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HEALTH ISSUE | APRIL 2021
Health Reading Magazine Editor-in-Chief - Tanja Slijepčević Associate Editor - Laurence O’Bryan Graphic Designer - Mirna Gilman Ranogajec
Produced by BooksGoSocial BooksGoSocial.com Admin@booksgosocial.com bgsauthors.com
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Table of contents Editor’s Letter
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Coming Home to Our Intuitive Intelligence by Lori Anne Rising 14 How to dream like a kid again and invite silliness and play into your life by Cheryl Melody Baskin 18 Doodling: A Unique Approach to Grief Healing and Hope by Harriet Hodgson 21 The Miracle of Mental Health by Mary Rensberry
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April is World Autism Awareness Month by Dr. Sharon A. Mitchell 26 Writing: Excerpt
A Cure for Insomnia by Sidonie Middleton
Shrouded Memory by Excerpt
Krista Wagner
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Walk 16: Sam, the Buddhist by David W. Berner Excerpt
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The Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Fallacy by Nattany H Andersen Excerpt
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HEALTH ISSUE | APRIL 2021
Hi, You are very welcome to our Health magazine ‘21! It seemed most appropriate considering we are battling the pandemic for the last year. We have an eclectic mix of books about health – varying from mental health, tips on how to use writing as a therapy, to simple tricks like doodling and how can it help relieve stress. April is also Autism Awareness Month, so Dr. Sharon A. Michell gave us a bit more insight on that, as well as offering one of her books, Autism Goes to School, free of charge from the 22nd to 25th of April. You can find the link to it on page 27.
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We hope you enjoy it! And if you have any ideas for articles or things you would like to see covered in our magazines, let me know. Tanja Slijepcevic Editor in Chief Secret Library Magazine, Health edition
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HEALTH ISSUE | APRIL 2021
The Best of Me from a-z: Traits and Virtues for Kids by Mary Rensberry
The Best of Me from a-z was #1 children’s book in TCK Publishing Reader’s Choice Awards for 2018. This is a book for young girls and boys that encourages positive traits and virtues such as being able, beautiful, creative, self-determined. There are 26 traits or simple messages that will help bring self-reliance, self-assurance and accomplishment to their lives.
Buy Now Impasse: Racing Hearts Novel by Ruth Gowan
A Little romance, a few thrills, a bit of darkness and mystery it’s all here in IMPASSE When family is the enemy who do you trust? To Jemma, the greatest challenge was driving the grueling Paris-Dakar rally. She was wrong, her talent has finally been recognised but she can’t free herself from her nemesis a sinister force which lurks and threatens her very life.
Buy Now
The Music of Women by Vincent Panettiere
Beginning with his prepubescent awareness that being breastfed made him special, to being cradled in the arms of Sierra, his one and only love (despite being married to someone else), Charlie experiences the women in his life through the music he attaches to them.
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The Wancheen: Rage, Rage, Against the Dying of the Light by D.P. Conway
Treasure seeking explorers find an ancient tomb and awaken a monster created long ago by Pharaoh Thutmose. The plight of the Scottish Queen becomes mysteriously tied to this creature and her death sets in motion events which will haunt villages along the coast of Ireland for centuries. A story of mystery and intrigue that will take you across the world, from Egypt to Morocco, Scotland, Spain, New York, Rome, and Ireland.
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Buy Now
Awakening: Queen of Spades Book 1 by EJ Dawson Ayla is a villain. She knows when everyone will die and uses her gift as the perfect assassin. But when she wakes from a three millennia cryo freeze surrounded by strangers she’ll have to trust them to survive, and find out who did this to her.
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Heart-Dreamer: Stepping into Life, Love, Creativity and Dreams-No Matter What by Cheryl Melody Baskin Nurture your body, mind and spirit and gain insight about your unlimited potential.
User-friendly and inspirational, it is designed for anyone who has always been a dreamer, forgot their dreams along the way, or never knew how to dream. It is also dedicated to readers who want to heal and grow from inside-out and live life with more lightness, balance and joy.
Buy Now
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HEALTH ISSUE | APRIL 2021
Coming Home to Our Intuitive Intelligence By Lori Anne Rising
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I’ll never forget the moment I made that decision. It was done with the best of intentions, but it would take me more than 20 years to unravel the ripple effects I’d set in motion. I grew up in the 1980s in a household that was anything but progressive. Things like massage and chiropractic care were considered questionable at best, associated with either red-light districts or con artists. Anything that might have to do with guides, angels, quantum mechanics or intangible intelligence like intuition was called crazy and fake. Those who did things like meditate, become vegetarian, practice yoga, or follow non-western philosophies of any kind were written off as old hippies and freaks – people to dismiss and stay away from. My brother and I were part of the first generation of latch-key kids. We got ourselves up in the mornings, had whatever sugary cereal was in the cabinet, and walked to school by ourselves. In the afternoons, let ourselves in, watched cartoons, shot hoops in front of the house, or did some homework until our parents got home. Dad would watch whatever he wanted on TV while mom got dinner taken care of. Weekends, most often involved the guys taking off to go fishing or skiing, or out to the garage to work on a car while mom and I took care of chores. 14
We weren’t a family that talked much. Emotions were for bottling up. Dinner was for eating as quickly as possible and getting it over with. If we wanted something, we worked to earn the money to buy it. Little was said if we did things right, but mistakes were definitely noticed. Nothing was free or easy. Even the weather had its way with us. Doppler technology wasn’t in common usage yet, and since the Pacific Northwest is considered a rainforest, rain was about the only thing we could count on about nine months out of the year. I’ve heard that Portlanders have almost as many words for various kinds of “rain” as Eskimos do for snow. That wouldn’t surprise me. Even with today’s Doppler technology, the forecast barely stays ahead of the weather’s moodiness. Back then, like today, there are a few truisms we embrace: • Always wear layers. No matter what the weather is right now, it will change. • If it’s raining hard, just wait a minute or two for it to stop or let up. Then make a run for it. • The person with the umbrella is most likely an out-of-towner or new transplant. The rest of us gave up a long time ago.
