Happy St. Patricks Day

Here are some ideas to help us go green and save money too!

1. Recycle gray water, water gardens plants, flush toilets etc.

2. Use scraps for fertilizer (not meat or dairy) Banana peels are great. Just throw them under your bushes.

3. Save scraps of soap to put in a mesh bag, makes a great skin scrubber.

4. Buy a filter for your tap water, bottled water is expensive and so much plastic.  If you need to you can use chlorine to purify water. (8-16 gtts per gallon)

Valentines Day is one of the worst days of the year if you are wanting a relationship but are without one.

Bah Humbug you think, but thats not what you feel. So what can you do to feel better?

Here are 10 Ideas to Help you get Through the Day.

Stay up the night before and work then you can sleep the following day away.

Go to a movie about bad relationships. (How about fatal attraction).

Spend time with a couple who is always bickering. Go sit in divorce court for the day.

Every holiday (but none I think as clearly as  mother’s day) reminds us that another year has passed and how time flies!

Perhaps it because the kids ‘grow so fast” and seem so much older. Then you realize how old that makes you!  There is no need to fret about the passing of the years I have some good news!

Crabapple Tree

I needed some personal spring rejuvenation this week. I spent time taking care of myself and I thought I would share these reminders with other women:

•   Reminded myself for the umpteenth time to take care of myself, it will make me more able to help others and feel less taken advantage of.
•   I said lots of “no’s” this week, actually cancelled 2 engagements (boy did that feel good).  Spent some very restful time alone. 
• I napped often

Image by Damien King

More than 40 percent of women ages 18-59 experience sexual dysfunction, with lack of sexual interest the most common.  A study from Stanford University tried to answer the question:

 “What role does the brain play in some women’s lack of sexual desire?”

This research is important because most previous studies have looked at men and the body rather then women and the mind.

In this study 36 women (half with arousal dysfunction) were shown both erotic video segments and women’s sporting events.   In between these clips, they were shown calm scenes such as flowers, mountains or ocean waves. The purpose of this was to give the brain a rest between exotic and active videos.

Hi Dr. Duffy,

  I read your bah humbug blog about Valentines Day and must admit that if I were single, I’d definitely do a few of those!!
But I am not single and my husband of almost 40 years forgot last year to get me anything and said “it’s just another day.   what about me?”  this year he has been ill and not able to get out but I still feel he could do SOMETHING, like maybe just tell me something extra nice.�
  Anyway, any ideas on how to soothe myself about this? 

Thanks,

Question From A reader

 Dear Dr Duffy,

Where do I begin? First, a little background: I am a 23 year-old female. I have been married for 4 years to a man that is 20 years older than I. We have had two children age 3 and a newborn. We plan to have more children. They are a wonderful family.

For several years I have felt frustrated and disappointed with life, although I realize that I am extremely fortunate and very blessed. There is an emptiness inside that seems to echo louder with time and yet I cannot put a finger on what is eating away at me.

Question and Answer Post

From a Reader named “Mary”

Please help me! I have been in a relationship with my live in boyfriend about 3 yrs. He is like having another child around. He does not help with things and expects me to take care of everything. He has a bad temper and although he has never hit me when he gets angry he breaks things. I want to end this relationship but when I tell him that he says he can’t live without me and will kill himself if I go. I’m scared! I don’t know what to do. I cry all the time and can’t sleep well at night.

Helping Professionals Especially Women, Must Learn to Take Care of Themselves.

This is much easier to say then do! Although there are more men in the helping professions today, in nursing and social work the vast majority are still women.

Womens’ Sense of self is Often One of Caretaker and Nurturer, and Society Enforces This View.

Nurturing and care taking have long been associated with women in general, and nurses and social workers in particular. Empathy is a mainstay of the helping professions, particularly the “women’s professions” such as nursing and social work. Nurturance has historically been intertwined with, and seen as a major function of nursing. Nursing has been called the “practice of professional nurturing”.

Vincent Van Gogh, believed to have Bipolar I Disorder

Questions by Readers.

Dear Dr Duffy,

I am confused about my daughters illness. She is in a residential treatment facility and we have had a terrible time trying to control her. She has been given a number of different diagnoses including Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Schizophrenia and Bipolar disorder. My question is, is Bipolar and Schizophrenia the same. She seem to have many symptoms that could be either. How do the doctors know the difference between these illnesses? She is on many medications and although she is calmer I am still not able to control her at home. I don’t know what to do.