FOR YOUR HEALTH: Tackling Depression Can Lead To A Happier New Year

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FOR YOUR HEALTH

(NAPSI)—As cheerful and joyous as the New Year can be, it can also be a trigger for stress and depression for some people—but there is hope. There are many resources for people who feel wrung out ringing in the New Year.

For example, Marriage and Family Therapists (MFTs) can help. MFTs are licensed mental health professionals who work with individuals, couples (married or not), families of all types, and groups to cure or relieve mental, emotional and relational concerns of all kinds.

At New Year’s, or anytime, you don’t have to let depression get you down. Talking to a therapist can help.

How To Recognize Depression

To help you tell if you or someone you care about is suffering from depression, the experts at the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT) offer these warning signs:

  • Feeling sad and/or irritable
  • Changes in weight or appetite
  • Difficulty sleeping
  • Feelings of guilt, hopelessness or worthlessness
  • Inability to concentrate, remember things or make decisions
  • Thoughts of death or suicide.

How To Handle Depression

If these symptoms look familiar, here are some things to do right now:

  • Recognize depression early. Depression can happen to anyone. It’s not a character defect, a weakness or a shameful condition. It’s a serious disorder that no one is immune to.
  • Engage in your life. If you are depressed, you may feel like you don’t have an ounce of energy or motivation to tackle depression. Recovery, however, requires your active participation. Be willing to take the first step, even though it’s not easy.
  • Build your skills. Learn why you’re vulnerable to depression and specific ways to become more resilient by breaking unhealthy patterns of thought and behavior. Developing good coping and relationship skills can reduce both the frequency and severity of depression episodes.
  • Find the right therapist. Talking through one’s stressors and understanding the underlying causes is a proven way to effectively treat depression. Look for therapists with training and experience in treating depression, as well as someone who is warm, supportive and goal oriented. Use short telephone interviews to find a good fit with potential therapists. Ask about how they approach problems like yours.
  • Be optimistic. You have every reason to believe you can get better with effective treatment. While anti-depressants are not a cure, they can be very helpful to some people in managing depression. Whether or not you choose to use medicine to manage your symptoms, therapy can give you the long-term skills you need to live a productive, fulfilling life.

How To Learn More

For more information about how to find a therapist, visit www.CounselingCalifornia.com.

At New Year’s, or anytime, you don’t have to let depression get you down. Talking to a therapist can help.

Roland’s trivia question, Week of December 14, 2017

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Name the original six teams of the NHL.

Answer:

Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs.

back to SCORES & OUTDOORS

Winter wonderland sleigh ride

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A family enjoying a sleigh ride at Benton Fun Park on Sunday, December 10. Sleigh rides will be offered again on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 16-17, and Sat., Dec. 23. Call 314-1640 for reservations. Photo by Mark Huard, Owner of Central Maine Photography

SCORES & OUTDOORS: Bird disappearance is phenomenon that exists nationwide

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Roland D. HalleeSCORES & OUTDOORS

by Roland D. Hallee

Two months after writing an article about the lack of song birds in our area, the feedback continues to pour in from all over the country, not to mention from friends and acquaintances whenever the subject surfaces. Everyone has also commented on the extremely large number of crows that have emerged in our area.

Even in my backyard, where we generally have a multitude of bird varieties, it has been quiet. We have completely cleaned out the bird feeders and restocked them, to the point where we have even purchased new ones, and other forms of bird seed dispensers like nets, seed balls and containers.

The problem is universal, it seems.

Mimi replied to me, “My neighbors and I also noticed a very sudden decline in feeder birds since mid-September in the Catskills as well. It is so sad to not have the birds about though there are geese and crows, so hopefully the others will be back.”

Sj says, “Over the last two years we have noticed the decline of spiders on our property in mid-coast Maine. The mosquito decline is possibly due to the second year of a drought. Wild bees, and our bat [population] all seem stressed and in decline. I have kept daily journals for 25 years, making daily notes of weather and wildlife. The odd absence of birds is ‘different’ this year, for us as well, and another alert to change in our environment worth keeping track of.”

Msdarlene writes, “We are in central New Hampshire and have always fed birds with multiple feeders and a varied diet of sunflower seeds, hearts, nuts and suet. We have cleaned out our feeders monthly and replenished the food and still no birds in sight. We normally have to refill our feeders twice a week. Since September 2017, our woods and feeders are silent. No birds, zero, zilch, nada…scary quiet. I hope they return, I sure miss them.”

Rich speculates “that the malathion aerial spraying for zika vectors has done damage to large insect populations.”

Finally, Lyn, of Fairfield, writes, “Wow! This article came up on my Facebook feed. Some friends and I were just talking about how we have no song birds this fall. I said I thought they had been driven away by massive crow populations, just as you observed, too. They are all I see. I am sad to know this is happening all over. I hope the Audubon Society is right that it’s just a normal migration shift, but I am missing the birds very much.”

With the first measurable snowfall this fall, only 12 days before the official winter solstice, we will keep vigil as to the turnover in bird varieties. We’ll see if the cardinals arrive, along with the European starlings that come around in the winter. Also, don’t forget the pigeons and mourning doves. Not to beat a subject to death, but since noticing the large number of crows around, the pigeon population seems to have taken a hit. Since the crow onslaught, I have noticed no pigeons in my yard, which is extremely unusual. There also seem to be more seagulls than normal. Is that another sign of changes in the environment?

It’s probably time we pay attention to what Mother Nature is trying to tell us.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Name the original six teams of the NHL.

Answer here!

I’m Just Curious: Words

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by Debbie Walker

This afternoon has been just wonderful with our first and second graders. I’m not exaggerating. When you introduce words to a child (18 of them) and they get excited about what they can do with these words, their teacher and I couldn’t help but get excited. You see we are word lovers as well.

The activity started out as a project to write Christmas cards (yes, I did say Christmas). Their first task was to come up with words they might want to use for their cards.

I pointed out that sometimes when I write, if I have trouble coming up with the subject for a column, I will start thumbing through magazines and books for ideas. So….

I dug out all of our Christmas story books for them to go through on their word hunt. Their teacher took them through a process where they all had a chance to look over the books for “their” words. The process I believe was called a “Book Pass.”

I was pleased to see them with their answer, for each of them to have used all the books, not just the one given to them. We also have special dictionaries for the class. Sometimes in a free time the kids will choose a dictionary to look at. Word, word, words!

REVIEW POTPOURRI: Pop Artists

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Peter CatesREVIEW POTPOURRI

by Peter Cates

How I started collecting records:

Gustav Mahler

My first encounter with the music of Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) occurred during the spring of 1963, when I was 11. That year RCA Victor had developed the Dynagroove recording process, initially releasing 10 LPs with both mono and stereo editions, and touting the enhancement as the greatest advance in sound since the electrical microphone in 1924 during the 78 days. I remember salivating over the record ad in the Portland Sunday Telegram advertising the black label pop and red label classical items, wanting all of them and worrying about whether I would like the music later. In those days, I considered any LP from RCA Victor and Columbia as a status symbol, just as I did the huge Magnavox cabinet with radio, phonograph, and color TV and the Thunderbird convertible. I was definitely a crass materialist in those days – money was everything!

Meanwhile, RCA released a $1 album, entitled The Sound of Tomorrow, which was heavily advertised on Sunday night’s Wonderful World of Disney, RCA being its sponsor, but also in Buick ads, as RCA forged a deal with the auto company for its dealerships to be the exclusive venue for purchasing the record. Naturally, one afternoon, Mom drove me to Waterville’s own Buick dealer, then owned by a family friend, Nick Saporita, and located on Silver Street, and I took my copy home to play on the $32 manually operated RCA Victor stereo player. The machine was given to me as a birthday present but I was given to understand that it was the family player. Such double-dealing was then common as part of family sharing.

Side one had the black label, thereby providing the following five pop artists:

  1. Peter Nero, a most agreeable pianist who would sneak in quotes from classical pieces as part of his usual pop program.

    Peter Nero

  2. Marty Gold, a very gifted pop arranger/ con­­ductor who worked for both Victor and Kapp records.

    Marty Gold

  3. Hugo and Luigi, a duo of producers and arrangers for the Roulette and Victor labels, specializing in records of very pleasant chorus and orchestral selections.
  4. Dick Schory, a soft jazz arranger.

    Dick Schory

  5. Sid Ramin, a jazz arranger/ conductor with imagination and taste who helped Leonard Bernstein with orchestration during the Broadway run of West Side Story.
    The second side red label featured the following five fine artists:
  6. Erich Leinsdorf conducting the Boston Symphony in the second movement of the Mahler 1st Symphony. Finally, this joyous Scherzo was my first hearing of the music of a composer who previously had just been a slightly intriguing name in a Columbia Record Club booklet. Leinsdorf at that time was beginning what would be seven years as Boston’s Music Director.

    Erich Leinsdorf

  7. Arthur Fiedler, Boston Pops. This orchestra would make many records featuring both pop and the classics while Fiedler had formidable talent, wide-ranging musical curiosity and taste and astute political and business skills.

    Arthur Fiedler

  8. Robert Shaw Chorale. Like Arthur Fiedler, Shaw was a very gifted orchestral conductor but his fame lay in the many records with his chorus and training choirs all over the world. His Christmas album from the late ‘40s, Joy to the World, is still available on CD and sounds great with its a capella singing.

    Robert Shaw

  9. Charles Munch with the Boston Symphony. Munch spent 13 very exciting years in Boston, made a lot of great records and retired in 1962, being replaced by Erich Leinsdorf.
  10. Leontyne Price was one of the finest sopranos who ever lived and possessed a voice with both power and beauty during her thankfully long prime, giving goosebumps to many, including myself.

My second Mahler record wouldn’t be added to my then very small collection for three years due to very limited cash and the distractions of other composers!

Crockett elected Kennebec Historical Society president

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Patsy Garside Crockett was elected president of the Kennebec Historical Society at the groups annual meeting, held at the Maine State Library.

Patsy Garside Crockett

Society members re-elected were Vice President Bruce Kirkham, Secretary Emily Schroeder, Treasurer Ernest Plummer and board of directors members Stefanie Barley, Richard Bridges and Anne Cough. Also, John Lawrence and outgoing president Kent London were elected to the board.

Crockett, a Kennebec County Commissioner and former state representative from Augusta, said she is pleased to join the “family of members” again. She was the society’s secretary in the early 1990s and an executive committee member from 1996 to 1998. Her late husband, Robert Crockett, was the society’s president from 1995 to 1997, and their granddaughter Sarah Ann Crockett became the society’s youngest life member several years ago when she joined while a sixth-grade student at Maranacook Community School, in Readfield.

The guest speaker was John H. Twomey, who spoke about his book.

The Kennebec Historical Society, founded in 1891, has about 425 members. Its headquarters are at 107 Winthrop St., in Augusta, and is open to the public 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Wednesday through Friday, and by appointment. Researchers are encouraged to call 622-7718 for information about the society or its archive and library.

Vassalboro Selectmen to hear CEO, act on ongoing town land use violations

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro selectmen are scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 14, with an agenda that includes discussions with Codes Officer Richard Dolby.

Dolby has drafted revisions to the Building Permit Ordinance (last revised in 2012), which need selectmen’s review and ultimate approval by voters. He is also scheduled to talk about two ongoing violations of town land use ordinances.

Other items on the Dec. 14 agenda are final action to sell a foreclosed-upon subdivision on Ilona Drive, a report on the cost of mailing town meeting notices to voters, discussion of solid waste disposal and cemetery maintenance and a preliminary schedule for selectmen’s and budget committee deliberations in preparation for the June 2018 annual town meeting.

Vassalboro selectmen’s meetings are held in the town office meeting room and are open to the public.

Vassalboro: Planners approve new business, home

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro Planning Board members approved both applications on their Dec. 5 agenda, allowing a new business on Riverside Drive and a new house on Webber Pond Road.

Troy LaBreck is leasing the Getchell building at 2252 Riverside Drive, at the Alpine Street intersection, to run a business repairing motorcycles, snowmobiles, four-wheelers and similar sports machines. He might later include sales and car repairs and used car sales, he said; he is a Ford Focus fan.

For now he plans to start slowly, with no regular employees – though other mechanics might occasionally use some of his space – and no major exterior or interior changes. Planning board members reviewed plans for lighting, waste disposal and related issues that might affect the environment or neighboring landowners. They approved the permit with two conditions, both acceptable to LaBreck:

  • LaBreck is to notify abutters, and if any have questions or objections, they will have a chance to speak to the board before the permit is final; and
  • Labreck is to put a screen around the dumpster he plans to put on the property. Marilyn Hudxina needed planning board approval for her new house on Webber Pond Road abutting Kennebec Land Trust’s Vassalboro Wildlife Habitat area because the building site is within the 250-foot shoreland district. Board members found the house will be outside the 100-foot shoreland zone on a conforming lot and quickly granted the permit.

The next regular Vassalboro Planning Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday evening, Jan. 2, 2018.

IF WALLS COULD TALK, Week of December 14, 2017

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Katie Ouilette Wallsby Katie Ouilette

WALLS, I am thrilled that you talked to our faithful readers for December 7. Our apologies must be extended to faithful readers who sought us for a couple weeks, because we lost our power. Frankly. we surely know what our neighboring states have gone through. True, we didn’t have a hurricane, as they did, but we sure had wind! Well, faithful readers, WALLS will now catch you up on news that hasn’t been written yet.

Son Dean and his wife Donna will arrive just on December 14 and will leave to enjoy Christmas with most of our family in Washington state. On December 6, Danny drove to get his son, Landon, who celebrates his 20th birthday this month. Yes, WALLS, he now attends Culinary Arts College, after the horrible battle with Wilm’s Cancer at St. Judes Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. No question that St. Jude’s was the place for Landon to be, as he even had schooling there, so that he would not lose all those seven years in the hospital.

Oh, back to Dean and Donna. Dean’s birthday is December 19, and we hope to celebrate it with him before he has to leave on December 17. Actually, Dean and Donna have done so much for the folks that their Bellingham, Washington, church has adopted, and they go to Haiti about three times a year. We hope to have a bit of a gathering for Dean’s birthday with our Channel-ll TV Manager John Harlow and host Chris Perkins, so that folks will hear about their work there, though we are well-aware that you faithful readers may not receive that BeeLine Channel. However, we spent a wonderful time with residents of the Redington Home, in Skowhegan, on December 4, when Barbie Demo joined us for Christmas Carols. Just imagine it, she and three friends left for the Holy Land on December 5!

Oh, yes, like you, faithful readers, we will be celebrating Christmas with good friends, when Van, Jen, Chris and Clare, owners of Alton Whittemore Real Estate, entertain us at Whit’s End Restaurant. Yup, faithful readers, for sure Christmas looks like a merry one, already!