Wednesday, June 18, 2025

Why I don't Wear Shorts in Jordan

 https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/posts/why-i-don-t-wear-shorts-in-jordan

I call THIS OLD HOUSE this old wallet.

Old House Medicine Cabinet

When we moved in we found Paregoric. And since we never throw anything away it is here somewhere.

A diluted tincture of opium, also used for pain and diarrhea, but classified as an "Exempt Narcotic". 

Spoonflower: Amazing Fabric made by Artists!

https://www.spoonflower.com/en/sell

The Psychology of Shame: Theory and Treatment of Shame-Based Syndromes 2nd Edition



In this classic volume, Kaufman synthesizes object relations theory, interpersonal theory, and, in particular, Silvan Tompkins's affect theory, to provide a powerful and multidimensional view of shame. Using his own clinical experience, he illustrates the application of affect theory to general classes of shame-based syndromes including compulsive; schizoid, depressive, and paranoid; sexual dysfunction; splitting; and sociopathic. This second edition includes two new chapters in which Dr. Kaufman presents shame as a societal dynamic and shows its impact on culture. He examines the role of shame in shaping the evolving identity of racial, ethnic, and religious minorities, and expands his theory of governing scenes. This new edition will continue to be of keen interest to clinical psychiatrists as well as graduate students.

Gershen Kaufman

Gershen Kaufman profile image

About the author

GERSHEN KAUFMAN was educated at Columbia University and received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Rochester. He is now professor emeritus, Counseling Center and Psychology Department, at Michigan State University. For thirty-six years he was actively engaged there in providing psychotherapeutic services to university students; consultation to university faculty and staff; clinical supervision and training to psychology practicum students and interns; research supervision to graduate students; and teaching a course on Affect and Self-Esteem in the Psychology Department. Kaufman also maintained a private practice as a licensed psychologist until 2010, where he treated a broad range of clientele in psychotherapy.

The Nightmare Continues

 Image

Learning shouldn't feel like a chore—it should feel like discovery. When you're truly engaged: Curiosity replaces boredom Challenges become puzzles to solve - Every 'aha' moment fuels the next If it's not fun, you're doing it wrong. Find the joy in: - The struggle before the breakthrough The pieces clicking together The growth you can feel happeningThe best education doesn't feel like work. It feels like play for the mind.

Prof. Feynman @ProfFeynman If you're not having fun, you're not learning. There's a pleasure in finding things out.

Low Key ways to Start the Day

https://karunpal.com/low-key-habits-that-improved-my-mental-health/

Low-key Habits that Improved My Mental Health


Wake up at 5 AM. Drink four glasses of water. Run five miles. Do yoga. Meditate. Journal. Work on your life’s purpose. Sounds incredibly healthy, right?

Images flood your mind: artsy yellowish filters, a slow-motion water splash on the face, sipping green tea on a 69th-floor balcony overlooking a quiet morning city. That 10-second reel with 37 edits really captures our imagination. A 100% guaranteed way to mental well-being.

But does it work? Is it for you?

I bought into that vision. For months, I tried many of these “mental health” routines, struggling to keep up. I’d beat myself up for not being disciplined, feeling exhausted by midday, guilty for skipping days, and stressed at night because the cycle was set to repeat the next morning.

I failed, tried, and failed again. Yet, nothing could heal or soothe the pain I was feeling inside. The peace, calm, and mental stillness I longed for never materialized.

It took me a long time to realize something crucial: I was not for me.

Introverts, you’re Built Different

Here’s the truth: These loud, high-impact self-care routines, while well-intentioned, can actually take a toll on your mental health instead of healing you.

What you need is something quiet. Something that helps you without overwhelming you. Something soft. Something gentle.

The societal pressure to perform self-care looks great on the screen. But chasing these “ideal” routines often leaves us feeling mentally exhausted.

True self-care for an introvert is about creating a sanctuary, not a spectacle. It’s about being, not doing.

Here are some Low-Key Habits for Nurturing Your Mental Health

These are some low-key habits that have profoundly nurtured my mental health. They may not offer a life-altering transformation in the dramatic sense, but they provide a cozy, loving cosy path to self-care.

1. The Quiet Morning Coffee/Tea

Forget the 5 AM start if it stresses you out. For me, it’s about the quiet morning coffee or tea. It’s not about the time, but the intentional stillness.

I wake up when my body feels ready, make a warm drink, and simply sit. No phone, no news, no to-do lists. Just the warmth of the mug in my hands, the gentle aroma, and the quiet morning outside my window. It’s a moment to simply be before the world demands anything from me.

