Shallotte, NC (WWAY) Walk down the halls of Shallotte Middle School and you may hear Joey Bullocks hearty laugh.

A graduate of Wyoming State University, shes been in education 17 years and this is her fifth year teaching sixth graders at the Brunswick County School.

Someone nominated her for our WWAY and Wilmington Granite Teacher of the Week recognition.

Ive always loved kids and I knew that I wanted to do something with kids, Bullock said. At first, I was going to be a music teacher and I decided to teach elementary school.

While teaching comes naturally for Bullock, the biggest challenge comes in trying to reach the needs of each student.

Principal Marie Laboy says one of Bullocks strengths is that she comes from an elementary background and is very well-versed in helping kids learn to read at whatever level they may be.

She has a [non-English speaking] student who just came to our school within the last couple of weeks, so she is also charged with bringing that child up in English in reading, Laboy said. The challenges are there everyday and she handles it beautifully.

Outside of school, Bullock is particularly proud of her weightlifting accomplishments. Recently, she lifted an impressive 175 pounds.

I was very proud of that and, of course, I came in to tell my students that I met that goal and I showed them the video of myself doing it, Bullock said. Another goal that I met that I have been working on for probably 10 yearsto do 10 reps of 135 and I was able to get that the same night. So, I was very excited to share that with my students.

By talking about her weightlifting goals with students, Bullock says it helps them understand how personal improvement involves reaching ones goals and raising the bar to set higher goals.

I want them to be their best selves and I want them to love reading, she said. So I show that everyday as I read to them and they read to me, and hopefully, we can work together to do better each day.

Click here to submit a nomination for our WWAY and Wilmington Granite Teacher of the Week recognition.

Original post:
Shallotte teacher uses love of weightlifting to motivate middle-schoolers - WWAY NewsChannel 3

The New Jersey Devils sputtered against their former coach, their opponent of honor while paying tribute to the 2000 squad and their unceremoniously departed superstar as they took three games past regulation and won none of them. The game against the Montreal Canadiens will be covered next week but some winnable games evaporated in front of their eyes yet again as they have started to resemble the team from October and November.

These games were an eyesore but it was good to see the former champs take the ice again, especially with Petr Sykora finally getting his long overdue lap with the cup in New Jersey.

We roll on even as Sean McIndoe ranked the Devils first on his most recent misery index. Feels about right.

Heads held high, Devils fans. As always, if you have any suggestions were happy to hear them and talk about whatever youd like as we barrel along these precipitous falls.

Link:
Garden State of Hockey- Episode 30: Motivation Problems - All About The Jersey

Once he got home to Arizona, Bautista didnt go buying a sports car or anything extravagant. Instead, he took heed of the words of UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby, who told him after the fight, Save your money, before Bautista even had a chance to speak. There was a trip to his hometown by air instead of car, which saved him a 12-hour drive, but other than that, it was back to work to get ready for his next trip to the Octagon on Saturday against unbeaten Miles Johns.

For Bautista, its an interesting position to be in, as he was once the young hotshot with the perfect record before Cory Sandhagen beat him a little over a year ago in his short-notice UFC debut. Now its his turn to try to turn Johns 0 into a 1 in Houston.

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The mindset I had was that whatever I was doing, it was working, so I really didnt grow as fast as I could have, Bautista said of his approach before the Sandhagen fight. I didnt feel I had to change much, but after that loss, I realized you do have to change mentally, physically, with your skills, everything. So I feel like he (Johns) is going in there with the mindset that he doesnt really have to change anything, that hes won all these fights and whatever hes doing is working for him. So I hope to change his mind on February 8th.

Thats a lot of pressure on Johns, and theres a lot of pressure on Bautista, as well, to keep the momentum going from the Son fight and live up to the acclaim that has him seen as one of the top prospects of 2020. But hes not bothered by it.

The closer it gets to the fight, I start to realize that I am being looked at and I like that pressure, Bautista said. It motivates me, it drives me and I want to continue to stay on everyones radar and stand out from everyone. Im going to continue to do that and just push hard.

