All posts by medical

Physiology

Prejean: Recent days remind us that gratitude is a gift – Herald-Mail Media

While practicing social distancing and working at home for the last two weeks, I have come to one conclusion.

Gratitude is a gift. We learn to appreciate the simple things in life when they arent so simple anymore.

The banana I ate for breakfast on a recent morning tasted so good. On the last two trips to the store, there were no bananas, so it was nice to finally have one.

Our WiFi is slow, and I cant download all the files I need from shared Dropboxes at work, but my co-workers can email them to me. We have a great team.

It takes longer to do my job remotely, but at least I have a job and I can do it remotely.

Our house, which seemed so quiet and empty before, is now filled with our college-aged daughters laughter and conversations about physics, biomechanics, physiology of aging and sport for development as campus is closed and she works on her classes remotely at home. My husband brushed off his college physics books, and I think hes rather enjoying his evenings filled with math. Ive appreciated the discussions weve had about the papers shes writing.

We wonder if shell study us for her physiology of aging projects. What a blessing to have two roommates who are living examples of what shes learning in her class! She wouldnt have access to that in her college apartment building.

The family togetherness has been so nice. Weve played board games, taken walks together and spent a lot of time in the kitchen cooking and eating homemade food.

In last weeks column, I included one of the recipes weve made twice in the last two weeks, Egg Casserole. Several of you noticed that the oven temperature was not included. That certainly would help if you are planning to make the recipe. Sorry about that. The recipe calls for setting the oven at 375, but my casserole got a little brown, so you might want to try 350. Im sharing the recipe in its entirety again, in case youd like to cut it out of the newspaper or screenshot it, if youre reading online.

This recipe was shared with me years ago by Diane Pryor, a former Herald-Mail Lifestyle reporter. I reached out to her recently to ask if I could share the recipe, and she says she still makes it occasionally.

I thought you might like to try it, too, especially now that the oven temperature is included.

pound bacon (7-10 slices)

cup shredded cheddar or Swiss cheese

Cut bacon into small pieces. Cook until almost crisp. Add onion. Cook until onion is tender. Spread bacon and onion in bottom of greased 1 -quart casserole. (Drain off fat from bacon first.)

Beat Bisquick, eggs, milk, salt and pepper, until smooth. Slowly pour egg mixture over bacon/onions.

Sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered at 375 degrees until knife inserted in center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Serves 6.

(If doubled, use a 13 X 9 rectangle baking dish.)

Enjoy this time with your family, in the kitchen, or whichever room you happen to be in while working at home.

Lisa Tedrick Prejean writes a weekly column for The Herald-Mail's Family page. Send email to her at lprejean@herald-mail.com. Follow her on Twitter @Lisa_Prejean.

More:
Prejean: Recent days remind us that gratitude is a gift - Herald-Mail Media

Human Behavior

Slow reveal aids spread of COVID-19, Bucknell virologist says – Sunbury Daily Item

COVID-19 is spreading more than the SARS coronavirus did in 2003 because those infected by COVID-19 may not know they have it for several days, Bucknell University biology professor Marie Pizzorno said.

"There's something about the biology of this virus," saidPizzorno, who has taught virology for more than 25 years. "People dont feel as bad (at first). When you got sick with the original SARS, you were really sick."

Someone infected with COVID-19, caused by a novel strain of coronavirus, may go about his or her daily business, touching surfaces and breathing on things, for up to a week or more before feeling sick, said Pizzorno, who studies viruses on the molecular level. Once that infected person becomes aware of the infection, so many others have already come in contact with the virus, she said.

While the death rate percentage of COVID-19 is close to 5 percent worldwide and near 2 percent in the U.S. so far, those numbers are not as high as for SARS, which had a death rate of about 10 percent, but SARS did not spread as far.

"WithSARS, because of the virus or human behavior, only about 8,000 people were infected," Pizzorno said.

More than 135,000 people in the United States alone are infected with COVID-19 and more than 2,400of those have died here, according to the running tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. The true number of cases is thought to be considerably higher because of testing shortages and mild illnesses that have gone unreported, The Associated Press reported.

Worldwide, more than 710,000 infections were reported, and deaths topped 33,000, half of them in Italy and Spain.

The SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome)epidemic in 2002-2003 affected 26 countries and resulted in more than 8,000 cases and 774 deaths, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). SARS-CoV, as it is known, is thought to be an animal virus from perhaps bats that spread to other animals, such as civet cats, a type of mammal found in Asia and Africa that is not a feline. SARS first infected humans in the Guangdong province of southern China in 2002, according to WHO.

COVID-19, which originated from the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that emerged in Wuhan, China, last year, has spread to every continent except Antarctica.

"The sequence of this virus appears to similar to the known bat coronavirus," Pizzorno said.

While it's believed the original SARS virus went from bat to civet cat to human, "for this outbreak, we dont know if there was an intermediate," she said.

She said the Chinese people are fond of eating wild animals. Though the market where the virus spread from was called a fish market, Pizzorno suspects the market sold more than just fish.

COVID-19 is spreading more slowly in Valley counties than a heavily populated area such as New York City because the population is more spread out.

"We probably could shut it down," Pizzorno said. "Were fairly isolated."

She said, though, it would be easy to seed the virus back into the community if an infected person comes in from New York or elsewhere.

Until there is a vaccine for COVID-19, or even afterward,it's best to do what mom told you wash your hands before you eat, when you come in from outside, she said.

"I've gottenin the habit of washing my hands whenever I come in the house if Ive been at the grocery store or just outside," Pizzorno said.

She also advised keeping a social distance.

We are making critical coverage of the coronavirus available for free. Please consider subscribing so we can continue to bring you the latest news and information on this developing story.

View post:
Slow reveal aids spread of COVID-19, Bucknell virologist says - Sunbury Daily Item

Human Behavior

Coronavirus Question: What’s the Psychology Behind Our Tendency to Hoard? – The National Interest

The media is replete with COVID-19 stories about people clearing supermarket shelves and the backlash against them. Have people gone mad? How can one individual be overfilling his own cart, while shaming others who are doing the same?

As a behavioral neuroscientist who has studied hoarding behavior for 25 years, I can tell you that this is all normal and expected. People are acting the way evolution has wired them.

The word hoarding might bring to mind relatives or neighbors whose houses are overfilled with junk. A small percentage of people do suffer from what psychologists call hoarding disorder, keeping excessive goods to the point of distress and impairment.

But hoarding is actually a totally normal and adaptive behavior that kicks in any time there is an uneven supply of resources. Everyone hoards, even during the best of times, without even thinking about it. People like to have beans in the pantry, money in savings and chocolates hidden from the children. These are all hoards.

Most Americans have had so much, for so long. People forget that, not so long ago, survival often depended on working tirelessly all year to fill root cellars so a family could last through a long, cold winter and still many died.

Similarly, squirrels work all fall to hide nuts to eat for the rest of the year. Kangaroo rats in the desert hide seeds the few times it rains and then remember where they put them to dig them back up later. A Clarks nutcracker can hoard over 10,000 pine seeds per fall and even remember where it put them.

Similarities between human behavior and these animals are not just analogies. They reflect a deeply ingrained capacity for brains to motivate us to acquire and save resources that may not always be there. Suffering from hoarding disorder, stockpiling in a pandemic or hiding nuts in the fall all of these behaviors are motivated less by logic and more by a deeply felt drive to feel safer.

My colleagues and I have found that stress seems to signal the brain to switch into get hoarding mode. For example, a kangaroo rat will act very lazy if fed regularly. But if its weight starts to drop, its brain signals to release stress hormones that incite the fastidious hiding of seeds all over the cage.

Kangaroo rats will also increase their hoarding if a neighboring animal steals from them. Once, I returned to the lab to find the victim of theft with all his remaining food stuffed into his cheek pouches the only safe place.

People do the same. If in our lab studies my colleagues and I make them feel anxious, our study subjects want to take more stuff home with them afterward.

Demonstrating this shared inheritance, the same brain areas are active when people decide to take home toilet paper, bottled water or granola bars, as when rats store lab chow under their bedding the orbitofrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens, regions that generally help organize goals and motivations to satisfy needs and desires.

