Using Body Language to Avoid Being Bullied

I am currently taking some private acting lesson senssions as part of my CBT therapy and personal growth.

I would like to work with my teacher to help develop a program of body posture and movement to practice at deflecting bullies, akido style..


.http://www.wikihow.com/Avoid-Being-Bullied-in-Middle-School

Have Some Blue Light (In the Morning)

Could blue lights replace a daily cup of coffee? Scientists claim they could be more effective at keeping you alert than caffeine

Blue light is harmless to tissue but can trigger biological effects in the body

In a study, people exposed to blue light performed better at distraction tests

The same test, proved too much for caffeine users who performed poorly
To read more go to:


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2511979/Could-blue-lights-replace-daily-cup-coffee-Scientists-claim-effective-keeping-alert-caffeine.html

 

Once More, Into the Light....

From yee Wiki:

Light therapy or phototherapy (classically referred to as heliotherapy) consists of exposure to daylight or to specific wavelengths of light using polychromatic polarised light, lasers, light-emitting diodes, fluorescent lamps, dichroic lamps or very bright, full-spectrum light, usually controlled with various devices. The light is administered for a prescribed amount of time and, in some cases, at a specific time of day.

Common use of the term is associated with the treatment of skin disorders (chiefly psoriasis), sleep disorder and some psychiatric disorders.

Light therapy directed at the skin is also used to treat acne vulgaris, eczema and neonatal jaundice.

Light therapy which strikes the retina of the eyes is used to treat circadian rhythm disorders such as delayed sleep phase disorder and can also be used to treat seasonal affective disorder, with some support for its use also with non-seasonal psychiatric disorders.

Mood and sleep related
Seasonal affective disorder
While full sunlight is preferred for seasonal affective disorder (SAD), light boxes may be effective for the treatment of the condition. Light boxes for seasonal affective disorder are designed to filter out most UV light, which can cause eye and skin damage.

The Mayo Clinic states that light therapy is of proven effectiveness for treating seasonal affective disorder and light therapy is seen as its main form of treatment. Controlled-trial comparisons with antidepressants show equal effectiveness, with less expense and more rapid onset of therapeutic benefit, though a minority of patients may not respond to it.

Direct sunlight, reflected into the windows of a home or office by a computer-controlled mirror device called a heliostat, has also been used as a type of light therapy for the treatment of SAD.

The effectiveness of light therapy for treating SAD may be linked to the fact that light therapy makes up for lost sunlight exposure and resets the body's internal clock.

It is possible that response to light therapy for SAD could be season dependent.

Non-seasonal depression:

Light therapy has also been suggested in the treatment of non-seasonal depression and other psychiatric disturbances, including major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder and postpartum depression.

A meta-analysis by the Cochrane Collaboration concluded that "for patients suffering from non-seasonal depression, light therapy offers modest though promising antidepressive efficacy." A more recent meta-analysis from Journal of Affective Disorders confirms this and is even more hopeful: "Overall, bright light therapy is an excellent candidate for inclusion into the therapeutic inventory available for the treatment of nonseasonal depression today, as adjuvant therapy to antidepressant medication, or eventually as stand-alone treatment for specific subgroups of depressed patients."

Circadian rhythm sleep disorder

In the management of circadian rhythm disorders such as delayed sleep phase disorder (DSPD), the timing of light exposure is critical. For DSPD, the light must be provided to the retina as soon after spontaneous awakening as possible to achieve the desired effect, as shown by the phase response curve for light in humans.

Some users have reported success with lights that turn on shortly before awakening (dawn simulation). Morning use may also be effective for non-24-hour sleep–wake disorder, while evening use is recommended for advanced sleep phase disorder.

Situational CRSD

Light therapy has been tested for individuals on shift work, and for jet lag.

 

Kicking Facebook...

Where, oh where, in the web-o-sphere have I been? Sad to say, some while back, when my Blog posts dried up, it was because I became totally hooked on Facebook. It became all-too addicting -- reveling in those FB “likes” and keeping up to date with what merry mischief my sociable friends are up to. Having a “smart phone” had a lot to do with it. FB is a total “time hog,” because I have to constantly correct, edit, and re-correct all the auto-changes and word substitutions triggered by each of my slang-heavy quips.

Everything FB critics warned the public about attention and focus is true. I stopped reading books, blogging, and watching video. I imagine it’s because a little squirt of super-pleasurable dopamine is released with the “social acceptance” of each “like” feedback notice. Pretty soon, the susceptible are behaving much like online poker addicts – hooked on maintaining the flow of those neurotransmitters of joy. Guilty.

On FB, I also started “stretching out” from my savant-like “hyper-focus” on original comic book art at work, and I was totally grooving on sharing images of my favorite landscape paintings and illustration art pieces. I estimate I am only using about 35% of my “total art knowledge” for my occupation as the world’s greatest comic art cataloger -- so I got carried away with the uninhibited fun of my new “free-range” art celebrations. Old art history networks, long dormant, fired up again.  Unfortunately, a friend pointed out that my numerous FB posts had become like a “RSS feed into the brain of Don Mangus.” At least they weren’t political diatribes.

All this time away from my Blogs will not be a total loss, though. I’m going to transfer some of the more relevant topics I covered on FB over to these more “universal” blogs.

I’m very interested in the idea of using social networks to help heal anxiety disorders, share information, and be a positive influence in general. Used properly, in moderation, FB could be a helpful adjunct to the blog.

And so, I vow to start reading real books again and unplug some. It’s time to reign in my recent FB addiction.

Garth Williams Pencil Studies

I've lately been buying up large lots of preliminary pencil studies by the celebrated illustrator, Garth Williams. Heritage Auctions is selling his estate and I just couldn't resist acquiring some his wondefully expressive pencil studies.

Here is Mr. Williams' obituary from The New York Times:

Garth Williams, Book Illustrator, Dies at 84

By Mel Gussow, The New York Times, published May 10, 1996

Garth Williams, the artist who illustrated E. B. White's Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web and scores of other children's classics, died on Wednesday at his home in Guanajuato, Mexico. He was 84.

With the precision of Durer but with his own sense of innocence and wonderment, Mr. Williams created a world of storybook characters. Although the books were written by a diverse range of authors, the drawings all had Mr. Williams's impeccable, heartwarming touch.

Generations of children picture their favorite fictional characters as drawn by Mr. Williams: that dapper mouse Stuart Little; the kindhearted spider Charlotte and her friend, Wilbur the pig; and bears, dogs, kittens, crickets, elves, fairies, children and grown-ups in books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, George Selden, Charlotte Zolotow, Else H. Minarik and many others. Mr. Williams also wrote the text for seven children's books, but it is primarily as an illustrator that his work is cherished.

He believed that books "given, or read, to children can have a profound influence." For that reason, he said, he used his illustrations to try to "awaken something of importance . . . humor, responsibility, respect for others, interest in the world at large."

During the 1950's, Mr. Williams also illustrated Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie and its sequels. In addition, he illustrated books by Margaret Wise Brown, Russell Hoban, and Randall Jarrell, among others. Among his most popular books were those written by George Selden, beginning with The Cricket in Times Square.

In 1958, Mr. Williams wrote and illustrated The Rabbits' Wedding, which became the subject of controversy because the book dealt with a marriage between a white rabbit and a black rabbit. It was attacked by the White Citizens Council in Alabama and charged with promoting racial integration and was removed from general circulation by the Alabama Public Library Service Division. In the book, the rabbits are married by moonlight with a peaceable kingdom of animals in attendance.

For the past 40 years, Mr. Williams lived in a hacienda that he built in Guanajuato and in his home in San Antonio, Tex.

He is survived by his wife, Leticia; five daughters, Fiona Hulbert of Brussels, Bettina Shore of Toronto, Jessica Rose of New York City, Estyn, of Newport, R.I., and Dilys, of Guanajuato; and by a son, Dylan, of New York City. His daughter Fiona was the model for Fern, the little girl in Charlotte's Web.