For more information and updates, sign up for theUFC Newsletter here.

Originally posted here:
Mario Bautista Motivated By More Pressure - The Official Website of the Ultimate Fighting Championship

SANTA CLARA Asked what it was like to wake up Monday after losing the Super Bowl, Jimmy Garoppolo warned that you didnt want to be in his head going through all that stuff.

Three days later, the 49ers 31-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs still provided heartache and headache for Garoppolo and his teammates as they cleaned out their lockers Wednesday.

Garoppolo said he especially will be fueled more than anyone to rebound and return next season with championship ambitions.

The transcript as reporters huddled around him in front of tight end George Kittles locker (because Kittle earlier held court in front of Garoppolos, and the lockers face each other across a walkway)

On his initial Super Bowl reflections:

Didnt make enough plays when we had opportunities. It was tough to watch. But it is what it is. Got to appreciate the good things from this season.

On how to turn the loss into motivation:

I dont know, I keep telling myself, Youve got to remember that feeling when the confetti was coming down, just remember that moment and let it fuel you for the offseason. Just come back stronger, more ready for next year.

On how he handles the waves of media criticism that will keep coming:

Its one of those things that youve got to own it, got to be a man and attack it right down the middle, right in the face. There were a lot of good memories from this year, this team, the players, coaches. It was a great group to be around. I enjoyed every minute of it. Terrible ending. Just have to take the good with the bad.

On if plays run through his mind, like an overthrow to Emmanuel Sanders with 1 1/2 mintues to go:

No doubt. Thats something youve got to move on from. It sucks. Obviously some throws I wish I had back, some throws I made differently. The one to E, just missing him, putting a little too much on it. But youve got to be a man, you have to own up to those things. Some things Id rather have back. But this whole year, its been incredible.

On what Sanders meant to the receiving corps:

You cant even describe it, just what E did, coming in the way he did, never asking for the ball, never doing too much. He was exactly what we needed on this team, that veteran presence, for the younger receivers, for everyone, myself included. Everything he did, he did it with class and couldnt ask for a better teammate. Hes one of a kind. Love that guy.

On the 2020 seasons expectations:

Itll be hard to get back here but looking around the room, looking at all the guys, we have the pieces for it, and the guys who have the right mindset for it. Thats the encouraging part. Most guys feel just about the same way the past couple days.

On how better he can be after playing his first full season after an ACL repair:

It only help us going forward. It was a full year. Everything we went through, all the big games at the end of the year, trying to get that No. 1 seed. One memory that keeps coming back to me is the Redskins game (a 9-0, rain-soaked win Oct. 20), how before that game, it was pouring, there might have been 100 people in the stands, and our team was just out there ready to roll. The camaraderie we had, it was a special group to be around.

On what it means to have most of the players returning?

Its huge. The age of most of these guys, were a pretty young team, in general. Just a lot of encouraging things. Coaches, players, front office how its all tied together, it makes for a pretty special group.

On what Coach Kyle Shanahan said in the team address?

Kyle was just honest and straight forward, like hes always done it. Everyone is feeling about the same way: it sucks, ut it is what it is, and at some point you have to be a man, accept it for what it is, move on and start getting ready for next year.

On the areas he wants to improve?

Yeah, I havent really thought about that too much, but Im sure over these next couple days I havent even planned out my offseason on where Im going to be or any of that stuff. This season, its crazy how long it is, and how much of a grind, but it comes to an end all of a sudden so quickly. Have to access all that stuff and attack the offseason.

On how big an offseason he can focus on football instead of an ACL rehab?

A tremendous amount. Last year I was here at this time, it was raining every day, trying to learn how to run and all that stuff. Itll be a more productive offseason, Id imagine, just getting into the book and fine-tuning the little things.

On his fourth-quarter statistics (3-of-11) and how to answer the critics?

If you just look at the stats like that, yeah, it is what it is. As an offense, as a team, weve been in that situation multiple times and answered the bell. Its tough that one time you didnt. But thats what people remember, thats the world we live in and you just have to own up to it and be a man about it.