Damage to this system can even induce abnormal hoarding. One man who suffered frontal lobe damage had a sudden urge to hoard bullets. Another could not stop borrowing others cars. Brains across species use these ancient neural systems to ensure access to needed items or ones that feel necessary.

So, when the news induces a panic that stores are running out of food, or that residents will be trapped in place for weeks, the brain is programmed to stock up. It makes you feel safer, less stressed, and actually protects you in an emergency.

At the same time theyre organizing their own stockpiles, people get upset about those who are taking too much. That is a legitimate concern; its a version of the tragedy of the commons, wherein a public resource might be sustainable, but peoples tendency to take a little extra for themselves degrades the resource to the point where it can no longer help anyone.

By shaming others on social media, for instance, people exert what little influence they have to ensure cooperation with the group. As a social species, human beings thrive when they work together, and have employed shaming even punishment for millennia to ensure that everyone acts in the best interest of the group.

And it works. Twitter users went after a guy reported to have hoarded 17,700 bottles of hand sanitizer in the hopes of turning a profit; he ended up donating all of it and is under investigation for price gouging. Who wouldnt pause before grabbing those last few rolls of TP when the mob is watching?

People will continue to hoard to the extent that they are worried. They will also continue to shame others who take more than what they consider a fair share. Both are normal and adaptive behaviors that evolved to balance one another out, in the long run.

But thats cold comfort for someone on the losing end of a temporary imbalance like a health care worker who did not have protective gear when they encountered a sick patient. The survival of the group hardly matters to the person who dies, or to their parent, child or friend.

One thing to remember is that the news selectively depicts stockpiling stories, presenting audiences with the most shocking cases. Most people are not charging $400 for a mask. Most are just trying to protect themselves and their families, the best way they know how, while also offering aid wherever they can. Thats how the human species evolved, to get through challenges like this together.

[Our newsletter explains whats going on with the coronavirus pandemic. Subscribe now.]

Stephanie Preston, Professor of Psychology, University of Michigan

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Image: Reuters.

View original post here:
Coronavirus Question: What's the Psychology Behind Our Tendency to Hoard? - The National Interest

Human Behavior

Human Behavior Quotes (143 quotes) – goodreads.com

It is often said that what sets Shakespeare apart is his ability to illuminate the workings of the soul and so on, and he does that superbly, goodness knows, but what really characterizes his work - every bit of it, in poems and plays and even dedications, throughout every portion of his career - is a positive and palpable appreciation of the transfixing power of language. A Midsummer Night's Dream remains an enchanting work after four hundred years, but few could argue that it cuts to the very heart of human behaviour. What it does is take, and give, a positive satisfaction in the joyous possibilities of verbal expression. Bill Bryson, Shakespeare: The World as Stage

See the original post here:
Human Behavior Quotes (143 quotes) - goodreads.com

Human Behavior

Coronavirus and the Enneagram – AL.com

All we can ask of others during this crisis is that people act in ways theyll be proud of when its all over.

But even thats challenging because well never entirely agree upon which actions are worth feeling proud about.

In the meantime, try not to begrudge that some of your friends are freaking out, others are eerily calm, some are partying like its 1999, and some are fighting mad. Instead, use this as an unprecedented opportunity to observe human behavior during what amounts to a worldwide social science experiment in which everyone is reacting to the same variable: a microscopic virus.

In my opinion, the best (albeit unscientific) model for understanding other peoples tendencies, reactions, innately-wired fears, motivations, desires, and communication styles is called the Enneagram.

And boy, are peoples Enneagram types showing up for COVID-19.

The Ennea-what?

The Enneagram is an ancient personality typing system with an uncanny accuracy in describing how human beings are wired, both positively and negatively, according to Ian Morgan Cron, author of the popular Enneagram book, The Road Back To You.

Plus, its just funny stuff, and maybe mingling humor with our pain and grief is what we need right now.

Heres my simplistic-on-purpose prediction of how each Enneagram type is reacting to the pandemic.

Type 1 The Perfectionists

Your friends trying to figure out the correct moral action and how to model behavior thats above reproach are likely Type 1s. They are also taking note of how their friends are acting. They may forgive but they probably wont forget.

