Snapdragon Time

I just wanted you to know I have entered the snapdragon part of my life.


part of me has snapped ...

and the rest of me is draggin'

The World Is Too Much With Me...

Why I have not been blogging much lately....


"THE WORLD IS TOO MUCH WITH US; LATE AND SOON"

THE world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers:
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
The Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
It moves us not.--Great God! I'd rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn.
--William Wordsworth

from My Medicated Life

from My Medicated Life

from MedlinePlus

Stress Test: Do You Need A Vacation?

The picture below has 2 identical dolphins in it. It was used in a case study on stress levels at St. Mary's Hospital.

Look at both dolphins jumping out of the water. The dolphins are identical. A closely monitored, scientific study revealed that, in spite of the fact that the dolphins are identical, a person under stress would find differences in the two dolphins. The more differences a person finds between the dolphins, the more stress that person is experiencing.

Look at the photograph and if you find more than one or two differences you may want to take a vacation.

BeFunkified!

Today on Clipmarks I found a fun photo-manipulating site called BeFunky and, of course, was immediately compelled to befunkify myself.

Quite flattering, eh wot?

1 in 7 Americans Age 71 & Older Has Dementia: NIH study

clipped from www.nia.nih.gov A new analysis suggests that about 3.4 million Americans age 71 and older—one in seven people in that age group—have dementia, and 2.4 million of them have Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The study, supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is the latest in a series of analyses attempting to assess the prevalence of dementia and AD, the most common form of dementia. Published online this week in Neuroepidemiology, the study is the first to estimate rates of dementia and AD using a nationally representative sample of older adults across the United States The study highlights the nationwide reach of dementia, which affects not only those with the disease, but their families and communities as well. NIA experts point out, the numbers of people with dementia, and Alzheimer’s specifically, will certainly increase until ways to delay the progression or prevent the dementia are found. Advancing age is the most common known risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease

As this affects not only those with dementia, but their families and communities as well, we need to get busy and find ways to delay progression or prevent dementia--ways other than increasing our chances of dying young via promoting & provoking war, ignoring malnutrition and stressing our children to the point of suicide...

Study: Vision to linked mental decline in seniors

clipped from bodyandhealth.canada.com Problems seeing things close-up can speed up the rate of mental decline in the elderly, a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society indicates Researchers examined the link between vision and level of mental functioning in 2,140 Mexican-American adults over the age of 65. What they found was that seniors who had problems with near vision (but not with distance) showed the steepest decline in mental functioning over a 7-year period The exact reason for the link between near vision and rate of mental decline is unclear, but the researchers speculate that not being able to see things close up affects the level of brain activity by decreasing both active and passive visual stimulation. Keeping your brain active through activities such as reading or doing crosswords, and even by passively processing visual information, increases nerve activity in the brain and has been shown in studies to have a preventative effect against dementia and Alzheimer's disease

Good news for the nearsighted, but not so good for those who are farsighted. Guess we'll all have to try hard to stay mentally active. Fortunately I find that clipping and writing remarks & comments is mentally stimulating! (for me, anyway)

Older Adults: Depression and Suicide Facts

clipped from www.nimh.nih.gov Older Adults: Depression and Suicide Facts Older Americans are disproportionately likely to die by suicide. Although they comprise only 12 percent of the U.S. population, people age 65 and older accounted for 16 percent of suicide deaths in 2004. 14.3 of every 100,000 people age 65 and older died by suicide in 2004, higher than the rate of about 11 per 100,000 in the general population. Non-Hispanic white men age 85 and older were most likely to die by suicide. They had a rate of 49.8 suicide deaths per 100,000 persons in that age group. Depressive disorder is not a normal part of aging. Emotional experiences of sadness, grief, response to loss, and temporary “blue” moods are normal. Persistent depression that interferes significantly with ability to function is not. IF YOU ARE IN CRISIS AND NEED HELP RIGHT AWAY: Call this toll-free number, available 24 hours a day, every day: 1-800-273-TALK (8255). You will reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, a service available to anyone.

I don't believe that Americans are the only people guilty of neglecting their senior citizens, but I do agree that robbing our older adults of their dignity and leaving them hopeless, to the point of depression and suicide, is shameful. If you take a look at the way many of our seniors are warehoused in nursing homes, waiting to die, you can easily understand why many people opt out of this fate by committing suicide.

On a positive note, there are people working to improve the quality of life of the elderly, helping to keep them in their own homes (where they are happy) yet still monitor their health via technology and homecare services. Also, those who can afford higher quality nursing homes and retirement centers are less likely to suffer the indignities and isolation that create despair and death wishes. We all need to do whatever we can to promote the mental and physical well-being of our seniors; like it or not, we are following in their footsteps.