Quiz: Do You Have Wisdom in Your Relationships?

	Yes	No
Do you spread good will, gratitude, and happiness?
Do you solve problems rather than worrying about them?
Do you channel anger and frustration into productive work and joyful play?
Do you have a purpose for living?
Do you have goals and a plan for the future?
Do you know when to talk and when to listen?
When you make a mistake, do you admit it?
Are you able to develop friends who are free of vices?
Can you discuss your problems with close friends?
Do you avoid gossip—both speaking gossip and hearing gossip?
Can you keep a secret?
Can you avoid telling your problems to people you don’t know well?
Are you able to delay pleasure to accomplish worthwhile goals?
Can you enjoy yourself and take vacations without feeling guilty?
Can you avoid negative talk?
Can you control your temper?
Can you say “no” to other people if the requests they make are unreasonable, amoral, illegal, or detrimental to your self-development and physical health?
Are you patient with yourself and others?
Do you feel comfortable being alone?
Do you feel comfortable in social situations?
Can you serve others without expecting anything in return?
Do you feel that the desires and hopes of others are just as important as your desires and hopes?
Can you follow rules and regulations of society?
When you feel guilty about your behavior, can you stop or change that behavior?
Can you drink alcohol in moderation or not at all?
Can you have sexual intimacy without being promiscuous?
Do you have a satisfying spiritual life?
Do you save 10% of your income?

Score yes answers (Yes = greater than 75% of the time):

0-5                        =            Put on your pampers

6-11                        =            King of kindergarten

12-18                        =            Young and restless

19-24                        =            The wisdom of Solomon

25¬-28                        =            Close to sainthood

Are You Healthy?: A Quiz to Improve Relationships

Grade Yourself on a Scale from One to Four. Total the Score in the Four Columns to See How You Rate	Almost never (1 point)	Occasionally (2 points)	Frequently (3 points)	Almost Always (4 points)
I am able to give and receive love.
I am productive and creative at work.
I have a purpose and plan for living.
I am a problem solver and enjoy change
I learn from my mistakes.
I accept responsibility for my behavior.
I adjust to hardship and pain.
total for each column

grand total (Adding total from each column) =

Score:

7            =            Buy funeral insurance

8-14            =            Doctor’s best friend           

15-21            =            Very few medical illnesses

22-28            =            May live to be 100

Vacations Improve Relationships: A Quiz to Check the Fun in Your Life

Yes No Do you allow yourself to take scheduled vacations without guilt?     Do you have a hobby or participate in sporting events?     Are you fun loving and cheerful?     Do you surround yourself with people who fill you with joy?     Do you laugh at yourself, your blunders, and your frailties?     Do you plan an occasional weekend away from work?     Is your leisure activity fun and restorative?     Do sports and games bring more laughs than frowns?     Does learning something new—acting, painting, playing a musical instrument—stimulate child-like fun and creativity?     Do you have a good laugh at least once a day?     Give yourself one point for each yes answer         Score: 1-2 points              =            President of Eeyore International 3-5 points              =            Party pooper 6-8 points              =            Fun to be around 9-10 points                =            Life of the party

Search for Jobs by Loving Your Work: A Quiz to Test Your Relationships at Work

	Yes	No
Do you enjoy your work?
Do you use your talents and abilities at work?
Do others respect your work?
Does your work give you a feeling of satisfaction?
Does your work help you improve your knowledge and skills?
Does work make you feel good about yourself?
Do you have friends at work?
Do feedback and instruction help you work more efficiently?
Are you careful to avoid taking advantage of others at work?
Do you feel appreciated at your workplace?
Give yourself one point for each yes answer

Score:

1-2 points              =            Apply for a welfare check

3-5 points              =            Find another job or give yourself an attitude adjustment

6-8 points              =            you would be surprised how few people score this high

9-10 points                =            you find work a tremendous blessing in your life

HOW’S YOUR LOVE LIFE?: A Quiz for Loving Relationships

Do you influence others without controlling or dominating them?                        

Are you feel good about yourself and treat yourself kindly?                       

Do you have at least one trusted friend?                       

Do you treat others, as you would like to be treated?                       

Do relationships with your family give you joy and confidence?                       

Do you know and accept your limitations and deficiencies?                       

Do you have a loving, warm, and intimate relationship with someone?                       

Do you voice your opinions even when your opinions are unpopular?                       

Do you have empathy for the feelings of others?                       

Do you meet your responsibilities to family and friends?                       

Give yourself one point for each yes answer                        

Score:

1-2 points              =            If you call 911 they will put you on hold

3-5 points              =            Take a Dale Carnegie course immediately

6-8 points              =            Teach the Dale Carnegie course

9-10 points                =            Your life is filled with love and friendship

Will You Live Longer?: A Quiz for Good Health

            The only method proved to extend the life span comes from restricting caloric intake by 30-40%. A semi-starvation diet forestalls the development of cancer, diabetes and other debilitating illnesses, enabling a longer, healthier life. Calorie restriction engenders a biological stress reaction that induces a defensive response to boost chances of survival.

            Evidence suggests that a gene called SIR2, (silent information regulator) improves health and prolongs life. A semi-starvation diet activates SIR2 and related genes (collective known as Sirtuins).           

            Resveratrol, a Sirtuin-activating molecule found in red wine, may prolong life by enhancing SIR2. At least 18 other plant compounds modulate Sirtuins, suggesting that the plants produce their own SIR2 enzymes when they suffer certain  stressful conditions. Developing these stress-induced plant compounds and pursuing drugs that modulate SIR2 activation provides hope for prolonging life.

 

 

The Little Light in the Big Thicket: Energizer Batteries Not Included

When Henry Wilson Huntsucker was a little boy he lived in The Big Thicket, a vast area of tangled, often impenetrable woods, streams, and marshes that went on and on for miles. Huntsucker said, “The Big Thicket covered the map of all of East Texas which by that I mean if you pulled out a map of Texas and you looked on the right side of the map all you’d see was a dark green color which stood for forest land. That Big Thicket was greener than the color on the map. It was dark, dank, and mysterious like, dripping with vines and Spanish moss and crawling with water moccasin and ‘gaters and all sorts of creatures so that it was excitin’ just to wake up everyday, and know you was smack dab in the middle of it.

            Anyway, on Halloween night, here you were right in the middle of the mighty thicket that’s looming all around you and the camp fires dying down and you just look up at the sky and you see all those stars so shiny and beautiful that you marvel about all sorts of things you’d never understand. Well, every Halloween we’d take the little boys coon huntin’ just to see them run off from all the ghost stories we’d tell. If the truth be known as soon as they run off, we’d pick up and scatter too, because in the dark of night with the fire burning down to coals that glowed eerily in the night and having told all the ghost stories we ever knew, your heart would be beating so awful fast, and you’d be cold all over, but sweatin’ ‘cause you’d be so scared.

            Ole’ Larry Bob Neches would tell the best stories. We’d all gather around and Lar’ would wind up real slow-like givin’ all the details that makes stories good and then he’d deliver a pitch that would make your bones shiver. We’d all scrunch up around the bright burning fire and Lar’d start up. He’d say:”

            ‘There’s an old road called the Ghost Road of Hardin County. It’s ‘cross the old boggy swamp just behind those brambly bushes. Trees grow over both sides offerin’ a natural canopy down that long dirt road, but I wouldn’t go look for it, because I hear those that find that terrible path come back with there hair white all over, and standing straight up too, and their eyes so bugged out that girls run away from them so they never would get married or even get a kiss neither.’           

            “The kids would all gather even closer then, and a big old wind would come up and blow through the trees and make the whole woods quake and make you think the world was a gonna shake your skin clean off. In the black of night way off deep in the woods in the direction of Big Sandy, you’d hear a train whistle blow so lonesome and long that you’d just sit real still listening to it. One of the older boys would get up and stir the fire with a big stick, makin’ sparks fly up to heaven and ole’ Lar’ would start up again.”

            ‘The folk’s that come back from Ghost Road tell of seeing a light way off in the distance and the light would be swinging along and getting closer and closer. Some say that light is from the lamp of a brakeman that fell off the train on Halloween day back in ’29. He got his head cut clean off by the train and every Halloween he comes back just waving his brakeman’s lamp lookin’ for his head that he’s never found. 

            Still other’s say the light comes from a hunter who got lost in the Big Thicket years and years ago. The hunter still wanders through the woods, searching for a way out of the Thicket.