Type 2 The Caregivers

We know what the Type 2s are doing during this crisis because its what they do every day. They help. Theyve probably given away all their toilet paper by now. This type is energized by serving, but serving without appreciation will eventually take its toll.

Type 3 The Performers

Come hell or high water, this type is determined to come out of this pandemic looking like a hero. Charismatic, competitive, image-conscious, and goal-driven, Type 3s are looking for ways to make this a personal success story or at least look that way on Instagram.

Type 4 The Creatives

Creatives are thinking about death even more than usual and are enjoying their melancholy daydreams about who will miss them when theyre gone. Highly individualistic and authentic, theyre journaling, painting, dying their hair, creating TikToks, or retreating into their own rich, internal, colorful worlds.

Type 5 The Thinkers

This type is currently on information overload. One question keeps running through their minds: Which sources can I trust for accurate information? They are driven to get to the bottom of complex problems and are secretly worried they wont have the right answers (or enough supplies) to share with others.

Type 6 The Loyalists

Your friend who already had a stockpile of emergency supplies and saw this coming two years ago is likely a Type 6. They are the Noahs making plans and building boats for floods unseen, knowing the waters will eventually rise and they (and their lucky families) will be well prepared.

Type 7 The Enthusiasts

When this type heard disaster was coming, they stuck their fingers in their ears and rushed to the beach, the bar, or went out and bought a boat. If Type 7s are forced to stay home, theyll host Zoom parties and may even sneak out to get together with friends.

Type 8 The Challengers

This type is mad. Theyre mad they cant protect or provide for everyone. Theyre mad that people they think are incompetent have the power to restrict their movements. Theyre certain if they were in charge they could do things better than everyone else. And theyre especially repelled by what they perceive as weakness in the people around them.

Type 9 The Peacemakers

Your friend who seems a little spaced out, numb, and unaffected is likely a Type 9. They get exhausted thinking about COVID-19 because they can understand and empathize with everyones perspectives and cant decide who, if anyone, is right. Theyre stuffing any negative feelings, which means a gasket might blow when you least expect it.

Which one are you? Find out more by listening to a Belle Curve podcast episode on the subject or by checking out the websites Crystal Knows and The Enneagram Institute.

This is an opportunity to recognize your strengths and weaknesses during crisis, and improve your ability to appreciate and understand everyone elses.

Dont miss it.

Rachel Blackmon Bryars is a Huntsville-based columnist for Al.com, co-host of Belle Curve Podcast and managing partner of Bryars Communications, LLC. Connect with her on her Facebook page.

See the original post here:
Coronavirus and the Enneagram - AL.com

Human Behavior

Why Being FIT is Essential to Thriving Through COVID19 – Thrive Global

At this time of ever-growing COVID19 anxiety, conditioning our mind for mental vigor and fitness may be more important than many other steps we are all taking during our heightened awareness of disease transmission. At the very least, it will lead to less hand wringing and could lead to more hand washing. Now before you think this column is about physical exercise and muscle growth, Im talking here about another type of being F.I.T., one that Ive been writing and speaking about for many years. This F.I.T. has to do with being a Fundamentally Independent Thinker. Oh, right, the link is what you think, remember? Lets delve into this a bit and see how being an independent thinker, not hooked into external events, can help you through the COVID19 upheaval.

Epictetus, the Greek Stoic philosopher, often credited with laying a foundation for what we call Rational Emotive Behavior or Cognitive Behavior coaching, observed, Men are disturbed NOT by (external) things, but by the principles and notions (the beliefs and thoughts), which they form concerning things. He also noted, Some things are in our control and others not. Things in our control are opinion, pursuit, desire, aversion, and, in a word, what are our own actions. Things not in our control are body, property, reputation, command and, in one word, whatever are not our own actions.

Indeed, RichardDavidsonin The Emotional Life of Your Brain, wroteI would go so far as to assert that of all the forms of human behavior and psychological states, the most powerful influence on our physical health is our emotional life.Thats the power of your mental fitness on your mind-body wellness.

And WilliamJames, one of the most noteworthy psychologists throughout the ages, wrote,The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives. Again, thats the power of your mental fitness on your overall wellbeing.

