Dnt y ht t whn ppl wst yr tm pttng vwls n thr sntncs?
Frm ths pnt n, n mr vwls fr m!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
An Important Note to the Following:
Wal-Mart employees: It is not good for business when you carefully inspect and comment on every item in my shopping cart while I check out. Especially if I'm purchasing feminine hygiene products for my wife.
Aspiring authors: Just because you discover the meaning of an obscure word does not mean that you need to weave it into your next literary masterpiece (blog). After all, maybe they quit using the word originally because it was *lame*. Is that pithy enough for you?
Michael Moore: Making movies is part of capitalism. How ironic. And convenient.
Wives in two-parent households: A recent study (although I won't mention the source or you will laugh) confirms that wives tend to under-report and undervalue the household tasks performed by husbands. That is, until the husband is gone from the home due to a separation, divorce or death. Then, the frequent reflection is "I never realized how much he really did help out around the house." How about a little recognition once in a while for the man who isn't afraid to do a load of dishes, bathe the kids and wash some laundry?
Husbands of stay-at-home moms: There is a reason your wife takes the time to calculate the monetary value of being a stay-at-home mom. Figure out how to help her feel recognized and valued for this all-important job and she'll put down the calculator. Something is wrong with our society when actors and sports figures make millions and stay-at-home-moms have to try to prove they are valuable.
My mother: Remember the time your mom came to our home when I was a kid and offered to pay me a dollar if I would clean up the living room and sweep the front porch. I always thought that was so nice, but now I understand what was really going on!
Conservatives: Is everything you are trying to conserve really valuable enough to be worth conserving? How about this: let's conserve a few high-quality, important things and then fix the rest?
Liberals: I married a true liberal. When she was five years old she used to go door to door in her neighborhood. She would tell each person who answered the door that she loved them and then she gave them her money (true story). It's kind of fun, until you are all out of money.
Aspiring authors: Just because you discover the meaning of an obscure word does not mean that you need to weave it into your next literary masterpiece (blog). After all, maybe they quit using the word originally because it was *lame*. Is that pithy enough for you?
Michael Moore: Making movies is part of capitalism. How ironic. And convenient.
Wives in two-parent households: A recent study (although I won't mention the source or you will laugh) confirms that wives tend to under-report and undervalue the household tasks performed by husbands. That is, until the husband is gone from the home due to a separation, divorce or death. Then, the frequent reflection is "I never realized how much he really did help out around the house." How about a little recognition once in a while for the man who isn't afraid to do a load of dishes, bathe the kids and wash some laundry?
Husbands of stay-at-home moms: There is a reason your wife takes the time to calculate the monetary value of being a stay-at-home mom. Figure out how to help her feel recognized and valued for this all-important job and she'll put down the calculator. Something is wrong with our society when actors and sports figures make millions and stay-at-home-moms have to try to prove they are valuable.
My mother: Remember the time your mom came to our home when I was a kid and offered to pay me a dollar if I would clean up the living room and sweep the front porch. I always thought that was so nice, but now I understand what was really going on!
Conservatives: Is everything you are trying to conserve really valuable enough to be worth conserving? How about this: let's conserve a few high-quality, important things and then fix the rest?
Liberals: I married a true liberal. When she was five years old she used to go door to door in her neighborhood. She would tell each person who answered the door that she loved them and then she gave them her money (true story). It's kind of fun, until you are all out of money.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Medication
The late comedian, Mitch Hedberg, said the following:
"Alcoholism is a disease, but it's the only one you can get yelled at for having. 'Darn it, Otto, you are an alcoholic. Darn it, Otto, you have Lupis.' One of those two doesn't sound right."
For some reason, when illness involves mental health, people tend to blame the person who has the illness more than they may blame someone for having other types of illnesses. Similarly, the person who has a mental illness is often more ashamed to admit it and seek help.
Sometimes, mental health treatment, including the use of medication to help with mental and emotional challenges, is viewed as being less-scientific than the treatment of other types of illnesses. For example, we may think a child with pneumonia needs a certain antibiotic, but when he has depression, while it may be true that he could benefit from an antidepressant, it should only be a very last resort and only if he it too "weak" to snap out of the depression through willpower alone.
I once went to visit a cardiologist for high cholesterol. I had taken two different medications prescribed by my primary care doctor, yet my cholesterol hadn't improved. Because of a history of heart problems in my family, I decided seeing a specialist may be a good idea. Prepared for a lecture about my weight and the harm of eating dairy products, I was amazed when the cardiologist said, "let me make one thing clear, your cholesterol being high is a product of your genes and has nothing to do with your weight or lifestyle. You can try dieting and exercising, and that might help a small amount, but what you really need in medication and you will need to take it for the rest of your life."
