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Manic's Dance News / Health Letter - July 2000 / Tropical Treasures and Sunlight's Soothers
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Most of the shadows of this life
are caused by standing in one's own sunshine.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
Some people are making such thorough plans for rainy days
that they aren't enjoying today's sunshine.
--William Feather
Content | ||
 Regular Features | ||
| Manic Depressive Feature | 11-Minutes to Sunshine - Be Happy in Just 11-Minutes! | |
| Family/Loved Ones Feature | Sun Block Needed - On the Brink! | |
| Our Children, Feature | Sun Block - Getting Treatment for your Child/Teen Early | |
| Natural Therapy of the Month | Treasure Hunting for Adventure ... as a natural therapy | |
| Mood Food for July | Summer Tip #17 - Keep Wet & Cool ... Reasons for Water | |
| Health/Mental Health News Newsbytes Mini Muncie | Wyeth-Ayerst's EFFEXOR-XR(R) Receives New Label Change Dept of Agriculture/Health and Human Services Guidelines - Dietary Guide/Water Prices Not Main Cause of Prescription Drug Increases All I Need to Know I Learned From Mr. Rogers | |
| Manic's Dance Info | Updates, Forum Topics w/sample links, Hearts/Supportive Souls Info/Update | |
| 2 Past Issues of our Letter/Issues | Feeling Our Feelings and Relating ...Online | |
| Book Reviews for July | The Art of Happiness by Daly Lama -High Powered Reviews My Grandfather's Blessings: Stories of Strength, Refuge, and Belonging How Much Joy Can You Stand?: How to Push .....cont | |
Special Features This Month ... | ||
| Summer Special Bits! | Mosquito Shields, Pineapple Power! Jokes, Quotes to Note! Manic Oxymoron's | |
| The Heat is On! | Affirmation for July, Mr. Rodger's is Cool | |
| Something's Fishy! | Cast a Line on These Fish - Only Goodies Just for You & Your Health! | |
| July "Hots!" | Throughout the Letter, Find Small Boxes of Extras & Tips For July! | |
Misc. Index:
| Closing/Personal Message | Note to Letter Members... | |
| Newsletter Matters - (and it matters too!) | Subscribe/Un-Subscribe/Contribute/Advertise/Info/Contacts |
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| Our Tropical Island Sponsors! | ||
| Show your support by grabbing one of the free goodies banners |
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No one is perfect. The mere fact that one is human is a flaw in itself.
- Robert Heinlen
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By exploring what creates good and bad moods in people, and how our brain works, scientists and doctors have put together tools we can use to improve our moods in minutes!
If you are feeling terrible, you will feel happier and centered. If miserable, you can feel happier in far less time than it take to fill a prescription for Prozac.
We all have moods that can get terrible. But, by using the following tools, you can change your mood nearly anywhere and at any time. You will be able to experience happy feelings that elude the majority of people! Here are 11-Minutes of Super Tools:
Step One & Two:
There is scientific evidence to suggest that stimulation of the body's thymus glad will result in greater feelings of pleasure and joy. This is because when you thymus glad is activated, it soothes you body's nervous system, and enhances you brain's functioning. But, how do you do that? Here are two simple methods:
Your thymus gland is just behind the upper part of breastbone in the middle of you chest. The first way to stimulate it is to smile! It is not however, just any ordinary smile that will set your happiness buzzing, just one kind of smile. - The ability of a simple smile to create a happy feeling inside your body has been well documented in a 1993 University of California study, led by Dr. Paul Ekman. The study found that smiles activate the thymus alone with the muscles connected to various pleasure connected to different pleasure centers in your brain, generating the effect of enjoyment. According to Dr Ekman, "the key markers of the Duchenne smile that readily distinguishes it from all the others are the crow's feet wrinkles around the eyes." In other words, a half-hearted smile will not help much at all to change your feeling" it has to be a big, extensive, genuine smile. Each time that you smile, your thymus gland is stimulated: every time it is stimulated, it sends a small wave of chemicals throughout your body making you feel a little better each time! (Estimated time: 1 minute)
Next way to stimulate your thymus gland, researchers found, is by simply placing your tongue up to the roof of your mouth in the center and pushing up gently. In this centering position, your two brain hemispheres become more balanced and your thinking and mood will improve! It may seem peculiar at first, but you will be very surprised at the remarkable benefit of this practice and soon won't care peculiar! (Estimated time, 1 minute)
Step Three:
