Christmas can be a nightmare for people with bipolar disorder. As the philosopher Posidonius observed in the fourth century, ‘Melancholy occurs in autumn whereas mania in summer.’ Here downunder in Australia, Christmas is summer time, party time, spending time, hurry time, family time. This is a potent mix of triggers and seasonal vulnerability and many of us do fall over with mania. Friends and family don’t always recognise Christmas mania, because symptoms such as excessive drinking, lavish spending, staying up late at functions, and being in a hurry are features of the season. The stress involved with ‘having’ to buy Christmas presents and ‘having’ to get together with family, along with summer-time vulnerability make Christmas a bipolar nightmare in the southern hemisphere.

It’s not much better up north. Since the fourth century we haven’t come much further than Posidonius except to declare there is such a thing as Seasonal Affective Disorder. It seems the number of hours of daylight you experience is related to your likelihood of getting depressed in winter. The closer you are to the poles, the better your chances.

Then there are seasonal triggers, such as figuring out how to buy presents on a tight budget. If you’re depressed, the ubiquitous expectation to be happy (just because it’s Christmas) only makes things worse.

Short of walking around with a sunlight-emitting lamp strapped to your forehead, or cutting up your credit card, what can you do about seasonal episodes of bipolar? Here are some quick tips to rescue Christmas.

1. Maintain your daily sleep/wake routine. Use medicine if you have to;

2. Keep in control of drinking. If you suddenly start a binge, it could be a major alert of an episode;

3. Make a Christmas shopping list and don’t buy anything not on the list!

4. Ask your partner or friend to help you stick to a budget;

5. Keep up medication;

6. Check in with your doctor or mental health worker as soon as you or someone close notices symptoms;

7. Keep away from any ‘toxic’ family members (you know who they are).

No plan is failsafe, but then again, having no plan is like going out without an umbrella on a stormy day. You can live well with bipolar, and Christmas doesn’t have to be a nightmare. Plan ahead and have a healthy, happy Christmas.

Madeleine Kelly is the author of the prizewinning book Bipolar and the Art of Roller-coaster Riding (Two Trees Media ISBN 0-646-44939-7). More information about managing bipolar disorder can be found at beatbipolar.com

This is why now you need to check into and interpret if you can have a bank loan at a respectable percent rate of interest.

Translated it says: Woon je in Haaren of Heusden en hebt u BKR registratie. Lenen met BKR is nog nooit zo eenvoudig geweest. Koop een nieuwe auto met geld lenen met bkr registratie, 188226 euro is geen enkel probleem om te lenen. Van Noordwijkerhout tot Littenseradiel, financieren met BKR gaat hier altijd.

13.4 percent rate may come out so bonny but will it stay perpetual after you have to pay for your money loan. Many of the banks wil show you a loan rate that is looking beneficial but feels severely or so after some time. You should be impertinent today to check up if you have a great offer or if you don’t with the moneylender that offers you a money loan. A bank in North Richland Hills Texas or so can have a total totally different actual interest rate for a 20000 dollar loan then a merchant bank in Moreno Valley California and that makes a clear difference in your yearly pay backs. Inspect to see if the merchant bank who wants to give you a credit loan is just. Nowadays you can inquire rates of interest quickly on the internet and foresee if there are other possible traps you should be aware of. It doesn’t matter if you live in Park Ridge Illinois or in Fall River Massachusetts a safe online check up will preserve you often lots of discommode.

Does life often frustrate you; do you feel challenged by the events of daily life? The traffic, the stress and all the sound and fury that will not give you a rest; does this frustrate you. Why do you let the world bother you in this way? Why do you let it affect your internal feelings? Why do you worry about such trivial things? Why do you allow the unimportant events of the external to affect your energy in such a negative way?

If you cannot control your own emotions then you are merely reacting to stimuli. May I ask you what this says to your free will? Are you being controlled or are you controlling your own life? If you have surrendered yourself to outside stimulus then you have effectively unconsciously given away your mind and your destiny to something other than you.

If you choose to continue on this path and it is a choice in your life that is okay too, but you should be keenly aware of what you are doing as you give your life away to the sound and fury of the human endeavor and mass media hysteria. By the way have you decided yet why you do this? Why are you allowing yourself to be manipulated, controlled and motivated like a puppet on strings? Is there a purpose to your motions; is it a planned means to an end or are you stuck in the sand where your wheels do spin. Think on this.

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

It was a moment I will never forget.

On February 22, 2003, I was visiting with my son Brian Michael (http://www.BrianMichaelGuthrie.com) at his home in North Carolina, where I had been since Christmas. Brian had had an accident at work a few days earlier and hurt his back, so I was keeping an eye on him.