This quiet ritual sets a gentle tone for the day. It helps me connect with myself before juping into the world of chaos. It’s an act of gentle transition, a soft landing into wakefulness.

2. A ‘Random’ Walk

No phones. No destination. No intention. No hitting 10,000 step count. Just stepping outside and letting my feet lead me.

It might be around the block, through a quiet park, or down an unfamiliar street. The aim is simply to observe the world around me, notice the small details—a bird singing, a peculiar flower, the way the light hits a building.

It feels like meditation. It allows my mind to wander freely, unburdened by the expectations of the world. These walks are like mini-retreats. A chance to clear my head without the pressure of a workout.

3. Doing Nothing

For me, doing nothing is the greatest act of self-care.

In a productivity-obsessed world, this feels almost rebellious. But it’s essential. It means consciously choosing to sit, lie down, or simply stare out the window without an agenda.

No scrolling, no reading, no planning. Just allowing myself to exist without the pressure to produce, optimize, or consume.

It’s a space for true mental decompression, where the mind can finally rest and process without constant input.

This may look unproductive, but this is what refuels my souls. Makes me feel like me again.

4. Having a Go-To Outfit

Decision fatigue is real. It takes energy to decide. Especially when you’re an introvert who processes information more deeply.

Having a go-to outfit that is comfortable, make me feel good, and requires no thought just makes everything so simple. It’s one less decision to make, one less energy drain, freeing up mental space for more important things.

I start the day feeling comfortable and ready without unnecessary stress.

My go-to outfit is a simple black t-shirt and my blue Levi’s 512. If it’s cold, I put on a black hoodie or my favorite navy blue jacket (I’ve had it for 10 years, still going strong). That’s all I need.

5. A Calming Playlist

Music is therapy for the soul.

Not somthing that blasts out of the speakers, but something calming. Like instrumental, ambient, or soft acoustic music for specific times.

Like winding down in the evening, working on a focused task, or simply a gentle auditory hug like the sound of the rain or waves of the ocean can be incredibly soothing.

It creates a gentle soundscape that helps to regulate emotions and promote a sense of inner peace. This isn’t just background noise, but music that supports your mental state.

6. A Bed Day

Sometimes, the best self-care is simply a bed day.

Just laying on the bed all day. Chilling. Watching a movies. Binging on a mystery web series. Reading, listening to podcasts, gentle stretching, or simply drifting in and out of sleep.

It’s a complete surrender to comfort and rest. A true reset for mind and body when the world feels too loud or demanding.

This is an intentional act of extreme comfort and detachment from external pressures, allowing deep rest for the mind, body, and soul.

7. Yellow Lights for Evening

The harsh blue light from screens and LEDs can be overwhelming for sensitive introverts. Switching to yellow lights for evening dim lamps with warm-toned bulbs, or even string lights creates a cozy, inviting atmosphere.

To be honest, it feels like a signal to my body and mind that it’s time to unwind.

It’s like a subtle environmental shift that relaxes me and prepares me for restful sleep.

Trust me, this simple change in lighting can dramatically impact your nervous system, promoting a sense of calm and well-being.

8. Self-Talk Time

Yes, I talk to myself. A lot. Having deep conversations about life. About goals. About people. What drains me. What nourishes me.

And it feels like therapy.

Allowing space for my inner monologue, listening to my thoughts without judgment, and gently guiding myself through feelings.

It might be in the shower, on a walk, or just before sleep. It’s a private dialogue, a way to process emotions, problem-solve gently, and offer myself compassion and understanding.

It’s an act of internal communication that helps me connect with myself in a deeper way.

9. A Long Hot Shower

A long hot shower (or bath, if you prefer) is a sensory experience that can sooth every cell in your body.

The warmth on the skin, the rhythmic sound of the water, the steam filling the air. A chance to wash away the day’s stresses, both literally and figuratively.

I’m not gonna go into details, because it’s something that can only be experienced. So try it.

It’s a moment of pure, unadulterated comfort and privacy.

This simple act can be a profound sensory reset, melting away tension and offering a moment of true inner peace.

10. A small break from Social Media

This is no viral digital detox with 39 steps. It’s just a gentle disengagement from social media.

Just the phone down when you feel you’re getting overstimulated. Setting time limits. Unfollowing accounts that trigger your anxiety.

It’s about creating boundaries that protect my mental energy.It’s simply curating your digital environment to support your peace, not disrupt it.

Conclusion: Find Your Gentle Rhythm

These low-key habits have been revolutionary for my mental health. And it’s not because they are groundbreaking or Instagram-worthy, but because they are gentle, and deeply respectful of my introverted nature.

They don’t demand perfection. Or a complete overhaul of my life. They don’t demand anything to be honest. They just help me pause and connect with my true nature. And help me express myself authentically. Just the way I am. You can learn more about it in my book ‘Born to Stand Out’.

The goal isn’t to add more to your already busy life, but to subtract the noise and embrace the quiet.

It’s about finding what genuinely nourishes you. Just you.

Stay blessed,
Karun

 

An Offer T**** Can’t Refuse

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/an-offer-trump-cant-refuse

Obviously wars are unpredictable. They don’t necessarily end when you want them to. Consider the fact that the October 7th 2023, a shattering defeat for Israel, now from the vantage point of mid-2025 was an unmitigated catastrophe Iran. It set in process a chain of events which shattered the ‘axis of resistance’ which was the wellspring of its regional power and is now stands at the mercy of the US and Israel. You don’t know how wars will play out. But right now, Israel has created the circumstances which allow Donald Trump a risk-free “win” of immense magnitude. That is the issue here. Set aside whether or not doing this is wise. I’m talking about why we’re suddenly here. Why two or three days ago the White House was clear they weren’t getting involved and suddenly it all changed. The evolution here is that the Israelis have created an opportunity Trump simply cannot resist. A big big win with very little risk in the short term. All the force is on one side of the question and nothing is pushing back in the opposite direction. It’s less an evolution of views than simple physics.

Of course, there’s more than the short term. But that’s not how Trump thinks. 

Josh Marshall

The 7 stages of grief Shock Denial Anger Bargaining Depression Acceptance and Hope

Karun Pal @karunpal · Jun 16 Introverts are picky. Either they like you or they don't. There's no in between. They don't act fake. They don't fool around. And they have absolutely no interest in impressing you. No forcing, only vibing. If it flows, it flows. And trust me, when they do, you'll know it.

Tuesday, June 17, 2025

"Librocubicularist" noun a person who reads in bed.

99 year old gymnast

https://x.com/i/status/1935037465926189093

Johanna Quaas is a 99-year-old gymnast from Germany, she started competing in gymnastics at the age of 10 in 1935. Certified by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest active competitive gymnast. 

Robert Reich @RBReich For T****, a military conflict with Iran would distract from: -Sinking poll numbers -A devastating (and unpopular) budget bill -Harmful trade wars -Unleashing the military on American soil -Millions of people protesting his authoritarianism We must remain on high alert.

If you want to master something, teach it. R. Feynman

Blind obedience to authority is the greatest enemy of truth. Albert Einstein

Yemeni tea

https://cso-yemen.org/yemeni-tea/

Al-kbous tea ceylon tea leaves long staple 250g أوراق شاي سيلاني طويل  التيلة | eBay UK 

Black Lime

 

Dried lime

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dried lime
Whole loomi for sale in market in Manama, Bahrain
TypeDried food
Place of originOman, Iraq and Iran
Region or stateMiddle East
Associated cuisineMiddle Eastern cuisine
Dried, ground black Persian limes

Dried lime, also known as: black lime;[1] noomi basra (Iraq);[2] limoo amani (Iran); and loomi (Oman),[3] is a lime that has lost its water content, usually after having spent a majority of its drying time in the sun. They are used whole, sliced, or ground, as a spice in Middle Eastern dishes. Originating in the Persian Gulf[4][5] – hence the Iranian name limoo amani and the Iraqi name noomi basra ("lemon from Basra") – dried limes are popular in cookery across the Middle East.

Uses

Dried limes are used to add a sour depth and flavor to dishes, through a process known as souring.[6] In Persian cuisine, they are used to flavor stews and soups.[7] Across the Middle East, they are used with fish, whereas in Iraq, they are added to almost all dishes and forms of stuffing.[3] They can also be used to make dried lime tea. Powdered dried lime is also used as an ingredient in Middle Eastern-style baharat (a spice mixture). It is a traditional ingredient in the cuisines of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and other countries of the Persian Gulf.[citation needed]

Flavor

Dried limes are strongly flavored. They taste sour and citrusy like fresh limes, but have an added earthy and somewhat smoky taste and lack the sweetness of fresh limes. Because they are preserved, they also have a slightly bitter, fermented flavor, but the bitter accents are mainly concentrated in the lime's outer skin and seeds.[citation needed]

Tea

Dried lime tea is a type of herbal tea made from dried limes and is a popular beverage in Iraq where it is used to aid indigestion, diarrhea, and nausea.[citation needed]

Sophy Hollington illustrator

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgLqT6UyjYM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ha_ZlzcRNzo

there is really literally no one in the inner discussion of U.S. foreign policy today who has any level of foreign policy or military crisis experience at all. That’s a big statement.

 https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/thoughts-on-israels-iran-campaign-and-donald-trump

Charlie Hebdo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Hebdo

Humidity and Asthma

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325474

How does humidity affect asthma?

