Lisa Find Love

Ideally, flood waters are not presently creeping up your front stoop. But someday it might, either because of a natural disaster or a water main break. Either way, it’s best to be informed about the many hazards of this murky tide—and how to stay safe. 

First, keep in mind everything that the flood could have been in contact with up until the moment you come in contact with it. The bits of garbage, chemicals, sewage, and debris is just the beginning of your concerns. Dangerous bacteria could be permeating the water, pathogens like Cryptosporidium, cholera, E. Coli and Clostridium difficile, (in coastal regions) Vibrio vulnificus, a bacteria commonly found in shellfish, and other dangerous superbugs, according to ABC News. (For a full list of the health risks of flood water, refer to the World Health Organization.)

The water isn’t going to be crystalline by any stretch, so one must keep in mind potential hazards that lurk under the surface. The force of the flood barging into your home could expose nails or other sharp objects that could result in injury. Tread lightly, and make every effort to keep open wounds away from contaminated water.

Sitting water is also a breeding ground for mosquitoes and, in turn, mosquito-borne illnesses. Use repellant, if available, but your best bet is just getting away from the fetid water as soon as possible. 

Be sure to quickly sanitize any object/body part that comes in contact with flood water—and do your best to keep it away from your mouth. Keeping your feet dry is also key, as extended contact with flood water can lead to the development of trench foot, a condition which can cause blistering and decaying of tissue (sort of like Athlete’s Foot, but much worse). Change socks and shoes frequently, and sleep sans-socks.

If your area is issued an evacuation notice, be sure to follow it. Also, don’t forget to do this before you leave your house.  

[Source: ABC News]

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Planning a trip used to require a trip in itself—a drive into town to your local travel agent, who would make sure your trip to Kokomo would run as smoothly as possible, for a price. The hassle saved you the hassle, but now the hassle that saved you the hassle has been replaced by travel sites that do the haggling for you.

However, the Internet created a whole new canvas for con artists to paint their webs of deception. It all starts with a simple search; you’re interested in getting away for the weekend, so you type in your destination or maybe even the phrase “travel site” into Google.

You innocently select one of the first sites that come up, and you go ahead and book your well-deserved vacation. While everything may look legitimate on the site itself, that sketchy third party site could be charging you an exorbitant inflated rate (usually a 25 percent bump) and skimming that difference for their own wallets.

If you’re lucky, your reservation will still go through, and you’ll just be out some Benjamins. But in plenty of instances, no reservation will be made at all and that dream you had of a lovely honeymoon at your local La Quinta has flown out the window. 

Each year, 55 million bookings are affected by this scam, leading to around $4 billion dollars lost. In order to evade this scheme, be sure to check the legitimacy of the travel site you’re on. The site may use stolen images and copy from reliable hotel chains, so be sure to make sure that nothing else is amiss, like the site’s contact page, privacy policy, and site map. If you’re still unsure, get in contact with your prospective hotel’s customer service department, and find out if the company has any dealings with the travel site.
Now, if you manage to find your way out of getting scammed during the booking process, you’re still not completely out of the woods. Follow these 22 hotel tips to guarantee a good vacation, or if any old hotel isn’t your bag, try one of these awesome alternative locales.

[Source: Travel + Leisure]

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Every day it seems like there’s a new phone scam to watch out for, ranging from the confusing and annoying to the seriously horrifying. However, here’s some good news. If you ever got this annoying phone call, you don’t have to worry about losing money. In fact, you could be owed nearly a grand.

The call in question is a robocall telling you you were eligible for a free cruise. In 2012, a man named Philip Charvat got that call and decided he was sick and tired of it, and so he filed a lawsuit…and was successful! Learn about the company that’s trying to stop annoying robocalls for good.

The party behind the calls was Resort Marketing Group, which owns the major cruise lines Carnival, Norwegian, and Royal Caribbean. The judge ruled that Resort Marketing Group had violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by accessing people’s phone numbers without their permission. Creepy, right? (Not as creepy as the fact that your Android phone might be recording you…) So now, Resort Marketing Group is required to compensate anyone who received a “free cruise” call between July 2009 and March 2014.

If you think you might be one of the lucky ones, you can check on the website for the Charvat vs. Resort Marketing Group settlement. You can get back $300 per call for up to three calls, so up to $900! With that much money, you really could go ahead and buy yourself a cruise. But don’t waste any time: You have to file a claim before November 3, 2017 to get your dough. If you do go ahead and book a cruise, here are some tips!

[Source: Today.com]

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We already know that avocado, sometimes called an “alligator pear,” is full of nutrients like potassium, magnesium, folate, healthy omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins A, C, E, protein, and fiber. It’s even good for your brain! We also know that avocado can be added to almost anything and still taste great (like in these 9 delicious avocado recipes). Salads, sandwiches, pasta, even ice cream—you name it.

But what if we told you this whole time you’ve been throwing out the part that has a plethora of potentially useful molecules? Debasish Bandyopadhyay, PhD, and four of his students at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley conducted an experiment resulting in some interesting finds (besides these powerhouse benefits).

Bandyopadhyay and his students crushed up about 300 dried avocado seed husks (the middle part of an avocado) into 21 ounces of powder. (By the way, did you know the origin of the word “avocado” is actually kind of dirty?). The powder was then analyzed further, which was found to contain three teaspoons of seed husk oil and about one ounce of seed husk wax. The research group then used a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis to decipher the compounds.

As it turns out, 116 compounds were found in the husk’s oil. Of those 116, some were crucial to the production of certain medications that kill off viruses, prevent the growth of tumor cells (heptacosane is only found in the husk), and reduce the risk of atherosclerosis. The husk’s wax contained 16 compounds, some of which play a role in creating certain cosmetics and making plastic flexible.

“It could very well be that avocado seed husks, which most people consider as the waste of wastes, are actually the gem of gems because the medicinal compounds within them could eventually be used to treat cancer, heart disease, and other conditions,” Bandyopadhyay told the American Chemical Society (ACS).

So, with 1.9 billion pounds of avocados being consumed by Americans each year, will this study put a halt to the husk tossing epidemic? Probably not, unless you’re able to conduct a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. Regardless, it’s another reason to love avocados even more than we already do!

(With avocado prices on the rise, keep yours fresh longer with this simple hack! When you’re ready to eat them, ripen them in under ten minutes by doing this.)

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Today, horses have one huge toe on each leg — but they weren't always that way. Why the single digit now?

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If you ever use the safe in your hotel room, this genius way to never forget to clear it out will surely save you some distress—just like these other 22 tips for a better hotel stay.

We can all be forgetful, but nothing is worse than forgetting important items and documents (you might want to follow these six everyday habits of people with impressive memory skills). This is especially true when you need to catch a plane and don’t have your passport—or, maybe you left your car keys and don’t realize it until you need to drive. Regardless, it’s a huge inconvenience. Fortunately, all you’ll need to remember to check the safe before you leave is some brightly colored string or cords.

Here’s the trick: using a long, bright string or cord, tie one end to the hotel safe’s handle and the other end to something you can’t forget, like your suitcase.

You can’t pack your things and leave without a suitcase, so the string attaching it to the safe is a fool-proof reminder that you locked your belongings in there. And voila! You’ll never forget those important documents or items again.

Now that you know the best way to remember your valuables, be sure to read up on the travel mistakes you should definitely avoid to have the best possible vacation.

