You are right! We had the opportunity to drop in a couple of times for brief visits to an old and aged friend, now confined to her bed. The joy and light in her eyes still comes on when people visit her. Would that we lived in a kinder and more tolerant society. But it seems that blame and anger and self-congratulation have become too much the norm.
Cheers, Lawry On Oct 1, 2012, at 11:08 AM, D & N wrote: > And that then would become a sad comment on society as all too often has been > discussed on this list. I suppose too that in the absence of help > (camaraderie), an ill person may find it difficult to find something to laugh > about which would defeat the treatment. We gloss over "self-worth" and teach > instead "monetary worth". How truly sad. > > D. > > On 01/10/2012 5:43 AM, de Bivort Lawrence wrote: >> Perhaps this reflects the nature of the person. Cousins -- and so many >> other people -- were/are oriented to helping others without requiring >> benefit to themselves, and so they will publicize things that do just >> that. Others -- too many others, in my opinion -- are self-seeking, and >> won't do anything for others unless it provides them with an economic >> benefit; these are the people who promote things that they can make a profit >> on. >> >> Perhaps that reference to Cousins laugh therapy died away -- beyond the >> likelihood that some who heard of it thought it to be too simple to be true >> -- merely means that there are more of the latter kind of people than the >> former? >> >> Cheers, >> Lawry >> >> >> On Sep 30, 2012, at 8:27 PM, D & N wrote: >> >>> Indeed. He cleared a few people out of hospital beds but it seemed to go >>> the way of a fad. It made a point but how much is it worth if everyone can >>> choose to do it for themselves for free. >>> >>> D. >>> >>> On 30/09/2012 11:44 AM, de Bivort Lawrence wrote: >>>> Do you remember Norman Cousins and his laughter therapy? >>>> >>>> Cheers, >>>> Lawry >>>> >>>> >>>> On Sep 30, 2012, at 12:12 PM, D & N wrote: >>>> >>>>> I have heard of such things. >>>>> >>>>> Feeling bad. Negatives. Would this not block the flow of energies through >>>>> our bodies? Creating areas of stagnation? It is one thing to have these >>>>> areas assisted by massage (or whatever) but if the underlying reason for >>>>> illness is not addressed, the illness will continue or return. There have >>>>> been incidents of total cancer remission without intervention. But, once >>>>> one has cancer (or other major illness) another circle in one's life is >>>>> closing the ring. So feeling bad may initiate a disease but now having >>>>> the disease makes one feel worse (perhaps in another way) and the >>>>> feedback loop is complete to retain the disease. >>>>> >>>>> D. >>>>> >>>>> On 29/09/2012 10:29 AM, Ray Harrell wrote: >>>>>> So feeling bad gives you cancer. Rather than Cancer makes you feel >>>>>> bad. Hmmm. >>>>>> >>>>>> Interesting. >>>>>> >>>>>> REH >>>>>> >>>>>> From: [email protected] >>>>>> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Keith Hudson >>>>>> Sent: Saturday, September 29, 2012 1:05 PM >>>>>> To: RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, EDUCATION >>>>>> Subject: Re: [Futurework] Diminishing life expectancy of the poor >>>>>> >>>>>> At 15:04 29/09/2012, you wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>> From today's AlterNet Newsletter. I find the last paragraph interesting >>>>>> -- the idea that ill health and diminishing life expectancy are at least >>>>>> partly the result of the poor feeling they are sinking into an >>>>>> increasingly hopeless situation. Might life expectancy be related to >>>>>> how good and useful you feel? >>>>>> >>>>>> Yes, I'd have thought so. >>>>>> >>>>>> Keith >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Ed >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Shocker Stat: Life Expectancy Decreases by 4 Years Among Poor Whites in >>>>>> U.S. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Yesterday, the New York Times reported on an alarming new study: >>>>>> researchers have documented that the least educated white Americans are >>>>>> experiencing sharp declines in life expectancy. Between 1990 and 2008, >>>>>> white women without a high school diploma lost a full five years of >>>>>> their lives, while their male counterparts lost three years. Experts say >>>>>> that declines in life expectancy in developed countries are exceedingly >>>>>> rare, and that in the U.S., decreases on this scale "have not been seen >>>>>> in the U.S. since the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918." Even during >>>>>> the Great Depression, which wrought economic devastation and severe >>>>>> psychic trauma for millions of Americans, average life expectancy was on >>>>>> the increase. >>>>>> >>>>>> What are the reasons for the disturbing drop in life expectancy among >>>>>> poor white folks, and in particular for the unusually large magnitude of >>>>>> the decline? According to the Times, researchers are baffled: one expert >>>>>> said, “There’s this enormous issue of why . . . It’s very puzzling and >>>>>> we don’t have a great explanation." Undoubtedly, the increasing numbers >>>>>> of low-income Americans without health insurance is a major contributor >>>>>> factor. Researchers also say that lifestyle factors such as smoking, >>>>>> which has increased among low-income white women, play a role; poor >>>>>> folks tend to engage in more risky health behaviors than their more >>>>>> affluent counterparts. >>>>>> >>>>>> I will offer an alternative hypothesis, one which is not explicitly >>>>>> identified in the Times article: inequality. In the U.S., the period >>>>>> between 1990 and 2008, which is a period that saw such steep declines in >>>>>> life expectancy for the least well-off white people, is also a period >>>>>> during which economic inequality soared. Moreover, there is a compelling >>>>>> body of research that suggests that inequality itself -- quite apart >>>>>> from low incomes, or lack of health insurance -- is associated with more >>>>>> negative health outcomes for those at the bottom of the heap. One of the >>>>>> most famous series of studies of the social determinants of health, >>>>>> Britain's Whitehall Studies, had as their subjects British civil >>>>>> servants, all of whom health insurance and (presumably) decent enough >>>>>> jobs. Intriguingly, these studies >>>>>> found a strong association between grade levels of civil servant >>>>>> employment and mortality rates from a range of causes. Men in the lowest >>>>>> grade (messengers, doorkeepers, etc.) had a mortality rate three times >>>>>> higher than that of men in the highest grade (administrators). >>>>>> >>>>>> The Whitehall studies found that while workers in the lower grades were >>>>>> more likely to be at risk for coronary heart disease due to factors such >>>>>> as higher rates of smoking, higher blood pressure, etc., even after >>>>>> controlling for those confounding factors, these workers still >>>>>> experienced significantly higher mortality rates. So what was behind >>>>>> such disparate health incomes among high-status and low-status workers? >>>>>> Researchers pointed the finger at inequality, hypothesizing that various >>>>>> psychosocial factors associated with inequality — such as the higher >>>>>> levels of stress at work and at home experienced by the lower tier >>>>>> workers, as well as their lower levels of self-esteem — were behind the >>>>>> dramatic differences in mortality rates. >>>>>> >>>>>> I believe that inequality-related stressors are likely to be the >>>>>> determining factors in declining American life expectancies, as well. >>>>>> I’m surprised, in fact, that the Times article did not specifically >>>>>> identify inequality as a causal factor, because the health risks >>>>>> associated with economic inequality are well-established in the >>>>>> scientific literature. For decades, the United States has been making a >>>>>> series of political choices that has distributed wealth and power >>>>>> upwards and left working Americans not only poorer and sicker, but also >>>>>> feeling far more burdened and distressed, and experiencing far less >>>>>> security and control over their lives. The consequences of these choices >>>>>> have been devastating, and absent a dramatic reversal in our political >>>>>> course, they are likely to get even worse. Where inequality is >>>>>> concerned, Republicans have their foot on the accelerator, while the >>>>>> best the Democrats seem to be able to do is to (temporarily) put their >>>>>> foot on the brake. >>>>>> >>>>>> We are on a trajectory all right, and it’s not a good one. >>>>>> The Washington Monthly / By Kathleen Geier | Sourced from >>>>>> Washington Monthly >>>>>> >>>>>> Posted at September 22, 2012, 8:27am >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>>> Futurework mailing list >>>>>> [email protected] >>>>>> https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework >>>>>> Keith Hudson, Saltford, England http://allisstatus.wordpress.com >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>>> Futurework mailing list >>>>>> [email protected] >>>>>> https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework >>>>> >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> Futurework mailing list >>>>> [email protected] >>>>> https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Futurework mailing list >>>> [email protected] >>>> https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Futurework mailing list >>> [email protected] >>> https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Futurework mailing list >> [email protected] >> https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
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