INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) Concerns over COVID-19 could be leaving you or your loved ones stressed.

Eyewitness News reached out to Community Health Network and got these tips and resources to help:

If you experience signals of distress for several days in a row without any relief, you might want to reach out to your primary care physician, a mental health professional, a clergy member, or a crisis hotline.

Community Health Network has some tips for helping you manage stress during this time.

Indianapolis area Crisis and Suicide Intervention Hotline: Call (317) 251-7575 or Text CSIS to 839863

Mood Kit

MoodKit uses the foundation of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and provides users with over 200 different mood improvement activities. Developed by two clinical psychologists, MoodKit helps you learn how to change how you think, and develop self-awareness and healthy attitudes. The journal feature is a great way to practice self-care by reflecting on the day, noting any distressing thoughts, and documenting how you overcame them.

(Free; iOS)

Mind Shift

Mind Shift is one of the best mental health apps designed specifically for teens and young adults with anxiety. Rather than trying to avoid anxious feelings, Mind Shift stresses the importance of changing how you think about anxiety. Think of this app as the cheerleader in your pocket, encouraging you to take charge of your life, ride out intense emotions, and face challenging situations.

(Free; iOS and Android)

Self-Help for Anxiety Management (SAM)

SAM might be perfect for you if youre interested in self-help, but meditation isnt your thing. Users are prompted to build their own 24-hour anxiety toolkit that allows you to track anxious thoughts and behavior over time, and learn 25 different self-help techniques. You can also use SAMs Social Cloud feature to confidentially connect with other users in an online community for additional support.

(Free; iOS and Android)

Happify

Need a happy fix? With its psychologist-approved mood-training program, the Happify app is your fast-track to a good mood. Try various engaging games, activity suggestions, gratitude prompts and more to train your brain as if it were a muscle, to overcome negative thoughts. The best part? Its free!

(Free; iOS and Android)

MoodTools

MoodTools aims to support people with clinical depression by aiding the path to recovery. Discover helpful videos that can improve your mood and behavior, log and analyze your thoughts using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) principles, develop a suicide safety plan and more with this free app.

(Free; iOS and Android)

nOCD

nOCD was designed with the help of OCD specialists and patients to incorporate two treatments: mindfulness and Exposure Response Prevention Treatment. You can receive immediate, clinically-supported guidance when an OCD episode strikes, take weekly tests to assess the severity of your OCD, and have motivational support along the way. One user calls nOCD a free therapist in your pocket!

(Free; iOS)

PTSD Coach

Created by the VAs National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), PTSD Coach offers everything from a self-assessment for PTSD, to opportunities to find support, positive self-talk and anger management. Whats great about this app is that you can customize tools based on your own individual needs and preferences, and integrate your own contacts, photos, and music.4

(Free; iOS and Android)

Breathe2Relax

Sometimes you just need to breathe and remind yourself you are okay. Breathe2Relax is made for just that. Created by the National Center for Telehealth and Technology, this app is a portable stress management tool that teaches users a skill called diaphragmatic breathing. Breathe2Relax works by decreasing the bodys fight-or-flight stress response, making it a great option for people suffering from PTSD.

(Free; iOS and Android)

Originally posted here:
Signs and help for dealing with the stress of the COVID-19 outbreak - WTHR

JEDDAH: As Saudis go head-to-head with the coronavirus, taking precautionary measures through self-isolation, the internet has become an essential tool for them, whether for business purposes, school or leisure.

The Saudi government has urged the public to stay in their homes to reduce the possibility of further virus outbreak.

Schools and universities have shifted to online classes to protect staff and students, while many companies have began allowing their staff to work remotely.

English instructor at a university in Jeddah, Amani Al-Ghoraibi, told Arab News that the staff faced some trouble initially.

Weak internet connection, loss of sound, inability to log in, the system crashing, initial difficulty using the program for both students and instructors (were among the issues), but the university really did a great job solving these issues, she said. The Blackboard page became easily accessible by hyperlinking it to the universitys main page, said Al-Ghoraibi, adding that customer services became available for immediate assistance, and the university then updated the Blackboard system entirely.

Theyre currently conducting meetings and workshops online and joined by over 250 university instructors, heads of departments, admins, and so on, to help with the issue of assessing the students fairly through online exams, assignments, quizzes and other modes of assessments, she said.

Students have been surprisingly responsive and active in class, she added, due to the programs and applications availability on smartphones, iPads, laptops and desktop computers.

The online classes are also saved and recorded on Blackboard itself, so students always have the option to go back and review the class whenever they want to, Al-Ghoraibi said.

Nora Al-Rifai, a head of training programs at a company from Jeddah, had planned to use the self-isolation period to use less technology and read more, but the internet has proved inescapable. Ive been playing video games and browsing Netflix, doing a bit of online shopping to catch up on things I never bothered to purchase, she told Arab News.

Although there is seemingly more demand on internet services, Al-Rifai has not experienced any lag in the connection.

Working from home isnt as stressful either, as most training programs weve had scheduled have been postponed until further notice. I think its quite beneficial to do so with the current crisis, but we can also learn more about how to work under unprecedented circumstances and emergencies, she said.

Nineteen-year-old Dina Ajjaj from Jeddah has been attending virtual classes for almost two weeks as a university freshman. She found the concept of distance learning difficult. Im kind of suffering to keep up with my classes as the servers cant handle the massive number of users, she told Arab News.

Ajjaj did not find it easy to concentrate on the lessons, with her focus straying due to worries of losing internet connection. On a more positive note, she said she was using the time to increase her self-awareness. Im trying out some hobbies, from reading books to meditation.

Self-quarantine really puts a strain on ones mental and psychological state, Ajjaj said. She thinks it is the right decision healthwise to prevent the spread of the virus, but she cannot wait to go back to class, meet new people and spend time in the sun.

Read the original:
Saudis take on self-isolation through the internet - Arabnews

Although ist eerie and on of the most feared cards in a tarot deck, the Death Tarot card is much more. Here are some things to know.

The Death tarot card in the Major Arcana is one of the most feared cards in the deck. However, rarely does this card represent physical death. This card actually is associated with transformations, transitions, and endings of anything old so it can make room for the new. This is why astrologically this card is associated with the water sign, Scorpio, which is ruled by transformative and powerful Pluto.

RELATED: 10 Gorgeous Tarot Decks For Beginner Witches

This means if anyone goes for a tarot reading and The Death tarot card comes up in a spread, it does not mean that the seeker will die. Listed below are 10 things that many people are not aware of that are associated with The Death tarot card.

When The Death tarot card is associated with giving birth, that seems as if it should not belong in the same sentence. However, anytime someone becomes a parent, especially for the first time, that really represents the death of their old selves as they cannot go back to who they were before they became parents.

This is why it is a major shock to new parents after bringing the baby home from the hospital. Their care-free lives were given the kiss of death as now they have a new being they are completely responsible for, and their identities have changed forever as well.

Whenever someone is having a tarot reading about their relationship, and The Death card comes up, that is not a good sign. That most definitely means that the relationship is on its way out. Sometimes the seeker who is asking the reader to give them insight on their relationship knows this deep down, which is why they are wanting the reading to get confirmation.

However, sometimes this news comes as a total shock. What is the reason for the breakup? That depends on the surrounding cards. If The Four Of Cups is in the spread, then it is an indication of boredom. If The Seven Of Swords is in there, then this is a sign of a cheating partner.

The Death card shows up when there is no longer any interest in a hobby or something else that once excited the individual. And the fact of the matter is that interests and hobbies do change as people grow and evolve. The type of interests that someone had in childhood or as teens would no longer serve a purpose in adulthood, however, there are always exceptions. When it comes to a life-long passion, that usually is not the case.

However, when it comes to short-lived hobbies, The Death card can appear at any time which means the interest will die and something new and exciting will replace it.

Whenever a change of bad habits in the picture, The Death card is a great card to show up. This means that either the smoking will come to an end, the booze will be cut out or cut down significantly, the sedentary lifestyle will become active, or sugar will be replaced with organic food.

RELATED: Harry Potter: 10 Tarot Cards That Represent Gryffindors

Many times health scares can cause people to change habits which means they are given that wakeup call. However, not always. Sometimes people don't feel great or they feel stuck and know exactly why. It is because of the poor habits that they need to come to an end.

One thing about The Death card that many people who are not overly familiar with the tarot is that it can represent an increase in self-awareness. This means they have been enlightened and awakened by something, which is a sign that they are evolving on a spiritual level.

They may begin to take up spiritual practices or may become religious, whichever works for them. Sometimes the increased self-awareness can be the result of learning the hard way from a grave mistake, or it can be the result of a life-changing trip they took that taught them something about themselves that they did not know previously.

Perhaps moving is something that someone has been planning to do all along, however, if that individual had gotten a tarot reading and The Death card came up, then it is one that would be life-changing. By the way, a life-changing move does not even have to mean that the move is across the country, or to a different country, or overseas. It can still be a move to another home in another area of the same town.

RELATED: How to Read Tarot Cards: A Step-By-Step Guide

It all boils down to what kind of events will follow the move that can be considered life-changing. That is why The Death card would come up in a reading that is relevant to a move.

If someone who was thinking about changing careers went to a tarot readerto receive a reading, and The Death card came up, that is a sure sign that the change will happen. Not only will it be a change but it will involve complete transition and transformation. This means that the seeker will literally be saying goodbye to the old career that they had and they will be going into something brand new which may or may not require extra schooling.

Therefore, this is not keeping the same job or career-role and moving to a different company. It is a situation that involves going from being a journalist to a chef, for example.

The Death tarot card is not one that anyone wants to see come up in a spread or as a single-card pull if they are inquiring about their financial situation. This card will most definitely indicate a financial loss, and it can be due to many reasons. Perhaps taking out debt is one reason which is something that the seeker would be aware of, especially if they are making a big purchase such as a house or a car.

Or, it may mean that unexpected large expenses will come up which could involve medical or home repair. It could also mean that the investments could take a beating in a market that is doing badly.

The Dark Night Of The Soul is a spiritual crisis, which means it is a very dark time in someone's life. This is a period in life where someone would feel empty and disconnected spiritually, and therefore, they would be very depressed, apathetic, and numb. Some people who experience it may actually do more exploring on a spiritual level in order to figure life out, or others may become lost into additions to numb themselves.

RELATED: 10 Harry Potter Characters Who Represent Scorpio Traits

However, when The Death card comes up in someone's reading regarding this situation, this is good news. It means this confusing and challenging time will come to an end, and the light will be seen again.

Whenever The Death tarot card comes up in a reading regardless of what situation is being looked into, it is a message to embrace a transition or change that is meant to happen. Sometimes these changes will be welcomed with open arms such as a new baby on the way.

Other times they will not be welcome such as getting the news about being forced to move due to the house needing to be knocked down as the result of the construction of a freeway. Either way, these types of forever changes are happening and cannot be resisted.

NEXT: 10 Things You Might Not Know About Your Moon Sign

Next 10 Tarot Cards That Represent Air Signs

Miriam Slozberg is a mom, an astrologer, tarot reader, author, a freelance writer who has a warped sense of humor in order to roll with the punches of life. She has many ghostwriting clients of various niches and also writes for BabyGaga, as well as AskAstrology.

Read more:
10 Things You Did Not Know About The Death Tarot Card | TheTalko - TheTalko

Amid all the talk of quarantine and social distancing and turning ones home into a virus-free safe space, its a welcome distraction to read this piece by Amanda Hess in the New York Times Magazine about The Wing, the swanky, all-female club (or pop-feminist Biodome, as Hess labels it). It was supposed to function as a safe space, too, but turned out to be something far less appealing.

Founded by Audrey Gelman in 2016, The Wing has been marketed as a female-only third space for the wealthy (membership costs $3,000 per year) and well-connected (Womens March co-founder and shameless anti-Semite Linda Sarsour is a member). Initially launched in New York, it now has locations in cities like Washington D.C., London, Hollywood, Chicago, and San Francisco, among others.

But The Wing is more than just a club. As Gelman told Fast Company, We want our mission to not only be expressed through our brand but through our internal policies. The brand is unabashedly feminist, progressive, and political. The Wing has hosted appearances by Hillary Clinton, and Gelman threw a lavish fundraiser for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who repaid her with a blurb for the companys website: The Wing isnt just a functional space, its a real symbol of whats opening in our country. [Its] one of the most potent forces that weve seen emerge in politics this year.

But inclusivity extends only so far; this is not a space that welcomes fans of Margaret Thatcher or Nikki Haley, for example. The San Francisco chapter of The Wing named a conference room in honor of Christine Blasey Ford after her testimony during the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court confirmation hearings. Nor does it welcome men, a fact that prompted a lawsuit and an investigation by the New York City Commission on Human Rights.

Any argument for a female-only space inevitably prompts comparison to Virginia Woolfs A Room of Ones Own. This holds true for The Wing, but not because of the clubs embrace of Woolfs proto-feminist messaging. As Hess argues, it is for its unabashedly elite demand for comfort and ease: Luxury and feminism have long been intertwined, Hess notes. Virginia Woolfs 1929 book A Room of Ones Own a Wing philosophical touchstone didnt argue for just any old room. Woolf wanted women to have access to deep armchairs, pleasant carpets and opulently catered luncheons presented by servants on silver trays, to bask in the urbanity, the geniality, the dignity which are the offspring of luxury and privacy and space. Dignity and equality might be hard-earned, Wing members know, but they should bring with them their own luxurious rewards for the deserving.

Alas, the deserving are an elite group, which is why The Wing embraces partnerships that allow it to promote itself and expensive products from companies eager to bask in the glow of The Wings particular brand of corporate feminism: Wing members effectively pay to advertise products to other women in front of the clubs feminine backdrops, and along the way, burnish their own brand power too, Hess writes.

But how to market Instagram perfection when you still need toilets scrubbed and plush couches lint-rolled for your exclusive members? According to many of The Wings employees who spoke to Hess, by using them as advertisements for a corporate image that is belied by those employees reality.

To be sure, the people who seem to want to work at The Wing arent exactly wannabe engineers or future titans of industry. One woman is described by Hess as a first-generation Liberian-American with a striking, pasteled online presence who was cultivating their own business as a professional witch incorporating Tarot and astrology. She ended up posing for pictures wearing T-shirts with slogans like EXTREME SELF-CARE on the Wings website.

Other employees described their work experience as a low-paid, emotionally exhausting, passive-aggressive H.R. nightmare. Until recently, Wing values posted in the spaces reminded employees that a requirement of the job was to act in a utopian manner, Hess notes. One employee simply told her, I was treated like a human kitty-litter box.

When she was asked about her disgruntled workers and the often-punitive corporate strategies for dealing with them, however, Gelman blamed society. Despite their intention to build a womens utopia, she acknowledged, the ills of society at large had seeped in, Hess reports. Gelman said, These are familiar themes for us.

The themes might be familiar to Gelman, but her vices are well-known to observers of self-styled influencers and thought leaders. Like Gwyneth Paltrow, whose ego-driven efforts at wellness have given the world dodgy medical advice and vagina-scented candles; or Elizabeth Holmes, who grifted her way through Silicon Valley while being hailed as the female Steve Jobs, Gelmans savvy P.R. strategy has created the image of a successful yet empathetic female entrepreneur. But Gelmans privileged life has failed to offer her the one thing she most needs: self-awareness.

The Wing is less an expression of confused feminist values than it is of todays impossible, Instagram-perfect standard for female success. The Wing is the high-end version of this compulsion; the low-rent (though more lucrative) version is the Kardashian-Jenner empire, with its cheap cosmetics and unhealthy waist-trainers and reality television dramaturgy. At least the Kardashians dont pretend to be empowering the women theyre marketing to or drape themselves in feminist glory. Theyre just getting rich by convincing teenage girls that they should all look like the female android in Ex Machina.

By contrast, the ladies of The Wing claim to want to have a space where they can escape the male gaze and promote feminist values. Yet they do so while catering to the demands of a platform (Instagram) that emphasize image over substance and hashtag activism over real political organizing. What Wing members and its founder, Gelman, cant escape is some much-deserved scrutiny of their elitism and hypocrisy. In our current moment of public crisis, The Wings self-indulgent posturing doesnt look like female empowerment; it looks decadent and appalling.

See the original post:
The Woke Decadence on Display at the Feminist Offices of The Wing - Commentary Magazine

Abel Porter has been watching Utah State mens basketball games and reliving the good, bad and ugly moments from the 2019-20 season. Like the 55-point win over Weber State early in the year. Or the game against St. Marys, where the Aggies squandered a late lead for their first loss of the season.

Porter has been watching not only to pass the time due to sports being postponed or canceled throughout the country due to the coronavirus, but also to navigate his emotional and mental state after the NCAA canceled its basketball tournament to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Like other Utah college sports programs, the Aggies feel theyve lost an opportunity to make some noise on the biggest stage. But after a topsy-turvy season that included injuries, illnesses, a three-game losing streak and rising and dropping poll rankings, the way they overcame all that has them feeling at least somewhat satisfied.

When you look back at it, we couldnt have asked for a better way to end the season, senior guard Diogo Brito said.

The Aggies enter the offseason with a roster full of young studs who got plenty of playing time and valuable experience over the last two seasons. Leading the group could be center Neemias Queta, who was still Utah States second leading scorer despite missing a chunk of the season due to a knee injury.

Queta is the defensive anchor of the Aggies and their most dangerous low-post threat. But his talent could mean he tries his luck in the upcoming NBA draft, much like did last offseason before deciding to return to USU for his sophomore year.

Aside from Queta, forward Justin Bean and guard Brock Miller, both sophomores, started practically every game for the Aggies in 2019-20. And with up-and-comers Alphonso Anderson, Sean Bairstow and Kuba Karwowski, theres plenty of optimism going around for what fruit next season could bear.

I think we still have a chance to repeat as Mountain West champions, obviously, and were going to do everything we can to do that, Bean said.

Its no secret, however, that Utah State will be losing some very important players to graduation or other means. Sam Merrill willed the team through the Mountain West Conference tournament, making big shot after big shot after big shot. He was the teams leader in points, assists and 3-pointers made.

Brito played an important role off the bench, and made timely shots several times throughout the season. He was also seen as someone who could take some pressure off of Merrill on the defensive end.

Then theres Porter, a starter who knew for the entire season that he wouldnt return to Utah State despite having one more year of eligibility. But he was unsure about whether he would quit basketball after the 2019-20 season or try finding another opportunity. He has since entered the transfer portal.

With not knowing what Im going to do, I just really wanted to have options and see what was out there, see the opportunities with basketball and especially with schooling that I could see and I could find, Porter said.

Coach Craig Smith expressed excitement about the group hell have next year. But there are still some unknowns.

We have a lot of young men in our program that we really believe in, Smith said. We have a talented group. Well be much more athletic next year up and down the lineup. But that doesnt mean were going to be better.

Smith will be entering his third season with Utah State, and with an impressive track record. Two conference tournament titles. A 54-15 record. And, technically, two bids to the NCAA Tournament.

Many players credited Smith for keeping the team together and focused throughout the roughest parts of this past season. Brito thinks hes the key to next year, too.

I firmly believe that Utah State is in great hands, Brito said. You have Coach Smith at the helm, I dont think anything can go wrong.

Smith admitted that with a young team, there will be peaks and valleys next season. But as long as his players have the right mindset, he said, another successful season could be on the horizon.

Itll be a big summer for our guys, Smith said. Our guys have to get in the gym, they have to keep getting better and we have to have a tremendous attitude an attitude that craves improvement. And if we do that, then I think we can do some really, really good things next year. But if we dont, then who knows?

See the article here:
If nothing else, Utah State's basketball season showed the Aggies aren't going away anytime soon - Salt Lake Tribune

Medical staff takes samples at a drive-through coronavirus testing lab set up by a local community center in West Palm Beach, Miami.

CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images

Hosted by Stephen Flurry Aired March 17 55 minutes

00:30 Laws of Radiant Health (5 minutes)

During this time of public health crisis, its important to remember Herbert W. Armstrongs seven laws of radiant health. In this segment, I remind listeners about those seven laws and emphasize the importance of a positive mental attitude!

05:20 Coronavirus Hysteria (18 minutes)

How does the coronavirus compare to other outbreaks and causes of death? In this segment, I try to put todays pandemic in perspective.

23:30 Politically Motivated Hysteria? (32 minutes)

President Donald Trumps enemies continue to politicize the coronavirus to attack and undermine his presidency. Meanwhile, commentators who draw attention to this are viciously attacked.

Subscribe to the Trumpet Daily Radio Show on Apple Podcasts, Google Play or by RSS

Download past episodes here.

See the article here:
The Anatomy of a Pandemic - theTrumpet.com

Crowds going to open air markets versus a state leader who must lecture his compatriots: in France, not everyone is following the government's order for general confinement.

Too many people take self-isolation "lightly", French President Emmanuel Macron estimated this week, after he asked the French on Monday to stay at home as much as possible in order to fight the spread of the virus.

Before the measures were announced on Monday, photos of crowds relaxing in the sun in Parisian parks the previous weekend had gone viral on social media - the sign that many in Paris had not applied the government's "social distancing" advice.

Elsewhere in Europe, German authorities are reluctant to move to forced lockdown, while many Germans, often young people, continue to ignore official calls to stay at home.

Even Italy, the first European country to have imposed strict and generalised measures, struggled imposing a total lockdown, AFP reported.

Increasingly, European countries hit by the coronavirus pandemic seem split in two, between those who quarantine themselves for the sake of the common good, and those who are reluctant to follow self-isolation measures.

But many people are not set on one or the other choice - rather, they make a decision based on what the majority does, Angela Sutan, a professor of behavioural economics at the Burgundy School of Business in France, told the AFP. Those who enjoyed sunny parks last weekend are part of this "malleable" margin.

"The problem is that these people are both the most important and the most dangerous," Sutan said. "If they perceive that the others do not cooperate, they no longer cooperate".

These conclusions are based on research in behavioral economics. This discipline, at crossroads between economics and psychology, seeks in particular to explain why irrational behaviours emerge from a pure economic point of view.

Austrian Ernst Fehr is a famous researcher in the field. In the early 2000s, he conducted a study that showed how attitudes are shared, based on a small panel:

In this context, social networks "tend to show too many bad examples, which gives the impression that there are only stowaways", Angela Sutan said. "It creates a vicious circle".

But they can also have a beneficial effect, by allowing the dissatisfied to express broadly shared social disapproval, which will push the most selfish to review the costs and the benefits of their attitude.

"They feel like they are making a profit by going to the park because they have done an act of bravery," Sutan explained. But if people are "met with disapproval on social networks", they may reconsider.

What, then, is the best tactic for the authorities to convince people to self-isolate?

France and Italy have chose to enforce thousands of fines: anyone who's found by the police to be outside when they shouldn't gets one. Is this the best strategy, or is it wiser to play on the responsibility of citizens - which Macron also tried in one of his speeches?

A mix of both, according to several economists, who said asking the French to fill themselves a declaration on honor to justify exceptional trips is a positive strategy.

"When you put your signature on paper, there is a mental reflex which means that people, if they already had a tendency to respect the rules, want to respect the commitment made", said neuroeconomics researcher and Sciences-Po professor Thierry Aimar.

"This signature will create mental mechanisms which will consist in respecting the commitment to avoid a form of cognitive dissonance", he added.

"By the information economy, in most people who were already respectful of social norms, the brain will strengthen self-discipline".

The effect risk dissolving in the long term, depending on what everyone else does. "If opportunistic behaviours develop, the attitude of people who are naturally respectful of injunctions risks evolving in the wrong direction," concluded Aimar.

As four European countries are already under lockdown, and more to follow on other continents, the respect of such restraining measures remains one of the most effective way to slow down the rapid spread of the virus, according to the World Health Organization.

See the original post:
Why are many people going out to brave coronavirus? Economists answer - Euronews

Few of us are epidemiologists, statisticians or healthcare experts, and fewer still are likely to have a good enough grasp on all the coronavirus information thats out there. Photograph: Maksim Kabakou/Alamy

How do we deal with new information about Covid-19 at a time when the science, the advice and the consequences of the pandemic are all changing rapidly?

People are being bombarded with new information at a time of heightened stress and its playing damaging games with our decision making.

So how do we decide whats good information and what isnt? What should we think about before we make a decision to share information on social media, go out and mix with others or make purchases at stores?

In some ways this is a perfect scenario for misinformation to thrive its fast moving, it threatens everyone and theres a lot of uncertainty, says Dr Will Grant, of the Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science.

Its not quite a wicked problem like climate change in that Covid 19 is really pretty visible, linear and with strong historical parallels, but this is definitely an environment where information and misinformation will spread rapidly.

New information is coming at us in charts, graphs, modelling results, social media posts, news articles, podcasts, TV bulletins and from friends and people we meet.

Few of us are epidemiologists, statisticians or healthcare experts, and fewer still are likely to have a good enough grasp on all the information thats out there.

One unifying theme is that we should all be considering the advice of experts. But what is an expert?

Lyndal Byford, of the Australian Science Media Centre, says: The main thing to consider is who is making the claim. Ask yourself what is the source of the information. Is the post from a reputable organisation such as the World Health Organization or is it based on a post by an individual who heard something that someone else told them.

Misinformation can often read like a rumour. It is also worth thinking about who funds that organisation. Do they stand to make a profit from the information they are sharing?

Grant says everyone should slow down before they decide to share information.

But more importantly, listen to key sources of authority for example, chief medical officers before changing any behaviour based on something you read online. If the chief medical officer says something is dangerous but something you read online says its fine, go with the chief medical officer.

Ben Newell, professor of cognitive psychology at the University of New South Wales, says we should always check the sources of information, and check the intention of the person that puts it there.

We should stop and wonder why we have been sent something, and the impact of sending that information on to others.

Newell said Australians rightly had a healthy scepticism for people in authority, and events like the sports rorts scandal were likely to have eroded trust.

Its hard for people to now recalibrate and say to themselves, this is now a situation where I should listen to the people who are in positions of authority, he said. But we should, and for good reason.

Public health authorities, the World Health Organization and national science academies are reliable sources of information. Advice from your hairdresser probably isnt.

Under normal circumstances, new findings in science come at us through a long process of research, peer review and academic publishing that can take years to develop.

The Sars-CoV-2 virus was only defined in January and, while some assumptions can be made about how its close relatives have behaved, whats known about the virus and the illness is still a work in progress.

Byford says scientists are sharing information with each other as quickly as they can.

This is vital to ensure there are no delays in moving towards treatments or vaccines. But it also means that lots of the information reaching the public hasnt been through the usual science quality check that is peer review.

Findings from research thats made public without being checked by other experts could change dramatically after peer review has been carried out, Byford says, and she would discourage the public from sharing this sort of information.

If you do want to share it, perhaps include a note that it is preliminary work and has not been reviewed and scrutinised by independent experts.

All of this also means that what may have been good information a few days or weeks ago may become out of date.

Were in the middle of a pandemic a situation few of us have experienced and our screens are filled with frightening content.

Newell says when we have additional cognitive load, this creates inconsistency in our decision making. That means we should push that pause button and then ask ourselves about the basis for the decision we are about to make.

Prof Mike Kyrios, director of rama Institute of Mental Health, Wellbeing and Neuroscience at Flinders University, says its very important for people to switch off from the overwhelming emotional content of the crisis each day.

Giving ourselves a break will reduce the tendency to panic and make rash decisions, he says. The development of apps or websites that centralise key information and advice will also help.

Were not seeing a lot of positive thinking, but having a positive attitude if youre quarantined is important we do need a more positive attitude instead of putting our internal resources into our fears. Fear is natural but we have to accept that fear is there and then move through it.

Look for people who are responding positively, he says, and whats needed is actually physical distancing, not social distancing.

We should use social media sites to connect with friends.

Grant says he would never argue against critical thinking but says our own simple actions wash your hands, increase social distance, isolate and test if youre sick whats important.

Newell says we should generally be thinking about the knock-on effects of our actions whether that is simply coughing in a public place or deciding to clear out a supermarket when other community members may be in greater need.

Byford says there are lots of factchecking sites that are debunking particular claims regularly: A simple google of the claim and the word factcheck can do a lot of the work for you. Snopes is usually a good place to start, but Google also as has a factcheck explorer.

She says people should also be aware that some conclusions may be based on a correlation, which may turn out to be irrelevant after scientists have examined it further.

There are lots of situations where two things seem to change at the same time but it turns out that there is not real link for example you can find a correlation between the number of films starring Nicolas Cage and the number of swimming pool drownings.

All modelling comes with uncertainties and is loaded with assumptions that may change, be wrong or be incomplete.

Often models are designed not to accurately predict the future but rather to show what might happen if different decisions are made.

Uncertainty is the mind-killer, Grant says. Its the real big issue here, and its why our sociological behaviours have become part of the crisis.

Were far more reasonable in the face of crises weve seen recently before cyclones and bushfires because weve seen lots of them before. Sure, theyre changing now, but theyre changing within bounds we can extrapolate to based on recent history.

None of us have experienced a threat like this personally before, and we dont know how long this will last. Any panic-buying behaviours are rational in this sense.

Kyrioss institute at Flinders University has developed a set of strategies to help people manage their mental health if theyre forced to stay home.

Understand that uncertainty and novelty will lead to heightened tension and stress Question yourself if youre angry, the advice says.

Are your fears likely to eventuate? What does science tell us about the most likely outcomes? Is your response reasonable?

Read more from the original source:
Coronavirus overload: five ways to fight misinformation and fear - The Guardian

Most of us in the mental health professions would agree with the following statements:

Religion and spirituality are important, even central concerns for a large portion of the population

Many people insist that their religious and/or spiritual practices help them cope with the inescapable vicissitudes of life

It has long been recognized that some psychiatric conditions can involve religious preoccupations and alleged spiritual experiences

Over the last 50 years meditation practicesgenerally inherited from various religious traditionshave become widely accepted as beneficial for management of stress and have been increasingly adopted by the mental health community as a treatment modality

In view of these observations you would think that psychiatrists would be well-versed in these topics, but the reality is that they are barely touched upon during our training and we are given very little guidance as to how to respond when our patients raise religious or spiritual concerns. Since meditation can be practiced without reference to the religious traditions that transmitted various techniques to us we can feel comfortable recommending it to our patients. But when it comes to relating to the larger questions about life, the nature of suffering, the inevitability of death, etc, we generally have no idea how to proceed.

Recent articles in Psychiatric Times give us several examples of attempts to address these topics. The May 2019 issue presented an interview of Dr Paul Summergard by Dr Lloyd Sederer, Spirituality in the Psychiatric Office, in which Dr Summergard shares his experience and suggests a general attitude to adopt when patients bring up religious concerns. In more recent issues, Dr John Miller shared two editorials exploring the clinical applications of mindfulness practice, Be Here Now, and Mindfulness.

Since our profession has no agreed-upon body of knowledge about the relationship of religion and spirituality to mental illness and mental health, it makes sense that those of us who present ourselves as having something useful to say should establish some sort of credentials. Dr Summergard mentioned that he did a number of years of intensive Zen meditation, and Dr Miller recounts extensive experience with a meditation tradition derived from the Theravadan Buddhist tradition, including a 3-month silent meditation retreat. Both doctors commented on the impact these experiences had on their personal as well as professional lives. So, their credentials for holding forth on these topics consist of substantial experience with meditation practice as taught by two different Buddhist traditions, exposure to the intellectual content of these traditions, and on their perception that these experiences had a significant impact on their personal lives as well as their practice of psychiatry.

In this column I propose to present a framework for understanding the basic psychological mechanisms involved in the practice of mindfulness meditation, which may clarify why it is helpful in many different situations. But if I am going to pontificate on these weighty matters, I too must establish my credentials.

I was raised in a completely secular Jewish family, with virtually no exposure to even a secular Jewish social environment. I entered medical school with the intention of going into psychiatry. In my fourth year I stumbled on the book Psychotherapy East and West by Alan Watts, one of the first well-known Western proponents of Zen Buddhism, which piqued my interest in Buddhism as a psychological system. To make a long story short, I followed a path similar to that of Drs Summergard and MillerI took a year off between my rotating internship and psychiatric residency to engage in intensive meditation and study of Buddhism, then another block of time after my residency, after which I settled down into my career and raising a family.

The particular tradition I connected with was Tibetan Buddhism as taught by Chogyam Trungpa, a Tibetan Lama who founded numerous meditation centers as well as Naropa University in Boulder, CO, which to this day offers a Masters degree in Eastern and Western Psychology. Along the way I did a 1-month meditation retreat, a 10-day solo meditation retreat in an isolated cabin, and a 3-month program with Chogyam Trungpa that involved extensive meditation practice as well as a systematic presentation of the history and formal teachings of Tibetan Buddhism. After my residency I spent 3 months at a meditation center in which I experienced a novel meditation system created by Trungpa in collaboration with Suzuki Roshi, a well-known Zen teacher. The system was based on methods used in Tibetan and Japanese Buddhist monasteries to help stabilize monks who developed serious psychological issues or psychosis in the course of intensive meditation practice.

Trungpa presented the Buddhist tradition to us, a modern American audience, as a psychological system. He made it clear that we did not need to accept anything on faith and stated explicitly that we need not accept any teachings that we could not confirm by our own personal experience. In that environment there were many individuals who enthusiastically accepted the religious aspect of the teachings, which is to say the traditional teachings about the nature of the universe, what happens after death, and so on. As a scientifically trained person from a totally secular background I had some discomfort about these issues. A small incident put my mind at ease: a young man asked Trungpa a question, Everything you have taught us is great, I love all the stuff about meditation . . . but I have to be honest . . . I have a lot of trouble with this whole reincarnation thing. Trungpa replied, For you, sir, reincarnation is waking up in the morning. Dont worry about the rest.

In the spirit of transparency, everything I will say is derived from what I learned through both study and meditation practice in those particular settings. I am not a scholar in these matters, nor can I pretend to be a highly accomplished meditator or teacher. Nevertheless, these experiences were transformative on a personal level, giving me the capacity to cope with extreme stress at various points in my life with a degree of equanimity that would not have been possible previously. They also had a profound effect on my work as a psychiatrist, in particular giving me a wider context in which to understand my patients struggles. I have found that when patients bring up religious or spiritual concerns I am completely at ease conversing with them in a way that is appropriate for that individual, which would have been impossible in my natural state as a person with no exposure whatsoever to religious practices.

When I deal with psychotic people reporting apparent spiritual experiences, I find that I can often understand what it is they are trying to describe and respond in a reassuring way that acknowledges their experience. Dont get me wrongI also give them an antipsychotic. But there is great value in meeting people where they are at, so to speak. I ascribe whatever ability I have developed to deal with these issues effectively to a combination of my personal experiences in the course of meditation practice, but equally to having been given a systematic intellectual framework for understanding the nature of spiritual experiences altogether, and their relationship to our normal mental state as well as to mental illness.

So much for credentials. Now let us turn to the narrow topic of mindfulness meditation. First, what do we mean by the word meditation? Lots of my patients tell me that they meditate, but on further questioning most of them are talking about guided meditation recordingswhich in reality is akin to hypnosisor perhaps they do a few minutes of chanting a mantra in a yoga class. To be sure, these activities can be very beneficial for stress management, sleep, and so on, but they are not meditation. Mindfulness meditation has robust stress-management benefits, but that is somewhat of a side effect. Its primary purpose, interestingly, is to mitigate our habitual mental patterns, which in Western psychology we have conceptualizedat least in previous generationsas neurosis.

Broadly speaking there are two types of meditation practiceconcentration techniques and mindfulness awareness techniques. Concentration techniques involve focusing ones mind on a single objecta candle, a picture, a thought, a sound or mantra, part of the body, pretty much anything. If practiced sufficiently this type of meditation produces trance statesstates of altered consciousness that can be intense and at times ecstatic. The intensity of these experiences is often interpreted as evidence that this is real spirituality and can motivate people to pursue them even more vigorously. There are numerous elaborate traditions utilizing these types of practices. However, there are distinct dangers to taking these techniques to extremes, and they should only be practiced under the close supervision of a knowledgeable guide.

Mindfulness meditation, on the other hand, can be described as a simple technique for observing our own mental processes in granular detail. The usual instruction is to sit upright without a backrestmostly so we will start to fall over if we doze off, which keeps us awake (meditation can be boring). The tradition is to sit cross-legged on a cushion. There is no particular reason to adopt a lotus posture or anything else uncomfortablethis is not about overcoming pain. If you are of a certain age, by all means sit on a chair. Most traditions instruct us to close our eyes, but I was taught to meditate with eyes open. The explanation we were given was that if we close our eyes it is too easy to space out and get lost in our thoughts.

The meditative technique itself is usually to turn our attention on the breath. Easy! The trouble is, after about a microsecond . . . blah, blah, blahwe are talking to ourselves. There are numerous variations and nuances in the instructions given by different traditions and different teachers on how to handle this grasshopper quality of our minds. The technique I learned was that as soon as we realize we are not on our breaths we literally say to ourselves thinking, and gently return attention to our breath. At some point we inevitably get frustrated, thinking, I cant do this, this is ridiculous, Im leaving. At that point . . . back to your breath.

A couple of comments about breath. There is nothing mystical about itits just a convenient way to help us stay in the present moment. Then there is the question of how intensely to focus on the breath. A traditional teaching story tells of a student of the Buddha, a famous musician, who asked the Buddha how intensely to focus his attention. The Buddha asked him how tightly he adjusted the strings on his instrument. The student replied, Not too tight, and not too loose, or the sound will be no good. The Buddha said, Just so. Your focus on your breath should be not too tight, and not too loose. That is, if we make no effort, we dont focus at all on the breath and no progress will be made. But if we get too intense about it, it can turn into a concentration technique focused on the breath, which is definitely not what is intended. If that starts to happen, a competent meditation instructor will tell us to lighten up, maybe look around a little, shift our positionthen come back to the breath.

There is no such thing as not being able to meditate. This statement requires some explanation, which brings us to the discussion of what this meditation technique actually accomplishes.

As we move around in the world and encounter things, or as we sit on the cushion and encounter things in our mind, there are three reflexive impulses that can occur. If the object or thought makes us feel good, confirmed, safe, we want to pull it in, build it up, make it last longer. If it is threatening or uncomfortable, we want to push it away, destroy it. And if it is neither confirming nor threatening, we ignore it. Consequently, we tend to ignore 99% of everything that crosses our awareness. In traditional meditation texts these three impulses are known as the Three PoisonsPassion, Aggression, and Ignorancethe obstacles to successful meditation practice. The meaning of these three words in daily life is obvious: Passion: love, greed, obsession, addiction; Aggression: anger, cruelty, destructiveness; Ignorance: maybe . . . cluelessness? From the point of view of evolutionary psychology, these three impulses are completely natural and highly adaptive: we are attracted to what makes us feel good, we are repelled by what makes us feel bad, and we dont waste energy on the rest.

But in this case, we are not talking about our behavior in the world, rather we are talking about these three impulses as our reflexive reactions to each moment-to-moment thought. What we are being instructed to do when we sit down to meditate is very simple, very difficult, and quite unnaturalwe are being asked to do none of the above. That is, whatever thought comes along, we are instructed to neither cultivate it, nor drive it away . . . nor ignore it. We are asked to simply notice it and come back to the breath.

Initially we are terrible at this. We get lost in a sexual fantasy, or business plans, or political tooth-gnashing. Oh yeah, back to the breath! We obsess about that time we were humiliated, and what we should have said. Back to the breath! But if we persist, little by little, we begin to relax into our own thoughts. They never go awaywe are explicitly not trying to make that happenbut we begin to spend more and more time just watching them come and go, without building them up or pushing them away, and without ignoring them.

This process can be characterized as developing an attitude of equanimity toward our own thoughts. Over time, somewhat magically, we notice that as we move about in the world and stuff comes up, we are less reactive. Something that would have left us upset all day becomes less of a big deal. Some compulsion that we would ordinarily find irresistible becomes less compelling. We begin to feel calmer overall, clearer, and with more freedom to deal with what comes up in whatever way seems bestas opposed to endlessly repeating dysfunctional habitual patterns. These emotional and behavioral changes are gradual and spontaneous.

That is why I say there is no such thing as not being able to meditate. I view it like doing pushups. If we resolve to start exercising with pushups, and we cant do even one, we start with half a pushup. If we work out regularly, eventually we can knock off a whole bunch of pushups. It just takes patience and practice. Thats why we call this activity meditation practice. At this level it is a very simple training program, whose goal could also be described as the art of not taking our own thoughts too seriously.

With this model in mind it becomes clearer why meditation practice can be helpful in so many clinical situations, and why the average person with no identified conditions may find it beneficial. It is also noteworthy that the benefit is not dependent on adopting any particular philosophy or spiritual teaching. The benefits of meditation are a spontaneous result of gradually changing the nature of our relationship to our own thought process.

This model of meditation practice is very simple, yet very fundamental. Along the way I have alluded to a number of far more complex issues. What is the distinction between religion and spirituality? What do we mean by the term spiritual experience? What is the nature of the transformative experiences hallucinogenic drugs can sometimes produce, and what about the religious preoccupations and spiritual experiences of some of our patients? And, what does meditation practice have to do with all of this?

Buddhist psychology provides a comprehensive framework that can illuminate the relationship of these disparate phenomena. Interestingly, it is all about egoa concept that is also at the core of Western psychological thinking. In a future article, I will try to summarize the basic model of the Buddhist psychological tradition in terms that are understandable to students of the Western psychological tradition.

More:
Making Sense of Meditation: Religion and Spirituality - Psychiatric Times

Yet again, the Attfield Theatre proved how fortunate Oswestry is to have a high quality amateur theatre company.

Earlier this month saw their latest production, Proof, by American playwright David Auburn, wonderfully directed by tyro Liz Franks. Winning the Pulitzer Prize and Tony awards in 2001, its a top notch play that puts each of the four actors under considerable acting pressure.

Nominally about a mathematical proof, the play is really about the relationships between the central character Catherine, a 25-year-old woman, her father Robert, sister Claire and maths student, now lecturer, 28-year-old Hal.

Its set on the back porch and yard of a poorly maintained house near Chicago which is where the theatre companys talents immediately shone. Convincingly dressed, this was a solid set! Railings were lent on, door slammed; not a hint of movement. Congratulations to all the designers and builders.

The play relies solely on the conversations between the characters. All the parts are big, and Catherines is huge. It is of considerable credit to the actors that not only were they word perfect, but realistically conveyed that these were conversations not speeches. Sustaining an American accent throughout such a wordy play is very difficult. The cast managed it pretty well, with Bekah Plaisted as Catherine particularly consistent.

All the actors conveyed the aspects of their stage personalities convincingly. David Ryder as Robert, a maths genius in early life, showed us glimpses of that talent while at the same time reflecting his slide into mental instability. Fran Williams as Claire, reflected her concern for her sister while keeping us aware of the pressures she had in her now home city of New York. Shaun Higgins as Hal conveyed his admiration for Robert and attraction to Catherine while remaining staunchly honest but reticent. Bekahs Catherine, a truly complex character of possible maths genius, with nascent mental problems of her own, fully reflected the grown up woman who hadnt quite lost some teenage resentment. These complex and real characters were brilliantly brought to life by the company.

Different scenes required season changes and some were flashbacks. These required further adjustments to character behaviour and attitude, all well accomplished by the cast.

Costumes added to the conviction of the characters and changes were well-managed. Lighting and sound were so good they werent really noticed which is praise indeed! Rather like film music we take such things for granted when done so well.

A line in the play says beautiful maths, perfect maths, perfect proof. This production certainly provided proof that The Attfield continues to provide high quality theatre.

By Alan Poole.

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'Proof' of talent at Oswestry's Attfield Theatre - Border Counties Advertizer