Author: vlaw759

CHILDHOOD FRIENDS

Posted on by vlaw759

A few days ago, I learned from former classmates that my high school sweetheart had died suddenly the day before. I had not seen Bill or heard from him in more than ten years, but I found his obituary online and was immediately swept back in time to my childhood in a small Ohio town, where most of us were classmates and childhood friends from first grade through graduation.

My Childhood Friends

Research has proven the importance of childhood friendships for social and emotional development. But my focus here is more personal, on the importance of childhood friendships for me. I believe these observations hold true for other adults as well. 

My childhood friends and I share a unique history and understanding of each other’s lives. We knew each other’s parents, siblings, activities, achievements, and (sometimes) failures.

In a broader sense, we shared music, movies, TV, major news events, and cultural icons.

These shared experiences bring feelings of familiarity that make so many of us enjoy high school reunions.

Some experiences are shared with only one other. With the death of my high school sweetheart, that reflection of me—that mirror—is gone forever. No one else knew me—or could ever know me—in quite the same way.

Similarly, only one friend was present when I learned to ride horses bareback or tried playing chess and decided it wasn’t for me. The retelling is thin, lacking the intensity, thrill, frustration, and laughter. There’s a reason people say, “You had to be there!”

Sheer proximity guides some of the most intense childhood memories.  Because I was seated behind her in first grade, I may be the only one of our classmates who remembers Mary Jane peeing her pants in first grade. (The teacher, who thought too many kids were requesting bathroom passes, denied her.) 

Friendships require shared interests, activities or tasks—something to bring people together. Bill was a long-distance runner and captain of the track team. I was the statistician for the track team, and we often sat together on the bus to and from away meets. We started going steady and ended up being voted class sweethearts senior year.

By the Numbers

Adults report that, most frequently, their friends are coworkers. Among children most share school, farm chores, sports, music, or other extracurricular activities.  Research indicates that children usually have lots of friends, typically 10 to 20.

Friendships become more selective during adolescence, averaging 5 to10 close friends. In adolescence, friendships become more intimate, with the sharing of personal thoughts and feelings as well as time.

Young adults usually experience a further decline in the number of close friends, averaging around 3 to 5, and are likely to be lasting, meaningful connections.

When childhood friendships last a lifetime, they provide a sense of stability and consistency in one’s life.

Sharon, who was my best friend from first grade until we went to separate colleges, has never lived near me since then. But whenever we manage to visit, it’s like we were never apart: we immediately talk freely about matters of family, health, spouses, or social concerns—i.e., anything and everything. I can always count on her.  And I believe our mutual comfort is rooted in our shared history.

When childhood friends remain close for a lifetime, they are an important source of support and companionship, even in old age. 

Although childhood friendships can last a lifetime for some, others fade due to changing interests, life circumstances, or personal growth.

Some make a distinction between friends of the road and friends of the heart. The former are intense and important until changes like those above separate them. The latter are the ones that last forever, regardless of changes and distance.

Both leave traces in our heats and in our memories.

Bottom Line: Even when they are over, friendships are never completely gone.

VARIATIONS ON A THEME

Posted on by vlaw759
Sometimes the appeal of fan fiction includes fabulous dance numbers!

For the last several months my preferred escapist reading has been variations on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. What’s the appeal?

Well, for one thing, I enjoy seeing the varied ways a writer can use Pride and Prejudice as a starting point for so many related but different stories!

In addition to dodging social pitfalls, the Bennets must dodge hordes of the roaming undead.
  • One of the Bennet daughters is an heiress.
  • Mr. Bennet dies and the women must make their way by working, sometimes for their Uncle Gardiner, sometimes as companions.
  • Lydia marries someone other than George Wickham.
  • Jane marries someone other than Charles Bingley.
  • Elizabeth is a widow, often with a child.
  • Mary Bennet marries Collins, and Charlotte Lucas marries someone else entirely.
  • Elizabeth and Darcy become trapped alone together in a flood and must marry because of the “compromise.”
  • Elizabeth and Darcy first meet in their teens and reunite years later.
  • Minor characters shift personalities, behaviors, and support.
  • Jane Austen characters from other novels make an appearance.
  • Longbourn is not entailed.
  • Mrs. Bennet dies; Mr. Bennet remarries and has an heir.
  • Elizabeth is kidnapped.
  • Darcy saves Elizabeth’s life and vice versa.
  • The events of the story are mere background in the lives of the Bennets’ servants, who are dealing with their own problems.

And what makes these stories most comforting is that, whatever happens to other characters or the plot, Darcy and Elizabeth always end up together.

One of Austen’s first imitators was Sybil G. Brinton, whose novel Old Friends and New Fancies (1913) features characters from nearly all of Austen’s novels.

The Kindle Store offers literally hundreds of these stories, to buy or borrow. They come up when a user searches the store for Pride and Prejudice variations. These novels are a version of fan fiction (also known as fanfiction, fan fic, fanfic, fic, or FF).

from the Jane Austen Parade for Literacy, 2019

Fan Fiction

A fan-made movie poster for a cross-over fic casting the characters from BBC’s Merlin in the roles of Pride and Prejudice by ls311 on deviantart

Fan fiction is fiction created by fans—(duh!)—typically in an amateur capacity, that is based on an existing work of fiction, using their characters, settings or other intellectual properties but not authorized by the original creator(s).

Sometimes fan fiction is based on real life celebrities or politicians.

Fan fiction can range from poems and short stories to novel-length works and can be based on various media, including books, movies, TV shows, comics, video games, music videos, board games, and more. 

Fan fiction allows fans to explore their favorite characters, settings, and storylines in new ways, often continuing canon narratives, exploring alternate universes, or creating original stories within the established framework. 

Examples

A graphic novel from Marvel Comics based on Pride and Prejudice
  • Stories based on popular TV shows like “Supernatural” or “Only Murders in the Building”. 
  • Stories based on books like “Harry Potter” or “Twilight”. 
  • Stories based on movies like “Star Wars” or “Avengers”. 
  • Stories inspired by other forms of media (such as the language learning app Duolingo).
  • Poetry and song lyrics reflecting characters or elements of a story

Fan fiction websites, such as Archive of Our Own, Fanfiction.net, and Wattpad, attract millions of daily page views, and many social media users share or discuss fan fiction on Tumblr, Discord, Instagram, and TikTok . 

While fan fiction often uses copyrighted material, it is generally considered fair use because it is a transformative work, and the original creators are unlikely to take legal action.  One must be more cautious when writing variations of more modern works. For works out of copyright, such as Pride and Prejudice, this is never a problem.

Jane Austen’s Fandom

One of the earliest film adaptations, in 1940, starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier

Jane Austen fan fiction, or JAFF, is a very popular and thriving genre, with numerous published and unpublished works, and has seen an increase in popularity since the 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. As I said at the beginning, I greatly enjoy Pride and Prejudice variations.

The Austen fandom boomed after the release of the 1995 BBC Pride and Prejudice miniseries and the 2005 film adaptation.

There are numerous published Austen-inspired novels, with Pride and Prejudice being the most popular source of inspiration, accounting for at least 900 published books. The number of unpublished stories on various JAFF sites at least doubles that number. 

