People are starting to take their mental health more seriously and utilizing mental health day. Some companies have even started offering mental health days for their employees on top of their regular sick and vacation days to ensure their employees needs are met. But how do you know it may be time to take a mental health day before you're burned out completely?One of the coolest things about our bodies is that it gives us cues on what it needs. We're used to the loud physical cues like a grumbling tummy that lets you know it's time to eat or excessive yawning and dry eyes that tell you its time to sleep. But there are other cues that we have either overlooked or haven't quite learned to recognize what our body is trying to tell us and those have to do with needing a mental health break. When we think of our mental health‚ we don't often think about the physical symptoms that can be a precursor to emotional symptoms. It's the emotional symptoms that generally get our attention that say something may be bothering us‚ but our bodies give us clues. Maybe we should listen a bit more closely. 1. You're always tired.It doesn't seem to matter how much sleep you got the night before‚ as soon as you get to work‚ you're exhausted. All you can think about is going home and crawling back in bed. But when your shift is over‚ suddenly your energy rebounds and you feel like you can do everything you want to do. 2. Frequent headachesIt's normal to get a headache every once in a while but for some reason you seem to only get them when you're either at work‚ thinking about work or are getting ready to go to work. Could it be that work is giving you the headache? Possibly. Instead of stocking up on Aleve‚ you might just need a staycation for a couple of days to reset.3. Muscle painFor some reason your shoulders‚ neck and jaw muscles are always tight and you can't figure out why. You try working the knots out yourself and even trade shoulder massages with your officemate but it keeps coming back. It could be tension that you're carrying from work. Our shoulders‚ necks and jaws are places that tend to hold a lot of our tension so if you're noticing constant muscle tightness in those areas while at work‚ it's probably time to check in with yourself.Of course‚ many of us ignore these physical symptoms of stress and push through‚ which can cause us to be more curt‚ snippy‚ easily irritated and flustered. Once you surpass the obvious symptoms that often feel like undue irritation‚ we can then slide into crying on breaks‚ heightened anxiety‚ feelings of depression‚ and more. Unfortunately‚ many people wait until they reach the more disruptive stages before recognizing they need to take a mental health break.Now that you know the symptoms‚ how do you ask for a break? If you're not working for yourself‚ chances are you're reporting to a boss of some sort and will need to disclose you'd like to take a mental health break. If don't work for a company that offers them‚ you can send an email or ask for a meeting. You could say something along the lines of‚ "I'm really invested in the success of the company and my role within in it. In order for me to continue being successful and showing up at my best‚ I'd like to take two days off next week to focus on my mental health and recharging my battery."Depending on your company policy‚ you may need to give more notice. If it's an emergent mental health situation it's always best practice to be candid about your needs without disclosing an excessive amount of unneeded information.This article was written by Jacalyn Wetzel‚ Licensed Clinical Social Worker and practicing therapist.

Anne Hathaway might have played fashion-oblivious Andrea Sachs in “Devil Wears Prada‚” but nowadays‚ in real life (or at least on the red carpet) she’s more on the level of Miranda Priestley—turning heads at every event with showstopping looks. However‚ no matter how high her status as a fashion icon rises‚ the “Princess Diaries” actress still holds onto her humility. Case and point: she has no problem sharing what it’s really like to wear certain designer dresses. Spoiler alert: it’s not quite as effortless as the fashionistas make it look. In a carousel posted to her Instagram‚ Hathway first showed a photo of herself next to Donatalle Versace‚ while posing in a bright red‚ very structured latex dress‚ designed of course by Versace for Milan’s Fashion Week. The two have been muses for each other for a while now. And while the first picture shows exactly what you might expect from fashion week—fierceness‚ poise‚ 130% glam—the next video shows…well‚ a different side.“I just want to respect…the integrity of the corset…” Hathaway says while in the most uncomfortable half-sitting-half-lying down position imaginable. Then‚ cue giggles as she struggles to get up. “Help her‚ she can’t move!” Versace exclaims through laughter. “I’m fine‚ I’m fine‚ it’s for Donatella‚” Hathaway quips. Earlier she had assured “Vogue” editor-in-chief Anna Wintour that even though she couldn’t turn in the dress she could breathe easily. The joke continued in Hathaway’s caption‚ which read: “Breathing? 😎Sitting? 🙃”Press the right arrow on the post below and give yourself a good laugh. See on Instagram I mean‚ does this not feel like something straight out of “I Love Lucy?”We see so many ultra glam celebrity images online‚ and while a part of us knows deep down that there’s way more than meets the eye‚ it’s nice to have reminders like this that really show how life is never picture perfect all the time. Even for celebrities. So let this be a permission to laugh at our own imperfections‚ and to let loose from time to time.And if you need inspiration for how to do that‚ try watching this clip of Hathaway dancing to “Anaconda”:pic.twitter.com/LpsSfdB1i7— Media Buzz (@mediabuzz0007) February 24‚ 2024

