CLUB MEETINGS: May 14-20, 2025
Parkinson's Disease Support Group: 2 p.m. meeting at Sanford Health WindSong in Bemidji. The group will have an open discussion. Bring questions or your latest news to share. For more information, call Gary at 218-760-8266.
Beltrami County DFL: 5 p.m. light supper and social hour at the Redby Wellness Center, followed by the party's executive committee meeting at 6 p.m.
Thursday, May 15
Beltrami County DFL: 1 p.m. 'Pizza and Programs' session at the DFL office in Bemidji, featuring Less Narum, who has an extensive farming background. Narum will discuss the shift in agricultural practices over time and how common perceptions of the family farm differ from present reality.
Sunday, May 18
Everybody Dance: 1 to 4 p.m. dance at the Park Rapids American Legion, featuring Frankly Country. For more information, contact Lila Kalish at 612-819-5822 or
lilakalish@gmail.com
.
Tuesday, May 20
Jolly Jammers: 7 p.m. jam session at Akeley Methodist Church. For more information, call Frank Lamb, Sr. at 218-652-2885.
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2 days ago
- Yahoo
This Silly Hack Can Actually Really Help With Anxiety
Anxiety can feel all-consuming, making your heart race, thoughts spiral, chest tighten and more. Some describe it as a dark shadow that follows you around and constantly reminds you of all the worst-case scenarios. Serious anxiety requires serious treatment, but there are also fun little 'hacks' that you can keep in your arsenal to help keep the shadow from overwhelming your life ― for example, giving your anxiety a silly name. Although it might sound absurd, this playful strategy draws on real psychological principles and can even make dealing with anxiety a little bit fun and humorous. Below, experts break down what you should know about naming your anxiety and how to make it work best for you. Here's how it works. 'Assigning a silly or exaggerated name to anxiety can be a useful cognitive strategy,' said psychologist Stefanie Mazer. 'By externalizing the experience and labeling it humorously, individuals often find it easier to create psychological distance from distressing thoughts. Calling your anxiety something dumb like 'Nervous Ned' or 'Meltdown Mike' sounds ridiculous, but that's the point. It makes the whole thing feel less threatening.' Giving your anxiety a silly name 'knocks it down a peg' and allows you to stop treating it like an all-knowing authority, she added. This tactic is a way to regain a sense of agency over your inner narrative. 'It might sound childish at first, but there's real psychology behind it,' said Erin Pash, a licensed marriage and family therapist and founder of Pash Co. 'When we're caught in the grip of anxiety, it feels massive and all-consuming, like this nameless monster that has complete control over us. But the moment you call it something like 'Gary the Worry Wart' or 'Anxious Annie,' you're already taking back some of your power.' Rather than some terrifying force, your anxiety is just 'Gary,' who can be quite ridiculous sometimes. The anxious thought 'everyone is judging me' becomes 'Gary is telling me that everyone is judging me.' This psychological distance can separate you from the anxiety and make it feel less urgent and persuasive. 'When anxiety hits, we often think 'I'm anxious' or 'I'm panicking,' which makes us feel completely merged with those feelings,' Pash said. 'But when you say 'Oh, there's Gary again with his worries about that presentation,' you're observing the anxiety rather than being consumed by it. This technique also engages your prefrontal cortex ― the logical, problem-solving part of your brain ― which helps calm down your amygdala, the part that's firing off all those alarm bells.' She compared it to the difference between being stuck in a storm versus watching it safely from inside your home. 'Calling your anxiety something silly turns it into background noise instead of a command,' Mazer noted. 'That shift helps you notice it without getting swept up. It's harder to take anxious thoughts at face value when they're coming from a made-up character. You start to see the patterns and maybe even laugh at how dramatic they sound.' What are some benefits to this approach? Mental health expert Noel McDermott praised the sense of fun and levity in this anxiety hack, which serves as a nice counterbalance to the stress and serious tone present with anxiety. 'It's empowering and accessible,' he noted. 'Endless research shows that when people feel empowered in a situation, they manage that situation much better than someone who feels more victimized. It encourages the use of a psychological trick called 'the observer effect' which is often seen through the use of meditation, so people can have an emotionally distanced relationship to their anxiety and have a relationship to that anxiety which they can manage more effectively.' Having some distance from your anxiety can also help you reach a place of acceptance of its presence in your life. 'Anxiety symptoms tend to compound when you worry about whether or not you may feel anxious in a given situation,' said Arianna Galligher, a licensed independent social worker at Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center. 'If you can reframe how you view the presence of anxiety as a quirky, albeit sometimes annoying companion rather than a force that limits your ability to engage with the world around you, it takes some of the pressure off. Instead of fearing anxiety, you can invite it to come along with you by saying to yourself, 'Come on, Edna. We're going to the store.'' Naming your anxiety can also help you externalize its symptoms as separate from you, which in turn lessens their severity and duration. 