Health

What are the 5 Stages of Grief? - The Kübler-Ross Model

Saturday, October 4th, 2008

Introduced in her book “On Death and Dying,” Elisabeth Kübler-Ross described the 5 stages of grief in what has become known as the Kübler-Ross Model. The theory holds that individuals experiencing extreme grief, particularly when facing terminal illness, will pass through five discreet steps culminating with acceptance.
Interestingly, the Kübler-Ross model potentially applies equally well to […]

Cat Diseases: What is Feline Leukemia?

Saturday, July 12th, 2008

 Feline Leukemia is actually a virus rather than cancer. The condition was misnamed due to early cases sharing symptoms in common with leukemia. By the time the cause was identified as viral in nature, the name had already found itself into so much literature and vocabulary that it stuck.
FeLV - often called Feleuk (fee-look) by […]

How do I know if my dog or cat is sick?

Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008

I spent a couple years employed as a Veterinary technician and the most common lament I recall from the doctors when examining a pet was, “I wish he could tell me what was wrong.” Give your vet a hug the next time you bring Fluffy in for a checkup because the poor Doc faces the […]

What Exactly is Autism?

Friday, April 18th, 2008

Kathleen of Virginia submits another one!
There are so many great resources on this subject that I won’t bother reinventing the wheel and will provide you a few links to all the information you could ask for, but to summarize, autism is a neurological disorder that strikes an average of 3-6 children out of every […]

Why Do Cats Purr?

Tuesday, April 15th, 2008

This is a fun one because nobody REALLY knows except cats and they’re not tellin’! Scientists generally try to frame this question in the context of evolutionary imperative. The thinking is that everything an animal does is the direct result of improving its odds of survival or procreation. For example, a cat doesn’t play with a […]

How Do I Beat Insomnia – Part 3 – Proven Methods

Friday, April 11th, 2008

In Part 1, I talked about conditioning. The focus here was on not repeating the bad habits that lead to a continuing rut of insomnia. Part 2 introduced stress, why we must endure it and, essentially, how to address it head on to prevent it from perpetuating a cycle of lost sleep. This, the final […]

How Do I Beat Insomnia – Part 2 – Stress

Wednesday, April 9th, 2008

In my last post I talked about conditioning against insomnia. There will be a bit of that here, as well. But today’s post will focus on the impact of stress on our ability to sleep. It’s the single most common lament, “I can’t turn off my brain,” and at the heart of that are stress […]

How Do I Beat Insomnia – Part 1 – Conditioning

Tuesday, April 8th, 2008

Who hasn’t suffered from a period or insomnia now and again? But when it drags on, begins to cause real suffering and prevents you from leading a productive life, insomnia becomes a serious concern. In this, the first of a multi-part post, I’m going to talk a bit about conditioning; specifically, the slow development of […]