Mental & Emotional Health

I grew up in a pretty small town. There were 20,000 people and most of them were conservative, white, blue collar workers. In this town, you either were a nerd, a jock, or a stoner. (I got to be in the “nerd” category, and still don’t mind that!) There wasn’t much to do in this town (two bowling alleys and, after my Sophomore year of high school, a roller skating rink. I mostly hung out with my friends at their houses doing random things that were “nerdy.” I didn’t think much of it until I moved away to college.

In college, I joined (approximately) 39,999 other people in a larger town, with people of all different races, ethnicities, educational backgrounds, financial situations, sexualities, and whatnot. I was blown away by these new people, and made friends quickly and felt comfortable with everyone. During my junior year at school I took a women’s studies class (that I loved) about violence against women. My professor was from Minnesota and one day mentioned that this college wasn’t very diverse. It got me thinking; I came from a little town and this new town was diverse. Professor came from a huge town and this new town was not diverse. Interesting how that works out.

The whole point of this post was that I spent my weekend with a family who absolutely understands tolerance. Mr.Cee is gay. He came out of the closet in his early high school years (in the little town of 20,000) and then moved to an even smaller town. He made friends, his family continued to love him, and nothing was too shocking for them. Mr.Cee moved to New York City where, while doing IV drugs, he contracted HIV. His family, rather than shunning him, have rallied around him and continued to show their love & support towards him. Mr.Cee started a treatment for Hepatitis C a few weeks ago and his medication has made him pretty sick and makes him feel worn out as well. He came to town for a family party, and watching his family surround him with love, even though they haven’t seen him in years, was really cool.

I feel like I lost my train of thought a million times during this post. I may address this again when I have more thoughts actually put together. Enjoy your Tuesday!!

mental and emotional health, tolerance, HIV, AIDS, hepatitis C, family, Roseburg, Oregon State University

Today I turn 25. At 1:50pm, 25 years ago, my mom (naturally) gave birth to me. Kinda scary to think about. Anyway, happy birthday to me … I’m officially 1/2-way to fifty.

My parents drove up to take me to dinner (and give me boxes and tape and a present!) and mom asked me at one point if I felt old … and I don’t, but I feel weird. “I’m 25 and divorced.” Neither of my parents had much to say about that … I think it made them uncomfortable, but we moved on shortly thereafter. This morning I woke up early and spent a little while thinking about the things that I’ve done in the past 25 years that have made me incredibly proud; I don’t have much material on my mind for REAL mental and emotional health, but concentrating on my OWN mental and emotional health, I thought I’d list some of the things I’m more proud of from the past 25 years.

~I learned to read at an exceptionally early age. I was barely 4 when I read books aloud to strangers. My dad took me to jobsites with him and I impressed teachers by “reading” to them. They assumed that I was going to make up the stories and then I actually read the book to them. I read all the time still; I love to read.

~I wrote a story that was published when I was in 3rd grade. It was a HORRIBLE story about a horse who had trouble walking. I named the horse Sarah. Psychologically there is probably something strange about that. “Readers dream, dreamers write.” I both dream and write … this is a pretty cool thing to me.

~I joined the Talented and Gifted program in 4th grade. I was a smart kid. I still feel like a smart kid most days. (I stayed in TAG until they disbanded it in 8th grade.)

~I started my own business in the 6th grade, selling and teaching about owl pellets. My friend Brandi and I made good money doing this. We collected the owl pellets from her grandpa’s barn, sold them for a dollar a piece (school science catalogs sold them for $4 a piece) and our elementary school principal drove us to other schools to give presentations and teach younger kids about owls and mice. It’s gross, but we made money and teachers thought we were super-cool.

~In 8th grade, I was the top English student in my “neighborhood.” Our grade was split into two neighborhoods (I was in the gold one, and the other was the blue one) and I got to be the top English student. I got a pretty plaque and my parents were invited to a ceremony and I won an award and all that stuff. I still have the plaque and am STILL proud of this.