• If you’re not willing to do it in the rain, you’ll never get it done. • And, as Jeff Foxworthy once pointed out, we do have four distinct seasons: Fall, Winter, Spring and Construction. Plan your drive time accordingly. That was the world I spent my most formative years being molded and shaped by, and the reason I made that decision.
That particular day happened to be a beautiful, sunny, Spring morning. Weather reports all said it was going to be dry the rest of the week. While that was usually a sign that it would be dry at least for that day, I stopped by my closet as usual anyway. When I got to school, I noticed I was the only one with an umbrella, so I tried to hide it before anyone made fun of me for carrying it while the skies were so blue. Instead, I heard, “Oh no! Lori brought her umbrella. We’re going to get wet today!” I don’t know who said it, but I felt like I’d gotten caught with my hand in the cookie jar. When I turned around, the entire class was staring at me and I knew two things:
My teacher mumbled something about being intuitive, and then distracted the class with a task. That evening, I asked my parents what “intuition” meant. Dad scoffed and said it was something others say they have only to take advantage of people. Mom said it wasn’t real and not to worry about it. They’re wrong. The knowing raced through every cell of my being. “I’ll hide it,” my little kid brain decided without fully grasping what it would require. My instinct was protective but the problem was that the only way to really hide my intuition was to stop acting on it. After all, the other kids had noticed simply by observing. Ultimately, it really meant learning to ignore it entirely.
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I was in fifth grade. Since weather reports were a running joke, but I walked to and from school, I’d gotten into the habit of stopping by my closet each morning and asking, “Do I need my umbrella today?” It never occurred to me to wonder who or what I was asking. I just asked. Sometimes it was a feeling, sometimes a “yes” or “no” in my head, but whatever the response was, I’d go with it. For me, it was as normal and natural as getting dressed or brushing my teeth.
1. What I was doing was NOT normal. 2. It was accurate enough that others noticed, even though I hadn’t talked about it to anyone.
It took me until my mid-20s to find someone that I could talk to who wouldn’t scoff at it or dismiss it. It was another few years before I finally began to rebuild my relationship with what I now call my Wise One Within. Those years in between were the most difficult of my life. My intuition was still there trying to guide me, but I was too afraid to follow it for fear of upsetting others, being misunderstood or not fitting in. Yet, each time I ignored it, the consequences were painful and I’d look back and think, “I knew better.” My inability to trust myself further eroded my self-esteem, and with it, my dreams. Instead, I focused on becoming what others expected of me.
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HEALTH ISSUE | APRIL 2021 The road back to fully embracing my intuitive gifts has been as long and difficult – and is still ongoing. But there are a few truisms I’ve come to embrace: •Like any relationship, it takes time to develop and will unfold and deepen as you go. Be patient.
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• You’ll make mistakes. There will be misunderstandings and things to work through, but like our most precious relationships, it’s worth the work. • Unlike any other relationship, this Wise One Within (WOW) has never left and will never leave. Its love is simple, pure, reliable and real – no matter how human we may be. • While the relationship is as unique and individual as we are, our emotions are inextricably tied to Its ability to guide us. If we don’t allow ourselves to feel, we cut ourselves off from the WOW of our life. • Our WOW won’t make any logical sense – which is where the trust and courage to listen must be developed – and it will never lead us astray. • We have a choice. As Caroline Myss once pointed out, we will ALWAYS live out the dreams we came to this life to live. It’s just a matter of how: in regret, in mediocrity, or to their fullest. Our WOW is the guide to our fullest, most satisfying life, but we have the free will to choose to follow It or not. • It WANTS us to be happy – without strings, expectations or any other baggage. That’s Its only job; Its reason for being: to help us live a WOW kind of life. 16
For those who’ve been separated from their inner guidance for any length of time: you’re not alone. Rebuilding that relationship will take time and patience. It can help to seek out and connect with others who’re exploring the possibilities, but make sure to do what feels right for you. Honor your feelings and your boundaries. Your WOW won’t mind and it won’t give up. It will welcome you back whenever you’re ready.
About the author Lori Anne Rising is an international award-winning author, a spiritual and intuitive mentor, and host of “You Rising!” Her work challenges old paradigms, and reconnects women with their Wise One Within to empower, inspire and reawaken their life’s purpose and passion. Learn more at https://podspout.app/loriannerising.
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HEALTH ISSUE | APRIL 2021
How to dream like a kid again and invite silliness and play into your life by Cheryl Melody Baskin Author of Heart-Dreamer: Stepping into Life, Love, Creativity and Dreams – No Matter What
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Grandma Moses started painting when she was seventy-eight. Harry Bernstein achieved fame as an author at ninety-six. Julia Child wrote her first cookbook at fifty. Viola Davis gained fame as an actress in her forties. Colonel Sanders began Kentucky Fried Chicken at sixty-five. As for me? Although I am on the older side of life, I continue to discover new layers of creativity, lightness and joy. Have I always enjoyed a light spirit? No! Life wasn’t fun when I was a kid. I knew I was loved, but I also felt invisible, voiceless, overwhelmed by senseless rules, and tormented by school bullying. My childhood could have been a disaster if I hadn’t accessed my imagination. I visualized myself as a world-famous actress, singer and writer, spending endless nights making up plays and stories.
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How to dream like a kid again and invite silliness and play into your life by Cheryl Melody Baskin, author of Heart-Dreamer: Stepping into Life, Love, Creativity and Dreams – No Matter What
My imagination was a secret place within me that no one could destroy. This is the case for so many children -whether they have an idyllic or less-than-perfect life, each child has a capacity to dream deeply and create whole new worlds. It is this
kind of dreaming that can change everything, breaking the barriers of the regular “outside” world. I’ve spent a lot of time around beautiful and inventive young minds. After realizing that music was the key to my happiness, I became an early childhood music, movement and imagination teacher. The gift of being surrounded by children’s laughter, silliness and wide-eyed curiosity transformed me, and I apply their magical “secrets” every day.