It is an established scientific fact that changing your breathing pattern can and will change your mind. From brain experts to yogi trainers, you will find that there is agreement all around! Moreover, it is just plain common sense that if your moods change your breathing; your breathing can change your moods. The trouble with this is that hardly anyone breathes correctly. Most of us breathe with only the top portion of our lungs, not from our diaphragms. Many people use only a third of their lungs when they breathe. - If you breath only with your chest, you must take three times as many breathes in order to achieve all the air that one, correct, "from the diaphragm," breathe can give you. That is three times more oxygen than breathing the incorrect way! Learn to breathe with your abdomen by filling up with oxygen in gut area. Once you filled the bottom half of your lungs, keep on inhaling and fill the top half around your chest. Both parts of your lungs should be filled in one easy inhalation. Hold your breath for a couple of moments and then slowly exhale though your nose in a comfortable, relaxed way. Breathe as if you are delightfully blissful while doing this as well. Try this now if you would like! Remember to use your big smile (from above), while doing so and keep relaxed and tranquil feelings too! (Estimated time, 2 minutes)
Step Four:
What you eat significantly affects your moods. If you eat foods that are low in nourishment, high in fats and filled with refined sugars, you will be low in energy and high in edginess. A lack of energy also leads to impaired thinking ability and low moods. Yet, a "lift up" effect comes from fruit juice. It is full of a kind of sugar call glucose. Make sure that the juice you chose is 100% juice and not a juice drink containing sugars such as high fructose corn syrup. If your juice contains refined sugars, the "lift" will be short-lived and what follows, a great "drop" in blood sugar and exhaustion. (Estimated time: 2 minutes)
Step Five:
According to renowned brain experts, the most modern resources show we use only about one percent of our brainpower. - Our minds are in two sections, the subconscious and the conscious the conscious mind does all of your rational thinking, (deciding if you should eat that extra slice of pie, for example). Most of us are aware of that part of our brain's function… But, did you know that 88 percent of the brain is subconscious? If you have thinking patterns or actions or beliefs that are negative, sad, or upset, so will your subconscious. It will believe your truths are totally real and that 88 percent will act accordingly. - So, take a minute to imagine that you are at the movies, but this time, the screen is inside our head. With your eyes closed, see our self on that movie screen. See yourself doing whatever would make you joyful. Then, your mind will begin to react and act accordingly. You can control a good deal of your reality; your happiness or sadness can really depend on what you tell your mind to think. You can reprogram whenever you have a couple of minutes and practice makes good sense! (estimated time: 3 minutes)
Step Six:
There is a huge connection between your body movements and your emotions. Is it not true that when you are feeling happy, your movements are faster; you smile more, talk more energetic and breathe more deeply? It is also true that when someone is sad/depressed, their walk is slower, they are hunched down, eyes lowered, speech slower and quieter, and the list goes on… - Therefore, if you would move as if you were happy, you could actually begin to become happier. Happy thoughts create happy movements, and happy movements create happy thoughts. - Sit in your seat as if you were ecstatic with joy. Put on a big smile as if this were the happiest moment of your entire existence. If you have really put your effort into this tool, you will find your mood will have changed considerably. You will be feeling much more relaxed, content and happier than you were when you were in the depressed body position. This is because your body has sent a message to your brain via your nervous system that you are happy and so your brain begins the necessary procedures to make you feel that way emotionally and physically - Remember, you subconscious mind is your servant, accepting whatever order you give it. If you halfheartedly move about expecting to feel happy, it will not work. (Estimated time: 2 minutes)
Congratulations!
You now have the tools to become
happy in just a couple minutes!
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Sponsor Break ... Play Time!
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It is simple… what we think about someone determines how we will treat them. For example:
Let's say that your spouse comes home from work in a bad mood and you immediately think to yourself, "Gee, I wonder what is going on at work that makes him/her so tense lately…"
Now, lets repeat that same situation, but, with your added response being more like this inside your head.. "He/She is always in such a bad mood! I don't know why I have to put up with this all of the time! I can't take it like this!"
Those were two situations which were ideantical up until the point of the inner thoughts you were/were not thinking ...your inner thoughts. Both of the situations show that there is at least some concern about your moody spouse's bad moods and your stress over it would be justified. The difference is how it was played out or directed with your own personal inner talk
There are consequences of negative inner thinking … as in the second example above. A script that you feed yourself can turn into hostility, defensiveness or a withdrawn feeling and acting as soon as your spouse shows any sort of bad mood. The faster you become overwhelmed depends on the stress factors outside your marriage
When stressed, your heart rate goes up, your sweat glands work overtime and breathing speeds up. These symptoms can have a bad turn around effect. By that, I mean that they can produce anxiety provoking thoughts and emotions, which in return produces more in your relationship … and the circle goes on. In addition, those negative inner thoughts coupled with your aroused state of stress w/all of its symptoms, goad each other making it impossible to get out of that cycle.
If this happens enough, you will start to react to everything
your spouse says and does with dread. "What Now?"
If this happens enough, you will start to react to everything your spouse says and does with dread. "What Now?" It is not long thereafter that the two of you begin to lead parallel lives, in the same home perhaps, but, not in the universe. The two of you may rarely connect at all.
You may be married, but now, you are so set apart and distant that you are experiencing loneliness. You are isolated and so is your partner, and loneliness, it the most painful place in the world to be, a condition that can wipe our spirit'' out. In addition, it happened to the couple that was so happy when first married, so together, so in love just as it should have been, as it should be now.
This negative inner talk, unfortunate as it is, is common.
A good start for you and your marriage is to see it, know it is happening and then to bring it up, admit it, be real! Are you not sure of the teetering marriage and the inner talk problems etc.? Do this. Think about when you talk… do you recall past history with each other in a good and happy light for the most part, or do you bring up the ugly, sad, bad, angry, etc., How about your partner? That is a good sign of a relationship falling apart … with inner messages that are totally spontaneous and negative.
The simple answer would be to just have those knock down and drag out fights, the negative inner thinking in place and growing and having the marriage continue on this way until you both must face the end of the relationship. This takes no work at all… just a big loss, now and at the end… for you and your spouse. To get back your relationship, and make the automatic inner talk go away, try these tools and practice them until you are both on the right track again.
1. When you have already become stressed out, you are in need of a time out. You may say things that you will later regre4t and using time out time will cool you down. Simply announce to your partner your need for a time out and that once down, you will continue with the conversation, not fight. About 2-0 minutes is the average for the physiological responses to return to baseline. Burt, do not return until you know you are calm inside and out… Take a walk, listen to the radio, and call a friend. Just cool down.
2. Defensiveness is one of the most dangerous responses to arguments or conversations that we can have. It can end in endless spirals of negativity by finding the by finding the courage not to be defensive …your marriage will almost certainly improve! It does not even matter if you are under attack or not, defensiveness is never a good response. Omit that from your communication with your spouse.
It does not even matter if you are under attack or not, defensiveness is never a good response.
3. When you begin to rethink your marriage and watch your inner thinking, know what the dynamics of stress can do, you will remember wonderful things about your spouse too! Do not keep them to yourself. Everyone responds to genuine praise thanks and simple heartfelt compliments on a regular basis. Praise them daily, especially if you have been arguing a lord lately. They make want to jump onto the attack; deferens or wonder what you are "pulling now" …but, that will start to face and those positive statements will show their miracle work in your spouse and in your marriage.
4. Letting your spouse know that you understand both in small ways, and in big, is one powerful tool, one of the biggies. An apology works wonders, letting your partner know that you understand what they mean, or know how they feel, is an awesome thing for you to say and to do! Everyone is wrong from time to time and admitting it when you really know you are wrong, or partially wrong, can save an argument and more negative inner talking pattern building to use later.
5. When you master those techniques, do not think it is over! Yes, you did well, and yes the arguments are fading and the two of your are finally connecting again and you don't have the automatic "Go Away" feelings any more… but, it is all a process and we never stop learning and growing… Practice often to help your marriage be a happy one to be in!
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Specials/Treat 
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keeping with the fishy theme ...
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Fresh
- lobster: How do you cook it?
How to Cook Lobsters:
Bring water to boil. Place lobsters in water and wait for water to come to second boil.
When water returns to boil, continue cooking lobsters for the specified time below:
-Chix: 15 minutes
-Mediums: 16 minutes
-Small Selects: 17 minutes.
-2 lb: 18 minutes.
-3 lb: 21 minutes. - 4 lb: 24 minutes. - 5 lb: 27 minutes
*Increase boil time by 3 minutes for each pound over 5 lb. Salmon Grilled (highly recommended) Lightly brush with marinade (click to view ours) or freshly
squeezed lemon. Adding strong marinades is not suggested. Cook until fish turns light pink throughout.
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A Fishy - Toy for Your PC Screen!
to say "thanks" for being a part of Manic's Dance Letter!
Here's a special treat just for you from Petey and I (Petey found this thing & I uploaded it to pass on to you!). It's very fitting for this letter and topic... It's a really cool screen saver, (kind of a screen saver, kinda an exe file) For instructions, see Here is the fishy!
Instructions: First, upload it to your hard drive by right clicking on your mouse and choosing the "save file as" (if you are using Netscape), or, "save target" (for those who are using Internet Explorer). Just chose a file, name it the way you want, (or keep the name it has), and click open! Very simple to do too! Then, when you want to see this really cool little fish, go in to where you saved it, double click on the file and it will begin the show! Don't worry, the file is very small & has been totally checked for virus stuff and the like... To exit the program, just click your Esc, (escape button on your keyboard's upper left hand corner). Oh, one more thing, you can send email from nearly any email account to your friends and family with this nifty little fishy attached so they can have it too! Just his the "attach file" button in your email account, browser for where you stored your fish and click there. Your emailed fishy will be on the way as soon as you hit the send button... Hint: It is slow to send attached files for some email folk, (like, it may take a moment longer for AOL users). Rather than sending your fishy to people, one email at a time, send one fish and CC to all your friends/family or Blind Copy to each of them. That way, you only need to wait once for it to be sent! Have fun, this is a cute little thing & we hope you like it... Drop us a line and let us know what ya think, or any problems, or even if you want to send a fish thing to use for one of the newsletters!
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click the fish
This is the coolest thing! I couldn't believe this one when I saw it, it'd make a great
prank or something, (or scare the life out of someone and they'd die of a heart attack!)
Check this
fishy!
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Summer Island Tuna Steaks
2 fresh tuna steaks, 4-6 ounces ea/1" or so thick
3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium to large ripe tomato, diced well
1 tablespoon scallions, chopped
2 teaspoons capers
1/2 cloves garlic, mashed well
a pinch of dried whole oregano
fresh parsley cut small to diced
a pinch or two fresh minced ginger (optional)
pepper, (milled is best)
lemon/garlic seasoning, (lightly), to taste
1. Rinse the tuna well under cold running water and pat dry. Brush them with 1 teaspoon of the olive oil and season them with pepper, garlic/lemon seasoning and ginger. Preheat grill or broiler.
Meanwhile, mix all the remaining ingredients, season with salt and pepper, and set mixture aside.
Grill the steaks on high heat or broil, about 2-3 minutes per side or until desired doneness.
Cover the steaks with the mixture, (be creative here!), and serve.
Can be served hot or cold.
Serves 2 / 160 Cal/40% from fat/20.6 g protein, 1 g fiber
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Dinner at Restaurant.com
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| The Charts Omega-3 do you eat? |
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Treatments: Children/Teens, Rundown
It is important for children suffering from mood disorders to receive prompt treatment because early onset places children at a greater risk for numerous episodes of depression throughout their life. Currently, there is no definitive treatment for the spectrum of mood disorders in children, although some researchers believe that children respond well to treatment because they readily adapt and their symptoms are not yet well established.
Treatment consists of a combination of interventions. Children suspected of mood disorders should be evaluated by a child psychiatrist, or if one is not available an adult psychiatrist who has experience in treating children. Suicide
Studies of adolescent suicides in New York, Pittsburgh and Finland indicate that approximately 90 percent of the teenagers who commit suicide have a psychiatric diagnosis, most often from a of mood disorder and/or alcohol or substance abuse.
Biological Theories on Suicide
In suicide victims' brains, an increase in postsynaptic 5-hydroxytryptamine type 2 (5-HT2) receptors was found in the prefrontal cortex, suggesting that a compensatory raise in receptor density occurred in response to decreased serotonin release. Numerous clinical studies have also found evidence of family histories of suicidal behavior, suggesting the likelihood of genetic factors playing a role in suicide. Of 150 sets of twins reported in which at least one twin committed suicide, all 10 of the pairs in which both committed suicide were identical twins, and half of those were concordant for the same psychiatric illness. Identifying the Vulnerable Dr. Schaffer believes that screening out the vulnerable groups of children and adolescents for the risk factors of suicide and then referring them for treatment is the best way to lower the staggering teenage suicide rate. Mood disorders in children and adolescents are much more prevalent than was first estimated.
(The above article was written using adapted information from an an article of the same name in the NARSAD Research Newsletter)
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Natural Healing of the Month
By changing small attitudes and behaviors you can effect great changes in your body, mind and spirit ... This month's "natural healing" is called "Treasure Hunting" is because the "way" that you "do it" is by experiencing something you have no yet experienced ... and finding treasures that you have never found!
It is very simple, here is how...
Do something outrageous to generate a wonderful new current of energy in your body, mind, and spirit. Jump into activities you have never tried before" Learn how to dance a terrific tango: take an art class: even if you are not an "artist": study a foreign language: try at least one new item of clothing: or buy an outfit with bright colors that you are not accustomed to wearing. The list goes on and on. Outrageousness holds the possibility of being so healing -or healthy-because inherent in every new idea is a vibration that your body has never before been exposed to. When that vibration is brought into your system though choice and with the diesis to have fun, just think oaf the quality of energy that will penetrate your body. It's a nice thought, to say the least!
This natural therapy idea is from Caroline Myss, PHD., in connection with Healthy Living Magazine.
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Water
We Know to Drink It, But Do We Really Know Why?
Water is excellent medicine, needed to sustain a healthy body, a clear mind, and a good balance inside your tissues. There is more water in your body than anything else, with every cell containing mostly water. When you do not have enough water in your body, your cells start to draw water from the bloodstream. The blood gets slow, your heart has to work harder, and your body starts to send blood away from less vital areas. If you have lost just 2 percent of your body weight in water, your brainpower and performance level may start to weaken.
The standard recommendation is to drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses a day. When you are exercising, you need even more water because you are sweating and losing water through deep breathing. Of course, warm temperatures also raise water loss. Drink extra water whenever you think of it.
Water is also a beauty secret. When the skin, for example, is hydrated well, is takes on a more youthful, soft and dewy appearance and feel. When it is dry, it is flaky, dead, shallow sort of look. Our hair, nails and our eyes look healthier and are not rough, dried out and leathery looking.
You can drink highly watered down fruit juice, herbal tea, or a well-watered-down sports drink. Sparkling water with a little fruit juice or lemon is also nice. Drinks like cola, though, work against the count, because caffeine is a diuretic and removes fluid from the body. Three cups of coffee or tea are equivalent to just two cups of water.
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Mental Health/Health - Current News Bits
Re: Water News / EFFEXOR / Prescription Costs
News Brief I: Dept of Agriculture/Health and Human Services Guidelines - on Water
July 18, 2000
Water is the Foundation of a Healthy Diet. The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) today issued a statement in support of the Department of Agriculture and Health and Human Services new Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2000, a science-based, consumer friendly report designed to assist Americans in improving their diets and overall health. IBWA urges all Americans to take the recommendations a step further and include drinking water as part of their daily diet regimen.
"To increase their daily water intake, people need easy access to water. The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) is the authoritative source of information about all types of bottled waters distributed in the United States. Consumers can contact IBWA at 1-800-WATER-11 or log onto IBWA's web site -- www.bottledwater.org-- for more details
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Have you Ever Exercised in Water?