[Source: Express.co.uk]

 

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True bargain-hunters know that the absolute best time to score great deals is at the end of a season. Now, as summer wanes and stores try to lure shoppers with heavily advertised Labor Day sales, you can save big on warm-weather favorites including bathing suits and sunscreen—as well as some bigger-ticket items you might not have though to buy now.

We got the scoop from the shopping experts at BestBlackFriday.com, which tracks sales and deals all year long. Here, according to their analysis of the end-of-summer sales, are five things to buy now and five things to wait for.

Buy Now—Snap These Items Up This Summer

1. Grills. Some diehards cook outside all year long, but for many of us, Labor Day is the last time we fire up the barbecue. So look for big markdowns—from 25 percent to as much as 75 percent—on any leftover inventory at Home Depot, Lowe’s, Sears, and local outdoors and appliance stores. Last year saw Webber grills for $100 off.
2. Lawn mowers. Sorry, but you’re going to need to keep cutting that grass for a while longer! Fortunately, you can find sales of 25 percent or even more.
3. Summer clothes. The best places to outfit kids for back to school are the summer clearance racks. You’ll find staples like t-shirts and shorts for half price or even less. At the end of last summer Banana Republic, Carter’s, and Old Navy all had better-than-average clearance sales. With some smart chopping, you can build a new kids’ wardrobe for under $50. And here are some more smart ways to save on back-to-school items—and they apply year round.
4. Paint. We tend to put off home repairs in the summer when we’re busy outdoors. Now that we’re inside more, it’s hard not to notice that chipped molding or dingy paint. Watch for sales and rebates at paint stores and home improvement centers.
5. Mattresses. It’s hard to compare prices on mattresses because retailers don’t carry the same exact models. But you will find markdowns of 50 percent or even more, sometimes with coupons or rebates. Mattresses start at just $89.99 at 1800mattress.com. If your mattress is more than eight or 10 years old, we’re talking to you!

 Buy Later—Wait for Fall

1. Camping gear. If you can wait until October, when fall is in full swing, you can save as much as 75 percent on tents, hiking gear, and other camping essentials.
2. Smart phones. Rumor has it the iPhone 8 may be released on September 22. That means markdowns are on deck for previous generation phones, including the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, which might be discounted by $100 or more. You might have to wait until October or November, though. Also, watch for fall sales on other Apple tech too, but at other retailers, not the Apple Store, which doesn’t generally have sales.
3. Jeans. You’ll see lots of denim in stores now, as retailers push back-to-school, but October is the best month to buy, when inventory is still high but prices are lower. Follow our advice for choosing the best jeans for your body type.
4. TVs. Summer sales are so-so, but November is the best time of year to buy a new TV, especially once Black Friday sales start up.
5. Cars. If you’re in the market for a new ride, start shopping now, as 2018 models are showing up and dealers are looking to move older inventory. But if you can, wait to buy until October, when discounts are generally deeper on any remaining stock.

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Cramming for a big exam, or memorizing a Powerpoint for that important board presentation? Take a quick study break and hit the gym, science says.

No, seriously! According to a new study published in the journal Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, just five minutes of light physical exercise after any learning session can give your memory a boost. (You should also memorize these everyday habits of people with impressive memory.)

Researchers from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, led by Dr. Steven Most, conducted four experiments that included a total of over 250 undergraduate participants. They aimed to test the students’ memories before and after five minutes of exercise.

Through all four of the experiments, an interesting pattern emerged. Researchers noticed that women who performed a mild physical activity after learning something scored higher on memory tests than the women who did not exercise. What’s more, exercise was most effective at boosting memory when participants did so after the learning session. Here’s how you can boost your memory with music and meditation, too.

However, the same trend did not apply to the male participants. Dr. Most speculates that this might have to do with the facial recognition test that the experiments used to score memory levels, which only included male faces. If females respond better to male faces, their reactions might have swayed the results.

“It’s unclear whether this is a true sex difference or whether there was something about the experiment conditions that allowed the effect to emerge among women and not men,” Dr. Most said.

Of course, more research will be needed in the future to determine with certainty that exercise has a positive impact on memory. But this isn’t the first study to make the connection between exercise and memory; in fact, plenty of research indicates that physical activity can reinforce learning. All the more reason to start lacing up your sneakers.

One does not live by physical exercise alone, though. These are the best brain exercises to improve your memory.

[Source: Medical News Today]

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Sixty years ago, the Ford Motor Co. introduced its ill-fated Edsel with all the suspense of an Alfred Hitchcock movie. Ads promised “a new vista of motoring pleasure, unlike any other car you’ve ever seen.” To heighten anticipation, the cars 
were hidden under tarps during transport, and showroom windows were papered over until 
“E Day.” It worked. People lined up to see the new Edsel when it was unveiled, on Sept. 4, 1957.

To keep showroom traffic flowing afterward, Ford launched a volley of newspaper ads, postcards and promotional fliers touting, “Road-check the big one, get a little one free.”

The giveaway featured gift boxes holding 1/25-scale promotional models, or promos, with durable plastic bodies, metal chassis and moving wheels. Here are some other examples of classic, vintage ads from back then.

What’s that Edsel 
Promo worth Today?

Edsel dealers used turquoise-and-white promos in the test-drive giveaway. Aluminum Model Toys Inc. (AMT), a toy manufacturer, made Edsel promos in a variety of factory colors for dealer use but switched up color combinations or treatments on cars sold in toy stores. (Do you have any of these antiques that could bring in some serious cash?)

• AMT built convertible 
and two-door hardtop promos for all three Edsel model years: 1958, 1959, and 1960.
• Today, the 1960 Edsel promos can run more than $100 apiece.
• An average-condition turquoise 1958 coupe, the most common, 
can garner $30–$35; other colors bring around $60.
• Promotional models 
in unusual colors can 
bring $300–$400.

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The benefits of exercise are well-known, but a new study has found a notable perk for children who break a sweat. No, it has nothing to do with burning calories or even boosting metabolism, although those benefits come from exercise anyway. For kids, specifically, short bursts of exercise does wonders for their brain power.

Researchers from the University of Auckland took a look at the effects that regular aerobic exercise played in the cognitive function of a group of 318 children, aged 7-13. The kids were given tasks in memory and cognition control then randomly assigned to a placebo-controlled group or put through a HIIT regimen.  The high-intensity training (HITT) regimen consisted of 10-minute bursts of intense workouts each day for six weeks. 

The revealing findings showed that the kids in the HIIT group showed a significant boost in both assessment categories. “‘Our findings highlight the potency of short but intense physical workouts and suggest that aerobic exercise is not the sole means to improve brain power,” says lead researcher Dr. David Moreau.  

While the study’s authors emphasize that exercise shouldn’t be seen as the only remedy for cognitive deficits, it certainly “is one of the most beneficial and non-invasive ways of enhancing cognition.” In other words, get your kid off the couch and moving ASAP, and you’ll have a budding genius on your hands. As the study shows, even 10 minutes of exercise a day goes a long way. 

Besides it’s a way better option than those brain game scams. And when given the option between flash cards and flash dancing, the latter is way more fun, isn’t it? This just adds to the running list of positive things that exercise can do for your body.

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On the 20th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death, the royal family revealed three new photos from her personal album. But that’s not the only thing Princes William and Harry are doing to keeping the memory of the “People’s Princess” alive. Watch their new documentary, released this summer.