To do this, activate your right brain. The right brain is imaginative, intuitive, creative, free and filled with never-ending ideas. The following activities will stimulate your right brain and encourage your creative spirit to evolve without any fear of “right, wrong or perfect.” Explore how many ways to say, “Excuse me, where is the closest bathroom?” Be dramatic. Say it casually. Say it with intensity. As you invent each version, use nonverbal gestures and ham it up. Now, try to do it with an accent. This exercise gets you to feel loose and silly. Speak Gibberish. Have you ever heard of a nonsense language called “gibberish?” Babies and toddlers
Find a Friend to Play with You. Find a friend who is willing to speak gibberish with you. While you are “conversing” together, remember to use wild nonverbal gestures. It’s the delicious frosting on your creative upside-down cake. When you speak gibberish in public, people often think you’re speaking a foreign language, your creative flow opens, tears roll down your face with laughter, and sometimes you understand each other better than usual! Need more laughter? Fly kites together! Worries fade, you’re in the moment, and you both rediscover the kid in you again! Reinvent an old recipe or an old activity. How many ways can you reinvent an old recipe? Like baking, adult life is full of instructions. What if you simply do away with them? Without worrying about how it will taste, add at least two new ingredients. Who knows? Your new recipe may taste even better than the old one. Apply this inventing technique to as many habits as possible. How many ways can you clap your hands? And another way? And another way?
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I’m now an intuitive life coach, energy healer and creativity specialist, and I often meet adults who don’t think they have a playful or creative bone in their body. They never knew it was healthy to daydream, or they gave up their dreams along the way. What I’ve found is that it’s never too early or too late to discover what gives your spirit delight, and it is my passion to encourage everyone to honor their inner “heart-dreamer.”
speak gibberish fluently. Although gibberish is an invented language with no rules, grammar, spelling, punctuation or sentence structure, it sounds like something amazing anyway. Invent your own version of gibberish, and let this new language simply roll off your tongue.
A Toddler’s Secret. Channel your inner toddler. They don’t need to know the answers to life ahead of time. Their minds are wide open and free! Reclaim their qualities of openness, delight and a giant YES to life. Daydream. What did you enjoy doing as a child that may hold clues for
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creative projects? Write your visions down, and as you daydream, blow bubbles, play the kazoo, dance, doodle, take nature walks, and surround yourself with positive people. Let go of perfection. Is there a creative work stirring somewhere inside your spirit, but you’re worried about doing it “wrong?” To let go of the perfection syndrome, sing “Row your Boat” purposefully out of tune three times. It will shoo away your inner critic and allow you to simply enjoy your lighter side. It is your birthright to dream. In fact, you can create quite a revolution with that creative spirit of yours. Fame and fortune may call you, and when it happens, I’ll be standing in a long line waiting eagerly to get your autograph. I hope you’ll notice me. I’m the one with the mismatched socks, silly hat, expressive clothes, creative earrings, an open heart, a cheering-for-you attitude, and a never-ending twinkle in her eyes. Here’s to childlike curiosity, silliness, creativity, imagination and dreams! www.cherylmelody.com; chermelody@gmail.com
About the author Cheryl Melody Baskin is an author, playwright, peace educator, intuitive life coach, musician, motivational speaker and sound healer. Her books and plays include Peace Dreamer: A Journey of Hope in Bad Times and Good, Heart-Dreamer: Stepping into Life, Love, Creativity and Dreams - No Matter What, Shift of Heart: 20
Paths to Healing and Love, and Peace Begins with You and Me - A Musical Play with Life-Changing Messages for Every Generation. As a musician, she is a performing artist and has nine award-winning albums with positive messages for both adults and children. She is also the founder, moderator and intuitive life coach of “Shift of Heart,” a large and inclusive Facebook community of love, support and hope. “Melody” enjoys a balance of quiet contemplation, meaningful social interaction, dreaming new dreams, and the healing power of nature. She is also a strong believer in peace, diversity celebration, listening to life’s wisdom whispers, trusting in the magical mystery of the unknown, healing from inside-out, and walking the path of love. Cheryl Melody Baskin was recently honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from The Visioneers International Network.
Doodling: A Unique Approach to Grief Healing and Hope by Harriet Hodgson
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The Covid-19 pandemic created layers of grief for us all. We grieve for those who tested positive for the virus. We grieve for family members and friends who contracted it. We grieve for the thousands who died. We grieve for the disruptions to our lives—disruptions that may be permanent. If you tested positive for the virus you were quarantined. This happened to me. I live in a retirement community, 150 residents who are vulnerable. Administration asked us to stay in our apartments, not walk the halls, wear masks if we left our apartments, wash hands often, limit two to an elevator, and practice social distancing. Because I had been hospitalized for
cellulitis, which can be fatal, I was quarantined for two weeks. After testing positive for Covid-19 I was quarantined for two more weeks. Thankfully, I never developed any symptoms. But a month’s quarantine was in addition to months of selfquarantine. As a freelancer for 43 years, I was used to working at home and being my own boss. This was normal for me. Some residents of the high-rise felt lonely and depressed. “Staying in my apartment is driving me crazy,” a neighbor commented. She wondered if I was going crazy too. I told her I was writing like crazy. At the time, I was my disabled husband’s caregiver. He was dying
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and my stress level kept going up. To cope with stress, I started doodling. Not ordinary doodling, but art doodling. I ordered supplies online and researched this art form. The techniques—stippling, hatching, cross-hatching, dot outlining, etc.— were familiar to me because of my art training. Staying home sparked my creativeness and I wrote five children’s books, including Grief Doodling: Bringing Back Your Smiles. Doodling allowed me to release feelings, explore feelings, and see my sub-conscious in action. Best of all, doodling gave me breaks from grief. If doodling could help me, it could help others. As soon as I had this thought I started writing. The words came from the depths of my soul. I am a bereaved wife, mother, daughter, sister, daughter-in-law, cousin, and friend. Grief Doodling builds on my BS in Early Childhood Education, MA in Art Education, and 12 years of teaching experience. From the first words to the last, Grief Doodling invites action. The topics range from the benefits of doodling, to why doodling is fun, to doodling tips, and responding to doodling prompts. The prompts come from research and life experience. Here are two sample prompts: • Just when you want to say your loved one’s name, friends don’t want to say it because they don’t want to make you sad. Of course, you will always remember your loved one’s name. Doodle their initials here. Say their name while you’re doodling.
