Health

Dr. Clifford N. Lazarus ••• Norman, a twice-divorced thirty-six-year-old lawyer, came for therapy.  He often ran into interpersonal problems, but recently he had lost three close friendships, had a serious falling out with his parents, and his fiancée had broken off their engagement.  No wonder!  Norman had more rules and regulations than the Army,...
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Quaker Oats for fast pain relief… it’s not for breakfast any more! Mix 2 cups of Quaker Oats and 1 cup of water in a bowl and warm in the microwave for 1 minute, cool slightly, and apply the mixture to your hands for soothing relief from arthritis pain. ••• To become a fan...
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Hmmmm.   Back to school.  A topic fraught with pride, expectation, a little fear, and a sense of inevitablility. All I can convey to you is my experience from my not so typical perspective on the subject. Some background.  My daughter Elizabeth and I are unusually close.  I had her late in life, an only...
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While attending your average summer party, a rising college sophomore like myself will be asked the same two questions perpetually throughout the evening: One,  “How was your first year at college?” and two, “are you excited to be going back to school?”. In an attempt to spare my acquaintance from the bursting floodgates of...
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Velveegan! When I dip, you dip, we dip. Thanks to Taylor who submitted Velveeta-ish cheesy dip as her suggestion for the Make It Vegan segment of my blog. It’s like the suggestion was meant to be since I had been thinking about cheesy dip already that day (I mean, when do I not think about that sort...
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Dr. Clifford N. Lazarus ••• Al could not understand why he had no close friends.  He saw himself as honest and caring.  What he did not realize was that he had so many shoulds, oughts and musts that it was impossible to be around him without being corrected or criticized.  “One thing I don’t...
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Dr. Clifford N. Lazarus ••• “I’m actually very pleased that Joe broke off our relationship.  ” None of Elaine’s friends believed her.  It was evident to them that she was really very hurt and puzzled by Joe’s behavior.  By rationalizing, instead of facing the truth, Elaine was preventing herself from learning how to stop...
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Dr. Clifford N. Lazarus ••• Gina complained that she felt down or upset a lot of the time.  “I have no control over the way I feel,” she said.  When she learned that her thoughts were largely responsible for her feelings, she was able to gain much more control over her disturbing emotions.  She...
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For 13 years, I’ve made sure that my son’s birthday was celebrated big, spending weeks planning a theme party and fun activities for him and his friends. For his first birthday, we had the Singing Library Lady come to our house, play her guitar and sing “Wheels on the Bus,” “There Was an Old...
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I have a couple friends who are a couple!  A very loving, couple.  They adore each other and are wonderful people alone and together.  I am friends with them both.  And, they have helped me increadibly with some of my challenges in the recent years. One day I asked Mike if he and Genevieve...
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