There may be links between symptoms of asthma and humidity. Humidity is a measure of how much moisture there is in the air. Many people with asthma find that humid weather makes their symptoms worse.

People can prevent humidity-related asthma symptoms using a range of strategies, including taking medication, controlling indoor humidity levels, and avoiding exercising in humid conditions.

Keep reading to learn how humidity and the weather can affect asthma symptoms and what to do to prevent a flare. We also look at the best and worst weather conditions for asthma.

Humidity can affect asthma symptoms.

Humidity refers to how much moisture or water vapor is in the air.

People may notice their asthma symptoms get worse on humid days when there is a lot of moisture in the air. This is especially true when exercising in humid conditions.

High levels of humidity may play a role in asthma symptoms in a variety of ways.

The increased moisture can directly irritate the airways, and humidity can increase the levels of other substances in the air that irritate the bronchial tubes, such as pollen and pollution.

High humidity can trigger asthma symptoms, including:

  • coughing
  • wheezing
  • chest tightness

Small-scale research has looked into how humid weather affects a person’s lungs. The researchers tested airway resistance — a measure of how easy it is to breathe — in six people with asthma and six people without.

After experiencing hot, humid air (49°C and 75–80% humidity) for 4 minutes, people with asthma had a 112% increase in airway resistance as opposed to the healthy group that only had a 22% increase in airway resistance.

Why does humidity affect asthma?

Humidity likely causes asthma symptoms because it triggers bronchoconstriction, which is a narrowing of the airways.

Bronchoconstriction may occur because hot, humid air activates C fibers, which are sensory nerve fibers in the airways. Stimulation of C fibers may narrow the airways and stimulate coughing, which makes it difficult to breathe.

High humidity levels create the perfect breeding ground for mold and dust mites, which often trigger asthma. Higher levels of humidity may also increase air pollution. For example, ozone, which is an air pollutant, rises when humidity levels increase.

Increased levels of humidity also often mean higher temperatures. The highest humidity levels usually occur during the summer months. The combination of heat and humidity can irritate the airways making breathing more difficult.

While it is not possible to control the weather and humidity levels outdoors, people can manage humidity-related asthma symptoms by:

Staying indoors on humid days

Get the weather report from your local news station and check the humidity levels. When high humidity advisories are in effect, try to stay indoors as much as possible.

Recognizing signs of an asthma flare

Recognizing symptoms as soon as they start can prevent an asthma flare from becoming worse. Signs include:

  • coughing
  • wheezing
  • shortness of breath
  • chest tightness

When symptoms start, people should follow the asthma action treatment plan they developed with their doctor.

Taking fast-acting bronchodilators

Fast-acting bronchodilators relax the muscles in the airways, which opens them up. As the narrowing decreases, breathing becomes easier. Common fast-acting inhalers to treat asthma include albuterol and Xopenex.

In some cases, people can prevent humidity-related asthma symptoms from developing by:

Checking the air quality

 

“Trump’s ICE cowboy gestapo isn’t about public safety it’s about authoritarianism,” Brannan said on X (formerly Twitter). “It shreds the rule of law, ignores due process, and targets people based on fear and hate. We can’t let this fascist playbook become the new normal.

 https://www.amny.com/news/brad-lander-arrested-ice-court-hearing-06172025/

Two of the Democrats seeking to succeed Lander as comptroller — Brooklyn City Council Member Justin Brannan and Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine — pulled no punches in condemning his arrest Tuesday.

“Trump’s ICE cowboy gestapo isn’t about public safety it’s about authoritarianism,” Brannan said on X (formerly Twitter). “It shreds the rule of law, ignores due process, and targets people based on fear and hate. We can’t let this fascist playbook become the new normal.

Masked ICE agents just violently arrested a US citizen —and elected official — for simply asking to see a judicial warrant,” Levine wrote in his X post. “This is authoritarianism. Comptroller Lander must be released immediately.”

We understand what it’s like to feel stressed and looking for balance.

Albert Einstein loved to walk miles every day. Why? Because he knew how important physical health was. He mostly went for long walks because, somewhere, it is written that he knew that it was great for mental health.