A mother who’s a criminal defense attorney is going viral on TikTok for a hard stance she has taken on her children going to sleepovers. For Erin Bailey of South Carolina‚ the answer is a big no. The reason? There are too many variables that could make her children vulnerable to sexual assault.Bailey has a practice in Georgetown and is ranked among the Top 100 Criminal Defense Lawyers in South Carolina by the National Trial Lawyers."I don’t allow my children to go to sleepovers. I’m a criminal attorney and here’s why‚” she opens the video. “First and primary is the S.A. [sexual assault] risk. While you may feel like you know the parents who are hosting the sleepover really well‚ and you know and love and trust them‚ that's exactly who's committing S.A.”She adds that people who commit sexual assault are often those we trust the most. “S.A. against children is not committed by strangers in Target. It is not committed by random people on the street. It is committed by people we know‚” Bailey said.“You may know the parents‚ but you don't know necessarily the neighbors‚ the grandparents‚ the aunts and uncles‚ the older siblings‚ the friends of the older siblings‚" she continued.She concludes with: "There's just too many variables‚ not to mention pew pews (guns) in the house‚ so it's just a no for us‚ no sleepovers."When it comes to child sexual assault statistics‚ Bailey knows what she is talking about. Research shows that more than 90% of abusers are people children know‚ love and trust. Thirty to 40% of victims are abused by a family member.Fifty percent of child sexual assault victims are abused by someone outside of the family whom they know and trust.Her post received a lot of support in the comments from parents who share the same fears. "Attorney here too—no sleepovers‚ electric scooters‚ trampolines‚ or hoverboards‚" Buckeye wrote. "I was upset with my mom at first when she said no to sleepovers until something happened to a girl at a sleepover by the other girl's father‚" Hanips added.However‚ some people thought Bailey was being a bit too cautious."So do you just never let them go over to any friend's house? Because every single one of those things can happen without a sleepover‚" DallasDiscGolf wrote. "I’m glad I was allowed to enjoy my childhood. Sleepovers were a blast!" KevinJones2151 wrote."You sound like a blast as a parent. I'm sure you kids will have an amazing childhood‚" Leah added.Bailey’s video clearly struck a nerve with the public because it has received over 3 million views on TikTok. But after all the feedback‚ she hasn’t changed her position.“Childhood sexual abuse is a trauma that permanently alters the course of a child’s life‚” she told Upworthy. “It is more common than most people think and most cases are never reported to the authorities. Further‚ most people who are abusers were abused themselves as a child. As a prosecutor and defense attorney‚ I have seen these cases up close and personal. Sleepovers are a small sacrifice to lower the risk for children.”

An incredible protest track from the civil rights era. The post The Nina Simone song written in response to the death of Martin Luther King Jr first appeared on Far Out Magazine.

Sociologists‚ psychologists‚ journalists‚ and others who write about such things have been scratching their heads — at least since the 2010s — over the apparent decline of sexual activity among people of all age groups‚ but especially among young adults and teens. Drawing on the work of Jean M. Twenge‚ a San Diego State University psychologist and other researchers‚ Kate Julian in the Atlantic reported a few years ago that today’s young adults are on track to have fewer sex partners than members of the two preceding generations. Early 20-somethings are two and a half times as likely to be abstinent as Gen Xers (aged 40-58) were at that age; 15 percent report having had no sex since they reached adulthood. That’s because what’s hidden is always more tantalizing than what’s shown. Other research backs this up. From 1991 to 2017‚ the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey finds‚ the percentage of high-school students who’d had intercourse dropped from 54 to 40 percent. Even a survey of couples in committed relationships tracked by the American Family Survey found couples who have sex weekly dropped from 59 percent to 49 percent between 2015 and 2020. Sexual “inactivity” — no sex for one year — according to an an analysis of national survey data‚ increased from 19 percent to 31 percent among