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Airports continue to modernize. This one is now having robots guide you to your gate. This one is setting the record for largest airport in human history. LaGuardia Airport is making the effort to be less awful. These efforts are bringing air travel into the future, but one airport is making a big security change which is actually winding back the clock.

For the first time since 9/11, Pittsburgh Airport will become the first country to allow non-passengers to pass through security. For the past 16 or so years, the only way that someone could make it through security was if they presented their ticket.

The rule rollback will come through a new program called the myPITpass. The aim of the pass is to allow anyone access the retail and dining options available past security, and also let them have a little bit more runway in terms of waving goodbye to loved ones right at their gate.

The myPITpass can be acquired through a special kiosk at the airport. All someone needs is a valid photo I.D., which allows the airport employee to cross reference the person’s information with TSA’s no fly list. Children younger than 17 are also eligible for the program, even without identification.

The same rules apply when passing through security, however, so don’t go trying to bring your bottle rockets and exotic animals with mini-backpacks full of liquids over three ounces, because you will be flagged—here are 13 other things you probably shouldn’t try to get passed the TSA.

[Source: Travel + Leisure]

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There’s the average online scam, and then there’s the hacker with a list of 711 million e-mail addresses. That number alone is enough to send chills down anyone’s spine. And unfortunately, the odds are high that your e-mail’s password has been compromised, and one of those accounts is yours. (Here’s why your password is weak, and what to do about it.)

A security researcher called Benkow recently uncovered a list of 711 million email accounts stored on an “open and accessible” server in the Netherlands, ZDNet reported. Apparently, an unknown hacker has been using the addresses to send large amounts of spam, as well as harmful malware, via e-mail. Using legitimate accounts allows the e-mails to bypass spam filters, experts say.

There’s some good news, though—and e-mail users everywhere, you can breathe a little easier. Fortunately, “whilst the ‘711 million’ headline is technically accurate, the number of real humans in the data is going to be somewhat less,” said Troy Hunt, Microsoft regional director and creator of the anti-hacker website Have I Been Pwned. Still, Hunt called the list “mind-boggling.”

“Just for a sense of scale, that’s almost one address for every single man, woman, and child in all of Europe,” he wrote in a blog post.

The spam e-mails appear to contain a small, nearly invisible GIF. If a user opens the e-mail, Benkow wrote, “a request with your IP and your User-Agent will be sent to the server that hosts the GIF. With these information, the spammer is able to know when you have opened the email, from where and on which device.”

Opening the e-mail puts your account on the list of those who will likely receive second emails containing malware. Bottom line: You should never, ever open spam e-mails. Here’s how to avoid these common online scams, too.

Wondering if your account has been compromised? It only takes a few seconds to find out. Simply type your e-mail address into the search bar at Have I Been Pwned, and the website will tell you if your account has been breached. If your e-mail is on the list, fear not; just make a new password. And when you do, this website can help you make a foolproof password to protect you from hackers in the future.

[Sources: Gizmodo, Manchester Evening News, ZDNet]

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There are strategic reasons writers and creators of huge TV shows like 'Breaking Bad' and 'Game of Thrones' are splitting their seasons into two, shorter segments.

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Spanning across all socioeconomic statuses, races, cultures and ages, addiction is one of the largest and most insidious problems our society faces today. And yet, for the medical doctors who are often tasked with treating addiction, identifying and treating it is not always a straight forward process.

In his new book, Addiction Treatment, Dr. Michael Weaver, a specialist in substance abuse disorders, provides a comprehensive review of addiction, dual diagnosis, pharmaceutical treatment and clinical advice about how to work with an addict.

“People are embarrassed to admit to using drugs partly because they worry others will see it as a personal weakness or defect,” writes Weaver.

But Weaver also writes that having the right screening tools can make a big difference.

Asking non-invasive questions, such as “A lot of people have tried things like LSD or mushrooms or acid. What has been your experience?” and beginning with the more socially-accepted drugs such as caffeine and nicotine are two key steps every physician can take to more clearly diagnose a substance abuse problem. Another efficient way to assess for substance abuse is to ask open-ended questions about the consequences of use.

Though controversial, drug screens can be helpful when patients have recurrent or remote substance abuse problems or are not responding to evidence-based treatment, or if a controlled substance medication has been prescribed. Weaver offers numerous helpful tips, including which drug tests to use, the detection periods in which they must be used and even how to broach the subject with patients.

Once addiction is uncovered, the next step is choosing the right treatment.

“For a variety of economic and historical reasons, the U.S. substance use treatment system has become quite complicated, and in some cases, separated from the rest of psychiatry,” writes Weaver.

From addictions counselors, interventionists, twelve-step programs, sober houses, residential treatment, outpatient treatment and detox programs, Weaver covers the entirety of treatment options along with the American Society of Addiction Guidelines for treatment matching.

Of particular importance in treating addictions is psychotherapy, and more specifically, motivational interviewing. While motivational interviewing was first developed for treating alcohol users its purpose is to help patients become aware if their intrinsic motivations to change their problematic behaviors.

Through familiarizing themselves with the stages of change, and interventions such as the FRAMES technique – which stands for feedback, responsibility, advice, menu of options, empathy and self-efficacy – physicians can work with addicts in ways that avoid resistance and result in better outcomes. One useful technique Weaver suggests is first asking about the good things associated with drug use and then asking about the less good things.

Identifying common causes of relapse is also a fundamental skill for physicians. According to Weaver, patients relapse for a variety of reasons including overconfidence, self-medication, temptation, anger, hunger, loneliness, boredom and feeling tired.

Weaver draws on the advice of Terence Gorski, an expert on relapse prevention:

“I will often have patients write down their life and addiction history and look at why they relapsed in the past. I will then have them develop a list of early warning signs of impending relapse…We will then work together to put into place strategies for preventing relapse.”

Becoming familiar with Alcoholics Anonymous and twelve-step programs is also important for physicians who work with addicts, as Weaver notes that in a review of scientific studies, they were found to be as effective as any other interventions they were compared to. Greater meeting attendance has also been associated with better outcomes.

However, it’s important to understand that underlying most addictions is a secondary diagnosis, which often complicates addiction treatment.

“Among patients who come to your office with psychiatric issues, at least 20-50% will have a substance abuse issue, with the rate highest in schizophrenia,” writes Weaver.

As these patients will often ask for medications that are addictive in nature, understanding the different classes of addictive substances and their pharmaceutical correlates becomes vitally important.

Weaver provides a comprehensive assessment of each class of addictive substance, the effects of long-term and short-term use, as well as the many pharmaceutical treatment options available. He also covers the interplay between specific psychiatric disorders and substance issues. For example, stimulant use may cause and be confused with mania, but once the effects of the drug wear off, the diagnosis typically becomes more clear.

Drawing on motivational interviewing techniques, advising patients about unknown side effects and knowing the common forms of denial are just a few of the invaluable skills Weaver offers his readers.

As informative as it is practical, Addiction Treatment should be required reading for anyone who treats patients with addictive disorders. It is a must have practical and hands-on guide in any addiction specialist’s library.

Addiction Treatment
Michael Weaver MD
Carlat Publishing (2017)
Softcover
216 Pages

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A new study on The Nature Conservancy's pilot BirdReturns program finds that renting rice fields from farmers for migrating birds works.

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Imagine that you just found out you had bipolar disorder. How might you feel?

An unexpected diagnosis often throws us for a loop. As we incorporate this new information about ourselves, we might experience fear, confusion and even denial about what our diagnosis means for our lives. But perhaps most of all, we may find ourselves asking the question: now what?