And there you go. Spinning classes are one of a kind. They are capable of raising the levels of serotonin and dopamine in the brain. These natural chemicals enhance mood, brain power, and memory and slow down the effects of ageing. source

“Collective” intergenerational trauma and “racial trauma” refer to the psychological distress passed through generations as a result of historic events, including colonization, slavery and other forms of oppression.

  it was important to reframe the damaging stories she’d been fed as a child. “My mother’s voice saying, ‘You’re worthless, you’re unlovable, you’re stupid,’ ” she said. “I think the essence of healing has been the effort to rewrite that narrative to something more loving, forgiving and kind.”

How does trauma spill from one generation to the next?

Intergenerational trauma has become a hot topic as people seek to explain the poor state of mental health among younger generations

By

The idea that trauma can be transmitted across generations — originating with long-dead relatives and passed down to future great-grandchildren — can be a difficult concept to grasp.

But with regular news of mass shootings, covid deaths, police killings and climate disasters, a growing number of therapists and their patients, particularly among the millennial and Gen Z cohorts, are turning their attention to the far-reaching impact of trauma, past and present.

The Oscar-winning film “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and television shows such as “Transparent” have grappled with how trauma trickles down in families. Popular nonfiction books such as “What Happened to You?”, by Oprah Winfrey and Bruce Perry, have taken the concept of intergenerational trauma “from the ivory tower to the general public,” said Sandra Mattar, a clinical psychologist and specialist in trauma-informed therapy.

The medical community has taken note. In April, more than 100 psychiatrists, psychologists, medical residents and other physicians gathered virtually for a Boston Medical Center “Grand Rounds” education event focused on intergenerational trauma. Mattar, who led the session, said the high turnout reflects heightened interest in the subject.

“I believe that trauma is at the core of so many mental health problems,” said Mattar, who also is director of training at the Immigrant and Refugee Health Center at Boston Medical Center.

The good news, experts say, is just as trauma can be passed through generations, so can resilience. But tapping into that resilience often requires a deeper understanding of the original source of the trauma and the routes of transmission through families and society.

Trauma in the genes

Intergenerational trauma can stem from biology, learned behaviors and even the collective experiences of a group. Some research suggests that trauma can affect a person’s DNA and potentially influence the health of future generations far removed from the traumatic event.

Researchers have investigated whether Holocaust survivors and their children showed changes to what are known as “epigenetic markers,” chemical tags that attach to DNA and can switch genes on or off, which in turn can influence inherited traits or diseases.

Advice: How to talk to your (skeptical) family about therapy

These studies, led by Rachel Yehuda, director of the Center for Psychedelic Psychotherapy and Trauma Research at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, compared blood samples of people who experienced the horrors of the Holocaust with those of Jews living outside Europe during the war.

Through molecular analyses, researchers found an important difference: Mothers exposed to the Holocaust showed changes in the activity of a DNA segment involved in regulating the stress response. Their children, who were not directly exposed, also showed these changes.

The implications of this research are far from conclusive but suggest that the environmental wounds inflicted on one generation may be transmitted to the next. “Clearly there is a signal of something interesting happening on a molecular level with intergenerational trauma,” said Yehuda, a professor of psychiatry and neuroscience. “It will be a while before we figure it all out.”

It’s not the traumatic experience that is passed on, it’s the anxiety and world view of the survivors, said Ed Tronick, a developmental and clinical psychologist at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School in Worcester. Many Holocaust survivors developed a view that the world is a dangerous place where terrible things can happen anytime. Their children intuitively sensed this fear. “Children are like anxiety detectors,” Tronick said, and they pick up and adapt to these cues.

Even the great-great-grandchildren of enslaved people can experience the anxiety their parents feel about the danger of sending them out into the community. In response to parents’ behavior, a child’s “body has already begun to experience the world as dangerous, even though he doesn’t understand the dangers at that young an age,” Tronick said.

Researchers have found that a range of toxic environmental and social exposures during pregnancy, whether it’s ingesting drugs and alcohol, or the stress of living in poverty, can also be transmitted in utero.

Imprints of abuse

Studies show that an abusive childhood can profoundly affect future generations.

Researchers interviewed volunteers from the Nurses’ Health Study about the levels of abuse inflicted on them in childhood — whether they were hit with a belt, left with bruises, or sexually or verbally abused.

The imprint of this violence took a lasting toll on the women’s children, the researchers found: Depression rates were 1.7 times higher and chronic depression 2.5 times higher among the children of women who experienced severe child abuse compared with children of mothers who had not endured such abuse.

“Childhood abuse has a profound impact on adult mental health, which can then affect family members,” said Andrea Roberts, the study’s lead author and a senior research scientist at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Bessel van der Kolk, author of the best-selling book “The Body Keeps the Score,” characterizes trauma not merely as an event in the past, but also as something having a lasting imprint on the mind, brain and body.

In an interview, van der Kolk said intergenerational trauma can be tracked in the ways children adjust themselves to their parents’ behavior. “When your mother freezes in response to your laughing, you learn not to laugh in front of your mom,” he said.

Collective trauma

“Collective” intergenerational trauma and “racial trauma” refer to the psychological distress passed through generations as a result of historic events, including colonization, slavery and other forms of oppression.

This type of trauma reaches far beyond individuals and families and is a shared experience among a particular group, such as descendants of the 120,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese nationals who were detained in incarceration camps during World War II.

Such trauma can manifest in many ways, from heightened anxiety, depression and insomnia to other mental and emotional health problems.

Thema Bryant, a specialist on healing from trauma and president of the American Psychological Association, said many people must cope with multiple forms of trauma at the same time.

She said her own view of the world was filtered through her experience growing up in Baltimore with descendants of the transatlantic slave trade and a World War II veteran grandfather with PTSD. She’s also endured a lifetime of racism and survived sexual assault. “I’m both a survivor of trauma within my lifetime and of intergenerational trauma,” Bryant said.

In the memoir “What My Bones Know,” Stephanie Foo confronts a punishing personal history of abuse and, after being diagnosed with complex PTSD, explores how trauma can be inherited through generations.

“We are all products of our history,” she said in an email interview. “I don’t really think it’s surprising that we carry our fears, traumas, tics and insecurities and pass them on to their children to some degree, whether it’s a depression-era recipe for potato salad or a deep-seated fear of abandonment.”

Foo’s great-grandmother and grandmother survived the Japanese occupation of Malaysia during World War II and a brutal guerrilla war with Britain known as the Malayan Emergency.

“I personally believe that because my great-grandmother and grandmother had to hustle desperately to survive,” Foo said, “that has contributed to the hustle and creativity I’ve possessed in building my own career and survival skills here in America. It’s probably also contributed to my intense anxiety.”

Helping people cope with generational trauma

It often requires a holistic approach to break the grip of generational trauma, experts say.

  • Awareness: Jason Wu, a Bay Area psychologist and child of refugee parents, said the first step is building awareness. A patient may have internalized the belief they’re not good enough, “but upon unpacking it, they can see how their parents’, and maybe even their parents’ parents’, constant criticisms and lack of warmth or praise is the source of this belief.”
  • Mind-body therapy: Somatic, or body-based therapies such as yoga, have been found to be effective for trauma. Increasingly, expressive arts therapies employing movement, music or visual arts, are being used to help patients find more adaptive ways to cope, said Cécile Rêve, co-founder of ARTrelief, a center that provides these arts-based therapies.
  • Reframing: Foo said it was important to reframe the damaging stories she’d been fed as a child. “My mother’s voice saying, ‘You’re worthless, you’re unlovable, you’re stupid,’ ” she said. “I think the essence of healing has been the effort to rewrite that narrative to something more loving, forgiving and kind.”
  • Breaking the cycle: Studies suggest that even children who did not experience nurturing parenting can overcome this history if, as adults, they consciously adopt positive parenting strategies with their own children.
  • Activism: Directly addressing the sources of trauma, such as gun violence or racism, through activism and advocacy are also powerful tools for overcoming its grip, said Bryant, the APA president.
  • Talk about it: How trauma is talked about in families can also be important. “Is it never discussed and therefore labeled as unspeakable? Or is it one part of the family’s story that is owned and claimed by each family member?” asked Arielle Scoglio, an assistant professor of health studies at Bentley University in Waltham, Mass. “The second response dispels shame related to the trauma and integrates it into a narrative that is flexible.”

Gazebo Envy

 

The Suicide Index by Joan Wickersham

 This book is one of the BEST BOOKS I've ever read. I've lost many friends and a few nephews to suicide and this book is balm but beyond that it is poetic and magnificent writing. Joan Wickersham also has a regular column in The Boston Globe.

Dehydration can cause nausea

Dehydration can cause nausea, often accompanied by other symptoms like headache, dizziness, and fatigue. When the body lacks sufficient fluids, digestion can slow down, leading to feelings of sickness and discomfort in the stomach. Additionally, dehydration can cause low blood pressure and reduced blood volume, which can trigger dizziness and, subsequently, nausea. 