men 18 to 24 between 2000 and 2018; among 25 to 34 year-old men it doubled from 7 to 14 percent‚ while women went from 7 to 13 percent during the same two decades. (READ MORE from Seth Forman: Why White Ethnics Left Newark) This is‚ apparently‚ a paradox. Sex in all its splendor and variety has become more commonplace‚ less stigmatized‚ and more celebrated than it ever has been and yet people are engaging in it less. “With the exception of perhaps incest and bestiality—and of course nonconsensual sex more generally — our culture has never been more tolerant of sex in just about every permutation‚” Julian explains. So why less sex? There is no shortage of theories about why Americans seem to be in what Julian called a “sex recession.” The ubiquity of internet porn‚ hookup culture‚ economic pressures‚ increased use of antidepressants‚ falling testosterone levels‚ higher female incomes‚ to name only a few‚ are frequently mentioned. But few critics‚ steeped as they are in the cult of “sex positivity” — the belief that virtually any form of consensual sex is everywhere and always an unequivocal good — have stopped to consider whether this normalization of sex has robbed it of its energy. As author Ginevra Davis‚ writing in Tablet‚ has noted‚ “In reality‚ though‚ sex is now so acceptable that it’s boring.” Sex positivity is a “false flag‚” Davis writes‚ “celebrating the physical act of sex while hiding from the impetus for sexual attraction.” It seems the sex positivists forgot that sex is such a powerful impulse because it stands apart from the everyday banal world. It is and should be mysterious‚ enigmatic‚ and sometimes even forbidden. That’s what drives desire. “The problem with all this normalizing and demystifying is that too much information runs counter to the very nature of desire‚“ writes Ani Wilcenski in last week’s Spectator. As psychologist Esther Perel states in her bestselling Mating in Captivity‚ “Where there is nothing left to hide‚ there is nothing left to seek.” Have you ever noticed that the Hollywood starlets of yesteryear such as Kim Novak or Ava Gardner seem so much more alluring than the starlets of today‚ even  though they almost never wore skirts above the knee and certainly did not prance around in thong bikinis? (READ MORE: The Decline and Fall of Hollywoke) That’s because what’s hidden is always more tantalizing than what’s shown. Bodies are often attractive‚ but they almost never provide the unvarnished beauty we hold in our imaginations. Ginevra Davis again: “That is the purpose of lingerie‚ and the ubiquitous role of shadow in erotic visuals — to add some novelty‚ and artificial blockers‚ to an object that can otherwise only do so much.” This week‚ The American Spectator’s Lou Aguilar raves about the feminine beauty of Gene Tierney in Otto Preminger’s 1944 classic film-noir Laura. Quoting a blurb on Amazon about the movie‚ Aguilar writes‚ “Laura Hunt was the ideal modern woman: beautiful‚ elegant‚ highly ambitious‚ and utterly mysterious. No man could resist her charms.” That phrase “utterly mysterious” says a lot.   The post Why Are We Having Less Sex? appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Fans of breakfast might want to listen up. Toaster waffle brand Eggo is offering folks a chance to stay in its pancake house‚ and breakfast is included.

In an interview with The Defender‚ Marcia Haller detailed how her life dramatically changed when a cell tower 900 feet from her home was “upgraded.” Haller notified the telecom companies operating the tower that she plans to sue under the Americans with Disabilities Act. In 2007‚ Marcia and Jason Haller — high school sweethearts who met in Duluth‚ Minnesota — bought their dream property north of Duluth to peacefully live close to nature and Marcia’s family. Little did they know then that American Towers‚ AT&;T and T-Mobile would soon build a cell tower just 900 feet from their home — a tower that would later forever change Marcia’s life as she knew it. Nearly immediately after the cell tower was “upgraded” in 2019‚ Marcia became disabled from the intense levels of radiofrequency (RF) radiation emitted by the tower. Since then‚ she has suffered 51 strokes‚ vision loss‚ hearing loss‚ headaches‚ sleep disruption‚ chronic fatigue and cognitive impairment. She experiences ongoing issues with balance‚ orientation and mobility. Now‚ backed by the legal team in Children’s Health Defense’s (CHD) Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) &; Wireless program‚ Marcia plans to sue the companies operating the tower‚ under the Americans with Disability Act.Save 40% on DNA Force Plus NOW! Try it today and see why so many listeners have made it an essential part of their daily routine! Marcia alleges that the companies must provide her with a “reasonable accommodation” and/or “modify their policies‚ practices or procedures” to comply with federal disability law. Hers is the second in CHD’s strategic line of cases trying out new legal avenues for individuals suffering from RF radiation exposure. The cases also draw attention to the need for better federal regulation of RF radiation and outline the scientific evidence that debunks