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• Pretend you are walking along a healing path. You are making progress and slowly moving forward. Doodle your path here. What do you
see along the way? What do you see in the end? This is the first book I’ve written and illustrated. With doodling there are no mistakes, so the drawings are casual. I wanted to illustrate, not intimidate. There is space for the reader/user to practice doodling techniques. I wrote the book for teens, but some experts think it is appropriate for all who grieve. From Sunni Brown, author of The Grief Revolution: “Harriet has happened on one of the least-known benefits of doodling—healing. This book opens yet another door—beyond insight, creativity, and solving—showcasing its greater ability to ease our passage from grief back to joy.” From Dr. Heidi Horsley, Executive Director of the Open to Hope Foundation: “Hodgson’s gentle, fact-based approach is evident in the doodling prompts. Blank pages encourage more doodling and selfunderstanding. This is a wonderful kids’ book—a creative outlet for children to process their grief.” My husband knew about the doodling book and was glad I wrote it. He was amazed at my productivity and often joked, “While you’re up, write me a book.” Several weeks after I finished Grief Doodling, he died. I am still doodling and enjoying the respites it provides. Doodling and drawing Japanese Enso circles are keeping me on the healing path. Are you grieving now? Do you know someone who is grieving? If so, Grief Doodling is you and for them. This concise resource is easy to read (you can read it in 20 minutes) and, thanks to heavier paper, easy to use. Give yourself the gift of doodling and find
hope again.
caregiving, and bereavement conference. Because of the pandemic, she now gives workshops on Zoom. Her book So, You’re Raising Your Grandkids! was the Grand Prize Winner in the Rave Reviews Book Club’s International Literary Contest. This book was also a Book Excellence Awards finalist and a New Apple Book Awards Official Selection for excellence independent publishing.
About the Author
Harriet Hodgson, BS, MA has been a freelancer for 43 years. She is the author of thousands of print and online articles and 42 books. Hodgson is a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists, Alliance of Independent Authors, Minnesota Coalition for Grief Education and Support, Grief Coalition of Southeaster Minnesota, and Books Go //social.
Weeks before it was released, Grief Doodling received a First Place Award from the Firebird Book Awards. Hodgson’s work is cited in Who’s Who of American Women, World Who’s Who of Women, Contemporary Writers and other directories. Please visit www.harriethodgson.com for more information about this busy wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, author, and speaker.
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The Grandma Force, another recent book by Hodgson, received a Silver Medal from the Living Now Awards, given to authors who are “changing the world one book at a time.”
She is Assistant Editor of the Open to Hope Foundation website, a contributing writer for the website, The Grief Toolbox website, and The Caregiver Space website. Hodgson has appeared in more than 185 radio talk shows, including CBS Radio in New York City and CNN. She has also appeared on many BlogTalkRadio programs. A popular speaker, Hodgson has given presentations at public health, Alzheimer’s,
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The Miracle of Mental Health by Mary Rensberry
Mental health has become somewhat of a misnomer buried in a labyrinth of labels and pills that mask conditions of mental unhealthiness rather than making any reasonable attempts at finding a root cause in order to create a true condition of mental health. True mental health is a state whereby one would be free of labels and any sort of mind-altering substances such as the multitude of psychotropic drugs being prescribed and foisted upon millions and millions of unsuspecting people thus labelled. It would appear that psychiatrists are unable to actually cure anything related to the mind. You would think the natural order of life to be psychosis rather than a state of mental stability. If one just took the time to observe life, mental health could be restored rather easily without introducing mind-altering drugs into the equation. As for one example, just take the
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contraption we call Tell-a-Vision. TV, being a made-up world of illusion and delusion, often creates those states in the people who regularly watch. They become illusional and/or delusional to one degree or another. This fact is proven by the billions of people who see and mimic these media created persona and delusions. The TV’s unreality manifests itself as forms of mental illness in the lives of the television spectators. These mimics do things a mentally healthy person would not do. This can be easily proven out by comparison. I live in a predominantly Amish community where there is a population of people who have never been exposed to the Television’s constant bombardment of illusions and delusions. The Amish by comparison are not prone to the many delusional influences propagated by TV programming and do not take
to mimicking its blatant promotion of promiscuity, violence, racism, perversion, drug abuse and other mentally destabilizing ills. I myself live this proof, I stopped watching TV many, many years ago. This simple act of ridding one’s life of such illusional and delusional influences can and will miraculously cure a wide range of mental problems. It is a stepping stone to a life of higher production and creativity which by most standards could be said to be a mental and spiritual cure-all.