~In 10th grade I was accepted into the GAPP (German-American Partnership Program) by my high school German teacher. My family hosted an exchange student (Britta) and then six months later I spent 5 weeks in Germany. I loved this time and learned much about myself. I was 16 (my gosh, this doesn’t feel like it was a DECADE ago!) and had an amazing time!

~I graduated high school. I was in the top 10.15%. I was ONE person off of being in the top 10% of my graduating class and actually felt awful having to sit with the “regular” people. That sounds horribly pretentious, but all my friends were in the first row … and I was way back with the H’s. : ( I survived and I know that it was only a numbers game, but still. I graduated high school!

~I got accepted to the only college I applied to; Oregon State University. Looking back I feel DUMB for only applying to ONE school since I was such a good student in high school (and very, very active!). Who knows where I could have gone if I had decided to be brave and GO somewhere!

~In college I was continually on the Dean’s List and honor roll. I was invited to join honor societies (and I think I joined one … LOL … I can’t really remember) even though I barely passed Chemistry. I got one B in my major (German) in four years and am incredibly proud of such a high college major GPA.

~After my divorce, I have survived and THRIVED. I am a happy, strong, capable woman, and I have learned more about myself in the past 11 months than I had in the previous 11 years. I am incredibly proud of myself for these things.

So, yeah, I’ve done plenty of things to be proud of in the past 25 years. I have no regrets and wouldn’t change a thing … otherwise I wouldn’t be who I am. As a birthday present to me; leave me a comment and tell me why you’re proud of yourself!

mental and emotional health, birthdays, getting older, pride, reading, learning to read, writing, getting published, TAG, talented and gifted program, starting your own business, entrepeneur, owl pellets, dissection, English, awards, GAPP, German-American Partnership Program, Germany, exchange students, high school, graduation, top 10%, college acceptance, Oregon State University, Dean’s List, honor roll, German, divorce, thriving, regrets

It’s always nice to feature other blogs, and so I thought I’d take this Thursday to do just that. I read a lot of blogs on a lot of different subjects. Here are some mental and emotional health blogs that I think you should check out!

Master of Irony - “My life is a study in things that shouldn’t be. A master’s degree, an exciting career path ahead, a little detour to threats of psych wards and nasty meds, mental illness, and a career as a mentally ill (mental) health professional.” She has become a dear friend of mine who I think of often. If you’re going to add one blog to your blogroll this year, add hers.

Depression Talk Online - a fellow 451Press writer addresses depression

Tidal Moods - a bipolar law student writes about his life and bipolar news

Moon Moods - “An on-line diary of a manic depressive, Bipolar I who is coming to terms with such a diagnosis. And other mentally unrelated crap that goes on in her life. Warning: author is prone to rants about issues that don’t really matter.”

Wild Abandon - “I’m Bipolar. Damn.” She makes me laugh.

Bipolar Daily - “I’ve got BiPolar Disorder. Type One. Which means that besides spending much of my life in a depressed state, I’ve been known to hit manic highs resulting in psychosis. The first time I embarked on one of these adventures I was hospitalised within 3 days and diagnosed as Paranoid Schizophrenic (probably because I was convinced that I was the Second Messiah, come to rescue the world from Evil). That conviction was only ended 3 months later with 6 sessions of ECT (alias, shock treatment).”

The Mass Defective - “I’m the mother of a teenage daughter that I love dearly. Currently on disability because the government & pretty much everyone else agrees I’m too screwy in the head to be out in the work force. With this blog I’m here to give a glimpse into the life and mind of a woman whose fragile sense of self and stability has been shattered by Borderline Personality Disorder, and one or more of the following…Major Depression, Anxiety Disorder, Bipolar II (depends on which psychiatrist or therapist you ask). Trapped within the dark, surreal realm of mental illness, desperately searching for an escape. Welcome to my world.”

Emerald888 - “I’ve been noticing a few things and I think they are positive effects from the Cymbalta… I’ve noticed that I’m not miserable being alone with my thoughts. I’ve realized my brain never shuts up and I have gotten used to listening to it now. Sometimes (like when I’m trying to go to sleep and my brain won’t shut up) I can sit for hours and just think. I don’t feel bored or bothered by it!”

The Polar Blog - “Random thoughts of a Borderline with a love of Polar Bears.”