I asked why, then, neither of the two medications I had taken previously had lowered my cholesterol. He said, "This is not an exact science. Everyone's body responds differently to medication. It is simply a matter of trying one and then another until we find one that actually works."
I've heard that logic used before (and criticized) in mental health treatment. For example, a man is depressed and prescribed an antidepressant. A month or two passes with no improvement, so they try a different one. The doctor is criticized for not knowing what he/she is doing and the problem is viewed as being behaviorally based rather than medical in nature. But no one thought my cardiologist was unskilled simply because we needed to try a third cholesterol medication. And I didn't feel embarrassed to be there for help, especially once he told me it was not my fault and there was nothing I could do, aside from medication, to improve the situation.
When it involves cholesterol, it is fine to believe that exercise and diet can't change it and to tolerate trying three or four different medications before finding the right fit. When it is depression, we might feel that we can try medication, but what would really help is a little bit of exercise and fresh air as well as a better attitude and more determination to be happy.
Personally, I do not believe that medication and genetics alone are the answer for any condition, whether physical or mental in nature. I believe diet and exercise are an important part of lowering cholesterol in combination with medication just as much as I believe that there are some things a person can do in combination with taking antidepressants that will be helpful. I'm just bothered by the assumption that when something involves mental rather than physical health, it is often considered to be the person's own fault and if the first medication attempted is not successful, the whole process is seen as being unscientific.
People who suffer from mental, behavioral and emotional challenges should be just as able to seek help medically and in other ways as those with other physical ailments. And they should be able to do so without shame or guilt.
"Alcoholism is a disease, but it's the only one you can get yelled at for having. 'Darn it, Otto, you are an alcoholic. Darn it, Otto, you have Lupis.' One of those two doesn't sound right."
For some reason, when illness involves mental health, people tend to blame the person who has the illness more than they may blame someone for having other types of illnesses. Similarly, the person who has a mental illness is often more ashamed to admit it and seek help.
Sometimes, mental health treatment, including the use of medication to help with mental and emotional challenges, is viewed as being less-scientific than the treatment of other types of illnesses. For example, we may think a child with pneumonia needs a certain antibiotic, but when he has depression, while it may be true that he could benefit from an antidepressant, it should only be a very last resort and only if he it too "weak" to snap out of the depression through willpower alone.
I once went to visit a cardiologist for high cholesterol. I had taken two different medications prescribed by my primary care doctor, yet my cholesterol hadn't improved. Because of a history of heart problems in my family, I decided seeing a specialist may be a good idea. Prepared for a lecture about my weight and the harm of eating dairy products, I was amazed when the cardiologist said, "let me make one thing clear, your cholesterol being high is a product of your genes and has nothing to do with your weight or lifestyle. You can try dieting and exercising, and that might help a small amount, but what you really need in medication and you will need to take it for the rest of your life."
I asked why, then, neither of the two medications I had taken previously had lowered my cholesterol. He said, "This is not an exact science. Everyone's body responds differently to medication. It is simply a matter of trying one and then another until we find one that actually works."
I've heard that logic used before (and criticized) in mental health treatment. For example, a man is depressed and prescribed an antidepressant. A month or two passes with no improvement, so they try a different one. The doctor is criticized for not knowing what he/she is doing and the problem is viewed as being behaviorally based rather than medical in nature. But no one thought my cardiologist was unskilled simply because we needed to try a third cholesterol medication. And I didn't feel embarrassed to be there for help, especially once he told me it was not my fault and there was nothing I could do, aside from medication, to improve the situation.
When it involves cholesterol, it is fine to believe that exercise and diet can't change it and to tolerate trying three or four different medications before finding the right fit. When it is depression, we might feel that we can try medication, but what would really help is a little bit of exercise and fresh air as well as a better attitude and more determination to be happy.
Personally, I do not believe that medication and genetics alone are the answer for any condition, whether physical or mental in nature. I believe diet and exercise are an important part of lowering cholesterol in combination with medication just as much as I believe that there are some things a person can do in combination with taking antidepressants that will be helpful. I'm just bothered by the assumption that when something involves mental rather than physical health, it is often considered to be the person's own fault and if the first medication attempted is not successful, the whole process is seen as being unscientific.
People who suffer from mental, behavioral and emotional challenges should be just as able to seek help medically and in other ways as those with other physical ailments. And they should be able to do so without shame or guilt.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
In Seventh Grade Again
This past week, I got to go to school for a day with my 7th grade son. It is an annual tradition in the school district, and it was a lot of fun. I was pleasantly surprised that about half of the students seemed to have at least one of their parents in attendance. While the day offered plenty of opportunities to learn about my son and his classes, teachers and peers, it also provided the chance to reflect on the reasons I am glad I am no longer in Junior High.
Here are some observations from my day at school:
1) As I grow older, the teachers seem to look younger and younger. I could barely tell the difference between some of my son's teachers and the students. I don't remember being taught by fifteen-year-old-looking English teachers...
