Wednesday, May 21, 2025

Amaranth is the May Grain of the Month

Amaranth Grains on a FingerAmaranth
Aztec AmaranthOrnamental Amaranth
The Whole Grains Council has declared amaranth to be the grain of the month of May. It is actually a pseudocereal, an edible seed from a plant that is not part of the grass family. Although its seeds can be ground into flour and cooked as a porridge, because it is not from the plant families that include wheat, rice and corn, amaranth is not a true cereal. It is still considered a grain, however.

Amaranth has a long history as a food. The Aztecs cultivated amaranth as a ceremonial crop and called it the “food of immortality.” Together with beans, chia and corn, amaranth was a main part of the diet of Mesoamerican Indian civilizations, until European conquerors deemed it pagan. It is mentioned in Aesop’s fables, in a discussion of the difference between ephemeral and everlasting beauty between a rose and an amaranth flower.

There are numerous forms of amaranth, and it is found on all continents. It is so common that many forms are considered weeds, although three species have been domesticated because they have large, easily harvested seed heads. Ornamental amaranth plants may have striking flowers of gold, red, or bright purple. It is a large plant, sometimes as tall as nine feet (two and three-quarter meters).

Amaranth is easy to cook. Add one cup dried amaranth seeds to two cups liquid. Bring to a boil then lower the heat to simmer for fifteen to twenty minutes, to make two and a half servings. Cooked amaranth can be used like polenta or porridge. The seeds can also be popped like popcorn or puffed for use in breakfast cereal and granola.

Cooked amaranth has a unique slightly peppery taste. It smells sweet and somewhat like grass. Amaranth seeds are a nutritionally complete plant food; they contain all nine essential amino acids and provide eight to nine grams of protein per cup. They are gluten-free.

You may need to look in a health food store to find amaranth seeds, but you won’t go wrong cooking and eating this excellent whole grain.








Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Tips for Not Missing a Dose of Medication

Smiley Face Magnet With Sticky Note Reminder

To be fully effective, medications should be taken on the schedule they were prescribed. Poor adherence to a medication schedule can lead to delayed recovery, decreased quality of life, or other negative outcomes.

Here are some tips for staying on track with a medication schedule.
  • Set a medication reminder. Remembering when to take medicine can be difficult, especially if you take several at different times of the day. Here are some helpful reminder strategies.
  • Set a recurring phone alarm. There are medication reminder apps for Apple and Android phones that you can download.
  • Mark when a dose is due on a calendar. Check it off when you’ve taken the medication.
  • Ask your support team to give you reminders.
  • Use a weekly pill box.
  • Incorporate your dosage schedule into your daily routine in a structured way that would alert you to the need to take the meds. Put your morning med bottle(s) by your cereal bowl, or take morning meds before an established morning activity such as walking the dog, for example.
Adding a new activity such as taking a pill to an established routine can be difficult but these tips can help you remember to take doses when they are prescribed.

Use your support system as well.

Your support system may include your spouse or partner, family, friends, church, peer support groups, or advocacy groups. These people can help you improve your overall health by reducing your stress and anxiety.

They can offer: 
  • Assistance with harder-to-take medications such as injections
  • Emotional support
  • Reminders when it’s time to take medication
  • Transportation to infusion center for specialty meds

Maybe it’s side effects.

Unpleasant side effects can make you less likely to take medications as prescribed. Consult your doctor or pharmacist if a side effect occurs. They may be able to change your prescription to a different medication or provide options to alleviate the side effect.

Consider the purpose of the medication.

The overall goal of medication is to improve your future health. If you find yourself wondering how your medicine helps and then feeling like you don’t want to bother taking it, check your mood because if you have new or worsening feelings of depression that are interfering with your recommended medicine schedule, you need to consult your healthcare provider.

Tuesday, May 13, 2025

Panel Discussion of Fear within Specific Disabilities

What fears are unique to persons with eating disorders, cancer, and brain injury? What fears are in common among these different types of disabilities? How does understanding the nature of a disability-related fear determine the most appropriate treatment? The panelists will compare and contrast fear among people with varied disabling conditions.

Moderator: Cicero Kit

Panelist: Dr. Kathryn Post is a nurse scientist in the Massachusetts General Hospital's Cancer Outcomes Research & Education (CORE) Program. She is also an instructor at Harvard Medical School and an advanced practice nurse who cares for patients with breast cancer.

Panelist: Dr. Leigh Brosof is a clinical psychologist specializing in research on and treatment of eating disorders. She supports patients and families with personalized evidence-based treatment. She also treats co-existing disorders such as anxiety, depression, and OCD.

Panelist: Gloria Kraegel is the Team Leader at Brain Energy Support Team, and Chief Groundskeeper at Etopia Sustainable Communities. With BEST she creates supportive and engaging opportunities, both online and in Second Life, for neurodivergent persons and their loved ones to build skills and systems for success.

Monday, May 12, 2025

Ms. Jen Johnson

Ms. Jen Johnson

Ms. Jen Johnson, LCMHC is a licensed clinical mental health counselor, mindfulness teacher, speaker, photographer, and writer. Her areas of expertise include stress, resilience, grief, chronic illness, and climate mental health. Jen is the author of Everyday Mindful on Substack that explores being resilient in an uncertain world. 

Ms. Jen Johnson will present at 10:30 a.m. May 15th on Learning from the Land: Growing Emotional Resilience in the Climate Crisis.  In this heartfelt and grounding presentation, we’ll explore how the climate crisis impacts our emotional lives — from grief and overwhelm to resilience and response. Through the wisdom of the natural world, you'll learn practical tools for navigating climate anxiety, tending climate grief, and staying emotionally rooted in times of deep change. This session invites you to reconnect with your inner strengths and your place in the living world.

 


Panel Discussion 12:30 p.m. May 15th about Peer Support and Fear

Facing fears together is powerful. Peer groups can be powerful tools in helping us cope with our fears and at the same time come with risks.

Moderator: Itico Spectre

Panelist: Viola Mole is part of the Linden Department of Public Works. She heads up the team of Second Life Mentors, who assist new avatars coming into Second Life.

Panelist: Pet Karu runs the Fearless Lovers and Empowering Relationships groups and the Bonded Adventures sim in Second Life. As a life coach, she embodies authenticity in both her lives.

Panelist: Kip Yellowjacket is an experienced online English trainer specializing in IT and business retraining programs, and academic exam preparation for native German speakers. He is the founder of Virtlantis, a pioneering virtual world language learning platform.

Panelist: Demelza McGinnis is a retired RN who has helped both patients and new nurses deal with their fears. As a mother and grandmother, she cares for children with disabilities.

Wednesday, May 7, 2025

Dr. Mustafa Demir

Dr. Mustafa Demir
Dr. Mustafa Demir is an associate professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, the City University of New York. He is particularly interested in law enforcement and police-community relations. He has twenty years of law enforcement experience as a police administrator, having worked for both the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

Dr. Demir will present May 15th at noon SLT. He will talk about fears of terrorism, with emphasis on the effect of trust in government, laws, and policies. Most people seem to be more afraid of cyberterrorism than of other types of terrorism. Dr. Demir’s research shows that only trust in government can mediate these fears.

Tuesday, May 6, 2025

Dr. Manish Kumar Asthana

Dr. Manish Kumar Asthana
Dr. Manish Kumar Asthana is an associate professor of psychology at the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee in northern India. He is particularly interested in cognitive psychology, fear conditionings, and the emotions of stress and anxiety.

Conditioned fear is a type of learned reaction that associates a fearful reaction to a neutral stimulus, in the absence of the original reason for fear. Dr. Manish will explain how imagery-based interventions can lessen the effect of conditioned fears. His session begins May 15th at 7 a.m. SLT.

Monday, May 5, 2025

Ms. Maria Nieves

 Ms. Maria Nieves

Ms. Maria Nieves is a practicing clinical psychologist in Brazil. She is a master’s student at the Catholic University of Pelotas in southern Brazil, where her degree will be in Behavior and Health. Her presentation topic is fear related to climate change.

