SOCS-Compline

Complement can mean complete and compline means to complete the day. It is the last prayer of the day or night prayer. I am thinking of compline because I am a fan of the PBS program “Call the Midwife.” It is based on the memoires of Jennifer Worth who worked as a Nurse-Midwife in the 1950s at Nonnatus House, a residence of Anglican nuns who were also Nurse-Midwives. The nuns and lay midwives provided maternity and public health care to a poor London area after WWII.

The compline is mentioned by the nuns in the show, and they are sometimes depicted in a compline service in the church at the end of the day. They stand together and chant the prayers.

I admire the dedication of all nuns. When I was little I thought of nuns as so stern and perfect. They were without fault. They would not allow themselves to commit any sins. I did not see their humanity.

One of first Nursing positions I had, as a young woman, was at a Catholic hospital in San Francisco. I met a nun who visited our unit. I sat with her in the cafeteria one day and she told me of a recent experience she had when she visited a patient in a Nursing Home. She said the person had loss the use of their hands and expressed their despair to her. The Sister said she had been depressed by it. I had an epiphany then. Nuns can get depressed too. They can have times when they are not strong just like everyone else.

Yet, they keep rededicating themselves to service.

|LindaGHill|

Hard to Believe

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200 Posts on Notes Tied On The Sagebrush

I received notification the other day that I reached this milestone. It is hard to believe I have this many posts. I started my blog in the Summer of 2014. So happy to have connected with other bloggers and my readers. It has been an interesting experience. If anyone had told me I would be blogging I don’t think I would have believed them.

I am still finding my way in the writing journey. Thanks for your support readers and fellow bloggers. 🙂

My posts have been going in different directions to match issues that hold my interest. I am still involved in Education and work with kids with learning differences. I am interested in issues impacting women, the environment and ageing. I like participating in some writing communities. I am thinking how I can organize my blog around these themes. A work in progress. 🙂

APPs That Help People with ADHD

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Smartphone productivity apps, best apps for ADHD symptoms

Image via Additude Magazine, click on image to link to APP article

Additude Magazine online has a new information guide called ADHD:The First 100 Days. It provides loads of information and resources for people who may want to know more about ADD and what can help.

The information about technology caught my eye because I know how many people are really into it and especially young people. In this article, written by a self-identified tech geek, the author mentions several APPs he has found very useful to manage time, work, sleep, e-mails, block out distractions and more. There is one APP he lists called “Rescue Time” that helps you track your activity on the internet. I got a laugh when he shared that he did not realize, and discovered with this APP, that he had spent 2 hours watching cat videos. I was laughing with him because I know the internet is so seductive. There is always one more interesting article to read or video. Other APPs like “Freedom” and “Anti-Social” help you block access to distracting sites while you are at work or working on a report.

This article lists 30 different APPs. I think there are many that could be very useful. What do you think? Have you discovered any APPs yourself?

The Difference of ADD Part II

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“ADDers do not fit into the standard school system, which is built on repeating what someone else thinks is important and relevant. “–Dr. William Dodson

I wanted to continue my discussion of Dr. Dodson’s article because he brings up some very interesting points I did not address in the first post. He says non-ADHD, or neurotypical, is not “normal” or better. There is a difference in the way their nervous systems operate.

He also says that the cognitive and behavior therapies used to manage ADHD do not have a lasting effect because these therapies are designed for a neurotypical system. What motivates a neurotypical person does not work well to motivate a person with ADHD. The person with ADHD needs to create their own system or “owner’s manual.” I think many adults with ADD have learned to do this more or less by trial and error. If they are able to function well in the neurotypical world, they have found their own ways to do so.

Dr. Dodson lists some suggestions of how people can create their own successful strategies by tuning into what is working for them now and to apply these techniques to other areas of their lives.

Another statement that really stood out for me is, ” the first thing for coaches, doctors, and professionals is to stop trying to turn ADHD people into neurotypical people. The goal should be to intervene as early as possible, before the ADHD individual has been frustrated and demoralized by struggling in a neurotypical world, where the deck is stacked against him.”

The Difference Called ADD

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What does it feel like to have ADD?

Click image to slideshow by Additude Magazine

“ADHD is like a browser with 600 tabs open, each to a different website.”–adult with ADD

“No matter how clever the alien becomes at attempting to pass as an earthling, some telling awkwardness in his manner, some fatal expression of his true nature will, in unguarded moments, betray him for what he is: “different.”–Gabor Mate M.D. in Scattered

To say someone with ADD has a deficit of attention is a misnomer. People with ADD have a deficit of attention for something that does not interest them. They have an abundance of attention for many things. I think that has been called curiosity.

In his article, Secrets of the ADHD Brain, William Dodson M.D. states “ADHD is not a damaged or defective nervous system. It is a nervous system that works well using its own set of rules. Despite ADHD’s association with learning disabilities, most people with an ADHD nervous system have significantly higher-than-average IQs. They also use that IQ in different ways than neurotypical people. By the time most people with the condition reach high school, they are able to tackle problems that stump everyone else, and can jump to solutions that no one else saw.”

I don’t like calling ADD a “condition” either because that makes me think of illness. I prefer calling it a difference. I do think kids can have trouble functioning in school with ADHD if they are not helped to develop coping skills to adjust their temperaments and differences to the neurotypical, linear thinking environment. Teachers can make accommodations and modifications in the classroom and work load to help kids with ADHD engage and manage with their school work requirements.

” Far from being damaged goods, people with an ADHD nervous system are bright and clever. The main problem is that they were given a neurotypical owner’s manual at birth. It works for everyone else, not for them.” (Dodson)

SOCS-Very/Vary Musing

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“You can’t just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood.
What mood is that?
Last-minute panic.” –Bill Watterson

This is how I ~~often~~ sometimes feel when requested to respond to a writing prompt. Is it my rebellious nature? The prompt today is to write about the words very/vary.

I admit the word “very” is useful. It allows me to indicate or describe something that is not average or a matter of greater degree in various categories.

Very happy, very sad, very angry,

Very easy, very difficult, very hard, very frustrating,

Very big, very small, very much, very little,

Very hot, very cold, very sunny, very rainy, very stormy, very…

Or for extra emphasis, to show an extreme, I can use it twice like in the lyrics to the song by Nat King Cole, “Love”, when he sings ” V is very, very extraordinary.”

If something is “very” it does sound more dramatic and intense. It does help describe a greater depth and breadth of feeling about something. Very is an ordinary word for something extraordinary.

|LindaGHill|

Age Like an Okinawan

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Senior Planet alerted me to a You Tube video of Dr. Andrew Weil talking about longevity in Okinawa. Many of us have read about “Blue Zones” or regions of the world known for centenarians. Many things have been written about the diets and philosophies of the people in these zones in hopes that we may emulate them.

Dr. Weil discusses how he has made several trips to Okinawa and has found many factors that may contribute to their people’s longevity. A couple of factors he mentions are healthy diet and physical activity. One factor he chose to emphasize, and that really caught my attention, is the cultural value placed on aging in Okinawa. He says the people there are not ashamed of aging and are considered valued members of their community. They are considered ” living treasures.” Dr. Weil argues that the extreme negative attitudes towards aging in our culture are what influences the way we age and contributes to the negative manifestations of aging we see. Food for thought?

Try to catch yourself when you are making negative self-talk about getting older. Things like ” I’m having a senior moment,” or when you have a ache or pain saying, ” Oh, I must be getting old.” I have heard 40 year olds making these remarks about getting older. Just think if you feel that way at 40, how will you feel at 60?

When we internalize our culture’s negative attitudes toward aging we can not help looking at ourselves negatively and feeling negative about getting older. I would like to age like an Okinawan and feel like a “treasure.” How about you?

SOCS-P is for Picnic

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Labor Day Picnic

1950s

Small-town America

Sack races and

Pieces of watermelon

Drifter and the Beauty Queen

Sparks

Sexy

Moonglow

Lovers.

Dance scene from Picnic by Stan Gunn on You Tube:

The film Picnic was based on a Pulitzer Prize winning play written by William Inge. It was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting Actor.

|Lindaghill|

Writer’s Quote Wednesday-A Woman’s Worth Priceless

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A woman I know wears a thin gold chain around her waist, under her clothes, with a charm bearing the inscription Priceless. It drives men crazy, she tells me. Small wonder. They love to be reminded of what they already know, since we live in a world that constantly denies it. She wears the chain, she says, in such a way that the charm falls perfectly across a certain female charka, as it were, which reminds her constantly of her inestimable value.–Marianne Williamson

Marianne Williamson is an American author and spiritual teacher. She has published 10 books including 4 New York Times best sellers. “A Woman’s Worth” is one of her books. I have not read any of her books so I can not personally endorse any of them. This quote appealed to me because I like quotes that empower women.

In addition to writing books she founded Project Angel Food in Los Angeles which is a meals on wheels service for people suffering with AIDs. She works in organizations to eliminate poverty, promote peace, and support women who wish to pursue political candidacy.

|Silver Threading|

Feeling Separate and Unequal with ADHD

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Image via Additude Magazine

People with any kind of learning difference are bound to feel “separate and unequal,” because of their difficulties navigating in a world that expects them to fit in. Dr. Dodson describes in this slideshow what this is like and how kids with learning differences can develop a deep shame. Click here to read more: Feeling Separate and Unequal with ADHD.

It made me aware of how I need to be sensitive to how my reactions can effect the kids I work with as a tutor. I need to keep reminding myself that many of the behaviors are due to the learning differences.

“For ADHDers, shame arises from the repeated failure to meet expectations from parents, teachers, friends, bosses, and the world. It is estimated that those with ADHD receive 20,000 more negative messages by age 12 than those without the condition. They view themselves as fundamentally different and flawed. They are not like other people.–Dr. William Dodson”

It is so important for kids to receive the message that they are accepted and do not have to be perfect. The message that they are worthwhile people and are loved for who they are.

Dr. Dodson points out it is important for kids to feel they have a cheerleader:

“Having someone—a friend, neighbor, coach, or grandparent—who accepts and loves a child or adult with ADHD, despite his faults and shortcomings, is vital in overcoming shame. This is the opposite of perfectionism, in which approval is contingent on what the person has done lately. The accepting person acts as a vessel that holds the memory of you as a good and valuable person, even when things go wrong.”