2) Almost nothing on earth is worse than Junior High Gym class. The locker room, the dressing out, the calisthenics, the coaches, the heat. In my day, coaches "made" you shower after gym so that you wouldn't stink the rest of the day. Most kids complied, but a few found tricky ways to get around the showering thing (like hiding in a toilet stall and getting your hair wet in the sink). Of course, in a boy's locker room, "showers" simply mean a large tube protrudes from a tiled floor, with a ring of water spouts (no dividers or curtains, of course) forming a circle of water. That used to bring up all kinds of interesting dilemmas for seventh graders. These days, it appears, they have just skipped the shower concept all together for regular gym classes. Instead, they deal with the post-gym stench by applying body spray. My son claims that in one of his friend's gym classes, someone lit a match at the end of gym, causing a combustion in the locker room due to all of the body spray vapors.
3) Although I can run a business, I can't do seventh grade math. Or science. Or social studies.
4) As masses of students walked between classes, I took a short-cut through the grass rather than staying on the paved walkway. My son quickly corrected me and warned that they are only allowed to walk on the sidewalks. I looked around and was amazed that nowhere on the entire campus was a student walking on the grass. More than a thousand Junior High students and their parents crammed instead onto the walk ways as they headed to their next class. I asked my son how they enforced the rule. Were there "sidewalk police" that took you to detention if you strayed from the path? I didn't see any. He said he did not know, but he knew there would be trouble if you set foot in the grass. My still-unanswered question is how they get EVERY student to follow this rule but cannot get them to keep any of the other ones. I saw plenty of discipline-worthy rule violations throughout the day, but never once saw anyone step on the (relatively-brown and dead) grass.
5) Something about sitting in 7th grade classes all day made me wonder again what I am going to be when I grow up.
6) The same student archetypes that were present when I was in Junior High still exist today. And I am still afraid of some of them.
7) Although technology changes, the ability of teachers to use it effectively does not. In my day, teachers fumbled to find the on-off switch for the overhead projector. Today, they fumble to find the power button on the dvd player and cool looking computer devices.
8) Student desks will never be comfortable, no matter how advanced our society becomes.
9) One of the greatest gifts of life is that, although we may wish we were young again, we can never go back and re-live our Junior High days. Going back to work when the day was finished was a relief!
Here are some observations from my day at school:
1) As I grow older, the teachers seem to look younger and younger. I could barely tell the difference between some of my son's teachers and the students. I don't remember being taught by fifteen-year-old-looking English teachers...
2) Almost nothing on earth is worse than Junior High Gym class. The locker room, the dressing out, the calisthenics, the coaches, the heat. In my day, coaches "made" you shower after gym so that you wouldn't stink the rest of the day. Most kids complied, but a few found tricky ways to get around the showering thing (like hiding in a toilet stall and getting your hair wet in the sink). Of course, in a boy's locker room, "showers" simply mean a large tube protrudes from a tiled floor, with a ring of water spouts (no dividers or curtains, of course) forming a circle of water. That used to bring up all kinds of interesting dilemmas for seventh graders. These days, it appears, they have just skipped the shower concept all together for regular gym classes. Instead, they deal with the post-gym stench by applying body spray. My son claims that in one of his friend's gym classes, someone lit a match at the end of gym, causing a combustion in the locker room due to all of the body spray vapors.
3) Although I can run a business, I can't do seventh grade math. Or science. Or social studies.
4) As masses of students walked between classes, I took a short-cut through the grass rather than staying on the paved walkway. My son quickly corrected me and warned that they are only allowed to walk on the sidewalks. I looked around and was amazed that nowhere on the entire campus was a student walking on the grass. More than a thousand Junior High students and their parents crammed instead onto the walk ways as they headed to their next class. I asked my son how they enforced the rule. Were there "sidewalk police" that took you to detention if you strayed from the path? I didn't see any. He said he did not know, but he knew there would be trouble if you set foot in the grass. My still-unanswered question is how they get EVERY student to follow this rule but cannot get them to keep any of the other ones. I saw plenty of discipline-worthy rule violations throughout the day, but never once saw anyone step on the (relatively-brown and dead) grass.
5) Something about sitting in 7th grade classes all day made me wonder again what I am going to be when I grow up.
6) The same student archetypes that were present when I was in Junior High still exist today. And I am still afraid of some of them.
7) Although technology changes, the ability of teachers to use it effectively does not. In my day, teachers fumbled to find the on-off switch for the overhead projector. Today, they fumble to find the power button on the dvd player and cool looking computer devices.
8) Student desks will never be comfortable, no matter how advanced our society becomes.
9) One of the greatest gifts of life is that, although we may wish we were young again, we can never go back and re-live our Junior High days. Going back to work when the day was finished was a relief!
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