It will fuel us in this offseason, fuel me especially in this offseason, to come back better.

On what was the first thing on his mind when he awoke Monday?

Gotta catch this flight home. No. It sucked. I wouldnt want to put anyone in my head that Monday morning going through all that stuff. Like I said before, special year, special group of guys, no one Id rather be in a foxhole with than these guys. I just love all of them. Alright, thanks guys. Appreciate you guys this year.

See the original post:
49ers Garoppolo fueled more than anyone after Super Bowl - East Bay Times

February 05, 2020 12:50 ET | Source: Food Processing Skills Canada

photo-release

Your Leader in Workforce Development Research

OTTAWA, Feb. 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Research completed by Food Processing Skills Canada (FPSC) is providing employers with valuable insight into the motivations, perceptions, interests, challenges and preferences of prospective employees for the food and beverage manufacturing industry.

The analysis targeted four population segments that are facing labour market challenges youth, Indigenous people, recent immigrants and individuals unemployed or having been unemployed at least twice in the last five years.

The research showed that those who are actively looking for employment were significantly more willing to move for a job than those not looking. This difference was highest amongst Indigenous people. Information like this contributes to FPSCs workforce development strategy.

Workforce planning is critically important for Canadas 10,000+ food and beverage manufacturing businesses given the growing gap of individuals to fill jobs in the industry. Especially since labour market projections from FPSC indicated 65,000 new workers will be required if businesses are to achieve the export sales target set by the Agri-Food Economic Strategy Table. The sector is a major source of economic growth in Canada, and the number one manufacturing employer, but businesses simply cannot find enough people to fill positions.

The survey data revealed that -

To form a better understanding of the employment potential, the research further analyzed the respondents who self-identified as unemployed or actively looking for work at the time of the survey. Of interest, those people are more likely to be aware of the sector and have positive impressions of jobs within the sector than the general public. This is in line with other findings that show that increased awareness of the sector leads to increased interest in working in the sector.

The research found the targeted segments are more likely to be predisposed and open to working in the food and beverage processing industry than other Canadians. In particular, the willingness of recent immigrants and Indigenous people has emerged as two promising segments for food and beverage career development.

I am excited to share this research with all industry stakeholders. There is so much contained in these reports which hasnt been seen before. It has confirmed for me the potential for the industry to grow by finding their next workers, said Jennefer Griffith, Executive Director, Food Processing Skills Canada.

The research further explored perceptions and willingness to try different jobs in the meat and seafood manufacturing sectors. These results complement the labour market analysis completed by Food Processing Skills Canada for the same two sectors.

Follow this link http://www.fpsc-ctac.com/lmi-feb-2020-release/ to download the perceptions research reports, Your Next Worker: Everything You Need to Know Perceptions of the people you are trying to reach and Your Next Worker: What You Need to Know Overview and Data from our Perceptions Research.

Food Processing Skills Canada

Food Processing Skills Canada is the workforce development and skills organization for Canadas food and beverage manufacturing industry. Through our industry and government partnerships we provide internationally-recognized resources and programs that support food and beverage businesses in developing their workforce, and people in building their careers. Our labour market analysis and workforce development resources - FoodSkills Library, FoodCert & Canadian Food Processors Institute are training the next generation of people and improving the industrys workplace culture. To learn more about the organization please visitfpsc-ctac.com.

Quick Facts about the Industry

The food and beverage manufacturing industry is Canadas largest manufacturing employer providing approximately 280,000 jobs.

The industrys establishments produce goods worth more than $110 billion every year. The vast majority are small or medium-sized businesses, with roughly 94% of food and beverage processors in Canada having fewer than 100 paid employees.

Approximately 31% of the industrys workforce consists of immigrants, with most of them having arrived in Canada between 1991 and 2010, while more recent immigrants make up 5% of the workforce.

Reaching annual exports of $85 billion a year by 2025, as proposed by the Agri-Food Economic Strategy Table, will require 65,000 new workers.