the “RF radiation is safe” narrative. W. Scott McCollough‚ lead litigator for the cases‚ told The Defender that Marcia’s legal team in January sent the telecom companies a demand letter and plans to file the initial complaint in her lawsuit later this month. Marcia and Jay — who also have an 18-year-old son whose health they say has been impaired by the tower’s radiation — spoke to The Defender about Marcia’s illness and the importance of her legal battle in raising awareness that RF radiation can hurt people’s health. ‘Something’s wrong in my head’ In late September 2019‚ Marica and Jay noticed workmen doing a “major upgrade” on the 300-foot cell tower on the property adjacent to theirs. Marcia‚ who at the time was in her third year of nursing school and worked as a certified nursing assistant at a hospital‚ said the work lasted about 10 days. “They put a big crane up there‚” said Jay‚ who runs a trucking business. “We had seen them go up there without a crane multiple times‚ but this was the first time where it was a major overhaul type thing.” What exactly did the workers do? “We’re thinking [they upgraded the tower for deploying] 5G‚” Marcia said. “They [the companies] won’t admit to what they did. They say they don’t have to tell us.” On the weekend after the workers completed the upgrade‚ Marcia was at home and began feeling dizzy and as if something “just didn’t feel right.” She called Jay‚ telling him‚ “Something’s wrong in my head … I don’t know how to explain it. I just feel like crap.” Did she need him to come home? No‚ she told him. “I’ll be fine.” The physical sensation was “awful‚” Marcia said. In addition to dizziness‚ she had headaches and nausea. “I couldn’t pick my head up off the pillow without the room spinning and feeling very sick.“ ‘We think you’re having a stroke’ The symptoms continued. On Monday‚ she went to urgent care and was diagnosed with vertigo. She returned home. A few days later‚ she had blind spots in her vision and tingling in her arm with “almost a numb feeling.” Marcia called the on-call nurse center. They told her‚ “You need to come down to the emergency room. We think you’re having a stroke.” An MRI of Marcia’s brain showed numerous damaged areas called lesions. She was admitted to the hospital on Oct. 10‚ 2019‚ and diagnosed with strokes‚ vision loss and balance difficulties. After three days in the hospital‚ the strokes stopped happening — meaning MRIs of her brain no longer showed lesions — and Marcia returned home. But before the end of the month‚ Marcia “started feeling the same thing again” and went back to the emergency room. Jay recalled‚ “We were home — the kid and I — and she was cooking dinner … She turned around and her face had actually drooped on this one. It was like ‘uh-oh.’” Marcia went back to the hospital‚ where she was diagnosed with more brain lesions. A neurologist told Marcia the MRI scan of her brain looked like a “starry night” because of how many white spots‚ or lesions‚ appeared. The doctors still did not know what was causing them‚ she said. Marcia goes to Mayo Clinic Over the following weeks‚ Marcia went “back and forth a few times” between her home and her local hospital. After a night or two at the hospital‚ she would begin feeling better. But after returning home‚ her symptoms reemerged and she’d have to return to the hospital. “Each time‚ more strokes‚” she said. According to Jay‚ “A week or 10 days later‚ there’d be seven or 10 new ones [lesions appearing in the MRI scans]. This was going on for about a month. I think we rounded up to about 51 complete strokes.” Still‚ her local hospital doctors couldn’t explain why this was happening. In early November 2019‚ Marcia was referred to the Mayo Clinic where doctors found her symptoms consistent with Susac syndrome‚ a rare autoimmune disease. She stayed at the Mayo Clinic until Nov. 22‚ 2019. She received plasmapheresis to put new plasma in her blood‚ steroids and a medication called CellCept. Treatment just wasn’t working The treatment didn’t work‚ and when Marcia returned home‚ she had more strokes. So she went back to the Mayo Clinic for her second two-week round of the same treatment. But after the second round of treatment‚ Marcia had more strokes — including one that temporarily impaired her hearing — and she continued to experience extreme fatigue. Both Marcia and Jay looked back on these months of Marcia’s sickness as a time of emotional stress and pain. Jay had to withdraw Marcia from school and convince her employer that she needed an indefinite leave of absence because of her health condition. Meanwhile‚ because one of Marcia’s symptoms was cognitive impairment‚ she “thought she was fine” and was upset at Jay for doing so. Marcia had also been a volunteer firefighter and emergency medical responder. “I was so mad at my husband because he — behind my back — told the fire department … ‘You can’t send her pages anymore because she wants to go on these calls and she cannot go on these calls.’” Time to live in a different location During one of Marcia’s stays at the Mayo Clinic‚ Jay “just woke up” with a strong sense that the cell tower radiation was causing Marcia’s symptoms. “Then he started doing research and that’s when we started piecing things together‚” Marcia explained. Based on what Jay was discovering‚ he and Marcia decided to try living elsewhere. On March 3‚ 2020‚ they and their son moved into Marcia’s parents’ house a mile further away from the tower. Marcia “got a lot better‚” she said. The strokes stopped. By June‚ she was talking about returning to school‚ Jay said. “We’d go fishing every night and she just had a lot more energy.” Around the same time‚ Marcia’s doctors at the Mayo Clinic had Marcia taking pill chemotherapy. “So they’re patting themselves on the back for the chemo‚” Jay said‚ “I think it was moving that made it stop.” But in October 2020‚ Marcia’s parents returned so Jay‚ Marcia and their son moved back to their house close to the tower. In just a week‚ Marcia started experiencing the same symptoms again. Building the ‘penalty box’ Jay and Marcia became more convinced that the RF radiation from the tower was making Marcia sick. Oct. 16‚ 2020‚ they hired Frank DiCristina — a certified building biologist and certified EMR specialist — to measure the wireless radiation levels throughout their home. DiCristina’s report showed peaks of up to 18 milliwatts per squared meter (mW/m2) — which is 18 times higher than what the Standard of Building Biology considers the “extreme limit‚” noted DiCristina in the report. Marcia and Jay loved the location of their home and didn’t want to move. So they set about making their property more livable for Marcia. In late October 2020‚ Jay constructed a Faraday cage — an enclosure with metal lining that blocks out all RF radiation — to give Marcia a place of relief from the radiation. Having a space free of RF radiation has made a big difference in Marcia’s well-being. She said she can feel her head relax when she’s in the Faraday cage. But anywhere else in the house or yard‚ her head feels “loud” and “full … like a motor’s running.” Despite the relief provided by the cage‚ Marcia made it clear it’s not fun having to go into a small enclosed space to feel OK. She and Jay call the Faraday cage “the penalty box.” It’s a tiny room with no power and no windows — just a “complete black box with two beds‚” Marcia said. She and Jay sleep there. “I would be nervous to sleep in my house because I don’t want to get sick again‚” Marcia said. Sleeping out there isn’t convenient‚ though. “There’s no bathroom in the garage‚” she said. “So if I get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom‚ I have to leave the garage‚ go outside‚ come in the house.” Marcia also now wears a metal-lined baseball cap when in her home to mitigate her symptoms. With these measures‚ she slowly was able to complete her nursing program and return to work. ‘We’re not crazy’ Marcia hopes her lawsuit will force the telecom companies to relocate their tower so she can move freely on her property without risking her health. She also wants her case to raise public awareness that people experience physical symptoms from RF radiation. “We’re not crazy‚” she said. “This really is happening.” For instance‚ she and Jay think living so close to the tower may have been a factor in Jay’s development of rheumatoid arthritis. Their son‚ too‚ has had negative health episodes — including a major blood clot in his left arm — that Marcia and Jay suspect may have been linked to the radiation. In 2022‚ their then-16-year-old son‚ Clay‚ called Marcia from work and asked‚ “Is it normal that my arm is blue and tight?” The two shared a quick video call. “No‚ that’s not normal‚” Marcia said when she saw Clay’s arm. She immediately picked him up and took him to the hospital. CT scans showed Clay had a blood clot starting from his elbow that extended into his neck and two more clots in his lungs. Clay’s bloodwork showed that‚ while he tested negative for COVID-19‚ he at some point in the past had had an asymptomatic case of COVID-19 — which the doctors said could have caused the clots. But Marcia found this explanation unlikely and confirmed with an integrative medicine doctor — who was knowledgeable of the possible health impacts of wireless radiation — that the blood clots could have been caused by Clay’s ongoing exposure to RF radiation. Marcia and Jay also said they’ve witnessed animals affected by the tower’s radiation. Their dog‚ Daisy‚ developed fatty tumors throughout her body that limited her mobility and quality of life to the point that Marcia and Jay had to put her down. “The deer definitely have these tumors like the dog did‚” Jay said. “Not every deer‚ but some of the deer.” When Marcia and Jay tell others about their experiences‚ people tend to “just kind of brush it off” and say‚ “That’s not going to happen to me or to anybody I know besides you guys.” But “we’re not the only ones out there that this is happening to‚” Marcia said. Although estimates vary‚ a 2019 analysis suggested that 1.5% of the population experience severe symptoms from exposure to RF radiation‚ 5% have moderate symptoms and 30% have mild symptoms. That means roughly 2.16-99.7 million Americans are likely affected. Marcia and Jay recently shared their story on CHD.TV. Watch the CHD.TV episode here: