In time for World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10, 2012, let’s do some myth-busting. Although they don’t seem like likely candidates, and although the myth persists that suicide is most common among the young, the elderly have the highest suicide rates of any age group. Even though in 2006 the elderly (we’re starting with […]
June 18, 2012 by candidaabrahamson
“Civilizations die from suicide, not by murder.” ~ Arnold J. Toynbee Suicide is the ultimate expression of abandonment of hope, of an inability to see a better future, of the experience of agony too great to suffer a moment more. It is a death that comes when the spirit has gone before it. And I’d […]
June 10, 2012 by candidaabrahamson
“Money has never made man happy, nor will it, there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more of it one has the more one wants.” ~ Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin knew a lot on an extensively large variety of topics –and pretty much liked to tell everyone about it at any opportunity. It […]
May 14, 2012 by candidaabrahamson
(picture by luigi diamanti) The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live. ~Flora Whittemore We spend our lives making decisions that will impact the rest of our days on this earth. We pick a career, select a mate, decide to have children and how many, make lifestyle choices that effect our health, move […]
April 26, 2012 by candidaabrahamson
”A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking real money” ~attributed to Everett Dirksen Unfortunately for us, the phrase goes differently–and, in cancer research, we’re already talking about ‘real money.’ A retraction of a scientific paper on cancer here, a retraction there. . .and pretty soon you’re talking about a real fiasco–for scientists, […]
Henrietta Lacks was young, poor, unassuming, African-American. From Virginia, she earned her living as a tobacco farmer, happily married, had five children, and died of cervical cancer at 31. But her story doesn’t end there. In pain and bleeding as the cancer took its toll, she was tested for syphilis and treated for venereal disease–but certainly […]
Take a look at the picture below of the last five DSMs, or Diagnostic and Statistical Manuals of Mental Disorders. Before I take away all the excitement, think for yourself, looking closely, about what’s different among the manuals. Hint: What do you notice about, say, size issues? Here goes: It’s tricky, I acknowledge. But are […]
April 18, 2012 by candidaabrahamson
My son–now a professor, an educator of today’s youth, a scientist in search of truth–was, in his salad days, a world-class faker. He particularly perfected his art when it came to faking illness in order to get out of school. Our growing skepticism spurred him to new heights of creativity, and his theatrics were something […]
April 15, 2012 by candidaabrahamson
Well, I never really knew you ’til you said goodbye~Vince Gill If you want to know something about bereavement that slides from ‘normal’ to ‘complicated’ in a moment of revelation, due to unimaginable circumstances, you need look no further than to the mourning experiences of Julie Metz and Reeve Lindbergh. As you can see in my […]
April 14, 2012 by candidaabrahamson
I am not just the founding mother, but am also the most decorated member of my children’s fan club. At rallies I come equipped with buttons, balloons and noise-makers, wearing electric blue shirts with the kids’ names inscribed. I’m a complete embarrassment, but I want my support known. Their spouses can’t hold a candle to […]
September 7, 2012 by rfinkel
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