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Myths debunked around guns, mental illness, and video games
For some Americans, fears surrounding random gun violence are all too common.
In fact, a poll of people aged 13-24 years released earlier this year showed that, for young Americans, fear of gun violence ranks higher than the fear of climate change, terrorism, and rising college costs.
After nearly every mass shooting, the specter of mental illness comes up as a possible explanation. America’s rate of gun-related deaths is eight times that found in the European Union, according to Fareed Zakaria of CNN. “Does America have eight times the rate of mental illness?” he asked in a recent special episode of his public affairs show, “Fareed Zakaria GPS.” “Where is the disconnect?”
Mr. Zakaria went on to examine the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, in which a 28-year-old gunman with no history of mental illness killed 35 people and injured 18. After that incident, Australia sponsored a buyback program and eliminated more than 600,000 weapons. Afterward, the rate of gun-related homicides and suicides in Australia reportedly fell.
He also explored possible ties between video games and gun violence by examining the video game phenomenon in Japan. He reported that in Japan, a country of about 127 million people, about 13 people died in gun-related murders in 2016. Meanwhile, that year in the United States, the per-capita gun homicide rate was 300 times higher.
Finally, he examined the gun culture in Switzerland, where there are about 28 guns per 100 people. The country has citizen militias, and soldiers take home their weapons – but not their ammunition.
“We in America have been remarkably passive when it comes to gun violence,” Mr. Zakaria said. “One of the most important tasks for a government is to keep its citizens – especially its children – safe. Every other developed country in the world is able to fulfill this mandate. America is not. And the greatest tragedy is we know how to do it.”
Veterans’ friendship “like family”
John Nordeen and Kay Lee are on the far side of 70. During their youth, some of which was spent serving together in the Vietnam War, the two men forged a friendship. But back stateside, they lost touch.
In 2015, after years of searching by Mr. Nordeen, they reconnected. In a recent interview with NPR, they described their experiences in Vietnam and its aftermath.
“Our platoon went from like 29 guys to 10 guys in 2 days. So, the guys that were left, we had even stronger bonds because we had survived this together,” Mr. Nordeen said. The intense feeling of togetherness was tempered by equally intense feeling of the loss of their platoon mates.
The loss lingered for Mr. Nordeen once he returned home. “When you lose friends, you develop a hard exterior, and you don’t want to make friends with anyone else. So I don’t have a big circle of friends. I think that’s just one of many hang-ups I brought home with me.”
Mr. Lee concurred. “When I got home, most of the time I tried to forget the whole experience and not think about it too much. And I didn’t try to contact anyone because I’m not sure if you guys wanted to be contacted.”
It took years, but the two reunited. The reconnection has been welcomed by both men.
“It’s hard to describe, but the friendship and the bond that you form during battle is different than most friendship,” Mr. Lee said. “It’s like family now, so I’m very grateful for your effort to find me.”
Mr. Nordeen agreed. “Well, I feel like I’m a treasure hunter, and I found the treasure when I found you.”
Changing “embedded attitudes”
Kyle Fraser, a former student at St. Michael’s College School in Toronto, said he left because of its “toxic environment.”
The elite private Catholic school for boys in grades 7-12 is in the midst of a controversy involving allegations of several incidents involving brutal hazing perpetrated by returning members of the school’s junior football team on rookie players. In an official statement, the school administrators profess they are “heartbroken,” and the school’s president and principal have both resigned. Yet, Mr. Fraser said, he is not surprised by what has occurred.
“That’s the culture at that school,” he said in an interview with CBC News. During his years at St. Michael’s, Mr. Fraser said, he was verbally harassed every day.
Margery Holman, PhD, said she is not surprised about the environment at St. Michael’s. “It’s those male-dominated environments,” said Dr. Holman, an associate professor emeritus at the University of Windsor (Ont.) and coeditor of the book “Making the Team: Inside the World of Sport Hazing and Initiations”. “This is part of a history and tradition that is tolerated and accepted, and people turn a blind eye to it. It’s happening everywhere, not just at St. Mike’s. These are embedded attitudes that are going to take a long time to change. It took a long time to build on them, and it escalates every year.”
Susan Lipkins, PhD, a New York–based psychologist, agreed that the turmoil at St. Michael’s is not unique. “It’s being accepted as a norm, as a rite of passage. It’s becoming normalized for the kids, and they are not really attending to how awful and usually how illegal these events are.”
“Drive-by activism” turns sour
Even in an era in which photos can be altered digitally and disagreeable news can be dubbed fictitious, many people are moved to act when they become aware of others’ misfortune. But altruism turns into something else entirely when con artists become involved.
An example reported by NBC News involved a scheme that played out on a crowdfunding site.
On the site, Mark D’Amico and Kate McClure described an encounter Ms. McClure had with Johnny Bobbit, in which she ran out of gas by a roadside in New Jersey. The homeless veteran trudged to a gas station and used his last $20 to pay for gas. Later, the couple launched a GoFundMe campaign to solicit money to allow Mr. Bobbit a place to live and some transportation.
The response was overwhelming; more than 14,000 people contributed more than $400,000 in a single month. But the fairy tale turned sour after Mr. Bobbit complained about receiving only a small portion of the money. The remainder, contended lawyers prosecuting the couple, was spent on a new car and trips.
The case is “a perfect example of the inherent risks and weaknesses of giving over a crowdfunding site,” said Stephanie Kalivas, an analyst for Charity Watch in Chicago. Donating anonymously is a way for many people to feel they are doing something good and then moving on with their day – “drive-by activism,” according to Adrienne Gonzalez, founder of the watchdog website GoFraudMe. “We give five dollars, move on, and forget about it.”
GoFundMe agreed to reimburse everyone who contributed, the report said.
Layoff leads to $500 million
Change can be scary, especially when it hits the wallet. But being able to recognize opportunities that have opened up and seizing the moment can turn out far better than the old job ever was.
As described in a recent article in the Atlantic, Tim Chen is the poster person for adversity as opportunity. Mr. Chen is founder and CEO of the NerdWallet personal finance website, which compares products available from banks and insurance companies. Each month, 10 million people use the site to help make financial decisions. Begun in 2009, the site is valued at more than $500 million.
And it started when Mr. Chen was laid off as a financial analyst in the bust times of 2008. “[I was] totally blindsided. Never in a million years would I have thought that the institutions that I worked for, or the banks themselves, would be worried about going out of business. In hindsight, I feel very fortunate that there was a recession, from a personal perspective, because I never would have gotten into entrepreneurship, even though it was an ambition of mine. It’s just too hard to take that risk when you have a stable job and you’re living in a really expensive city like New York,” Mr. Chen explained in the article.
The bust-to-boom journey has taught Mr. Chen “that you can’t just put your head down and work hard and do things. You have to communicate well what it is you’re trying to do – the vision behind what you’re trying to do – to get other people inspired to understand what you’re doing and help you out.”
In contrast to the “job-for-life” world of the mid-20th century, the present reality for millennials is a series of jobs, and Mr. Chen said he relishes this shift. “I really want to learn from the person I’m working for, and 3 or 4 years from now, I’m going to come out with a different set of skills. I think the best opportunities in 30 years, while we can’t anticipate them now, are going to go to the people who have picked up a lot of skills along the way.”
For some Americans, fears surrounding random gun violence are all too common.
In fact, a poll of people aged 13-24 years released earlier this year showed that, for young Americans, fear of gun violence ranks higher than the fear of climate change, terrorism, and rising college costs.
After nearly every mass shooting, the specter of mental illness comes up as a possible explanation. America’s rate of gun-related deaths is eight times that found in the European Union, according to Fareed Zakaria of CNN. “Does America have eight times the rate of mental illness?” he asked in a recent special episode of his public affairs show, “Fareed Zakaria GPS.” “Where is the disconnect?”
Mr. Zakaria went on to examine the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, in which a 28-year-old gunman with no history of mental illness killed 35 people and injured 18. After that incident, Australia sponsored a buyback program and eliminated more than 600,000 weapons. Afterward, the rate of gun-related homicides and suicides in Australia reportedly fell.
He also explored possible ties between video games and gun violence by examining the video game phenomenon in Japan. He reported that in Japan, a country of about 127 million people, about 13 people died in gun-related murders in 2016. Meanwhile, that year in the United States, the per-capita gun homicide rate was 300 times higher.
Finally, he examined the gun culture in Switzerland, where there are about 28 guns per 100 people. The country has citizen militias, and soldiers take home their weapons – but not their ammunition.
“We in America have been remarkably passive when it comes to gun violence,” Mr. Zakaria said. “One of the most important tasks for a government is to keep its citizens – especially its children – safe. Every other developed country in the world is able to fulfill this mandate. America is not. And the greatest tragedy is we know how to do it.”
Veterans’ friendship “like family”
John Nordeen and Kay Lee are on the far side of 70. During their youth, some of which was spent serving together in the Vietnam War, the two men forged a friendship. But back stateside, they lost touch.
In 2015, after years of searching by Mr. Nordeen, they reconnected. In a recent interview with NPR, they described their experiences in Vietnam and its aftermath.
“Our platoon went from like 29 guys to 10 guys in 2 days. So, the guys that were left, we had even stronger bonds because we had survived this together,” Mr. Nordeen said. The intense feeling of togetherness was tempered by equally intense feeling of the loss of their platoon mates.
The loss lingered for Mr. Nordeen once he returned home. “When you lose friends, you develop a hard exterior, and you don’t want to make friends with anyone else. So I don’t have a big circle of friends. I think that’s just one of many hang-ups I brought home with me.”
Mr. Lee concurred. “When I got home, most of the time I tried to forget the whole experience and not think about it too much. And I didn’t try to contact anyone because I’m not sure if you guys wanted to be contacted.”
It took years, but the two reunited. The reconnection has been welcomed by both men.
“It’s hard to describe, but the friendship and the bond that you form during battle is different than most friendship,” Mr. Lee said. “It’s like family now, so I’m very grateful for your effort to find me.”
Mr. Nordeen agreed. “Well, I feel like I’m a treasure hunter, and I found the treasure when I found you.”
Changing “embedded attitudes”
Kyle Fraser, a former student at St. Michael’s College School in Toronto, said he left because of its “toxic environment.”
The elite private Catholic school for boys in grades 7-12 is in the midst of a controversy involving allegations of several incidents involving brutal hazing perpetrated by returning members of the school’s junior football team on rookie players. In an official statement, the school administrators profess they are “heartbroken,” and the school’s president and principal have both resigned. Yet, Mr. Fraser said, he is not surprised by what has occurred.
“That’s the culture at that school,” he said in an interview with CBC News. During his years at St. Michael’s, Mr. Fraser said, he was verbally harassed every day.
Margery Holman, PhD, said she is not surprised about the environment at St. Michael’s. “It’s those male-dominated environments,” said Dr. Holman, an associate professor emeritus at the University of Windsor (Ont.) and coeditor of the book “Making the Team: Inside the World of Sport Hazing and Initiations”. “This is part of a history and tradition that is tolerated and accepted, and people turn a blind eye to it. It’s happening everywhere, not just at St. Mike’s. These are embedded attitudes that are going to take a long time to change. It took a long time to build on them, and it escalates every year.”
Susan Lipkins, PhD, a New York–based psychologist, agreed that the turmoil at St. Michael’s is not unique. “It’s being accepted as a norm, as a rite of passage. It’s becoming normalized for the kids, and they are not really attending to how awful and usually how illegal these events are.”
“Drive-by activism” turns sour
Even in an era in which photos can be altered digitally and disagreeable news can be dubbed fictitious, many people are moved to act when they become aware of others’ misfortune. But altruism turns into something else entirely when con artists become involved.
An example reported by NBC News involved a scheme that played out on a crowdfunding site.
On the site, Mark D’Amico and Kate McClure described an encounter Ms. McClure had with Johnny Bobbit, in which she ran out of gas by a roadside in New Jersey. The homeless veteran trudged to a gas station and used his last $20 to pay for gas. Later, the couple launched a GoFundMe campaign to solicit money to allow Mr. Bobbit a place to live and some transportation.
The response was overwhelming; more than 14,000 people contributed more than $400,000 in a single month. But the fairy tale turned sour after Mr. Bobbit complained about receiving only a small portion of the money. The remainder, contended lawyers prosecuting the couple, was spent on a new car and trips.
The case is “a perfect example of the inherent risks and weaknesses of giving over a crowdfunding site,” said Stephanie Kalivas, an analyst for Charity Watch in Chicago. Donating anonymously is a way for many people to feel they are doing something good and then moving on with their day – “drive-by activism,” according to Adrienne Gonzalez, founder of the watchdog website GoFraudMe. “We give five dollars, move on, and forget about it.”
GoFundMe agreed to reimburse everyone who contributed, the report said.
Layoff leads to $500 million
Change can be scary, especially when it hits the wallet. But being able to recognize opportunities that have opened up and seizing the moment can turn out far better than the old job ever was.
As described in a recent article in the Atlantic, Tim Chen is the poster person for adversity as opportunity. Mr. Chen is founder and CEO of the NerdWallet personal finance website, which compares products available from banks and insurance companies. Each month, 10 million people use the site to help make financial decisions. Begun in 2009, the site is valued at more than $500 million.
And it started when Mr. Chen was laid off as a financial analyst in the bust times of 2008. “[I was] totally blindsided. Never in a million years would I have thought that the institutions that I worked for, or the banks themselves, would be worried about going out of business. In hindsight, I feel very fortunate that there was a recession, from a personal perspective, because I never would have gotten into entrepreneurship, even though it was an ambition of mine. It’s just too hard to take that risk when you have a stable job and you’re living in a really expensive city like New York,” Mr. Chen explained in the article.
The bust-to-boom journey has taught Mr. Chen “that you can’t just put your head down and work hard and do things. You have to communicate well what it is you’re trying to do – the vision behind what you’re trying to do – to get other people inspired to understand what you’re doing and help you out.”
In contrast to the “job-for-life” world of the mid-20th century, the present reality for millennials is a series of jobs, and Mr. Chen said he relishes this shift. “I really want to learn from the person I’m working for, and 3 or 4 years from now, I’m going to come out with a different set of skills. I think the best opportunities in 30 years, while we can’t anticipate them now, are going to go to the people who have picked up a lot of skills along the way.”
For some Americans, fears surrounding random gun violence are all too common.
In fact, a poll of people aged 13-24 years released earlier this year showed that, for young Americans, fear of gun violence ranks higher than the fear of climate change, terrorism, and rising college costs.
After nearly every mass shooting, the specter of mental illness comes up as a possible explanation. America’s rate of gun-related deaths is eight times that found in the European Union, according to Fareed Zakaria of CNN. “Does America have eight times the rate of mental illness?” he asked in a recent special episode of his public affairs show, “Fareed Zakaria GPS.” “Where is the disconnect?”
Mr. Zakaria went on to examine the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, in which a 28-year-old gunman with no history of mental illness killed 35 people and injured 18. After that incident, Australia sponsored a buyback program and eliminated more than 600,000 weapons. Afterward, the rate of gun-related homicides and suicides in Australia reportedly fell.
He also explored possible ties between video games and gun violence by examining the video game phenomenon in Japan. He reported that in Japan, a country of about 127 million people, about 13 people died in gun-related murders in 2016. Meanwhile, that year in the United States, the per-capita gun homicide rate was 300 times higher.
Finally, he examined the gun culture in Switzerland, where there are about 28 guns per 100 people. The country has citizen militias, and soldiers take home their weapons – but not their ammunition.
“We in America have been remarkably passive when it comes to gun violence,” Mr. Zakaria said. “One of the most important tasks for a government is to keep its citizens – especially its children – safe. Every other developed country in the world is able to fulfill this mandate. America is not. And the greatest tragedy is we know how to do it.”
Veterans’ friendship “like family”
John Nordeen and Kay Lee are on the far side of 70. During their youth, some of which was spent serving together in the Vietnam War, the two men forged a friendship. But back stateside, they lost touch.
In 2015, after years of searching by Mr. Nordeen, they reconnected. In a recent interview with NPR, they described their experiences in Vietnam and its aftermath.
“Our platoon went from like 29 guys to 10 guys in 2 days. So, the guys that were left, we had even stronger bonds because we had survived this together,” Mr. Nordeen said. The intense feeling of togetherness was tempered by equally intense feeling of the loss of their platoon mates.
The loss lingered for Mr. Nordeen once he returned home. “When you lose friends, you develop a hard exterior, and you don’t want to make friends with anyone else. So I don’t have a big circle of friends. I think that’s just one of many hang-ups I brought home with me.”
Mr. Lee concurred. “When I got home, most of the time I tried to forget the whole experience and not think about it too much. And I didn’t try to contact anyone because I’m not sure if you guys wanted to be contacted.”
It took years, but the two reunited. The reconnection has been welcomed by both men.
“It’s hard to describe, but the friendship and the bond that you form during battle is different than most friendship,” Mr. Lee said. “It’s like family now, so I’m very grateful for your effort to find me.”
Mr. Nordeen agreed. “Well, I feel like I’m a treasure hunter, and I found the treasure when I found you.”
Changing “embedded attitudes”
Kyle Fraser, a former student at St. Michael’s College School in Toronto, said he left because of its “toxic environment.”
The elite private Catholic school for boys in grades 7-12 is in the midst of a controversy involving allegations of several incidents involving brutal hazing perpetrated by returning members of the school’s junior football team on rookie players. In an official statement, the school administrators profess they are “heartbroken,” and the school’s president and principal have both resigned. Yet, Mr. Fraser said, he is not surprised by what has occurred.
“That’s the culture at that school,” he said in an interview with CBC News. During his years at St. Michael’s, Mr. Fraser said, he was verbally harassed every day.
Margery Holman, PhD, said she is not surprised about the environment at St. Michael’s. “It’s those male-dominated environments,” said Dr. Holman, an associate professor emeritus at the University of Windsor (Ont.) and coeditor of the book “Making the Team: Inside the World of Sport Hazing and Initiations”. “This is part of a history and tradition that is tolerated and accepted, and people turn a blind eye to it. It’s happening everywhere, not just at St. Mike’s. These are embedded attitudes that are going to take a long time to change. It took a long time to build on them, and it escalates every year.”
Susan Lipkins, PhD, a New York–based psychologist, agreed that the turmoil at St. Michael’s is not unique. “It’s being accepted as a norm, as a rite of passage. It’s becoming normalized for the kids, and they are not really attending to how awful and usually how illegal these events are.”
“Drive-by activism” turns sour
Even in an era in which photos can be altered digitally and disagreeable news can be dubbed fictitious, many people are moved to act when they become aware of others’ misfortune. But altruism turns into something else entirely when con artists become involved.
An example reported by NBC News involved a scheme that played out on a crowdfunding site.
On the site, Mark D’Amico and Kate McClure described an encounter Ms. McClure had with Johnny Bobbit, in which she ran out of gas by a roadside in New Jersey. The homeless veteran trudged to a gas station and used his last $20 to pay for gas. Later, the couple launched a GoFundMe campaign to solicit money to allow Mr. Bobbit a place to live and some transportation.
The response was overwhelming; more than 14,000 people contributed more than $400,000 in a single month. But the fairy tale turned sour after Mr. Bobbit complained about receiving only a small portion of the money. The remainder, contended lawyers prosecuting the couple, was spent on a new car and trips.
The case is “a perfect example of the inherent risks and weaknesses of giving over a crowdfunding site,” said Stephanie Kalivas, an analyst for Charity Watch in Chicago. Donating anonymously is a way for many people to feel they are doing something good and then moving on with their day – “drive-by activism,” according to Adrienne Gonzalez, founder of the watchdog website GoFraudMe. “We give five dollars, move on, and forget about it.”
GoFundMe agreed to reimburse everyone who contributed, the report said.
Layoff leads to $500 million
Change can be scary, especially when it hits the wallet. But being able to recognize opportunities that have opened up and seizing the moment can turn out far better than the old job ever was.
As described in a recent article in the Atlantic, Tim Chen is the poster person for adversity as opportunity. Mr. Chen is founder and CEO of the NerdWallet personal finance website, which compares products available from banks and insurance companies. Each month, 10 million people use the site to help make financial decisions. Begun in 2009, the site is valued at more than $500 million.
And it started when Mr. Chen was laid off as a financial analyst in the bust times of 2008. “[I was] totally blindsided. Never in a million years would I have thought that the institutions that I worked for, or the banks themselves, would be worried about going out of business. In hindsight, I feel very fortunate that there was a recession, from a personal perspective, because I never would have gotten into entrepreneurship, even though it was an ambition of mine. It’s just too hard to take that risk when you have a stable job and you’re living in a really expensive city like New York,” Mr. Chen explained in the article.
The bust-to-boom journey has taught Mr. Chen “that you can’t just put your head down and work hard and do things. You have to communicate well what it is you’re trying to do – the vision behind what you’re trying to do – to get other people inspired to understand what you’re doing and help you out.”
In contrast to the “job-for-life” world of the mid-20th century, the present reality for millennials is a series of jobs, and Mr. Chen said he relishes this shift. “I really want to learn from the person I’m working for, and 3 or 4 years from now, I’m going to come out with a different set of skills. I think the best opportunities in 30 years, while we can’t anticipate them now, are going to go to the people who have picked up a lot of skills along the way.”
Meditation affects genes, inflammation; art prescribed as medicine
As an adolescent, says James R. Doty, MD, he was heading down a road toward delinquency. He says his family was poor, and he was often hungry.
His father was an alcoholic, his mother had debilitating depression, and he was so reflexive that, after a nun at his Roman Catholic school slapped him, he slapped her back. But a random decision to browse a magic shop changed the way Dr. Doty was able to imagine his life.
The magic shop owner’s mother, Ruth, taught him about focusing on the present moment – rather than dwelling on past traumas. “What she taught me truly rewired my brain,” he says in an interview with Krista Tippett. “When I met her, I had little to no possibilities. Yet, my own personal circumstances did not change at all.”