Been Broken - “one man and ‘mental illness’ - an occasional diary ”

Dr. Deb - “Current issues and articles that impact the human psyche presented here.”

Anxiety Insights - news blog filled with anxiety and depression insights

If you have a mental health blog that you’d like added to my list, let me know and I’ll get you up here!

Machine Means Ends to Sleepless Nights - A device worn on the head could in squeeze the benefit of eight hours’ sleep into just two or three hours. Scientists in the US used a technique called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to induce slow waves - indicative of the deepest phase of sleep and essential for learning ability and mood, in a group of sleeping volunteers. (This story is just for Mad … who has no other name but Mad. I’ve never seen him mad … so it’s all kinda weird to me. /randomness)

The face, not the body, attracts a mate - Body builders and gym buffs, look away now. It appears that the opposite sex is much more interested in your face than your bulging biceps or elegant figure, especially if you’re a man. At least that’s the upshot of the first study to assess how much faces and bodies contribute to someone’s overall attractiveness.

Gut Almighty! - Intuitions, or gut feelings, are sudden, strong judgments whose origin we can’t immediately explain. Although they seem to emerge from an obscure inner force, they actually begin with a perception of something outside—a facial expression, a tone of voice, a visual inconsistency so fleeting you’re not even aware you noticed.

A Frown or A Smile? Children With Autism Can’t Discern - When we have a conversation with someone, we not only hear what they say, we see what they say. Eyes can smolder or twinkle. Gazes can be direct or shifty. “Reading” these facial expressions gives context and meaning to the words we hear. In a report presented May 5 at the International Meeting for Autism Research in Seatlle, researchers from UCLA explained that children with autism can’t do this. They hear and they see, of course, but the areas of the brain that normally respond to such visual cues simply do not respond.

mental and emotional health, sleep, transcranial magnetic stimulation, University of Wisconsin, attraction, body building, working out, attractiveness, University of Western Australia, Psychology Today, intuition, gut feelings, inner force, The Second Brain, Columbia University, Brazilian School of Business and Public Administration, autism, facial expressions, International Meeting for Autism Research, UCLA, visual cues, children

The DailyOM wrote a nice article on saving energy that spoke to me. It reminds me a lot of how I feel after being around large groups.

“Being a sensitive person in this world can sometimes feel very draining due to the fact that we are very receptive to the energy of the people and environment around us. Still, we want to be part of situations that involve small or large groups of people, and we would like to do it without becoming overwhelmed or exhausted. With a few simple strategies we can entertain at home and socialize in the world without running the risk of losing ourselves in someone else’s energy or giving our energy away. All this takes is a little time and practice, and the result-being part of social events without ending up depleted-is well worth the effort.

The whole purpose of this self-care ritual is to help keep yourself strong energetically when you are in a situation that could potentially be draining. For example, if you are having a party, you might take some time to prepare beforehand. Just as you spend time cleaning your home and preparing food, it is essential to prepare your inner home for the event. This can be as simple as taking a mindful walk or a cleansing bath, or engaging in any other activity that gives you energy. You can even just sit alone for a set period of time, tuning in to your energy and connecting to yourself so that you are less easily carried away by the energy outside of yourself. You may employ a mantra such as “I am centered and safe in the home of myself.” You can also charge a crystal or gemstone or any piece of jewelry with protective energy and wear it or carry it with you. This can be helpful during the event when just seeing it or touching it can remind you that you are centered and safe.

Keep in mind that it is always acceptable to excuse yourself for a bathroom break or to step outside for a moment. This can give you the time and space you need to check in with yourself and correct any energetic imbalances you detect. Whether you are at home or out in the world, taking care of yourself in this way enables you to keep your energy strong, even as you open yourself to others.”

mental and emotional health, energy levels, recharging, emotional recharging, socializing, relaxing

mental and emotional health, alcohol, alcoholism, alcohol abuse, American Academy of Neurology 2007 Annual Meeting, genetics, calorie restriction, Salk Institute, PHA-4, Foxa, Louisiana State University, mental health, Margaret Trudeau, Pierre Trudeau, CBC Newsworld, medical checkups, persuasion, arguing, Thank You For Arguing, Jay Heinrichs, Three Rivers Press, book reviews, how to fight, conflict, education, interpersonal dealings, negotiating strategies, negotiation skills, phantom pregnancy, pseudocyesis, pregnancy, news

