"i've just gotta say it!" 

May 2008

kathleen howe

Okay!!! Welcome the Spring!!!! it's May!!!! Good-bye Brooke White on American Idol, I'm very sad to see you go, but I did download your songs off of i tunes. You'll do fine in your own career now... they'll be ringing your phone off the hook!

Jason Castro is still there though... ooohhh... if I were only 35 years younger! Ha! I still know how to swoon!

I've got some important thoughts to share with you all. I've been studying about the numbers of troops coming back from war in Iraq and Afghanistan with post traumatic stress disorder and depression and other mental illnesses. There are a huge amount of soldiers coming back with severe injuries - missing limbs - brain injuries and we an American public that has come together so many times - remember 9/11?

A flag in every yard, window and on every door in America? Neighbors here in Dayton painted an entire house red, white and blue like the flag. Banners everywhere - sheets painted with "we'll never forget!" Quit griping America about whatever it is you're griping about and get with the program and do something for these people! I'm so full of hope that you will all go to the Internet, your community center, anywhere that you can think of and find a way to help the military coming back! Today from Kettering, Ohio another troop was deployed... they're going so someone will come back and they will need every heart, every hand.... so will their families because the father, the husband, the son, the daughter, the wife, the mother that left here isn't the same person coming home.

Hey, get educated about post traumatic stress disorder because there's a very good chance that you'll be dealing with someone who has it more often than not. Most of the troops returning will have mental injuries as well as physical injuries. It's time we embrace these people and be true Americans. Everyone is complaining - that's easy to do, but when people need help that's when it's time to give of yourself and giving might take some time and effort. Believe me, you will gain more personally from helping someone else than you will ever gain from complaining. Nothing happens when you complain - it's negative energy. Pass out some positive powerful energy - love someone that served for this country! Send positive loving energy out into the world and you'll see good things happen.

Check out the "keeping in touch" page this month as I add ways that you can help the military personnel - our fellow Americans - that need us!

That was my number one concern.

The numbers of visitors within the emotional feelings network of sites is growing steadily and I'm so happy about it. Thank you so much everyone who has taken a few minutes of your important precious time to e-mail me to just say hello! It's so heartfelt and it's so empowering. I appreciate you all so much! Thank you again. I'm grateful for your words!

Take a few minutes to check out this homepage towards the end of the month when I'll announce three new sites as well as some polls that will ask you to participate when you visit.

Please just click an answer on those polls if you would. May is my month to begin my research on "bullying." After collecting some information - next year - I'd like to write a book and start a program that will take a stand on wiping out all bullies - children and adults - and make people aware of the "gynormous" problems we have in America with bullies!

They are popping out from beneath the woodwork and just as bedbugs have made a comeback it appears that all those little kids that used to be bullies, in today's stressful times seem to be emerging back into the life force as "adult bullies" and they need to be embraced, nurtured and released free of hatefulness. The emergence of adult bullies can be felt everywhere - at work - at school and even at the grocery store. Be aware of these people and meet their moods with kindness, fight the face of hatred with love!

I'll be announcing another great program that if you're interested in helping someone in need - you might be able to participate in. I'm starting a foundation in honor of my friend Joseph who died in January. Joseph and I met through these sites and we became fast friends. We had the fortunate opportunity to write back and forth almost daily for over a year. Joseph and I thought alike and it was so great to know someone who was thinking like I do. I wrote a column on that very thing on the "able page" at more emotional feelings - the new run off site from emotional feelings - about finding someone that you can identify with. Well Joseph unfortunately died this past January at the age of 19. It was very sad for many people.

Joseph had experienced cancer when he was in his early teens I think it was - and I know how difficult that must be for kids. It's difficult enough for adults to experience the feelings of helplessness - the medical community takes over your life and you don't have any choices. It's just getting poked and prodded and filled with poison and radiated until maybe you're well. Well Joseph had a tumor in his brain and when they removed it - he suffered some damage, minute, but it was difficult to cope with. I feel that kids need to feel the strength that Joseph eventually developed when they're feeling so vulnerable.

While the hardest part of this venture is finding a name for it, I will be asking for people to send me a "worry stone" with a short story about where they found it. When I receive them, I will put them in a buffer and make them all shiny and smooth and give them a red felt bag to be kept in. I will be distributing them to Ronald McDonald Houses, children's hospitals and other facilities so that children who are facing strange and scary procedures can have them in their hands when they need to squelch a worry or a fear. Reading the story of where their stone came from will be a special reminder that people care from all over the world.

I'll also be selling these "worry stones" online to raise money for children who need counseling because they have experienced a traumatic injury, sickness, or disability. I believe that it's very important for these children to talk about what they've had to endure throughout their treatment. Many may have unresolved emotions and feelings that they don't know what to do with. All proceeds will go directly to the foundation. Look for it's opening on the "keeping in touch" page!