At 7:00 am on that Saturday morning, I went into Brian’s room just to check on him - you know the way mothers check just to see if their children are breathing when they’re sleeping - even if he was 26 years old. I couldn’t see his chest moving, so I touched his arm. He felt cold, but I thought sometimes our skin feels cold when we are outside of the covers.

Then I felt his face and it was cool too. I shook his shoulder just a little, afraid to shake harder for fear of disturbing him because he had been in so much pain with his back. I thought maybe he would wiggle just a little and I would know he was okay. He didn’t.

I walked calmly into the bedroom where my husband, Dennis, was sleeping. I told Dennis I couldn’t wake up Brian and asked if he would come and see if he could wake him. Dennis came and tried. He couldn’t wake him.

I dialed 911 and told them I could not wake my son. They asked about my name, address, etc. and I asked them to please send an ambulance right now. They said it was on the way. The operator asked if I wanted to try CPR and I said my husband would try. He pushed on Brian’s chest, but it didn’t move. He tried to open his mouth and he couldn’t. Dennis looked at me and sadly said “I’m sorry.”

It was a moment I will never forget.

All the moments that followed are a blur. I remember several policemen in the house and they were asking questions. I felt like I was in a dream. My sister came before they took Brian away, and she and I had to argue with the police offers to get back into Brian’s room to say goodbye before they took him away.

I remember that I leaned across the bed and hugged Brian’s chest and I said, “I love you and I FORGIVE you.”

I’ve always wondered why I told him I forgave him. I even felt guilty for having said it.

A year and a half later I was introduced to a story, Jill’s Story, an excerpt from a book, Radical Forgiveness by Colin Tipping, and my perspective began to change. I began to understand. I realized that as I was saying goodbye to Brian I was “radically forgiving” him, acknowledging that my spiritual self knew that it was time for him to go and that his life had served a great purpose in my life.

Of course, I didn’t realize any of that when I said those words to Brian.

There’s more…

On that Saturday morning, after my Brian’s body had been taken away, my husband, my sister and I went over to Brian’s grandparents to tell them about Brian. I hardly remember exactly how we told them, but I remember my mother screamed “Oh, God NO!”

There was a mandatory autopsy which took more than five months to be finalized and the results are still not clear. The autopsy indicates that the pain medication prescribed for Brian’s back injury interacted with another prescription he was taking for a bi-polar disorder and caused a toxic level in his blood.

However, his grandparents and his friends were not able to see his face and say goodbye.

We made funeral arrangements the next day and I took Brian’s favorite clothes and shoes to the funeral home, along with his favorite gel for his hair and a photograph of how he liked his hair styled.

The next day we were scheduled to go to the Funeral Home for a private viewing before the public visitation in the evening. The funeral director called to ask if we wanted Brian’s mustache shaved. Brian had no mustache, but we thought he must have been talking about growth since Brian had been in bed for 3 days, so we said yes, clean shaven.

Later I learned that my sister was also called and told that Brian’s hair seemed too long for the hair gel and the style of the picture we provided. The funeral director also described a tattoo… and it was not Brian’s. My sister went to the funeral home and found that the funeral home had the wrong body. It was not Brian.

We learned that the bodies of two young men, both autopsied at the same hospital, had been transported to the wrong funeral homes. The family of the other young man had requested immediate cremation - so my Brian’s body had already been cremated.

At that point, the funeral director came to our house and through tears told us that the bodies had been mixed up and that Brian had been cremated. He asked how we would like to proceed. I told him I didn’t want to change anything. I wanted the ashes to be buried in the casket as planned. Brian’s grandfather had made special arrangements for a burial plot for Brian next to where he and Brian’s grandmother will one day be buried, and that is where we all wanted him buried.

We went to the visitation scheduled that evening and of course had to explain to everyone why Brian’s body was not there. We put pictures and letters and poems in the casket. I put Brian’s new glasses that he loved so much and his favorite book (Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg), that a woman had given to him in the airport the year before while he was waiting in the airport to fly home from spending a week with us in Michigan for Thanksgiving. He felt he had experienced a miracle in meeting the woman who gave him the book. Brian was a writer and he wanted so much to write a book, so this little book was very special to him.

There were many people involved in the events that occurred in conjunction with Brian’s passing and the subsequent accidental cremation. It all seemed just too incredible to be true. How could this possibly happen to Brian and to me and my family?

I may never completely understand the purpose of these events, but as I continue to embrace the principles of Radical Forgiveness, it is becoming clearer and clearer to me that everything that happens is in divine order. There is no one to forgive.