So, I read 70+ blogs a day. Yes, over SEVENTY. It’s insane … I know it … but I like it so bugger off. It’s good for inspiring me to write. It’s bad, however, for intimidating my writing habit. I don’t feel as though I’m worthy of the public reading what I write about; even though I’ve been writing here for months, have a solid following and my traffic is increasing (THANK YOU!!). I’ve completed two novels for NaNoWriMo and no one has seen either of them because I’m so scared. I’ve been writing since I was 4-years-old. I have a “Writers Dream, Dreamers Write” shirt from 2nd grade. I was 7 the first time I was published, 9 the second time, and was published multiple more times in junior high and the first three years of high school. That fourth year of high school ruined my desire to continue being published.

Mrs. D was an awful AP/CC English/Writing (four college classes crammed into one year of high school!) who ruined my senior year. She tore my writing apart. She didn’t like me, because I spoke up. I argued with her opinions (did you know that Beloved by Toni Morrison is all about sex? EVERYTHING in it? Yeah, I didn’t either, so I told her that … and she didn’t agree) so she didn’t like me. Those who agreed with her opinions got A’s in the class, their papers weren’t destroyed and they were continually praised by her. I managed to graduate with four college A’s in this class because I worked my ass off “revising” my papers so that they agreed with her and created a situation where I wrote what I want first - and therefore got my opinion out - but then revised it to her criteria so she HAD to give me a good grade. I hated the class because of her.

I stopped writing because I felt like whatever I had to say was going to come back to me covered in red pencil (she used a red pencil instead of a pen … weird now that I think about it), so I just didn’t try. National Novel Writing Month encouraged me to just write … to get 50,000 words out in 30 days. I did it two years in a row, and never showed anyone what I did. (Unfortunately I didn’t do it last November because I just couldn’t get words out.) I write daily in a journal but it seems to just be fluff. Then I read entries in those 70+ blogs, and then I really feel like things are fluff. Lately I’ve been struggling with this more & more, and I don’t really know what I want to do. Do I try and write meaningful stuff, or do I just let things sit as they fall? I don’t even know where to start if I do want to write some meaningful entries.

For those of you around here who write, how do you allow the good stuff to come out?

mental and emotional health, writing, AP/CC English, high school, bad teachers

Antidepressants to Get U.S. Warning on Suicide Risks - The Food and Drug Administration asked the makers of 36 antidepressants to extend an existing precaution for children and adolescents to cover people ages 18 to 24 when they first use the drugs, the agency said in a statement today. Wyeth, Eli Lilly & Co. and other drugmakers must revise their labels within 30 days.

Analysis: Gulf War vets’ brains shrink - “We found that two regions of the brain had significant shrinking compared with other soldiers who have lower levels of symptoms,” Roberta White, chairman of environmental health at the Boston University School of Public Health, said at the 59th annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Boston.

Alzheimer’s reversed in mice - In a new study, mice bioengineered to mimic the fading memory of Alzheimer’s patients got their memories restored - either by being placed in stimulating environments or by receiving a drug most commonly used to fight cancer.

Bipolar disorder harder to diagnose in children - In the new study, researchers found that adults whose first bipolar symptoms arose in childhood typically waited years for a diagnosis — and far longer than those whose symptoms began in late adolescence or early adulthood.

Hormones may ward off dementia in women - New research suggests that hormone therapy taken soon after menopause may help protect against dementia, even though it raises the risk of mental decline in women who do not take the drugs until they are older.

Perfectionists more stressed by social pressure - In a study of 50 middle-aged men, those who measured highest on tests of perfectionism also secreted more of the stress hormone cortisol while undergoing a stressful public speaking task, Dr. Petra H. Wirtz of the University of Zurich in Switzerland and colleagues found.