This awareness isnt new. Clearly, a stressed out, erratic, impulsive survival mindset can lead toan unhealthy, truly ill, body. So, to keep yourself fully healthy, its required you begin by being inside of your own mind.

Mental fitness, according to Dr. Davidson, consists of cultivating an upgraded emotional style, that is comprised of six dimensions:

A first step in upgrading these six areas is to become aFundamentally independent thinker (F.I.T.). A fundamentally independent thinker understands that nothing outside of an individualmakesa person upset, angry, or depressed; rather,what a personthinksabout things determines how they feel.As HenryFordonce said, If you think you can or you think you cant, youre right. There is no motivation without this important inner game. Rid yourself of thoughts of inadequacy, predictions of failure and assuming others are reacting negatively to you especially in the gym or while working out on your home Total Gym. Remember that MarcusAureliusin his Meditations noted,If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.

To boost your mental fitness and become F.I.T., delete these words from your vocabulary:

Nothing, nobody, outside of you makes you feel or do anything. Be FIT! When you catch, challenge and change those words and no longer say It makes me so angry, worried, sad you will be on the road to becoming a fundamentally independent thinker. A client told me, The size of that dumbbell scares the heck out of meI cant lift that! This is a form of makes me. How can a dumbbell climb into your noggin, sort through your brain chemistry, and result in an emotion? Its not possible. Delete makes me.

No, you dont get, an emotion, rather youcreateyour feelings. Emotions arent like a little bug that suddenly lands on you when you arent expecting it, takes a bite out of you and gets you upset or even happy.Emotions are entirely from insidefrom your own thoughts. You dont get angry, concerned, upset, but rather you are your own script-writer, producer and star in your own emotional show.

You didnt get anxious and you dont need to escape from it. You actuallydiscardan emotion you dont like because its within you to begin with, in your perception, vision, view, of something outside of you.Escapingis victim talk.Discardingis victor talk. MarcusAureliusonce again,Today I escaped anxiety. Or no, I discarded it, because it was within me, in my own perceptions not outside.

Delete these externalizing, dependent, blaming words and youll create an unconquerable mind, the F.I.T. mindset, and the victory you genuinely desire to grow healthily through COVID19. To do otherwise, to keep these words in your vocabulary, to continue to give your power away to the news, things, events, conditions, circumstances and outcomes, is to fill your thinking with victim thinking while hoping to be a victor. You wont become physically fit thinking like a victim.

The biggest obstacle we face at this time is deep within usour mental fitness, being F.I.T., is the answer.We limit ourselves in our everyday life, in our quarantine mindset, in our diets, in our accomplishments, and in our relationships.

Having difficulty growing mentally F.I.T.? Struggling through quarantine? Give these tools a try:

1. Stay in the present

2. Expand your unconditional self-acceptance and self-compassion

3. Serve others and ask for others to help you when necessary

4. Take a learners attitude towards every adversity that comes across your path, What can I learn from this?

5. Stay in a positive mindset your mental fitness requires it and your physical wellbeing depends on it. Being quarantined leads you to feel rejected by the world? No, you havent been rejected, but rather redirected. Instead of complaining, try exclaiming the positive in these seemingly negative circumstances. Can you be happy even though this unhappy event took place? Sure, you arent happy about the negative event, but you can remain positive about life regardless, right? Thats the kind of mental fitness that leads to healthy physical wellbeing.

6. Finally, follow the DALPO recipe for mental and physical wellbeing:

D. Avoid demanding that anything in your life be different than it is. Prefer it to be, desire it to be, but stay away from shouldhood.

A. Avoid thinking that occurrences are awful when theyre just unfortunate or too bad. They may be hard, but not too hard.

L. Avoid low frustration tolerance, believing that you cant bear or tolerate an adversity in your life.

P. Avoid personalizing events and labeling yourself negatively. Cultivating habits of positive thinking with mindfulness will help you develop a more compassionate and resilient approach to life.

O. Avoid overgeneralizing, thinking erroneously that negative things always happen to you and good things never happen to you. This will help youto more fully enjoy your journey through life, regardless of outcomes or destinations, consequences or costs.

