We've got too much "stuff". Next year, consider focusing on making memories and moments during the holidays and not on "stuff"/material goods. George Carlin slaps us around about our ridiculous obsession with "stuff". Check out this really fun YouTube video...caution, it's profane!!
Walmart generated this great list of "the most popular items sold online in each state in 2017". Some of the items are completely unexpected. Alabama...crayons! Why???
We had two segments regarding hormones and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in females. Some great resources to learn about these issues are:
- Kathleen Nadeau, Ph.D. and Patricia Quinn, M.D.'s book, Understanding Women with ADHD.
- ADDvance.com
- Chesapeake ADHD Center of Maryland
- ADDjourneys.com (Sari Solden is one of the first to write about women and ADHD-she's one of my favorite)
Peter sent a question through the "Ask Me" button at drclaudia.net. We got a start on the conversation about creating meaningful New Year's resolutions or habits. It's critical to understand how "real" change is made before we set about making change in our lives that will make us healthier and more satisfied.
We began by discussing the "traps" that cause only 8% of us who make resolutions to turn those intentions into permanent change.
We ran out of time!! We'll discuss the "tricks" to creating the life you want next Sunday!
The #1 New Year's resolution is to lose weight/have a healthier diet. Coming in at #2 is saving more and spending less! Of course, finances are on our minds at this time of the year. After all, most Americans are still paying off their credit card debt from the 2016 holiday season!
Want some "non-losing weight" ideas for resolutions? Here they are!
I talked about the 10-year old boy who's very much into the "drag queen" culture and is starting a "drag kids club". He appears to be "wired" strongly to associate with female style and presentation, called gender role. He identifies himself as being female (gender identity).
Desmond began expressing this identity from age 2, so it's likely to be neurological. My concern, at least from what I saw online, is the sexualization and possible exploitation of this young man. Here's the article I saw. The one thing that impressed me is his acceptance of himself. He indicated basically, that if he bothers you, look away.
We also covered:
The new fad of drinking "raw water"...in Silicon Valley, it's being sold for $15 a gallon. It's not filtrated in any way. Some folks are collecting water from streams, but some companies such as Live Water are selling a 2.5 gallon jug for $40 with $15 for refills.
The Live Water founder, Mukhande Singh claims that fluoride is a "mind-control drug".
Don't do this. Don't drink unfiltered water.
Can we talk about what I learned from watching the Explore.org Brooks River (Katmai National Park) live cams when the grizzlies showed up to fish? Let me just say that those big bears have super huge poop! And they poop in the rivers! The fish poop there and so do the birds and everything else that happens by! Yuck..
All of this "raw water" stuff is great until "a 10-year-old girl dies a horrible death from cholera in Montecito, California", said food safety expert Bill Marler. Seriously, you can't legislate common sense among adults. Darwin rides again!
Let's talk about this flu. It's a killer. The vaccine is about 10% effective, but doctors are saying to get it anyway. One of the reasons it's spreading like wildfire is because people did not get the vaccine.
Doctors are saying (of course! Check with your doctor first!!!):
1. Get the vaccine! You'll need two weeks to build immunity, but the peak flu season is in February. Can you afford to be this sick for this long? The hospitals are filling up and Tamiflu, the anti-viral, is back-ordered and even nationwide chain pharmacies' supplies are depleted.
2. Slather yourself with anti-bacterial gel whenever you touch anything outside of your home or if something comes into your home.
3. Wear a mask over your nose and mouth if you go out your door or if someone comes in and they're sick. Remember that virus hang in the air as long as 45 minutes after someone has breathed, coughed or sneezed it out of their bodies!
4. Gargle with warm salt water and vinegar. Our family recipe is one cup warm water, one-half tablespoon salt and one tablespoon white vinegar. I just leave a glass of it on the bathroom counter and gargle whenever I'm in the bathroom.
5. NeilMed Sinus Rinse was recommended to me by both my allergist and ear, nose and throat specialist. It's an over-the-counter product available everywhere. YOU MUST USE DISTILLED WATER!! It's not like a neti-pot that drowns you. Just check it out.
Here's the deal. Your mouth and nose are the two of the ways virus get into your body (well, there are your eyes and ears, so keep your mitts out of 'em!). Do what you can to keep those tissues healthy so they can fight the good fight.
Remember! Consult with your doctor before getting the vaccine or using the gargle or sinus rinse. I'm not your physician!! I'm just passing along the information!!!
6. If someone you care about is hospitalized with the flu, consider waiting until they're home to see them. This flu is so intensely contagious that some hospitals are are restricting visitors. They've got their hands full with sick people and the rest of us don't need you to spread it around.
Healthy people are dying from this hard-hitting, fast-acting flu. People who appear to be healthy may have undiagnosed weaknesses that are very stressed when they get a flu or other "system-wide" virus. Ugh.
Please, please take care of yourselves. When you start to come down with it, you've already started infecting people the day before and you'll continue to infect people for 5-7 days once you started getting sick, so put yourself down...down in bed and away from others.
Several weeks ago, when we were talking about "marrying the gene pool", I recommended that dating sites start including questions about the "problems" family members may experience such as substance abuse, learning problems, and mental illness. But, what fun would THAT be? Anyway, I saw an article about a company in Houston called Pheramor that uses a cheek swab to determine which people you will be attracted to based on 11 genes.
Read this short article. It's incredibly fascinating. For example, did you know that when you're attracted to someone's scent, you're actually attracted to their immune system??
A 16-year old New Jersey youngster shot and killed his parents, his 18-year old sister and a 70-year old acquaintance of his family's. Neighbors described him in a variety of ways including that he is "autistic", is "slow", has "learning disabilities", but that he is "fully functional and knows right from wrong". He did not attend the same school as his siblings (a brother and grandfather escaped before being murdered) and went to a "special school".
As this situation progresses, I suspect that I'll be convinced that this young man experiences schizotypal disorder. I wrote two articles about this condition. It's worth your time to consider that this kind of situation could impact your family in the future.
There are unintended consequences of legalizing and commercializing marijuana and a consequence is that more people are smoking and they're smoking more often. Daily smokers who smoke several times during the day are vulnerable to developing cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome which is a really attractive disorder.
If you "come down" with this, you'll experience crampy abdominal pain, weight loss, mental fog, recurrent nausea and vomiting. See? Pretty, isn't it? The only cure is to stop smoking.
Many who have this condition do not believe that their pot smoking is the cause, especially since pot helps those with chemo-related nausea.
Some doctors are treating it using "first generation" anti-psychotic medications such as Thorazine which is an extremely powerful medication with very serious side effects.
Unfortunately, many pregnant women are smoking pot daily to relieve morning sickness and nausea. We have no idea how smoking marijuana impacts the developing baby. Don't smoke anything when you're pregnant. Ugh. You can wait, but you cannot live with the consequences if your child is born with disabilities.
See you next Sunday!
Claudia