Luckily, for those diagnosed with bipolar disorder, that is the question Hilary Smith sets out to answer in her newest edition of Welcome to the Jungle with a new subtitle, Facing Bipolar Without Freaking Out.

In 2010, Smith’s blunt, insightful and witty first edition of Welcome to the Jungle offered readers a unique perspective on what it means to have bipolar disorder. Seven years later, Smith has revisited her original text with a greater sense of introspection and a more nuanced approach to her diagnosis and how best to deal with it.

“I wrote the first edition of Welcome to the Jungle when I was twenty-three…Since then, my thinking on what we call mental illness has evolved quite a bit,” writes Smith.

While retaining the quirky style and delightful imagery of the first edition, Smith’s thoughtful exploration of what bipolar can mean for an individual drives this revised version of the text.

Welcome to the Jungle resists categorization. Certainly it contains a fair share of useful strategies and recommendations for individuals both newly diagnosed and those who have been living with their bipolar diagnosis for a while. Likewise, it would be a useful text for the loved ones of individuals with bipolar or anyone with an interest in the topic.

Smith’s prose is consistently engaging and accessible for readers of any background. And yet we cannot quite deem it a self-help book; Welcome to the Jungle offers more than that. It is part autobiography, part guidebook and part meditation on the nature of mental health and society.

Smith divides the book by topic, beginning with: “What Just Happened? Life Beyond the Diagnosis” and going on to explain the mechanics of addressing a diagnosis including the nature of bipolar episodes, the role of medication and mental health professionals, how to anticipate and prevent episodes and strategies for maintaining stability.

She then navigates the particular risks of bipolar disorder in Chapter 7, titled “Bugs in the Jungle: Suicide, Psych Wards, and Other Downers.” Here, Smith explores coping strategies following an episode, makes recommendations about how to approach friends and family and goes beyond traditional Western psychiatric medicine in “Hippie Sh*t That Actually Works: Herbs, Wilderness, and Other Ways to Help Yourself.”

The conclusion of Welcome to the Jungle revisits one point in Smith’s central argument: that individuals dealing with bipolar develop or innately possess unique perspectives, empathy, creativity and vision. But Smith is quick and careful not to romanticize her disorder and encourages her readers to think carefully before making significant lifestyle changes, such as discontinuing medication.

Smith clearly finds some resonance in the idea that people with bipolar have difficulty living in this particular iteration of Western society: highly mechanized, densely populated, and focused on production over the individual. In another context, she suggests they might be considered visionaries, with the capacity for more creative thought.

Skeptics of this perspective, of mindfulness and meditation, and herbal remedies will still find many useful ideas in Welcome to the Jungle. Smith’s guide is first and foremost practical, in the sense that it directly comes from practice and her personal experience. She tackles questions ignored elsewhere, such as the mechanics of dating while bipolar, navigating the many different breeds of mental health professionals and the effects of drugs and alcohol and bipolar episodes. She carefully emphasizes that, while the text may explore other options, approaches, and philosophies it is not useful to entertain these questions while in the middle of mania or depression.

First and foremost, Welcome to the Jungle provides vital resources to people who likely need them, both those diagnosed with bipolar and those who care for them. All the better, too, that they are delivered in good humor and friendly prose.

As for her other assertions, they are largely compelling—the ways we as a society treat those dealing with various mental health concerns do deserve more conversation and consideration among patients, providers and the general community. And what better way to begin that conversation than by listening to the people stigmatized for having these diagnoses? Provided, of course, there is also a liberal dose of jungle metaphors.

Welcome to the Jungle, Revised Edition: Facing Bipolar Without Freaking Out
Hilary Smith
Conari Press
224 pages, softcover

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Before you take another bite of that burger, you might want to keep reading. New research warns that eating junk foods like pizza, burgers, and chocolate could increase your risk of developing cancer—even if you’re not overweight. Uh-oh.

The study, which was published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, suggests there’s a link between a diet full of high calorie, low nutrient foods and a higher risk of certain cancers, especially among normal weight women above the age of 50. (Avoid these cancer-causing foods that cancer doctors try to never eat, as well.)

Researchers at the University of Arizona collected data on 92,000 women between the ages of 50 and 79 who are part of the Women’s Health Initiative study. Then, they tracked the development of a variety of cancers in the women over the course of 15 years.

Their data shows that eating lots of high calorie foods, including biscuits, chocolate, and pizza, increased the risk of cancer in these women. That even goes for those who maintained a healthy weight, defined as a body mass index (BMI) between 18.5 and 24.9.

Truth be told, having a healthy weight alone might not protect against cancer, the researchers concluded. Rather, it’s what you eat on a daily basis that matters. As for what you should put on your dinner plate? We recommend starting with these 30 foods are proven to prevent cancer.

Correlation does not mean causation, however, and the connections between diet, lifestyle, and cancer outcomes are often more complex than that. What’s more, the study focused only on postmenopausal women, and researchers did not factor sugary drinks and alcohol into their analysis, which tend to be high in calories, as well. Long story short: More research is needed before we can say for certain that high calorie foods increases cancer risk.

Regardless, experts agree that having a balanced diet (and watching your calorie consumption) definitely helps more than it hurts. Your 80-year-old self will be thanking you for having these healthy eating habits.

[Sources: CBS, PubMed Health]

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Walking into a bar, spotting an old flame from high school, then dropping a pickup line like, “If you were a vegetable, you’d be a cute-cumber,” just isn’t going to cut it anymore. According to Bloomberg, you’d be much better off using your long and healthy credit history to peacock for romantic interests.

In a recent survey of 2,000 online daters, having a good credit score is considered sexy, but not just mildly so. A sound credit score was ranked as an important quality to 69 percent of survey participants, above sense of humor (67 percent), attractiveness (51 percent), ambition (50 percent), courage (42 percent) and modesty (39 percent).

To take the numbers one step further, financial responsibility automatically bumped an individual’s perceived attributes. People who were financial responsible were viewed as having a good sense of general responsibility 73 percent of the time, a perception of trustworthiness 40 percent of the time, and a perception of high intelligence 38 percent of the time.

Additionally, respondents found financial responsibility to be more attractive than having a nice car 58 percent of the time, more attractive than a fancy job title 50 percent of the time, and more attractive than being physically fit 40 percent of the time.

So, to start, learn what your credit score is and the secret formula behind it. Next, figure out how to keep your credit score high. And lastly, set your fancy car on fire. And you’re all set! (We’re obviously kidding about the car.)

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Princess Diana’s relationship with her children was a well-documented one. Even after things went wrong with Prince Charles, Princess Diana would frequently be seen with Prince William and Prince Harry out in public, smiling and laughing, enjoying a relationship almost ordinary and unspectacular given the circumstances, a connection which was exactly what it was; a mother and her children who very much cared for each other.

But behind closed doors, it was a bit different. Not so much in the caring front, but definitely on the ordinary front. According to HELLO! Online, Princess Diana had quite the sense of humor and made sure her son William had an unforgettable 13th birthday. Her sly surprise: a birthday cake that looked like a pair of breasts.

Yep, the People’s Princess apparently enjoyed a good joke more than anyone else. But she didn’t stop with bosom-based baked goods. Princess Diana also made sure that supermodels Claudia Schiffer, Christy Turlington, and Naomi Campbell were all in attendance at the palace for the celebration to heighten the stakes even more. Prince William was reportedly beet-red throughout the festivities, probably.