“There was a study that was done that showed that the average person, almost 80% of the time, they’re not focused on the present, they’re focused on exactly that: regret about the past or anxiety about the future. When your attention is in those places, you can’t give your full attention to even what’s happening to you at that moment,” Dr. Doty says in the interview with Ms. Tippett for “On Being,” a radio conversation and podcast available online and in some NPR markets. [Distracted attention] “limits what you can accomplish in that moment. Unfortunately, it’s a horrible distraction, and it, again, limits us to the connections we are able to make and actually even who we are.”
Dr. Doty’s life so far has taught him that pain can be harnessed to enrich life.
“Most of us have a tendency to desire pleasure rather than pain. ... I think anyone who has lived a life, which means you have had pain and suffering – is that And it’s part of a meaningful life. When you’re able to take that pain and suffering and use it to not hide from the world, to use it not to be afraid of every interaction, but to use it to say, yes, it is hard sometimes, but I have learned so many lessons and have become more appreciative and have more gratitude and see in so many examples how in the face of the greatest adversity, people have shown their greatest humanity,” he says.
An important part of his journey of discovery has been the beneficial role that meditation can have on the body.
“In fact, even after brief periods of meditation, we actually can study the epigenetic effect of how our genes are changing their expression, even with brief periods of meditation, in the context of inflammation markers,” says Dr. Doty, a clinical professor of neurosurgery at Stanford (Calif.) University, and the founder and director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education. “It’s extraordinary, because even with people who have meditated in this manner for as little as 2 weeks, you can see effects in regard to their blood pressure, in regard to the release of stress hormones and effects on the immune system.”
Dr. Doty is author of “Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon’s Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart,” (New York: Penguin, 2016), and senior editor of the Oxford Handbook of Compassion Science.
Rx: Go visit an art exhibit
An innovative medical initiative has some Montreal physicians writing prescriptions for patients that, instead of leading them to the pharmacy, takes them to a local art museum.
Médecins francophones du Canada, a doctors’ organization based mainly in the province of Quebec, has partnered with the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) in providing free museum passes to patients.
Physician members of Médecins francophones du Canada can be approved to issue up to 50 prescriptions for a visit to MMFA collections and exhibitions. This is meant to complement existing and more traditional treatment.
The intent, according to the museum’s chief curator and director general, Nathalie Bondil, is to provide a “relaxing, revitalizing experience, a moment of respite” for those burdened physically or mentally by illness. “We can open new doors, not just for the patients, but also for the doctors,” she remarks in an interview with BBC News.
Patients also can avail themselves of the museum’s art therapy programs. “The neutral, beautiful, inspiring space” of museums like MMFA helps improve a patient’s mood and well-being,” Ms. Bondil says. Contemplating a painting or other artwork can, at least temporarily, take the patient to a mental space not dominated by illness-related worry, fear, anger, and sadness.
The idea of art as medicine is echoed elsewhere. A 2017 report in the United Kingdom recognized the vital contribution of the arts to health and well-being.
Lady Gaga describes health crisis
From a distance, the life of Lady Gaga might seem exotic and desirable. But the musician and actress recently revealed her own “mental health crisis” – and urged Hollywood to make better mental health care available to those in the entertainment business.
Her work also features multiple deadlines, and the pressure can prove overwhelming. “I began to notice that I would stare off into space and black out for seconds or minutes. I would see flashes of things I was tormented by, experiences that were filed away in my brain with ‘I’ll deal with you later’ for many years because my brain was protecting me, as science teaches us. These were also symptoms of disassociation and PTSD and I did not have a team that included mental health support,” according to an article in Variety reporting a speech by the entertainer, whose birth name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta.
The anguish she felt morphed into physical chronic pain, fibromyalgia, panic attacks, acute trauma responses, and debilitating declines in her mental health – including thoughts of suicide. One root of the trauma might have been a sexual assault that she says she experienced during childhood.
“I wish there had been a system in place to protect and guide me, a system in place to empower me to say no to things I felt I had to do, a system in place to empower me to stay away from toxic work environments or working with people who were of seriously questionable character,” she says. “There were days that I struggled or couldn’t make it to work, and I don’t want that for other artists or anyone.”
Fostering engagement over the phone
After retirement, some people find it difficult to get out into the community and engage with other people. But, for 94-year-old Frances Utpadel, human connection has proven to be a phone call away.
In a service that is provided by the acting industry in Hollywood, the retired film lab technician from Los Angeles has availed herself of the Daily Call Sheet program. The program, run by the Motion Picture and Television Fund and the AARP Foundation, pairs up folks like Ms. Utpadel with a fellow film industry member for phone chats several times each week.
“I was having the downtime because all my friends were moving away and dying,” Ms. Utpadel explains in an interview with People magazine. Now, she and her chat-buddy Norma talk two or three times a week. Conversations range from things going on in their daily lives to world issues.
The content of the conversations can be stimulating, as is sharing her thoughts with a kind voice. “This is something I’m very much for – don’t isolate yourself. I don’t have any friends to be texting or emailing,” she says. “I hear so many people are doing texting and email, and one of the big stores now, they won’t have any cashiers. And, I say, ‘What are they doing to the people? You’re isolating people. And the world is made of people.’”
The connection is even more important for Ms. Utpadel, who for decades, has taken care of her son, Terry – who suffered debilitating injuries in a car crash. She is the sole caregiver for Terry, who is aged 75 years.
Ms. Utpadel is adamant about the value of human interaction in a digital world in which life can be lived in isolation. “I’m used to the generation where you took pictures and had them developed. You don’t have those now. Everybody’s got them on their cell phone. It’s just a whole different world. But, I think, in a way, my world is richer than the other one. I don’t feel deprived about it or anything. I feel I’m better off.”
Communication ‘central’ in palliative care
Being a palliative care surgeon means delivering really bad news. It also means helping a patients deal with the realities of impending death. In this emotionally charged atmosphere, the surgeons’ words can be comforting or devastating.
“One of my mentors once told me that words are somewhat like a palliative care physician’s scalpel,” Toronto palliative care physician Evan Schneider, MD, says in an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
“We’re dealing with very intense, emotionally charged conversations. I think communication is probably the most central tenet of what we do. … There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to sharing bad news,” said Dr. Schneider says. The bad news may be anticipated or can come as total blind-side to the patient. In some cases, other treatment options may be available. In other cases, palliative care is the only option.
Clarity in communication is an absolute must. That means providing the information in a form that is understandable and relevant to the patients, and not to the physician. Dr. Schneider says his approach involves “trying to use as little overly jargony or medicalized words as necessary.”
Compounding the challenge, Dr. Schneider’s patients exemplify the linguistic stew that is Toronto, where some 140 different languages are spoken. As an English speaker, Dr. Schneider relies on medical interpreters to talk with patients and for their sensitivity to cultural nuances concerning death and dying that escape him.
“Sometimes there are family members who may [want] to protect their loved one from receiving bad news about their diagnosis or prognosis,” he says. “When we bring an interpreter into those scenarios, it can be very hard for family members, because information can be shared through interpretation that were trying to shield their loved one. That’s always a risk or a possibility when we are dealing with information that has to be translated to someone else.”
As an adolescent, says James R. Doty, MD, he was heading down a road toward delinquency. He says his family was poor, and he was often hungry.
His father was an alcoholic, his mother had debilitating depression, and he was so reflexive that, after a nun at his Roman Catholic school slapped him, he slapped her back. But a random decision to browse a magic shop changed the way Dr. Doty was able to imagine his life.
The magic shop owner’s mother, Ruth, taught him about focusing on the present moment – rather than dwelling on past traumas. “What she taught me truly rewired my brain,” he says in an interview with Krista Tippett. “When I met her, I had little to no possibilities. Yet, my own personal circumstances did not change at all.”
“There was a study that was done that showed that the average person, almost 80% of the time, they’re not focused on the present, they’re focused on exactly that: regret about the past or anxiety about the future. When your attention is in those places, you can’t give your full attention to even what’s happening to you at that moment,” Dr. Doty says in the interview with Ms. Tippett for “On Being,” a radio conversation and podcast available online and in some NPR markets. [Distracted attention] “limits what you can accomplish in that moment. Unfortunately, it’s a horrible distraction, and it, again, limits us to the connections we are able to make and actually even who we are.”
Dr. Doty’s life so far has taught him that pain can be harnessed to enrich life.
“Most of us have a tendency to desire pleasure rather than pain. ... I think anyone who has lived a life, which means you have had pain and suffering – is that And it’s part of a meaningful life. When you’re able to take that pain and suffering and use it to not hide from the world, to use it not to be afraid of every interaction, but to use it to say, yes, it is hard sometimes, but I have learned so many lessons and have become more appreciative and have more gratitude and see in so many examples how in the face of the greatest adversity, people have shown their greatest humanity,” he says.
An important part of his journey of discovery has been the beneficial role that meditation can have on the body.
“In fact, even after brief periods of meditation, we actually can study the epigenetic effect of how our genes are changing their expression, even with brief periods of meditation, in the context of inflammation markers,” says Dr. Doty, a clinical professor of neurosurgery at Stanford (Calif.) University, and the founder and director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education. “It’s extraordinary, because even with people who have meditated in this manner for as little as 2 weeks, you can see effects in regard to their blood pressure, in regard to the release of stress hormones and effects on the immune system.”
Dr. Doty is author of “Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon’s Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart,” (New York: Penguin, 2016), and senior editor of the Oxford Handbook of Compassion Science.
Rx: Go visit an art exhibit
An innovative medical initiative has some Montreal physicians writing prescriptions for patients that, instead of leading them to the pharmacy, takes them to a local art museum.
Médecins francophones du Canada, a doctors’ organization based mainly in the province of Quebec, has partnered with the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) in providing free museum passes to patients.
Physician members of Médecins francophones du Canada can be approved to issue up to 50 prescriptions for a visit to MMFA collections and exhibitions. This is meant to complement existing and more traditional treatment.
The intent, according to the museum’s chief curator and director general, Nathalie Bondil, is to provide a “relaxing, revitalizing experience, a moment of respite” for those burdened physically or mentally by illness. “We can open new doors, not just for the patients, but also for the doctors,” she remarks in an interview with BBC News.
Patients also can avail themselves of the museum’s art therapy programs. “The neutral, beautiful, inspiring space” of museums like MMFA helps improve a patient’s mood and well-being,” Ms. Bondil says. Contemplating a painting or other artwork can, at least temporarily, take the patient to a mental space not dominated by illness-related worry, fear, anger, and sadness.
The idea of art as medicine is echoed elsewhere. A 2017 report in the United Kingdom recognized the vital contribution of the arts to health and well-being.
Lady Gaga describes health crisis
From a distance, the life of Lady Gaga might seem exotic and desirable. But the musician and actress recently revealed her own “mental health crisis” – and urged Hollywood to make better mental health care available to those in the entertainment business.
Her work also features multiple deadlines, and the pressure can prove overwhelming. “I began to notice that I would stare off into space and black out for seconds or minutes. I would see flashes of things I was tormented by, experiences that were filed away in my brain with ‘I’ll deal with you later’ for many years because my brain was protecting me, as science teaches us. These were also symptoms of disassociation and PTSD and I did not have a team that included mental health support,” according to an article in Variety reporting a speech by the entertainer, whose birth name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta.
The anguish she felt morphed into physical chronic pain, fibromyalgia, panic attacks, acute trauma responses, and debilitating declines in her mental health – including thoughts of suicide. One root of the trauma might have been a sexual assault that she says she experienced during childhood.
“I wish there had been a system in place to protect and guide me, a system in place to empower me to say no to things I felt I had to do, a system in place to empower me to stay away from toxic work environments or working with people who were of seriously questionable character,” she says. “There were days that I struggled or couldn’t make it to work, and I don’t want that for other artists or anyone.”
Fostering engagement over the phone
After retirement, some people find it difficult to get out into the community and engage with other people. But, for 94-year-old Frances Utpadel, human connection has proven to be a phone call away.
In a service that is provided by the acting industry in Hollywood, the retired film lab technician from Los Angeles has availed herself of the Daily Call Sheet program. The program, run by the Motion Picture and Television Fund and the AARP Foundation, pairs up folks like Ms. Utpadel with a fellow film industry member for phone chats several times each week.
“I was having the downtime because all my friends were moving away and dying,” Ms. Utpadel explains in an interview with People magazine. Now, she and her chat-buddy Norma talk two or three times a week. Conversations range from things going on in their daily lives to world issues.
The content of the conversations can be stimulating, as is sharing her thoughts with a kind voice. “This is something I’m very much for – don’t isolate yourself. I don’t have any friends to be texting or emailing,” she says. “I hear so many people are doing texting and email, and one of the big stores now, they won’t have any cashiers. And, I say, ‘What are they doing to the people? You’re isolating people. And the world is made of people.’”
The connection is even more important for Ms. Utpadel, who for decades, has taken care of her son, Terry – who suffered debilitating injuries in a car crash. She is the sole caregiver for Terry, who is aged 75 years.
Ms. Utpadel is adamant about the value of human interaction in a digital world in which life can be lived in isolation. “I’m used to the generation where you took pictures and had them developed. You don’t have those now. Everybody’s got them on their cell phone. It’s just a whole different world. But, I think, in a way, my world is richer than the other one. I don’t feel deprived about it or anything. I feel I’m better off.”
Communication ‘central’ in palliative care
Being a palliative care surgeon means delivering really bad news. It also means helping a patients deal with the realities of impending death. In this emotionally charged atmosphere, the surgeons’ words can be comforting or devastating.
“One of my mentors once told me that words are somewhat like a palliative care physician’s scalpel,” Toronto palliative care physician Evan Schneider, MD, says in an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
“We’re dealing with very intense, emotionally charged conversations. I think communication is probably the most central tenet of what we do. … There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to sharing bad news,” said Dr. Schneider says. The bad news may be anticipated or can come as total blind-side to the patient. In some cases, other treatment options may be available. In other cases, palliative care is the only option.
Clarity in communication is an absolute must. That means providing the information in a form that is understandable and relevant to the patients, and not to the physician. Dr. Schneider says his approach involves “trying to use as little overly jargony or medicalized words as necessary.”
Compounding the challenge, Dr. Schneider’s patients exemplify the linguistic stew that is Toronto, where some 140 different languages are spoken. As an English speaker, Dr. Schneider relies on medical interpreters to talk with patients and for their sensitivity to cultural nuances concerning death and dying that escape him.
“Sometimes there are family members who may [want] to protect their loved one from receiving bad news about their diagnosis or prognosis,” he says. “When we bring an interpreter into those scenarios, it can be very hard for family members, because information can be shared through interpretation that were trying to shield their loved one. That’s always a risk or a possibility when we are dealing with information that has to be translated to someone else.”
As an adolescent, says James R. Doty, MD, he was heading down a road toward delinquency. He says his family was poor, and he was often hungry.
His father was an alcoholic, his mother had debilitating depression, and he was so reflexive that, after a nun at his Roman Catholic school slapped him, he slapped her back. But a random decision to browse a magic shop changed the way Dr. Doty was able to imagine his life.
The magic shop owner’s mother, Ruth, taught him about focusing on the present moment – rather than dwelling on past traumas. “What she taught me truly rewired my brain,” he says in an interview with Krista Tippett. “When I met her, I had little to no possibilities. Yet, my own personal circumstances did not change at all.”
“There was a study that was done that showed that the average person, almost 80% of the time, they’re not focused on the present, they’re focused on exactly that: regret about the past or anxiety about the future. When your attention is in those places, you can’t give your full attention to even what’s happening to you at that moment,” Dr. Doty says in the interview with Ms. Tippett for “On Being,” a radio conversation and podcast available online and in some NPR markets. [Distracted attention] “limits what you can accomplish in that moment. Unfortunately, it’s a horrible distraction, and it, again, limits us to the connections we are able to make and actually even who we are.”
Dr. Doty’s life so far has taught him that pain can be harnessed to enrich life.
“Most of us have a tendency to desire pleasure rather than pain. ... I think anyone who has lived a life, which means you have had pain and suffering – is that And it’s part of a meaningful life. When you’re able to take that pain and suffering and use it to not hide from the world, to use it not to be afraid of every interaction, but to use it to say, yes, it is hard sometimes, but I have learned so many lessons and have become more appreciative and have more gratitude and see in so many examples how in the face of the greatest adversity, people have shown their greatest humanity,” he says.
An important part of his journey of discovery has been the beneficial role that meditation can have on the body.
“In fact, even after brief periods of meditation, we actually can study the epigenetic effect of how our genes are changing their expression, even with brief periods of meditation, in the context of inflammation markers,” says Dr. Doty, a clinical professor of neurosurgery at Stanford (Calif.) University, and the founder and director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education. “It’s extraordinary, because even with people who have meditated in this manner for as little as 2 weeks, you can see effects in regard to their blood pressure, in regard to the release of stress hormones and effects on the immune system.”
Dr. Doty is author of “Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon’s Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart,” (New York: Penguin, 2016), and senior editor of the Oxford Handbook of Compassion Science.
Rx: Go visit an art exhibit
An innovative medical initiative has some Montreal physicians writing prescriptions for patients that, instead of leading them to the pharmacy, takes them to a local art museum.
Médecins francophones du Canada, a doctors’ organization based mainly in the province of Quebec, has partnered with the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) in providing free museum passes to patients.
Physician members of Médecins francophones du Canada can be approved to issue up to 50 prescriptions for a visit to MMFA collections and exhibitions. This is meant to complement existing and more traditional treatment.
The intent, according to the museum’s chief curator and director general, Nathalie Bondil, is to provide a “relaxing, revitalizing experience, a moment of respite” for those burdened physically or mentally by illness. “We can open new doors, not just for the patients, but also for the doctors,” she remarks in an interview with BBC News.
Patients also can avail themselves of the museum’s art therapy programs. “The neutral, beautiful, inspiring space” of museums like MMFA helps improve a patient’s mood and well-being,” Ms. Bondil says. Contemplating a painting or other artwork can, at least temporarily, take the patient to a mental space not dominated by illness-related worry, fear, anger, and sadness.
The idea of art as medicine is echoed elsewhere. A 2017 report in the United Kingdom recognized the vital contribution of the arts to health and well-being.
Lady Gaga describes health crisis
From a distance, the life of Lady Gaga might seem exotic and desirable. But the musician and actress recently revealed her own “mental health crisis” – and urged Hollywood to make better mental health care available to those in the entertainment business.
Her work also features multiple deadlines, and the pressure can prove overwhelming. “I began to notice that I would stare off into space and black out for seconds or minutes. I would see flashes of things I was tormented by, experiences that were filed away in my brain with ‘I’ll deal with you later’ for many years because my brain was protecting me, as science teaches us. These were also symptoms of disassociation and PTSD and I did not have a team that included mental health support,” according to an article in Variety reporting a speech by the entertainer, whose birth name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta.
The anguish she felt morphed into physical chronic pain, fibromyalgia, panic attacks, acute trauma responses, and debilitating declines in her mental health – including thoughts of suicide. One root of the trauma might have been a sexual assault that she says she experienced during childhood.
“I wish there had been a system in place to protect and guide me, a system in place to empower me to say no to things I felt I had to do, a system in place to empower me to stay away from toxic work environments or working with people who were of seriously questionable character,” she says. “There were days that I struggled or couldn’t make it to work, and I don’t want that for other artists or anyone.”
Fostering engagement over the phone
After retirement, some people find it difficult to get out into the community and engage with other people. But, for 94-year-old Frances Utpadel, human connection has proven to be a phone call away.
In a service that is provided by the acting industry in Hollywood, the retired film lab technician from Los Angeles has availed herself of the Daily Call Sheet program. The program, run by the Motion Picture and Television Fund and the AARP Foundation, pairs up folks like Ms. Utpadel with a fellow film industry member for phone chats several times each week.
“I was having the downtime because all my friends were moving away and dying,” Ms. Utpadel explains in an interview with People magazine. Now, she and her chat-buddy Norma talk two or three times a week. Conversations range from things going on in their daily lives to world issues.
The content of the conversations can be stimulating, as is sharing her thoughts with a kind voice. “This is something I’m very much for – don’t isolate yourself. I don’t have any friends to be texting or emailing,” she says. “I hear so many people are doing texting and email, and one of the big stores now, they won’t have any cashiers. And, I say, ‘What are they doing to the people? You’re isolating people. And the world is made of people.’”
The connection is even more important for Ms. Utpadel, who for decades, has taken care of her son, Terry – who suffered debilitating injuries in a car crash. She is the sole caregiver for Terry, who is aged 75 years.
Ms. Utpadel is adamant about the value of human interaction in a digital world in which life can be lived in isolation. “I’m used to the generation where you took pictures and had them developed. You don’t have those now. Everybody’s got them on their cell phone. It’s just a whole different world. But, I think, in a way, my world is richer than the other one. I don’t feel deprived about it or anything. I feel I’m better off.”
Communication ‘central’ in palliative care
Being a palliative care surgeon means delivering really bad news. It also means helping a patients deal with the realities of impending death. In this emotionally charged atmosphere, the surgeons’ words can be comforting or devastating.
“One of my mentors once told me that words are somewhat like a palliative care physician’s scalpel,” Toronto palliative care physician Evan Schneider, MD, says in an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
“We’re dealing with very intense, emotionally charged conversations. I think communication is probably the most central tenet of what we do. … There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to sharing bad news,” said Dr. Schneider says. The bad news may be anticipated or can come as total blind-side to the patient. In some cases, other treatment options may be available. In other cases, palliative care is the only option.
Clarity in communication is an absolute must. That means providing the information in a form that is understandable and relevant to the patients, and not to the physician. Dr. Schneider says his approach involves “trying to use as little overly jargony or medicalized words as necessary.”