Long-buried claim of rapist priest at Catholic summer camp puts N.H.’s statute of limitations to the test More than 20 years after claims of child sexual abuse rocked the Catholic Church, states are still figuring out who can be held accountable, and how

 https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/06/17/metro/nh-catholic-church-camp-fatima-child-sexual-abuse-case/

In memory of Elizabeth "Liz/Betty" Bowden Lisker Yonkers, NY September 18, 1927 - February 22, 2025

 *

‘Have we no shame?’ Federal judge declares hundreds of NIH grant terminations ‘void and illegal.’ Judge William Young ordered the NIH to restore funds for research related to racial minorities and LGBTQ+ people.

put pressure on philanthropy and the private sector

One in three Massachusetts families don’t have enough to eat, study finds

Reading is everything. Reading makes me feel like I've accomplished something, learned something, become a better person. Reading makes me smarter. Reading gives me something to talk about later on. Reading is the unbelievably healthy way my attention deficit disorder medicates itself. Reading is escape, and the opposite of escape; it's a way to make contact with reality after a day of making things up, and it's a way of making contact with someone else's imagination after a day that's all too real. Reading is grist. Reading is bliss.

NORA EPHRON

India Yemen Pakistan Ghana and Brazil: Local Travel!

 Eating at students homes in the neighborhood. 

Bindis

 https://www.lovenspire.com/blogs/lovenspire-blog-corner/bindis-symbol-culture-fashion

Bindis symbolize various aspects of cultural and religious significance, particularly in Hindu culture. Traditionally, the bindi is seen as a symbol of the third eye, representing wisdom and spiritual enlightenment. It signifies the ajna chakra, or the sixth chakra, which is located on the forehead between the eyebrows and is associated with intuition and insight.  

Monday, June 16, 2025

Barack Obama

Thirteen years ago, my administration acted to protect young people who were American in every single way but one: on paper.  DACA was an example of how we can be a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws. And it’s an example worth remembering today, when families with similar backgrounds who just want to live, work, and support their communities, are being demonized and treated as enemies.  We can fix our broken immigration system while still recognizing our common humanity and treating each other with dignity and respect. In fact, it’s the only way we ever will.

Don't be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your heart. Roy T. Bennett

 Image

Turning Away from Life

 dr. alicia andrzejewski (she/her)

from my friend celebrating 13 years sober: “for me, drinking was an act of turning away from life. at some point, there was a choice: pay attention or drink. I chose to pay attention. this is the greatest privilege of my life—I get to find out what it feels like to be a human.”

We piss in the dictator's eye, he who spent millions for a fascist military parade to celebrate his birthday, while cutting health care and even school lunch programs. T.C. Boyle American novelist and short story writer.

The Red Hand Files ISSUE #328 / JUNE 2025

Family Recipes from Around the World

 COOKING in SCHOOL

I believe if we explained to the students that we'd be cooking THEIR family recipes a summer cooking class would be a big hit. In my class I asked everyone their favorite recipe from home. I found copies online and then we printed them and shared them. Each person was enthusiastic and interested in explaining how they made it. It was a BIG HIT and we all learned a lot. For example lasagna made with plantains and raisins and green beans (Puerto Rico). Sameerh from Yemen makes bread using the walls of her triple decker oven to attach the dough! I will get to see this today FIRST HAND at her home.

The Mending Library

Grease stain on your favorite shirt?  Great bag with a logo you hate?  Skirt with no pockets?  Button missing?  Pants too long?  Moth holes?  Come extend the life of your clothing at the Mending Library. We will provide the tools, supplies, resources, and inspiration you need to repair and rewear your clothes. From visible mending to remixed fashion - sewing is creative, thrifty, sustainable, therapeutic, and fun.

https://www.objectsofconversation.com/the-mending-library

 May include: A stack of colorful fabric with floral patterns. The fabric is folded and stacked in a pile, with the top of the pile being the most visible. The fabric is a variety of colors, including red, blue, green, yellow, and orange. The fabric has a variety of floral patterns, including small flowers, large flowers, and abstract floral patterns. The fabric is likely used for making clothing or other textile products.

Bottle Blondes and Blow up Dolls

The secret police descending on Small Town, U.S.A. Masked immigration officials are storming towns and arresting people.

Because every one of us, in some thread of our story, comes from someone who made an impossible choice. Someone who left what they knew in search of something better. Not just more money. More meaning. More safety. More dignity. That’s not just immigration. That’s the human condition.

