MS Maze » Emotional Issues http://www.msmaze.com A Guide Through the Maze of Multiple Sclerosis and Health Policy Issues Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:30:15 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 The Healing Power of Tears http://www.msmaze.com/links/the-healing-power-of-tears/ http://www.msmaze.com/links/the-healing-power-of-tears/#comments Mon, 26 Jul 2010 22:31:05 +0000 Ann Pietrangelo http://www.msmaze.com/?p=2704 Oh, go ahead. Have a good cry. You’ll feel better.

It has been said that laughter is the best medicine, but crying can also be very cathartic.

Judith Orloff, M.D., author of Emotional Freedom: Liberate Yourself From Negative Emotions and Transform Your Life, writes, “For over 20 years as physician, I’ve witnessed time and again the healing power of tears. Tears are your body’s release valve for stress, sadness, grief, anxiety and frustration.” In a Huffington Post article, Dr. Orloff says she actually encourages her patients to cry.

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The Healing Power of Tears

]]> http://www.msmaze.com/links/the-healing-power-of-tears/feed/ 0 The Concentrated Strength of Patience http://www.msmaze.com/links/the-concentrated-strength-of-patience/ http://www.msmaze.com/links/the-concentrated-strength-of-patience/#comments Tue, 06 Jul 2010 12:00:55 +0000 Ann Pietrangelo http://www.msmaze.com/?p=2623 “Patience is not passive; on the contrary, it is active; it is concentrated strength.” – Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton

As a child walking to school, I irritated my fellow walkers with my quick pace and stubborn refusal to walk at a normal speed. As a young adult I could barely contain my displeasure with slow walkers, slow talkers, slow-moving cashiers, hesitant drivers, etc. Wherever I went, I was surround by the slow-moving masses who were impeding my progress.

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The Concentrated Strength of Patience

Image from PhotoXpress.com

]]> http://www.msmaze.com/links/the-concentrated-strength-of-patience/feed/ 0 Savoring the Privilege of Walking http://www.msmaze.com/links/savoring-the-privilege-of-walking/ http://www.msmaze.com/links/savoring-the-privilege-of-walking/#comments Mon, 28 Jun 2010 20:09:46 +0000 Ann Pietrangelo http://www.msmaze.com/?p=2609 Do you recognize disability when you see it?

Last week’s post about an able-bodied woman using a handicapped parking space, then suing over the ticket she received, resulted in spirited conversation in the comments section.

It’s an emotional topic for a lot of people, not the least of whom are those who have the legal right to use the specially marked spaces, but who have an invisible disability. Judgements are often made based on nothing more than appearance.

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Savoring the Privilege of Walking

Image credit: PhotoXpress.com

]]> http://www.msmaze.com/links/savoring-the-privilege-of-walking/feed/ 0 Help a City Child Experience Nature http://www.msmaze.com/links/help-a-city-child-experience-nature/ http://www.msmaze.com/links/help-a-city-child-experience-nature/#comments Tue, 15 Jun 2010 20:10:16 +0000 Ann Pietrangelo http://www.msmaze.com/?p=2556 Remember the joy of being a child and the simple pleasure of rolling around in the grass, discovering flowers, and climbing trees?

A child growing up in the big city might not, but you can help a city child experience the power and the beauty of nature this summer… and it will only take a moment of your time…

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Help a City Child Experience Nature

Photo: photoxpress.com

]]> http://www.msmaze.com/links/help-a-city-child-experience-nature/feed/ 0 Not a Failure, but a Different Ending http://www.msmaze.com/links/not-a-failure-but-a-different-ending/ http://www.msmaze.com/links/not-a-failure-but-a-different-ending/#comments Tue, 15 Jun 2010 12:00:10 +0000 Ann Pietrangelo http://www.msmaze.com/?p=2541 I like the idea of different endings rather than failures. Very few things in my life have actually turned out the way I envisioned, but most of them have turned out well. Some have turned out even better than I dared hope.

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Not a Failure, but a Different Ending

Photo courtesy of Wendy Booker

]]> http://www.msmaze.com/links/not-a-failure-but-a-different-ending/feed/ 0 Wendy Booker, Mountain Climber with MS: “I’m Not Done Yet” http://www.msmaze.com/links/wendy-booker-mountain-climber-with-ms-%e2%80%9ci%e2%80%99m-not-done-yet%e2%80%9d/ http://www.msmaze.com/links/wendy-booker-mountain-climber-with-ms-%e2%80%9ci%e2%80%99m-not-done-yet%e2%80%9d/#comments Fri, 11 Jun 2010 12:00:23 +0000 Ann Pietrangelo http://www.msmaze.com/?p=2537 “My mission ended very differently than I had expected, but I did not fail. I have attempted Everest twice. I took multiple sclerosis (MS) to the highest it would allow me to go. As the medical staff at base camp have documented, the bar has been set. I am a mountaineer, an adventurer, an explorer. And I’m not done yet.” – Wendy Booker, May 2010

Wendy Booker was on a mission to be the first person with MS to climb The Seven Summits — the highest mountains on each continent. Although she has been unable to conquer Everest physically, she has most definitely conquered it in spirit.