Compounding the challenge, Dr. Schneider’s patients exemplify the linguistic stew that is Toronto, where some 140 different languages are spoken. As an English speaker, Dr. Schneider relies on medical interpreters to talk with patients and for their sensitivity to cultural nuances concerning death and dying that escape him.
“Sometimes there are family members who may [want] to protect their loved one from receiving bad news about their diagnosis or prognosis,” he says. “When we bring an interpreter into those scenarios, it can be very hard for family members, because information can be shared through interpretation that were trying to shield their loved one. That’s always a risk or a possibility when we are dealing with information that has to be translated to someone else.”
'Real food' called key to healthful eating; Peer mentors seek to prevent suicides
Nutritious eating need not involve counting calories, carbohydrates, or points, according to food and nutrition editor Paul Kita.
After talking with experts and studying various diets, Mr. Kita said he found an approach that works for him.
The key is eating “real food,” such as chicken, tomatoes, eggs, and avocados; avoiding processed foods; and not demonizing anything. Approaching food this way for 10 years has allowed Mr. Kita to keep his weight at 155 pounds – give or take 5, – he wrote in Men’s Health.
“I eat cookies. I eat carbs. I even drink coffee supposedly loaded with mycotoxins,” Mr. Kita wrote. “I [eat] fruits and vegetables with every meal and cut back on booze and desserts. I have two clementines or a banana or a split broiled tomato for breakfast. I eat a big salad of mixed greens or a side of coleslaw or a ripe, juicy pear for lunch.”
He said dinner might include sautéed spinach or a carrot salad and roasted sweet potatoes. “And then I either choose to have a beer with or after dinner or a simple dessert. If I’m not craving something sweet, I’ll have a cup of tea.”
He said he tries for about 30 grams of protein at each meal.
“Here’s my main takeaway ... if the plan you have for what you feed yourself causes you more stress and adds more work to your already-busy life, you’re not eating well. The best diet ... doesn’t have celebrity endorsements. The best diet is one that is based on the inclusion of healthful foods – not the exclusion of food groups.”
Students seek to prevent suicides
The beauty of mountains can be breathtaking for someone passing through. For residents, living in the shadow of the giants, however, can be isolating, especially for small mountain communities. Grand Junction, Colo., is located in a valley ringed by tall mountains, desert mesas, and red-rock cliffs. For local residents, and especially teenagers, it can feel like the end of the world.
“I know we can’t really fix this because it’s nature,” 17-year-old Victoria Mendoza said in an NPR interview. “I feel like the people in our valley feel like there’s only life inside of Grand Junction.”
Ms. Mendoza has fought depression, as have other members of her family and others in the community. Seven student suicides occurred in the 2016-2017 school year. “It felt like there was this cloud around our whole valley,” Ms. Mendoza said. “It got to a point where we were just waiting for the next one.”
Rural settings can foster the loneliness that, for some, is only cured by self-inflicted death. Of the top 10 U.S. states with the highest rates of suicide, 8 are located in the rural mountain West. The view of mental illness as a sign of personal weakness remains prevalent, and having ready access to guns is not helpful.
In Grand Junction, students have seized the reins of a suicide prevention in which they act as peer mentors to younger students that either seek help or appear to be floundering. The approach, called the Sources of Strength suicide program, exemplifies a broader shift in public health thinking that is taking place. In Grand Junction, the strategy is to zero in on the mental health and well-being of everyone. That encourages a sense of community, even in a setting of physical isolation.
Cannabidiol and substance-free living
With cannabis use becoming more part of the norm and with its legalization, the idea of altering the way we see the world is, for some, moving from a no-go option to a practice that can help ease the strains of life. For those who struggle with PTSD or other anxieties, cannabis can be a way to alleviate paranoia, anxiety, and mood swings without the use of prescription drugs.
Of course, there will be many who will overenthusiastically embrace the chance to legally alter themselves, such as what occurs with alcohol. Sobriety means different things to different people. Some alcoholics happily live with an occasional drink. They consider themselves on a path of sobriety. Others must go cold turkey forever. This is a different sobriety. Each can be effective and can bring happiness.
“Does using cannabidiol count as a strike against recovery or a substance-free lifestyle? This can lead into particularly tricky terrain as many people turn to cannabis products as a solution for all manner of ailments – from mental health to addiction. As we reckon with cannabis legalization as a country, perhaps what we really should be asking ourselves is how we’re going to redefine the traditional meaning of sobriety,” Amanda Scriver wrote in the Walrus.
“As cannabidiol gains popularity, we must give people the capacity to examine, evaluate, and possibly amend their own health, wellness, or recovery journey in a way that feels right for them. Yes, we need better medical understanding of cannabis and its related products, and yes, we also need training in the harm-reduction model. But we also need compassion and the courage to rethink old definitions,” Ms. Scriver wrote.
Masculinity tied to mental health
As a celebrity, Lenard Larry McKelvey, aka Charlamagne Tha God, makes his living being brash and bold. On his radio show, The Breakfast Club, he asks questions some do not want asked. But, like many, he is also anxious about the world. As a father, he worries about his daughters. As a black man, he worries about police brutality.
But unlike many, he has a forum and an audience. And he is using his forum to speak out about his fears and anxieties in the hope that it helps others deal with their demons. A recent example is his book, “Shook One: Anxiety Playing Tricks On Me” (Touchstone, 2018).
He is a strong advocate of therapy. “I go to therapy just to push those negative thoughts out of my mind. None of us can escape thinking negatively. Negative thoughts are going to pop up in your head. You’re going to have self-doubt sometimes; you’re going to be insecure sometimes. You’re going to worry about your kids; you’re going to worry about your wife, but it’s about pushing that %@C# out and not holding onto it. When you hold onto it, that’s when it grows,” he explained in an interview with the Boston Globe.
He espoused the freedom that comes from self-acceptance. “My whole life, people have said to me, ‘You can’t be soft.’ I don’t care about that anymore. I don’t care about how people perceive me when it comes to masculinity. You know what’s masculine? Masculine is taking care of your mind, your body, and your soul. We spend so much time on our body. We want that six-pack. But what about your mental health? What about your mental well-being? I go to the gym three, four times a week. Why can’t I put that same effort and same energy into getting mentally strong?”
Can extremists’ mindsets change?
The recent massacre at the Pittsburgh synagogue was yet another vile example of hatred and bigotry. But, in the United States and elsewhere, the shooter was one of many. Why?
According to an NPR piece, there are several possible explanations. Those brimming with racist hated might have little opportunity to get off that track. “We haven’t wanted to acknowledge that we have a problem with violent right-wing extremism in this kind of domestic terrorism,” said sociologist Pete Simi, PhD, of Chapman University in Orange, Calif. Dr. Simi has studied violent white nationalists and other hate groups for decades.
“White supremacy is really a problem throughout the United States,” Dr. Simi said. “It doesn’t know any geographic boundaries. It’s not isolated to either urban or rural or suburban – it cuts across all.”
There is little knowledge of how to deal with home-grown hatred. Banning immigrants perceived as being a threat is one attempt to deal with foreign-born terrorism, but that doesn’t work for citizens. For them, rehabilitation is possible, according to Dr. Simi, but it comes with a big price tag of revamped social, education, housing, and employment programs. Governments are loathe to take on those costs, in part because it is an admission that society is broken.
“A big, big problem that we face as a society is abdicating our responsibility in terms of providing this kind of social support and social safety net for individuals that suffer from mental health, as well as drug problems,” Dr. Simi said in the interview.
Small-scale local efforts, such as the Chicago-based Life After Hate, are working for change. How to scale up such efforts is a vexing problem.
Nutritious eating need not involve counting calories, carbohydrates, or points, according to food and nutrition editor Paul Kita.
After talking with experts and studying various diets, Mr. Kita said he found an approach that works for him.
The key is eating “real food,” such as chicken, tomatoes, eggs, and avocados; avoiding processed foods; and not demonizing anything. Approaching food this way for 10 years has allowed Mr. Kita to keep his weight at 155 pounds – give or take 5, – he wrote in Men’s Health.
“I eat cookies. I eat carbs. I even drink coffee supposedly loaded with mycotoxins,” Mr. Kita wrote. “I [eat] fruits and vegetables with every meal and cut back on booze and desserts. I have two clementines or a banana or a split broiled tomato for breakfast. I eat a big salad of mixed greens or a side of coleslaw or a ripe, juicy pear for lunch.”
He said dinner might include sautéed spinach or a carrot salad and roasted sweet potatoes. “And then I either choose to have a beer with or after dinner or a simple dessert. If I’m not craving something sweet, I’ll have a cup of tea.”
He said he tries for about 30 grams of protein at each meal.
“Here’s my main takeaway ... if the plan you have for what you feed yourself causes you more stress and adds more work to your already-busy life, you’re not eating well. The best diet ... doesn’t have celebrity endorsements. The best diet is one that is based on the inclusion of healthful foods – not the exclusion of food groups.”
Students seek to prevent suicides
The beauty of mountains can be breathtaking for someone passing through. For residents, living in the shadow of the giants, however, can be isolating, especially for small mountain communities. Grand Junction, Colo., is located in a valley ringed by tall mountains, desert mesas, and red-rock cliffs. For local residents, and especially teenagers, it can feel like the end of the world.
“I know we can’t really fix this because it’s nature,” 17-year-old Victoria Mendoza said in an NPR interview. “I feel like the people in our valley feel like there’s only life inside of Grand Junction.”
Ms. Mendoza has fought depression, as have other members of her family and others in the community. Seven student suicides occurred in the 2016-2017 school year. “It felt like there was this cloud around our whole valley,” Ms. Mendoza said. “It got to a point where we were just waiting for the next one.”
Rural settings can foster the loneliness that, for some, is only cured by self-inflicted death. Of the top 10 U.S. states with the highest rates of suicide, 8 are located in the rural mountain West. The view of mental illness as a sign of personal weakness remains prevalent, and having ready access to guns is not helpful.
In Grand Junction, students have seized the reins of a suicide prevention in which they act as peer mentors to younger students that either seek help or appear to be floundering. The approach, called the Sources of Strength suicide program, exemplifies a broader shift in public health thinking that is taking place. In Grand Junction, the strategy is to zero in on the mental health and well-being of everyone. That encourages a sense of community, even in a setting of physical isolation.
Cannabidiol and substance-free living
With cannabis use becoming more part of the norm and with its legalization, the idea of altering the way we see the world is, for some, moving from a no-go option to a practice that can help ease the strains of life. For those who struggle with PTSD or other anxieties, cannabis can be a way to alleviate paranoia, anxiety, and mood swings without the use of prescription drugs.
Of course, there will be many who will overenthusiastically embrace the chance to legally alter themselves, such as what occurs with alcohol. Sobriety means different things to different people. Some alcoholics happily live with an occasional drink. They consider themselves on a path of sobriety. Others must go cold turkey forever. This is a different sobriety. Each can be effective and can bring happiness.
“Does using cannabidiol count as a strike against recovery or a substance-free lifestyle? This can lead into particularly tricky terrain as many people turn to cannabis products as a solution for all manner of ailments – from mental health to addiction. As we reckon with cannabis legalization as a country, perhaps what we really should be asking ourselves is how we’re going to redefine the traditional meaning of sobriety,” Amanda Scriver wrote in the Walrus.
“As cannabidiol gains popularity, we must give people the capacity to examine, evaluate, and possibly amend their own health, wellness, or recovery journey in a way that feels right for them. Yes, we need better medical understanding of cannabis and its related products, and yes, we also need training in the harm-reduction model. But we also need compassion and the courage to rethink old definitions,” Ms. Scriver wrote.
Masculinity tied to mental health
As a celebrity, Lenard Larry McKelvey, aka Charlamagne Tha God, makes his living being brash and bold. On his radio show, The Breakfast Club, he asks questions some do not want asked. But, like many, he is also anxious about the world. As a father, he worries about his daughters. As a black man, he worries about police brutality.
But unlike many, he has a forum and an audience. And he is using his forum to speak out about his fears and anxieties in the hope that it helps others deal with their demons. A recent example is his book, “Shook One: Anxiety Playing Tricks On Me” (Touchstone, 2018).
He is a strong advocate of therapy. “I go to therapy just to push those negative thoughts out of my mind. None of us can escape thinking negatively. Negative thoughts are going to pop up in your head. You’re going to have self-doubt sometimes; you’re going to be insecure sometimes. You’re going to worry about your kids; you’re going to worry about your wife, but it’s about pushing that %@C# out and not holding onto it. When you hold onto it, that’s when it grows,” he explained in an interview with the Boston Globe.
He espoused the freedom that comes from self-acceptance. “My whole life, people have said to me, ‘You can’t be soft.’ I don’t care about that anymore. I don’t care about how people perceive me when it comes to masculinity. You know what’s masculine? Masculine is taking care of your mind, your body, and your soul. We spend so much time on our body. We want that six-pack. But what about your mental health? What about your mental well-being? I go to the gym three, four times a week. Why can’t I put that same effort and same energy into getting mentally strong?”
Can extremists’ mindsets change?
The recent massacre at the Pittsburgh synagogue was yet another vile example of hatred and bigotry. But, in the United States and elsewhere, the shooter was one of many. Why?
According to an NPR piece, there are several possible explanations. Those brimming with racist hated might have little opportunity to get off that track. “We haven’t wanted to acknowledge that we have a problem with violent right-wing extremism in this kind of domestic terrorism,” said sociologist Pete Simi, PhD, of Chapman University in Orange, Calif. Dr. Simi has studied violent white nationalists and other hate groups for decades.
“White supremacy is really a problem throughout the United States,” Dr. Simi said. “It doesn’t know any geographic boundaries. It’s not isolated to either urban or rural or suburban – it cuts across all.”
There is little knowledge of how to deal with home-grown hatred. Banning immigrants perceived as being a threat is one attempt to deal with foreign-born terrorism, but that doesn’t work for citizens. For them, rehabilitation is possible, according to Dr. Simi, but it comes with a big price tag of revamped social, education, housing, and employment programs. Governments are loathe to take on those costs, in part because it is an admission that society is broken.
“A big, big problem that we face as a society is abdicating our responsibility in terms of providing this kind of social support and social safety net for individuals that suffer from mental health, as well as drug problems,” Dr. Simi said in the interview.
Small-scale local efforts, such as the Chicago-based Life After Hate, are working for change. How to scale up such efforts is a vexing problem.
Nutritious eating need not involve counting calories, carbohydrates, or points, according to food and nutrition editor Paul Kita.
After talking with experts and studying various diets, Mr. Kita said he found an approach that works for him.
The key is eating “real food,” such as chicken, tomatoes, eggs, and avocados; avoiding processed foods; and not demonizing anything. Approaching food this way for 10 years has allowed Mr. Kita to keep his weight at 155 pounds – give or take 5, – he wrote in Men’s Health.
“I eat cookies. I eat carbs. I even drink coffee supposedly loaded with mycotoxins,” Mr. Kita wrote. “I [eat] fruits and vegetables with every meal and cut back on booze and desserts. I have two clementines or a banana or a split broiled tomato for breakfast. I eat a big salad of mixed greens or a side of coleslaw or a ripe, juicy pear for lunch.”
He said dinner might include sautéed spinach or a carrot salad and roasted sweet potatoes. “And then I either choose to have a beer with or after dinner or a simple dessert. If I’m not craving something sweet, I’ll have a cup of tea.”
He said he tries for about 30 grams of protein at each meal.
“Here’s my main takeaway ... if the plan you have for what you feed yourself causes you more stress and adds more work to your already-busy life, you’re not eating well. The best diet ... doesn’t have celebrity endorsements. The best diet is one that is based on the inclusion of healthful foods – not the exclusion of food groups.”
Students seek to prevent suicides
The beauty of mountains can be breathtaking for someone passing through. For residents, living in the shadow of the giants, however, can be isolating, especially for small mountain communities. Grand Junction, Colo., is located in a valley ringed by tall mountains, desert mesas, and red-rock cliffs. For local residents, and especially teenagers, it can feel like the end of the world.
“I know we can’t really fix this because it’s nature,” 17-year-old Victoria Mendoza said in an NPR interview. “I feel like the people in our valley feel like there’s only life inside of Grand Junction.”
Ms. Mendoza has fought depression, as have other members of her family and others in the community. Seven student suicides occurred in the 2016-2017 school year. “It felt like there was this cloud around our whole valley,” Ms. Mendoza said. “It got to a point where we were just waiting for the next one.”
Rural settings can foster the loneliness that, for some, is only cured by self-inflicted death. Of the top 10 U.S. states with the highest rates of suicide, 8 are located in the rural mountain West. The view of mental illness as a sign of personal weakness remains prevalent, and having ready access to guns is not helpful.
In Grand Junction, students have seized the reins of a suicide prevention in which they act as peer mentors to younger students that either seek help or appear to be floundering. The approach, called the Sources of Strength suicide program, exemplifies a broader shift in public health thinking that is taking place. In Grand Junction, the strategy is to zero in on the mental health and well-being of everyone. That encourages a sense of community, even in a setting of physical isolation.
Cannabidiol and substance-free living
With cannabis use becoming more part of the norm and with its legalization, the idea of altering the way we see the world is, for some, moving from a no-go option to a practice that can help ease the strains of life. For those who struggle with PTSD or other anxieties, cannabis can be a way to alleviate paranoia, anxiety, and mood swings without the use of prescription drugs.
Of course, there will be many who will overenthusiastically embrace the chance to legally alter themselves, such as what occurs with alcohol. Sobriety means different things to different people. Some alcoholics happily live with an occasional drink. They consider themselves on a path of sobriety. Others must go cold turkey forever. This is a different sobriety. Each can be effective and can bring happiness.
“Does using cannabidiol count as a strike against recovery or a substance-free lifestyle? This can lead into particularly tricky terrain as many people turn to cannabis products as a solution for all manner of ailments – from mental health to addiction. As we reckon with cannabis legalization as a country, perhaps what we really should be asking ourselves is how we’re going to redefine the traditional meaning of sobriety,” Amanda Scriver wrote in the Walrus.
“As cannabidiol gains popularity, we must give people the capacity to examine, evaluate, and possibly amend their own health, wellness, or recovery journey in a way that feels right for them. Yes, we need better medical understanding of cannabis and its related products, and yes, we also need training in the harm-reduction model. But we also need compassion and the courage to rethink old definitions,” Ms. Scriver wrote.
Masculinity tied to mental health
As a celebrity, Lenard Larry McKelvey, aka Charlamagne Tha God, makes his living being brash and bold. On his radio show, The Breakfast Club, he asks questions some do not want asked. But, like many, he is also anxious about the world. As a father, he worries about his daughters. As a black man, he worries about police brutality.
But unlike many, he has a forum and an audience. And he is using his forum to speak out about his fears and anxieties in the hope that it helps others deal with their demons. A recent example is his book, “Shook One: Anxiety Playing Tricks On Me” (Touchstone, 2018).
He is a strong advocate of therapy. “I go to therapy just to push those negative thoughts out of my mind. None of us can escape thinking negatively. Negative thoughts are going to pop up in your head. You’re going to have self-doubt sometimes; you’re going to be insecure sometimes. You’re going to worry about your kids; you’re going to worry about your wife, but it’s about pushing that %@C# out and not holding onto it. When you hold onto it, that’s when it grows,” he explained in an interview with the Boston Globe.
He espoused the freedom that comes from self-acceptance. “My whole life, people have said to me, ‘You can’t be soft.’ I don’t care about that anymore. I don’t care about how people perceive me when it comes to masculinity. You know what’s masculine? Masculine is taking care of your mind, your body, and your soul. We spend so much time on our body. We want that six-pack. But what about your mental health? What about your mental well-being? I go to the gym three, four times a week. Why can’t I put that same effort and same energy into getting mentally strong?”
Can extremists’ mindsets change?
The recent massacre at the Pittsburgh synagogue was yet another vile example of hatred and bigotry. But, in the United States and elsewhere, the shooter was one of many. Why?
According to an NPR piece, there are several possible explanations. Those brimming with racist hated might have little opportunity to get off that track. “We haven’t wanted to acknowledge that we have a problem with violent right-wing extremism in this kind of domestic terrorism,” said sociologist Pete Simi, PhD, of Chapman University in Orange, Calif. Dr. Simi has studied violent white nationalists and other hate groups for decades.
“White supremacy is really a problem throughout the United States,” Dr. Simi said. “It doesn’t know any geographic boundaries. It’s not isolated to either urban or rural or suburban – it cuts across all.”
There is little knowledge of how to deal with home-grown hatred. Banning immigrants perceived as being a threat is one attempt to deal with foreign-born terrorism, but that doesn’t work for citizens. For them, rehabilitation is possible, according to Dr. Simi, but it comes with a big price tag of revamped social, education, housing, and employment programs. Governments are loathe to take on those costs, in part because it is an admission that society is broken.
“A big, big problem that we face as a society is abdicating our responsibility in terms of providing this kind of social support and social safety net for individuals that suffer from mental health, as well as drug problems,” Dr. Simi said in the interview.
Small-scale local efforts, such as the Chicago-based Life After Hate, are working for change. How to scale up such efforts is a vexing problem.
Interacting with horses helps veterans with PTSD; Identical twin battles anorexia
The things witnessed and actions taken during military service can lead to posttraumatic stress disorder and other debilitating illnesses.
Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Sam Rhodes, a nearly 30-year U.S. Army veteran, says he was scarred by nightmares of his combat experiences in Iraq upon returning home to Georgia. He also had depression, he says. Yet, Mr. Rhodes missed the camaraderie of his squad and felt lost when he returned home. For a time, he says, ending his life seemed the only way out.
Then he began to care for his stepdaughter’s horse. “Cleaning stalls, putting up fences; it made me feel like I had a purpose in life. It’s amazing how it really got me to calm down a little bit,” he relates in an interview with CNN.