For those of you who don't know what worry stones are - I'll post below some information about them!

I'm making forward progress. For those of you who have continued to come back to this site and know my theory that first you educate yourself thoroughly until you understand what it is that's disabling you. After you thoroughly understand it through a very complete self education - you can then move forward with positive energy to taking action to change. So many people say - "I can't do that!" - I'm here to say that you can do it! You just need to start saying to yourself, "I can do this!" If you understand your problem, know everything about it, you can fight it and disable it. You can change your environment, your negativities you're facing, you can do it! Just keep learning something new everyday and you will find that you are feeling more powerful with each new thing you learn!

I've been seeing the buzz word "STRUGGLING" such as, "I'm struggling with this depression." Or, "I'm struggling with my pessimistic attitude." If you're struggling that's a good thing. It means you're causing action to take place. You're fighting against the negative energies in your life. Get stronger through reinforcing the positive factors in your life. Guess what!!! That part includes helping yourself through helping others! You will gain a new kind of power through performing random acts of kindness, finding a cause to fight for, helping an injured soldier, volunteering within your community. Find your passion and struggle to share it with people. It's not easy to find time, but it's well worth the effort. It's the American way. Think about it!

I'm thinking about the name, "Joseph's Friends" but the other is "Joseph's Strength" for names of this foundation... let me know which one you like best! Click here and send me an e-mail about it!

Okay, worry stones info:

Worry stone

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Worry stones are smooth, polished gemstones - or regular stones - in the shape of an oval with a thumb-sized indentation. They originated in Ancient Greece. Held between the index finger and thumb, rubbing them is believed to lessen one's worries. This action is a type of stimulation which can often create feelings of calmness and reduce stress levels. They enjoyed relatively large popularity in the 1970's.

Of course they did! I'm a flower child at heart!

Anxiety

Many researchers think that anxiety disorders are caused by a fault in the 'fear system' which enables us to recognize and react to danger. Although the symptoms vary, all anxiety disorders involve a person getting much more anxious than they need to in reaction to a potential 'threat.'

Why are some of us more prone to overreacting in this way? Our individual experiences play a large part, but over-anxiety also seems to run in families. It may be linked to different levels of brain chemicals such as serotonin or noradrenaline.

Within the theory of the mind/body connection - worry stones may help with the "feel good" hormones as rubbing a smooth stone is a "feel good" relaxing activity. While it's already been proven that keeping ones hands busy helps with anxiety - worry stones may help with many other problems such as ADD or ADHD. Who knows?

Busy Hands in Hard Times May Prevent PTSD

Distractions May Ward Off Traumatic Flashbacks

By Jennifer Warner
WebMD Medical News

Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD

March 9, 2004 -- Keeping your hands busy during a traumatic event may help ward off posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to a new study.

Researchers say the findings may explain why worry beads and other traditional practices designed to distract people from their troubles are popular and sometimes effective.

The study showed that people who tapped out a specified pattern with their fingers while watching a traumatic film with horrific images had significantly fewer flashbacks or other disturbing memories than those who did nothing.

Uncontrollable flashbacks or intrusive memories of a traumatic event are a hallmark of PTSD.

The results of this study are only preliminary, but "it does suggest that there may be a psychological way to reduce post-trauma intrusions, rather than a medical way such as taking medication," says researcher Emily A. Holmes of University College London, in a news release.

The findings appear in the March issue of the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.

Distractions May Deter PTSD

In the study, researchers tested the effects of using different types of distractions on people who watched a 12.5-minute traumatic video including footage of the aftermath of actual car accidents and workers moving dead bodies.

In tests, participants either tapped out a specified pattern on a hidden keyboard (a visuospatial task), counted down by threes (a verbal task), or nothing at all while watching the film.

During the following week, they recorded any intrusive memories of the video in a diary.

Researchers found that those who performed the tapping task reported significantly fewer intrusive memories than those who did nothing at all.

In addition, the study showed that those who performed the verbal task actually experienced a greater number of disturbing flashbacks and memories than those who did nothing.

Researchers say the findings support the notion that people process traumatic events on many different levels in the brain. For example, performing a verbal task may limit the type of conceptual processing needed to help people "make sense" of disturbing images.

In contrast, performing tasks that involve more than one sense, such as a visuospatial ones like tapping or rubbing on beads, might interfere and limit the processing and encoding of traumatic images in the brain and lead to fewer flashbacks.

Researchers say more study is needed to better understand these effects and to determine if distractions such as these might also be effective in preventing PTSD when done immediately after trauma.

source site: WebMD