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Wendy Booker, Mountain Climber with MS: “I’m Not Done Yet”

Photo courtesy of Wendy Booker

]]> http://www.msmaze.com/links/wendy-booker-mountain-climber-with-ms-%e2%80%9ci%e2%80%99m-not-done-yet%e2%80%9d/feed/ 0 Are you worshiping at the altar of physical beauty? http://www.msmaze.com/links/are-you-worshiping-at-the-altar-of-physical-beauty/ http://www.msmaze.com/links/are-you-worshiping-at-the-altar-of-physical-beauty/#comments Tue, 08 Jun 2010 12:00:57 +0000 Ann Pietrangelo http://www.msmaze.com/?p=2521

A streak of vanity? Guilty as charged. Foolishly attempting to live up to the narrow standard of beauty set by our culture? Not on your life. Not when I was 20 years old, and certainly not now that I am 50.

Do you ever get the feeling that somewhere out there is a mold of what a woman should look like… and that what you see in the mirror bears no resemblance to that mold? However our standards of beauty have come together, I’m not falling for it.

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Are you worshiping at the altar of physical beauty?

Photo: copyright PhotoXpress.com

]]> http://www.msmaze.com/links/are-you-worshiping-at-the-altar-of-physical-beauty/feed/ 0 Are We Losing Our Empathy? http://www.msmaze.com/links/are-we-losing-our-empathy/ http://www.msmaze.com/links/are-we-losing-our-empathy/#comments Tue, 01 Jun 2010 00:21:03 +0000 Ann Pietrangelo http://www.msmaze.com/?p=2491 College students are less empathetic than college students of the past. At least that’s what University of Michigan researchers have concluded.

The meta-analysis combined the results of 72 different studies of American college students that were conducted between 1979 and 2009 and involved 14,000 college students. Today’s students were found to possess about 40 percent less empathy than students of 20 or 30 years ago, with the biggest drop coming after the year 2000.

Who or what is to blame for the apparent loss of empathy? After all, the study participants are the offspring of those more empathetic college kids from the 70’s and 80’s…

Read: Are We Losing Our Empathy?

Photo: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1108380

]]> http://www.msmaze.com/links/are-we-losing-our-empathy/feed/ 1 Edward Janus, Passionate Online Activism at its Finest http://www.msmaze.com/links/edward-janus-passionate-online-activism-at-its-finest/ http://www.msmaze.com/links/edward-janus-passionate-online-activism-at-its-finest/#comments Thu, 27 May 2010 19:27:56 +0000 Ann Pietrangelo http://www.msmaze.com/?p=2482 When life drops a mountain in front of you, you can give up or you can forge a path around it. Edward Janus chooses the path every time.

“In my own little way, I am trying to help the disabled and others with my online activism.”

Don’t let him kid you — Edward Janus does nothing in a “little way.” You see, when it comes to matters of disability, Edward knows of what he speaks. He has cerebral palsy, is almost completely deaf, and has endured multiple surgeries on his cervical spinal column (neck). Infections lead to having both legs amputated in 1997.

Find out more about this truly amazing online activist… what drives him… his successes and his hopes for the future…

Read: Edward Janus, Passionate Online Activism at its Finest

Photo courtesy of Edward Janus and WebCamp One LLC

]]> http://www.msmaze.com/links/edward-janus-passionate-online-activism-at-its-finest/feed/ 0 How Pets Raise Spirits and Improve Health http://www.msmaze.com/links/how-pets-raise-spirits-and-improve-health/ http://www.msmaze.com/links/how-pets-raise-spirits-and-improve-health/#comments Mon, 24 May 2010 22:32:11 +0000 Ann Pietrangelo http://www.msmaze.com/?p=2463 Pets are good for you.

Most people who have a pet don’t need scientific proof. Their own experiences are enough to confirm that the bond between humans and pets is enormously beneficial to physical and emotional health. The unconditional affection of a pet calms, soothes, and enhances the feeling of well-being.

Here I was, just beginning to draft an article about the health benefits of pets, when a Facebook friend posted the following message

Read: How Pets Raise Spirits and Improve Health

Photo Copyright WebCampOne LLC

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