“I came into work that morning and went down to the refrigerator, opened the door and I was just confronted with the biggest pair of boobs I’ve ever seen in my life.” said Darren McGrady,Princess Diana’s former head chef. “The Princess had ordered a boobs cake for William’s 13th birthday.”

There’s not evidence of any royal rules against breast-cakes in the Royal family. Although if there was, it wouldn’t be the first weird rule restricting how they eat. If the princess signed a credit card receipt for the cake herself, she broke ANOTHER regal rule. What a rebel.

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Whenever a natural disaster strikes, there are always many affected individuals who need help—and the majority of people genuinely want to provide it. But unfortunately, both disaster victims and would-be givers alike do have to be careful of predatory scammers. Here are the four most common ways people try to profit from crises like hurricanes and tropical storms—and how you can avoid them.

Fake rental listings

If you’re a storm victim, make sure you don’t also become a victim of a scam. Many people whose homes were damaged by the storm will be searching for new places to live, whether temporary or not. If you’re looking for new housing after a disaster, keep these tips in mind.

• Make sure you’ve seen the place you’re renting. Before you hand over any money, make sure that you’ve seen the place—and not just on the Internet. As tempting and convenient as it might seem to hand over a deposit, hold off until you know the renter is trustworthy.
• Make sure you’ve seen the person you’re renting from. Again, seeing is believing. Knowing that you’re renting from a real person is definitely a good sign that you’re not being scammed.
• Don’t provide important information over the Internet. Don’t disclose your bank account information or credit card number over the phone or the Internet, and definitely don’t wire money. Watch out for these 10 phone call scams as well, whether or not there’s been a natural disaster recently.

Fake contractors

Many storm victims haven’t lost their homes completely, but merely need repairs. Enter fraudulent contractors, hoping to take your money without doing any real work.

• Get a recommendation. Your best bet for avoiding scams would be to choose a contractor that either you know and trust, or that someone you trust has used before.
• Check for a license. Though licensing works differently in every state, a contractor who has a professional license is definitely a good sign. Ask for proof of insurance, too, so that you’re not penalized for any contracting accidents.    
• Watch out for a FEMA”endorsement.” This is where it gets really tricky. An “endorsement” sounds totally scam-free, but don’t let this fool you. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) does not certify contractors.
• Don’t pay up front. Any contractor who asks for full payment before any work is done is a major red flag. Don’t hand over all of the money immediately; a shady scammer will take it and run.

Of course, there are plenty of heroes who help out during these disasters too—just look at these inspiring photos.

Fake charities

While not the most damaging of the scams, this is probably the most common: shady people or websites presenting themselves as well-meaning aid organizations.

• Speak up. If a charity organization reaches out to you, don’t be afraid to get in touch with the organization and ask for more details, including the organization’s address. If an organization seemed to suddenly appear out of the blue after a disaster, that’s a major clue that its intentions aren’t good.
• Don’t send cash. Though you shouldn’t give your credit card number to a non-verified organization, paying with a credit card is overall a more foolproof way to make sure your donation reaches people in need. Cash is far too easily misplaced or stolen.
• A charity by any other name… If a “charity”‘s name is similar to the name of a legitimate organization, it’s probably more likely to trick people. Again, call the organization and get details before you send anything. Find out more about how charities spend your money.
• Donate to verified organizations. Despite all this, you definitely shouldn’t let a potential scam stop you from donating altogether. LifeHacker has compiled a list of trustworthy organizations. Also, check out the National Association of State Charity Officials, where you can find the names of legitimate relief organizations in your state.

Clickbait

While, by far, the least harmful of all of the scams, fake news stories and photos are definitely worth mentioning since they’re far too common in today’s digital age. In this case, seeing is not believing. Just take a look at this photoshopped pic of a shark swimming along a Houston highway in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. While not a scam, this is just people grabbing for attention in the wake of a disaster, and you should try to avoid giving them that attention.

Here’s some good (and true) news from the aftermath of Harvey.

 

[Sources: LifeHacker.com, Consumerist.com]

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January: Best time to buy a computer, holiday goods

• Other people’s unused gift cards: Consumers with unwanted gift cards hit sites like CardCash.com, GiftCards.com, and even eBay after Christmas to sell them at discounted prices. Find out how else you can get paid for your gift cards and other clutter.

• Wrapping paper: Stores slash prices on gift wrap, holiday cards, and Christmas decorations in the weeks following the busy shopping season. Buy now; they’ll keep till next year. Once they’re shredded, try out these genius uses for leftover wrapping paper.

• Bed linens: Retailers offer deep discounts on sheets, towels, and blankets in January. “White sales” actually date back to 1878, when a Philadelphia department store held a “White Sale” on linens to help keep linen makers in business during a slow period. Just watch out for these things to know when you’re buying new sheets.

• Computer: Starting in January, keep an eye on PC prices; companies offer discounts on older models to prepare for the upcoming release of the newest systems. Find out what tech products you should (and shouldn’t) buy refurbished.

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While most people think of the Secret Service's only job as protecting the president, its first mission was combating counterfeiting. How does it balance the two?

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No crew, sails set, fire still blazing in the galley — some ships wash up on shores under mysterious circumstances. The Resolven was one of them.

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First night of vacation! You’ve been traveling all day, your body is exhausted, and you feel like you could pass out the second your head sinks into that marshmallowy hotel pillow. You sleep through the night—then wake up the next morning feeling groggy, grumpy, and garbagey. (Those are just a few of the clear signs you’re not sleeping deeply enough.) What’s the deal? This was not in the brochure. 

A new sleep study from Brown University reveals that it isn’t just jet lag that disturbs our dozing on holiday; it turns out many of us sleep poorly on the first night of vacation—or the first night in any unfamiliar room—because our brains actually remain one-half awake through the night when we sleep in a new place.

Sleep scientists call this phenomenon First-Night-Effect (FNE). Researchers have known about it for a while, but only recently discovered what, exactly, is happening in our sleepy heads to cause it. The Brown team, led by researcher Masako Tamaki, used advanced neuroimaging techniques to track brain activity in several sleepers over a few nights. What they found not only confirmed that FNE is indeed a real thing, but that it’s caused by one hemisphere of the brain staying in an active state through the night while the other dozes peacefully. Simply put: one half of your brain plays night watchman for the other half.

In this vigilant state, your partly-awake hemisphere becomes extra sensitive to external stimuli—say, a thump in the hallway, a truck blundering down the road, or a bug buzzing past your ear—preventing your brain from reaching a fully restful sleep. Subjects in the Brown FNE study jolted awake to such “deviant” sounds throughout the first night, thanks to their asymmetrical brain activity. Fortunately, “None of these asymmetries were evident during subsequent sleep sessions,” a spokesman for the Brown study notes. In other words, your first night in a new place may always be rough—and here are the signs you’re headed for an awful night’s sleep—but your brain learns quickly to chill out.

Our nomadic ancestors would no doubt thank their FNE hemisphere for keeping them alert to skulking bears and bogeyman as they camped from plot to plot—but for us sleep-desperate modernists, it’s easy to be annoyed. Is there any way to turn off your brain’s FNE vigilance? Sleep scientists have some insider advice for you, but in the meantime you might try deafening your vigilant brain to external stimuli altogether. To calm your inner watchman, invest in a pair of earplugs, or make these changes to turn your bedroom into the ideal sleep environment.

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Although African Americans are 20 percent more likely to experience serious experience serious psychological distress than white Americans, they are far less likely to get help. Here's why.

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Tyrannosaurus rex was a giant predator that roamed the earth, so why did it have such tiny arms?

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And guess what? You can read them all for yourself.

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Yoga and meditation, though they exist in many forms today, have always represented a form of healing. Through breathing, we connect more deeply to our bodies. Through mindfulness, we connect more deeply to our thoughts and minds. And through yogic philosophy, we connect more deeply with our true nature. These concepts have been drawn upon for centuries to restore health, function and vitality.

In her new book, Attachment-Based Yoga & Meditation for Trauma Recovery: Simple, Safe, And Effective Practices For Therapy, Deirdre Fay demonstrates how these practices hold unique promise for trauma recovery.

“In working with trauma and attachment wounding over the past twenty plus years, it became increasingly clear that simple adages didn’t help people navigate their disorganized inner worlds. They needed, as I had needed, concrete, practical tools that pointed out ways to organize the ricocheting disruption,” writes Fay.

According to attachment theory, disruption begins very early on – from the moment we experience the world as safe or unsafe through our relationship with those who care for us. For many trauma survivors, the world has never felt safe.

“Underneath the stories and reasons our clients give us for being in therapy is the deeper, abiding, inchoate connection they are longing for – to return to their Self, their soul, their heart, while gently holding the many threads of their life so they feel put back together in a more satisfying way,” writes Fay.

From this connection – a secure base – trauma clients can begin the process of exploring the deep, painful, and possibly re-traumatizing parts of their lives. The hope is that they can find ways to relate to themselves, organize their inner world, and through their search for a sense of meaning, finds ways to process their pain.

This process begins with learning to experience the present moment.

“Most people, especially those with attachment wounding, are unknowingly flooded by the past, precluding an alive experience in the present moment,” writes Fay.

Through learning to attune to themselves, trauma clients experience a fundamental truth: the healing they want (and deserve) can only come from inside. It is only through developing an autonomous narrative that holds at its center the Self as the secure base that they can begin to break free from the hold their wounded past has on them.

While the prana, or life force can become stuck, knotted or interrupted, yogic philosophy holds that encountering these stuck and painful knots is the path. What we can do, is look for the opposites – such as love, warmth and connection – and hold these opposites along with the pain, as a way to remember and return to our true nature while also developing the consciousness that the reins of our experience are now safely in our hands.

Therapists, Fay says, are “Hope Merchants” helping clients to see, as Michelangelo saw in the beautiful yet flawed block of marble, the magnificent statue of David waiting to be expressed.

Buried under layers of shame are clients’ true, and yet undiscovered selves. Fay recounts the story of how a tribe in South Africa deals with shame:

“People would stand around the individual who had done wrong, telling them over and over again all of the things they had done right, all the wonderful qualities about them, all the good things that they are. The tribe would provide a counterpoint to the inner shame of doing something wrong, by holding up a mirror of who that person ‘really’ is.”

Making mistakes and still being loved is the work of self-compassion, and according to Fay, it can be developed. One of the lifelong practices that yogic philosophy offers are the protective characterological orientations called yamas.

Through compassion, nonviolence, truthfulness, purity, contentment, self-discipline and self-surrender, trauma clients can learn to move from the painful, isolated past toward an alternative reality – one that meets suffering with kindness.

One helpful exercise Fay offers is the Mindful Self-Compassion Break, which involves first acknowledging the pain, connecting to the reality that we all suffer, and giving ourselves a moment of kindness.

Yet the past can still interrupt the present, and especially when clients explore their pasts too quickly, or too deeply, they can become overwhelmed and dissociate. Here, Fay suggests normalizing dissociation as something that we all do, but also as a way to cope with undigested and distressing feelings. She offers exercises such as grounding to the spine to stay in the present moment; taking in small parts of difficult experiences and recycling them as more positive ones; steering the heart, body and mind toward cultivating positive experiences and identifying with how the past is intruding on the present.

The goal of attachment therapy is to experience a secure base – one of safety, comfort, and letting go. From an embodied yogic psychology perspective, secure attachment happens in reminding a client that what they long for is actually a native, natural longing for secure connection that got warped through difficult life situations. What they can learn, and what Fay so eloquently offers, is a path back toward prana – their life energy, their true Self, and the life they really want.

Attachment-Based Yoga & Meditation for Trauma Recovery: Simple, Safe, And Effective Practices For Therapy
Deirdre Fay
W.W. Norton (2017)
Hardcover
295 Pages
$39.95

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Alaska's Kodiak bears are gorging on berries instead of salmon because of warming temperatures, which could have a ripple effect on the island's ecology.

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Researchers want to make it easy for beginners and nonengineers to design a custom robot in minutes, then print and assemble the parts themselves.

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Depression is a difficult illness to understand. It’s hard to understand for the people suffering from it, but it’s downright impossible to know everything that a person who deals with depression on a daily basis goes through if you have never experienced it personally. For this reason, I have come up with a few real-life examples to help those who may not fully understand what depression is or how it functions. Of course, this will be the simplistic version. Depression is an extremely complex disease. As a person with depression myself, I have learned that it is very difficult to understand even for those who have the best intentions and the most empathy, love and support. If a person has not had personal experience, it is almost impossible to know what depression feels like.

I am writing these examples with the knowledge that some of these may strike a chord with people. They are meant to. Depression is a devastating disease, just like many of these very real examples can be devastating to many people around the world. I want to be as honest as I can, but it is also never my goal to offend anyone.

The Head Cold

You feel a cold coming on. It’s a sort of scratchiness in your throat and a foggy feeling in your head. This lasts for a few days and progresses to some more severe symptoms. Your throat is sore now and you have a high fever. There are body chills and the sweats and nausea and you just want it all to go away. It feels like this cold might never end. Finally it does. About two to three weeks later, the cold returns with a vengeance. The cycle repeats itself exactly like this for the rest of your life.

The Unemployed

You are doing well with your chosen career path. You are steadily moving up the ranks and your boss always speaks highly of you. You get along with your coworkers, not to mention you actually like what you do. Then there are cutbacks at work and you are one of them. All that you have worked so hard for seems to be lost in that moment and you wonder why it was you.

It takes you several months just to find another lower paying job to support your family and this causes you to change insurance, re-evaluate your budget and you’re not nearly as satisfied with your job. Many people have had to do it, but you didn’t think you’d be in this position until now. This causes a huge blow to your self esteem and tension in your relationship.

Note: This relates to the turmoil a person can go through when they are trying to find the ‘right’ antidepressant. With mental illness as opposed to most physical illnesses, it is pretty much strictly trial and error, and it can be frustrating to say the very least. You can try for months just to be disappointed in the outcome. You can also be satisfied with something you are taking for a while and eventually it may stop working.

The Breakup/Makeup

You are in a committed relationship with a partner and things are going quite well. You are happy, he/she is happy, and life is good. You are in love.

One day, you are living life as usual and your partner doesn’t come home as planned. A friend tells you that they saw your partner out with someone else. When your partner finally comes home you confront them about what your friend saw and they break down and confess everything. They have been cheating on you for weeks. They are begging you to forgive them, but you are so blindsided you can’t believe it.

The pain is gut-wrenching — it’s the most excruciating pain you’ve ever felt in your life. You cry for days, barely eating or sleeping, even wondering why you bothered to try up until this point. Finally, your partner convinces you to give them another chance. Six months later, he/she cheats on you again, and the cycle repeats itself for the rest of your life.

