he suspects affluent, college-bound students will emerge just fine.
“Most kids will ride this out and probably write some interesting college application essays about it.”
For toddlers, life during the pandemic is giving them exactly what they yearn for: the ability to more fully attach themselves to their parents stuck at home, said Amy Learmonth, a psychology professor at William Paterson University of New Jersey who studies children.
“I would not worry about the little ones, even though they’re driving their parents nuts,” Learmonth said. “In the infant and toddler phase, it’s kids’ goal in life to have their attachment figure close to them.”
Learmonth said she worries more about children in their tween years, who are pivoting from having family members at the center of their social interactions to placing peers in that role. Adolescents and teens are figuring out how to make and be friends with people because they share commonalities, not just proximity.
“They’re the ones who are probably suffering most in the short-term,” Learmonth said. “What they’re learning in the hallways of middle school is vastly different from what they’re learning to do in a virtual group chat with friends.”
For some kids who associate those hallway interactions with stress or anxiety, quarantine has actually provided some relief, said Tim Kearney, chief of behavioral health at Community Health Center Inc. in Middletown, Connecticut. The organization serves students’ mental health needs at about 100 school-based sites across the state.
But many other children are struggling with the loss of face-to-face time with peer groups, as well as the loss of other school and community rituals, Kearney said.
‘I don’t know what to do with myself’
For Alina Tran, a senior at East Haven High School in Connecticut, her biggest worry before COVID-19 was picking out a college. Now she’s worried about keeping her Advanced Placement course grades above a C while trying to finish her senior year online. Tran places a lot of pressure on herself and dreams of becoming an optometrist.
She’s attended art therapy sessions for years at school to help manage her stress. Now those therapy sessions, hosted by Community Health Center, have moved to Zoom. Last week, Tran met online with three other students and a therapist while drawing from their homes and bedrooms.
“I don’t know what to do with myself,” said Tran, who found herself too out of sorts to even doodle. But she held up a painting from a previous week, where the prompt was to place a lighthouse in an incongruous setting. Tran painted it into a meadow.
“My parents didn’t graduate from college,” she said. “I’m really stressed about it. And with this whole pandemic, and with visiting colleges and everything getting canceled, I don’t really know a good way to transition to college.”
Tran’s therapist assured her that her feelings were normal and encouraged her to make time for creativity to help stay calm.
It’s actually good advice for everyone. Kearney said adults can best help their kids by staying focused on the present, and by getting physical and mental exercise daily.
“One thing that helps is for parents to exercise creativity: ‘Let’s have a dinner from such-and-such a country, let’s eat food that’s all the same color, let’s have a picnic in the bedroom,’ ” Kearney said.
Parents should also consider relaxing limits on screen time, he added. Social media can provide kids with a much-needed connection to peers and social groups, especially for those who can’t safely go outside.
Kearney and other child psychologists worry most about children from the most challenging circumstances.
“I have kids I’m treating who are going stir crazy because they haven’t gone outside in three weeks,” Kearney said. “They don’t have a yard, a patio or a balcony, and if they open the door to the hallway, there are lots of people milling about.”
The study was designed to track families where at least one parent worked in the service industry – in normal times. But the arrival of the pandemic allowed researchers to survey families before and immediately after the public health crisis shuttered most of the American economy.
The blow was immediate: More than 4 out of 10 households experienced a layoff between February and mid-March, said Anna Gassman-Pines, an associate professor of public policy at Duke University and a co-author of the research. Her partner is Elizabeth Ananat, an economist at Barnard College.
The job losses were accompanied by a spike in severe mental health symptoms. About 10% of parents reported feeling anxious or depressed all day at the end of March, up from 6% of parents who reported feeling that way a month prior, the results showed.
Children felt worse, too. About 20% of them started chronically misbehaving at home, their parents reported, a jump from 14% the month before, Gassman-Pines said.
“What was surprising to us was just how quickly families’ well-being took a hit after the full extent of the crisis started to take place,” Gassman-Pines said.
Research shows economic downturns are linked with a host of bad outcomes that hit vulnerable families hardest.
Disadvantaged youth who experience community downturns in their formative years are more likely to have lower test scores and lower rates of college attendance, Gassman-Pines added. And even if children don’t have a family member who loses a job, they tend to do worse in school and life when many people around them experience unemployment.
The most dramatic solution won’t be cheap: Gassman-Pines said policymakers need to be thinking about how to get more cash to low-income families as quickly as possible.