“We blew up the TV Threw away the paper Went to the country Built us a home Had a lot of children Fed ‘em on peaches They all found Jesus on their own”
Mary Rensberry is an author, artist and founder at QuickTurtle Books. Mary wrote my award-winning book The Best of Me from a-z for the benefit of kids everywhere. Before founding QuickTurtle Books, Mary taught in several Texas schools. The author most liked kindergarten through 2nd grade. She fell in love with the spirit of the child, their innocence and a keen interest in wanting to know about the world around them. They truly gave me so much more than I could give them. Teaching reading was her favorite subjects along with recess. She enjoyed playing with the kids just as much as they enjoyed their breaks with her. Reading and recess taught us many valuable lessons in social development, getting along with each other, and respecting our differences. The Best of Me is inherent in us all. https://www.booksmakebooms.com
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Way back when in the words of a very witty musician by the name of John Prine:
About the author:
The Best of Me From a-z http://amzn. to/2DSSgvN
So, if you want to get on the road to mental health, just turn off the insanity factory, and maybe, just maybe, after a while, you might discover the world is bright and beautiful as you make it.
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April is World Autism Awareness Month by Dr. Sharon A. Mitchell
There are over 700,000 autistic people in the UK. One in every 54 American children has autism. If autism has not touched your life, it will affect your friend, neighbor or your co-worker. Autism is a spectrum disorder. That means that there is a large variation in how the autistic symptoms play out in individuals. For some, the autism characteristics permeate every moment of their day. For others, these characteristics can appear more muted. But within one person, functioning can vary throughout different life stages, or even throughout the day. Autism has a genetic basis, and this is the way the child comes. Some parents say that they could tell from birth that there was something different about the way their infant related to the world. With other children, the differences aren’t as apparent until the preschool year. Autism is not a result of any parenting style.
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An
autistic
child
has
challenges
in social communication. That could range from being unable to speak, to coming across as socially awkward. Even in those who are highly verbal, there will be difficulties with communication, especially in the nonverbal realms. Challenges in reading body language and understanding subtleties and subtexts make socializing difficult. There will be repetitive interests and/ or behaviors, although each of these can change when some other topic or action becomes the focus. Along with behaviors come what are sometimes referred to as restricted interests, although I’m not a fan of the word “restricted” in this case. In many kids, it’s an intense interest that consumes their attention for time spans that are far longer than shown by their peers. There are some clear advantages to having restricted interests. The individual may know far more about his area of interest than anyone you’ve ever met. If this interest can one day be translated into a job, it’s a win-win. Monotropism is a feature of
autism; monotropic minds focus their attention on a narrow but an intense number of interests, often overlooking things that are not within this tunnel of interests.
entertaining, easy read that, yet offers strategies and sound information on autism. It has hundreds of five-star reviews on Amazon.
When you put together communication issues, difficulty with socialization and sensory sensitivities, you might understand how autistic kids might be anxious. Anxiety is not part of the diagnostic criteria for autism, but it is a common co-existing condition.
About the author
Your autistic child or student is not a cluster of symptoms. He’s an individual with interests, strengths, and challenges. And he or she needs your support in ways that will truly help him. You can do this. When parents receive the news that their child has autism, they spend countless hours researching the subject, usually at night, after an exhausting day. Teachers, when they hear that they’ll have a student with an autism spectrum disorder, also try to learn as much as they can. The award-winning Amazon bestseller Autism Goes to School was written for such parents and teachers - an
Her books include: Autism Goes to School (This will be free from 22nd to 25th of April) Autism Runs Away Autism Belongs Autism Talks and Talks Autism Grows Up Autism Box Set Autism Goes to College - Jeff’s Coming-of-Age Story Autism Questions Teachers Ask Autism Questions Parents Ask Anything for Her Son - Prequel Short Story to the Series When Bad Things Happen GONE: A Psychological Thriller - Book 1 of the Series When Bad Things Happen TRUST: A Psychological Thriller - Book 2 of the Series When Bad Things Happen
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Other mental health conditions, such as mood disorders, can also co-exist with an autism diagnosis. In addition, some autistic kids will also have an intellectual disability. It is debatable just what proportion of autism people are also intellectually disabled. The diagnosis does not tell you who your student is. It suggests that he might experience a range of characteristics. You will need to get to know him to see how these play out for him.
Dr. Sharon Mitchell gets it. Her Master’s and Ph.D. degrees specialized in autism. She’s been a teacher, counselor, school psychologist, district consultant and autism consultant for decades. She has presented to thousands at conferences and workshops on teaching and parenting autistic kids. She teaches university classes to wanna-be-teachers and to school administrators on inclusion strategies and students who learn differently.
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Writing: A Cure for Insomnia Chapter 38, Excerpt from Tilted Justice: First Came the Flood, then came the Lawyers by Sidonie Middleton to write a grocery list during the year after the flood. My life revolved around restoring two flood-ravaged houses and repairing or replacing furnishings and appliances. And I couldn’t allow myself to be slowed down by the fatigue that was aggravated by being unable to sleep through the night.
For four years I have been repeatedly told that all that had transpired was so incredible, fantastic, insane, and preposterous that I should write a book. I just laughed. I hardly had time
From the time I became aware that Tenant was coming onto my property in the middle of the night, I started waking at the slightest sound, listening, unable to go back to sleep. The once-familiar sound of the wind rustling through the trees or a shutter rattling against a window would at times take on the ominous suggestion of a car engine or tires on the rock driveway. Here I was, out in the woods alone and with no neighbors within screaming distance. And once I was awake, the wheels in the brain would engage and I would start fretting over the entire imbroglio—the devastating flood damage, the death threats, the lawsuit, and all that I hoped to get done the next day despite the fatigue.
Obviously, I had too much to do and was too tired to devote time to writing a book. Then the realization struck me—I could write during those wakeful hours in the middle of the night rather than just lying there listening and worrying. So why not get up, get a cup of coffee, and go to my computer and type? It worked like a charm! With my devoted Lab Bonbon stretched out at my feet, it was so peaceful and relaxing.