Her session May 15th at 9:30 a.m. SLT is titled “Worry Related to Climate Change among Brazilian Adults.” She reminds us that it’s ok to worry about the world ending due to the climate crisis.

There is scientific consensus that global warming is happening, and anyone with access to information about climate change is potentially susceptible to experiencing an anxiety response. She explores whether those responses are pathological or just logical in the face of what's been going on.

Sunday, May 4, 2025

Mr. Aman Kumar Prajapati

Mr. Aman Kumar Prajapati

Mr. Aman Kumar Prajapati is an assistant professor of psychology at Invertis University Bareilly in northern India. His presentation May 15th at 8 a.m. SLT is titled “Near Death Experience and Transformation of Afterlife Belief.”

This psychological systematic review will explore how near-death experiences influence individuals’ fears and beliefs about the afterlife. It synthesizes findings across studies to reveal patterns of spiritual transformation, increased belief in life after death, and shifts in existential outlook following near-death experiences.

Saturday, May 3, 2025

Conference May 15: “Facing Our Fears: Managing Anxiety about Life’s Uncertainties”

Facing Our Fears: Managing Anxiety About Life’s Uncertainties

Virtual Ability’s 14th annual Mental Health Symposium will take place on May 15, 2025.  The theme of this year’s Conference is “Facing Our Fears: Managing Anxiety About Life’s Uncertainties.”

Fear is a built-in human reaction. Fear of large carnivores, fire, dark, starvation, and strangers likely contributed greatly to the survival and early evolution of humanity. The modern world has given people even more causes for fear: community violence, biased public institutions, horrific war, climate change, racism, gender violence, and artificial intelligence, among many others. Fear can at times be useful, but it can also negatively impact the quality of life for some people. Disabling fear is a treatable condition. The varied causes and levels of intrusiveness of a fear demand individualized therapeutic approaches. The broad theme of this conference allows us to look at the topic of fear from a number of different perspectives.

The Symposium will take place in the virtual world of Second Life, at the Sojourner Auditorium on Virtual Ability island.  The conference will also be live-streamed on Virtual Ability’s YouTube page.

Virtual Ability hosts this annual Symposium to share information about mental health and mental disabilities with the general population. Within our cross-disability community we have members who deal with a variety of mental health issues. Not only is this an opportunity for our community members to learn more about topics related to mental health from experts they probably would not have a chance to meet otherwise, it allows the general public to attend a professional conference at no cost. The current schedule for the conference is here: https://virtualability.org/mental-health-symposium-2025/


Friday, May 2, 2025

Displays and Exhibits for Healthinfo Island for May 2025

In Second Life, you can teleport to any of the eight displays and exhibits using the SLURLs in this posting. Click on the poster with the same name as the title of the poster set, and you will get a notecard that contains all the text of the posters plus descriptions of the images.  If you click each poster, you will get a private message with additional information and live links.

NOTE: May is Mental Health Awareness Month. All the posters this month are about mental health.
**The 2025 Mental Health Symposium is May 15. The topic is "Facing our Fears:  Managing Anxiety about Life's Uncertainties." Two exhibits that are specific to the Symposium are #6 (Facts About Fear) and #7 (Anxiety Disorders). Check them out! Here is the symposium schedule:
https://virtualability.org/mental-health-symposium-2025/

Mental Health Awareness
Mental Health Awareness
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/195/158/22


Basic Facts About Depression
Basic Facts About Depression

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/190/181/24


Music and Mental Health
Music and Mental Health

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/172/155/22


How to Get Mental Health Help
How to Get Mental Health Help
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/114/79/24


Signs and Symptoms of Poor Mental Health
Signs and Symptoms of Poor Mental Health
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/98/40/26


Facts About Fear
**Facts About Fear
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/50/28/28


Anxiety Disorders
**Anxiety Disorders
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/24/23/30


Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar Disorder
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/21/63/32

Central Pavilion of Healthinfo Island
Check out the calming breathing exercise on the back wall!
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/128/126/24

Thank you to Mook for help with the posters this month.