'If someone is experiencing physical symptoms of anxiety, such as a racing heart or catastrophic thinking, giving those symptoms a ridiculous name can reduce the intensity by adding humor and levity to the experience, which communicates to the nervous system that it can relax,' said Becky Stuempfig, a licensed marriage and family therapist. Some people might even benefit from leaning into their symptoms as part of the name. 'Giving anxiety a nickname could be useful in gently learning to identify a somatic, body-centered anxiety cue,' said licensed marriage and family therapist Sonnet Daymont. 'For instance, if a person knows that feeling gas and upset stomach is a cue that they are about to have a lot of anxious thoughts, or if that sensation is present with anxious thoughts, then calling their anxiety 'Gurgle' and giving the belly a little rub, taking a yoga breath into the belly, and allowing the self a break to walk outside and look at one's thinking, and to ground through calming techniques could be helpful.' She believes this approach could help that person see that their anxiety is 'trainable,' like a new puppy. Thus, it no longer feels so intimidating and unmanageable. 'I always tell my clients that the goal isn't to eliminate anxiety completely ― that's neither realistic nor healthy,' Pash said. 'Anxiety serves a purpose. It's trying to protect us. The goal is to change your relationship with it so it doesn't run your life.' Getting comfortable talking to your anxiety can also help you recognize important cues about your life and mental health. 'The general idea is 'This isn't me. This is my anxiety. How can I use what it is telling me?'' said psychotherapist Meg Gitlin. 'Perhaps your anxiety wants to tell you that something is important to you, and it would like you to pay attention to it. Or perhaps it is telling you that your anxiety has clouded your experience for too long, and it is time to seek help to manage your anxiety.' Are there any downsides? 'The only potential downside to this hack is if you are not motivated to work on your anxiety, and naming it creates too much distance where you believe it is inevitable and can't be changed,' said Erica Rozmid, a psychologist and clinical assistant professor at UCLA. 'Instead, it's helpful to recognize that naming it something silly can be a conscious tool to help you overcome your fears.' The hack can backfire if you use it in lieu of processing and addressing your anxiety. 'If someone uses humor to name their anxiety but hasn't learned to sit with discomfort, it can turn into avoidance,' Mazer said. 'Instead of facing the anxiety and understanding it, they might just laugh it off and push it away. Over time, the anxiety can build up and come back stronger.' Creating psychological distance from your anxiety should not mean pretending that your anxiety is not important. Don't let a silly nickname trick you into thinking your deeper pain and trauma are just a big joke. 'If you're just saying, 'Oh, that's just Gary being dramatic' and then ignoring legitimate concerns or avoiding getting proper help, that's not helpful,' Pash said. 'Also, this technique works best for everyday anxiety and worry. If someone is dealing with severe anxiety disorders, panic attacks or trauma-related anxiety, they shouldn't rely on this alone. Think of it as one tool in your toolkit, not a cure-all.' Indeed, you should also do inner work to find what triggers your anxiety and explore the deeper issues. 'People are generally scared to do this on their own because they are afraid of what they'll find,' said psychotherapist Catherine Athans. 'Whether you name your anxiety something ridiculous or not, it's important to work with a mental health professional who is trained in trauma reduction to get to the root cause and heal it.' She noted that some people might even put off seeking therapy for their anxiety because they feel embarrassed about the silly name they've given it. Becoming over-reliant on one single anxiety hack can lead to issues. 'I think the main downside is that it may lose its effectiveness over time,' said Nicholette Leanza, a therapist at LifeStance. 'Like any coping skill, your brain may get used to it and so it becomes less effective. Switching it up may help like giving it a new silly name or another technique is to say your thoughts in a silly voice or accent. It's about keeping that element of absurdity fresh so it doesn't just become another routine your anxiety adapts to.' You can also try other similar techniques to create space and make anxiety feel less overwhelming. 'You can picture your thoughts as a visual, such as your thoughts floating down the river or dancing on a stage,' said Ash Shah, a licensed clinical social worker and clinical director at Empower Your Mind Therapy. 'All of these exercises get to the same goal of observing your emotions and thoughts from a distance rather than feeling 'stuck' in them.' Whatever approach you take, make sure you're also examining the underlying source and triggers for your mental health issues. 'Anxiety is one of the most well-researched areas of psychological therapy, and there are masses of help available,' McDermott said. 'Finding shortcuts and hacks like this are super fun and very effective, but work more effectively if you understand the principles behind them.' Related... Are You Feeling Anxiety Or Intuition? Here's How To Know The Difference. How To Maintain Your Friendships If You're Dealing With Anxiety Or Depression Are You Experiencing Burnout Or Is It Actually 'Boreout'?
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Yahoo
Archaeologists Were Digging Up a Hospital—and Found the Skeletons of 4 Confederate Soldiers
Here's what you'll learn when you read this story: Archeologists working for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation discovered the remains of four Confederate soldiers. The crew was excavating a site that once stored gunpowder during the American Revolution when they came across the Civil War-era discovery. The four soldiers' remains were likely from when a makeshift hospital treated wounded soldiers during the Civil War's Battle of Williamsburg. Digging through an American Revolution gunpowder storage site resulted a discovery from a completely different war: the remains of four Confederate soldiers who likely died following a Civil War battle. As archaeologists with the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation excavated a site in search of American Revolution history, the team instead first came across the eye sockets of a human skull, according to a report from the Associated Press, before uncovering four skeletons and three amputated legs the experts believe are from Civil War casualties. One skeleton has a Minié bullet—a common round of ammunition used in the Civil War—lodged in the spine, as does the foot of one of the amputated legs. With the available evidence, the experts deduced that the remains were likely from a makeshift hospital that functioned near the site during the Civil War, and they later dug through archives to find handwritten lists of soldiers that were admitted to the hospital following the Battle of Williamsburg. With the lists in hand, the research team was able to start the process of identifying the soldiers. 'It is the key,' Jack Gary, Colonial Williamsburg's executive director of archaeology, told the AP. 'If these men were found in a mass grave on a battlefield, and there was no other information, we probably wouldn't be trying to do this.' The list of the wounded was part of a private family's archival documents which, at some point, were given to nearby William & Mary University. The researchers went through the detailed documentation, which included everything from names and regiments to dates of deaths and amputation information, for over 60 soldiers. Using the thorough information from the list, experts believe the four soldiers came from regiments tied to Alabama, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Virginia. They even have some individual names in mind, keeping those close to the vest until they can work with possible descendants using DNA from the soldiers' teeth. Gary said the goal is to ensure an 'ironclad' identification. The Battle of Williamsburg occurred on May 5, 1862. Experts believe that the roughly 25,000 men who fought for the Union and Confederate armies included 2,283 Union soldiers killed, wounded, captured, or missing and 1,560 for the Confederates. The remains, which were initially discovered in 2023, were carefully buried with their arms crossed, indication they did not die during the battle, as those men were traditionally placed in trenches and then moved to a cemetery, Gary said. The four soldiers were out of uniform, as evidenced by buttons and a buckle, commonly found on more comfortable clothes, that the archaeologists also found. Archaeologist Eric Schweickart told the AP that one soldier had two $5 gold coins from 1852, and they also found a toothbrush made from animal bone and a snuff bottle. The AP reports that William & Mary's Institute for Historical Biology believes the youngest soldier was between 15 and 19 years old and the oldest could have been up to 55 years old. The remains were given a true burial, even as the investigation into their identity continues. 'Everyone deserves dignity in death,' Gary said. 'And being stored in a drawer inside a laboratory does not do that.' You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
Yahoo
06-06-2025
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Beloved UH cashier of 29 years, ‘Aunty Eloise,' honored with biographical website after her death
HONOLULU (KHON2) — Eloise Luzader — affectionately known as 'Aunty Eloise' to many students at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa — passed away at the age of 96 in February 2025. In lieu of a traditional funeral service, Eloise is being honored by her son with a tribute website. 'Everyone grieves the loss of a loved one differently. For me, this website just feels like the right thing to do,' Eloise's son, Gary Luzader, writes. 'It's certainly less stressful, but it also allows those who knew her a chance to enjoy some memories Eloise left behind and just enjoy her life one more time.' The website, found at features photo galleries that show important moments from Eloise's life — including her early life, marriage and 'final days' — as well as a form for people to of Eloise. 95-year-old UH cashier retires after nearly 30 years According to her memorial website, Eloise started working at UH in 1994, when she was 66 years old. She continued working as a cashier when most of the university was shut down at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Eloise was a cashier at UH Mānoa's Gateway House for nearly 30 years before she . 'I'm going to miss the students… they keep me young and keep me happy,' Eloise told KHON2 when she retired. 'I look forward to coming to work everyday. Not everybody look forward to go to work right?' After retiring, Eloise spent time in a religious ministry before she broke her hip in October 2024. When she was in the emergency room after breaking her hip, scans of her body found incurable cancer 'all over her liver and bones,' according to the memorial website. She declined treatment after learning it would impact her quality of life, and spent her final days receiving care at Gary's house. 'I miss her a lot, but it's a great comfort knowing that before she passed, Mom knew she was loved by so many people,' Gary wrote. To learn more about Eloise's life, you can visit her . Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