I believe it is Brian’s gift to me of helping me to know that part of my life’s work is to share the concepts of Radical Forgiveness. Since I read Jill’s Story and Radical Forgiveness I have felt powerfully driven and compelled to learn and share these concepts, which mean much more than what we know as traditional “forgiveness.”

You are invited to read “Jill’s Story,” the first chapter of from Radical Forgiveness by Colin Tipping at http://www.ArtOfRadicalForgiveness.com

May the concepts and principles of Radical Forgiveness make a difference in your life too.

Copyright 2005 Linda Miller is a Spiritual Entrepreneur
whose quest is to empower others to deliberately create
true abundance and prosperity while contributing to
increasing the consciousness of the world. This article
may be distributed freely, provided that this resource
box is included in its entirety.

http://www.SpiritualEntrepreneurToday.com
http://www.MyDivineDirection.com

This article may be shared in print or electronically,
provided the resource box at the end is included. A
courtesy copy of your publication will be appreciated.

There are three basic ways to treat depression: psychotherapy, self-help, and medication. Many people respond best to a combination of two or more methods.

Psychotherapy: Exploring one’s beliefs and ways of thinking, and learning new ways of thinking and behaving, with the guidance of a professional.
Self-help: Exploring one’s beliefs and ways of thinking on one’s own.
Medication: Altering one’s brain chemistry by taking antidepressant medication.

A physician may recommend medication when four conditions exist:

The patient’s depression is severe.

The patient has suffered at least two previous depressive episodes.

There is a family history of depression.

The patient asks for medication only and refuses psychotherapy.

There are four types of antidepressant medication available today:

• Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs)

• Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs)

• Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)

• Structurally unrelated compounds

The TCAs and MAOIs have been used for decades. The SSRIs (such as Prozac) and structurally unrelated compounds are newer and are being prescribed more and more frequently. They have fewer and less pronounced side effects than the TCAs and MAOIs.

Treatment without Medicine

One of the leading methods for treating depression is cognitive therapy. Cognitive therapists help depressed clients feel better by identifying how faulty ways of thinking are making him or her feel bad. The client analyzes his or her thoughts and beliefs, and learns to substitute more healthy ways of thinking and believing.

Many mental health professionals believe that the ideal treatment of clinical depression is medication in conjunction with psychotherapy.

Prevention of Depression

Depression can often be prevented. It is especially important to take preventive action if you are aware that you have predisposing factors such as those mentioned in the last newsletter.

Identify your risk factors and be aware of where you are vulnerable. Each of us has unique risk factors, such as things we were taught in our families of origin, values we have learned, and the presence or absence of a family history of depression. Anything that has been learned can be unlearned and replaced with something healthier.

Learn to manage stress. You can learn proven techniques for calming and relaxing yourself. Consider taking a stress management class or buying a set of relaxation tapes.

Learn problem-solving skills. Many people who develop depression never learned problem-solving skills. They need to develop the ability to see problems from many viewpoints and to look for a variety of solutions.
Build your life around things you can control. Learn to recognize what you can control and what you can’t. Avoid spending much effort on situations that won’t pay off for you.

Learn self-acceptance. Instead of rejecting the parts of yourself you don’t like, learn to manage them more productively.

Become aware of selective perception. Observe how you generate ideas and opinions about people and events. Remember that these are just your views, not necessarily objective facts.

Focus on the future, not the past. Depressed people tend to be focused on the past. People who set goals and focus on the future tend to be more positive about life.

Develop a sense of purpose. Many depressed people lack a sense of purpose or meaning. This means they have no goals and nothing in the future drawing them forward. To prevent depression, develop your sense of purpose and meaning.

Strengthen your emotional boundaries and set limits. Boundaries define your role in a social situation. They determine how you will or won’t behave in a given situation. Having clear, strong boundaries is empowering, while boundary violations make you feel victimized and helpless. Setting limits means having and enforcing rules for the behaviors you expect in a relationship.

Build positive and healthy relationships. Think about what you need from others in relationships. Learn to read people and trust your instincts about which people are good for you.

Avoid isolation. Talk to others about what’s going on with you. If you keep your thoughts to yourself, you may be unaware that your thoughts are distorted. If you share them with another person, you can become more objective.

Signs That Professional Therapy Is Needed

Thinking about death or suicide. This is always dangerous and you should see a professional therapist immediately.

When symptoms of depression continue for a long time, you may need professional help. Acute responses to events are normal, but they should not last beyond a reasonable time.

Your ability to function is impaired by your depression. Seek help before your life situation deteriorates to a serious level.

You have become so isolated that you have no one with whom to test reality. Seek someone out to share your thoughts and feelings with.

Depressive symptoms have become severe.

Garrett Coan is a professional therapist,coach and psychotherapist. His two Northern New Jersey office locations are accessible to individuals who reside in Bergen County, Essex County, Passaic County, Rockland County, and Manhattan. Garrett also offers online and telephone counseling services for those who live at a distance. He can be accessed through http://www.creativecounselors.com or at 201-303-4303.

Landlords and rehabbers take notice - you may soon be focused on the new concepts of “Virtual Real Estate Investing“. There are many variations on what this term means, encompassing everything from using the internet to aid in real estate investing efforts to participating in online games such as SecondLife.

In order to figure out the truth of the matter, I sought out Bryan Ellis, whose experience in the fledgling industry is truly impressive.

“I began using the term ‘virtual real estate investing’ in the late 1990’s when I realized the clear similiarities in profit strategies, regardless of whether the “real estate” is “virtual” or “physical” said Ellis.

One example of the parallels between virtual and physical real estate Bryan Ellis cites is the similarity between the monetization of domain names versus physical property. “These types of assets - websites and physical real estate - can be monetized in very similar ways like buy lo/sell high, leasing/rental and advertising opportunities” he says.

I must admit: Its easy to see the parallels. After all, if you own a valuable piece of real estate, it’s “valuable” because other people are interested in that specific piece of property. Similarly, ownership of a desirable domain name is valuable for the same reasons. In either case, you could sell or lease the asset and turn it into cash.

In our next installment of this series on virtual real estate investing, Bryan Ellis will share the internet analogies to the physical concept of real estate development.

In some people depression may be caused by omega-3 deficiency which results from not eating enough nuts, seeds, whole grains, beans or deep-water fish.

Many psychiatrists treat depression with drugs that raise brain levels of serotonin. Now we learn that a diet deficient in omega-3 fatty acids may lower brain levels of serotonin and can cause depression. Studies show that depression is associated with low levels of red blood cell membrane and low intake of omega-3 fatty acids, that increased ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids is associated with increased severity of depression. Depression is 60 times more common in New Zealand (6 percent) than in Japan (.12 percent); the difference may be explained by the high intake of omega-3-rich fish by the Japanese.

Post-partum depression is common in women after they give birth. Pregnancy uses up huge amounts of omega-3 fatty acids. Women with the lowest blood levels of omega-3s are the ones most likely to suffer post-partum depression.

Depression increases a person’s chances of getting a heart attack. Depressed people often have low blood levels of omega-3s, and so do people who are likely to suffer heart attacks. So the association of depression with heart attacks may be explained by both being caused by low omega-3 fatty acid levels. If these studies can be supported by further studies, some cases of depression may be prevented and treated by eating plenty of deep-water fish, nuts, seeds, beans and whole grains.

For journal references on the studies mentioned in this article see http://www.drmirkin.com/nutrition/N228.html

Dr. Gabe Mirkin has been a radio talk show host for 25 years and practicing physician for more than 40 years; he is board certified in four specialties, including sports medicine. Read or listen to hundreds of his fitness and health reports at http://www.DrMirkin.com

Free weekly newsletter on fitness, health and nutrition

When you are just starting out playing cricket it is not always straightforward to decide what you should get. If you go into a sports equipment shop & ask them what you need, you will finish up coming out with a substantial amount of gear. Hence, it is better to work out what you want ahead of you going shopping. That way you are a great deal more likely to acquire what you require, rather than what the shop manager suggests you require. Buy cricket equipment online today from Sportswear-Equipment.com.

Below, is more or less a comprehensive cricket equipment inventory, you don’t need all the items on this list, as a substantial number of organisations will loan you equipment particularly at junior level:

Cricket whites, cricket bats, balls, helmets, gloves, batting (wicket keeping) inner gloves, wicket keeping gloves, batting pads, wicket keeping pads, box, chest pad, arm guard, inner thigh pad, cricket boots (bowling boots; batting boots), box (groin guard), stumps and bails.

For most of the games you partake in you will need to have your very own set of whites. Cricket whites contain white cricket trousers and a cricket shirt. It is very important to check that you purchase a high-quality pair of cricket trousers and also a good white cricket shirt & jumper as it can get cold if you are standing out on the field for a large amount of time in particular if plan to play in England (the start and end of the season are the coldest).