Migraines can boost teen suicide risk - They said young teens with migraines, a debilitating kind of headache, are also at higher risk for other psychiatric disorders, such as depression and panic disorder.*

Migraines may be tied to brain damage - People with migraines also may be suffering from some brain damage as brain cells swell and become starved of oxygen — a finding that may help explain why migraine sufferers have a higher risk of stroke, researchers reported on Sunday.**

*I connected with this news story personally as I’ve lived all my life with migraines and ended up with depression and a panic disorder as well. Interesting.

**Does this mean I can use the handicapped parking places? I may be brain damaged! I shouldn’t jokoe about stuff like this though. Shame on me!

mental and emotional health, news, antidepressants, suicide, teen suicide, FDA, Wyeth, Eli Lilly & Company, suicide warning, Gulf War, veterans, Boston University School of Public Health, American Academy of Neurology, brain shrinking, Alzheimer’s, bioengineered mice, bipolar disorder, children’s bipolar disorder, hormones, dementia, menopause, perfectionists, perfectionism, stress, University of Zurich, cortisol, migraines, psychiatric disorders, depression, panic disorder, brain damage

First; I passed the site on to my mom; so I must say “HIIIIIIIII Mutti! Ich bin lustig!”

There are endless amounts of ways to save money if you look for it. I spent a little time at the Federal Trade Commission website reading their 66 Ways to Save Money. The FTC gives you tips on how to save money on everything including car rentals, gasoline, credit cards, major appliances, heating your home, grocery shopping and even funeral arrangements. If you need to save money on it, the FTC probably has a tip for you.

Scholarships Around the US gives us 118 Ways to Save Money in College as well. They give you tips on managing your money in a bank, how to get the best bang for your buck when it comes to drinking alcohol, buying your textbooks, eating on $0.12 (Ramen noodles!), using a school discount to buy a new computer, buying and legally sharing music and DVDs, where to grocery, birthday, and even Christmas shopping!

There are many bargain shopping places you can find online to do your shopping:
EBay
Overstock
Smart Bargains
DealCatcher, catching deals so you don’t have to
Pricegrabber will find the cheapest price for you!
BizRate shopping searches
CouponMountain will give you coupons on thousands of items
Ultimate Coupons will, too!
CouponChief

Save Money on Heating Costs
Easy Ways to Save Money on Gas and Save Money on Car Expenses
Saving Money on Home Expenses
How to Save Money on Your Credit Card and Saving At Your Bank

Lending Tree offers many ways to save your dollars!
7 Tips from MSN on how to save or make some money.

Here are some easy tips on how to save some money quickly!
1. Cut out the soda, juice & flavored drinks and drink more water!
2. Go over your grocery list. Try buying more off-brands. Most are exactly the same as their more expensive counterparts.
3. Buy clothes and shoes from the clearance racks and buy them off-season.
4. Get movies from the library instead of renting them.
5. Same with books, borrow instead of buy. We usually only read them once anyway. If you have to buy a book, buy it used!
6. Go on a picnic instead of going to the restaurant.
7. Toss all your change in a “piggy bank” of some kind and let it accumulate for a few months or longer.
8. If you have all the movie channels, cut them down a bit. Most of the movies rotate through anyway.
9. Do your laundry at night. The rates are cheaper.
10. Give your clothes an extra spin as it costs less to run a washer than the dryer.
11. Ask your credit card companies for a lower interest rate. Sometimes rather than lose a good customer, they will grant your wish!
12. Buy your holiday decorations AFTER the holiday. You can save up to 75% or more.
13. Turn down your heat a couple degrees more at night and throw on an extra blanket.
14. Clean behind your refrigerator at least once a year to get out all the dust and dirt that can cost you more money.
15. Save empty bread bags and grocery bags instead of buying box after box of storage bags.
16. Keep your car tuned and your tires properly inflated to save money on gas.
17. Buy inexpensive fabric for cloth napkins, doilies, etc. You don’t need to use disposable ones, either.
18. Be creative when it comes to decorating. Use sheets to make curtains. Use an old quilt as a cozy wall-hanging. Create an artful display with family photos.
19. Save the new, convenient plastic coffee cans with handles. Paint them, decorate them and use them for organizers for kids art supplies, your CDs, pens & pencils, food envelopes, recipes, craft supplies, etc.
20. Turn unused stuff into money. If you have a gift you haven’t used or that shirt you bought and never wore, take them back to the store. You might not get full price, but some is better than none.
21. Use petroleum jelly to remove make-up. It is much more economical then beauty products made for removing make-up. (I don’t recommend this as petroleum jelly isn’t the best for your skin. Use an generic Oil of Olay instead!)
22. Hydrogen peroxide can be used to kill germs in cuts and sores rather then expensive antibiotic medicines.
23. Make windowsill or container gardens and grow herbs and fresh vegetables.
24. Instead of a night on the town, send the kids to Grandma’s and have a romantic night at home.
25. Make and STICK TO a budget! (Remember my previous days posts?)

