How Can I Help?

"I just strive to do better. Every time I meet somebody, I ask myself, "How can I help this person?"
- Richard Simmons

Richard Simmons

"A kid who moves is a kid who learns."
- Richard Simmons

"I'm not going to be happy until every child in every school is physically active."
- Richard Simmons

Be Calm, Breathe Deeply

What I try and make sure I do is find 5 minutes–just 5 short minutes–to sit and be calm and breathe deeply. I find when I force myself to make the time, I feel immensely better.
Article

Park Bench Grandma's

Harare's park bench grandmas: 'I speak to them and feel a load is lifted off my heart'

One in four Zimbabweans suffers from mental illness, but untrained female health workers are setting a new benchmark for the treatment of patients

The benches are a safe place for people struggling with depression, which in the Shona language is called kufungisisa, “thinking too much”.

It is a world away from conventional approaches to mental healthcare, but the Friendship Bench project has changed the lives of an estimated 27,000 Zimbabweans suffering from depression and other mental disorders.

Guardian Article
NPR Article

Jennifer Finney Boylan

I do know that we don’t have a good language for talking about sadness or depression, which are two countries that have a common border.
-Jennifer Finney Boylan
Fantastic article: What Is Sadness, and What Is Depression?

The Exercise Effect

Exercising starts a biological cascade of events that results in many health benefits, such as protecting against heart disease and diabetes, improving sleep, and lowering blood pressure. High-intensity exercise releases the body's feel-good chemicals called endorphins, resulting in the "runner's high" that joggers report. But for most of us, the real value is in low-intensity exercise sustained over time. That kind of activity spurs the release of proteins called neurotrophic or growth factors, which cause nerve cells to grow and make new connections. The improvement in brain function makes you feel better. "In people who are depressed, neuroscientists have noticed that the hippocampus in the brain—the region that helps regulate mood—is smaller. Exercise supports nerve cell growth in the hippocampus, improving nerve cell connections, which helps relieve depression," explains Dr. Miller.

source

Excuse Me, Miss?

Yesterday as I was walking by the police station parking lot on my way to the library a well dressed young man said, "Excuse me, miss?"
"Yes."
"Do you know the new sandwich place on Jerome Avenue?"
"No, I don't."
"That's understandable, they've only been open 6 months," he said. "I'm mentioning this because my wife's friend a young woman got a job there and they abused her in the basement. I'm telling everyone so they don't go there."
"Well, if you weren't standing in front of the police station, I'd tell you 'go to the police.'"
"She wasn't going to tell the police, she was even planning to go back to work. I told her we must go to the police, for your sake and the next person's and we'll support you," he said.
"I'm glad you did. She's lucky to have you as a friend. You did the right thing. They're good here."
"Yes they are," he said. "My wife's inside with the girl right now, talking to a detective. I feel responsible because I got her the job. I haven't slept in three days."
"When I go without sleep I feel like I have an open skylight on top of my head."
"That's exactly how I feel," he said.
"I'm concerned about you. You need to get your rest."
"As soon as they come back out I will go home and sleep. I want to post this all over facebook," he said.
"Be careful. I want you to be safe and protected too. Why don't you go home and get your rest first and then maybe tomorrow ask the detective what's the best thing to do."
"For liability's sake?," he asked.
"Yes, and for your safety. Ask the professionals, that's the best way to handle it," I said.
"Thank you," he said.
"Good luck!" I said crossing to the library.

Paul Krugman

What all this tells us is that the problem facing America runs much deeper than Trump’s personal awfulness. One of our two major parties appears to be hopelessly, irredeemably corrupt. And unless that party not only loses this year’s election but begins losing on a regular basis, America as we know it is finished.
-Paul Krugman

Article

Rapid or Static Change in Daylight + Mood

June is a difficult month for those of us whose moods are affected by the changing length of day. It's not whether the day is long or short, it's the rate at which the day-length is changing.

June being the month of the longest day, the changeability is at a near standstill.

By July, the length of day is decreasing ever more rapidly and registers in my brain as what I call 'transmit-mode.' This joyful mood carries through into August, and September.