Media Contact

Jennefer Griffith Executive Director Food Processing Skills Canada 613.237.7988 jgriffith@fpsc-ctac.com

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Youth, Recent Immigrants, and Indigenous people are more highly motivated than the general public to find employment in the Canadian food and beverage...

The Cleveland Browns offense was supposed to be one of the most explosive units in the NFL in 2019. With the addition of Odell Beckham Jr., the Browns offense were talented at the skill positions.

However, the offense lacked the big plays throughout the season. By the middle of the season, some of the players looked disinterested to even be on the field, including Beckham. It was clear there were attitude issues occurring with the Browns offense.

Once the season was lost, it became quite obvious the players had quit on head coach Freddie Kitchens. There was a lack of effort on the field and the players seemed to be just going through the motions.

In today's featured article, after a roller coaster ride with the Browns in 2019, Beckham says he is extra motivated to improve on 2019 and have elite production in 2020.

Browns notebook: Odell Beckham Jr. says hes more motivated than ever after playing through injury, having surgery - Nate Ulrich, Akron Beacon Journal

I think myself as well had a slice of humble pie this year, because I was hurt all year. I couldnt really say I was hurt. I didnt want to make it seem like Im having an excuse, but I really couldnt do what I wanted. I just couldnt move the way that I wanted to, so I think thats why Im more motivated now than ever.

Despite dealing with a core muscle injury for nearly the entire season, Beckham still managed to have more than 1,000 receiving yards in what many consider a down year. Now that he will have the injury fixed and will have built up chemistry with Baker Mayfield, there is reason to believe Beckham can have a major turnaround in 2020.

Browns to hire Joe Woods as defensive coordinator

The Cleveland Browns had landed on hiring Joe Woods as their defensive coordinator several weeks ago, but were forced to wait until the 49ers were done with their playoff role. Martin McConnell briefly looks at what Woods could bring to the Browns defense.

Drew Petzing named Browns tight ends coach - Andrew Gribble, ClevelandBrowns.com

"Tight ends are huge. Obviously, every position out there is critical, but when you're going to be a run, hard play-action type of team that can do a lot of different things, those guys are the focal point of that."

There will be a lot of focus on the Cleveland Browns tight end's group this season because of how they will be utilized in Kevin Stefanski's offense. With a lot of questions at the position, Drew Petzing will have a lot to work with.

Next: What the future may hold for every Browns free agent

Cleveland Browns 7-round mock draft, with projected trades

With the Super Bowl and the 2019 season in the rear view mirror, the draft season is about to be in full swing for the NFL. Randy Gurzi compiled a 7-round mock draft for the Browns, while also including potential trades.

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Daily Dawg Tags: Cleveland Browns will have motivated Odell Beckham Jr. - Dawg Pound Daily

Odell Beckham Jr. never felt like himself last season, the wide receiver's first with the Browns after a March trade from the New York Giants.

A core muscle injury caused hip and groin problems for Beckham beginning in training camp, but he played all 16 games before undergoing surgery Jan. 21.

Last week during Super Bowl festivities in Miami, Beckham told Complex.com he's driven to get back on track this year when asked a question about quarterback Baker Mayfield needing "to be fixed" heading into the 2020 season.

"When people say they need to fix me or they need to fix this person, I don't believe in fixing anybody," said Beckham, whose 74 catches for 1,035 yards and four touchdowns last year fell short of the elite production he expects from himself. "Improving somebody is definitely more the word that I would say.

"I think myself as well had a slice of humble pie this year, because I was hurt all year. I couldn't really say I was hurt. I didn't want to make it seem like I'm having an excuse, but I really couldn't do what I wanted. I just couldn't move the way that I wanted to, so I think that's why I'm more motivated now than ever.

"This is probably day nine or 10 after surgery and I'm just starting to move around and just mentally get ready for the process all over again, and just put my best foot forward. So I don't think there's really changing anybody, but I definitely think you'll see a more focused, improved version of himself. Not what someone else wants him to be. And myself as well next year."

Also in the question-and-answer session Complex.com published Monday, Beckham revealed new Browns coach Kevin Stefanski impressed him when they met Jan. 23 at team headquarters in Berea.

