Friday, September 11, 2026

MAKE YOUR OWN JOINT PAIN RELIEF LOTION

If you have achy joints after minor chores such as gift wrapping, baking, gardening, etc, try making a natural remedy at home. Add a drop of clove oil or a pinch of ground cloves to a dollop of unscented hand lotion. Firmly massage the lotion into the sore spots. Studies have shown that the eugenol in the spice can block pain-triggering inflammation the same way prescription painkillers do, and without the side effects some pain meds may cause.



Wednesday, September 9, 2026

HOW TO ANSWER DEMENTIA PATIENTS WHO WANT TO GO HOME

 A friend of mine posted this. It is so on the mark; I am reposting it here. This is important information.



Tuesday, September 8, 2026

WHAT IS A SERVING SIZE OF FRENCH FRIES?

Many don't really understand what a serving is!  A plate full of french fries is not a serving!  A serving of french fries is basically 10 fries.  Of course french fries come in many different sizes.  Use your common sense when determining how many your serving should be.  If you are eating the very thin matchstick fries, obviously 10 is not a full serving.  However if you are eating those big ole steak fries, 10 may be more than a serving.  The ten french fries that make up a serving are obviously average-sized fries.  Why is this important?  If you are on a diet for any reason, especially if you are diabetic or have a similar health situation, it is important that you don't fool yourself! To say, "I only ate a serving of french fries.  I don't know why my blood sugar shot up," is fooling yourself if you ate a regular or large size serving at your favorite restaurant.  Be responsible and eat only 1 serving, that is one real serving!





Saturday, September 5, 2026

STRAWBERRIES MAY GUARD AGAINST ALZHEIMER'S

As if we need it, here is another reason to enjoy strawberries. Researchers at Chicago's Rush University suggests that enjoying fresh or frozen strawberries in your diet may keep your brain healthy for years to come. When investigators reviewed the diets of almost 600 older people, they found that the brains of those who ate the most strawberries had markedly fewer tau protein tangles, which have come to the forefront as a key marker of Alzheimer's disease. The researchers say pelargonidin, a compound in the strawberries, reduces brain inflammation to prevent these tangles from forming. What a tasty way to protect ourselves from a terrible disease.

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Friday, September 4, 2026

BROCCOLI CALMS NERVE CELLS

Here is another reason to eat your broccoli. A University of Georgia study around three years ago found that eating a cup a day of broccoli may cut edginess and anxiety by as much as 72%. Credit goes to the carotenoids; a nutrient found abundantly in broccoli. Carotenoids keep a group of nerve cells (the HPA axis) calm, reducing their production of troublesome stress hormones like adrenaline. If anxiety is a problem for you, you may want to increase your consumption of broccoli.

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Thursday, September 3, 2026

TWO MORE TIPS FOR STARTING THE RESILIENCE RX

Today completes this series of post on resilience. Today we give the last two actions for getting started on the resilience RX mentioned in this series. The 10-point 

Prescription for Resilience is the product of research by Dennis S. Charney, M.D. and Steven Southwick, M.D. We followed the information in WomansDay.com 2024. Below are the last two actions.

Phone a friend.

  • The late psychologist Christopher Peterson was once asked to briefly explain positive psychology. His answer, "Other people matter. Period." Friends make us feel stronger and make the hard stuff in life more doable. One study showed that people perceived a hill as less steep when standing next to or even just thinking about a supportive friend. Lean into your network.
Tell your stories.
  • Whatever you're dealing with, talk about it, write about it, just get it out. Writing or talking about a bad experience helps you process the negativity better than merely thinking about that hardship. To tell your story, You could...
  • Help someone else! Our resilience is strengthened by recognizing that we are all experts on our own lives and can have a positive impact on others.
  • Find your voice. Expressing your experience in story form (beginning, middle, and end) helps you see it as part of a journey toward becoming the person you want to be.
  • Reaffirm your values. By telling our stories, we learn about ourselves and clarify what's important.
Remember this: Even when we're in the throes of really awful times, we don't have to lose our appreciation of humor. A good laugh can be very theraputic.

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Wednesday, September 2, 2026

MORE IDEAS FOR GETTING STARTED ON THE RESILIENCE RX

 Continuing on ways to fulfill your prescription for resilience. Our third action (actions one and two were discussed yesterday) is to Laugh it off!

Who doesn't love a good laugh? There is a reason a good laugh makes us feel better. Humor is a hit of pleasure that spikes dopamine and other feel-good brain chemicals. It increases positive emotions, broadening our thinking. With a more open mind, it's easier to engage in the reappraisal and perspective-shifting that help us deal with tough stuff. Humor has been linked to the lowering of both anxiety and catastrophizing thought patterns. It also helps you feel closer to others, which shores up your support network, another big factor in resilience. Science suggests that memes or jokes that take direct aim at pain points can be especially effective because they manage to combine the positive (laughing, humor) with the negative (struggle).

Humor...

  • increases postive emotions
  • broadens our thinking
  • makes it easier to shift perspective
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Tuesday, September 1, 2026

IDEAS TO HELP GET STARTED ON THE RX PRESCRIPTION

Continuing on the topic of resilience. Yesterday's post gave a prescription for working on resilience. Today we will start talking about some of the ways to implement that prescription. 

Action number one: Reframe what's lame

Reframing or reinterpreting negative thoughts plays a vital role in resilience. Reframing helps prevent negative thoughts and feelings from acting like gremlins, because those negative emotions can multiply, intensify, and overwhelm one if they are left unchecked. Below are 3 tips to help reframe.

  1. Swap "have to" for "get to"
  2. Go from "why me?" to "why not me?"
  3. Turn "to-don'ts" into to-do's"
Action number two: Find a role model

Nearly every one of the highly resilient people Dr. Charney and Dr. Southwick studied named at least one person they looked to for cues on how to behave in the face of, think about, and approach extreme stress. The person you choose could be anyone - a friend, a family member, a famous person, a child, etc. It can be someone who suffered similar hardships or someone who fought a totally different fight. Here is the important thing; when facing adversity, they embody the resilience you want to have, inspiring you and showing you a way forward.

In our next post we will continue with more helps.

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Monday, August 31, 2026

GETTING STARTED ON YOUR RX PRESCRIPTION

  • If you have read the last two post on resilience, and you want to get started building your resilience, below are the three As of getting started.

  • Acceptance: Be okay with not being okay. Give yourself time and opportunity to feel your feelings.
  • Acknowledgment: You need to own the fact that life itself isn't fair. Often there is no rhyme or reason for who suffers the most and why.
  • Action: Taking action is a requirement. What is one tiny thing you can do to create momentum?
          Let's Go!



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Saturday, August 29, 2026

A RESILIENCE RX

I am certainly no doctor, so I rely on those who are for my posts.  The following advice is from a couple of leading resilience researchers Dennis S. Charney, M.D., and Steven Southwick, M.D. Below is their 10-point Prescription for Resilience.

  1. Optimism, or maintaining a positive attitude
  2. Reframing negative or stressful thoughts
  3. Developing a moral compass
  4. Finding a resilient role model
  5. Facing your fears
  6. Developing active coping skills
  7. Establishing and nurturing a supportive social network
  8. Prioritizing your physical health and well-being
  9. Training your brain
  10. Playing to your strengths
Remember this: We're not competing in the Hardship Olympics. Your feelings are valid regardless of who "has it worse" than you.