Follow this link:
Why Being FIT is Essential to Thriving Through COVID19 - Thrive Global

Human Behavior

Coronavirus response must involve reevaluating our exploitation of animals – The Messenger

Over the last few weeks life in America as well as around the world has drastically changed. We are physically distanced from our favorite people, places and activities.

To make matters worse many have lost their jobs and are having financial difficulties. And from the looks of things it isnt going to get better any time soon. We know that our response to this pandemic will save lives in the future and will indeed determine the outcome.

Although the numbers vary, experts in infectious diseases tell us that aggressive social distancing along with wide spread testing for Covid-19, may reduce its spread from around nine million people to just over 500,000. It can also reduce deaths from almost a million to just around 50,000.

Despite what Donald Trump says, closing schools and restaurants for a couple of weeks and the problem will be solved and we can go back to our normal lifestyle is not going to happen. Many still dont realize just how long we are in this for. This virus is going to be circulating perhaps for a year or two until a vaccine is developed or we develop a collective immunity. But for now we are in it for a long haul. So our response to this crisis is whats going to determine the outcome.

Biologists and zoologists have been warning us that changes in human behavior must take place. The destruction of natural habitat, along with the large number of people on Earth, has enabled diseases to cross from animals into the human population and spread rapidly. Many viruses that have been seen in animals have crossed into humans suggesting that we need to completely rethink how we treat our planet.

Bats harbor many pathogens. They are the only mammals that can fly, but it requires a tremendous amount of energy which has caused them to evolve and develop a high body temperature. In response, this virus has evolved to withstand the higher temperature. This is a problem for humans because fever is our bodys defense against viruses and other disease causing bacteria.

Historically diseases have spread from animals to humans But until recently that person would have recovered or died before they had contact with other humans. Now, because of air travel you can be in a remote part of the world one day, and then be in a city like New York the next day.

Because of HIV, SARS, MERS, Avian Flu, Mad Cow Disease and other recent diseases which are believed to have been transferred from animals to humans, we have had enough warning to understand that we need to change our behavior toward other species that share our planet.

But perhaps the pandemic caused by Covid 19 is our first indisputable sign that the exploitation of animals can create an environment where diseases are passed from animals to humans.

Ultimately, although many lives will be lost, we will overcome this virus. So that this doesnt happen again, we must learn the lesson thats being taught. We cant do without this planet.

But this planet can do without us. The way that we interact with the Earth and other species that share it with us has permanent and serious repercussions to the human population.

Maya El is the Author of The Book of Angels: Twin Flames Rising available on Amazon.com and at Barnes and Noble. She can be reached for comment at Mayael.info@gmail.com.

Read the rest here:
Coronavirus response must involve reevaluating our exploitation of animals - The Messenger

Human Behavior

Voice of the People, March 29, 2020 | Letters – Press of Atlantic City

A.C. problems need honest, caring leaders

I am not a resident of Atlantic City, but my family spent months vacationing there starting when I was 10. I am now 62. I saw the transformation from vacationland to casinos (we do not gamble).

I am retired from the hospitality industry after 35 years, most in Miami. I was involved in the transformation from Miami Beach to what is now South Beach. We had the same problem drug dealing, prostitution, panhandlers. When the developers came in to redo the island, they were booted out.

What I am getting at is Atlantic City is smaller than Miami Beach. What is the problem. Iraq has more street lights on during a night time air raid than Atlantic City does on a normal night.

From what I understand the state or city gives a certain amount of money to the homeless and also food stamps each month. To me this is drug money and the problem will never leave. The sober houses that are in the city create a comfortable living for the newly released criminal.

After I retired from the hospitality business, I went back to school and graduated from Villanova University with a BS in human behavior/addiction. You have a major problem in Atlantic City and with the sober houses it makes it worse (just look what it did to Wilkes-Barre, Pa.).

My girlfriend and I were leaving Atlantic City at 9 a.m. and on Pacific Avenue we witnessed a lady urinating on the sidewalk awesome! I have read where the casino CEOs are a bit upset with what is going on with the city.

Start electing people who are not taking from the city. You need honest, caring people with passion. Destroy the vacant houses, make them into a green space for now. My gosh, get Miss America back.

I will keep coming back to Atlantic City because I know you can make it very cool. And by the way I live in Harrisburg, Pa., and we brought our city back.

Blame taxpayers, voters for New Jerseys debt

Regarding the recent letter, Dems spent NJ into debt:

People are uninformed about the debt in New Jersey. The writer, as is common, blames public employees. I think the only reason the pension fund is in debt is because past administrations did not contribute the money to the pension fund they were supposed to. Many contributed no money at all. Christine Whitman redirected a lot of money out of the pension.

These politicians did this to limit tax increases. So for years the taxpayers of New Jersey benefited from lower taxes. Now the bill is due, and everyone is irate.

The problem is the taxpayers and voters. They voted for these politicians based on a political platform of not raising taxes or at least trying to keep tax increases to a minimum. How did they think the pension fund was going to fare? Do they know how the pensions work?

As a public employee for over 25 years, my pension contribution increased with each new contract. The promised, contractual obligation by the state was not met. As a retired employee, I now get 45 percent of my salary.

Dont kid yourself, we pay for everyones retirement when we buy goods and services from a wide range of industries. The CEOs and board members of companies certainly dont. They pass the cost on to the customers. Thats figured in to everything consumers buy.

Read more here:
Voice of the People, March 29, 2020 | Letters - Press of Atlantic City

Human Behavior

March Madness and the hunt for Double Q Salmon – The Citizen.com

The coronavirus outbreak still has my head spinning. As health officials keenly followed COVID-19, March began with news of the first U.S. death, a man in Washington state. Also, the CDC reported the first possible outbreak at a long-term care facility in Washington.

After a rough February closing, March 1 news reported a stock market surge of 5.1%. The rebound didnt last as economic distress surged as well.

Adjusting to the time change as we began the week of March 9, we wondered what a week with a full moon and a Friday the 13th would bring. We soon saw the coronavirus apprehension snowball.

The sports world turned upside down as various leagues cancelled, postponed or rescheduled their seasons. School systems shut down. Even some May graduations are already cancelled.

As new developments unfolded daily, observing peoples reactions became a study in human behavior. First came denial and disbelief. We lived our lives as if we werent affected, thinking China is a long way from America. Then COVID-19 hit Washington state and steadily spread.

Denial turned to skepticism: The news media is creating hysteria and people are overreacting, or This is a conspiracy with a political agenda, or This whole virus-thing is overblown.

Then skepticism turned to fear as people bombarded stores. Toilet paper turned to gold. Hand-wipes disappeared. As my March 15 birthday approached, I requested fried salmon patties for my special meal. Suddenly, I couldnt find Double Q Pink Salmon as I daily visited several groceries and discovered the canned meat aisles cleared. I struck out.

Fear turned to hysteria as shoppers acted like a blizzard was coming, packing parking lots, standing in lines waiting for stores to open, clearing out key items. It was each man for himself until stores set limits. One customer asked, Did I miss the memo that the world was going to end?

Now folks seem to be coping with this disruption, hoping for this crisis to pass soon and for life to return to normal.

This craziness gives new meaning to March madness and reminds us how uncertain life is. Fear, scarcity and an unknown future trigger a reaction like stockpiling.

Stockpiling is a means of exerting control in a situation that is out of control, said Jon Mueller, professor of psychology at North Central College in Napierville, Illinois. We want to do things to gain control, he said, and hoarding supplies offsets our sense of helplessness.

Chris Elkins, chief of staff at Denison Forum, shared hes having a hard time.

Theres no certainty about how this virus will spread or whom it will impact I have zero control of the stock market, the hoarding or peoples compliance to guidelines. I find this troubling and deeply disturbing.

Nothing in this world is certain, no matter the balance in my checking account or the investments in my retirement plan. Control is an illusion (https://www.denisonforum.org/columns/daily-article/healthcare-providers-are-experiencing-pre-traumatic-stress-disorder-fear-not-for-i-am-with-you/).

The reality is, under normal circumstances, we are NOT in control, even though we want to be. The sooner we accept that reality, the sooner we can lessen our anxiety. How can we live confidently in a world thats going nuts?

First, replace fear with faith. Faith and fear cannot coexist. Either were fearing or were demonstrating faith. Satan uses fear to erode our faith.