Free Info on the Benefits & Types of Aqua Exercises!
Exercising in the water will improve the fitness of your heart & lungs, will
reduce fat, tone your body, & is perfect for both beginners & pro-athlete's alike! You will also experience
energy surges & have fun too! Exercising in the water is a very low-impact fitness choice as it prevents
many out-of-water injuries you may obtain from the of-of-water exercises!
Just click on the aqua-exercising "fit" model, and learn more about the various activates you
can do, the equipment suggestions for some of the water activates, and the variety of exercising
ideas and their benefits for your health!
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July 2000 -- Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, the pharmaceutical division of American Home Products Corporation, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new label change for its antidepressant EFFEXOR(R) XR Extended-Release Capsules for use as a long-term treatment for Generalized Anxiety disorder (GAD). EFFEXOR XR is the first and only antidepressant now indicated for short- and long-term benefits for people with GAD.
"Because symptoms of GAD persist for years, often decades, patients require a treatment like EFFEXOR XR that provides long-term symptom relief from their uncontrollable, exaggerated, and persistent anxiety and tension. Long-term studies found that patients with GAD who were treated with EFFEXOR XR experienced significant reductions in their symptoms.
EFFEXOR XR, received FDA marketing clearance for the treatment of depression in 1997
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WASHINGTON - Prescription drug expense increases are not the primary factor of elevated consumer prices, analysts told a Senate committee Tuesday.
"We're constantly updating the medicine cabinet with drugs that are two or three times as expensive as the drugs they are replacing. And spending increases are not the same as price increases," said Dr. Robert DuBois, chief executive officer of Protocare Sciences, an product assessment and disease management firm.
"Increased volume of prescriptions, not price, played the dominant role in rising drug costs for all seven categories of drugs we examined," DuBois said of his investigation, which researched spending on medications to treat asthma, diabetes, depression, high cholesterol, allergies, gastrointestinal problems, and hormone replacement.
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All I Need to Know I Learned From Mr. Rogers
"It's a Beautiful Day In His Neighborhood" Again! Argh!
Sometimes we really resent those 'types' who can keep those big, fat, wide mouthed and jubilant smiles, even when life turns ugly! Seemingly oblivious to the horrible day it has been for us, and, if they find out your day was bad, watch out! Here comes that understanding, listening, still grinning from ear to ear, nodding, understanding happy stick! When you're finished with your spill of the day, he shakes his head, still grinning like a cat who ate 10 birds, and simply, calmly, and more patiently than you deserve or want, says," It will all be all right" or, "Well, it will be over soon" Gee, Neat! Thanks! There they stand grinning from ear to ear with the corners of their mouths stretched up so far they are touching their earlobe bottoms. And since it's unlawful to beat on them, maybe we should just consider joining them! Become like Gomer Pile or just like Mr. Rodgers!
A recent study of 50 first year law students at UCLA showed that having a positive outlook might increase the number of disease fighting T=Cells in your system. At the semester's start, researchers gave students a blood test and a psychological exam. By mid-semester, the 25 students who were most pessimistic had lost about 23 percent of their T=Cells, however, the 25 optimists in the study had gained 13 percent.
You attitude can adversely affect one or more levels of defense in your immune system. This can slowly become more and more of a problem and health risk for us. All in all,. this is not real great news for the pessimists! (another thing in life that is not right!). But this all also shows that there is lots of room for them to better their health and wellness too! By practicing and finally coming to be more of a positive personality and much less negative, there are many great possibilities for futures, less illnesses ...and you'll finally know what Mr. Rogers feels inside; positive, healthy, genuine wide grinning happiness... Idea: Count your blessings and name your blessings by making a list/log of them. Work on and read over your list often - taking note of the things in life you may have been taking for granted and all the positive accomplishments and strides your have made...There is good in nearly everything if you look. Do all this and you won't feel like slugging the the old' guy After al l..
"IT Truly IS A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD!"
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Don't Let This Summer Bite! |
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The Vacation Did you hear about
| Manic Depressive Oxymoron's Definite maybe |
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Have a Super Month Everyone!