 

How is T**** hurting the Massachusetts economy? Let me count the ways. It doesn’t take a detective to figure out why the Massachusetts economy is fading faster than the rest of the country: Blame the unfriendly regime in Washington, D.C.

 https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/06/16/opinion/trump-cuts-massachusetts-economy/

 OPINION

T**** has come after me, and he may come after you

How far will his revenge agenda go?

Members of the California National Guard, deployed at the Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles on June 9. MARK ABRAMSON/NYT

Miles Taylor is former chief of staff of the Department of Homeland Security and editor of the newsletter TREASON.

Two months ago, President Trump ordered a federal investigation into me. He invoked executive authority to name me personally in a directive accusing me of “treason” and calling for punitive action — not because I broke any law, but because I served in his first administration, I sounded the alarm about his misconduct in an anonymous op-ed in The New York Times, and then I quit and spoke out against him in my own name.

Now with the sudden deployment of US military personnel into California, Americans should open their eyes to an unprecedented reality: The president of the United States has a sweeping revenge agenda, and it goes much further than individual dissenters.



To be clear, much of this was foreseeable. Trump pledged “retribution” during his campaign. Many of us who worked for him came forward to warn it would be the all-consuming priority of his second term.

More than a year before his reelection, I compiled a comprehensive overview of the revenge actions he would take if he won a second term and documented them. In “Blowback: A Warning to Save Democracy from Trump’s Revenge‚” I explained how the former president viewed federal power not as a tool for service, but as a cudgel for punishment. I revealed Trump’s desire in the first term to use America’s spy agencies against perceived enemies, deploy the military in US cities, and hijack the justice system to prosecute critics. And I explained that in a second term these types of anti-constitutional ideas would not be shot down by law-abiding public servants but would be carried out by staunch loyalists.



Those fears are materializing in real time.

Since taking office, the president has launched a full-frontal assault on institutions he views as personal adversaries. This includes wielding presidential power to punish law firms, universities, and even businesses he deems as being threats to his agenda. What’s more, media outlets have been targeted, nonprofit watchdogs maligned, and civil servants sacked en masse or sidelined.

He’s also pursuing individual opponents directly. Legal scholars have noted that the executive order naming me is without precedent in US history as it directs a federal investigation into a private citizen solely for protected speech. It has already upended my family’s life personally, financially, and in terms of physical security. We’ve even had to launch a legal defense fund so we don’t lose our home amid rising legal costs.

But more alarming is how quickly the scope of Trump’s revenge campaign is expanding beyond these targets to entire swaths of the country.

The White House has ordered troops into Los Angeles, ostensibly to quell riots in response to immigration arrests. But those of us who worked under Trump know better. He’s been looking for the opportunity to use the military to advance his agenda, especially in Democratic-leaning states and localities.

The situation in California is a manufactured pretext to make that happen.

What once seemed unimaginable — a militarized presidency enforcing the dictates of an increasingly authoritarian state — is beginning to take form. Even if the actions in California fall short of a formal invocation of the president’s most extreme emergency powers, such as the Insurrection Act, the precedent is perilous.



Deploying the military in service of a political message is the crossing of a Rubicon.

Americans must be clear-eyed about what may come next. The president could take the next step and invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy the military into other cities that defy his directives. He could declare a national emergency to seize control of communications infrastructure or justify mass arrests of protestors. He could weaponize surveillance tools designed for foreign threats against domestic critics.

These hypotheticals may seem outlandish, but so are the actions we have already seen from the White House. Indeed, these are powers that exist under federal statute, and in the hands of a man obsessed with revenge, they become tools of repression.

The danger is not just that presidential authority could be abused. It already is — in sweeping and unprecedented fashion. The real danger is that Americans may come to accept it or to see it as merely politics. The slow normalization of authoritarian tactics is how democracies erode: not with one dramatic moment, but with a series of escalating actions that become routine.

Such a dark outcome is not inevitable. There are still ways to pull back from the brink.

Federal institutions, such as inspectors general, courts, and state governments, must be willing to act. Whistleblowers and public servants must speak out, even at great personal risk. And most importantly, the American people must reject the idea that a president can use the powers of the state to settle personal scores.



If we fail to oppose a president implementing a “revenge agenda” — any president, of any political party — we may soon find ourselves in a country where dissent is treated as a crime, where loyalty is rewarded above lawfulness, and where the line between democracy and autocracy is all but erased.

That’s the question we now face: not whether the revenge agenda is real — but whether we’re prepared to stop it, before it’s too late.