Many people start to feel a little melancholy around this time of year, especially right after Christmas. It’s colder, and darker, and there are much less activities to keep us busy. This early onset of night isn’t so bad when Christmas lights are everywhere you turn. But when the lights go down, so do many people’s mood. It’s called Seasonal Affective Disorder, and it makes you SAD.
Seasonal Affective Disorder affects millions of people every year, and for some reason, more women than men. Are you one of them? Or do you know someone who suffers with SAD? The symptoms can be mild to severe, and understanding why this happens is the key to helping yourself or loved ones get through this seasonal depression.
My daughter Nicole, who is a big Miley Cyrus fan, heard about a project Miley was supporting called Get UR Good On. As soon as she heard about it, she wanted to get involved. The idea was to do something good in your community, video it, and then upload it onto the Get UR Good On website to encourage others to do the same.
Nicole loves to cook Thanksgiving dinner, so she decided she wanted to cook a holiday dinner for women and children in need, so that’s what we did.
We contacted the Daytona women’s shelter and they were very excited about Nicole’s idea for a holiday dinner and toy give-away for the children. Then the work began.
Publix donated $50.00 and helped us get good deals on the food. Even so, that didn’t nearly cover the cost of the food, but a few friends and family pitched in to help with the rest. Then Nicole decided to use her own money (that she received for getting straight A’s in school) to buy the children toys. She bought — dolls, puppets, stuffed bears, coloring books, crayons, toy trucks and cars, pom-poms, magic tricks, books, play-dough, and more.
This is my response to seeing so many bloggers and commenters turning the “choice” to vaccinate for H1N1, into a free for all hate fest against moms who are “choosing” not to vaccinate.
To vaccinate or not to vaccinate, that is the question many moms are facing when it comes to Swine Flu and the H1N1 vaccine (including me). As far as I’m concerned, there is no right or wrong answer when it comes to the H1N1 vaccine. There is plenty of information available for parents to educate themselves on both the H1N1 virus as well as the vaccine, and I believe every mother has the right to make the decision she believes is best for her children. But not everyone thinks so, there are many moms on the internet freely venting their disdain for anyone who doesn’t vaccinate their child for H1N1.
Can you imagine being in high school or college and suddenly learning you have cancer? You thought you had a lifetime ahead of you and the whole world at your feet, but suddenly you’re told… maybe not. How would you cope?
That’s the question the twenty young people in this book had to answer when they were diagnosed with childhood cancer. Perseverance shares life lessons learned through their stories and educates the reader on how to incorporate them into his/her life. It tells of their trials and tribulations, of their triumphs, and of the unique challenges that day-to-day life brings them. Perseverance also provides an intimate look at the lives and journeys of these young people and how their courage and strength have affected the lives of others.
The controversy surrounding the Gardasil vaccine has been around from the moment it was approved for use in young girls. And from the very beginning I have had a problem with Gardasil being referred to as a cervical cancer vaccine – because it’s not. I also have a problem with the ‘fear mongering’ commercials designed to look like public service announcements, and the possibility of making this vaccine (yet another) required by the government.
In the end, I want to research the facts and be the one to make an educated decision about whether or not to vaccinate my daughter for the HPV virus. To be perfectly honest…At this point I don’t see any indication that the benefits of this vaccine outweigh the risks. Although the risks are very small, the benefits seem to be even smaller.
But don’t take my word for it…Look at some of the most recent facts about Gardasil.
With back-to-school just around the corner…The CDC has just released it’s recommendations to schools for the 2009-2010 school year. I have to say that I am very pleased the CDC is taking a ‘no need to panic’ attitude towards back-to-school and the swine flu. I was worried they were going to pull a mandatory vaccine out of their aaass…(I mean) hat. And if that would have happened, it would have seriously thrown me off the deep end.
As much as the media loved hyping this story and scaring the bee-geezers out of everyone. Fear is never the answer.
If you’re a mom, you probably have concerns or questions about child safety. And you can find a great resource at the Home Safety Council. It’s a great interactive website with tips, links, resources, videos and more.
The Home Safety Council (HSC) is the only national nonprofit organization solely dedicated to preventing home related injuries that result in nearly 20,000 deaths and 21 million medical visits on average each year. Through national programs, partnerships and the support of volunteers, HSC educates people of all ages to be safer in and around their homes.
Like many other moms out there, I’m getting ready to send my child off to college in a few weeks. So I thought a post that addressed some of the health and wellness issues of college students might be helpful.
It’s the time of the year when we need to talk about protecting ourselves and our families from the harmful effects of the sun. Obviously, sunscreen is the most important line of defense…But if you’re using sunscreen that was left over from last year, you may not be getting the protection you think you are. That’s because sunscreen has an expiration date.
That first sunburn of the year can be painful — best to avoid it altogether with a little prevention.
If you’re headed out with your crew, these tips might save you a little hurt later on:
Keep your eye on the clock – The sun is strongest from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Early morning and later afternoon sun are less damaging to the skin.
Stock up on Sunscreen – Did you know that your sunscreen has an expiration date? It is best to purchase sunscreen in small bottles that can be replaced frequently.
As adults we need to take protection from the harmful effects of the sun seriously. But as parents, we need to be even more diligent with our children. Because just one sunburn as a child increases the chances of developing skin cancer as an adult.
A recent study shows that calcium may play an even greater role in a woman’s health than we once thought. Apparently, a higher intake of dietary calcium may decrease the risk of a woman developing colorectal cancer. But this isn’t about taking calcium supplements, it’s recommended that we increase our intake of calcium by choosing to eat more calcium rich foods. Yes, it’s another reason to eat healthy. How many more reasons do you need?
My name is Catherine Morgan...I'm a writer, nurse, and mother. I'm also a contributing editor for BlogHer Health & Wellness.
Welcome to my blog...I write a little bit of everything with an emphasis on healthy living, inspiration, nutrition, and health news. I hope you'll find topics that interest you here, and I would love to know what you think in comments. Thanks for stopping by.
Can you imagine being in high school or college and suddenly learning you have cancer? You thought you had a lifetime ahead of you and the whole world at your feet, but suddenly you’re told… maybe not. How would you cope?