Once I got into the project, I found that I didn’t really have to write a book; the book was already basically written if I simply put together all the records, notes, affidavits, documents, reports, witness statements, etc., that I had accumulated by that time. I gathered them all and arranged them in chronological order, selected relevant quotes, and then added commentary. Having this to work on offered me a release from the years of forced inaction and silence about the case, of being ignored and excluded from the communications between the attorneys, of being deprived of my right to represent myself in my counterclaim—in effect being told to shut up and stay out of the way, like a potted plant. Now I could unload the stress, anxiety, fatigue, frustration, and
My book would certainly not fit in the “fiction” category. The “memoir” genre would be appropriate because I was relating my own experience to the best of my recollection and supporting it with the extensive documentation I had accumulated by then. The prospect of actually publishing it was tempting, I have to admit, but looking at it realistically, I knew that writing a book, even a memoir, was for talented and experienced authors. Since I didn’t qualify, my book-writing would never result in a published manuscript and would only serve the temporary purpose of a “feel-good” project. Then, two years after the flood and a year after Tenant filed his civil suit against me, we finally got around to his deposition. After five hours of sitting across the conference table from Tenant as he answered my attorney’s questions—well, most of them—and hearing every time he said “Middleton” as though he were spitting nails and referring to me throughout as “harpy,” “liar,” “bitch,” and more, I’d had enough. He fabricated events out of whole cloth and even stated basic facts such as names and dates falsely. That decided it.
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I found that writing was not only very cathartic, it was also easy. Amazingly easy! I simply started relating the events, beginning with the day of the flood, and the words just flowed from my fingertips. Another side benefit was that after an hour or so I could go back to bed and enjoy a few hours of sound sleep. Writing a book can even cure insomnia!
fear onto paper. Doing so required no creative writing skill. It was the simple unembellished truth. I wasn’t thinking about actually publishing a book at that point. It was the writing that was important. It was a great morale boost—I called it my therapy. I was finally doing something!
The story was begging to be told. This man who self-righteously purports to be a practicing attorney and a member in good standing of the Louisiana bar should not be allowed to behave this way with impunity. I looked through what I had written so far and realized
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that it could easily be transcribed into manuscript form. It is said that truth is stranger than fiction. It can also be even more poignant, compelling, interesting, moving, exciting – and certainly more amusing! A book was born. But it took an interesting twist. What began as a memoir recounting the flood and its aftermath, dealing with Tenant, became a critique of the process of our legal system and the role of lawyers in misuse of the system. It was a revelation to me that a simple injustice, a frivolous lawsuit, which should have been quickly resolved, could be turned into a litigation nightmare that would go on for years. So my “therapy” became a manuscript. I have achieved my purpose of sharing my experiences in the hope that readers who may be faced with a similar situation will benefit from it. How different these last few years of my life could have been if I had read this book three years ago!
About the author Sidonie Middleton, a New Orleans native, also lived for a time in France and Austria. Before “Tilted Justice: First Came the Flood, then Came the Lawyers,” she had never considered writing a book. Before becoming the
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victim of a frivolous lawsuit, she had never taken a law course or represented herself in court. Her experiences during the threeyear course of litigation compelled her to publish an account of the amazing events that occurred, from the life-threatening flash flood to the final court decisions. Living alone since the death of her husband, Sidonie especially loves visits with her children and grandchildren to add to the company of her devoted Lab, Bonbon.
Shrouded Memory: Excerpt by Krista Wagner Rian relayed the details of the event, from start to finish, reciting the beats of the Black Friday, 2013, as though she had been programmed to. She couldn’t yet reconcile the emotions with the occurrence, so the replay came out quite mechanically.
“We can start the therapy next time, but for today, I want you to share with me what’s on your mind, why you are here.” Rian started with the unsettling feelings, the perception that something wasn’t quite right, as if the darkness of that night was continually flooding back to her. “When do you experience these feelings? What are you doing when
Rian thought for a moment. They happened in particular situations. At the restaurant. At home. In her dreams. Behind the sense of something dark lingering seemed to be the presence of a systematic planner. “Based on everything you have told me, I can see that you have a minor case of post-traumatic stress disorder. The nightmares are a part of that. Right now, your senses are strong as evidenced in your dream. We will be working on reconciling them to the thoughts you have at the restaurant, at home, so that you can process them. In the meantime, I want you to think of a safe place.”
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Carly introduced her to a technique called EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), a form of trauma treatment. The therapy was less than thirty years old, having been discovered by Francine Shapiro in 1987 when, during a stroll in the park, she recognized that her eye movements reduced the negative feelings she had toward her upsetting memories. After conducting case studies, she discovered that the combination of eye movement and a cognitive module drastically altered the negative emotions associated with previous traumatic experiences. In essence, the anxiety connected to the event drastically diminished.
they take place?”
Rian thought for a moment. “In the car, with Jack, me leaning on his arm as he drives.” “OK, good. So, when you start to experience those feelings of unease, focus on this place in your mind.” ******** Carly did a session of EMDR with her. They began with a time when Rian felt like she was not in control. It was during her college years when there seemed to be no light at the end of her academic world.
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Carly explained. “It’s best to go back to something less traumatic, something more manageable but with similar associations, like this feeling of not being in control. From there, we move forward to the event. This way, too, you are able to process these experiences together since they share a similar feeling.”
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Sometime in the middle of the session, she found herself back at the beginning, with the masked men and their cruel hands as they shoved her through the door and up against the wall. It was the first time that the memory became real. No longer some abstract thought spinning in a far-off abyss. Now she was connected to it with all of her body and mind. She closed her eyes. Something else had happened that she couldn’t quite grasp. Her eyes flicked open. “The dream.” “Tell me about it.” “I’m in the ocean. There’s nothing around me at first. I think I’m all alone. But in the next moment, I see a baby tumbling in the distance. I swim closer, but the more I push forward, the farther the baby moves too.
