Finding Yourself in the Empty Nest by Christina Fain Undeniably, the infamous midlife crisis is not a myth, but we tend to associate this with balding men driving red convertibles. We don’t have an image of women navigating this time of life, not even a funny one! This transitional period affects women, specifically mothers, on Read more
All Joking Aside, Laughter Is Healthy for You by J’Nel Wright Why did the chicken cross the road? It doesn’t matter as long as it’s funny. Not only does a good gag make us giggle, experts say laughter is actually good for our health. If you are debating between downloading the latest chick flick versus Read more
Ultra Orthodox Jews Suffer Depression from Caregiving A new study conducted by Band-Winterstein, Edelstein, et. al and recently published in the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, demonstrates that even Ultra Orthodox Jews are prone to the depressive symptoms often found in caregivers. In this study, 68 female Ultra Orthodox Jewish caregivers (UOJ) and 44 male UOJ Read more
A new article published this week in Psychology and Aging (Mantantzis, Konstantinos, Maylor, et. al.) found that providing glucose as an energy source through a sugar drink helped increase heart rate associated with higher task engagement. More importantly, the increase in glucose levels also improved cognitive performance on a memory test at various levels of Read more
Retirement, Reinventing, Redesigning? All of the Above! by Donna L. Scrafano As a young professional and a single mom, the answer I gave when asked about retirement was, “I’ll be dropping dead at a desk somewhere because I’ll never be able to retire.” A bleak answer, for sure. As the fates would have it, I took Read more
MY MOTHER’S VOICE: Stolen by Alzheimer’s by Donna L. Scrafano Painting featured by Judith Carlin The medical consensus believes that Alzheimer’s disease has purely biological causes. I feel, however, that traumatic events can also trigger this dreadful disease. This belief is based on my personal experience watching my mother battle Alzheimer’s. The first trauma came Read more
Going Green: Five Health Benefits of Planting an Herb Garden by J’Nel Wright I can’t help it, I am obsessed with pineapple sage. One sniff of that or a whiff of lemon thyme and you wouldn’t blame me. There is something organically satisfying about growing herbs. And gardening is good for your health. The National Read more
GRIEF – A PERSONAL JOURNEY Written by Donna L Scrafano My first exposure to grief came on December 3, 1963. That was the day I had lost my maternal grandmother, twenty-three days before my tenth birthday. I was in fifth grade. Eleven days previously on November 22, the nun who taught us at St. Anthony’s Read more
Written by Amy Crooks. I’m not sure why the topic of menopause is taboo. Once in a while, I will hear a friend say something about hot flashes, or watch them as they suddenly start sweating and peel off their clothes. But I really haven’t heard much from my friends or colleagues on this topic. No menopause stories, no trials and tribulations. Even friends who have reached the other side, barely mention what they went through. Read more
My euphoria is soon interrupted by a group of men walking past me. “Wait! something’s not right.” I suddenly realize that they didn’t turn to take a second look. As a matter of fact, they barely took a first look. I’m a little insulted but I’m not about to let that ruin my day. Denial is a great survival technique. I suddenly felt old. For the first time ever, I felt really old. I walked the rest of the way home, mourning the loss of my je ne c’est pas quoi. All the while trying to tell myself that I was just being silly. As soon as I fell in the front door, I dropped my bags and ran for the nearest mirror. I stood in the bathroom, looking at my face. I pressed my hands against both cheeks and pulled slightly toward the back of my ears just to see how loose my skin was. Surely, this couldn’t be happening. Not already! But it was. Read more