Do you have favorite sites that you shop at to save yourself money? What are your favorite money-saving tips?

Yesterday I brought up a touchy subject … money! Today I am going to try and tackle an even touchier subject … learning how to realize when you don’t have enough money.

The first thing most financial experts recommend is finding out where you stand. Do you have your situation under control or do you have a major money problem? You may have to look at how you answer these questions before you move on:
~ do you have any savings?
~ do you only make the minimum payment on your credit cards?
~ do you have more than two or three major credit cards?
~ are you unsure about the total amount you owe on all your debts?
When it comes to debt, and these important questoins, time is of the essence. The sooner you react to your situation, the easier it wil be.

Once you have honestly tackled the “where do I stand?” questions, it’s time to learn about systems that can help you out. Budgeting is an easy way to take control of your financial situation. There are many sites out there that can help you create one that fits with your lifestyle.
Making A Budget
CNN’s Make-A-Budget
Make a Budget Stick
An Online Budget Calculator
Making A Budget Really Work
Microsoft’s Tips for Making a Budget Work

Now that you have your budget created, you’ll need to work towards actually getting out of debt.
* Know about your credit cards.
* Pay off the balance on the credit card with the highest interest rate first (unless the balance on any card exceed 50 percent of your credit limit).
* Learn to use cash instead of credit cards.
* Use direct deposit for your paychecks.
* Cut down on your discretionary expenses. This includes dining out, overusing your cell phone, and other such unnecessary expenses.
* Evaluate your living situation. Your housing costs should be no more than 33 percent of your household income.
* Avoid borrowing money to get out of debt, especially consolidation loans.
* Contact your creditors and try to work out repayment plans.
* Become a savvy shopper. Look for deals, bargains, and savings.
* Look for extra ways to make some money.
* Round up. For speeding up the time it takes to pay off your mortgage, simply add a few dollars each month. Those dollars are applying to the principal, and even a few dollars a month can trim years off your debt. One idea is to round the amount up to the nearest ten.

Once you can concentrate on using these techniques to lower your debt, you can then read tomorrow’s piece on stress-reducing techniques and changes to create a lower-stress lifestyle. The burden of financial stress can be lowered!

Since I will have been unemployed for two weeks by the time that I start nannying, I’ve been a bit stressed out about money. I have a back board and can turn to family if I get desperate, but I hate having to ask for help or admit that I’ve done something I need assistance with. Many people are stressed about money even though they work full-time … or even more than full-time … and so I thought I’d do a few posts about financial stress and how it affects our lives … and then what we can do to help ourselves.

There are millions of internet sites you can find if you do a simple Google search of “financial tips,” and so I had quite a bit of information to digest. Good thing I’m getting paid to do this at least, right? ; )

Research has recently show (thank you 2007 tax year) that half of employed people have money “problems” and financial stress can be linked multiple ways to depression and anxiety. In 2005, the US Congress passed legislation making it harder to wipe away credit card debt which only seemed to increase the anxiey surrounding finances for most.

This anxiety over finances can affect a person’s physical, mental and emotional health in many ways:

* unhealthy coping behaviors: when one has to deal with financial stressors, you may be more likely to want to numb your anxiety by binge drinking, smoking nicotine, using drugs, emotional overeating, and other unhealthy coping behaviors. These actions do not reduce the amount of stress and anxiety in a person’s life; in fact, they will more often add to a stress level.