Frustrated, I stop. I reach out my hand toward the baby, but it vanishes.” Rian’s breathing was hardly audible, but she could feel the air in her lungs pushing hard and fast. The chair was nicely upholstered and she dug her fingernails into the arms of it as she struggled against the shallow breaths. Her skin felt like it was on fire. But the worst pain was in her forehead, not unlike the headaches she had been experiencing. “OK, take a deep breath, Rian, hold for five seconds, and let it out slowly.” She did as Carly told her. Then again, twice more. Her breathing slowed down as her arms sagged into a resting position, her fingers unclenching from the armrests. Her body temperature had cooled down too, back to normal. “Tell me what you noticed.” “I feel tightness throughout my body, but mostly it’s here.” She pointed to her forehead. “That’s where you probably hold most of your tension.” “And my breathing was shallow the
whole forty-five minutes we were doing this.” “When else did you experience a time where your breathing was like this?” “Just over five years ago, actually. My dad died. He had a heart attack. They couldn’t save him. My mom started flinging hospital trays, magazines, anything she could get her hands on, at the nurses and doctors. It was too much for me, and I almost stopped breathing. Jack had to rush me to the ER.”
“The last time I tried thinking of us together in the car, I just got more anxious.” “Try somewhere where you are alone, at peace.” That was easy. “My workstation.” “When you start to feel anxious, I want you to visualize yourself at your workstation and concentrate on a word or a small phrase to alleviate that anxiety. For at least twelve minutes, meditate on this word as you picture your safe place. This will enable you to link your thoughts to your emotions instead of compartmentalizing them. “Or, if you are somewhere where you are stationary, you can go through those relaxation body movements, starting from the top of your body to the ends of your toes, as you were instructed in your earlier sessions.” “What about my dreams?” “The nightmares you have had and
About the Author: Krista Wagner is a 70’s product who lives in Southern California with her supportive Marine Corp veteran husband, three entertaining and very bright children, a suitcase of stories begging to be finished, and an indispensable faith in Christ. She hasbeen creating stories since she was seven and is best known for her mystery and suspense novels. Back in the ‘90s, she was on her high school literary magazine staff, and she also co-authored a zine, a montage devoted to the creativity of multiple teenagers. Her short stories and poetry have appeared in several literary publications. She wrote her first novel at the age of 14, but it wasn’t until her thirties that she published her first book. Krista reaches into those chasms of darkness, dealing with themes of betrayal and deception and hope, with intriguing characters and intense storylines. All her books are clean and are for young adult and up.
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“I want you to think of a place where you feel safe. Take a moment, if you need to. It can be in the car with Jack or somewhere else.”
the anxiety are all related to your PTSD, but I believe we will be able to alleviate those symptoms after a few more sessions. Take care of yourself and remember to call me if you should need anything before our next meeting.”
“Dealing with danger and handing out hope” Krista Wagner, author of mysteries, thrills, and all that is real Find out more about Krista here: kristawagnerauthor.com/ Follow her on Facebook: facebook. com/kristawagnerofficial/
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Walk 16: Sam, the Buddhist Excerpt from Walks with Sam: A Man, a Dog, and a Season of Awakening by David W. Berner
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This is the second time I’ve seen this couple. The first was from my window at the dinner table the other night. Now, it is Sam and me who see them on a sunny Sunday, and we are nearly crossing their path.
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“It’s strange,” I whisper to Sam. Our hike around the neighborhood this late morning has been peaceful and quiet, the kind of walk where you are keenly aware of your strides, your easy pace. But now Sam is out of rhythm as she pauses to watch this couple, this peculiar pair, walking in some offbeat ritual of obedience.
It is an odd thing, a woman and a man walking, not side-by-side, but apart, together but separately. He is in front, marching at a particular pace. And she, ten steps behind, hunched and scuttling, as if trying to catch up yet purposely keeping a distance. Are they together or apart?
Maybe I am being judgmental. What do I know of them? Maybe he is simply a faster walker. Maybe he takes longer strides. Maybe her legs are short. Maybe she has a bad knee. Maybe he was once a daily jogger, a track star in his younger days, and can’t help himself. “They’re like Mormons,” I whisper to Sam as the couple takes the crosswalk at the corner. That’s likely not a proper comparison. I’m simply thinking about cultures where men take a superior role,
where women are dutiful, submissive. To be fair, that’s not true of all denominations within the Mormon Church, only the ultra-patriarchal systems of the fundamentalists. Still, it comes to mind. The man is dressed in jeans, a red golf shirt, and white sneakers. She has long hair pulled back in a ponytail. Her shorts are navy blue; her loose-fitting top is sleeveless. She, too, wears white sneakers. Neither would ever stand out for any other reason than this odd straight-in-line, purposeful, almost ceremonial walk.
I wonder if this couple has ever considered this. There’s a quote I love from the writer and teacher, Paul Coelho, the author of The Pilgrimage, his account of his walk along the road to Santiago in Spain. It comes from the pages of a subsequent book, but it could easily have been taken from text of The Pilgrimage:
“Walk neither faster nor slower than your own soul. Because it is your soul that will teach you the usefulness of each step you take.” I wonder if this couple knows of Paulo Coelho.
The Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh speaks of meditative walking, pilgrim meditation, he calls it, and how in this style of travel we are always arriving, our home is in the present moment. I like to think, although it is not easy, that my walks with Sam are in this tradition.
Sam and I stand at the corner where the couple had crossed, and we see them now march up the slightly elevated sidewalk. He remains in the lead. She behind. And I remain intrigued by this walk of un-togetherness. But then I wonder: Do they recognize or respect or even consider the purity of a good walk? The couple appears to be on a mission, a militaristic hike with a less than mystical goal. Theirs is not a pilgrimage. When I walk— with or without Sam—I am only occasionally successful in meeting the mindfulness I set out to discover.
The goal is to be keenly cognizant of your stride, and to smile, even if it is forced, as it is believed that you will be happy if you act happy. I try to do that in some fashion most days. I think Sam does, too. By traveling this way, you are honoring the Earth, the monk tells us, for it is what balances your steps. Enjoy yourself, he tutors, and use the time to reacquaint yourself
It comes only in miniature spurts, little moments. But Sam, she is different. Sam is always in the present. She is always putting paws to the pavement and honoring the ground she walks on, enjoying herself through the art of a good walk. Her sniffs, her prances, her total awareness are in each step. She is better at this than I, than any of us, and apparently far better than the
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They speak no words. They do not acknowledge one another. We watch them, follow them, for over two blocks and there are no smiles, communicative gestures, and no deviations from the steady pace. This is not a walk for pleasure. It can’t be. This is a walk for another reason, a walk to prove something, to gain something, to feel accomplishment, to feel worthy, to feel somehow better about themselves.
with yourself.
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couple we’ve been observing. Sam is a natural. She gets it, understands walking’s essential spirit. Like it must have been for our human ancestors hundreds of years before cars, trains, planes, and buses, Sam knows how to walk. And although much of those earlier human walks were utilitarian—simply a reason to move from point A to point B with a focus on destination— walking was also considered a pastime, a way to socialize, to unwind, to rediscover the unhurried world. Sam does this every day. She does not need to get from point A to B to find food, to catch a commuter train, or pick up the mail at the end of a long driveway. Why does she want to walk as much as she can? It makes her happy. Why do I walk Sam? It makes me happy. Sam and I step south from the corner as the couple treks over the crest of the hill and disappears. Sam quickly forgets them and their detached, unchanging gait, for she is now tugging toward the large elm tree in the parkway where she can catch a scent at its base and return to her pilgrim’s walk, the one the Buddhist monk talks about, a monk about which Sam knows nothing, a monk whose philosophies Sam will never study or contemplate. But this is of no matter because Sam is a far more natural traveler of the world, the most mindful monk I know, a teacher of the perfect way to move in the world.
About the author
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David W. Berner is the author of several books of memoir and fiction. His books have been honored by the Society of Midland Authors, the Chica-
go Writers Association, and the Eric Hoffer Book Awards. He has been the Writer-in-Residence at the Jack Kerouac Project in Florida and at the Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Home in Illinois. He lives outside of Chicago.
the PTSD-associated loss of sense of invulnerability to form quite a combination with which to come to terms. Freedom in an existential sense means not having an external structure. Humans do not enter a world that is inherently structured. Webb asserts that we give the world a structure, which we ourselves create.
Two things become excruciatingly clear during a PTSD-causing event. First, death is inevitable. Second, it is ever-present and can occur at any second. This is what always lingers foremost beneath the surface of a PTSD experiencer’s mind. This constant awareness of death as an inevitable occurrence isn’t the only force at work. It combines with
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The Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Fallacy: A Mental Health Industry Bonanza of Profit and human Desolation An Excerpt by Nattanya H Andersen
Isolation means that no matter how close we get to another person, a gap always remains. We are still alone. Meaninglessness stems from the first three: death, freedom, and isolation. If we must die, if we build our own world, and if each of us is ultimately alone, then what meaning does life have? After the PTSD-causing event, PTSD sufferers are overcome by an overwhelming meaninglessness of life. If there is no meaning in anything, and death is the result of everything anyway, why go through the motion of living?
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PTSD travelers have two decisions to make. They have to choose whether to live or die. We can will ourselves to die. But if we choose to live, we have to give our individual world a structure. This is something only we can create for ourselves. The PTSD-causing event wiped our slate clean, with all its structure and habits. All our wishes and desires, joys and fears, likes and dislikes–gone. All our loves and hates of friends and foes, marriage and partners, children and friends–gone. Our soul left with the event, while the body remained on Earth–lost. No-one tells us what it is we are suffering. We have no idea what happened to us. We are unaware that to create a completely new structure for our life is a necessity if want to live. There is nobody out there to enlighten us. The experts pretend to know about
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how it is to live with PTSD, but they are the blind leading the blind. They have no idea about the reason for a despair so overwhelming and colossal that it opens the way to hell. Consuming pharmaceutical and other drugs only makes it worse. It’s not about healing; it’s about reconstruction. PTSD is actually a gift. But we don’t see it, and the professionals have no idea. Thus, the knowledge of imminent death at any given moment of life, the ensuing refrain becomes ever-present: “Why go through the motion of doing anything?”
The desire for isolation may also be a barrier to reconstruction. The initially incomprehensible feeling of desolation and emptiness within creates the need for isolation. The sense of an overwhelming bleakness of life and living suddenly felt within
creates the need for isolation. The feeling of barrenness in everything one sees and everything one looks at creates the need for isolation. The sense of being in this world but no longer of it, creates the need, the desire for complete isolation. This isolation is needed to subconsciously figure out what happened to the Self. The isolation due to the complete feeling of desolation we feel is twofold, though. It precedes the decision whether to live or die.
The isolation we feel is twofold, though. Due to the PTSD-generated existential crisis brewing within, we need time for isolation, peace and quiet. We need this time to figure out what has happened, what is happening and what, if anything, to do about it once we decide to live.
You can always find the information at nattanya.ca
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As mentioned, isolation means that no matter how close we become to another human being, a gap remains. We are always alone. So why go through the tedious effort to maintain old relationships? What is the purpose, if death will part us anyway? Why bother?
large North American airline while in her time off sailing the seven seas, trucking throughout North America and obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree. She and her dogs now live in a seashore village on Vancouver Island, where she is completing The PTSD Fallacy II and III.
About the Author When seeing her first stewardess at age 5, Nattanya knew she would follow in her footsteps. Too young to fly at age 17, she instead began to sail as stewardess on a Danish freighter. A couple of years later, she married and worked as ground-stewardess for Lufthansa German Airlines at Copenhagen’s Kastrup airport. When children failed to announce their arrival and with a desire to permanently leave Europe on her mind, Nattanya began to fly for a
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