“The majority of these people responded that they cannot pay for groceries this month,” Gassman-Pines said. “Same with rent and mortgage. They are really needing resources for those.”
Contact Erin Richards at (414) 207-3145 or erin.richards@usatoday.com. Follow her on Twitter at @emrichards.
Education coverage at USA TODAY is made possible in part by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Gates Foundation does not provide editorial input.
I’ve heard from WaveLife Technologies http://www.wavelife.com that many of you have purchased the WaveLife Energy Cell from my review. I would love to hear how the WaveLife Energy Cell worked for you. Have a great pain-free day. (Pain-free as possible)
I focused on my left knee pain since it is the greatest pain I have on a daily basis. I’m months overdue for a total knee replacement and thought this was a great way to see how well the product worked.
I taped the Energy Cell right below my knee just to the side to get good coverage of the stick-on pads. I wore it for six hours and the tape on the bandage just started to peel on one side at the end of six hours.
After 20-25 minutes of wearing the Energy Cell, I could feel the pain in my knee start to dissipate. The pain didn’t completely go away but the first day I was able to delay taking a pain pill by an hour and half hour. Pretty good for the first day. I was really surprised by how easy it was to wear not to mention getting some real results.
The second thru the fourth day I experienced the same results, shortly after taping on the Energy Cell the pain started to dissipate. I was able to go from an hour and a half to two hours later than normal before taking my scheduled pain pill.
I can’t recommend the WaveLife Technologies Energy Cell enough! Anytime I can get pain relief no matter how little is a great day for me. I plan on purchasing a second for my husband.
*Here’s a discount code for 15% off your purchase, WAVELIFELIGHT15*
The Technical Information
Here’s more technical and scientific information about the Wavelife Technologies Energy Cell and the company.
The Wavelife Technologies Energy Cell is now available in the United States, you can find more information on retail pricing and how to purchase at concierge@wavelife.com.
WaveLife’s No Pain Energy Cell is a non-invasive, non-chemical pain management method that is based on over thirty years of research. It’s been developed in cooperation with over 2800 clinics in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. It’s reported to help a wide range of pain, such as arthritis, headaches, lower back pain, post-surgery pain, upper back pain, and osteoporosis. You can find out more about the device and whether it could help you here.
WAVELIFE ENERGY CELL have a wide range of possible applications to address pain and other complications on a cellular level by supporting cell communication and regeneration. The WAVELIFE ENERGY CELL are reliable companions for physical problems, lack of energy and regeneration.
Thanks to the special vital field frequencies on the chip, distressed areas in the body can stimulated safely and non-intrusively to recuperate faster without chemical drugs. Countless applications by therapist have already achieved positive results, with over 30 years of development and successful applications in clinics that support vital field applications in Switzerland, Germany and Austria.
Scientist developed the WAVE ENERGY CELL in an elaborate process over many years. Tests, numerous satisfied customers as well as therapist bear testimony to it’s effectiveness.
How long can I wear the WAVELIFE ENERGY CELL?
We recommend replacing the WAVELIFE ENERGY CELL after six months, although some users report much longer periods.
“I was in so much pain, I could hardly walk. Someone recommended the Energy Cell. I put in on, within hours I was in much less pain, and 3-4 days later, I could bend my knee again. I don’t even think about my knee now.” Franz Klammer, 1976 Downhill Ski Olympic Champion / 25 World Cup Wins
“I was introduced to the WaveLife Cell through a client of mine, and I found it’s a really good alternative for not only pain, but also stress relief. I’d like to see this product become more mainstream; it’s really going to become the future of our business in many ways.”
We can get so caught up in treatments and pressing forward that the topic of Self-Grief, (the process of grieving your “former” self) is a rarely spoken about issue within the Lyme Disease, Chronic Pain and Illness communities. Many people frequently experience hardship over not feeling like their self that they used to be. They cannot do the same hobbies, have the same friends, etc. However, if you allow yourself to go on this journey of self-grieving; you often will end up learning your own goals and true self better than you ever could imagine.
1. Allow your mind time to catch up to what your body is going through and has gone through.
Did you have a full-time job? Were you in school to finish a degree? Could you shower, put on makeup, get dressed and STILL have energy to go out or socialize? Me too. The changes that happen when serious illness enters your life is a whirlwind of loss to say the least. As if a category 5 hurricane crashed through every single life plan and goal that was once laid out before you, it takes time to come to grips with the losses and to establish a course of action. Don’t expect yourself to be able to process all of these at once. It will come in waves, ride them instead of bracing for impact.
