Stress and crime

Originally I wanted to address "stress" and mental illness as the subjects of my blog, but I have tended to write about the stress of our economy and the political aspects contributing to this stress.

Recently, I have noticed an increase in violent crimes in my city and state, and have wondered if the stress related to the economy, loss of jobs, and a general sense of hopelessness has caused this increase in violent crime.

If a person is on the edge anyway, due to stress and/or mental illness, it wouldn't take a lot more to push him or her into a desperate act. Unfortunately many of the victims of these desperate acts are the people closest to that person.

Sometimes it is hard to see tomorrow as looking any brighter than today. Mental health professionals are quick to point out that things will always change. It isn't always easy to see that change coming, especially if you need a change for the better.

Why can some people recover from setbacks faster than others? Support from family and friends is helpful but doesn't always work. Losing a sense of control of your life can be the worst part for most people. Gaining back that control is essential in gaining back your self esteem so that you can get on with life.

The following may help if you have that feeling of loss of control:
1. Get help from a mental health professional
2. Find someone who can listen...spouse, friend, pastor, sister or brother
3. Seek out others in your same profession
4. Seek out others with similar interests such as in a club or hobby
5. Check out your local city and state resources
6. Get into the habit of getting up, getting out...do not sit at home
7. Get enough rest and eat a healthy diet...exercise...take a walk
8. Know that you are not alone

Stress can cause many changes in your body and mind. Carefully evaluate your situation and keep your head up. Accept help if you need it. Don't allow the stress of life to get you down. And especially, keep your cool and don't take out your stress on the ones closest to you.

Capitalism or Socialism?

When we bail out banks, Wall Street, and states, are we embracing socialism as a way to solve our economic crisis? The words "socialism" and "socialists" have been bandied about by the press, but is this the way we are really headed? Do we want to depend on government to always come to the rescue when we get ourselves in financial trouble or do we want to pull ourselves up by our own entrepreneurship or "bootstraps" if you will?

Apparently we want both.

A business will succeed or fail on its own, but often needs a boost in the early years to keep afloat. There is nothing wrong with that. But what about a business that has gotten ahead by cheating or lying about its assets. Are we supposed to try to keep these afloat as well? What if the business made lots of profit for the owners, only to drain the business itself and its workers dry? Sound familiar? Where do we draw the line in saving a business, especially when the business impacts a lot of people. President Obama has tried to address this by requiring salaries of top executives to be capped if they request federal bailout money. This is a good start, but falls short. Many of these executives are criminals. They should be in jail instead of being rewarded for bad business practices and shady deals. I wonder how these people sleep at night knowing how many people are suffering due to their misdeeds.

How do we decide which businesses truly deserve help and which ones should be weeded out...I don't know the answer, but I believe that capitalism will do the weeding out eventually. Only the strong and well run company will last in the long haul. In the meantime, socialist-type bailouts will be acceptable until we get back on our feet.

and I don't even like football...

How did this happen? I began watching Super Bowl XLIII for the commercials and figured I watch the half-time show and be done; but,noooo... I watched the entire thing!

Great game! I was sorta pulling for the Arizona Cardinals as the underdogs...I figured the Pittsburgh Steelers would run over them. Steeler James Harrison's 100 yard touchdown got my blood pumping and I was hooked.

Then the Cardinals looked like they were going to pull it off, and Steeler Santonio Holmes kept those toes down after catching a Roethlisberger bullet.

The best part of the game was than no one gave up. Both teams kept fighting until the very end. The 27-23 win over the Cardinals by the Steelers was one exciting game; maybe I'll become a football fan yet.

And the half-time show was fabulous; Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band were rocking!

This Bowl will go down in history and I might be watching more football next year. Now if the Tennessee Titans can only get their act together...