Seeking to share the relief he felt, Mr. Rhodes built his own horse ranch and created Warrior Outreach, a nonprofit that, among other things, provides free access to horses for veterans, service members, and their families through its twice yearly Horsemanship Program. For Mr. Rhodes and the other veterans who frequent the ranch, there has been no miracle turnaround. .
“Guys can come out here, especially if they are having a rough go at it, and just kind of forget about what’s going on in the real world,” veteran Michael Christensen says. “The fact that we can network and just say, ‘Anytime you need something, here’s my number, call me’ ... It builds a network of veterans that can help each other.”
Two perspectives on anorexia
Identical twins often share many of the same interests, but they also can experience differences in how they view themselves.
Take the case of Bridget Yard, an identical twin and journalist who, in a CBC radio report, describes her life with an eating disorder and a twin sister who proved to be her savior.
“I sometimes thought I wouldn’t survive my teenage years, or early adulthood, because of my illness. But once I let Brianna in on my secrets, we began to deal with them together. She continues to be my greatest support as I enter recovery and work hard to live a healthy, full life. But we both still struggle with something. Why did I develop an eating disorder, and not Brianna? We were raised in the same environment, by the same loving parents. Our DNA is identical. I want to know what tipped the balance. Why me?”
The clues were there early on. Bridget was insecure and shy as a teen, and she says she was struggling to accept issues that included her feelings of bisexuality. Brianna was confident and outgoing. Hunger became a way for Bridget to quiet the demons of insecurity and establish some control. “I pushed my sexuality further back into the closet than my eating disorder,” she says. “That closet was full up, and it was killing me to continue the charade.”
Howard Steiger, PhD, tells Bridget Yard that the twin with anorexia nervosa often is found to be more perfectionistic and prone to being concerned with making errors and with others judgments. “Now we don’t know, is that a sort of a life experience thing that causes that to become more expressed? Or is that a secondary thing because of starvation and the effects of malnutrition? Or is it maybe a prenatal effect, that meant that one of the twins was programmed to be a little more perfectionistic than the other?” says Dr. Steiger, director of the Douglas Mental Health University Institute’s Eating Disorders Program at McGill University in Montreal.
Genetic changes, even before birth, might have a role. Whatever the causes, personal acceptance and recognition of her strengths and frailties have helped Bridget find a new path.
“Brianna has a phrase that we use a lot: ‘Nothing to it but to get through it.’ I used to hate that. It’s so cold, and things aren’t always so simple,” Bridget says in the interview. “But now, I embrace it. I know I will never have to do this alone. There’s nothing to it but to get through it – honestly, and together.”
Is that phone call real or robo?
In the few minutes it takes to read this column, some 400,000 Americans will have picked up the phone to hear a robotic voice harping a product or cause. If robocalling were a disease, it would be an epidemic.
Some robocalls are positive, reminding us of appointments and coming events. But about 40% are scams.
“Every time my phone rings it interrupts the work I’m doing,” says Hannah Donahue, a media strategist in Los Angeles. “Even if I don’t answer the phone, it’s disruptive.” She receives about six robocalls a day, starting as early as 7 a.m. and continuing into the evening.
And it might not be as easy as simply not answering a call when your business life depends on your phone. Missing a call can mean lost work.
Robocalling has been around for decades. But the frequency of use has skyrocketed in recent years. In 2018, the estimated number of monthly robocalls in the United States has risen from about 2.5 billion to 4.5 billion, as reported by NBC News.
The increased efforts by robo-scammers might reflect changing consumer behaviors. “The [telecommunications carriers] started to identify the bad guys,” says Alex Quilici, CEO of YouMail, a company that provides voicemail and call-blocking services to iPhone and Android users. “Call-blocking apps started to scale up and get publicity. What we figure is that bad guys started having to call more to get through.”
Technology is another driver. Setting up a robocall enterprise is easy and cheap.
The best advice for now is not to answer calls from unfamiliar phone numbers. “We still get a ton of spam, but Google and everyone has gotten so good at filtering email that you don’t notice,” Mr. Quilici says. For now, robocalling remains a frustration of a plugged-in life.
Work, ethics, and the millennials
A few months ago, several Google employees reportedly quit over the company’s involvement in a military project. Their decision might have come with the knowledge that their skills were transferable and that another job would not prove hard to find.
Still, the decision to resign might be a sign of how different generations approach work, according to a BBC article. For millennials, sometimes called the job-hopping generation, switching jobs for ethical reasons might be more common than it is for Generation Xers or Baby Boomers.
Then again, the article says, these ideas about millennials might not hold true for most young workers.
Part of this may be tied to the economics of the present. Research supports the view that gaps in employment, whether deliberate or not, are neither good for the bank account nor the likelihood of future job satisfaction.
“For all the lip service we pay to ‘making a difference,’ evidence shows the primary driver for selecting a job is still the payslip. The most recent Deloitte survey on millennials underlines that 63% of millennials consider the financial reward a very important factor in weighing up a job offer – the highest ranking one,” writes BBC correspondent José Luis Peñarredonda.
As in generations past, the main reason for choosing a job in 2018 remains the wage. Real-life necessities to support a family can blunt youthful passion to change things in a low-paying way. Still, headway is being made, as some companies realize the value of aligning corporate priorities with employees’ desire to have their work better reflect their ethics.
Finding ways to overcome setbacks
The end of a relationship, or loss of a loved one – or a job – are inevitable life events – and there are steps people can take to be resilient and find happiness, writes Arthur B. Markman, PhD.
First, Dr. Markman says, it is important to focus on steps that can be taken to improve a situation.
“As you engage in those actions, you will find that you feel better about your work and will also become more productive,” writes Dr. Markman, professor of psychology and marketing at the University of Texas, Austin.
A second strategy, he writes, is “surrounding yourself with people if you don’t feel like it.” This helps, he says, because sharing challenges with others can help people focus on what they need to do do. Third, Dr. Markman advises, it’s best to focus on small victories rather than long-term projects.
And finally, he says, it helps to interpret the actions of others through a positive lens. Why? Because this approach is more likely to create “positive reactions with others,” he writes.
Find Dr. Markman’s article in Fast Company.
The things witnessed and actions taken during military service can lead to posttraumatic stress disorder and other debilitating illnesses.
Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Sam Rhodes, a nearly 30-year U.S. Army veteran, says he was scarred by nightmares of his combat experiences in Iraq upon returning home to Georgia. He also had depression, he says. Yet, Mr. Rhodes missed the camaraderie of his squad and felt lost when he returned home. For a time, he says, ending his life seemed the only way out.
Then he began to care for his stepdaughter’s horse. “Cleaning stalls, putting up fences; it made me feel like I had a purpose in life. It’s amazing how it really got me to calm down a little bit,” he relates in an interview with CNN.
Seeking to share the relief he felt, Mr. Rhodes built his own horse ranch and created Warrior Outreach, a nonprofit that, among other things, provides free access to horses for veterans, service members, and their families through its twice yearly Horsemanship Program. For Mr. Rhodes and the other veterans who frequent the ranch, there has been no miracle turnaround. .
“Guys can come out here, especially if they are having a rough go at it, and just kind of forget about what’s going on in the real world,” veteran Michael Christensen says. “The fact that we can network and just say, ‘Anytime you need something, here’s my number, call me’ ... It builds a network of veterans that can help each other.”
Two perspectives on anorexia
Identical twins often share many of the same interests, but they also can experience differences in how they view themselves.
Take the case of Bridget Yard, an identical twin and journalist who, in a CBC radio report, describes her life with an eating disorder and a twin sister who proved to be her savior.
“I sometimes thought I wouldn’t survive my teenage years, or early adulthood, because of my illness. But once I let Brianna in on my secrets, we began to deal with them together. She continues to be my greatest support as I enter recovery and work hard to live a healthy, full life. But we both still struggle with something. Why did I develop an eating disorder, and not Brianna? We were raised in the same environment, by the same loving parents. Our DNA is identical. I want to know what tipped the balance. Why me?”
The clues were there early on. Bridget was insecure and shy as a teen, and she says she was struggling to accept issues that included her feelings of bisexuality. Brianna was confident and outgoing. Hunger became a way for Bridget to quiet the demons of insecurity and establish some control. “I pushed my sexuality further back into the closet than my eating disorder,” she says. “That closet was full up, and it was killing me to continue the charade.”
Howard Steiger, PhD, tells Bridget Yard that the twin with anorexia nervosa often is found to be more perfectionistic and prone to being concerned with making errors and with others judgments. “Now we don’t know, is that a sort of a life experience thing that causes that to become more expressed? Or is that a secondary thing because of starvation and the effects of malnutrition? Or is it maybe a prenatal effect, that meant that one of the twins was programmed to be a little more perfectionistic than the other?” says Dr. Steiger, director of the Douglas Mental Health University Institute’s Eating Disorders Program at McGill University in Montreal.
Genetic changes, even before birth, might have a role. Whatever the causes, personal acceptance and recognition of her strengths and frailties have helped Bridget find a new path.
“Brianna has a phrase that we use a lot: ‘Nothing to it but to get through it.’ I used to hate that. It’s so cold, and things aren’t always so simple,” Bridget says in the interview. “But now, I embrace it. I know I will never have to do this alone. There’s nothing to it but to get through it – honestly, and together.”
Is that phone call real or robo?
In the few minutes it takes to read this column, some 400,000 Americans will have picked up the phone to hear a robotic voice harping a product or cause. If robocalling were a disease, it would be an epidemic.
Some robocalls are positive, reminding us of appointments and coming events. But about 40% are scams.
“Every time my phone rings it interrupts the work I’m doing,” says Hannah Donahue, a media strategist in Los Angeles. “Even if I don’t answer the phone, it’s disruptive.” She receives about six robocalls a day, starting as early as 7 a.m. and continuing into the evening.
And it might not be as easy as simply not answering a call when your business life depends on your phone. Missing a call can mean lost work.
Robocalling has been around for decades. But the frequency of use has skyrocketed in recent years. In 2018, the estimated number of monthly robocalls in the United States has risen from about 2.5 billion to 4.5 billion, as reported by NBC News.
The increased efforts by robo-scammers might reflect changing consumer behaviors. “The [telecommunications carriers] started to identify the bad guys,” says Alex Quilici, CEO of YouMail, a company that provides voicemail and call-blocking services to iPhone and Android users. “Call-blocking apps started to scale up and get publicity. What we figure is that bad guys started having to call more to get through.”
Technology is another driver. Setting up a robocall enterprise is easy and cheap.
The best advice for now is not to answer calls from unfamiliar phone numbers. “We still get a ton of spam, but Google and everyone has gotten so good at filtering email that you don’t notice,” Mr. Quilici says. For now, robocalling remains a frustration of a plugged-in life.
Work, ethics, and the millennials
A few months ago, several Google employees reportedly quit over the company’s involvement in a military project. Their decision might have come with the knowledge that their skills were transferable and that another job would not prove hard to find.
Still, the decision to resign might be a sign of how different generations approach work, according to a BBC article. For millennials, sometimes called the job-hopping generation, switching jobs for ethical reasons might be more common than it is for Generation Xers or Baby Boomers.
Then again, the article says, these ideas about millennials might not hold true for most young workers.
Part of this may be tied to the economics of the present. Research supports the view that gaps in employment, whether deliberate or not, are neither good for the bank account nor the likelihood of future job satisfaction.
“For all the lip service we pay to ‘making a difference,’ evidence shows the primary driver for selecting a job is still the payslip. The most recent Deloitte survey on millennials underlines that 63% of millennials consider the financial reward a very important factor in weighing up a job offer – the highest ranking one,” writes BBC correspondent José Luis Peñarredonda.
As in generations past, the main reason for choosing a job in 2018 remains the wage. Real-life necessities to support a family can blunt youthful passion to change things in a low-paying way. Still, headway is being made, as some companies realize the value of aligning corporate priorities with employees’ desire to have their work better reflect their ethics.
Finding ways to overcome setbacks
The end of a relationship, or loss of a loved one – or a job – are inevitable life events – and there are steps people can take to be resilient and find happiness, writes Arthur B. Markman, PhD.
First, Dr. Markman says, it is important to focus on steps that can be taken to improve a situation.
“As you engage in those actions, you will find that you feel better about your work and will also become more productive,” writes Dr. Markman, professor of psychology and marketing at the University of Texas, Austin.
A second strategy, he writes, is “surrounding yourself with people if you don’t feel like it.” This helps, he says, because sharing challenges with others can help people focus on what they need to do do. Third, Dr. Markman advises, it’s best to focus on small victories rather than long-term projects.
And finally, he says, it helps to interpret the actions of others through a positive lens. Why? Because this approach is more likely to create “positive reactions with others,” he writes.
Find Dr. Markman’s article in Fast Company.
The things witnessed and actions taken during military service can lead to posttraumatic stress disorder and other debilitating illnesses.
Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Sam Rhodes, a nearly 30-year U.S. Army veteran, says he was scarred by nightmares of his combat experiences in Iraq upon returning home to Georgia. He also had depression, he says. Yet, Mr. Rhodes missed the camaraderie of his squad and felt lost when he returned home. For a time, he says, ending his life seemed the only way out.
Then he began to care for his stepdaughter’s horse. “Cleaning stalls, putting up fences; it made me feel like I had a purpose in life. It’s amazing how it really got me to calm down a little bit,” he relates in an interview with CNN.
Seeking to share the relief he felt, Mr. Rhodes built his own horse ranch and created Warrior Outreach, a nonprofit that, among other things, provides free access to horses for veterans, service members, and their families through its twice yearly Horsemanship Program. For Mr. Rhodes and the other veterans who frequent the ranch, there has been no miracle turnaround. .
“Guys can come out here, especially if they are having a rough go at it, and just kind of forget about what’s going on in the real world,” veteran Michael Christensen says. “The fact that we can network and just say, ‘Anytime you need something, here’s my number, call me’ ... It builds a network of veterans that can help each other.”
Two perspectives on anorexia
Identical twins often share many of the same interests, but they also can experience differences in how they view themselves.
Take the case of Bridget Yard, an identical twin and journalist who, in a CBC radio report, describes her life with an eating disorder and a twin sister who proved to be her savior.
“I sometimes thought I wouldn’t survive my teenage years, or early adulthood, because of my illness. But once I let Brianna in on my secrets, we began to deal with them together. She continues to be my greatest support as I enter recovery and work hard to live a healthy, full life. But we both still struggle with something. Why did I develop an eating disorder, and not Brianna? We were raised in the same environment, by the same loving parents. Our DNA is identical. I want to know what tipped the balance. Why me?”
The clues were there early on. Bridget was insecure and shy as a teen, and she says she was struggling to accept issues that included her feelings of bisexuality. Brianna was confident and outgoing. Hunger became a way for Bridget to quiet the demons of insecurity and establish some control. “I pushed my sexuality further back into the closet than my eating disorder,” she says. “That closet was full up, and it was killing me to continue the charade.”
Howard Steiger, PhD, tells Bridget Yard that the twin with anorexia nervosa often is found to be more perfectionistic and prone to being concerned with making errors and with others judgments. “Now we don’t know, is that a sort of a life experience thing that causes that to become more expressed? Or is that a secondary thing because of starvation and the effects of malnutrition? Or is it maybe a prenatal effect, that meant that one of the twins was programmed to be a little more perfectionistic than the other?” says Dr. Steiger, director of the Douglas Mental Health University Institute’s Eating Disorders Program at McGill University in Montreal.
Genetic changes, even before birth, might have a role. Whatever the causes, personal acceptance and recognition of her strengths and frailties have helped Bridget find a new path.
“Brianna has a phrase that we use a lot: ‘Nothing to it but to get through it.’ I used to hate that. It’s so cold, and things aren’t always so simple,” Bridget says in the interview. “But now, I embrace it. I know I will never have to do this alone. There’s nothing to it but to get through it – honestly, and together.”
Is that phone call real or robo?
In the few minutes it takes to read this column, some 400,000 Americans will have picked up the phone to hear a robotic voice harping a product or cause. If robocalling were a disease, it would be an epidemic.
Some robocalls are positive, reminding us of appointments and coming events. But about 40% are scams.
“Every time my phone rings it interrupts the work I’m doing,” says Hannah Donahue, a media strategist in Los Angeles. “Even if I don’t answer the phone, it’s disruptive.” She receives about six robocalls a day, starting as early as 7 a.m. and continuing into the evening.
And it might not be as easy as simply not answering a call when your business life depends on your phone. Missing a call can mean lost work.
Robocalling has been around for decades. But the frequency of use has skyrocketed in recent years. In 2018, the estimated number of monthly robocalls in the United States has risen from about 2.5 billion to 4.5 billion, as reported by NBC News.
The increased efforts by robo-scammers might reflect changing consumer behaviors. “The [telecommunications carriers] started to identify the bad guys,” says Alex Quilici, CEO of YouMail, a company that provides voicemail and call-blocking services to iPhone and Android users. “Call-blocking apps started to scale up and get publicity. What we figure is that bad guys started having to call more to get through.”
Technology is another driver. Setting up a robocall enterprise is easy and cheap.
The best advice for now is not to answer calls from unfamiliar phone numbers. “We still get a ton of spam, but Google and everyone has gotten so good at filtering email that you don’t notice,” Mr. Quilici says. For now, robocalling remains a frustration of a plugged-in life.
Work, ethics, and the millennials
A few months ago, several Google employees reportedly quit over the company’s involvement in a military project. Their decision might have come with the knowledge that their skills were transferable and that another job would not prove hard to find.
Still, the decision to resign might be a sign of how different generations approach work, according to a BBC article. For millennials, sometimes called the job-hopping generation, switching jobs for ethical reasons might be more common than it is for Generation Xers or Baby Boomers.
Then again, the article says, these ideas about millennials might not hold true for most young workers.
Part of this may be tied to the economics of the present. Research supports the view that gaps in employment, whether deliberate or not, are neither good for the bank account nor the likelihood of future job satisfaction.
“For all the lip service we pay to ‘making a difference,’ evidence shows the primary driver for selecting a job is still the payslip. The most recent Deloitte survey on millennials underlines that 63% of millennials consider the financial reward a very important factor in weighing up a job offer – the highest ranking one,” writes BBC correspondent José Luis Peñarredonda.
As in generations past, the main reason for choosing a job in 2018 remains the wage. Real-life necessities to support a family can blunt youthful passion to change things in a low-paying way. Still, headway is being made, as some companies realize the value of aligning corporate priorities with employees’ desire to have their work better reflect their ethics.
Finding ways to overcome setbacks
The end of a relationship, or loss of a loved one – or a job – are inevitable life events – and there are steps people can take to be resilient and find happiness, writes Arthur B. Markman, PhD.
First, Dr. Markman says, it is important to focus on steps that can be taken to improve a situation.
“As you engage in those actions, you will find that you feel better about your work and will also become more productive,” writes Dr. Markman, professor of psychology and marketing at the University of Texas, Austin.
A second strategy, he writes, is “surrounding yourself with people if you don’t feel like it.” This helps, he says, because sharing challenges with others can help people focus on what they need to do do. Third, Dr. Markman advises, it’s best to focus on small victories rather than long-term projects.
And finally, he says, it helps to interpret the actions of others through a positive lens. Why? Because this approach is more likely to create “positive reactions with others,” he writes.
Find Dr. Markman’s article in Fast Company.
Overcoming social media’s false narratives; using fitness to fight addictions
For most people, life is a roller coaster of satisfaction and challenge. And in the midst of days filled with the latter, the social media chronicles of someone’s seemingly perfect life can set the teeth on edge. But should seeing those adventures from afar generate feelings of envy and self-loathing?
No, argues a piece written in The Guardian. Social media has created a world in which everyone seems ecstatic – apart from us.
Is there any way for people to curb their resentment? Yes, said Ethan Kross, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, who studies Facebook’s impact on well-being. Interviewed for The Guardian article, Dr. Kross remarks that “envy is being taken to an extreme. We are constantly bombarded by ‘photoshopped lives’ and that exerts a toll on us the likes of which we have never experienced in the history of our species. And it is not particularly pleasant.”
Negotiating the era of envy requires a conscious effort to not compare one’s life with those of others, especially since their social presence may choose to gloss over their real-life troubles. Heavy lifting to boost personal self-esteem can be beneficial.
But these steps are far easier in theory than in practice. “ – we know that these images and narratives that are presented aren’t real, we can talk about it and rationalize it – but on an emotional level, it’s still pushing buttons,” clinical psychologist Rachel Andrew, ClinPsyD, said in the article. “If those images or narratives tap into what we aspire to, but what we don’t have, then it becomes very powerful.”
Gym seeks to help people stay in recovery
The world for those who are trying to rid themselves of substance use/addiction can be a fragile place. Having support can be the difference between a new clear-headed life and the slide back to darkness. For people with addictions in several U.S. cities, community gyms that operate under the moniker “The Phoenix” can be help.
The Phoenix was started by Scott Strode as a way to help people generate some sweat to stay sober. He has been sober for 21 years. There are no initiation fees to join and no monthly dues; funding comes from donations and grants. The absence of a financial burden comes with the requirements of 48 hours of sobriety, and the desire for that to continue.
The 14 Phoenix gyms in the United States have helped an estimated 26,000 people with their recovery.
“The hardest part about coming to Phoenix is opening the front door. But we’ve removed all those other barriers to access. Because it’s free, it doesn’t matter what insurance you have or how much money is in the bank account or what your addiction story is,” Mr. Strode said in an interview with “CBS This Morning: Saturday.”
Dana Smith has been sober for 9 years. Her introduction to The Phoenix was in prison, serving a sentence for a fatal traffic accident she caused while driving drunk. When asked by the interviewer how she lives with the reality that she took a life, Ms. Smith replies: “That’s another reason it was so important for me to come to Phoenix. I knew that I needed to be in a place where I felt comfortable talking about it. And I felt open and able to share ... I can help others ... and I have to listen the way that people listened for me and the way that people helped me to heal.”
Mr. Strode still burns with passion about the importance of The Phoenix. “For me, getting out of my addiction was like getting out of a burning building. And I just don’t feel like I can walk away if I know people are still in there,” he said.
Success vs. happiness: An illusion?
Harvard University academic Todd Rose, EdD, has taken on the idea that we can be happy or successful, but not both. In the book, “Dark Horse: Achieving Success Through the Pursuit of Fulfillment,” Dr. Rose and his coauthor Ogi Ogas, PhD, posit that striving for personal fulfillment can generate career success, and that this success does not come at the expense of happiness.
“For most of us, when we think about success, it’s pretty narrow, and we end up thinking about things like wealth, status, power. And we sort of think that you have to choose between that and being happy – and dark horses show us that you actually don’t have to choose,” Dr. Rose said in an interview on “CBS This Morning.”
There was a time when Dr. Rose was a young father on welfare with a bleak outlook. Following his father’s advice to find his motivation and pursue it changed his life.
“Think about the things that you enjoy doing and ask yourself why. ... The more you think about those things, the more you know what really moves you. And if you ask yourself that question often enough, it will reveal your broader motives and that will put you on a path to fulfillment,” Dr. Rose said.
The same advice goes for parents trying to counsel their children about career choices. “But if you think about us as parents, we actually don’t ask our kids (what motivates them) very often. We spend a lot of time telling them what should matter and very little time helping them figure it out for themselves,” Dr. Rose said. “They need to figure out what really matters to them and what motivates them, and we can help them by asking.”
Healthy elders break stereotypes
Medical care is focused on helping patients get better. Another aspect of medical care – keeping healthy people healthy – is not always high on the learning agenda. But at more than 20 medical schools in the United States, second-year students are getting another perspective on health care from healthy seniors.
Eighty two-year-old Elizabeth Shepherd is a participant in the program being offered to medical students at Cornell University in New York City. Ms. Shepherd acquaints the students with her everyday life, which includes the occasional fall, dealing with macular degeneration, and the desire for more sexual activity. “It’s important that they don’t think life stops as you get older,” Ms. Shepherd said in an interview with The New York Times. “So I decided I would be frank with them.”
The program can help re-jig the sometimes distorted view that med students have of older adults. “Unfortunately, most education takes place within the hospital,” said Ronald D. Adelman, MD, who developed the program at Cornell. “If you’re only seeing the hospitalized elderly, you’re seeing the debilitated, the physically deteriorating, the demented. It’s easy to pick up ageist stereotypes.”
A powerful take-home message for the students is that all people are worth treating, regardless of age.
Family separations worse than thought
The trauma of the separation of children from family members seeking to enter the United States from Mexico and countries farther south is undeniable. Now, as reported in Mother Jones, Amnesty International indicates far more families than officially tallied have been separated.
“The Trump administration is waging a deliberate campaign of widespread human rights violations in order to punish and deter people seeking safety at the U.S.-Mexico border,” Erika Guevara-Rosas, the Americas director at Amnesty International, said in a statement.
The American Psychiatric Association has called for an end to the policy on mental health grounds. “Children depend on their parents for safety and support. Any forced separation is highly stressful for children and can cause lifelong trauma, as well as an increased risk of other mental illnesses, such as depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder. The evidence is clear that this level of trauma also results in serious medical and health consequences for these children and their caregivers,” according to the APA statement.
Compounding the trauma, if a child’s parents are deported while the child is in detention, the child could be put up for adoption without notification of the parents. Reports of abuse of children at some detention centers have heightened criticism of the policy.
For most people, life is a roller coaster of satisfaction and challenge. And in the midst of days filled with the latter, the social media chronicles of someone’s seemingly perfect life can set the teeth on edge. But should seeing those adventures from afar generate feelings of envy and self-loathing?
No, argues a piece written in The Guardian. Social media has created a world in which everyone seems ecstatic – apart from us.
Is there any way for people to curb their resentment? Yes, said Ethan Kross, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, who studies Facebook’s impact on well-being. Interviewed for The Guardian article, Dr. Kross remarks that “envy is being taken to an extreme. We are constantly bombarded by ‘photoshopped lives’ and that exerts a toll on us the likes of which we have never experienced in the history of our species. And it is not particularly pleasant.”
Negotiating the era of envy requires a conscious effort to not compare one’s life with those of others, especially since their social presence may choose to gloss over their real-life troubles. Heavy lifting to boost personal self-esteem can be beneficial.
But these steps are far easier in theory than in practice. “ – we know that these images and narratives that are presented aren’t real, we can talk about it and rationalize it – but on an emotional level, it’s still pushing buttons,” clinical psychologist Rachel Andrew, ClinPsyD, said in the article. “If those images or narratives tap into what we aspire to, but what we don’t have, then it becomes very powerful.”
Gym seeks to help people stay in recovery
The world for those who are trying to rid themselves of substance use/addiction can be a fragile place. Having support can be the difference between a new clear-headed life and the slide back to darkness. For people with addictions in several U.S. cities, community gyms that operate under the moniker “The Phoenix” can be help.
The Phoenix was started by Scott Strode as a way to help people generate some sweat to stay sober. He has been sober for 21 years. There are no initiation fees to join and no monthly dues; funding comes from donations and grants. The absence of a financial burden comes with the requirements of 48 hours of sobriety, and the desire for that to continue.
The 14 Phoenix gyms in the United States have helped an estimated 26,000 people with their recovery.
“The hardest part about coming to Phoenix is opening the front door. But we’ve removed all those other barriers to access. Because it’s free, it doesn’t matter what insurance you have or how much money is in the bank account or what your addiction story is,” Mr. Strode said in an interview with “CBS This Morning: Saturday.”
Dana Smith has been sober for 9 years. Her introduction to The Phoenix was in prison, serving a sentence for a fatal traffic accident she caused while driving drunk. When asked by the interviewer how she lives with the reality that she took a life, Ms. Smith replies: “That’s another reason it was so important for me to come to Phoenix. I knew that I needed to be in a place where I felt comfortable talking about it. And I felt open and able to share ... I can help others ... and I have to listen the way that people listened for me and the way that people helped me to heal.”
Mr. Strode still burns with passion about the importance of The Phoenix. “For me, getting out of my addiction was like getting out of a burning building. And I just don’t feel like I can walk away if I know people are still in there,” he said.
Success vs. happiness: An illusion?
Harvard University academic Todd Rose, EdD, has taken on the idea that we can be happy or successful, but not both. In the book, “Dark Horse: Achieving Success Through the Pursuit of Fulfillment,” Dr. Rose and his coauthor Ogi Ogas, PhD, posit that striving for personal fulfillment can generate career success, and that this success does not come at the expense of happiness.
“For most of us, when we think about success, it’s pretty narrow, and we end up thinking about things like wealth, status, power. And we sort of think that you have to choose between that and being happy – and dark horses show us that you actually don’t have to choose,” Dr. Rose said in an interview on “CBS This Morning.”
There was a time when Dr. Rose was a young father on welfare with a bleak outlook. Following his father’s advice to find his motivation and pursue it changed his life.
“Think about the things that you enjoy doing and ask yourself why. ... The more you think about those things, the more you know what really moves you. And if you ask yourself that question often enough, it will reveal your broader motives and that will put you on a path to fulfillment,” Dr. Rose said.
The same advice goes for parents trying to counsel their children about career choices. “But if you think about us as parents, we actually don’t ask our kids (what motivates them) very often. We spend a lot of time telling them what should matter and very little time helping them figure it out for themselves,” Dr. Rose said. “They need to figure out what really matters to them and what motivates them, and we can help them by asking.”
Healthy elders break stereotypes
Medical care is focused on helping patients get better. Another aspect of medical care – keeping healthy people healthy – is not always high on the learning agenda. But at more than 20 medical schools in the United States, second-year students are getting another perspective on health care from healthy seniors.
Eighty two-year-old Elizabeth Shepherd is a participant in the program being offered to medical students at Cornell University in New York City. Ms. Shepherd acquaints the students with her everyday life, which includes the occasional fall, dealing with macular degeneration, and the desire for more sexual activity. “It’s important that they don’t think life stops as you get older,” Ms. Shepherd said in an interview with The New York Times. “So I decided I would be frank with them.”
The program can help re-jig the sometimes distorted view that med students have of older adults. “Unfortunately, most education takes place within the hospital,” said Ronald D. Adelman, MD, who developed the program at Cornell. “If you’re only seeing the hospitalized elderly, you’re seeing the debilitated, the physically deteriorating, the demented. It’s easy to pick up ageist stereotypes.”
A powerful take-home message for the students is that all people are worth treating, regardless of age.
Family separations worse than thought
The trauma of the separation of children from family members seeking to enter the United States from Mexico and countries farther south is undeniable. Now, as reported in Mother Jones, Amnesty International indicates far more families than officially tallied have been separated.
“The Trump administration is waging a deliberate campaign of widespread human rights violations in order to punish and deter people seeking safety at the U.S.-Mexico border,” Erika Guevara-Rosas, the Americas director at Amnesty International, said in a statement.
The American Psychiatric Association has called for an end to the policy on mental health grounds. “Children depend on their parents for safety and support. Any forced separation is highly stressful for children and can cause lifelong trauma, as well as an increased risk of other mental illnesses, such as depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder. The evidence is clear that this level of trauma also results in serious medical and health consequences for these children and their caregivers,” according to the APA statement.
Compounding the trauma, if a child’s parents are deported while the child is in detention, the child could be put up for adoption without notification of the parents. Reports of abuse of children at some detention centers have heightened criticism of the policy.
For most people, life is a roller coaster of satisfaction and challenge. And in the midst of days filled with the latter, the social media chronicles of someone’s seemingly perfect life can set the teeth on edge. But should seeing those adventures from afar generate feelings of envy and self-loathing?
No, argues a piece written in The Guardian. Social media has created a world in which everyone seems ecstatic – apart from us.
Is there any way for people to curb their resentment? Yes, said Ethan Kross, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, who studies Facebook’s impact on well-being. Interviewed for The Guardian article, Dr. Kross remarks that “envy is being taken to an extreme. We are constantly bombarded by ‘photoshopped lives’ and that exerts a toll on us the likes of which we have never experienced in the history of our species. And it is not particularly pleasant.”
Negotiating the era of envy requires a conscious effort to not compare one’s life with those of others, especially since their social presence may choose to gloss over their real-life troubles. Heavy lifting to boost personal self-esteem can be beneficial.
But these steps are far easier in theory than in practice. “ – we know that these images and narratives that are presented aren’t real, we can talk about it and rationalize it – but on an emotional level, it’s still pushing buttons,” clinical psychologist Rachel Andrew, ClinPsyD, said in the article. “If those images or narratives tap into what we aspire to, but what we don’t have, then it becomes very powerful.”
Gym seeks to help people stay in recovery
The world for those who are trying to rid themselves of substance use/addiction can be a fragile place. Having support can be the difference between a new clear-headed life and the slide back to darkness. For people with addictions in several U.S. cities, community gyms that operate under the moniker “The Phoenix” can be help.
The Phoenix was started by Scott Strode as a way to help people generate some sweat to stay sober. He has been sober for 21 years. There are no initiation fees to join and no monthly dues; funding comes from donations and grants. The absence of a financial burden comes with the requirements of 48 hours of sobriety, and the desire for that to continue.
The 14 Phoenix gyms in the United States have helped an estimated 26,000 people with their recovery.
“The hardest part about coming to Phoenix is opening the front door. But we’ve removed all those other barriers to access. Because it’s free, it doesn’t matter what insurance you have or how much money is in the bank account or what your addiction story is,” Mr. Strode said in an interview with “CBS This Morning: Saturday.”
Dana Smith has been sober for 9 years. Her introduction to The Phoenix was in prison, serving a sentence for a fatal traffic accident she caused while driving drunk. When asked by the interviewer how she lives with the reality that she took a life, Ms. Smith replies: “That’s another reason it was so important for me to come to Phoenix. I knew that I needed to be in a place where I felt comfortable talking about it. And I felt open and able to share ... I can help others ... and I have to listen the way that people listened for me and the way that people helped me to heal.”
Mr. Strode still burns with passion about the importance of The Phoenix. “For me, getting out of my addiction was like getting out of a burning building. And I just don’t feel like I can walk away if I know people are still in there,” he said.
Success vs. happiness: An illusion?
Harvard University academic Todd Rose, EdD, has taken on the idea that we can be happy or successful, but not both. In the book, “Dark Horse: Achieving Success Through the Pursuit of Fulfillment,” Dr. Rose and his coauthor Ogi Ogas, PhD, posit that striving for personal fulfillment can generate career success, and that this success does not come at the expense of happiness.
“For most of us, when we think about success, it’s pretty narrow, and we end up thinking about things like wealth, status, power. And we sort of think that you have to choose between that and being happy – and dark horses show us that you actually don’t have to choose,” Dr. Rose said in an interview on “CBS This Morning.”
There was a time when Dr. Rose was a young father on welfare with a bleak outlook. Following his father’s advice to find his motivation and pursue it changed his life.
“Think about the things that you enjoy doing and ask yourself why. ... The more you think about those things, the more you know what really moves you. And if you ask yourself that question often enough, it will reveal your broader motives and that will put you on a path to fulfillment,” Dr. Rose said.
The same advice goes for parents trying to counsel their children about career choices. “But if you think about us as parents, we actually don’t ask our kids (what motivates them) very often. We spend a lot of time telling them what should matter and very little time helping them figure it out for themselves,” Dr. Rose said. “They need to figure out what really matters to them and what motivates them, and we can help them by asking.”
Healthy elders break stereotypes
Medical care is focused on helping patients get better. Another aspect of medical care – keeping healthy people healthy – is not always high on the learning agenda. But at more than 20 medical schools in the United States, second-year students are getting another perspective on health care from healthy seniors.
Eighty two-year-old Elizabeth Shepherd is a participant in the program being offered to medical students at Cornell University in New York City. Ms. Shepherd acquaints the students with her everyday life, which includes the occasional fall, dealing with macular degeneration, and the desire for more sexual activity. “It’s important that they don’t think life stops as you get older,” Ms. Shepherd said in an interview with The New York Times. “So I decided I would be frank with them.”
The program can help re-jig the sometimes distorted view that med students have of older adults. “Unfortunately, most education takes place within the hospital,” said Ronald D. Adelman, MD, who developed the program at Cornell. “If you’re only seeing the hospitalized elderly, you’re seeing the debilitated, the physically deteriorating, the demented. It’s easy to pick up ageist stereotypes.”
A powerful take-home message for the students is that all people are worth treating, regardless of age.
Family separations worse than thought
The trauma of the separation of children from family members seeking to enter the United States from Mexico and countries farther south is undeniable. Now, as reported in Mother Jones, Amnesty International indicates far more families than officially tallied have been separated.
“The Trump administration is waging a deliberate campaign of widespread human rights violations in order to punish and deter people seeking safety at the U.S.-Mexico border,” Erika Guevara-Rosas, the Americas director at Amnesty International, said in a statement.
The American Psychiatric Association has called for an end to the policy on mental health grounds. “Children depend on their parents for safety and support. Any forced separation is highly stressful for children and can cause lifelong trauma, as well as an increased risk of other mental illnesses, such as depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder. The evidence is clear that this level of trauma also results in serious medical and health consequences for these children and their caregivers,” according to the APA statement.
Compounding the trauma, if a child’s parents are deported while the child is in detention, the child could be put up for adoption without notification of the parents. Reports of abuse of children at some detention centers have heightened criticism of the policy.
Some dubious of proposal on e-cigarettes; World Mental Health Day takes spotlight
Traditional cigarettes are addictive, and they kill. Now it appears that e-cigarettes, which electronically deliver nicotine in the absence of the lung-damaging smoke, might be a healthier alternative.
The American Cancer Society noted in June that, although the long-term effects of e-cigarettes are “not known,” they are “markedly less harmful” than traditional smoking. Sensing the changing tide, tobacco companies are going all in on e-cigarettes. And, as reported on CBS Sunday Morning, Dr. Gottlieb points out that in light of the impact of nicotine on the developing brain, a “strong regulatory process” is needed that puts new products “through an appropriate series of regulatory gates.”
Still, however, some people are dubious. The tobacco companies that are leading the transition are the same companies that once espoused the healthy benefits of smoking and suppressed counter information. Seeking greater profits, some products are marketed with enticing colors and flavors, with the goal of appealing to consumers – including teens. San Francisco has banned the sale of such products.
Dr. Gottlieb and others are quick to point out that what might be helpful for adults looking to quit also is enticing to teenagers. Using e-cigarettes would seem to be better than cigarette smoking. However, whether e-cigarettes are benign remains unknown.
Mental health takes center stage
An article in The Guardian by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, director general of the World Health Organization, and Lady Gaga, musician and cofounder of Born This Way Foundation, cited some sobering facts: 800,000 people kill themselves every year, a rate of six people every minute. Some are famous (Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain). Others are not. But all leave people who love them and are often devastated by the passing.
For the 25% of people who will experience mental health issues during their lives, admitting their need for help risks being stigmatized, and gaining that help is difficult. This is changing; however, according to the article, funding for mental health constitutes less than 1% of global aid funding.
But there is cause for optimism. WHO is working with countries on a global action plan on mental health. Community-based mental health care initiatives are providing help for those in need. The authors cite the success of the HIV/AIDS efforts as an example of what can be achieved. “That movement helped save millions of lives and is an illustration of the potential for collective human action to tackle seemingly insurmountable problems,” they wrote on the eve of World Mental Health Day, which is Oct. 10.
“The two of us have taken different paths in life. But both of us have seen how political leadership, funding, innovation, and individual acts of bravery and compassion can change the world. It is time to do the same for mental health.”
Navigating the pain of stillbirth
The impending birth of a child can be a time of happy anticipation and planning. But when the pregnancy ends in stillbirth, a person’s world is shattered. The experience is not rare – in the United Kingdom, for example, about nine babies are stillborn every day. When this horror happened to BBC journalist Fiona Crack, she channeled her grief into a chronicle of her journey and those of five other women with some hope and optimism.
“My arms ached. I thought I had a blood clot, but the doctors told me it was normal – a biological response to the shock that there was no living child for me to hold. I sobbed. My milk came through, marking my T-shirt, and I was too exhausted to be embarrassed,” Ms. Crack wrote.
There came a year of first events that would never be shared with her child, Willow – Christmas, Mother’s Day, and the dreaded first birthday. Slowly she mustered resolve. She also connected with five women around the United Kingdom who had faced the same horror.
Some solace has been found. But the scar will always remain. “Over the past year, my need to remember and memorialize Willow has jostled with my need for self-preservation. A year on, grief can still occasionally floor me, slicing behind my knees, but I can feel it coming and I can prepare, knowing I can survive its brief but powerful kick. Willow’s birth made me a Mum and Tim a Dad. My arms no longer ache like those first hours, but they are still empty. I am a mother without a baby,” Ms. Crack writes.
In the United States, about 24,000 stillbirths are reported each year, research shows. Mindfulness therapies have been shown to reduce posttraumatic stress symptoms among women after experiencing stillbirth.
Polygraph tests and employment
Jobs are not always easy to find. Once employed, there can be fear that job security is transient, as well as pressure to please the employer. How far is too far in efforts to gain this pleasure? An article on the BBC website explores the issue.
In some countries, including the United States, the issue is theoretical, since polygraph testing of employees is illegal. But elsewhere, such as in South Africa, there is no legal protection. And polygraph testing has been used in Kenya for prospective politicians. According to polygraph expert Doug Williams, polygraph testing is fallible and is mainly used as a means of intimidation.
“It’s a psychological billy club that coerces and intimidates a person into a confession. It scares the hell out of people. I would never work for a company that requires polygraphs because they’re starting the entire relationship off as an adversarial proceeding,” Mr. Williams said in an interview. The presumption of distrust can be toxic to a workplace.
“If most employees agree to take a lie detection test, then there would naturally come to be some suspicion of those who refuse to take it,” says Nick Bostrom, PhD, ethics professor at the University of Oxford (England). “Refusal would send a bad signal – it suggests you have something to hide.”
In a world where personal information can be just a few mouse clicks away, the issue is worth thinking about.
Music as a healing force
The first album from musician Cat Power (stage name of Chan Marshall) comes after a hiatus of 6 years. The intervening time has been spent as a mom and in other pursuits. The album, “Wanderer,” reflects the stabilizing influence of being a parent and the need to keep striving in life.
“I think I’ve found what I never thought I would have. I’ve found what I never thought I would see, which is becoming a parent. There are no words for what I have now in my heart. But I’m still myself. The psychospiritual parts of me are always looking for truth, always looking for beauty in all that truth,” Ms. Power said in an interview with NPR.
Music also is a way to deal with a life that included a parent who had substance abuse problems and her own bouts of depression. “There’s so much pain that people carry and try to avoid. … That’s why music is so incredible,” she said.
Ms. Power hopes that people who listen to her album will realize that they are not alone. “We’re all on this ball of mud, this tiny speck, a ball of mud together,” she said. “We all feel all the same things. Maybe we don’t know how to communicate well. Maybe we’re learning. Maybe this lifetime, for all of us, is just a learning spell.”
Traditional cigarettes are addictive, and they kill. Now it appears that e-cigarettes, which electronically deliver nicotine in the absence of the lung-damaging smoke, might be a healthier alternative.
The American Cancer Society noted in June that, although the long-term effects of e-cigarettes are “not known,” they are “markedly less harmful” than traditional smoking. Sensing the changing tide, tobacco companies are going all in on e-cigarettes. And, as reported on CBS Sunday Morning, Dr. Gottlieb points out that in light of the impact of nicotine on the developing brain, a “strong regulatory process” is needed that puts new products “through an appropriate series of regulatory gates.”
Still, however, some people are dubious. The tobacco companies that are leading the transition are the same companies that once espoused the healthy benefits of smoking and suppressed counter information. Seeking greater profits, some products are marketed with enticing colors and flavors, with the goal of appealing to consumers – including teens. San Francisco has banned the sale of such products.
Dr. Gottlieb and others are quick to point out that what might be helpful for adults looking to quit also is enticing to teenagers. Using e-cigarettes would seem to be better than cigarette smoking. However, whether e-cigarettes are benign remains unknown.
Mental health takes center stage
An article in The Guardian by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, director general of the World Health Organization, and Lady Gaga, musician and cofounder of Born This Way Foundation, cited some sobering facts: 800,000 people kill themselves every year, a rate of six people every minute. Some are famous (Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain). Others are not. But all leave people who love them and are often devastated by the passing.
For the 25% of people who will experience mental health issues during their lives, admitting their need for help risks being stigmatized, and gaining that help is difficult. This is changing; however, according to the article, funding for mental health constitutes less than 1% of global aid funding.
But there is cause for optimism. WHO is working with countries on a global action plan on mental health. Community-based mental health care initiatives are providing help for those in need. The authors cite the success of the HIV/AIDS efforts as an example of what can be achieved. “That movement helped save millions of lives and is an illustration of the potential for collective human action to tackle seemingly insurmountable problems,” they wrote on the eve of World Mental Health Day, which is Oct. 10.
“The two of us have taken different paths in life. But both of us have seen how political leadership, funding, innovation, and individual acts of bravery and compassion can change the world. It is time to do the same for mental health.”
Navigating the pain of stillbirth
The impending birth of a child can be a time of happy anticipation and planning. But when the pregnancy ends in stillbirth, a person’s world is shattered. The experience is not rare – in the United Kingdom, for example, about nine babies are stillborn every day. When this horror happened to BBC journalist Fiona Crack, she channeled her grief into a chronicle of her journey and those of five other women with some hope and optimism.
“My arms ached. I thought I had a blood clot, but the doctors told me it was normal – a biological response to the shock that there was no living child for me to hold. I sobbed. My milk came through, marking my T-shirt, and I was too exhausted to be embarrassed,” Ms. Crack wrote.
There came a year of first events that would never be shared with her child, Willow – Christmas, Mother’s Day, and the dreaded first birthday. Slowly she mustered resolve. She also connected with five women around the United Kingdom who had faced the same horror.
Some solace has been found. But the scar will always remain. “Over the past year, my need to remember and memorialize Willow has jostled with my need for self-preservation. A year on, grief can still occasionally floor me, slicing behind my knees, but I can feel it coming and I can prepare, knowing I can survive its brief but powerful kick. Willow’s birth made me a Mum and Tim a Dad. My arms no longer ache like those first hours, but they are still empty. I am a mother without a baby,” Ms. Crack writes.
In the United States, about 24,000 stillbirths are reported each year, research shows. Mindfulness therapies have been shown to reduce posttraumatic stress symptoms among women after experiencing stillbirth.
Polygraph tests and employment
Jobs are not always easy to find. Once employed, there can be fear that job security is transient, as well as pressure to please the employer. How far is too far in efforts to gain this pleasure? An article on the BBC website explores the issue.
In some countries, including the United States, the issue is theoretical, since polygraph testing of employees is illegal. But elsewhere, such as in South Africa, there is no legal protection. And polygraph testing has been used in Kenya for prospective politicians. According to polygraph expert Doug Williams, polygraph testing is fallible and is mainly used as a means of intimidation.
“It’s a psychological billy club that coerces and intimidates a person into a confession. It scares the hell out of people. I would never work for a company that requires polygraphs because they’re starting the entire relationship off as an adversarial proceeding,” Mr. Williams said in an interview. The presumption of distrust can be toxic to a workplace.
“If most employees agree to take a lie detection test, then there would naturally come to be some suspicion of those who refuse to take it,” says Nick Bostrom, PhD, ethics professor at the University of Oxford (England). “Refusal would send a bad signal – it suggests you have something to hide.”
In a world where personal information can be just a few mouse clicks away, the issue is worth thinking about.
Music as a healing force
The first album from musician Cat Power (stage name of Chan Marshall) comes after a hiatus of 6 years. The intervening time has been spent as a mom and in other pursuits. The album, “Wanderer,” reflects the stabilizing influence of being a parent and the need to keep striving in life.
“I think I’ve found what I never thought I would have. I’ve found what I never thought I would see, which is becoming a parent. There are no words for what I have now in my heart. But I’m still myself. The psychospiritual parts of me are always looking for truth, always looking for beauty in all that truth,” Ms. Power said in an interview with NPR.
Music also is a way to deal with a life that included a parent who had substance abuse problems and her own bouts of depression. “There’s so much pain that people carry and try to avoid. … That’s why music is so incredible,” she said.
Ms. Power hopes that people who listen to her album will realize that they are not alone. “We’re all on this ball of mud, this tiny speck, a ball of mud together,” she said. “We all feel all the same things. Maybe we don’t know how to communicate well. Maybe we’re learning. Maybe this lifetime, for all of us, is just a learning spell.”
Traditional cigarettes are addictive, and they kill. Now it appears that e-cigarettes, which electronically deliver nicotine in the absence of the lung-damaging smoke, might be a healthier alternative.
The American Cancer Society noted in June that, although the long-term effects of e-cigarettes are “not known,” they are “markedly less harmful” than traditional smoking. Sensing the changing tide, tobacco companies are going all in on e-cigarettes. And, as reported on CBS Sunday Morning, Dr. Gottlieb points out that in light of the impact of nicotine on the developing brain, a “strong regulatory process” is needed that puts new products “through an appropriate series of regulatory gates.”
Still, however, some people are dubious. The tobacco companies that are leading the transition are the same companies that once espoused the healthy benefits of smoking and suppressed counter information. Seeking greater profits, some products are marketed with enticing colors and flavors, with the goal of appealing to consumers – including teens. San Francisco has banned the sale of such products.
Dr. Gottlieb and others are quick to point out that what might be helpful for adults looking to quit also is enticing to teenagers. Using e-cigarettes would seem to be better than cigarette smoking. However, whether e-cigarettes are benign remains unknown.
Mental health takes center stage
An article in The Guardian by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, director general of the World Health Organization, and Lady Gaga, musician and cofounder of Born This Way Foundation, cited some sobering facts: 800,000 people kill themselves every year, a rate of six people every minute. Some are famous (Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain). Others are not. But all leave people who love them and are often devastated by the passing.
For the 25% of people who will experience mental health issues during their lives, admitting their need for help risks being stigmatized, and gaining that help is difficult. This is changing; however, according to the article, funding for mental health constitutes less than 1% of global aid funding.
But there is cause for optimism. WHO is working with countries on a global action plan on mental health. Community-based mental health care initiatives are providing help for those in need. The authors cite the success of the HIV/AIDS efforts as an example of what can be achieved. “That movement helped save millions of lives and is an illustration of the potential for collective human action to tackle seemingly insurmountable problems,” they wrote on the eve of World Mental Health Day, which is Oct. 10.
“The two of us have taken different paths in life. But both of us have seen how political leadership, funding, innovation, and individual acts of bravery and compassion can change the world. It is time to do the same for mental health.”
Navigating the pain of stillbirth
The impending birth of a child can be a time of happy anticipation and planning. But when the pregnancy ends in stillbirth, a person’s world is shattered. The experience is not rare – in the United Kingdom, for example, about nine babies are stillborn every day. When this horror happened to BBC journalist Fiona Crack, she channeled her grief into a chronicle of her journey and those of five other women with some hope and optimism.
“My arms ached. I thought I had a blood clot, but the doctors told me it was normal – a biological response to the shock that there was no living child for me to hold. I sobbed. My milk came through, marking my T-shirt, and I was too exhausted to be embarrassed,” Ms. Crack wrote.
There came a year of first events that would never be shared with her child, Willow – Christmas, Mother’s Day, and the dreaded first birthday. Slowly she mustered resolve. She also connected with five women around the United Kingdom who had faced the same horror.
Some solace has been found. But the scar will always remain. “Over the past year, my need to remember and memorialize Willow has jostled with my need for self-preservation. A year on, grief can still occasionally floor me, slicing behind my knees, but I can feel it coming and I can prepare, knowing I can survive its brief but powerful kick. Willow’s birth made me a Mum and Tim a Dad. My arms no longer ache like those first hours, but they are still empty. I am a mother without a baby,” Ms. Crack writes.
In the United States, about 24,000 stillbirths are reported each year, research shows. Mindfulness therapies have been shown to reduce posttraumatic stress symptoms among women after experiencing stillbirth.
Polygraph tests and employment
Jobs are not always easy to find. Once employed, there can be fear that job security is transient, as well as pressure to please the employer. How far is too far in efforts to gain this pleasure? An article on the BBC website explores the issue.
In some countries, including the United States, the issue is theoretical, since polygraph testing of employees is illegal. But elsewhere, such as in South Africa, there is no legal protection. And polygraph testing has been used in Kenya for prospective politicians. According to polygraph expert Doug Williams, polygraph testing is fallible and is mainly used as a means of intimidation.
“It’s a psychological billy club that coerces and intimidates a person into a confession. It scares the hell out of people. I would never work for a company that requires polygraphs because they’re starting the entire relationship off as an adversarial proceeding,” Mr. Williams said in an interview. The presumption of distrust can be toxic to a workplace.
“If most employees agree to take a lie detection test, then there would naturally come to be some suspicion of those who refuse to take it,” says Nick Bostrom, PhD, ethics professor at the University of Oxford (England). “Refusal would send a bad signal – it suggests you have something to hide.”
In a world where personal information can be just a few mouse clicks away, the issue is worth thinking about.
Music as a healing force
The first album from musician Cat Power (stage name of Chan Marshall) comes after a hiatus of 6 years. The intervening time has been spent as a mom and in other pursuits. The album, “Wanderer,” reflects the stabilizing influence of being a parent and the need to keep striving in life.
“I think I’ve found what I never thought I would have. I’ve found what I never thought I would see, which is becoming a parent. There are no words for what I have now in my heart. But I’m still myself. The psychospiritual parts of me are always looking for truth, always looking for beauty in all that truth,” Ms. Power said in an interview with NPR.
Music also is a way to deal with a life that included a parent who had substance abuse problems and her own bouts of depression. “There’s so much pain that people carry and try to avoid. … That’s why music is so incredible,” she said.
Ms. Power hopes that people who listen to her album will realize that they are not alone. “We’re all on this ball of mud, this tiny speck, a ball of mud together,” she said. “We all feel all the same things. Maybe we don’t know how to communicate well. Maybe we’re learning. Maybe this lifetime, for all of us, is just a learning spell.”
Pain doctor explains liberal opioid prescribing; actor uses skills for science
Barry Schultz, MD, once operated a thriving pain clinic in Delray Beach, Fla. Now he is serving a 157-year prison sentence after a conviction of selling opioids on a massive scale.
In an interview with Bill Whitaker of “60 Minutes,” Dr. Schultz explains: “I’m a scapegoat. I mean, I was one of hundreds of doctors that were prescribing medication for chronic pain. I see myself as a healer. … In my mind, what I was doing was legitimate.”
This role included prescribing more than 1,000 opioid pills to a woman during her pregnancy. She and thousands of others sought drugs from Dr. Schultz, who complied. In 2010, he prescribed nearly 17,000 of the highest-potency oxycodone pills to one patient over 7 months. Another patient was prescribed more than 23,000 pills over 8 months – more than 100 pills a day.
In 2009, more than 2,900 people died in Florida of drug overdoses, mostly from prescribed opioid pills. “In one 16-month period, Dr. Schultz dispensed 800,000 opioid pills from his office pharmacy,” the report says. The massive prescribing spree netted Dr. Schultz more than $6,000 a day, “60 Minutes” reported.
“When I started treating people with chronic noncancer pain, I felt it was unethical and discriminatory to limit the dose of medication. And if I had known that the overdose incidents had increased dramatically the way it had, I would have moderated my approach,” he says in the interview.
According to Mr. Whitaker,
Medicine and empathy
For years, actor Alan Alda was TV’s favorite doctor. His 11-season stint as Dr. Hawkeye Pierce on MASH garnered him critical acclaim for his portrayal of the empathetic side of being a physician and human in trying circumstances. In his post-MASH life, Mr. Alda has rechanneled his TV persona and become a spokesperson for the power of empathy for health care professionals and scientists – and anyone who can benefit from better communication.
In a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation interview with Brian Goldman, MD, of “White Coat, Black Art,” Mr. Alda explains that “empathic behavior is medicine.” He cites an example of a physician who had to let a patient know of her cancer diagnosis. “[The doctor] went in and he sat across from her at her level. Took her hand in his hand and talked in very plain language. Didn’t use the word ‘metastasis.’ And, for the first time, she reacted. ... And, for the first time, she asked a question. He came back to us and said: ‘It was just like the mirroring exercise. I was helping her face death, and she was helping me be a better doctor.’ ”
The mirroring exercise he refers to is a part of a workshop Mr. Alda conducts at the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University in New York. The program, which focuses on the role of human connection and communication, has proven popular – and is now taught at 17 medical schools and universities worldwide.
Mr. Alda has proven to be an apt teacher. Now he is a patient, having been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease about 3 years ago. Only recently did he decide it was time to let everyone in on the news.
“The main reason that I made a statement about it publicly was that … I didn’t want the story to come out in a maudlin way. If somebody saw me, saw my tremor on television then somebody might write an article about isn’t it sad and terrible and awful,” Mr. Alda says.
“I mean [Parkinson’s disease] is not a good thing to have. There’s no doubt about that. But there’s a stigma associated with it which is not helpful to people. And that is as soon as you know you have it, as soon as you get a diagnosis that’s the end of everything, and it’s not.”
Claire Foy’s life with anxiety
Another star of stage and screen has opened up about her troubles. In an interview with freelance writer Tom Lamont for The Guardian, actress Claire Foy explains her struggles with anxiety.
Her condition is not new. Now 34, she has experienced anxiety since childhood. Despite the acclaim and awards, she says she has been plagued by self-doubt and negative thoughts and underestimated her ability. “When you have anxiety, you have anxiety about – I don’t know – crossing the road,” she explains.
But the spotlight that has come with bravura performances, such as her turn as Queen Elizabeth II in the Netflix series “The Crown” and as the antihero Lisbeth Salander in soon-to-be-released “The Girl in the Spider’s Web,” ratcheted up her anxiety.
“The thing about it is, it’s not related to anything that would seem logical. It’s purely about that feeling in the pit of your stomach, and the feeling that you can’t, because you’re ‘this’ or you’re ‘that.’ It’s my mind working at a thousand beats a second and running away with a thought.”
She is currently on hiatus; daily life right now revolves around her daughter. Anxiety remains a part of the day, although time and therapy are easing the burden. “It’s still there, but I guess I don’t believe it so much anymore. I used to think that this was my lot in life, to be anxious,” she said in the interview. “And that I would struggle and struggle and struggle with it, and that it would make me quite miserable, and that I’d always be restricted.”
“But now I’m able to disassociate myself from it more. I know that it’s just something I have – and that I can take care of myself.”
Padma Lakshmi speaks out about rape
Author, cook, TV host, and producer Padma Lakshmi is another celebrity with a seemingly glittering life. But, like Mr. Alda and Ms. Foy, there is darkness. In a recent opinion piece in the New York Times and as reported by Maura Hohman of People magazine, she described being raped at age 16 by her then-boyfriend.
“When we went out, he would park the car and come in and sit on our couch and talk to my mother. He never brought me home late on a school night. We were intimate to a point, but he knew that I was a virgin and that I was unsure of when I would be ready to have sex,” Ms. Lakshmi explains.
“On New Year’s Eve, just a few months after we first started dating, he raped me.”
Ms. Lakshmi says she felt it was her fault at the time. “We had no language in the 1980s for date rape,” she wrote in the opinion piece. Flash ahead to the present and she understands well the current climate around this #WhyIDidn’tReport moment. “I understand why both women would keep this information to themselves for so many years, without involving the police. For years, I did the same thing.”
Her story has inspired victims to come forward with their experiences and, in one case, for an attacker to apologize for his actions.
Are you reading this? Your brain thanks you
For many, reading and thinking deeply can seem a lost pursuit in this ever-changing digital world. But this does not have to be the case, according to cognitive scientist Maryanne Wolf, PhD, incoming director of the Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners, and Social Justice at University of Southern California, Los Angeles.
In her book “Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World,” (Harper, 2018) and in an interview with WBUR’s “On Point,” Dr. Wolf describes her unease over her seeming inability to focus on the printed page other than the tendency to grab snippets of detail.
“At some time impossible to pinpoint, I had begun to read more to be informed than to be immersed, much less to be transported,” she says.
Pondering this led her to realize that she was still up to the mental task of reading but was not devoting as much time to it. She set aside time each day to revisit a novel that she had found daunting reading in her youth, “Magister Ludi” by Hermann Hesse. The novel still proved to be slow going. But optimistically, the experiment made clear to Dr. Wolf that she had “changed in ways I would never have predicted. I now read on the surface and very quickly; in fact, I read too fast to comprehend deeper levels, which forced me constantly to go back and reread the same sentence over and over with increasing frustration.”
The culprit, she concludes, was the instant world of the Internet. Her brain had become used to dabbling in information. In the absence of cognitive impediments, she says, what was lacking in brainpower could be restored. To Dr. Wolf and others who fret over the difficulty in the pleasure of relaxing with a book, there is comfort in knowing that, with some literary exercise, the brain can shift from the digital world to the less frenetic world of the printed page.
Barry Schultz, MD, once operated a thriving pain clinic in Delray Beach, Fla. Now he is serving a 157-year prison sentence after a conviction of selling opioids on a massive scale.
In an interview with Bill Whitaker of “60 Minutes,” Dr. Schultz explains: “I’m a scapegoat. I mean, I was one of hundreds of doctors that were prescribing medication for chronic pain. I see myself as a healer. … In my mind, what I was doing was legitimate.”
This role included prescribing more than 1,000 opioid pills to a woman during her pregnancy. She and thousands of others sought drugs from Dr. Schultz, who complied. In 2010, he prescribed nearly 17,000 of the highest-potency oxycodone pills to one patient over 7 months. Another patient was prescribed more than 23,000 pills over 8 months – more than 100 pills a day.
In 2009, more than 2,900 people died in Florida of drug overdoses, mostly from prescribed opioid pills. “In one 16-month period, Dr. Schultz dispensed 800,000 opioid pills from his office pharmacy,” the report says. The massive prescribing spree netted Dr. Schultz more than $6,000 a day, “60 Minutes” reported.
“When I started treating people with chronic noncancer pain, I felt it was unethical and discriminatory to limit the dose of medication. And if I had known that the overdose incidents had increased dramatically the way it had, I would have moderated my approach,” he says in the interview.
According to Mr. Whitaker,
Medicine and empathy
For years, actor Alan Alda was TV’s favorite doctor. His 11-season stint as Dr. Hawkeye Pierce on MASH garnered him critical acclaim for his portrayal of the empathetic side of being a physician and human in trying circumstances. In his post-MASH life, Mr. Alda has rechanneled his TV persona and become a spokesperson for the power of empathy for health care professionals and scientists – and anyone who can benefit from better communication.
In a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation interview with Brian Goldman, MD, of “White Coat, Black Art,” Mr. Alda explains that “empathic behavior is medicine.” He cites an example of a physician who had to let a patient know of her cancer diagnosis. “[The doctor] went in and he sat across from her at her level. Took her hand in his hand and talked in very plain language. Didn’t use the word ‘metastasis.’ And, for the first time, she reacted. ... And, for the first time, she asked a question. He came back to us and said: ‘It was just like the mirroring exercise. I was helping her face death, and she was helping me be a better doctor.’ ”
The mirroring exercise he refers to is a part of a workshop Mr. Alda conducts at the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University in New York. The program, which focuses on the role of human connection and communication, has proven popular – and is now taught at 17 medical schools and universities worldwide.
Mr. Alda has proven to be an apt teacher. Now he is a patient, having been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease about 3 years ago. Only recently did he decide it was time to let everyone in on the news.
“The main reason that I made a statement about it publicly was that … I didn’t want the story to come out in a maudlin way. If somebody saw me, saw my tremor on television then somebody might write an article about isn’t it sad and terrible and awful,” Mr. Alda says.
“I mean [Parkinson’s disease] is not a good thing to have. There’s no doubt about that. But there’s a stigma associated with it which is not helpful to people. And that is as soon as you know you have it, as soon as you get a diagnosis that’s the end of everything, and it’s not.”
Claire Foy’s life with anxiety
Another star of stage and screen has opened up about her troubles. In an interview with freelance writer Tom Lamont for The Guardian, actress Claire Foy explains her struggles with anxiety.
Her condition is not new. Now 34, she has experienced anxiety since childhood. Despite the acclaim and awards, she says she has been plagued by self-doubt and negative thoughts and underestimated her ability. “When you have anxiety, you have anxiety about – I don’t know – crossing the road,” she explains.
But the spotlight that has come with bravura performances, such as her turn as Queen Elizabeth II in the Netflix series “The Crown” and as the antihero Lisbeth Salander in soon-to-be-released “The Girl in the Spider’s Web,” ratcheted up her anxiety.
“The thing about it is, it’s not related to anything that would seem logical. It’s purely about that feeling in the pit of your stomach, and the feeling that you can’t, because you’re ‘this’ or you’re ‘that.’ It’s my mind working at a thousand beats a second and running away with a thought.”
She is currently on hiatus; daily life right now revolves around her daughter. Anxiety remains a part of the day, although time and therapy are easing the burden. “It’s still there, but I guess I don’t believe it so much anymore. I used to think that this was my lot in life, to be anxious,” she said in the interview. “And that I would struggle and struggle and struggle with it, and that it would make me quite miserable, and that I’d always be restricted.”
“But now I’m able to disassociate myself from it more. I know that it’s just something I have – and that I can take care of myself.”
Padma Lakshmi speaks out about rape
Author, cook, TV host, and producer Padma Lakshmi is another celebrity with a seemingly glittering life. But, like Mr. Alda and Ms. Foy, there is darkness. In a recent opinion piece in the New York Times and as reported by Maura Hohman of People magazine, she described being raped at age 16 by her then-boyfriend.
“When we went out, he would park the car and come in and sit on our couch and talk to my mother. He never brought me home late on a school night. We were intimate to a point, but he knew that I was a virgin and that I was unsure of when I would be ready to have sex,” Ms. Lakshmi explains.
“On New Year’s Eve, just a few months after we first started dating, he raped me.”
Ms. Lakshmi says she felt it was her fault at the time. “We had no language in the 1980s for date rape,” she wrote in the opinion piece. Flash ahead to the present and she understands well the current climate around this #WhyIDidn’tReport moment. “I understand why both women would keep this information to themselves for so many years, without involving the police. For years, I did the same thing.”
Her story has inspired victims to come forward with their experiences and, in one case, for an attacker to apologize for his actions.
Are you reading this? Your brain thanks you
For many, reading and thinking deeply can seem a lost pursuit in this ever-changing digital world. But this does not have to be the case, according to cognitive scientist Maryanne Wolf, PhD, incoming director of the Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners, and Social Justice at University of Southern California, Los Angeles.
In her book “Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World,” (Harper, 2018) and in an interview with WBUR’s “On Point,” Dr. Wolf describes her unease over her seeming inability to focus on the printed page other than the tendency to grab snippets of detail.
“At some time impossible to pinpoint, I had begun to read more to be informed than to be immersed, much less to be transported,” she says.
Pondering this led her to realize that she was still up to the mental task of reading but was not devoting as much time to it. She set aside time each day to revisit a novel that she had found daunting reading in her youth, “Magister Ludi” by Hermann Hesse. The novel still proved to be slow going. But optimistically, the experiment made clear to Dr. Wolf that she had “changed in ways I would never have predicted. I now read on the surface and very quickly; in fact, I read too fast to comprehend deeper levels, which forced me constantly to go back and reread the same sentence over and over with increasing frustration.”
The culprit, she concludes, was the instant world of the Internet. Her brain had become used to dabbling in information. In the absence of cognitive impediments, she says, what was lacking in brainpower could be restored. To Dr. Wolf and others who fret over the difficulty in the pleasure of relaxing with a book, there is comfort in knowing that, with some literary exercise, the brain can shift from the digital world to the less frenetic world of the printed page.
Barry Schultz, MD, once operated a thriving pain clinic in Delray Beach, Fla. Now he is serving a 157-year prison sentence after a conviction of selling opioids on a massive scale.
In an interview with Bill Whitaker of “60 Minutes,” Dr. Schultz explains: “I’m a scapegoat. I mean, I was one of hundreds of doctors that were prescribing medication for chronic pain. I see myself as a healer. … In my mind, what I was doing was legitimate.”
This role included prescribing more than 1,000 opioid pills to a woman during her pregnancy. She and thousands of others sought drugs from Dr. Schultz, who complied. In 2010, he prescribed nearly 17,000 of the highest-potency oxycodone pills to one patient over 7 months. Another patient was prescribed more than 23,000 pills over 8 months – more than 100 pills a day.
In 2009, more than 2,900 people died in Florida of drug overdoses, mostly from prescribed opioid pills. “In one 16-month period, Dr. Schultz dispensed 800,000 opioid pills from his office pharmacy,” the report says. The massive prescribing spree netted Dr. Schultz more than $6,000 a day, “60 Minutes” reported.
“When I started treating people with chronic noncancer pain, I felt it was unethical and discriminatory to limit the dose of medication. And if I had known that the overdose incidents had increased dramatically the way it had, I would have moderated my approach,” he says in the interview.
According to Mr. Whitaker,
Medicine and empathy
For years, actor Alan Alda was TV’s favorite doctor. His 11-season stint as Dr. Hawkeye Pierce on MASH garnered him critical acclaim for his portrayal of the empathetic side of being a physician and human in trying circumstances. In his post-MASH life, Mr. Alda has rechanneled his TV persona and become a spokesperson for the power of empathy for health care professionals and scientists – and anyone who can benefit from better communication.
In a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation interview with Brian Goldman, MD, of “White Coat, Black Art,” Mr. Alda explains that “empathic behavior is medicine.” He cites an example of a physician who had to let a patient know of her cancer diagnosis. “[The doctor] went in and he sat across from her at her level. Took her hand in his hand and talked in very plain language. Didn’t use the word ‘metastasis.’ And, for the first time, she reacted. ... And, for the first time, she asked a question. He came back to us and said: ‘It was just like the mirroring exercise. I was helping her face death, and she was helping me be a better doctor.’ ”
The mirroring exercise he refers to is a part of a workshop Mr. Alda conducts at the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University in New York. The program, which focuses on the role of human connection and communication, has proven popular – and is now taught at 17 medical schools and universities worldwide.
Mr. Alda has proven to be an apt teacher. Now he is a patient, having been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease about 3 years ago. Only recently did he decide it was time to let everyone in on the news.
“The main reason that I made a statement about it publicly was that … I didn’t want the story to come out in a maudlin way. If somebody saw me, saw my tremor on television then somebody might write an article about isn’t it sad and terrible and awful,” Mr. Alda says.
“I mean [Parkinson’s disease] is not a good thing to have. There’s no doubt about that. But there’s a stigma associated with it which is not helpful to people. And that is as soon as you know you have it, as soon as you get a diagnosis that’s the end of everything, and it’s not.”
Claire Foy’s life with anxiety
Another star of stage and screen has opened up about her troubles. In an interview with freelance writer Tom Lamont for The Guardian, actress Claire Foy explains her struggles with anxiety.
Her condition is not new. Now 34, she has experienced anxiety since childhood. Despite the acclaim and awards, she says she has been plagued by self-doubt and negative thoughts and underestimated her ability. “When you have anxiety, you have anxiety about – I don’t know – crossing the road,” she explains.
But the spotlight that has come with bravura performances, such as her turn as Queen Elizabeth II in the Netflix series “The Crown” and as the antihero Lisbeth Salander in soon-to-be-released “The Girl in the Spider’s Web,” ratcheted up her anxiety.
“The thing about it is, it’s not related to anything that would seem logical. It’s purely about that feeling in the pit of your stomach, and the feeling that you can’t, because you’re ‘this’ or you’re ‘that.’ It’s my mind working at a thousand beats a second and running away with a thought.”
She is currently on hiatus; daily life right now revolves around her daughter. Anxiety remains a part of the day, although time and therapy are easing the burden. “It’s still there, but I guess I don’t believe it so much anymore. I used to think that this was my lot in life, to be anxious,” she said in the interview. “And that I would struggle and struggle and struggle with it, and that it would make me quite miserable, and that I’d always be restricted.”
“But now I’m able to disassociate myself from it more. I know that it’s just something I have – and that I can take care of myself.”
Padma Lakshmi speaks out about rape
Author, cook, TV host, and producer Padma Lakshmi is another celebrity with a seemingly glittering life. But, like Mr. Alda and Ms. Foy, there is darkness. In a recent opinion piece in the New York Times and as reported by Maura Hohman of People magazine, she described being raped at age 16 by her then-boyfriend.
“When we went out, he would park the car and come in and sit on our couch and talk to my mother. He never brought me home late on a school night. We were intimate to a point, but he knew that I was a virgin and that I was unsure of when I would be ready to have sex,” Ms. Lakshmi explains.
“On New Year’s Eve, just a few months after we first started dating, he raped me.”
Ms. Lakshmi says she felt it was her fault at the time. “We had no language in the 1980s for date rape,” she wrote in the opinion piece. Flash ahead to the present and she understands well the current climate around this #WhyIDidn’tReport moment. “I understand why both women would keep this information to themselves for so many years, without involving the police. For years, I did the same thing.”
Her story has inspired victims to come forward with their experiences and, in one case, for an attacker to apologize for his actions.
Are you reading this? Your brain thanks you
For many, reading and thinking deeply can seem a lost pursuit in this ever-changing digital world. But this does not have to be the case, according to cognitive scientist Maryanne Wolf, PhD, incoming director of the Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners, and Social Justice at University of Southern California, Los Angeles.
In her book “Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World,” (Harper, 2018) and in an interview with WBUR’s “On Point,” Dr. Wolf describes her unease over her seeming inability to focus on the printed page other than the tendency to grab snippets of detail.
“At some time impossible to pinpoint, I had begun to read more to be informed than to be immersed, much less to be transported,” she says.
Pondering this led her to realize that she was still up to the mental task of reading but was not devoting as much time to it. She set aside time each day to revisit a novel that she had found daunting reading in her youth, “Magister Ludi” by Hermann Hesse. The novel still proved to be slow going. But optimistically, the experiment made clear to Dr. Wolf that she had “changed in ways I would never have predicted. I now read on the surface and very quickly; in fact, I read too fast to comprehend deeper levels, which forced me constantly to go back and reread the same sentence over and over with increasing frustration.”
The culprit, she concludes, was the instant world of the Internet. Her brain had become used to dabbling in information. In the absence of cognitive impediments, she says, what was lacking in brainpower could be restored. To Dr. Wolf and others who fret over the difficulty in the pleasure of relaxing with a book, there is comfort in knowing that, with some literary exercise, the brain can shift from the digital world to the less frenetic world of the printed page.
TV and mental health story lines; when doctors don’t listen – to women
Turn on the television, and chances are good that popular dramas (especially hospital-oriented shows) will be showing an episode revolving around a mental health issue.
, in time for a commercial. Real life is messier.
“Unfortunately mental health story lines are much more likely to be fear-mongering and wildly wrong. As a psychiatrist, this both piques my interest and upends my work-life balance,” Dr. Gold writes. “Whether I’m watching everyone’s favorite medical drama or ‘reality TV,’ it’s impossible not to switch into physician mode, angry on behalf of all of my patients and the many viewers who are being misled.”
Do physicians hear women?
“Rebecca continues to be paranoid.”
That was a note written by someone involved in the medical care of a 30-something woman diagnosed with stage IIB cervical cancer, according to an article in New York magazine.
“There’s a whiff of old ‘female hysteria’ to [the note], with more than a hint of dismissal,” writes the patient’s sister, Kate Beaton. “Becky was scared, and perhaps that was the main takeaway that day. But she was also right.”
The article tells the story of a vibrant woman who, according to her sister, asked her doctors lots of questions, wrote everything down, and faced years of being dismissed when she explained her symptoms. Becky’s sister says she is telling her sister’s story in an effort to make a difference in the lives of other patients.
“[Becky] did not want anyone to go through what she went through, ever again,” Ms. Beaton writes.
Letting children roam free
Children of the 1950s and 1960s can remember tearing out the door after dinner with the parental order to be home before dark. Where we went and what we did was known only to us. Our parents trusted we knew how to look out after ourselves.
In that tradition, as explained by National Public Radio, some parents are actively turning away from the to-the-second scheduling of their children’s lives and Teflon coating them against the perceived danger of everyday life. Instead, they are letting their children be independent. It can be a powerful life benefit for a child. But it can come at a cost to parents. Parents in several states have been arrested for actions that include letting their children walk to school unattended.
“This very pessimistic, fearful way of looking at childhood isn’t based in reality,” says Leonore Skenazy in a story on NPR. “It is something that we have been taught.” Ms. Skenazy is founder of Free Range Kids, a group that promotes childhood independence.
Boundaries and remote work
More and more Americans are working from home, according to a 2017 Gallup survey. The survey says that 43% of people worked remotely for part of the time in 2016, compared with 39% in 2012.
But for parents who work remotely, separating their business and family lives is especially challenging, Marie Elizabeth Oliver writes in an article published in The Washington Post.
“Being a parent is isolating, but being a parent and working from home is really isolating,” author Karen Alpert says. “Especially as a mom, there’s so much pressure to do your job as fast and efficiently as possible.”
Experts advise setting boundaries by taking steps such as setting timers and checking in every hour, for example. Or using clothes to make the mental shifts between being on the clock, so to speak, and being in leisure mode.
“It’s not that you have to dress up,” author David Heinemeier Hansson says in the article, describing one of his employees who came up with a system that enabled him to set these boundaries using clothes. “It’s just that he knew, ‘I have my home slippers on right now, so I’m not responding to this email.’ “
Neuroscience as a remedy to heartbreak
The end of a romance can be both frustrating and embarrassing. A person may wallow in the emotional muck for a long time.
Such was the case for Dessa, a well-known rapper, singer, and writer from Minneapolis, who carried the emotional baggage of an ex-boyfriend.
“You’re not only suffering,” she comments in an interview on NPR. “You’re just sort of ridiculous. Discipline and dedication are my strong suits – it really bothered me that, no matter how much effort I tried to expend in trying to solve this problem, I was stuck.”
The stalemate ended when she viewed a TED Talk by Helen Fisher, PhD, a biological anthropologist and visiting research associate at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J. Dr. Fisher used functional MRI to examine some people in the throes of lost love. The examinations revealed revved-up activity of certain parts of their brains.
This prompted the idea that techniques of neurofeedback could be used to wipe the pangs of love from the brain circuitry. It seems to have worked for Dessa, although a placebo effect cannot be ruled out.
“Before [the feedback], I felt that I was really under the thumb of a fixation and a compulsion,” she says. “And now it feels like those feelings have been scaled down.”
Turn on the television, and chances are good that popular dramas (especially hospital-oriented shows) will be showing an episode revolving around a mental health issue.
, in time for a commercial. Real life is messier.
“Unfortunately mental health story lines are much more likely to be fear-mongering and wildly wrong. As a psychiatrist, this both piques my interest and upends my work-life balance,” Dr. Gold writes. “Whether I’m watching everyone’s favorite medical drama or ‘reality TV,’ it’s impossible not to switch into physician mode, angry on behalf of all of my patients and the many viewers who are being misled.”
Do physicians hear women?
“Rebecca continues to be paranoid.”
That was a note written by someone involved in the medical care of a 30-something woman diagnosed with stage IIB cervical cancer, according to an article in New York magazine.
“There’s a whiff of old ‘female hysteria’ to [the note], with more than a hint of dismissal,” writes the patient’s sister, Kate Beaton. “Becky was scared, and perhaps that was the main takeaway that day. But she was also right.”
The article tells the story of a vibrant woman who, according to her sister, asked her doctors lots of questions, wrote everything down, and faced years of being dismissed when she explained her symptoms. Becky’s sister says she is telling her sister’s story in an effort to make a difference in the lives of other patients.
“[Becky] did not want anyone to go through what she went through, ever again,” Ms. Beaton writes.
Letting children roam free
Children of the 1950s and 1960s can remember tearing out the door after dinner with the parental order to be home before dark. Where we went and what we did was known only to us. Our parents trusted we knew how to look out after ourselves.
In that tradition, as explained by National Public Radio, some parents are actively turning away from the to-the-second scheduling of their children’s lives and Teflon coating them against the perceived danger of everyday life. Instead, they are letting their children be independent. It can be a powerful life benefit for a child. But it can come at a cost to parents. Parents in several states have been arrested for actions that include letting their children walk to school unattended.
“This very pessimistic, fearful way of looking at childhood isn’t based in reality,” says Leonore Skenazy in a story on NPR. “It is something that we have been taught.” Ms. Skenazy is founder of Free Range Kids, a group that promotes childhood independence.
Boundaries and remote work
More and more Americans are working from home, according to a 2017 Gallup survey. The survey says that 43% of people worked remotely for part of the time in 2016, compared with 39% in 2012.
But for parents who work remotely, separating their business and family lives is especially challenging, Marie Elizabeth Oliver writes in an article published in The Washington Post.
“Being a parent is isolating, but being a parent and working from home is really isolating,” author Karen Alpert says. “Especially as a mom, there’s so much pressure to do your job as fast and efficiently as possible.”
Experts advise setting boundaries by taking steps such as setting timers and checking in every hour, for example. Or using clothes to make the mental shifts between being on the clock, so to speak, and being in leisure mode.
“It’s not that you have to dress up,” author David Heinemeier Hansson says in the article, describing one of his employees who came up with a system that enabled him to set these boundaries using clothes. “It’s just that he knew, ‘I have my home slippers on right now, so I’m not responding to this email.’ “
Neuroscience as a remedy to heartbreak
The end of a romance can be both frustrating and embarrassing. A person may wallow in the emotional muck for a long time.
Such was the case for Dessa, a well-known rapper, singer, and writer from Minneapolis, who carried the emotional baggage of an ex-boyfriend.
“You’re not only suffering,” she comments in an interview on NPR. “You’re just sort of ridiculous. Discipline and dedication are my strong suits – it really bothered me that, no matter how much effort I tried to expend in trying to solve this problem, I was stuck.”
The stalemate ended when she viewed a TED Talk by Helen Fisher, PhD, a biological anthropologist and visiting research associate at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J. Dr. Fisher used functional MRI to examine some people in the throes of lost love. The examinations revealed revved-up activity of certain parts of their brains.
This prompted the idea that techniques of neurofeedback could be used to wipe the pangs of love from the brain circuitry. It seems to have worked for Dessa, although a placebo effect cannot be ruled out.
“Before [the feedback], I felt that I was really under the thumb of a fixation and a compulsion,” she says. “And now it feels like those feelings have been scaled down.”
Turn on the television, and chances are good that popular dramas (especially hospital-oriented shows) will be showing an episode revolving around a mental health issue.
, in time for a commercial. Real life is messier.
“Unfortunately mental health story lines are much more likely to be fear-mongering and wildly wrong. As a psychiatrist, this both piques my interest and upends my work-life balance,” Dr. Gold writes. “Whether I’m watching everyone’s favorite medical drama or ‘reality TV,’ it’s impossible not to switch into physician mode, angry on behalf of all of my patients and the many viewers who are being misled.”
Do physicians hear women?
“Rebecca continues to be paranoid.”
That was a note written by someone involved in the medical care of a 30-something woman diagnosed with stage IIB cervical cancer, according to an article in New York magazine.
“There’s a whiff of old ‘female hysteria’ to [the note], with more than a hint of dismissal,” writes the patient’s sister, Kate Beaton. “Becky was scared, and perhaps that was the main takeaway that day. But she was also right.”
The article tells the story of a vibrant woman who, according to her sister, asked her doctors lots of questions, wrote everything down, and faced years of being dismissed when she explained her symptoms. Becky’s sister says she is telling her sister’s story in an effort to make a difference in the lives of other patients.
“[Becky] did not want anyone to go through what she went through, ever again,” Ms. Beaton writes.
Letting children roam free
Children of the 1950s and 1960s can remember tearing out the door after dinner with the parental order to be home before dark. Where we went and what we did was known only to us. Our parents trusted we knew how to look out after ourselves.
In that tradition, as explained by National Public Radio, some parents are actively turning away from the to-the-second scheduling of their children’s lives and Teflon coating them against the perceived danger of everyday life. Instead, they are letting their children be independent. It can be a powerful life benefit for a child. But it can come at a cost to parents. Parents in several states have been arrested for actions that include letting their children walk to school unattended.
“This very pessimistic, fearful way of looking at childhood isn’t based in reality,” says Leonore Skenazy in a story on NPR. “It is something that we have been taught.” Ms. Skenazy is founder of Free Range Kids, a group that promotes childhood independence.
Boundaries and remote work
More and more Americans are working from home, according to a 2017 Gallup survey. The survey says that 43% of people worked remotely for part of the time in 2016, compared with 39% in 2012.
But for parents who work remotely, separating their business and family lives is especially challenging, Marie Elizabeth Oliver writes in an article published in The Washington Post.
“Being a parent is isolating, but being a parent and working from home is really isolating,” author Karen Alpert says. “Especially as a mom, there’s so much pressure to do your job as fast and efficiently as possible.”
Experts advise setting boundaries by taking steps such as setting timers and checking in every hour, for example. Or using clothes to make the mental shifts between being on the clock, so to speak, and being in leisure mode.
“It’s not that you have to dress up,” author David Heinemeier Hansson says in the article, describing one of his employees who came up with a system that enabled him to set these boundaries using clothes. “It’s just that he knew, ‘I have my home slippers on right now, so I’m not responding to this email.’ “
Neuroscience as a remedy to heartbreak
The end of a romance can be both frustrating and embarrassing. A person may wallow in the emotional muck for a long time.
Such was the case for Dessa, a well-known rapper, singer, and writer from Minneapolis, who carried the emotional baggage of an ex-boyfriend.
“You’re not only suffering,” she comments in an interview on NPR. “You’re just sort of ridiculous. Discipline and dedication are my strong suits – it really bothered me that, no matter how much effort I tried to expend in trying to solve this problem, I was stuck.”
The stalemate ended when she viewed a TED Talk by Helen Fisher, PhD, a biological anthropologist and visiting research associate at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J. Dr. Fisher used functional MRI to examine some people in the throes of lost love. The examinations revealed revved-up activity of certain parts of their brains.
This prompted the idea that techniques of neurofeedback could be used to wipe the pangs of love from the brain circuitry. It seems to have worked for Dessa, although a placebo effect cannot be ruled out.
“Before [the feedback], I felt that I was really under the thumb of a fixation and a compulsion,” she says. “And now it feels like those feelings have been scaled down.”
Maternal infanticide and postpartum psychosis
Postpartum psychosis is extremely rare, but when it does occur, the consequences can prove catastrophic.