2. Accept limitations without settling for less.
Living with limitations does NOT mean a life half empty. It may take you longer to complete a mentally draining task, but you can do it. You may need assistance with walking, driving, or even self-care but at the end of the day you are not doing less…in fact, you are doing more because you have to now learn how to achieve all of those check marks by your to do list (even if it’s a mental list) in a totally new fashion. Accepting your difference will never make you less than another, it only empowers you to reach your goals by whatever means necessary.
3. Avoid romanticizing your time before illness.
This is a BIG one and honestly one of the hardest for me. We’ve all heard those stories about the “good ole days”. The good ole days of someone’s football triumphs, crazy parties and cross-country love affairs make for great Netflix specials but are often far from reality. However, they serve as great examples of what not to do. Think about it, when you see characters that do these rose-colored glasses reminiscing, they are not typically the most fulfilled individuals nor the most cheerful. Putting a version of yourself or even a time period in your life on a pedestal only breeds bitterness and strife. We can remember fondly times before disease raised its ugly head but allowing thought patterns to form saying “the good days are behind us” only gives depression, angst and hopelessness take root.
4. Set new achievable goals.
Is there a book you’ve always wanted to read? What about a topic that has always peaked interest? After facing the reality of your own mortality, there is a certain freedom that follows. The societal norms get pushed aside and you are truly free to do and be whatever it is that you desire. Grow how you want to grow, heal what wounds your heart tries to hide, embrace life in all its sublimity. The possibilities are endless. So, what if you physically can’t climb Mt. Everest! Most people can’t. You have your own Mt. Everest within you…start climbing!
5. Understand and forgive that most people will not be able to comprehend what you have experienced.
“You don’t get it until you’ve got it.” One of my Lymie friends says that all the time and I love it! Because it is so very true! Think of how hard it would be to explain the sunset to someone that is blind. Or what a flower smells like to someone who cannot smell. (I had a friend that couldn’t smell, its hard to do…trust me). The same goes for life with Lyme Disease. No one else will ever fully understand the struggle of having doctors turn you away or feeling like your body has turned against you. Good luck explaining how you miss yourself to someone that has never walked that dark and terrifying path. But that is why we have a community like this in place. We know. We have been there. We are still there. Forgive those that don’t understand. They won’t get it until they have it.
6. Dream a new dream for YOU!
Just because the life you dreamed of didn’t play out doesn’t mean you cannot develop a new dream. Guess what, most people have multiple dreams in a lifetime. You may feel like it is too late in life to start dreaming and reaching for a new purpose; but it is never too late! We never stop growing as people and should never stop learning. Why not carry that on into your life path too?
7. Release your bottled-up emotions.
Cry, scream, break cheap plates you buy from a thrift store. ANYTHING! Those feelings of guilt and pain flow especially well when breaking things. Don’t ask me how I know, I just know. You don’t always have to be the strong one, the inspiring one, the funny girl or guy. If you are sad, be sad. It really is that simple. We were given emotions in order to feel and connect to the reality around us; to experience life in all its majestic chaos.
8. Get involved with your fellow warriors.
Want to feel a sense of purpose again? Missing that social interaction you use to feel when you were able to be a “functioning member” of society? Open up about your struggles. Reach out to other Lyme Warriors and Pain Warriors. When you form a connection based upon using your pain for power, you will see that your story is so powerful. Even if you don’t want to go public about your journey, simply reaching out to someone that is struggling can be a great source of personal achievement and satisfaction. If you are a real go-getter, my fellow over achieving warriors, get involved in a nonprofit organization. Take up donations for a charity. Watch that goofy live feed, share the fundraising events, comment and let a writer know you enjoyed their piece. There are so many ways (big and small) that you can get involved and spread some love.
9. Learn to love yourself and your body in the present condition.
Instead of the running narrative in your mind (and possibly out loud) that “my body hates me”, “my immune system is weak”, “this will never change”, “I will always be in pain”, or even “I can’t do this anymore”; fill your mental space will reassurance, love and acceptance. Your body doesn’t hate you. Your immune system truly is doing the best it possibly can and just needs your help. This is the only physical form we are given and therefore our one true and original ally in this fight for survival. Your body is already under attack for a large majority of the day, don’t allow your own mental consciousness to become another battle for it to wage. Become your own ally. Take medications, meditate, eat healthy foods and nurture yourself.
10. This one is up to you!
This is no one else’s journey but yours. At the end of the day, you are the one that holds the only power in this situation. Yes, not even your disease is more powerful than the essence of you. While disease may wreck our bodies, YOU are still in there. Your essence, soul, spirit remains regardless of the physical shell it inhabits. So, we here at Lyme Warrior want to hear what additional steps you are taking to make this chapter your new “good ole days” story origin.
“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.
I hope that you and your families are safe and healthy. As tomorrow marks the first day of Mental Health Awareness Month our BC2M Family wants to extend strength, stamina and resilience to each of you. As the world collectively struggles with instability, isolation, anxiety, and an uncertain future, I have been grateful for how everyone in our community has pulled together to weather this crisis. I want to share some positive news and hope that you will join us this May as we end stigma while we shelter in place together.We will come out of this time stronger for what we have learned about dealing with adversity, changed in our interpersonal relationships, and more appreciative of our ability to speak openly and honestly about how we are feeling. Thank you for being a part of this movement of change – reach out to your loved ones, listen deeply, be kind to yourself, share your compassion and together we will save lives.In health and gratitude, Pamela Harrington
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.
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “directions.” Find a household cleaner/bottle of shampoo/something in the freezer/anything you can find with instructions on it, then copy down a single direction (just one) on how to use/cook/etc. your chosen thing, and make it the first line or word of your post. Then keep writing whatever comes out. Have fun!
The closet thing to me was a bottle of Iron supplements so here are the directions. Suggested usage: For best results take one capsule daily or as recommended by your healthcare practitioner.
The thing about vitamins and supplements is how many times do we actually ask the doctor about each one and do they agree with the dosage on the bottle? I do good to include the supplements in my medicine list.
Do you follow instructions? For the most part I do for medicine and cooking. Outside of that it depends on the mood and traffic.
Join us for the fun and sharing good media stories.
For more on the Stream of Consciousness Saturday, visit Linda Hill’s blog. Here’s the link:https://lindaghill.com
Here are the rules for SoCS:
Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.
Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.
There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The’,” or simply a single word to get your started.
Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours. Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.
Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.
Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!
As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.
Thank you to all the front life workers across the globe, we can not make it without your perseverance and sacrifice. I appreciate you stopping by today! Please keep your distance and wash, your hands. Have a great weekend! Melinda
For those like me waiting for the pool/lakes to warm up this video is for you. Have a great weekend. Be Safe. Melinda
Welcome back to Weekend Music Share; the place where everyone can share their favourite music.
Feel free to use the ‘Weekend Music Share‘ banner in your post, and don’t forget to use the hashtag #WeekendMusicShare on social media so other participants can find your post.
Add all ingredients together in a glass spray bottle in the order listed above, leaving essential oils to go in last. Shake to combine. Try to use an amber glass bottle if possible to prevent the sun from penetrating the oils inside, which could lessen their potency. Keep Bottle out of direct sunlight and somewhere cool.
The Mr Potato Head scavenger hunt is a great accessible activity that can be set up for AAC (Augmentative and assertive communication). There are many other activities you can use Mr Potato Head for: Following Instructions Developing Fine Motor Skills Team work and interaction Emotions Playing with food Problem Solving Sequencing Senses (Worksheet available below) […]
Dear pain warriors, I hope you are staying safe and well. In our recent survey, when asked “What resources would be most helpful to you right now,” a majority of you responded that you need help handling the added stress and anxiety of COVID-19. With that in mind, we’d like to share details about an upcoming Zoom webinar: on Monday, May 4, at 7 pm ET, pain psychologist Shamin Ladhani, PsyD, will discuss strategies for staying mentally well during a crisis–including the current pandemic. She will also explain some of the emotions we experience during times of crisis, and talk about how stress affects the immune system, which is especially relevant for those with chronic illness. Dr. Ladhani will then take some time to answer questions from the audience.
I hope you can join us. And a reminder: if you’re feeling alone, please consider joining one of our upcoming Pain Connection support group calls. There’s even one today at 2:30 pm ET. Register here. Sincerely,
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “val.” Find a word that starts with “val” or if you’re not doing the A to Z Challenge, find a word that just has “val” in it, and use that word any way you’d like. Enjoy!
Join us for the fun and sharing good media stories.
For more on the Stream of Consciousness Saturday, visit Linda Hill’s blog. Here’s the link:https://lindaghill.com
Here are the rules for SoCS:
Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.
Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.
There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The’,” or simply a single word to get your started.
Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours. Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.
Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.
Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!
As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.
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.
This week, US supermarket chain Publix announced a new initiative to purchase fresh produce and milk to assist farmers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Publix will be donating these products directly to Feeding America member food banks in its operating area. The initiative, which is expected to result in more than 150,000 pounds of produce and 43,500 gallons of milk donated to Feeding America food banks during its first seven days, is expected to run for several weeks.
The program will support Florida produce farmers, southeastern dairy farmers and the growing number of families looking to Feeding America for fresh fruits, vegetables, and milk during the coronavirus pandemic.https://tpc.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-37/html/container.html
“As a food retailer, we have the unique opportunity to bridge the gap between the needs of families and farmers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic,” said Publix CEO Todd Jones. “In this time of uncertainty, we are grateful to be able to help Florida’s produce farmers, southeastern dairies and families in our communities.”
With numerous reports of farmers discarding produce and milk that isn’t being sold—mostly as a result of school, restaurant and hotel closures—Publix hopes to address the needs of both the farming community and its local partner food banks through this initiative.
“We are thrilled about Publix’s initiative to buy additional milk from Southeast Milk for processing and donation to Feeding America member food banks,” said Southeast Milk Inc. President Joe Wright. “It’s a win-win for our farmers who are feeling the impact of decreased demand and the families who are in need of nutrient rich milk during this pandemic.”
“Like so many others right now, Florida farmers are in a time of need. We are humbled Publix is purchasing additional fresh vegetables from us and other local farms to donate to food banks throughout the Southeast,” said Pero Family Farms Food Co. CEO Peter F. Pero IV. “Thank you to Publix, the participating food banks and their volunteers for making this initiative possible for those less fortunate while supporting local farms.”
“In addition to providing much needed produce and milk to food banks, this initiative provides financial support to farmers during this challenging time,” Publix’s Jones said. “We’re honored to be able to work with these groups and do good together for our communities.”
Throughout the company’s history, Publix has supported organizations working toward alleviating hunger in our neighborhoods. Since 2009, Publix has donated more than $2 billion in food to people in need and has pledged an additional $2 billion in food donations over the next 10 years.
Publix Super Markets Charities recently also made donations totaling $2 million to support Feeding America member food banks during the pandemic.
This is just one of many positive stories and updates that are coming out of the COVID-19 news coverage this week. For more uplifting coverage on the outbreaks, click here.
“We are the World” Blogfest” aims to spread the message of light, hope and love in today’s world. We are challenging all participants to share the positive side of humanity.
Also, pls add a link to your post here (This Facebook link will go live at 24 April 12.01 am GMT): https://www.facebook.com/1340888285958297/posts/2935629353150841/ Thanks for participating, and we look forward to your WATWB posts. Welcome participants and encourage all to join in during future months. #WATWB comes on the last Friday of every month.
Welcome back to Weekend Music Share; the place where everyone can share their favourite music.
Feel free to use the ‘Weekend Music Share‘ banner in your post, and don’t forget to use the hashtag #WeekendMusicShare on social media so other participants can find your post.
Thank you to all the front life workers across the globe, we can not make it without your perseverance and sacrifice. I appreciate you stopping by today! Please keep your distance and wash, your hands. Have a great weekend! Melinda
Instead of “How are you doing?”, what’s a better opening question to ask on a video call? And why is it OK — even good — to let your coworkers see the dirty dishes in your kitchen sink? Organizational psychologist Adam Grant and his mentor Jane Dutton explain how to forge real connections in your online meetings.
A psychologist offers tips she learned from her clients to cope with the threats posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
During my 20 years as a psychologist and career counselor, I truly believe that I often learned more from my clients than they learned from me. During this global pandemic, I continue to be inspired by the courage shown by people who come to me for the treatment of their mental health disorders.
When the governor of my state issued a stay-at-home order, I stopped seeing clients at my office and offered counseling sessions via a simple telehealth platform. Providing services at no charge for those in need, I reached out to everyone on my caseload by email or phone per their contact agreements.
I beamed with pride to learn that my clients faced this crisis with amazing resilience and resourcefulness. Yes, they all were appropriately anxious. Yes, they exhibited more symptoms of OCD. Yes, they struggled more with sleep and overeating. And Yes, they all wished this too shall pass soon. But they all reported healthy ways to cope. Here I summarize them in a poem.
Many people held essential conversations with loved ones, often about unresolved issues that smoldered for years. Many clients made breakthroughs they once thought unimaginable, seemingly miraculously.
Bake Wholesome Bread
People who loved to cook, never had to cook, struggled to cook tried new recipes. Several created a few of their own. They felt empowered to nourish their families and themselves.
Clear Well Your Head
Having plenty of spare time, many folks finally tried some of the stress-management tips that I provided them over the months and years. The Five-minute rule, deep breathing, aromatherapy and guided-imagery practices led the list in popularity.
Savor Books Unread
Avid readers rediscovered treasures on their bookshelves. Others ordered books online. Still, others asked me to suggest books. A personal favorite is the Chicken Soup for the Soulseries.
Rest Plenty in Bed
No other event in our lifetime allowed people so much time to get plenty of rest. I often reminded everyone to stick to a consistent sleep schedule.
Tend the Homestead
I can’t count how many closets were cleaned, shelves were dusted, garages were de-cluttered and basements were transformed. Since home became the primary place to spend time, it needed to be as pleasant as possible.
Hear Talks by Ted
Ted Talks, PsychCentral.com and many informative websites allowed many to learn new things and keep their minds sharp.
Cry Tears Unshed
Left with far fewer distractions, several people faced their grief over recent and remote losses. They allowed themselves to cry and express their grief with rituals at home.
Let Creativity Spread
They write, they draw, they journal, they tell stories, they sing, they knit, they dance, they sew, they make crafts – all in pursuit of creative pastimes.
Laugh till You’re Red
Comedy shows, sitcoms, reruns and movies provide plenty of amusing diversions.
Play with Mr. Potato Head
Card games, board games, video games, word games, question games, trivia games fill many hours with fun. Vintage toys like Mr. Potato Head inspires fond nostalgic memories.
On Gratitude be Fed
No question, simple blessings become more critical. For example, I was thrilled merely because my husband bought two rolls of toilet paper at a local drug store.
Through God be Led
Most people deepened their relationship with God. Many joined in worldwide prayers, worshipped in online services, read devotional books and heard daily scripture readings. Such practices encourage the positive virtues of humility, simplicity, generosity, forgiveness, faith, hope and love.
During these trying times, live life to the fullest by utilizing effective strategies to cope. This, too, shall pass.
Jessica Loftus has worked as a licensed clinical psychologist and national certified career counselor for more than 20 years. She currently offers counseling sessions via telehealth in the state of Illinois. Her website easywaystoeasestres.com outlines details. See her retired blog, “Pet Ways to Ease Stress” on PsychCentral.com.
The Bee image made me think about how we are all working together much like Bees to protect our habitat and way of life. I appreciate you stopping by today! Please keep your distance and wash, your hands. Have a great weekend! Melinda
Welcome back to Weekend Music Share; the place where everyone can share their favourite music.
Feel free to use the ‘Weekend Music Share‘ banner in your post, and don’t forget to use the hashtag #WeekendMusicShare on social media so other participants can find your post.
Join Howard Fradkin for a free Interactive Webinar, Tuesday, April 21 at 7pm. In recognition of National Child Abuse Prevention Month, Howard Fradkin, Ph.D., to Reach Out to Male Sex Abuse Survivors Who Face Unique Pandemic Challenges – a live Webinar of Recovery for the MaleSurvivor community, Tuesday, April 21, 2020 at 7-8pm ET. Dr. Fradkin will be the featured panelist for the webinar. He is co-founder of MaleSurvivor in 1995, and a nationally recognized psychologist, consultant and author focusing on male survivors, and strategies for healing and recovery. Topics Will Include:+ Coronavirus / Social Distancing Impact to Survivors+ National Child Abuse Prevention Month+ Talking to Your Children About Child Abuse Prevention+ MaleSurvivor 25th Anniversary Celebration Kickoff – Recollections and Milestones+ After-hours Chat at MaleSurvivor Forum and Chat following the webinar Advance registration is required. Limit of 100 attendees.
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.
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.
Grace Weinstein has a panic disorder, but friends and family ate turning to her for advice on how to cope.
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.”
“I was in so much pain, I could hardly walk. Someone recommended the Energy Cell. I put in on, within hours I was in much less pain, and 3-4 days later, I could bend my knee again. I don’t even think about my knee now.”
“I was introduced to the WaveLife Cell through a client of mine, and I found it’s a really good alternative for not only pain, but also stress relief. I’d like to see this product become more mainstream; it’s really going to become the future of our business in many ways.”
Nicole HemmenwayInterim CEOU.S. Pain Foundation
Looking for the Light 