Modern adaptations of Austen’s works, including “The Lizzie Bennet Diaries,” have also drawn in new audiences, including those who may not have read the original novels. 

My particular escapist reading is rooted in Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, but whatever your taste, there’s surely fan fiction out there for you!

Pride and Prejudice: Blood Ties, a role-playing video game that blends Jane Austen’s work with vampires

Evolution of Fan Fiction

Elizabeth Bennet drawn in the style of an anime chibi, by twosugars16 on DeviantArt

“Despite its ties to the Internet, fan fiction is nothing new. English-language fan fiction can be traced to the 18th century. Jonathan Swift’s satiric novel Gulliver’s Travels (1726) inspired some of the earliest fan fiction, including a series of poems by Alexander Pope. In one such piece, Pope imagined Gulliver’s wife bemoaning her adventurer husband’s long absence and his uninterest in her upon his return, accusing him of infidelity during his journeys: “Not touch me! never neighbour call’d me slut! Was Flimnap’s dame more sweet in Lilliput?” (britannica.com)

Because it is, by definition, “derivative,” fan fiction often gets less respect than other fiction. However, many successful traditionally published authors have written fan fiction, including Meg Cabot.

Orson Scott Card, though he says he hates fan fiction, has published “fanfic” at some point in his career.

from Charles Ross: One Man Pride and Prejudice, a stage play in Vancouver, 2019

Author Neil Gaiman inspires fan fiction, and he’s also written it. His novel Good Omens (1990), written with Sir Terry Pratchett, has nearly 50,000 entries on Archive of Our Own. Gaiman’s story “A Study in Emerald” (2003) imagines a crossover between the worlds of Conan Doyle and H.P. Lovecraft, creating a
Sherlock Holmes-style mystery with a supernatural twist. In 2004, members of the World Science Fiction Convention named it the year’s best short story.

“Early fan fiction, like its contemporary counterparts, could be bolder and more sexually explicit than its source material. Henry Fielding wrote a sensual fan fiction of Samuel Richardson’s sentimental novel Pamela (1740). Amusingly titled Shamela (1741), it reimagines Richardson’s protagonist without the burdensome virtue of chastity. Similarly, in the 19th and 20th centuries the works of Jane Austen and Arthur Conan Doyle became popular fodder for fan fiction writers, who may have wondered, What happened between the lines of the original stories?” (britannica.com)

Inspiration

Illustration from Pride and Prejudice and Enterprise, a Star Trek crossover, by NaOH-giveup

Fan fiction shows up in unexpected (by me) places. For example, Biblical fanfic is (could be) a thing. Some in the fan fiction community have gone so far as to call apocryphal writings or Dante’s epic poem The Divine Comedy (c. 1308–21) “biblical fanfic.” Although people generally consider religious literature to be a unique genre, in the Internet age, The Divine Comedy has inspired its own fan fiction, including more than 150 related works on Archive of Our Own. On Fanfiction.net, the Bible has inspired about 4,000 fan pieces.

The huge number of Sherlock Holmes fans inspired the Baker Street Journal (1946), a fan magazine that published a mix of scholarly writing and fan fiction. Ellery Queen’s “My First Meeting with Sherlock Holmes” was one of those. Actually, according to britannica.com, Queen was also a fiction, created by authors Frederic Dannay and Manfred B. Lee. (Dannay and Lee also launched Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine in 1941, which still publishes crime fiction.)

Harry Potter has inspired more than twice as many stories as any other fandom. In second place is the anime Naruto.

Among TV series, the BBC’s Sherlock, which has had only four seasons, generated 29,000 works of fanfiction per season. That’s almost 30% more than the runner up, Teen Wolf, which averages a little more than 20,000 stories per season over six seasons.

Big fandoms tend to be older ones (for example Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who, and Supernatural).

Illustration of Star Wars: Rogue One characters in the roles of Pride and Prejudice by Blooming Cyre

Although books often generate fan fiction, here are 5 famous books generated by fanfiction:

  1. The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare
  2. Point Pleasant by Jen Archer Wood
  3. Paradise Lost by John Milton
  4. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith
  5. 50 Shades of Grey by EL James

Why Fan Fiction?

Fans “cos-playing” as characters from Pride and Prejudice, dressing up and acting out the story to better suit the way they thought it should have gone. photo by Ringmasah

Many people write and read fanfic for many reasons.

Fan fiction fosters a sense of community among fans who share an interest in the same media. In addition to exchanging direct contact details, fans can join online communities, Discord servers, subReddits, Tumblr clusters, zine boards, etc. with other fans of similar media. Some fans even set up conventions and local meet-ups.

Some writers use prompts from other fans as writing practice. For example, Sherlock fans will challenge each other to write 221B “drabbles.” They try to tell a story in 221 words, ending with a word that begins with the letter B (in honor of Holmes and Watson’s shared flat at 221B Baker Street). Other prompts include chain stories, collaborations with illustrators, retelling scenes from the point of view of a background character, resetting a story in one’s hometown with local slang, experimenting with first or second person narrative, and just about anything else one might imagine.

Other reasons fans write their own stories:

A lesbian young adult romance in which a young Pittsburgh writer is magically transported to meet the Bennet sisters
  • As a chance to explore and share interests, such as setting the story in a particular historical setting or having characters exploring niche hobbies
  • Providing representation the fan writer feels is missing, whether self-insertion or widening the role of minorities overlooked by the original author
  • Correcting perceived plot holes, factual inaccuracies, or underdeveloped characters
  • Simply making the story turn out the way the fan writer would have preferred!

Bottom Line: If you ever wish you could change a story’s ending or hate to cut ties with particular characters, the solution could be fan fiction. Ditto if you just want to avoid too much news!

S.A.D. Writers

Posted on by vlaw759
harp S.A.D.
Today’s blog about S.A.D. is guest-written by Katheen Corcoran

We’re seeing a return of warmer temperatures and thawing ground as winter comes to an end in the Northern Hemisphere. As the days lengthen and crocuses (and people) start to poke their heads out, many people dealing with Seasonal Affective Disorder start to see a reduction in symptoms. From this warmer and sunnier vantage point, it’s nice to look back and appreciate some bleak winter weather. Some authors seem to have truly embraced the winter spirit, and it shows in their writing.

(Note: I am not trying to diagnose these authors with S.A.D., simply appreciating their wintry writing.)

S.A.D. Poetry

Poetry, with its focus on imagery and flexible word usage, is ideal for evoking atmosphere. These poets have embraced all the cold, dark, bleakness of wintry S.A.D. and turned it into beauty for the rest of us to enjoy.

S.A.D. frozen forest

Snow falling and night falling fast, oh, fast
In a field I looked into going past,
And the ground almost covered smooth in snow,
But a few weeds and stubble showing last.

Robert Frost ― “Desert Places”

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago.

Christina Rossetti ― “In the Bleak Midwinter”

S.A.D. frozen river

Wynter wakeneth al my care,
Nou this leves waxeth bare;
Ofte I sike ant mourne sare
When hit cometh in my thoht
Of this worldes joie, hou hit goth al to noht.