The College Student

You have a full-ride to your dream school, and you’re a few weeks into your sophomore year of college. Suddenly, your throat swells up like a balloon, and you start to get a sore throat like you’ve never felt before. You go to the doctor and she says you have a severe case of mono and it is contagious, you must go home for two weeks. This is devastating news, as you have a scholarship to maintain.

After the two weeks is over, you are still suffering from complications and symptoms due to the mono and it is very hard to maintain your grades. Unfortunately, it is too difficult to make up the work that you missed from the two weeks at home on top of the work you need to get done daily, not to mention you have a part time job. The scholarship is retracted and you are not allowed to attend school for the year, as financial aid has already closed and no one in the immediate family can sign for a loan. How are you ever going to pay for college now?

You are completely devastated. You planned on graduating in line with your classmates, peers and friends. You were going to get your dream career alongside your best friends and you had your entire future laid out. Plans are disrupted and your self esteem is in shambles

Note: This one is a specific example. Instead of using depression as the illness, I used mononucleosis. I did this to show that any physical illness as well as any mental illness can present itself spontaneously and throw you off course. This is what happened to me in college when my mental health deteriorated.

The Broken Down Elevator

You are riding in a crowded elevator filled with people to the top floor of an office building, in a hurry to get to your meeting, when suddenly the lights turn off and the elevator halts to a stop, jerking the unsuspecting passengers into the walls and the people around them. Suddenly everyone starts to panic and groan, because this is the last thing that they want or need.

Thoughts start to race through your mind as the walls are seemingly getting closer together. The room is getting hotter and the air is getting thinner. You look around as people start to bang on the doors and smash the emergency buttons on the key pad, but no one is coming to help. It has only been a few minutes, but it seems like you’ve been in this elevator for hours. What if this is it? What if you die in here? What about all of the things you haven’t done yet? What about your family? Your breathing starts to become labored and your chest starts to hurt. Suddenly the lights come back on and the elevator begins to move again, and there is a collective sigh of relief.

Note: This represents the anxiety that can often go hand in hand with depression. Sometimes anxiety does not always need a cause, however, such as a broken down elevator in order to be triggered. Sometimes anxiety just exists.

These metaphors only represent a fraction of what a person with depression may go through. However, I hope they may yield a clearer understanding of depression to those who may not fully understand.

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The tradition dates back centuries, but an aging population of workers and dwindling profits endanger the free-diving culture.

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In her new book, Replanting Lives Uprooted By Mental Illness: A Practical Guide For Families, Nancy Boucher explores how families can be the key to healing that a person with a mental illness needs. Boucher begins by exploring the feelings of guilt that those with a loved one mental illness often carry, ultimately reminding them that while they cannot erase mental illness, they can ease it.

While families often feel simultaneously helpless and responsible to help, Boucher writes that it is most important to treat who the person is, rather than the mental illness that they have.

One helpful exercise she offers involves taking an inventory of the person – collecting information about everything from their interests to their personality traits, stressors, things that soothe them and coping skills – followed by an inventory of their illness, which includes information about the signs, symptoms, triggers, insights about the illness and coping strategies.

Because mental illness affects the entire family and often places enormous stress on all family members, Boucher suggests that the family come together as a team to support one another and keep normal routines and traditions going.

Of particular importance is to see the person, despite the many ways that mental illness may have affected them.

“Many peoples’ views of those with mental illness remain constricted seeing the illness, not the person, and by a lack of knowledge and understanding,” writes Boucher.

When families can take the focus off of the illness and see the person, they can begin the journey of helping their loved one re-connect with a more confident version of themselves – a version that is better prepared to face mental illness.

Part of that process, Boucher writes, is understanding the purpose of both boundaries and separation. While boundaries state the tolerances and expectations of our actions toward another and his or her actions toward us, separation acknowledges the importance of individuation of each person for mature ego development. Boucher offers several helpful statements families can use, such as “I’m sorry you are not feeling well, and it’s not okay for you to take your agitation out on me.”

Communication is also a fundamental component of healing from mental illness, and one that is often challenged. Boucher shares her own experience with her son Clem, who suffered from mental illness.

“In our family’s experience, we were often worn out by communications that erupted into destabilizing conflicts, so to get by, at times we avoided saying what was in our heart and on our minds,” writes Boucher.

By expressing caring and guidance in a warm empathetic tone, Boucher says family members can help their loved ones to more independently and successfully manage their symptoms, and ultimately become more confident.

Another helpful tool Boucher offers is to use feedback loops to help build stability for the families and reduce mental illness symptoms. By checking in with a person with mental illness frequently, and providing options to reduce stress – such as taking a nap, going for a walk or sitting quietly and having a coffee – a better communication evolves, and the chances of success in staving off a breakdown increase.

Reducing sensory overload and creating new neural pathways can also help the person with mental illness find new ways of responding that don’t evoke mental illness symptoms.

“With the neuroplasticity of the brain, over time you can create optional pathways. The more often these are used, the more smoothly paved they become. Prompts, both verbal and visual can help someone try these new pathways that are healthier. Motivation is critical to establish them, and repeated use and feedback loops can help ‘set’ the new habits,” writes Boucher.

To help connect with the emotional stamina and resilience needed to establish new routines, Boucher asks her readers to recall a time when they built stamina and resilience, and then write down which actions worked best, and which did not work so well.

Also important, Boucher tells us, is to maintain a diet of healthy routines – such as leaving encouraging notes for the person with mental illness, incorporating daily routines and rest periods into the day, using feedback loops, offering reassurance and finding opportunities to complete tasks that demonstrate responsibility.

However, for any treatment to work, the person with mental illness must be engaged in the process of recovery.

“You need to identify an entry point where your loved one with an illness becomes engaged with treatment and has the opportunity for learning and growth,” writes Boucher.

While Boucher does offer many insights from her own experiences with her son’s mental illness, encouraging poems, and helpful exercises, readers may find her book lacking in both a clear definition of mental illness and the evidence-based treatments that have proven effective for the individuals and families suffering from them.

Replanting Lives Uprooted By Mental Illness: A Practical Guide For Families
Nancy Pizzo Boucher
Nancy Pizzo Boucher (2016)
Softcover, 114 Pages

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Overcoming the Destructive Inner Voice: True Stories of Therapy and Transformation by Robert Firestone reads like a history of case studies.

Firestone began his private practice in 1957, and first worked with schizophrenic patients in a residential center. Throughout the book, he illustrates how mental disorders are the defenses one forms and the leading cause of maladaptation later in life. A person builds defenses and resistance to pursuing a better life due to critical negative attitudes.

Firestone believes that unexpressed emotions can be the source of both physical and emotional discomfort, and identifying and releasing them is the core of his approach with clients. People struggle with destructive thought processes, or what is often called a critical inner voice, for example, which directs behavior and can limit the lives of those who struggle.

During his work, Firestone discovered the therapeutic method called Voice Therapy. This methodology allows clients to learn to identify the language of the defense system and ultimately separate their point of view from its harmful effects. Instead of personalizing the self-criticism (“I statements”), Firestone helps clients to externalize by verbalizing the thought in the second person (“you statements”).

Voice Therapy is an approach based in cognitive and behavioral therapy that brings internalized negative thought processes to the surface with accompanying emotions, which allows the client to confront unknown aspects of the personality. This confrontation allows clients to begin to identify the critical inner voice and to work more effectively with their negative thoughts. Through the identification of the critical voice, clients are better able to take action against it and begin to make rational statements about who they are and how they experience their world.

Once a person externalizes the critical voice, they are able to begin to explore how these self-criticisms have impacted their behaviors. Having this understanding begins the process of change through decreasing the self-destructive behavior and increasing positive self-talk and behaviors.

The mistakes a person may have made in the past, if acknowledged and understood, can help guide that person into taking steps to a more informed journey through their vulnerabilities. And that journey all begins with an inner look at themselves, their inner voice, and how every choice could bring them closer to their authentic self. The voice is a representation of their consciousness becoming aware of the path that lays ahead.

Firestone presents stories and case studies that show how clients’ subconscious minds are attempting to bring a feeling, idea or situation into their conscious lives. When the subconscious continually asks if they are okay, for example, there must be a part of them that is not dealing with something or that feels there is something wrong that needs to be brought to consciousness.

Firestone describes his reactions to client revelations and responses by sharing his thoughts, feelings, and reactions as the therapist sitting on the other side of the couch. His exposure of what he is thinking and feeling moves away from the traditional portrayal of a therapist taking a neutral stance and being devoid of emotions and reactions.

When comparing this book to other books using case studies, such as Irvin Yalom’s Creatures of a Day, I found Firestone’s studies self-absorbed, though the book does show the vulnerability of the individuals seeking therapy and their struggle and journey through the therapeutic process.

While this book may benefit some therapists in understanding how the critical inner voice impacts clients, I would utilize my resources on other case study models.

Overcoming the Destructive Inner Voice: True Stories of Therapy and Transformation
Robert W. Firestone                           
Prometheus Books
December 6, 2016
Softcover, 240 Pages

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Think you have a cheater on your hands? Even if it’s just a hunch, you might want to keep a closer eye on them during these specific days. (You can also watch for these subtle signs your partner is cheating on you.)

New research by the affair-seeking website Illicit Encounters indicates that certain days and times are the most opportune for cheaters. The site collected data regarding the messages people send to arrange their next hook-up, determining a prediction, down to the hour, of when we can expect cheaters to contact their secret lovers.

The days your partner is most likely to cheat on you are—drum roll, please—Mondays and Fridays.

We can get even more specific than that, though. Of about 600 messages sent each day, two different days and times stood out, according to the research. Nearly 2,000 messages are sent between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. on Monday mornings—the most of any other day or time. The second most popular time? Between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Friday evenings.

Surprised? Probably not. It stands to reason that cheaters are probably busy with their families during the weekends with their family. During their commute to work on Monday morning, though, cheaters might have the opportunity to check back in with their side fling. Add that to the likelihood that their partner won’t be nearby, and you have a recipe for an—ahem—illicit encounter.

If you happen to catch your partner cheating (regardless of the day or time), there are some reactions you should definitely avoid. And chin up, there’s still hope for your relationship! Try to take these 10 steps to heal after an affair.

[Source: New York Post]

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Introduce a back-to-school sleep schedule gradually

You don’t want your kids to be exhausted during the first few weeks of school, yet you don’t want them to miss out on anything fun during those last weeks of summer. So where do you draw the line and start reinforcing a sleep schedule? Dr. Kristen Gregory, DO, a physician consultant at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, says, “It’s important to start reinforcing a schedule at least two to three weeks before school starts. Depending on the age of your child and how much sleep they need, set a bedtime based on the appropriate amount, keeping in mind the time it will take them to get ready to leave in the morning. It’s easiest to make this transition gradually, by having children go to bed 15 to 20 minutes earlier every three to four days until the desired bedtime is reached.”

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There are so many reasons to move to Maine: their delicious lobster and gorgeous seaside views are just a few. But now there’s another one: you can move onto the same street as Stephen King. Yes, we’re talking about the Stephen King who has published 54 novels, over 200 short stories, and sold over 350 million copies of his books—all while keeping us on the edge of our seats with suspense and thrills.

In 1979, King and his wife moved to 47 West Broadway Street in Bangor, ME and purchased their home for $135,000. (Can you imagine how much writing happened in there? Here’s what King’s (and other famous author’s!) daily writing ritual consists of). As you could guess, its value has since skyrocketed to almost $1.3 million, according to Zillow. With no surprise, King added some of his own “flair” to his new residence, which is especially popular amongst tourists: his fence. Detailed with gargoyles, bats, spiders, and webs, you can’t miss the King of Horror’s home.

Located about two hours from King’s hometown of Portland, Bangor has been the site of many scenes from King’s book-based movies. Some sites include Mount Hope Cemetery, which was in the 1989 horror movie Pet Sematary, and the 31-foot-tall statue of the famous lumberjack Paul Bunyan, who came alive in the horror movie It in 1990 (which is said to be one of scariest books of all time).

The quaint town of Bangor is also home to the most impressive library in the entire state of Maine, which happens to showcase the very couch that Abraham Lincoln’s vice president, Hannibal Hamlin, took his last breath on.

Ready to move into the neighborhood? The homes that are currently on the market range from $540,000 to $690,000 and span from 51 to 142 years old. Worried you won’t fit in? Here are some Stephen King quotes about fear and fitting in to help boost your confidence.

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Among the many essential skills children are taught as they grow up, perhaps the most widely endorsed is reading. But one mom has challenged that assumption—and her post has quickly gone viral.

After speaking with a group of mom friends, Crystal Lowery, a comedian and the blogger behind Creepy Ginger Kid, walked away with a new parenting goal. Many of those moms felt that teaching their children to read early had turned the joyful job of parenting into a competition.

“I wanted to remind parents that there are many other things young children are learning besides phonics,” Lowery wrote for TODAY. Here’s what parents of successful kids do, instead.

Although she and her husband had started to teach phonics lessons to their son, she admitted that they did so for their own benefit—not for his. “I realized I had been forcing phonics on my 18-month-old so that I could brag,” she said.

Since then, Lowery has abandoned her approach. Instead of forcing her now five-year-old son to read, she chooses to teach him other kinds of lessons, instead—including skills in emotional intelligence, curiosity, and creativity.

“He’s learning how to build: from blocks, to sticks, to Legos, he feels the weight of the different materials in his little sausage fingers, and examines the physical integrity of the various structures he has made,” Lowery wrote in a Facebook post. “He’s learning about ecosystems. He looks at bugs, flowers, and thunderstorms. He sees how fauna and flora inhabit the world together interdependently.”

Thanks to her new parenting approach, Lowery hopes her son will one day have “the ability to try new things without getting frustrated. The ability [to] make friends, even though friendship can be a messy business. The ability to listen to others and follow instructions. The ability to problem-solve. The ability to concentrate on a task.” (These are the signs that you, too, are raising an emotionally intelligent child.)

That doesn’t mean he’ll never touch a book, however. In fact, Lowery and her husband read to him often, from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. “We’re teaching him to enjoy stories, to get lost in characters,” Lowery wrote. She’s just choosing to leave reading skills as a lesson learned best in the classroom.

Plus, she has no doubt that books will continue to play an important role in her son’s education. “I know my child will be an avid reader someday, because science says reading to kids—not forcing phonics on them—is the number one predictor of literacy,” she told TODAY.

And by the way, if your child’s drawings look like this, you could be raising a genius.

[Source: Yahoo, TODAY]

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