In times like these, where do you turn? Asaph found himself in a crisis and wrote, I cried out to God with my voice and He gave me ear. In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord (Psalm 77:1, 2a). Look first to God.

Second, remember Gods presence. Deuteronomy 31:8 reads, And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed. God is with us in this crisis.

Third, look out for others. Were in this together. Dont fight over toilet paper. Share the wealth. Check on your neighbors, especially the elderly. Remember its not just about you.

Fourth, shine brightly. Believers must let the world see us living unafraid, using good sense, exercising wisdom, but living as people of faith who trust in a God who is bigger than coronavirus.

I finally found my favorite brand, Double Q Salmon, by the way, and got to enjoy my belated birthday treat. And it was delicious!

[David L. Chancey is pastor, Fayettevilles McDonough Road Baptist Church. Currently, the church family is meeting online. Join them on their Facebook page at McDonough Road Baptist Church/MRBC for Bible study at 9:45 Sundays and worship on Facebook Live at 10:55 a.m. Visit them at http://www.mcdonoughroad.org or call 770-460-5423 for more information.]

See the original post here:
March Madness and the hunt for Double Q Salmon - The Citizen.com

Human Behavior

My Turn: We need clarity and honesty about what’s ahead – Concord Monitor

Published: 3/28/2020 7:00:36 AM

This coronavirus crisis is hard. And its going to get a lot harder. President Donald Trump is no doubt right when he says, Our country wasnt built to be shut down. Americans are can-do people. We dont take well to cant do.

But the hard truth is that unprecedented restrictions on our freedoms are necessary because theyre the only weapon we currently have against the dangerous, insidious coronavirus. We might even consider changing the slogan on our New Hampshire license plates to Live Free and Die.

Humans everywhere have a hard time with uncertainty. But thats the state were all living in right now. And wed better get used to it, because it will take some time for the fog of this antiviral war to clear. Its very likely that different parts of the country including ours will become coronavirus hot spots at different times. And even if the danger abates in the upcoming warmer months, experts currently expect this vigorous new microbe to come roaring back next November.

Thats why I cringed on March 16 when the president and his chief coronavirus advisers stood in front of posters proclaiming 15 Days to Slow the Spread.

Call it Fake Expectations. There was no way we could have turned this around in 15 days. We wont even know by that March 30 deadline if weve slowed the spread, since were so far behind in testing people for infection. After all, the infections emerging on that date will reflect people who got infected back when the White House put out that wishful 15-day promise. Coronavirus deaths, still increasing every day, are an even more lagging indicator.

And then theres the new notion, repeatedly and forcefully asserted by the president, that we should drop all precautions and get the economy back to normal by Easter. The presidents chief coronavirus adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci, an honest man who understands the danger of new diseases better than anyone on the planet, is trying (once again) to walk back that dangerous notion.

He put that out because he wanted to give some hope to people, Fauci told NPRs Noel King on Thursday. Ive spoken to him about itand he keeps saying that although he would like that to be the date, hes open-minded and flexible to make sure that the facts and the pattern of the virus is going to determine what were going to do.

That would be reassuring if we could be sure that the president wont be swayed by the enormous pressure to get the country back to business-as-usual and the threat that drastic public health measures pose to his reelection. He put it plainly during the daily White House briefing on Wednesday evening: I think there are certain people that would like [the economy] to do financially poorly, because they think that would be very good as far as defeating me at the polls.

At the same time, the president appeared to walk back his back-to-work-by-Easter proclamation. I would say by Easter well have a recommendation, the president said.

This kind of wildly mixed messaging is exactly the wrong approach to the scariest public health threat in a century. Until scientists come up with a vaccine of proven efficacy (free of surprise side effects like the Guillain-Barre paralysis caused by a swine flu vaccine back in 1976), the only weapon we have against this new coronavirus is radical, universal, sustained change in human behavior.

And that, as any public health expert will tell you, demands clear, consistent and credible explanations of whats required of us in the coming months and why.

Richard Knox is a veteran journalist who specializes in medicine and public health. He lives in Sandwich.

See the article here:
My Turn: We need clarity and honesty about what's ahead - Concord Monitor