Nou hit is, and nou hit nys,
Al so hit ner nere, ywys;
That moni mon seith, soth hit ys:
Al goth bote Godes wille:
Alle we shule deye, thah us like ylle.

Al that gren me graueth grene,
Nou hit faleweth albydene:
Jesu, help that hit be sene
Ant shild us from helle!
For y not whider y shal, ne hou longe her duelle.

Anonymous Winter poem (around 1310, maybe in Leominster, Herefordshire)

S.A.D. Prose

Not surprisingly, authors at higher latitudes, where winter brings the longest nights, have a tendency to reflect this in their writing. Swedish, Russian, French, and Northern American authors often include winter almost as a character in their works, including themes of cold, isolation, and deprivation.

“Six months passed. White winter had set in the cruel stillness of cloudless frosts, with its thick crunching snow, rosy hoarfrost on the trees, pale emerald sky, wreaths of smoke curling above the chimneys, steam emerging from momentarily opened doors, with those fresh faces which look bitten by cold, and the hurried trot of shivering horses. A January day was drawing to its close; the evening cold pierced keenly through the motionless air, and a brilliant sunset was rapidly dying away.”

Ivan Turgenev ― Fathers and Sons

“It was bitter cold. The streets were covered with a thick, black, glassy layer of ice, like the bottom of beer bottles. It hurt her to breathe. The air was dense with gray sleet and it tickled and pricked her face like the gray frozen bristles of her fur cape. Her heart thumping, she walked through the deserted streets past the steaming doors of cheap teashops and restaurants. Faces as red as sausages and horses’ and dogs’ heads with beards of icicles emerged from the mist.” 

Boris Pasternak ― Doctor Zhivago

Although it was only six o’clock, the night was already dark. The fog, made thicker by its proximity to the Seine, blurred every detail with its ragged veils, punctured at various distances by the reddish glow of lanterns and bars of light escaping from illuminated windows. The road was soaked with rain and glittered under the street-lamps, like a lake reflecting strings of lights. A bitter wind, heavy with icy particles, whipped at my face, its howling forming the high notes of a symphony whose bass was played by swollen waves crashing into the piers of the bridges below. The evening lacked none of winter’s rough poetry.

Théophile Gautier ― Hashish, Wine, Opium

When the cold comes to New England it arrives in sheets of sleet and ice. In December, the wind wraps itself around bare trees and twists in between husbands and wives asleep in their beds. It shakes the shingles from the roofs and sifts through cracks in the plaster. The only green things left are the holly bushes and the old boxwood hedges in the village, and these are often painted white with snow. Chipmunks and weasels come to nest in basements and barns; owls find their way into attics. At night, the dark is blue and bluer still, as sapphire of night.

Alice Hoffman ― Here on Earth

GOOD VIBES

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People typically feel relaxed and calm when they do things that stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, allowing them to let go of tension and stress. When the bad vibes threaten to overwhelm you, consider the following suggestions to return good vibes to your life!

Sounds Can Promote Relaxation

Listening to calming music can promote good vibes. Such music typically features slow, soothing melodies, minimal percussion, and soft instrumentation such as piano, guitar, and strings. The tempo is generally slow, and the volume is often kept low to create a peaceful atmosphere.

Nature sounds, such as ocean waves or rain, rustling leaves, chirring of insects.

Gentle ambient noise, such as a fan or “noise machine.”

Sights

If you feel the craziness closing in, your eyes can help restore your good vibes!

Water is key: Looking at water, especially calm bodies like a lake or a quiet ocean, can significantly lower heart rate and blood pressure, inducing a meditative state. 

Natural patterns: Fractal patterns found in nature, like the branching of trees or the ripples on water, can be particularly soothing. 

Wide open spaces: Expansive landscapes with open horizons can promote a sense of peace and tranquility. 

Activities

There are steps you can take to improve the vibes in your life, some easier than others.

Deep breathing: Focusing on slow, deep breaths is a highly effective way to activate the relaxation response in the body. It’s a simple and effective way to reduce anxiety and anger.

Heat: Taking a warm bath or applying heat to tense muscles can induce relaxation.

Physical activity with low intensity: Gentle stretching, yoga, or walking can help release tension in the body. 

Get into nature. Nature is calming because it provides a sensory experience that engages multiple senses with sights, sounds, and smells that are often repetitive and predictable, which can help to reduce stress, lower heart rate, and promote relaxation. Being in nature essentially acts as a distraction from daily worries and allows for a sense of connection to something larger than oneself. Many of these benefits come to gardeners. There is also something called the biophilia hypothesis: research suggests humans have an innate connection to nature, which can lead to feelings of well-being when exposed to natural elements.

Keep a journal. It provides a safe place to express and process your thoughts and emotions, allowing you to gain clarity, release pent-up feelings, and reflect on experiences, often leading to a sense of reduced stress and anxiety. 

Get creative. Creativity often leads to a sense of self-expression, reduced stress, and a feeling of control over your inner world, essentially providing an outlet to process and release tension. Creativity can put us in a flow state, meaning we become focused with optimal attention on a task or activity. This is sometimes called being “in the zone.” When we are in the zone, it can feel euphoric, and we become more mindful and relaxed.

Mind Games

The phrase “mind games” tends to evoke images of power-hungry bosses or abusive ex-partners. However, you can also play mind games with yourself to encourage healthy practices!

Mindfulness practices: Meditation and other mindfulness techniques help to quiet the mind and become more aware of the present moment, reducing stress.

Relaxing imagery: Can help calm down angry feelings.

Being grateful: Practicing gratitude can reduce cortisol, the key stress hormone. You can record your gratefulness in a journal.

Visual imagery: Imagining peaceful scenes or calming scenarios can help to distract from worries and promote relaxation. 

Environment

The outside impacts the inside. By the same token, surrounding yourself with good vibes has a powerful impact on mental well-being.

Warm environments are more relaxing than cold ones.

Color palette: Soft, muted colors like blues, greens, and pastel shades are generally considered calming.

Limit clutter in your personal environment.

Limit your exposure to negative stimuli, such as disturbing news.

Habits

On their own, small habits may not make much difference. But when you practice them regularly, you may find an appreciable improvement.

Regularly engage in positive social interaction: Spending time with loved ones or engaging in pleasant conversations can promote feelings of well-being and reduce stress. 

Sleep: Getting enough sleep is important for thinking clearly and controlling negative emotions. To sleep better, you can avoid caffeine, alcohol, and heavy meals before bed. 

Nutrition: Eating well is a key part of maintaining calm. See below.

Physical activity: Exercise can help you feel calmer.

Routines: Having a consistent morning routine can reduce decision-making and stress. 

Eating and drinking

What you put into your body can have a major impact on how your brain works. Nutritionists have identified many foods that support mental health and well-being.

Lots of people relax with alcohol, but this is not a good primary practice, given the empty calories, loss of control, and potential for addiction.

Instead limit caffeine and drink chamomile tea and green tea. 

Complex carbohydrates are good, including whole grains like breads and pastas, brown or wild rice, and oatmeal. 

Omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish like salmon, tuna, and halibut; avocados; flaxseed.

Magnesium from foods such as leafy greens like spinach and Swiss chard; legumes, nuts, and seeds; dark chocolate; bananas.

Vitamin C is good, from berries like strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries; and, of course, oranges.

Surprise! You can get probiotics from pickles, sauerkraut, and kefir. 

Other good foods: yogurt, dark leafy greens, asparagus, oysters, cashews, liver, beef, and egg yolks.

You can also try eating lean proteins to help calm you.

Emotional Control

The physical environment can certainly influence good vibes, but exercising emotional control can have a powerful effect on mental health.

Treat yourself kindly: Calm people don’t beat themselves up about mistakes or weaknesses.

Seeing the middle ground: Expect that there will be glitches, even when people do their best.

Respecting boundaries: Setting boundaries can lead to long-term benefits. 

Use your phone judiciously. Be mindful about media you consume.

Why Bother?

Regular practice of relaxation techniques will assist you in relieving muscle tension, reducing anxiety, and improving your overall wellbeing.

Other physiological benefits:

  • Decrease in heart rate
  • Decrease in respiration rate

Being calm and relaxed significantly improves both mental and physical health:

  • Reducing stress
  • Lowering blood pressure
  • Enhancing focus
  • Improving sleep quality
  • Boosting mood
  • Allowing for better decision-making, ultimately leading to a higher quality of life

Essentially, it allows your body and mind to recharge and function optimally.

Bottom Line: There are myriad ways to relax and promote calm, and the benefits are well worth the effort.

BAD FEELINGS

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You know what they are, and we all have them sometimes. They vary in intensity, and everyone recognizes how bad the most intense episodes are.

For example:

Irritated-> angry-> furious-> homicidal
Down-> blue-> sad-> depressed-> suicidal
Self-conscious-> embarrassed-> humiliated
Cautious-> suspicious-> fearful-> paranoid

Bad Feelings in the Body

Even mild prolonged negative emotions can lead to various outcomes like headaches, muscle tension, fatigue, and upset stomach.

Negative feelings, like stress, anxiety, anger, and sadness, can significantly impact physical health. Among other effects, bad feelings can cause the following:

  • Weakening the immune system
  • Increasing inflammation
  • Disrupting sleep patterns
  • Raising blood pressure
  • Contributing to digestive issues
  • Potentially leading to chronic diseases like cardiovascular problems

It’s Not All in Your Head!

Stress hormones:
When experiencing negative emotions, the body releases stress hormones like cortisol, which can disrupt normal bodily functions, including immune response and blood sugar regulation.

Cardiovascular impact:
Chronic stress and anger can contribute to high blood pressure, increased heart rate, and an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease. 

Digestive issues:
Negative emotions can lead to digestive problems like stomach aches, nausea, and changes in bowel movements due to the impact on gut health. 

Sleep disturbances:
Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep is often associated with stress and anxiety, further impacting overall health. 

Impaired immune function:
Chronic stress can weaken the immune system, making individuals more susceptible to infections. 

Muscle tension:
Negative emotions can lead to muscle tension and pain, particularly in the neck and shoulders.

Headaches and migraines:
Stress and tension can trigger headaches or migraines in some individuals. 

Which Feelings Cause What

Specific negative emotions have different potential physical effects!

Anger:
High blood pressure, headaches, stomach ulcers, increased risk of heart disease

Anxiety:
Rapid heart rate, chest pain, difficulty breathing, muscle tension

Depression:
Fatigue, loss of appetite, sleep disturbances, aches and pains 

Overcoming Bad Feelings

What can be done to mitigate the effects of negative emotions on physical health?

Stress management techniques:
Mindfulness meditation, deep breathing exercises, regular physical activity

Healthy coping mechanisms:
Social support, hobbies, relaxation techniques

Professional help:
Therapy or counseling to address underlying emotional issues

Lifestyle changes:
Adequate sleep, balanced diet, regular exercise

Bottom Line: Bad feelings are bad for your health, so try to have as few of them as possible. When they are unavoidable, take what steps you can to manage them in a healthy way.

PRIORITIES: WE ALL HAVE THEM

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William Penn priorities
“Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.” (William Penn)

As a young mother, employed full time, I complained to my paternal grandmother that I really needed more time. Granny said, “Honey, you have all the time there is.” Or to put it another way, as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe did, ”One always has time enough, if one will apply it well.” And there you have it, the need to set priorities.

One simplistic approach is this Peter F. Drucker quote, “Do first things first and second things not at all.” But we have to deal with more than first and second.

Eisenhower Matrix

Dwight D. Eisenhower had definite advice on how to deal with this:

Eisenhower Matrix

Well, that’s one way, and it’s worked for lots of people in both personal and professional situations.

Note: This decision matrix would need to be considered for everything on your to-do list.

Ask yourself these questions for every task:

  • Does this task contribute to my long-term goals or values? If yes, it’s important.
  • Does this task have to be done right now, or face consequences? If yes, it’s urgent.
  • Does this task help someone else more than it helps me? If yes, it’s possibly not important but could be urgent.
  • Does this task take up more time than it’s worth? If yes, it might not be urgent or important.

I didn’t find guidance on what to do when more than one task comes up both urgent and important.

Organize Priorities

“Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday.” (Don Marquis)

Of course some people simply organize their to-do lists.
For procrastinators, these lists might be:

  • Do Tomorrow
  • Do Soon
  • Do Sometime
  • Don’t Bother

For many procrastinators, if it weren’t for the last minute, nothing would ever get done!

Even if not consciously set, everyone lives their priorities.

  • “Action expresses priorities.” (Mahatma Ghandi)
  • “Your decisions reveal your priorities” (Jeff Van Gundy)
  • “What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
  • “It’s how we spend our time here, and now that really matters. If you are fed up with the way you have come to interact with time, change it.” (Marcia Wieder)

It could be argued that success requires the focus that comes from priorities. “When everything is a priority, nothing is a priority.” (Simon Fulleringer) “If you chase two rabbits, both will escape.” (Unknown)

Planning Priorities

Consider these quotes that encourage planning:

“The common man is not concerned about the passage of time, the man of talent is driven by it.” – Arthur Schopenhauer

“If you love life, don’t waste time, for time is what life is made of.” – Bruce Lee

“The most efficient way to live reasonably is every morning to make a plan of one’s day and every night to examine the results obtained.” – Alexis Carrel

“He who every morning plans the transactions of that day and follows that plan carries a thread that will guide him through the labyrinth of the most busy life.” – Victor Hugo

“Be not afraid of going slowly, be afraid only of standing still.” – Chinese Proverb

“Your future is created by what you do today, not tomorrow.” – Anonymous

“The things that matter most should never be at the mercy of the things that matter least.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Also paraphrased as “Don’t let the things that matter least, get in the way of the things that matter most.” ~ Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart (2018)

“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” – Stephen Covey
(BTW, I hate the word “prioritize” and other nouns that have been turned into verbs, but that’s just me.)

“Decide what you want. Decide what you are willing to exchange for it. Establish your priorities and go to work.” – H. L. Hunt

Prioritize Rest

And as you allocate time, remember to make rest a priority.

“Take rest. A field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.” – Ovid
  • “The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.” – Bertrand Russell
  • “Have regular hours for work and play; make each day both useful and pleasant, and prove that you understand the worth of time by employing it well.” – Louisa May Alcott
  • “Wisdom is knowing when to have rest, when to have activity, and how much of each to have.” – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

So it all comes back to time. “The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.” (Michael Altshuler)

Or at least we can try to pilot our lives, for as Chaucer noted, “Time waits for no man.”

But “The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.” (Abraham Lincoln)

And finally, Charles Richards said, “Don’t be fooled by the calendar. There are only as many days in the year as you make use of.”

Bottom Line: Whatever your priorities, spend your time intentionally.

History of Valentines

Posted on by vlaw759

For many the mention of February immediately brings thoughts of Valentine’s Day, Valentine cards, whether to send them, and to whom.

A Hallmark History

For many Americans, Hallmark has become synonymous with Valentines. Founded by 18-year-old Joyce Clyde Hall in 1910, Hallmark Cards is the largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the U.S. They got into the Valentine act in 1913, and began producing their own designs in 1916.

Hallmark store in Quebec

Hallmark offers approximately 1,400 Valentine designs in their catalogue. Valentines are their second biggest seller, after Christmas cards. Before Valentine cards, there were Valentine love letters.

Saint Valentine

Saint Valentine Valentines

The Catholic Church has sainted at least three men named Valentine or Valentinus, two executed on February 14 of different years. I prefer the Saint Valentine who was a 3rd-century Roman priest executed for performing secret weddings in defiance of the emperor’s orders. (Claudius II believed that unmarried men made better soldiers because they had nothing to lose, so he outlawed marriage for young men.) Legend says this St. Valentine wrote a farewell note to his jailer’s daughter, signing it “Love, from your Valentine.”

Writing Valentines

Lace and paper Valentines

Subsequently, the imprisoned Duke Charles of Orleans wrote the earliest existing Valentine love letter to his wife in 1415. Then followed, in 1477, love letters from Margery Brews to her future husband, John Paston, which contain the first known use of the term “Valentine” in written English.

People exchanged formal messages of affection in the 1500s. Sending handmade cards was popular throughout the 1700s and continued through the 1800s. Europeans exchanged love notes, often decorated with lace and ribbons. 

In 1797 London, printed Valentine’s Day cards, to be hand-colored by the buyer, appeared. They featured hearts (the traditional seat of emotions), flowers, Cupids (the Roman god of love), and lace. Because popular science of the day held that the avian mating season began in mid-February, many cards also featured birds as a symbol of the day.

Victorian Valentines

Mass-produced Valentine’s Day cards debuted in America in the 1840s, created by Esther Howland of Worcester, Massachusetts. In 1879, she joined Edward Taft to create the New England Valentine Company. In 1881 George C. Whitney bought their company and combined it with the Whitney Valentine Company. Around 1900, German manufacturers introduced “mechanical” Valentines that folded out to create three-dimensional scenes, which came to dominate the market.

Not Just for Lovers

Today, the holiday has expanded beyond romantic partners to expressions of affection among relatives and friends. Even schoolchildren exchange Valentines now.

The latter is a relatively new development. As best I could find, around the 1950s school children began exchanging Valentine’s Day cards in large numbers in the United States. It has since become a popular school tradition. When I was in elementary school, each student brought a cardboard shoe box, cut a slit in the top, decorated it, and hoped to find cards from classmates, the more the better. 

My Funny Valentine

A current Hallmark ad reads, “Shop Valentine cards for all the people you love— spouses, boyfriends, girlfriends, and best friends. Find funny Valentines…”

Vinegar Valentines 'Tis a lemon that I hand you And bid you now "Skidoo," Because I love another - There is no chance for you!
‘Tis a lemon that I hand you
And bid you now “Skidoo,”
Because I love another –
There is no chance for you!

Unlike Valentines for classmates, humorous Valentine’s Day cards are nothing new. “Vinegar Valentines” originated in the Victorian era (the last 65 years before 1900) as mocking or comic Valentines. These cards were often insulting and could be sent to anyone the sender disliked, including landlords, salespeople, employers, and adversaries. The tone ranged from gentle to aggressive. They typically insulted a recipient’s physical appearance, character traits, or lack of a romantic partner. They sometimes mocked specific professions. These “comic” Valentines often included grotesque drawings that caricatured common stereotypes. As with all things Valentine, they have evolved.

Valentines by the Numbers

To the annoyance of many, Valentine’s Day has become highly commercialized. According to an article in Business Insider, Hallmark is among nine companies that turned Valentine’s Day into a national economic engine. (Others include sellers of jewelry, flowers, and chocolate.) According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), Americans were expected to spend approximately $25.8 billion on Valentine’s Day in 2024. Though not all that money goes for cards, according to a 2023 National Retail Association survey, 40% of Americans planned to send cards.

Valentine’s Day celebrations in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Valentine’s Day is popular in at least 24 countries. Worldwide, the Greeting Card Association estimates that about one billion Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year. Guatemalans celebrate many varieties of love on Valentine’s Day, exchanging cards with friends and family. Many Germans exchange heart-shaped gingerbread cookies. The Japanese split the celebration into two days: women give Valentines to men on February 14th, and men return the favor on March 14th.

In the Philippines, February 14 is the most common wedding anniversary, and mass weddings of hundreds of couples are common on that day. Are cards for these celebrations two-fers, wedding and Valentine? Heads up, Hallmark!

Bottom Line: Giving Valentines may be a centuries-old tradition, but it’s still going strong!

CHOCOLATE: The Good, the Bad, and the History

Posted on by vlaw759

I’m a confirmed chocolate lover. And I’m not alone here! Great taste, a reward after a tough day, a favorite holiday gift…

Chocolate is the preferred choice of sweets for many. Which is what makes chocolate big business. The chocolate industry is worth over £100 billion. Chocolate is the most popular U.S. candy product, favored by 90% of consumers. Nearly half (47%) spend $5-$10 a few times a month buying chocolate at the grocery store. (FYI: Switzerland is the world’s top consumer of chocolate per capita.)

Consumers buy an incredible 90 million pounds of chocolate candy during Halloween week, giving it a strong lead compared to other holidays. Retailers sell almost 65 million pounds during the week leading up to Easter. Although 57% of Valentine’s Day gift-givers give candy, only 48 million pounds of chocolate are sold during Valentine’s week. This includes more than 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate every year for Valentine’s Day.

Of the $1.9 billion sold on Halloween candy each year, $1.2 billion was for chocolate candy and only $680 million for sugar candy.

And then there is the impact of the chocolate industry on other products! U.S. chocolate manufacturers currently use 40 percent of the almonds produced in the United States and 25 percent of domestic peanuts.

Chocolatey Celebrations

Chocolate is so popular that many days of the year are designated for its celebration in various ways.

  • 1/31 National Hot Chocolate Day
    • People originally consumed chocolate as a beverage. Thomas Jefferson was a big fan of a drink using stone-roasted cacao, sugar and spices.
  • 2/25 National Chocolate Covered Nut Day
  • 5/15 National Chocolate Chip Day
  • 6/16 National Fudge Day
    • Chocolate is only one option for fudge flavors!
  • 7/7 International World Chocolate Day
  • 7/25 National Hot Fudge Sundae Day
  • 8/4 National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day
    • Ruth Wakefield invented the chocolate chip cookie in the 1930s. In 1939 she sold her recipe and the Toll House name to Nestlé, reputedly in return for a lifetime supply of chocolate!
  • 8/20 National Chocolate Pecan Pie Day
  • 9/27 National Chocolate Milk Day
    • According to the Smithsonian, an Irish botanist, Sir Hans Sloane, in Jamaica in the early 1700s, drank a cocoa drink that he found so bitter he added milk, thus creating the first chocolate milk mixture. He then left Jamaica and returned to England, where he sold the chocolatey concoction as medicine.
  • 10/13 National M&M Day
  • 11/7 National Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day
  • 12/13 National Cocoa Day
  • 12/28 National Chocolate Candy Day

At EuroChocolate Festival in Italy

The popularity of chocolate is reflected in chocolate-themed Hershey Park, the largest amusement park in Pennsylvania, as well as Hersheytown. A huge new park is scheduled to open in 2027. In addition, there are more than 60 chocolate museums around the world, including in Belgium, Canada, Germany, Spain, and the United States.

Keep in mind that chocolate and cocoa are not the same thing. Essentially, chocolate is a processed version of cocoa that includes added ingredients like sugar and cocoa butter to achieve its smooth texture and appealing flavor. 

A Little Chocolate History

From the Codex Tudela, an Aztec woman pouring chocolate from one vessel to another

Historians credit the Olmec civilization of southern Mexico as being the first to roast the fruit from the cacao tree, then grind it down and mix it with water and other ingredients (but not milk or sugar). Archaeologists have discovered Olmec pottery with trace amounts of chocolate dating back to
around 1700 BCE.

During the Revolutionary War, medics would often dole out cups of hot chocolate to wounded and dying soldiers. Military leaders gave out hot chocolate mixes monthly to soldiers, and sometimes offered them in lieu of wages.

Milton Hershey of Lancaster, PA introduced the first Hershey milk chocolate bar in 1900. Foil-wrapped Hershey’s Kisses appeared in 1906. Ever wondered about that little piece of paper hanging out of a Hershey’s Kiss? That was the company’s way of flagging their candy so consumers would know that it was an original Hershey’s Kiss. The little paper tail is known as a plume.

Soldiers’ rations in the Spanish Civil War inspired Forrest Mars, Sr to create M&Ms: plain chocolate candies in a shell of hard sugar. Chocolate melts at 93°F, which is below the average human body temperature. Remember this slogan? “M&Ms melt in your mouth, not in your hand!”

Mars joined Bruce Murrie (son of Hershey executive William Murrie) to produce M&Ms in 1941, marketing them as in response to slack chocolate sales in summer.

During World War II, M&Ms were sold exclusively to the US military because of their durability.

Hershey’s had an exclusive contract with the American military to supply chocolate for soldiers’ rations during World War II. They specifically created the D-Ration Bar to “taste a little better than a boiled potato” to discourage soldiers from eating only their chocolate ration and nothing else. The recipe for these emergency chocolate rations made a viscous liquid so thick that it clogged the regular manufacturing machines and required hand-packing into molds.

Hershey produced a Tropical D-Ration specifically designed to withstand the high temperatures in the Pacific Theater.

M&Ms were the first candies to go into space, sent with the crew of the NASA shuttle Columbia in 1981.

Chocolate Medicine

Chocolates are a popular form of self-medication.

In the 1800’s, physicians commonly advised their broken-hearted patients to eat chocolate to calm their pining.

Chocolate has been shown to improve depression and anxiety symptoms and to help enhance feelings of calmness and contentedness. Both the flavanols and methylxanthines are believed to play a role in chocolate’s mood-enhancing effects. The presence of compounds like phenylethylamine in cocoa can contribute to feelings of happiness and well-being as well.

Even the smell of chocolate can help you relax and reduce stress! A study conducted by psychologist Neil Martin at Middlesex University in Enfield, England concluded that the aroma of chocolate reduced attentiveness.  Also, there are at least six varieties of flowers that naturally smell like chocolate: Carolina Allspice, Columbine-Chocolate Soldier, Chocolate Daisy, Chocolate Vine, Cosmos -Chocolate, and the Oncidium Orchid. A chocolate alternative for aromatherapy, perhaps!

Approximately 70% of people in a cross-sectional survey were less like to report depressive symptoms if they had eaten dark chocolate within the last 24 hours.

Chocolate can’t replace traditional treatment options for depressive feelings with mood disorders, but science may support its role in your diet.

Other cocoa benefits, maximized by choosing minimally processed cocoa powder or dark chocolate with high cocoa content:

Cacao pods in varying states of ripeness
  • Antioxidant power: cocoa is packed with antioxidants, particularly flavanols, which combat free radical damage in the body and may protect against chronic diseases. 
  • Cardiovascular health: studies suggest cocoa can help lower blood pressure, improve blood vessel function, and potentially reduce the risk of heart disease due to its impact on blood flow. 
  • Improved cholesterol and blood sugar levels.
  • Brain function: cocoa may enhance cognitive abilities like memory and focus due to its influence on neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin. 
  • Potential anti-inflammatory effects: cocoa’s polyphenols may help reduce inflammation in the body.

Chocolatey “Perks”

Chocolate’s reputation as a pick-me-up is greatly aided by the fact that chocolate is sweetened, so there’s a sugar boost along with the caffeine.

A one-ounce piece of milk chocolate contains about the same amount of caffeine as a cup of decaffeinated coffee.

Although a bar of dark chocolate has about 29 milligrams of caffeine, a small cup of regular coffee has about 94.

Dark chocolate has more caffeine than any other type of chocolate. Cocoa solids contain the caffeine. Cocoa beans harvested during a dry season contain more caffeine. The method of processing and roasting the beans also affects the caffeine content.

Chocolate type matters! Dark chocolate, with higher cocoa content, generally has more health benefits compared to milk chocolate, which contains more sugar and fat.  In fact, more than half of people in a recent survey from the National Confectioners Association described dark chocolate as a “better for you” candy.

Over-Indulgence

Beware too much chocolate! Addiction to chocolate is called “chocoholism.” It is not a scientifically recognized term.

Cocoa powder is naturally bitter, no sugar at all. The effects of added sugar intake from chocolate— higher blood pressure, inflammation, diabetes, and fatty liver disease — are all linked to an increased risk for heart attack and stroke.

Weight Gain
High calorie intake from chocolate can lead to weight gain if consumed excessively, especially when replacing healthier food options. 

Dental Issues
The sugar in chocolate can contribute to tooth decay if not properly brushed after consumption. 

Digestive Problems
Some people might experience stomach upset, bloating, or diarrhea due to the fat and sugar content in chocolate, especially milk chocolate. 

Cardiovascular Concerns
Regularly consuming large amounts of chocolate, particularly with high saturated fat content, might contribute to elevated cholesterol levels and increase the risk of heart disease. 

Blood Sugar Fluctuations
The sugar in chocolate can cause blood sugar spikes, potentially contributing to diabetes risk in susceptible individuals. 

Caffeine Overdose
While the caffeine content in dark chocolate is lower than coffee, consuming excessive amounts can lead to sleep disturbances, anxiety, and jitters. 

Skin Issues
Some people experience acne breakouts after consuming large quantities of chocolate.

Individual Sensitivities
People with specific allergies or digestive sensitivities should be cautious with chocolate consumption and consult a healthcare professional if needed. 

Chocolate Dangers

And then there are heavy metals. Cadmium and lead—two heavy metals linked to a host of health problems in children and adults—are virtually unavoidable in dark chocolate. Consumer Reports scientists recently measured the amount of heavy metals in 28 dark chocolate bars, including Dove, Ghirardelli, Lindt, and Hershey’s, for lead and cadmium. All of them contained both metals. For 23 of them, just an ounce of chocolate violates California’s maximum allowable dose levels (MADL) for lead or cadmium.

Significant exposure to cadmium can cause lung cancer, birth defects, and other reproductive harm. Significant exposure to lead can slow children’s growth growth and development and damage the brain and nervous system.

The good news is that it’s possible for dark chocolate to maintain low levels of heavy metals: five of the 28 bars tested had levels of lead and cadmium within the California limitations.

Johns Hopkins Medicine toxicologist Andrew Stolbach told NPR “The [MADL] safety levels for lead and cadmium are set to be very protective, and going above them by a modest amount isn’t something to be
concerned about,” he said. “If you make sure that the rest of your diet is good and sufficient in calcium and iron, you protect yourself even more by preventing absorption of some lead and cadmium in your diet.”

Note: Chocolate can be toxic to cats and dogs because they can’t metabolize theobromine, a component in chocolate. 

Bottom Line: Moderation is key. Enjoying chocolate in moderation as part of a balanced diet is key to reaping potential benefits without experiencing negative effects.

Why Am I S.A.D.?

Posted on by vlaw759
Today’s guest blog was written by Kathleen Corcoran

The cold is pressing in, the days are short and dark, and colorful gardens are sleeping and gray. It’s easy to get a case of the Winter Blues, but you might also be dealing with something a little more insidious – Seasonal Affective Disorder. If you notice a pattern of depressed moods at the same time every year, you might have S.A.D.

What Causes Seasonal Affective Disorder?

Also known as S.A.D., this subset of mood disorders causes depressive symptoms at the same time every year. Unlike regular depression, S.A.D. comes and goes regularly with the changing seasons.

Though winter-pattern Seasonal Affective Disorder is more common, some people suffer from the mood disorder in the summer. In both varieties, the change in mood coincides with the change in temperature and length of daylight.

The causes of S.A.D. are not entirely clear, but researchers believe it may be related to serotonin, melatonin, or Vitamin D levels. Some scientists believe the change in daylight hours interferes with the brain’s ability to absorb serotonin. Others point to changes in daylight hours messing up melatonin and sleep schedules. Another common hypothesis is that lack of sunlight causes a vitamin D deficiency, leading to mood disruptions.

Other factors that may contribute to winter-pattern S.A.D. include environmental causes. Cold weather often forces people indoors, curtailing opportunities for exercise and social interaction. Fresh fruits and vegetables are less accessible, and those available in grocery stores are generally less nutritious after being force-ripened or shipped long distances. Winter holidays might also contribute to S.A.D., both in the stress leading up to them and the letdown after they’ve passed.

Symptoms of S.A.D.

The symptoms of S.A.D. are very similar to those of general depression, including empty moods, lack of energy, and loss of interest in usual pleasures and hobbies.

In addition, winter-pattern S.A.D. often includes symptoms that make the sufferer look a bit like a hibernating bear:

  • Oversleeping
  • Overeating, particularly of carbohydrates, leading to weight gain
  • Social withdrawal (feeling like “hibernating”)

On the other hand, summer-pattern S.A.D. can cause symptoms that are nearly the opposite:

  • Trouble sleeping
  • Poor appetite, leading to weight loss
  • Restlessness and agitation
  • Anxiety
  • Violent or aggressive behavior

S.A.D. History

Knowledge of Seasonal Affective Disorder goes back at least 2500 years! The Greek physician Hippocrates (c 460-377BCE) noted the correlation of seasonal changes and both mania and melancholia all the way back in the 4th Century BCE. Aulus Cornelius Celsus (c 25BCE-50CE) blamed bad weather for a spike in melancholia, madness, and epilepsy.

Some ancient physicians recognized the role of sunlight in treatment for S.A.D. The Greek physician Aretaeus of Cappadocia suggested treating lethargics by laying them in the light and exposing them to the rays of the sun.

Fast forward a few thousand years, psychiatrist Norman Rosenthal noticed that his moods fluctuated much more in the winter after moving from South Africa to New York in 1976. He conducted a study with the National Institute of Health on the relationship between melatonin, light, and mood. In 1984, the NIH research group published the results of their study, naming Seasonal Affective Disorder for the first time in print. The American Psychological Association recognized S.A.D. in 1990 as a mental disorder.

Since that time, many advances in science and medicine have created more effective S.A.D. treatments. Scientists were able to make full-spectrum lamps all the way back in the 1920s, with a combination of incandescent and fluorescent bulbs, but those bulbs are now easier to make and more effective to use. New anti-depressant medications have had promising results in trials for treating Seasonal Affective Disorder. People with S.A.D. can now download phone apps to track circadian rhythms, monitor hormone levels, or set a morning alarm that gradually increases light to mimic dawn.

S.A.D. Treatment

Treatment for Seasonal Affective Disorder overlaps in many ways with treatment for other forms of depression. However, the external factors involved in S.A.D. mean that there are some different options. For one thing, the seasonal nature may allow those affected by S.A.D. to anticipate and prepare for changes before symptoms start to occur.

  • Light therapy
  • Dawn simulators
  • Maintaining a regular sleep schedule
  • Exercising outdoors or next to a window
  • Seeking out socialization
  • Psychotherapy
  • Antidepressant medication
  • Vitamin D supplements
If you suspect your “Winter Blues” may be a sign of something more serious, please don’t hesitate to seek treatment. In the US, you can text 988, call (866)903-3787, or visit https://988lifeline.org/ to speak with someone immediately.

HOT DRINKS, THEY’RE EVERYWHERE!

Posted on by vlaw759

Especially in winter, hot drinks have a special appeal after skiing or shoveling or when the heating system is on the fritz. And sometimes just for the pleasure of it.

In areas without easy access to safe drinking water, many people prefer to boil all water. Having a hot drink can be a convenient excuse to boil water before drinking it.

Here, for your consideration, are hot drinks galore, from the routine, tried and true to the truly exotic.

Water-Based Drinks

I have a friend who drinks plain hot water, but she is surely in the minority. Putting aside coffee and tea for separate consideration, here are a few ideas for variations on hot water that don’t even need recipes.

  • Simple additives like a squeeze of lemon, a little sugar, molasses or honey, or some other favorite flavoring such as vanilla, blackberry syrup, etc.
  • Consider heating un-carbonated flavored water.
  • Herbs, spices, and supplements can make for a very refreshing and sometimes medicinal beverage when mixed with hot water.
  • And then there is herbal “tea,” made with water and anything other than Camellia sinensis or Camellia taliensis leaves, such as rooibos, chamomile, or peppermint.  This is very convenient, given that there are many varieties commercially available.
  • Broths and bouillons: water heated with cubes or paste flavored as vegetable, chicken, beef, or whatever.