* having less money for self-care: if you don’t have a lot of money, you aren’t going to take as good care of yourself (or your family) as you would be able to if there were more money involved. Health care is expensive and preventative measures are put by the wayside when the budget gets tight. Small health problems may turn into larger ones as they are ignored and grow.

* lost sleep: stress related insomnia is a huge problem in our nation. A lack of sleep impairs your immune system, your mental and cognitive functioning and can cause moodniess. Who wants to be stressed and moody at the same time?

* unhealthy emotions: feelings of hopelessness, high levels of frustration and intense anxiety can be experienced when debt begins to pile up. The additional stress compounding with the stress from poor coping & self-neglect can lead to an immense and menacing amount of stress.

It is absolutely no surprise that American’s leading cause of stress is money! Tomorrow I will concentrate on some resources on how to handle your own financial situation in order to feel more control in your life.

mental & emotional health, depression, anxiety, money, stress, financial stress, budgeting

I am a ball of stress right now. My nannying job may be falling through (they’re getting flakier and flakier day after day), I don’t have another job lined up, my job is currently ending on Friday, I’m not feeling well physically, I’m nervous about school, then money issues come into play with all of this. Needless to say, life is a bit hectic and messy for me right now. I’m not happy with that, and so I’m looking at some real stress-relievers for myself and figured that I’d share them with my faithful readers! This will take a few posts and stretch out to a few days so bear with me and enjoy! : )

First of all, when I’m stressed, and no one is home (because being watched during this stresses me out!) I like to let my body stretch out and do some yoga. There is a yoga practitioner near you and you can get yourself into a class to check it out. If money is one of your stressors (hi, that would be me!), you can even find free online yoga postures and watch streaming videos of yoga postures. Even your dog can do yoga … or should I say dog-a?

Another stress reliever I’m just now getting into is something that makes me laugh a little still. Most of the time, when you think about meditation, do you think about little bald men sitting on the floor “om”-ing? Well, it can be a bit more complicated and cleansing than that. There are many “learning” meditation sites out there, but I’ve found a lot of knowledge from a few specific meditation blogs I’ve read. Meditation Air makes me laugh “well, I guess that life, thats Zen and I have to accept this…….agrrrrrrrrrrh…” and so that’s a good stress relief. The Meditation Journey is also another blog to check out if you’re looking to watch someone actual travel to become their most Zen being.

mental and emotional health, stress, employment, nannying, sick, nervous, anxiety, school, college, education, money, stress relief, stress relievers, yoga, Holistic Med, yoga practitioners, yoga postures, yoga videos, Healthy BPM, dog yoga, meditation, Learning Meditation, The Meditation Journey, Meditation Air

I’ve had a couple of readers ask me the same two main questions lately that I think I shall address this morning!

1. [You're going back to school,] so what would you be studying? Right now my goal is to go into international HIV/AIDS education & prevention through the public health field. I have a degree in German and while it will come in handy for that “international” part of my career goals, most Master of Public Health (MPH) programs want you to have some sort of public health background before they’ll admit you. So, I’m going back to study a social science; psychology (which I was 3 credits shy of minoring in), sociology, anthropology, something of the like. I’m still debating which field I want to concentrate on, but I’ll add another liberal arts degree to the one I already have.

2a. Do you have a job yet? It’s not official, but unofficially, yes! Last night I met with the Hatfields* and we clicked immediately. MrTee and MrArr are both adorable little boys and they took to me like most children do. (Children and small dogs seem to really like me … just like a close family friend … if he and I were really related I could pull the genetics card, but that doesn’t explain it.) I spent 2 1/2 hours with the family getting to know them and playing with the boys. MrTee is a 3-year-old bundle of brains and energy; he didn’t sit for more than two minutes the entire time I was there. I reveled in his energy and went back to my car FULL of pep. MrArr is about to turn 1 and just beginning to creep/crawl. He pushes himself along the wood floor with one of his fat little legs and enjoys being the center of attention. They essentially offered me the job while I was still there, but until I see it in writing, or hear it on the phone, I’m not 100% counting on it … just at 98% for now. My email account has been acting up (Gmail apparently suspended it!!!!!) and so I had to create a new one and get in touch with MrsCee to pass that information to her.