If you can not rent gear from your club the other most crucial items of equipment are a cricket bat & box. A good cricket bat is critical if you want to score heaps of runs and is a very individual piece of cricket equipment, so spend several hours choosing your bat, if at all possible you would be advised to go to a store and try one out before you buy in order for you to know how it feels to hit with. When you know what you want you can often purchase bats online much cheaper). You need a good box to protect your groin from the ball, as getting hit down below’ is tremendously painful, so investing in a good box before you start is a defiant must - you can not bat without one.

Secured loans can be described as the loan that is offered against a security or collateral. Collateral could be in the form of real estate, a home, an automobile or bank deposit etc. Such collaterals remain under lender repossession until the loan is repaid. The collateral covers the risk of loan amount.

With the secured loans you can expect relatively low rate of interest and you can draw a large amount loan depending on the value of your collateral. You will have the advantage of paying your loan back from 5-25 years. Considering its popularity, lenders have designed different types of secured loans.

Secured debt consolidation loans: Those borrowers, who are suffering from various debts, can consolidate all their debts in one single and manageable monthly installment that is more convenient to pay back. New interest rates are relatively lower and borrower can enjoy the freedom of dealing with single creditor.

Secured business loans: Such loans are given for business purposes. It could be useful for business expansion, setting up new businesses, for buying materials or machines, for enhancing cash management system etc.

Secured holiday loans: Holiday loans are offered for excursion purposes. Holiday loans are spent on ticketing, food, accommodation and for other miscellaneous expenses.

Secured car loans: How many of us can afford to buy car of our choice outright? Thus secured car loans are designed sensibly to cater the need of mediocre populace. Home or car is secured against the loan which ensures low rate of interest.

Bad credit secured loans: Bad credit is an obstacle in getting a loan of your choice. Mostly, sub prime lenders have designed a loan which improves your credit score and helps you to get rid of your bad credit.

Apart from these very popular secured loans, there are other kinds of secured loans such as secured home improvement loans, secured unemployed loans etc. So apparently, for every need of yours you will have a customised loan at comparatively low rate of interest, provided you have collaterals to offer against them.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could predict which chord would probably come next in a song?

I’ve got some good news for you.

It is possible. Not 100%, but somewhere on the order of 75% to 85% accurate.

That’s because music has FORM — like the skeleton that holds your flesh, muscles, and skin up. If you had no bones — no skeleton — your flesh and all the other parts of you would fall in a heap on the floor. Not a pretty picture. But because you DO have a skeleton, you are able to walk around and pretty accurately predict which way your next step will take you.
It’s the same in music. Music has FORM — a skeleton to hold it up, hold it together. And that skeleton is made out of chords — harmony — the tonal center of the song or piece.

In any given key you can play in, there are PRIMARY CHORDS — chords that occur way more than other chords. They are like family members of that particular key.

At your house, let’s say you have 3 people in your family — your spouse, your child, and you. On the same block, but down the street a few houses, lives your cousin and her family.
At any given moment, who are the most likely people to be in your house?

Steve Martin? John McCain? Barry Bonds?

I don’t think so.

It’s possible, of course, but not too likely. If I had to guess, I would say it would be either you, your spouse, or your child. It might be your cousin down the street — there’s a much better chance of that than, say, Mel Gibson — but my best odds would be to guess that the family members would be there.

It’s the same way with chords. In any given key, there are 3 “family members” that are residents of that key — the I chord, the IV chord, and the V chord. They are far and away the most likely chords to occur in any given key.

For example, if I am playing in the Key of C, and the first chord is the C chord and I have to guess what the next chord is, I would guess that it would be either the F chord or the G chord. Why? Because those are the other “family members”. So we have narrowed the odds a great deal just by knowing who the members of the family are.

So how could I tell whether it should be F or G?

If the melody is a “B”, then the chord is probably a G chord. Why? Because “B” is in the G chord, but is not in the F chord.
If the melody is a “A”, than I would guess that the chord is F. Why? Because “A” is in the F chord, but is not in the G chord.
Does that mean that there are always just 3 chords in a song?

No, but there are literally hundreds of songs that are made of just 3 chords.

What if there are more than 3 chords in a song? What then?

We’ll take that up in part 2 of this series of articles.

Duane Shinn is the author of over 500 music books and music educational materials such as DVD’s, CD’s, musical games for kids, chord charts, musical software, and piano lesson instructional courses for adults. His book-CD-DVD course titled “How To Play Chord Piano In Ten Days!” has sold over 100,000 copies around the world. He holds advanced degrees from Southern Oregon University and was the founder of Piano University in Southern Oregon. He is the author of the popular free 101-week online e-mail newsletter titled “Amazing Secrets Of Exciting Piano Chords & Sizzling Chord Progressions” with over 70,000 current subscribers.