Will America Face Another Civil War? An Opinion in Response to That Question

Will America Face Another Civil War? An Opinion in Response to That Question

How Can We Deal With Regrets In A Way That Makes Them Less Painful?

How Can We Deal With Regrets In A Way That Makes Them Less Painful?

Positive Thinking, Negative Thinking - A Personal Discussion About What Too Few People Understand

Positive Thinking, Negative Thinking - A Personal Discussion About What Too Few People Understand

Positive thinking is something that's often either misunderstood, not completely understood, or misinterpreted by others who form opinions about whether someone else thinks positively or negatively.  This is a "personal analysis" of the things that can factor into a person's life or thinking that can either change the nature of, or just the appearance, of positive-thinking in that individual.

October Storm - A Poem

October Storm - A Poem

This is a poem about storms that come too early.  The storms in question may be of the meteorological-event variety or of the "life-storms" variety.  Although the storms and consequences may be of very different natures, storms that occur too early in a "season" can bring more damage than they would have had they occurred when the time was more "right".

Laughter and Stress

When we live under stress our bodies and brain chemicals live in a state of response to that stress. The adrenal gland secretes higher levels of cortisol in order to allow us to meet the challenges of stress, but elevated cortisol levels are also associated with elevated blood pressure, as well as elevated blood-sugar levels. Under stress our immune system is suppressed. Under too much stress for too long the adrenal gland can "run out of juices" and no longer be able to secrete what is needed to function under, and deal with, the stressful situation. Stress causes higher levels of epinephrine, which is responsible for more platelet production (which can be responsible for clogging arteries). There are a number of other changes our bodies undergo under stress, but there are a number of ways that laughter produces positive changes in our bodies and brain chemistry.

Research has shown that laughter alters our brain chemicals. It results in higher levels of endorphins, which make us feel better. It also results in lowering cortisol levels and blood pressure. Research has shown a number of other ways in which laughter positively affects our bodies as well.

Aside from physical benefits (and its always a physical benefit to reduce a stress a response, even for a while); there is the fact that when we are under a lot of stress and something makes us laugh we get the chance - if only just for a few seconds - to rest our minds from what is bothering us and allow our thinking to, instead, be focused on the humorous thing. It can seem to break up a never-ending cycle of thinking negatively and in stressed-out way, so that when we return to our negative thoughts we may feel we're starting just slightly anew. If we're stressed out because our business is going under or our spouse is leaving or our elderly parent is in the hospital a bout of laughter won't make the source of the stress go away. It can, however, give us just that tiny break from the oppressive stress while, at the same time, altering our brain chemicals, at least to some degree, in a positive way.

Giving Money to Beggars and Homeless People

Giving Money to Beggars and Homeless People

Fighting Depression, Exhaustion Without Medication

Fighting Depression, Exhaustion Without Medication