Things rapidly wind down by late October, and the slow, difficult, internal 'receive-mode' is ascendant from November to December and into January.

My brain registers the rapidly increasing length of day with lifted 'transmit-mode' spirits in February and March. I call these the 'whoosh' months.

Then things slow down and become internal again. The length of day stagnates. This is why April, May, and June can be emotionally tough.

Playing the Tuba Prevents Sleep Apnea

Researchers in India compared the risk of developing obstructive sleep apnea in 64 people who played a wind instrument versus 65 people who did not.

Researchers theorize the difference is due to the increased muscle tone of the upper airways that wind players have likely developed. Sleep apnea occurs when the muscles in the back of the throat relax, briefly cutting off the ability to breathe. The patient awakens momentarily to catch his breath - as many as 30 times an hour. Besides causing fatigue, it can also lead to high blood pressure.

Strengthening those muscles by playing a wind instrument could be "a cheap and non-invasive method" of preventing sleep apnea.

Article

Mona Hanna-Attisha

What happened in Flint could happen elsewhere, as the push for austerity and a disdain for science are combined with antidemocratic measures like voter disenfranchisement, gerrymandering and state-appointed emergency managers. One of the lessons of Flint is that science and public health won’t save us without a functioning democracy. Being awake is not enough. We have to be loud. Only when we mobilize and have a say in what happens to our communities will smarter decisions be made — for the environment, for public health and for all our children.

Article

Mona Hanna-Attisha (@MonaHannaAthe), the founder and director of the Pediatric Public Health Initiative, is the author of the forthcoming “What the Eyes Don’t See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City,” from which this essay is adapted.

Terry Sullivan

"I’m a writer, and I use words to tell stories. But after a tragic event in 1993, I felt as though words had lost their efficacy. Luckily, I was able to use other mediums, namely drawing and painting, to help me deal with what I witnessed. If you’ve experienced trauma, art — whether it’s drawing, painting or writing, can help you cope. Here’s how I learned."

Article

Sarah J. Jackson

Article on Anthony Bourdain
Sarah J. Jackson is an associate professor of communication studies at Northeastern University and the author of “Black Celebrity, Racial Politics, and the Press.”

RIP Anthony Bourdain

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/08/business/media/anthony-bourdain-dead.html
https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/08/us/anthony-bourdain-obit/index.html

Daphne Merkin

We live in a society that is embarrassed by interiority, unless it is presented in a shrill, almost campy style under the aegis of the recovery movement, with its insistence on dramatic personal testimony.
-Daphne Merkin

Paul Krugman

We’re being governed by men with small and empty souls. Does it matter?

In a direct sense, not really. There’s a good case that Trump’s own profiteering is doing huge damage, but the small ways in which his officials have been ripping off taxpayers are trivial compared with the big things they’re doing to make America worse: undermining health care, environmental protection, financial regulation, and more.

In a deeper sense, however, petty corruption and cruel, destructive policy are indeed linked. Men who see high office largely as a license to live large, act like big shots and force government employees to act as their personal servants aren’t likely to care much about serving the public interest.

We don’t need a government of saints; people can be imperfect (who isn’t?) yet still do good. But a government consisting almost entirely of bad people — which is what we now have — is, in fact, going to govern badly.

Article

Mood Altering

I am amazed at mood the mood altering effects of swimming. I arrive grouchy tired and anxious. I go home centered and with optimism. "Just swim one lap, and see how you feel," has to remain my motto. Otherwise it's NO FUN.

Sally Goble

It is possible to find the good in every situation. People have asked me which pools has been my favourite. They imagine I will pick the vast ones or the glamorous marble-clad ones or the empty serene ones. But they all have their own personalities and challenges. For every luscious, quiet pool there has been a mobbed one, stressful to swim in but thriving and full of life. For every spartan, suburban municipal pool there has been a swimmer who has exchanged a friendly word of encouragement or who has laughed with me about lane etiquette. And for every super-heated leisure pool there has been a friendly chatty lifeguard or receptionist. You can find a bit of good in everything if you really want to.
source
another article

Tenderness and Kindness

“Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness and despair, but manifestations of strength and resolution.”
― Kahlil Gibran

Gibran

“And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.”
― Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet