FIGHTING DEPRESSION

Journaling is one strategy among many that can be used to help battle depression. That's why, some years ago, after I was diagnosed with clinical depression, I started blogging. It was & remains a form of journaling for me. You can Google symptoms of depression in various places, including mayoclinic.com & wedmd.com. If you review the symptoms & suspect that you might be suffering from clinical depression, it's important to see a mental health practitioner for a diagnosis &, hopefully, a treatment plan. Medication, therapy, journaling, & a few other strategies have helped me a lot. 

Consider these 7 ways to fight depression:  small changes--all based in science--that may help.

1. Exercise:  A 30-min. walk every day is enough to impact your mental health.

2. Limit social media use:  Stop dread scrolling.

3. Find a mantra:  Find a phrase that's easily remembered & that you can feel a connection to. [My suggestion is to find a favorite passage from Scripture.]

4. Do something creative:  Singing in a choir is one example.

5. Practice gratitude:  Writing letters expressing gratitude can make you brain more reactive to positive events.

6. Sleep:  Sleep reduces the rewarding pull of unhelpful behaviors, like bingeing on food.

7. Talk to friends & family:  Talking about your depression can be giving the other person a gift, especially if they may be dealing with something similar that they haven't been able to talk about.

Source:  Parade Magazine, 10/2/22

2022 RESOLUTIONS REVIEW

> Lose at least 12 lbs. D-. I gained 1 lb in SEP, so I've lost 6 lbs this year. This one is looking doubtful. I made a few road trips in SEP, which always affects my eating habits, & not in a good way.

> Cross 2 things off our bucket list. A. We visited Key West & Dry Torgugas NP in FEB. We're scheduled for a Hawaii cruise later this month & into early NOV.

> Have fruits & vegetables at least 4X/week. A.

> Walk at least 4X/week. D+. I was really hampered by a bad hip, followed by a hip replacement in JULY. I've done better over the past 6 weeks.

> Publish my 365-day devotion book. A+. Westbow Press published my devotion book earlier this year. If you're interested, I'll put information on Facebook again.

> Write & publish another 365-day devotion book. B. I just started entries for OCT, so I think I'll get this book written, but I may not get it published yet this year.

GPA:  B+

COVID UPDATE

Paxlovid seemed to help. I finished my quarantine last week & returned to work on THU. I'm still feeling fatigued & experiencing a really weird sense of taste, but I haven't had it nearly as bad as many others.

CORNHUSKER STATE NEWS

Cornhuskerdom is breathing easier today, thanks to our (mostly) impressive win at home against Indiana. Despite a plethora of penalties & some costly turnovers, our defense held Indiana scoreless in the 2nd half. Casey Thompson threw s 70-yd bomb early in the 4th quarter, & Nebraska ate up the clock with another touchdown drive to pull out a win, 35-21. Yes, we take our football seriously in Nebraska.

SPEAKING OF NEBRASKA

"Rare two-headed snake discovered in Clay Center . . . UNL Dept. of Natural Resource's reident reptile expert, Dennis Ferraro . . . called it a rare discovery; he said he's seen only a few 2-headed snakes in his 40 yrs as a herpetologist." [For the record, "it" was a garter snake] Norfolk Daily News, 9/8/22

COLLEGE DEBT FORGIVENESS

* Source:  editorial in NDN, 9/20/22

"The list of negative consequences of president's college debt forgiveness plan is lengthy."

> Forgiving college debt will cost taxpayers--a lot.

> Student debt forgiveness dollars will largely go to wealthy Americans.

> The debt burden will be back in a few years.

> The plan is intrinsically unfair to those responsible individuals who already have paid off their student loans.

> It's debatable whether President Biden has the legal authority to enact a college loan pardon.

> Some borrowers who are in default will still be able to borrow more federal dollars.

DEPT. OF SHAMELESS JOKE-STEALING *

* Courtesy of Reader's Digest, Feb. 2022

 "If you see a bomb disposal technician running try to keep up with him."

POLITICIZING THE HURRICANE

"Hurricane Ian tore through Florida last week, killing at least 76 people and leaving a path of destruction and despair in its wake. This did not stop the media from politicizing the tragedy, however, with several pundits using the powerful category-four storm as an opportunity to attack Florida governor Ron DeSantis. That’s despite President Biden’s saying that his political disagreements with DeSantis are “totally irrelevant” when it comes to hurricane-response efforts. “This is not about anything having to do with our disagreements politically, this is about saving people’s lives, homes and businesses. That’s what this is about,” Biden said Thursday.

"DeSantis, similarly, said he is “very thankful” to Biden and suggested “we all need to work together regardless of party lines.” Still, several MSNBC personalities took shots at DeSantis after the governor asked Biden and the federal government for assistance.

"MSNBC host Joy Reid was among those who criticized DeSantis for the request, noting that he once opposed a federal aid package for New York and New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy in 2013 when he was a U.S. representative. DeSantis at the time had said that he was not against all storm relief, but that the bill before him included excessive spending that went beyond the scope of disaster relief. Reid said DeSantis now must go “hat in hand” to the president to ask for help, which she claimed is “antithetical” to his entire ideology that individuals should assume their own risks and “take care of their own lives.”

"MSNBC political analyst David Jolly joked that DeSantis may have to become a “big-government” Republican for the state to recover from the hurricane. “In just a week’s time, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has gone from menacing troll to docile figurehead. Evidently, it takes a natural disaster to put a (temporary) stop to his political terrorism,” Ja’han Jones wrote on the MSNBC website."  Brittany Bernstein & Isaac Schorr, National Review Online

NEWS FROM THE BABYLON BEE *

* "Fake News You Can Trust"

Study this list of fascist tendencies so you can do better & be less fascist.

* You've been to a 4th of July parade at least once in your life.

* You voted for Trump.

* You have more than one kids & you love being a parent.

* You didn't let your teenager go to that sleepover when LITERALLY EVERYONE else got to go.

* You want people to make their own decisions about their kids' education & what things they inject in their bodies & crazy stuff like that.

Famous college grads who prove how smart college makes you.

> AOC:  One of America's foremost intellectuals, AOC has knowledge, wit, & wisdom that is as deep as it is wide. All thanks to her economics degree from Boston University!

> Kamala Harris:  In college, she learned all 12 of the words she uses in a speech.

> Lex Luthor:  Thanks to his biomechanical engineering degree from Princeton, he gave Superman a real run for his money!

> Everyone making your latte at Starbucks.

> Joy Behar:  She studied sociology at Queen's College, & it shows. Her brilliant insights on culture & the human condition are unmatched.

MORE NEWS FROM BABYLON BEE

"Blind taste test finds most people can't tell difference between candy corn & orange crayon we found in a junk drawer."

"Congress passes funding stopgap bill to avoid Ukrainian government shutdown."