            Others say it’s a light shining from the flashlight of a husband looking for his bride. The story goes the couple was honeymooning at the Dove and Love Hotel, which used to be at the end of Ghost Road. A prisoner who escaped from the Angelina jail mysteriously murdered the bride. As I say, the light is the groom’s flashlight that shines while he continues to search for his bride's killer. But the real scary part is that the ole’ prisoner’s ghost is wondering around in the woods looking for someone else to kill. Those that come back all white claim they saw the ghost comin’ right after ‘em and just before he catches them, the bride groom jumps from behind a clump of yaupons and begins chasing that ghost through the woods.’

            “After a little pause to let this fearsome story sink in, Lar’ would clear his throat and with an ever so light quiver in his voice, he’d say, ‘Just about the scariest story ever told involves Bully Braggs. Bully thought he’d get a picture of them fellers chasing though the woods so he took his camera and settled in by the campfire to wait for the commotion to begin. Well, ole’ Bully fell asleep and never heard nor seen nothin’. But when he went to get the camera film developed there was a picture of Bully sound asleep by the campfire. It’s plumb creepy when you ask yourself, “Who took that picture of Bully?” It’s ‘special creepy to Bully. Folks have seen him justa sittin’ there staring deep off into space, justa thinkin’. And whenever Bully sees a camera—in a store or somewhar’—he jumps up quicker than lightnin’, screamin’ and a runnin’.

            “About that time you’d see the young ’uns stirrin’ about ready to take off. Lar’ would start his next story quick-like before anyone could start runnin’ and curiosity would keep them huddled-up by the fire.”

            ‘Back long ago there was this ditch-dog killer, by the name of Chug Houndlicker. He was called the ditch-dog killer because he would lie down in a ditch and wait for a dog to come by and jump up and choke that dog until the dog up and died. Chug hated dogs don’t you see because a pit bull chewed off his left foot when he was fishing in old man Gavel’s pond that was posted against strangers fishing in the pond. You would hate dogs too if you got your foot chewed off, whether you was right or wrong ‘bout fishing on posted land. Nobody likes to hop around on just one foot. With just one foot, you can’t play kick-the-can or square dance even.

            There was this guy named Gunner Shellachumm who was the best water moc’sin shot in the entire Big Thicket. If he took time to adjust for the humidity, temperature, and wind, he could hit those moc’sins from most a mile with his .22 caliber rifle. He would go down to Slide Creek and pop those moc’sins from way off past the back forty and his ole’ Blue Healer Hound would slide down the slimy black banks of the creek straight into that murky water and pull out those moc’sins. Chug got wind that Gunner and Blue was going to take a short cut over to Slide Creek by way of Ghost Road. They was walkin’ down Ghost Road in broad daylight and Chug jumped out of the ditch beside the road and began chokin’ on Blue. Without ‘ner takin’ time to aim right, ole’ Gunner raised that .22 to his hip and fired—bam. Chug’s right eye popped out of his head and began rollin’ down Ghost road, licitly split. But Chug never seen it. He dropped dead on the ground while his eyeball was still-a fallin’.

            Every Halloween Chug comes up out of his grave and goes just a hoppin’ down Ghost Road looking for his eye. If you listen real close, you can hear ole’ Chug hoppin’ and thrashin’ though the wood’s chasin’ after his glowin’ eye.’

            “About that time, the coon dogs would be hot on the trial of the ringtail and as they’d thrash through the brush, those boys, thinkin it was ole’ Chug thrashing around, would get up and skedaddle for home. And we’d be right behind ‘em. And that’s the Ft. Knox-gold truth.”

 

Treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Begins with Knowledge

Posttraumatic stress disorder can affect anyone who has experienced a harrowing or painful event.

PREVALENCE OF PTSD

• Lifetime prevalence in the general adult population = 7.8%
• Women (10.4%) are twice as likely as men (5%) to have PTSD
• One study indicates that 67% of women admitted to a psychiatric facility have PTSD as one of their psychiatric diagnoses.
• About 30% of Vietnam War veterans; 10% Gulf War veterans; 11% of Afghanistan war veterans; and 15-20% of Iraq War veterans have PTSD

DIAGNOSIS OF PTSD

The diagnosis is made when disquieting experiences produce the following symptoms:

• Nightmares, intrusive thoughts, or flashbacks regarding the trauma
• An attempt to avoid situations that produce memories of the event
• A constant state of vigilance, watchfulness, or startle reactions
• Emotional numbness, social isolation, or interpersonal detachment

COEXISTING ILLNESSES

• PTSD can increase the potential for panic disorder, OCD, phobias, generalized anxiety disorders, depression, and substance abuse.
• Likewise, personality disorders, substance abuse, and other primary psychiatric illnesses can increase susceptibility to PTSD.