An article in The Atlantic chronicles the nightmare suffered by mothers driven to kill their children.
Cara Angelotta, MD, a forensic psychiatrist affiliated with Northwestern University in Chicago, says the presence of postpartum psychosis also puts mothers’ lives at risk. “Suicide is a major contributor to maternal death in the first year postpartum. [And] postpartum psychosis increases the risk of suicide,” she says.
“People don’t get it,” says Susan Benjamin Feingold, PsyD, a psychologist at the Illinois School of Professional Psychology in Chicago and an expert in postpartum disorders. “They see baby killers. These women are really sick and need treatment, not punishment.”
On June 1, Illinois became the first state to implement a law that allows judges to consider postpartum psychosis during sentencing. When left untreated, postpartum psychosis might raise the risk of infanticide by about 4%, the article in The Atlantic noted.
Thank you for being a friend
Some senior adults are benefiting from the friendship, security, and invigoration provided by an initiative of several universities in which they share living spaces with students. The arrangement, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, saves the student on housing costs and provides the senior with companionship and assistance with household chores.
But these arrangements have deeper and more enriching benefits.
About 25% of older adults lack family assistance with everyday tasks and live without the companionship that is a hallmark of multiperson households. “It actually gives some peace of mind to that older person,” says Samir Sinha, MD, director of geriatrics at Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital.
“It gives them a greater sense of security and the ability to feel like they can maintain their independence for that much longer.”
Jobs and the deaf community
Hearing loss can cause a retreat from the world. But in one San Francisco neighborhood, it is not a barrier to work. As reported by National Public Radio (NPR), every staff member at Mozzeria is partly or fully deaf. Using pen-and-paper ordering or the tried and true pointing at the menu that eases the interchange between hearing-enabled patrons not versed in American Sign Language and hearing-challenged staff, Mozzeria owners Melody and Russ Stein provide solid employment for people for whom a job could otherwise be elusive. Only about 48% of the deaf community is employed in the United States (compared with 72% of hearing individuals), according to the National Deaf Center.
“We envision that each Mozzeria location will be looked at as a source of both local and national pride,” Melody Stein wrote in a recent article.
An alternative to opioids?
Jelena M. Janjic, PhD, a pain researcher at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, is drawing on her expertise in nanotechnology and her personal experience to develop a means of delivering nonopioid drugs directly to cells in the body. If successful in humans, as it has been in rats, the method would free people from using addictive opioids for pain relief.
As reported by NPR, a motivation for the tact is Dr. Janjic’s own decades-long battle with chronic pain. Personal introspection and literature searches led her to the view that chronic pain can be rooted in inflammation. Quelling the inflammation without disabling the good that the immune system does in fighting infections and other harms might help ease the pain.
“As a patient, I want an answer,” Dr. Janjic says in the interview. “I want to figure out this.”
Marshmallows and self-control
The world recently bid goodbye to Walter Mischel, PhD, who died on Sept. 12. Dr. Mischel is chiefly remembered for his ionic marshmallow test.
In the test of delayed gratification, children were presented with a treat (sometimes the famous marshmallow) then asked to hold off gobbling down the treat in exchange for an even more treats later.
As described in The New Yorker, an inspiration for Dr. Mischel was his repeated attempts to quit his prodigious smoking addiction. His research was one of the first glimpses into the role of self-control as a beneficial strategy in life. Learning to mentally temper that got-to-have-it moment is, according to Dr. Mischel, key to self-control.
“If we have the skills to allow us to make discriminations about when we do or don’t do something, when we do or don’t drink something, and when we do and when we don’t wait for something, we are no longer victims of our desires,” he said in the New Yorker interview.
Postpartum psychosis is extremely rare, but when it does occur, the consequences can prove catastrophic.
An article in The Atlantic chronicles the nightmare suffered by mothers driven to kill their children.
Cara Angelotta, MD, a forensic psychiatrist affiliated with Northwestern University in Chicago, says the presence of postpartum psychosis also puts mothers’ lives at risk. “Suicide is a major contributor to maternal death in the first year postpartum. [And] postpartum psychosis increases the risk of suicide,” she says.
“People don’t get it,” says Susan Benjamin Feingold, PsyD, a psychologist at the Illinois School of Professional Psychology in Chicago and an expert in postpartum disorders. “They see baby killers. These women are really sick and need treatment, not punishment.”
On June 1, Illinois became the first state to implement a law that allows judges to consider postpartum psychosis during sentencing. When left untreated, postpartum psychosis might raise the risk of infanticide by about 4%, the article in The Atlantic noted.
Thank you for being a friend
Some senior adults are benefiting from the friendship, security, and invigoration provided by an initiative of several universities in which they share living spaces with students. The arrangement, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, saves the student on housing costs and provides the senior with companionship and assistance with household chores.
But these arrangements have deeper and more enriching benefits.
About 25% of older adults lack family assistance with everyday tasks and live without the companionship that is a hallmark of multiperson households. “It actually gives some peace of mind to that older person,” says Samir Sinha, MD, director of geriatrics at Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital.
“It gives them a greater sense of security and the ability to feel like they can maintain their independence for that much longer.”
Jobs and the deaf community
Hearing loss can cause a retreat from the world. But in one San Francisco neighborhood, it is not a barrier to work. As reported by National Public Radio (NPR), every staff member at Mozzeria is partly or fully deaf. Using pen-and-paper ordering or the tried and true pointing at the menu that eases the interchange between hearing-enabled patrons not versed in American Sign Language and hearing-challenged staff, Mozzeria owners Melody and Russ Stein provide solid employment for people for whom a job could otherwise be elusive. Only about 48% of the deaf community is employed in the United States (compared with 72% of hearing individuals), according to the National Deaf Center.
“We envision that each Mozzeria location will be looked at as a source of both local and national pride,” Melody Stein wrote in a recent article.
An alternative to opioids?
Jelena M. Janjic, PhD, a pain researcher at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, is drawing on her expertise in nanotechnology and her personal experience to develop a means of delivering nonopioid drugs directly to cells in the body. If successful in humans, as it has been in rats, the method would free people from using addictive opioids for pain relief.
As reported by NPR, a motivation for the tact is Dr. Janjic’s own decades-long battle with chronic pain. Personal introspection and literature searches led her to the view that chronic pain can be rooted in inflammation. Quelling the inflammation without disabling the good that the immune system does in fighting infections and other harms might help ease the pain.
“As a patient, I want an answer,” Dr. Janjic says in the interview. “I want to figure out this.”
Marshmallows and self-control
The world recently bid goodbye to Walter Mischel, PhD, who died on Sept. 12. Dr. Mischel is chiefly remembered for his ionic marshmallow test.
In the test of delayed gratification, children were presented with a treat (sometimes the famous marshmallow) then asked to hold off gobbling down the treat in exchange for an even more treats later.
As described in The New Yorker, an inspiration for Dr. Mischel was his repeated attempts to quit his prodigious smoking addiction. His research was one of the first glimpses into the role of self-control as a beneficial strategy in life. Learning to mentally temper that got-to-have-it moment is, according to Dr. Mischel, key to self-control.
“If we have the skills to allow us to make discriminations about when we do or don’t do something, when we do or don’t drink something, and when we do and when we don’t wait for something, we are no longer victims of our desires,” he said in the New Yorker interview.
Postpartum psychosis is extremely rare, but when it does occur, the consequences can prove catastrophic.
An article in The Atlantic chronicles the nightmare suffered by mothers driven to kill their children.
Cara Angelotta, MD, a forensic psychiatrist affiliated with Northwestern University in Chicago, says the presence of postpartum psychosis also puts mothers’ lives at risk. “Suicide is a major contributor to maternal death in the first year postpartum. [And] postpartum psychosis increases the risk of suicide,” she says.
“People don’t get it,” says Susan Benjamin Feingold, PsyD, a psychologist at the Illinois School of Professional Psychology in Chicago and an expert in postpartum disorders. “They see baby killers. These women are really sick and need treatment, not punishment.”
On June 1, Illinois became the first state to implement a law that allows judges to consider postpartum psychosis during sentencing. When left untreated, postpartum psychosis might raise the risk of infanticide by about 4%, the article in The Atlantic noted.
Thank you for being a friend
Some senior adults are benefiting from the friendship, security, and invigoration provided by an initiative of several universities in which they share living spaces with students. The arrangement, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, saves the student on housing costs and provides the senior with companionship and assistance with household chores.
But these arrangements have deeper and more enriching benefits.
About 25% of older adults lack family assistance with everyday tasks and live without the companionship that is a hallmark of multiperson households. “It actually gives some peace of mind to that older person,” says Samir Sinha, MD, director of geriatrics at Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital.
“It gives them a greater sense of security and the ability to feel like they can maintain their independence for that much longer.”
Jobs and the deaf community
Hearing loss can cause a retreat from the world. But in one San Francisco neighborhood, it is not a barrier to work. As reported by National Public Radio (NPR), every staff member at Mozzeria is partly or fully deaf. Using pen-and-paper ordering or the tried and true pointing at the menu that eases the interchange between hearing-enabled patrons not versed in American Sign Language and hearing-challenged staff, Mozzeria owners Melody and Russ Stein provide solid employment for people for whom a job could otherwise be elusive. Only about 48% of the deaf community is employed in the United States (compared with 72% of hearing individuals), according to the National Deaf Center.
“We envision that each Mozzeria location will be looked at as a source of both local and national pride,” Melody Stein wrote in a recent article.
An alternative to opioids?
Jelena M. Janjic, PhD, a pain researcher at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, is drawing on her expertise in nanotechnology and her personal experience to develop a means of delivering nonopioid drugs directly to cells in the body. If successful in humans, as it has been in rats, the method would free people from using addictive opioids for pain relief.
As reported by NPR, a motivation for the tact is Dr. Janjic’s own decades-long battle with chronic pain. Personal introspection and literature searches led her to the view that chronic pain can be rooted in inflammation. Quelling the inflammation without disabling the good that the immune system does in fighting infections and other harms might help ease the pain.
“As a patient, I want an answer,” Dr. Janjic says in the interview. “I want to figure out this.”
Marshmallows and self-control
The world recently bid goodbye to Walter Mischel, PhD, who died on Sept. 12. Dr. Mischel is chiefly remembered for his ionic marshmallow test.
In the test of delayed gratification, children were presented with a treat (sometimes the famous marshmallow) then asked to hold off gobbling down the treat in exchange for an even more treats later.
As described in The New Yorker, an inspiration for Dr. Mischel was his repeated attempts to quit his prodigious smoking addiction. His research was one of the first glimpses into the role of self-control as a beneficial strategy in life. Learning to mentally temper that got-to-have-it moment is, according to Dr. Mischel, key to self-control.
“If we have the skills to allow us to make discriminations about when we do or don’t do something, when we do or don’t drink something, and when we do and when we don’t wait for something, we are no longer victims of our desires,” he said in the New Yorker interview.
Glenn Close fights stigma; empty nesters share pleasures, pains
Glenn Close is infamous for her portrayal of a woman whose reactions to a one-night stand in “Fatal Attraction” become increasingly bizarre and hostile. Whether the character was in the throes of a mental disorder was never broached in the movie. But Ms. Close has real-life family experience; her sister has bipolar disorder and a nephew has schizophrenia.
“When I became an advocate, I realized that is a family affair for one in four of us. One in four is touched in some way by mental illness. So, it became obvious to me that we have to talk about it,” Ms. Close said in an interview on CBS Sunday Morning. In 2010, Ms. Close and her sister Jessie began Bring Change to Mind, a foundation that strives to move discussions about mental health into the mainstream.
Harm reduction and opioids
The “just say no” mantra to drug abstinence espoused by Nancy Reagan decades ago remains an option for some people today. However, according to an article in The Walrus, this approach does not cut it for many drug users. What may resonate is the harm they are inflicting on themselves and how they can lessen it by curbing drug use. In Ottawa, Canada, a program that features an individualized and flexible approach to opioid addiction, which continues to offer drugs while focusing on health instead of abstinence, is having a positive effect.
“I’m an opioid addict. That goes without saying if you’re in this program,” one participant says. “Struggling with addiction while being homeless creates a unique set of challenges ... the [program] provides not only freedom from drug addiction on the street but freedom from homelessness.”
Empty nesters’ new lives
The ritual of being a parent, for many, is the bittersweet day when the last or only child heads off to college or university. A recent segment on National Public Radio gauged the reactions of some parents. For some, the initial feeling is one of relief, with days that are quieter and perhaps encouraging of more personal exploration. “After 20 years of every moment being about the girls, it was once again just the two of us. Some things are really great – walking around the house naked, going to bed before it’s dark and not having children mock us, and having a tidy house,” says Michael Pusateri of South Pasadena, Calif.
“But, we do miss the girls,” he adds. “I miss the sound of them bumping around the house. And as corny as it sounds, I miss seeing them sleep.”
For others, the polar opposite prevails. “My job as a full-time, stay-at-home mom to four kids has finally come to an end after 31 years when our baby left for college last week. I’ve been dreading drop-off day for about a decade. The hardest part was walking back into the now empty house, feeling swallowed up by the silence. The tears flowed when I walked by her room for the first time knowing she won’t be saying goodnight, Mom, from behind that door every night. Saying goodbye to the last is especially difficult as I sit here in my empty nest, missing my daughter and wondering, now what?” relates Beth Smizlof of Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
“A hundred people will tell you how to raise your son, but very few will talk about how to let him go,” says Julie Stewart of Birmingham, Ala.
What is a hyperpolyglot?
An article in The New Yorker considers people whose linguistic mastery encompasses dozens of languages. To be a hyperpolyglot – defined as someone who can speak 11 or more languages – requires a lot of effort. And there may be a genetic predisposition, since there is evidence (which still requires confirmation) that “an extreme language learner has a more-than-random chance of being a gay, left-handed male on the autism spectrum, with an autoimmune disorder, such as asthma or allergies,” writes Judith Thurman.
A brain that is more apt to process the information needed to learn a new language may also be part of the picture.
Coffee and cancer warning
On Aug. 29, the Food and Drug Administration released a statement from Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, that supports a proposal to exempt coffee from California’s cancer warning law. The action was prompted by a recent ruling by a California court that the state’s Proposition 65 could require labeling of coffee with a cancer warning, because of the presence of a chemical called acrylamide, which can form in many foods during frying, roasting, and baking.
“In coffee, acrylamide forms during the roasting of coffee beans. Although acrylamide at high doses has been linked to cancer in animals, and coffee contains acrylamide, current science indicates that consuming coffee poses no significant risk of cancer,” the statement reads in part.
Glenn Close is infamous for her portrayal of a woman whose reactions to a one-night stand in “Fatal Attraction” become increasingly bizarre and hostile. Whether the character was in the throes of a mental disorder was never broached in the movie. But Ms. Close has real-life family experience; her sister has bipolar disorder and a nephew has schizophrenia.
“When I became an advocate, I realized that is a family affair for one in four of us. One in four is touched in some way by mental illness. So, it became obvious to me that we have to talk about it,” Ms. Close said in an interview on CBS Sunday Morning. In 2010, Ms. Close and her sister Jessie began Bring Change to Mind, a foundation that strives to move discussions about mental health into the mainstream.
Harm reduction and opioids
The “just say no” mantra to drug abstinence espoused by Nancy Reagan decades ago remains an option for some people today. However, according to an article in The Walrus, this approach does not cut it for many drug users. What may resonate is the harm they are inflicting on themselves and how they can lessen it by curbing drug use. In Ottawa, Canada, a program that features an individualized and flexible approach to opioid addiction, which continues to offer drugs while focusing on health instead of abstinence, is having a positive effect.
“I’m an opioid addict. That goes without saying if you’re in this program,” one participant says. “Struggling with addiction while being homeless creates a unique set of challenges ... the [program] provides not only freedom from drug addiction on the street but freedom from homelessness.”
Empty nesters’ new lives
The ritual of being a parent, for many, is the bittersweet day when the last or only child heads off to college or university. A recent segment on National Public Radio gauged the reactions of some parents. For some, the initial feeling is one of relief, with days that are quieter and perhaps encouraging of more personal exploration. “After 20 years of every moment being about the girls, it was once again just the two of us. Some things are really great – walking around the house naked, going to bed before it’s dark and not having children mock us, and having a tidy house,” says Michael Pusateri of South Pasadena, Calif.
“But, we do miss the girls,” he adds. “I miss the sound of them bumping around the house. And as corny as it sounds, I miss seeing them sleep.”
For others, the polar opposite prevails. “My job as a full-time, stay-at-home mom to four kids has finally come to an end after 31 years when our baby left for college last week. I’ve been dreading drop-off day for about a decade. The hardest part was walking back into the now empty house, feeling swallowed up by the silence. The tears flowed when I walked by her room for the first time knowing she won’t be saying goodnight, Mom, from behind that door every night. Saying goodbye to the last is especially difficult as I sit here in my empty nest, missing my daughter and wondering, now what?” relates Beth Smizlof of Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
“A hundred people will tell you how to raise your son, but very few will talk about how to let him go,” says Julie Stewart of Birmingham, Ala.
What is a hyperpolyglot?
An article in The New Yorker considers people whose linguistic mastery encompasses dozens of languages. To be a hyperpolyglot – defined as someone who can speak 11 or more languages – requires a lot of effort. And there may be a genetic predisposition, since there is evidence (which still requires confirmation) that “an extreme language learner has a more-than-random chance of being a gay, left-handed male on the autism spectrum, with an autoimmune disorder, such as asthma or allergies,” writes Judith Thurman.
A brain that is more apt to process the information needed to learn a new language may also be part of the picture.
Coffee and cancer warning
On Aug. 29, the Food and Drug Administration released a statement from Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, that supports a proposal to exempt coffee from California’s cancer warning law. The action was prompted by a recent ruling by a California court that the state’s Proposition 65 could require labeling of coffee with a cancer warning, because of the presence of a chemical called acrylamide, which can form in many foods during frying, roasting, and baking.
“In coffee, acrylamide forms during the roasting of coffee beans. Although acrylamide at high doses has been linked to cancer in animals, and coffee contains acrylamide, current science indicates that consuming coffee poses no significant risk of cancer,” the statement reads in part.
Glenn Close is infamous for her portrayal of a woman whose reactions to a one-night stand in “Fatal Attraction” become increasingly bizarre and hostile. Whether the character was in the throes of a mental disorder was never broached in the movie. But Ms. Close has real-life family experience; her sister has bipolar disorder and a nephew has schizophrenia.
“When I became an advocate, I realized that is a family affair for one in four of us. One in four is touched in some way by mental illness. So, it became obvious to me that we have to talk about it,” Ms. Close said in an interview on CBS Sunday Morning. In 2010, Ms. Close and her sister Jessie began Bring Change to Mind, a foundation that strives to move discussions about mental health into the mainstream.
Harm reduction and opioids
The “just say no” mantra to drug abstinence espoused by Nancy Reagan decades ago remains an option for some people today. However, according to an article in The Walrus, this approach does not cut it for many drug users. What may resonate is the harm they are inflicting on themselves and how they can lessen it by curbing drug use. In Ottawa, Canada, a program that features an individualized and flexible approach to opioid addiction, which continues to offer drugs while focusing on health instead of abstinence, is having a positive effect.
“I’m an opioid addict. That goes without saying if you’re in this program,” one participant says. “Struggling with addiction while being homeless creates a unique set of challenges ... the [program] provides not only freedom from drug addiction on the street but freedom from homelessness.”
Empty nesters’ new lives
The ritual of being a parent, for many, is the bittersweet day when the last or only child heads off to college or university. A recent segment on National Public Radio gauged the reactions of some parents. For some, the initial feeling is one of relief, with days that are quieter and perhaps encouraging of more personal exploration. “After 20 years of every moment being about the girls, it was once again just the two of us. Some things are really great – walking around the house naked, going to bed before it’s dark and not having children mock us, and having a tidy house,” says Michael Pusateri of South Pasadena, Calif.
“But, we do miss the girls,” he adds. “I miss the sound of them bumping around the house. And as corny as it sounds, I miss seeing them sleep.”
For others, the polar opposite prevails. “My job as a full-time, stay-at-home mom to four kids has finally come to an end after 31 years when our baby left for college last week. I’ve been dreading drop-off day for about a decade. The hardest part was walking back into the now empty house, feeling swallowed up by the silence. The tears flowed when I walked by her room for the first time knowing she won’t be saying goodnight, Mom, from behind that door every night. Saying goodbye to the last is especially difficult as I sit here in my empty nest, missing my daughter and wondering, now what?” relates Beth Smizlof of Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
“A hundred people will tell you how to raise your son, but very few will talk about how to let him go,” says Julie Stewart of Birmingham, Ala.
What is a hyperpolyglot?
An article in The New Yorker considers people whose linguistic mastery encompasses dozens of languages. To be a hyperpolyglot – defined as someone who can speak 11 or more languages – requires a lot of effort. And there may be a genetic predisposition, since there is evidence (which still requires confirmation) that “an extreme language learner has a more-than-random chance of being a gay, left-handed male on the autism spectrum, with an autoimmune disorder, such as asthma or allergies,” writes Judith Thurman.
A brain that is more apt to process the information needed to learn a new language may also be part of the picture.
Coffee and cancer warning
On Aug. 29, the Food and Drug Administration released a statement from Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, that supports a proposal to exempt coffee from California’s cancer warning law. The action was prompted by a recent ruling by a California court that the state’s Proposition 65 could require labeling of coffee with a cancer warning, because of the presence of a chemical called acrylamide, which can form in many foods during frying, roasting, and baking.
“In coffee, acrylamide forms during the roasting of coffee beans. Although acrylamide at high doses has been linked to cancer in animals, and coffee contains acrylamide, current science indicates that consuming coffee poses no significant risk of cancer,” the statement reads in part.