Coffee-Based Drinks

Coffee isn’t singular. There are over a hundred different types of coffee plants, but only four main types of coffee beans that are commercially produced: Arabica, Robusta, Liberica, and Excelsa. Arabica and Robusta beans are the most popular, making up well over 90% of the market.

The first consideration is black or with various additives. Popular additions include milk of whatever sort, cream, creamer, whipped cream, ice cream, condensed milk, evaporated milk, butter, sugar, sugar substitutes, flavored syrups, or other sweeteners.

A thorough examination of coffee-based drinks is clearly beyond my purpose here. Suffice it to say, the Folgers website alone lists the following:

  • Espresso, 7 versions
  • Espresso with coffee, 4 more versions
  • Cappuccino
  • Mocha
  • Lattes, 2 versions
  • Breve
  • Macchiatos, 2 versions
  • Cortado
  • Dirty Chai
  • Dalgona
  • Dessert Coffees, 5 versions
  • Turkish Coffee
  • Cuban Coffee
  • Galão Coffee
  • Antoccino Coffee

Hot Tea

And then there is real tea, made of leaves from the Camellia plant. Aside from water, tea is the most consumed beverage in the world. There are roughly 1500 types of tea, categorized into a few main types: 

  • Black tea, a fully oxidized tea that can be dark amber to black in color. Some types of black tea include Assam, Darjeeling, Ceylon, and Pue Yunnan. 
  • White tea, a naturally oxidized, non-processed tea that has a floral and fruity aroma. Some types of white tea include Pai Mu Tan and Yin Zhen. 
  • Green tea, a tea that is minimally oxidized to retain its natural green color and fresh flavor. Green tea may have health benefits such as boosting heart health and lowering cholesterol. 
  • Oolong tea, a distinct tea varietal native to Taiwan and Fujian province in China, has properties somewhere between green and black tea. It is a semi-oxidized tea, best steeped for 2–3 minutes at a temperature of 195°F. 
  • Pu-Erh tea gets its smoky, earthy flavor from extended fermentation. After drying in the sun, pu-erh leaves are rolled into a pile and left to ferment for several months, then steamed, compressed, and dried again.

At Oh, How Civilized!, tea and coffee sommelier Jee Choe has provided recipes for a number of hot drinks. Some of these are not tea, in the strict sense, but they don’t clearly fit anywhere else in this blog.

  • Ginger spice
  • Pumpkin spice chai latte
  • Hot citron tea
  • Decadent chai latte
  • Easy chamomile tea latte
  • London Fog (Earl Grey tea latte)
  • Decadent hojicha latte
  • Matcha hot chocolate
  • Decadent Earl Grey hot chocolate
  • Easy matcha latte (using green tea powder)
  • Chocolate mint tea latte
  • Milk tea
  • Rooibos tea latte (this “red tea” is a South African herb)
  • Quick and easy Moroccan mint tea
  • Jujube ginger tea (jujube is a Chinese red date)

Juice-Based Hot Drinks

At its simplest, just heat your favorite juice, such as orange, apple, prune, or whatever.

Hot lemonade (hot water with honey and a bit of lemon) has been a common treatment for sore throats and stuffy heads for centuries.

Hot apple juice is not terribly popular, but its unpasteurized and unfiltered cousin, apple cider, is a very popular hot drink in the fall and winter.

Simply mixing boiling water with a bit of fruit preserves or compote makes a type of hot juice drink, warming and mildly sweet.

Or fancy it up a bit, for example, tomato juice with a dash of Worcestershire, or prune heated with a bit of lemon peel.

Milk-Based Hot Drinks

While some drinks already mentioned might arguably be lumped in with “milk-based” hot drinks, the ones that follow are undoubtedly so.

There is the classic, pure cup of hot (dairy) milk, especially appropriate for nighttime because it contains tryptophan. The brain uses this essential amino-acid to build both serotonin and melatonin, compounds that help us relax and prepare for sleep. Although the amount of tryptophan is small, don’t discount placebo effects, plus the effects of warmth and a full stomach!

Salep in Ankara

Now there are numerous non-dairy milks available: soy, oat, almond, cashew, macadamia, pea, quinoa, rice, and maybe others I don’t know about. Consider these alone or in the options listed below.

You can find the following recipes at Through the Fibro Fog:

  • Honey ginger warm milk
  • Turkish salep drink
  • Cardamom milk
  • Nutmeg milk
  • Spiced milk
  • Turmeric latte
  • Golden turmeric milk
  • Plus 2 recipes for steamers and 2 for sweet drinks

Looking farther afield, you can find recipes like hot spiced vanilla custard milk (at The Peasant’s Daughter).

Hot Cocoa and Chocolate

Last but not least, hot chocolate and hot cocoa!

Last because you probably thought of it immediately; not least because it’s such a favorite. The basic questions are, with or without marshmallows, with or without a sprinkle of chocolate or cinnamon on top. Beyond that, what are your favorite flavorings? Peppermint? Maple?

Hot cocoa and hot chocolate are technically two different drinks! Mixing hot water or milk with cocoa powder and sugar will give you hot cocoa, which is what most of us in America think of. However, melting solid chocolate and mixing it with hot milk will give you hot chocolate, a thicker and richer beverage.

If you need a recipe, consult any cocoa tin, any comprehensive cookbook, or go online. Or, for a very simple recipe, you could just heat pre-made chocolate milk.

Try Mexican hot chocolate, with cinnamon and chili powder. Or, for a French variation, melt chocolate with cream until it is barely liquid enough to drink.

For a lighter take on hot chocolate, consider steeping cacao husks. Martha Washington reportedly enjoyed an infusion of roasted cacao husks with her breakfast!

Hot Alcoholic Drinks

Here again, recipes are everywhere in cookbooks and online. And you might note overlap with some of the preceding categories!

Hot toddy is a wintertime favorite. The classic hot toddy is made with hot water, sweeteners like honey or sugar, whiskey (often bourbon), and a stick of cinnamon or star anise.

Another popular wintertime drink is mulled wine. Mulled wine is dry red or white wine heated and spiced with cloves, star anise, and cinnamon sticks, often with oranges.

Because of the lack of pasteurization, apple cider and perry (cider made from pear juice) ferment and become alcoholic very easily. Hot Buttered Spiked Cider, besides the title ingredients, uses dark brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, rum, orange peel, and cinnamon stick.

  • Spiked hot chocolate or a hot peppermint patty
  • Bailey’s hot chocolate
  • Amaretto coffee
  • Irish coffee
  • Spanish coffee
  • Hot buttered rum
  • Ginger bourbon
  • Cinnamon and tequila
  • Apple brandy hot toddy
  • Whiskey chai
  • Gaelic punch, using young Irish whiskey
  • Sake

Bottom Line: There are myriad ways to drink yourself warm from the inside out, not to mention warming your fingers as well. Go for it!