BRAIN DYSFUNCTION SECONDARY TO TRAUMATIC STRESS

• The hyperactivation of the amygdala increases emotional distress.
• Hyperactivation of the hippocampus increases the memory of the event.
• An increase of norepinephrine in the locus coeruleus causes hypervigilance and engenders startle reactions.
• An excessive release of the excitatory neurotransmitter, glutamate, increases irritability and anxiety.
• A decrease of the calming neurotransmitter, GABA, reduces CNS inhibition.
• A deficiency of serotonin increases suicidal impulses and aggressiveness.

TREATMENT

• Certain medications help as described in an earlier article on treatment of PTSD
• Cognitive behavior therapy may help relieve secondary symptoms—anger, social withdrawal, bitterness, or resentment—but CBT often fails to alleviate primary symptoms such as startle reactions, nightmares, and flashbacks. 

Living Longer

Myths, supernatural stories handed down through the ages, attempted to make compatible the mysteries of the universe with the wonders of human existence.  The ancient imagination, unchecked by reason, attributed human form to the moon and the stars, the soil and the seas, the animals and the plants. An overriding theme explored the quest for immortality. Here follows five of the most interesting:

The Gilgamesh Myth: Rejuvenation Bites Back

            The earliest surviving work of literature in the Western canon, the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh, deals with many themes including the quest for fame, sexual temptation and the flood story. Gilgamesh meets Uta-napishti who survived the Great Flood and was granted immortality by the gods. Uta-napishti tells Gilgamesh how to find a plant at the bottom of the sea that will renew his youth.  Gilgamesh dives for the plant, finds it and sets out for home. When he stops for the night to sleep, a snake steals the plant of rejuvenation. This magic plant allows snakes forevermore to shed their skin and become young again.  

Cupid and Psyche: Love Lives Forever

         The radiant beauty of Psyche so angered the goddess Venus that she contrived to imprison her on a rocky mount. Zephyr, the gentle west wind, carried her off the cliff to a palace of gold and silver where Cupid came to her in darkness, but always left before daybreak. Her visiting sisters were amazed to see Psyche’s lavish wealth and to hear her speak so lovingly of her husband. The jealous sisters convinced Psyche that her husband was a hideous monster. They gave her a lighted lamp to prove their assertions. That night, holding the lamp high above her lover, she gazed at the fairest of all creatures. Hot oil from the lamp fell on Cupid’s shoulder awakening him. Cupid expelled Psyche from the palace telling her that love died when trust was lacking. After accomplishing a series of seemingly impossible tasks imposed upon her by the gods, Psyche was given ambrosia, the taste of which made her immortal. Love (Cupid) and the Soul (Psyche) live forever as husband and wife in a union that can never be broken.

The Tithonus Myth: Life is More than Living

            Rosy-fingered Aurora, The Goddess of the Dawn, fell in love with Tithonus a handsome mortal destined to die. Aurora begged Zeus to grant her lover immortality, but she forgot to ask that Tithonus remain forever young. Zeus made Tithonus immortal, but did not give him eternal youth. Tithonus lived year upon ceaseless year as battering days wrecked siege upon him. His mind gone with the strength of his body, he babbled endlessly. Finally, Zeus, taking pity on this dried husk of a man, turned Tithonus into a locust. If one listens carefully on the warm nights in summer pastures, Tithonus can be heard chirruping ceaselessly these words: Live lively, live lively, live lively.

Gorgons: Monsters of Immortality

            Danaë visited by Zeus in the form of a shower of gold, bore him a son who was to be the famous hero, Perseus. Following a series of adventures, Danaë and Perseus were washed ashore on the island of Seriphos where Polydectes, chief of the island, came to love Danaë. Polydectes became enraged when he learned that the heart of Danaë was given to her son.  To have Danaë in his power, Polydectes sent Perseus upon the fearful task of killing the Gorgon, Medusa. Of the three Gorgons, Medusa, Stheno and Euryale, Medusa alone could be killed, the other two were immortal.  Two great Gods—Hermes and Athena—were sent by Zeus to watch over Perseus. Hermes gave Perseus an unbreakable sword, winged sandals and a magic helmet that made him invisible. Athena loaned him her shield of polished bonze. Using the shield as a mirror, Perseus avoided looking into the eyes of the hideous snake-headed monster that with one glance turned men to stone. With one swift blow, Peruses cut off Medusa’s head using the sword of Hermes. Medusa’s head lives on in ancient shields and armor of the Greeks who believed that its power would freeze the blood of all who beheld it. 

Narcissus and Echo: The Curse of Unrequited Love           

            No maiden could avoid casting loving looks upon Narcissus, the most handsome of men. Narcissus, vain as he was handsome, shunned all the fair maidens. He preferred solitary places where he could find in nature beauty comparable to his. The wood nymph, Echo, condemned by Hera for her chattering tongue, slunk among the underbrush shadowing the steps of the handsome youth.  Unable to speak except to repeat the last word of another who spoke first, Echo was ashamed to show herself. She trembled with passion and despair in the brambles that hid her. Hearing rustling in the trees, Narcissus cried out. “Is anyone here?” Echo replied, “Here.” Narcissus shouted, “What brings you?” She answer joyfully, “You!” and stepped from the woods with her arms outstretched. Turning away in disdain Narcissus cried,  “I have no love for those whose beauty fails to match mine alone.” Echo could only reply, “alone.” Shamed and rebuffed she hid her blushes in a lonely cave. Longing for Narcissus she wasted away among cliffs and hollows. In the deep and hidden recesses of the world only her voice remains.

            Meanwhile, the great goddess of righteous anger, Nemesis, cursed Narcissus with the words: “May he who loves not others love himself only.” As Narcissus bent over a clear pool for a drink, he saw there his own reflection. Gazing at his own beauty he pined away leaning perpetually over the pool until he died. Where his body had fallen bloomed a lovely flower that the wood nymphs called by his name, Narcissus.

FACTS ABOUT MORTALITY

            Although myths are more fun to read, facts are more valued by the practical minded. Here then is the data about living longer.

Interesting statistics (Statistics are like bikinis.  What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital.)

• In 1796 life expectance hovered around 24 years
• In 1896 life expectancy doubled to 48 years
• Today the world’s average life expectancy is 63 years
• In the US men live to age 72, women live to age 79
• In Japan, the country where people live longer than any other, life-expectancy is 80 years
• Those born after 1997 have a life expectancy to 83
• Those born after 2005 have a life expectancy to 86
• Eliminating heart disease, cancer and stroke increases life expectancy to 95
• Over half the US baby-boomers will see their 100^th birthday
• Those that are 85 and older are the fastest-growing age group
• People who live at higher altitudes live longer
• Taking care of children increases longevity (unless the child has liquid diarrhea for five days [inside joke])
• The older you are the longer you are expected to live

The ten mid-life risk factors for dying young

1. Body-mass index of 25 or more
2. High blood glucose
3. High triglyceride levels
4. High blood pressure
5. Inability to squeeze at least 86 pound of pressure with a handheld device
6. Smoking
7. Consuming three or more alcoholic drinks daily
8. Failing to graduate from high school
9. Being unmarried
10.  Having a moving traffic violation during the past three years

Why women live longer than men

• Men have testosterone
• Increases risk taking—accidents, fighting, etc.
• Increases cholesterol
• Women have estrogen
• Lowers harmful cholesterol and raises “good” cholesterol

The hormone replacement myth

• DHEA doesn’t increase longevity
• Melatonin doesn’t increase longevity
• Replacement testosterone doesn’t increase longevity

Ten ways to live longer

·      Have parents who live a long time

·      Weigh 10% less than your ideal weight—the only guaranteed way to exceed life expectancy

Ø     Evidence suggests that a semi-starvation diet causes stress that activates SIR2 and related genes (collectively known as Sirtuins) that improve health and prolong life

Ø     At least 19 plant compounds modulate Sirtuins suggesting that the plants produce their own SIR2 enzymes when they suffer certain stressful conditions

Ø     Developing these stress-induced plant compounds and pursuing drugs that modulate SIR2 activation provide hope for prolonging life

·      Exercise 60 minutes six times daily

·      Have an optimistic personality = 55% lower risk of death

·      Drink 3-5 ounces of red wine daily. Resveratrol, a Sirtuin-activating molecule found in red wine, may prolong life by enhancing SIR2

·      Increase socializing with happy, interesting, positive friends

·      Love someone who loves you in return

·      Have something to look forward too

·      Find work you enjoy

·      Don’t worry, be happy. “In life you will have some trouble, if you worry you make it double”