Beckham said he believes Stefanski, Minnesota's offensive coordinator last season, plans to use him and Pro Bowl receiver Jarvis Landry similarly to Vikings receivers Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen.

"These are people who I've watched closely on their film," Beckham said, "and just seeing the things that [Stefanski] did and meeting him and seeing where his mind's at for Jarvis and myself of how this will all work out, I have a good feeling about it, you know?

"I'm hoping that it's a tremendous season for us. We were so close last year, but yet so far away, and it shows you how being so close can land you from 10-6 to 6-10, you know? It's really a game of inches. So it's just little things we need to correct. I'm excited about the opportunity, excited to work on it."

Return to Cleveland

Drew Petzing will be back in familiar territory with the Browns, but he'll also be tackling the challenge of an unfamiliar role.

On Monday, the Browns formally announced Petzing is their new tight ends coach. He entered the NFL as a football operations intern with the Browns in 2013, and now he'll guide a position he's never previously coached.

Stefanski developed faith in Petzing's versatility while they worked together with the Vikings the past six seasons.

"I think he's one of the smartest coaches I've been around," Stefanski said in a news release. "I say that because he coached defense in college, he's moved to the offensive side of the ball, been in the running backs room, the wide receivers room, the quarterbacks room. I think that type of breadth of experience is really important as you're developing as a young coach. I think anybody who has been around him sees somebody that has a great knowledge of the game."

A former Middlebury College defensive back, Petzing became an offensive assistant for the Vikings in 2014, then assistant wide receivers coach in 2016, assistant quarterbacks coach in 2017 and wide receivers coach in 2019.

"I know what it's like to move to different positions. I know how important that is and how valuable that is," Stefanski said. "Sometimes we get stuck in a rut and we say, I'm only going to coach this position. I think the versatility he's shown wearing a couple different hats will only help him as he becomes a better coach."

Petzing said in the news release he'll call experienced tight end coaches to help him shape his vision for the position.

"Tight ends are huge," Petzing said. "Obviously, every position out there is critical, but when youre going to be a run, hard play-action type of team that can do a lot of different things, those guys are the focal point of that."

Petzing got to know former Browns offensive coordinator Norv Turner and former Browns wide receivers coach Scott Turner in 2013 during his internship with the Browns. The next year, he followed the father-son duo to Minnesota.

"Essentially [the Browns] were looking for interns that they felt were hungry, wanted to get into the NFL and were willing to do anything, which was definitely what I was looking to do," Petzing said. "I actually came out of my interview and I got snowed in here for three days. So basically I got stuck and they had to hire me.

"Being here in 2013, seeing how the organization works, seeing how passionate the fan base is, that type of stuff makes it easy to make a decision like this. On top of that, having a great relationship with Kevin, really believing in him and his process and what hes about, I think those two things among other things were really deciding factors for me."

One day my man @bakermayfield will lead his team to a #SuperBowl ! I saw that light in his eyes as we reminisced about my bling things call the rings @dallascowboys https://t.co/ACrfzKdUrr

Playmaker's prediction

As Mayfield conducted interviews in Miami on behalf of Fox Sports, he talked to Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin about his favorite Super Bowl memory with the Dallas Cowboys.

Irvin came away from the conversation thinking the Browns QB is destined to appear in the big game.

"One day my man @bakermayfield will lead his team to a #SuperBowl!" Irvin tweeted Monday. "I saw that light in his eyes as we reminisced about my bling things call the rings."

Extra points

The Browns waived center Lo Falemaka, who has yet to appear in an NFL game.

Andrew Berry's introductory news conference as Browns general manager is scheduled for Wednesday.

Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his Browns coverage at http://www.beaconjournal.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ByNateUlrich and on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/abj.sports.

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Browns notebook: Odell Beckham Jr. says hes more motivated than ever after playing through injury, having surgery - Akron Beacon Journal

Since Boris Johnson returned to No. 10 with a majority of 80, theres been a growing sense that the Prime Minister and his team plan to use their newfound political capital to challenge the status quo. High on the list of institutions and conventions that they believe require a shake-up is the BBC. Today Culture Secretary Nicky Morgan began to put the meat on the bones of the governments vision for the public service broadcaster.

In a speech at Policy Exchange on the future of media and broadcasting, the Conservative peer confirmed that the government is launching a consultation on whether to decriminalise non-payment of the licence fee. She also said the government would launch a detailed and open-minded review of the BBCs long-term funding model. That means there is a possibility that the licence fee system could either be scrapped or reformed when the BBCs current royal charter expires in 2027. In a taste of things to come, Morgan suggested that the BBC could be heading for the same fate as the defunct video rental chain Blockbuster if it fails to adapt to the changing media landscape.

What change does the government wish to see? Expect a focus on the BBCs remit and what counts as public interest journalism. The timing of Tony Hall stepping down means that Johnson wont have influence in picking the next director-general as the current BBC chairman makes the decision. However, Johnson will get to choose the next chairman of the BBC. Expect that to be someone who wants to move the Beeb away from the licence fee model. Johnson takes the view that politics is downstream from culture. In 2012, he wrote: If we cant change the Beeb, we cant change the country. That change is coming.

See the rest here:
The motivation behind the governments plans for the BBC - Spectator.co.uk

Disclaimer: This article does not attempt in any way, shape or form to diagnose or recommend treatment for any emerging mental illnesses or symptoms of mental illness, nor is the goal of this article to discredit any form of treatment. If you are experiencing severe symptoms or struggling with a mental illness, talk to your friends and family about the issue and find a doctor, hospital or treatment plan that works best for you. Never ignore your symptoms.

The world of medicine is an ever-evolving practice. While today we have relatively secure access to hospitals and a plethora of refined drugs at hand, many of these found their origins in home remedies, sometimes referred to as folk medicine." Tradition and cultural knowledge set important precedents, while the scientific evidence arrives much, much later. Here in Acadiana, you may have heard of the existence of traiteurs: healers who utilize a combination of prayer, knowledge of herbal medicine and a gift passed down through their bloodlines allowing them to interact with illness on a physical and metaphysical (or spiritual) level.

There is evidence of this phenomenon of emerging healers all across the world, finding roots in the most ancient and ancestral parts of various civilizations. Names differ across the globe, but many are described as shamans: individuals who are able to connect to the physical and spiritual worlds. Honing these spiritual abilities is often a traumatic experience, and without the proper guidance and training, it may result in insanity.

Common symptoms of individuals who may eventually claim to have these gifts are strange visions and dreams, hearing voices and unusual behaviors, often defined by Western medicine as schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder or psychosis.

These very symptoms are similar to those exhibited by various religious figures throughout time. For example, Jesus is said to have fasted for 40 days in the desert, and now extreme fasting may have links to episodes of psychosis.

One man committed to aiding the emergence of these gifts and changing the perception of them in Western medical practices, Malidoma Patrice Som, Ph.D., a West African shaman.

Som first came to the United States in 1980 for graduate study, and has since gone on to earn three masters degrees and two doctorates from the Sorbonne and Brandeis University. When a fellow student was sent to a mental institute due to nervous depression, Som went to visit him. He was shocked with how mental illness was treated. In an email to Jayson Gaddis, who compiled some of Soms expertise in an article titled The Shamanic View of Mental Illness," Som writes:

I was so shocked. That was the first time I was brought face to face with what is done here to people exhibiting the same symptoms Ive seen in my village.

It didnt make sense to Som that treatment plans were based on pathology, the idea that the symptoms of the condition need to stop, the complete opposite of how his culture views such a situation. The patients in straitjackets zoned out on medications and screaming disturbed him. Som thought to himself:

So this is how the healers who are attempting to be born are treated in this culture. What a loss! What a loss that a person who is finally being aligned with a power from the other world is just being wasted.

According to Som, a healer has high-voltage energy.

When it is blocked, it just burns up the person. Its like a short-circuit. Fuses are blowing. This is why it can be really scary, and I understand why this culture prefers to confine these people. Here they are yelling and screaming, and theyre put into a straitjacket. Thats a sad image.

In the tradition of the Dagara people, Soms native roots, treatment involves integration of these energies so that the healer is able to accept their gift or charge. Som has observed that a commonality amongst patients with mental disorders in the West is a very ancient ancestral energy that has been placed in stasis, that finally is coming out in the person. Ritual plays an important role in this integration.

One ritual that Som describes entails making a bonfire, and then putting into the bonfire items that are symbolic of issues carried inside the individuals It might be the issues of anger and frustration against an ancestor who has left a legacy of murder and enslavement or anything, things that the descendant has to live with.

Ancestors play an important role in the emergence of a spiritual healer; the West suffers from what Som details as a mass turning-of-the-back on ancestors. Some of the spirits trying to come through may be ancestors who want to merge with a descendant in an attempt to heal what they werent able to do while in their physical body.

Soms approach has gone on to help numerous people. In an article published in the Washington Post by Dick Russel entitled How a West African shaman helped my schizophrenic son in a way Western medicine couldnt," Russel describes the journey of his son Franklin, who began exhibiting an increase in psychotic symptoms that were associated with the onset of schizophrenia. After trying numerous medications and hospitals for his son, Russell found himself reading a book by Canadian evolutionary psychiatrist Joseph Polimeni, Ph.D., called Shamans Among Us, which theorized that schizophrenics are a modern manifestation of prehistoric tribal shamans. Russell details in his article: This spoke to me because, amid what appeared to be delusional ramblings, Frank had an uncanny ability to tune in to what I was thinking.

After a trip to Africa to undergo various rituals and later receiving advice and assistance from Som, Franklin went from having difficulty emerging from his room to going back to technical school for mechanical engineering, taking classes in gymnastics, boxing, skating, and participating in music and art therapy.

Russel writes: Franks mother and I have kept seeking connection with our ancestors through meditative rituals, which has made a difference in our own lives as well. These experiences, rather than taking Frank further out there, have had a grounding effect.

Franklin still lives in a group home and takes medication, but the improvement cant be ignored. Russell also cites studies done by the World Health Organization comparing schizophrenia outcomes in the U.S. and Europe with poorer nations like Nigeria and India, where only 16% of patients regularly take antipsychotic medications.

He writes: In one study, nearly two-thirds of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia in developing countries had good outcomes after two years, compared to only 37 percent in wealthier nations where drugs are the standard of care.

Scholarship regarding this phenomenon isnt limited to Som or Polimeni. A journal published through the Department of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology of Adam Mickiewicz University by Danuta Penkala-Gawecka called Mentally ill or chosen by spirits? Shamanic illness and the revival of Kazakh traditional medicine in post-Soviet Kazakhstan describes these very same symptoms amongst people who are revered as healers there.

Like Som describes, the article details that these symptoms of shamanic illness represented a person chosen by the ancestor spirits to act as a bridge between earth and heaven.

The things they were feeling and hearing were entering the liminal phase of the rite of passage. Like the traiteurs of Acadiana, older folk beliefs were combined with newer ones; the shamans and spiritual healers of Kazakhstan utilize prayers from the Quran and supplications to Allah and saints in their practice.

Despite what you may believe about the supernatural and the otherworldly, the evidence that there are other, older ways to help people exhibiting these symptoms has been seen throughout history. There is a growing resurgence of folk remedies and treatments. People, especially black people, have been wanting to return to these ancient ways to reconnect with their ancestors, history, and in turn, themselves. With Latino Americans (24%) and African American (25%) persons diagnosed with psychotic disorder in significantly higher rates as compared to White Americans (18%), maybe its time to reframe how we think of these mental illnesses and perhaps even allow these emerging healers to answer the call.

Originally posted here:
Ancient solutions: The shamanic view of mental illness - The Vermilion

People just do nothing Coffee Talk. Photograph: Toge Productions

In the recently released game Coffee Talk, you play a coffee-shop barista who stands at a counter, through long, rainy Seattle nights, making drinks for customers as they tell you about their lives. Thats it. Thats all you do. Theres no aim, no purpose. Your only interaction is pressing a button to move the conversation on and occasionally crafting a drink using the available ingredients. Its barely a game.

And yet, its a lovely, involving experience. The beautiful pixel art interior of your shop, the fleeting glimpses of passersby outside, and the jazzy soundtrack replicate things we love about hanging out in real coffee places. Also, this is an alternative version of Seattle populated not just by humans, but by elves, demons and other fantastical beings, so your clientele is pretty varied. Elves tell you about their love lives, insomniac werewolves seek calm and quiet you listen and you try to make drinks that will soothe them.

Coffee Talk comes from a long line of quietly transgressive games that dont ask much of the player, that defy the popular notion of video games as a hectic, dizzying pursuit where buttons are bashed and the onscreen action is intense and demanding. Games, like music, can sometimes sit in the background, asking for little more than occasional check-ins. In the early 1980s, I loved to travel vast distances in the space simulation game Elite, watching the pixel stars and hollow planets swoop by, perhaps encountering the odd freighter. Id put the game on in the background while I did my homework.

Later, PC owners all over the world were transfixed by Myst, the slow, silent puzzle game that had you visiting almost still images of a deserted island, in between spreadsheet chores. The visual novel genre, vastly popular in Japan, requires little more from players than button presses to select conversational options playing Steins;Gate, Hatoful Boyfriend or Doki Doki Literature Club is like checking in with a WhatsApp chat, just one with more Japanese high schools, trans-dimensional monsters and interspecies dating than usual.

Open world games have become hangouts for a lot of players. You can sit on a hill in Minecraft and watch the sun travel across the sky; you can park your car in Grand Theft Auto V and the world moves around you. A few days ago, I tweeted asking friends for the games they treated like quiet background music. Lots of people mentioned gentle life sims such as Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley, which writer Ria Jenkins told me she plays while watching Love Island; several opted for professional sims such as Euro Truck Simulator and Train Sim World, where you just drop in on a job and carry out mundane tasks. Xbox social strategist and streamer Charleyy Hodson talked about the multiplayer game Farm Together: My entire family loves checking in once a day, planting some new crops and picking some flowers. Then we come back the next day to check in again.

Experimental indie games often fulfil this role as an unobtrusive element in our endlessly partial attention spans. The exploration mode in action adventure Concrete Genie, the road movie-like Jalopy, the letter-writing game Kind Words can be checked in on or left running. Guardian contributor and Gadget Show presenter Jordan Erica Webber plays the Shakespearean comedy game Astrologaster while doing cross stitch, just pressing a button every now and then to advance things.

For many people, the arrival of appointment games on Facebook and mobile phones such as Farmville and Words With Friends, where you check in and out on the experience throughout the day provided a gateway to the idea that games dont have to be all-consuming. At the same time, our modern dual-screen culture of watching TV while browsing a smartphone or tablet device, has prepared for us a mental space in which seemingly competing inputs can be experienced concurrently.

Coffee Talk is clever in that it holds the player in a transient social space, where people flit in and out, giving us glimpses of other lives, and it provides no time pressures, no long-term goals. Youre just there. You just listen and serve. It feels authentic and lived in, and it is as Kris Antoni Hadiputra, founder of Toge Productions, the Indonesian studio behind the game explains:

It was Fahmi, our writer and game director, who came up with the idea of recreating a peaceful experience of sitting down inside a coffee shop, sipping a cup of coffee on a rainy night, while listening to relaxing music that helps emit warm and soothing vibes. It also came down to his personal experience around relationships with people and friends, which inspired him to write slice-of-life stories that a lot of people can relate to.

Video games are about interactivity, of course, but interactivity doesnt have to mean ceaselessly hitting buttons and guiding an on-screen character, vehicle or weapon. Interactivity can mean quietly inhabiting a space, or just checking in on it, and for a few seconds lending our attention to something benign and beguiling.

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And relax the joy of video games where you do almost nothing - The Guardian