2b. So you’ll be working full time? No, nannying wouldn’t technically be full time since they only need me from 8am to 2pm. This leaves me absolutely open to find an afternoon/evening job and I plan on looking for something. I may spend my summer working my butt off just to keep myself busy and out of trouble.

2c. But you’re going to lose your health insurance, right? Yup, I’ll be without insurance but I will survive. I have insurance until May 13th and so I will have all my meds refilled and get everything taken care of before then. I won’t stop taking my meds and I won’t stop seeing Scuba Steve. I’ll take care of myself … otherwise this blog could get really interesting! LOL

2d. Are you only going to talk about kids now? No, I’ll find good things to talk about, still and you’ll probably still get to hear lots of silly stories about the children. Their names or photographs will never be on this blog, (we’ll stick to The Hatfields, DadE, MrsC, MrTee and MrArr as their names) but eventually those will become their names (to you). Get used to it. (And those of you who know me in real life will probably see them in my life over the summer anyway. Speaking of that, KIWI, this new job means a lot more freedom when BabyD decides to make his appearance and I will be able to “escape” work easier to get to the hospital!!!)

*they live across the street from the McCoy’s, right?

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Yesterday I cried. I cried hard. I cried out of joy, excitement and nervousness.

I got my official letter of acceptance from Southern University of New York at Albany. I cried because it scares me. I cried because it’s exciting. I cried because I might have to move to New York!

I spent yesterday afternoon on the phone with Portland State and Oregon State making sure they had all my papers; they didn’t. I immediately emailed Oregon State the appropriate documents and then this morning I walked the stuff Portland State lost up to their admissions office and got proof that I turned it in. I will call them next Tuesday to see where they are on the “expedited” application status (since they lost the papers they are bumping me up to take care of things). Hopefully I get in to one of my Oregon schools and can stick around. If not, I’ll be near my LoriBaby and she and I will cause trouble.

MrE and I had a nice talk last night about “us” and sorted some things out. Neither of us are ready to “get serious” and so we’re going to just take things one day at a time and let things go. I’m absolutely okay with that and it makes me want to see him even more this evening.

This evening I am meeting with a possible new nannying family. I have been talking to the Mom (MrsCee) for about a week now and am looking forward to meeting her and getting to know her (and the two boys, MrTee and MrArr … and their dad, who is another MrE, but we’ll have to figure out if he needs a new name when that time comes) and seeing what their life is like. I hope I fit in there and can feel some security with giving my two-week notice at work.

I am a happy woman today. Happy happy woman.

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Getting Dirty May Help Your Mood - Treatment of mice with a ‘friendly’ bacteria, normally found in the soil, altered their behavior in a way similar to that produced by antidepressant drugs, reports research published in the latest issue of Neuroscience.

Obesity Struggle May Begin in the Womb - Mothers-to-be who gained weight within medical guidelines were about four times more likely to have children who were overweight at age 3 than those who remained slimmer while expecting, according to the Harvard University research.

Insurer to pay boy’s breast surgery - A health insurer must pay for the breast-reduction surgery of a Long Island teen who was burdened with unusually large breasts for a boy, a state appeals court has ruled.

$500M Pledged to Fight Childhood Obesity - To halt a trend building over the past four decades, the foundation is offering to fund programs that focus on improving access to affordable healthy foods or on how to increase physical activity in schools and communities.

Overweight People More Likely to Develop Asthma - The chance of developing asthma is 50 per cent higher for overweight and obese people, compared with individuals whose weight is normal, analysis of seven studies on severe asthma shows.

Nurses ‘Injured’ Caring for Obese Patients - Around 5,000 nurses are currently being treated for back pain following a surge in patients’ weights and the number of patients a nurse has to care for, according to the British Chiropractic Association.

Stress & Depression are Major Causes of Premature Births - Research shows that stress hormones - which play a crucial role in the development of the unborn baby - shoot up in women who are depressed during pregnancy.

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