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Managing Son’s Heroin Addiction a ‘Full-Time Job’
A family of eight outside Boston is struggling with their second-oldest son’s heroin addiction. Recently, he overdosed, and paramedics revived him with Narcan. Click for NBC clip (requires flash player).
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Food & Mood
There are 4 brain chemicals that can influence mood.
Four chemicals directly impact mood and are present in higher concentrations after meals than between meals:
- Serotonin, released after eating carbs (sugars and starches). This “feel-good” chemical enhances calm, improves outlook and lessens depression. The key is to consume complex carbohydrates (whole grains, beans and vegetables) and not simple carbohydrates (cookies, candy, etc.). “Simple carbohydrates give you a quick burst of energy because they increase blood sugar,” says Ms. Jamieson-Petonic. ” But that burst doesn’t last long. Complex carbohydrates provide a longer-lasting effect.”
- Dopamine and norepinephrine, released after eating protein (meats, poultry, dairy and legumes). These chemicals work together to increase your energy level, enhance your concentration and make you more alert. “Choose lean proteins, which are not only better for your heart but also are easier to digest. They won’t leave you feeling weighed down like fried or high-fat food choices,” she says.
- Acetylcholine, produced from a B vitamin called choline found in wheat germ and eggs. This chemical is believed to influence learning, memory and mood.
The ideal meal
The best meal to enhance your mood is one that combines complex carbohydrates with lean proteins, such as:
- Tuna on 100 percent whole wheat bread
- A turkey meatball with whole grain pasta and red sauce
- A lean piece of beef with brown rice and vegetables
“Vegetarians can opt for soy or quinoa,” says Ms. Jamieson-Petonic. “These are both complete plant proteins that offer all the essential amino acids (protein building blocks) you need.”
Foods that spoil your mood
Meanwhile, avoid foods that may taste good at first but won’t leave you feeling your best:
- Lunchmeat submarine sandwich on white. “The white roll will reduce serotonin levels and leave you feeling drained, and the tidal wave of salt from the lunchmeats will make you tired and bloated,” says Ms. Jamieson-Petonic.
- Bag of chips, bottle of regular soda and a cookie. “I’ve seen folks buy this for lunch,” she says. “The chips are high in saturated fat (which tends to increase inflammation inside blood vessels) and low in serotonin. And tons of added sugars in the soda and cookie will trigger a protein cascade that will leave you feeling low, low down.”
- Fried fish sandwich with french fries. “Fish is normally a “feel-good” food, but not when it’s coated with white flour and deep-fried in a vat of oil,” says Ms. Jamieson-Petonic. “Both the fish and fries are high in fat and sodium, which will zap your mood quicker than a dreary day.”
If you’ll be making changes in your diet, be patient. It may take two to three weeks to see an improvement in your mood.
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Fire icebergs
I have need to be on fire. I have icebergs to melt. William Lloyd Garrison
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Art and brain science
Here is an interesting article from the NYT about the brain and art from a professor of brain science at Columbia University.:…… The portraiture that flourished in Vienna at the turn of the 20th century is a good place to start. Not only does this modernist school hold a prominent place in the history of art, it consists of just three major artists — Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka and Egon Schiele — which makes it easier to study in depth.
As a group, these artists sought to depict the unconscious, instinctual strivings of the people in their portraits, but each painter developed a distinctive way of using facial expressions and hand and body gestures to communicate those mental processes.
Their efforts to get at the truth beneath the appearance of an individual both paralleled and were influenced by similar efforts at the time in the fields of biology and psychoanalysis. Thus the portraits of the modernists in the period known as “Vienna 1900” offer a great example of how artistic, psychological and scientific insights can enrich one another.
The idea that truth lies beneath the surface derives from Carl von Rokitansky, a gifted pathologist who was dean of the Vienna School of Medicine in the middle of the 19th century. Baron von Rokitansky compared what his clinician colleague Josef Skoda heard and saw at the bedsides of his patients with autopsy findings after their deaths. This systematic correlation of clinical and pathological findings taught them that only by going deep below the skin could they understand the nature of illness.I’ve read many a book and chatted with art therapists about the psychological process involved in art and art making and this article comes from a different perspective; brain science.
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Women and Men react differently
Women react more intensely to negative images than men, a difference that can be seen even when looking at their brains, a new study finds.
Researchers from University of Basel, whose study will be published in an issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, found that women rated positive and negative images as more emotionally stimulating than men did, and that their brains were more active than men’s when viewing negative pictures.
Such findings seem to support a common perception that women are more emotionally sensitive than men “and provides evidence for gender differences on the neural level,” said lead author Annette Milnik of the University of Basel. Read More Here.
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Top songs I have listened too in 2019: Diana Burco – Juan. Duck Sessions (Live)
Diana Burco is a Colombian singer-songwriter, accordion player and actress, with more than ten years of artistic career in the country’s folk music scene. She has become one of the biggest female references in the vallenato, the most important indigenous musical genre in Colombia.
I have a 16,000 plus digital audio collection and I use Media Monkey to manage my files. One feature of Media Monkey is you can sort your collection based on the number of times played. This playlist is based on the top music and/or music video files I played/listened/streamed from my server in 2019. Complete Playlist HERE
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Spring 3
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waking up
Beyond living and dreaming
there is something more important:
waking up. Antonio Machado
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Commonwealth Club: The Science of Happiness During COVID-19
“The COVID-19 pandemic has affected almost every facet of human life. Negative emotions like fear, stress, anxiety and depression are inevitable and can overwhelm even the most optimistic of people. What can we do to nurture our happiness during these unprecedented times?”
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California Sister Coloring Page
RichardbBrunner 