Tag Archives: friends

Social Life Health Benefits

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Recently I’ve been reading a lot of articles on how to improve my health without relying on medications. Maybe it’s part of growing old. The following ideas were found on Better Health Channel.

Health benefits of strong relationships: The number and strength of our relationships affect our mental and physical wellbeing. The benefits of social connections on good mental health are numerous, including lower rates of anxiety and depression, higher self-esteem, greater empathy, and more trusting and cooperative relationships. Strong, healthy relationships can also help to strengthen our immune system, and may even lengthen our life. The good news is that while many of these benefits can make us happier and more contented, there’s also a flow-on effect, whereby people around us will want to spend time with us. In this way, social connectedness generates a positive feedback loop of social, emotional and physical wellbeing.

Impact of loneliness on health: Loneliness can have dramatic consequences for our health. Loneliness can lead to disrupted sleep patterns, elevated blood pressure, and increased cortisol (a stress hormone). It can affect our immune system and decrease our overall sense of contentment. Loneliness is also a risk factor for antisocial behavior, depression and suicide.

Older people are particularly vulnerable. If your mobility decreases, it can be harder to get together with other people. However, older people who remain connected with others and have strong relationships are likely to: have a better quality of life, be more satisfied with their life, have a lower risk of dementia and mental decline, need less domestic support.

Younger people (teenagers and people in their 20s) are also at risk when they are isolated. A lack of social relationships can have a direct impact on a young person’s physical wellbeing by increasing the risk of obesity, inflammation and high blood pressure.

Feeling lonely is hard to cope with. Even if you live a healthy life, you still need to be socially active to stay well and happy. It’s important to recognize that loneliness is different from solitude. Feeling lonely is a problem, but being alone may not be a problem at all. Many people live alone and have happy, fulfilling lives.

One way to strengthen your social connections is to reach out to the people you already know, such as co-workers, family, school friends or neighbors. Give someone a call, or write or email them and let them know you would like to be in touch more often.

Spending Time With Friends Is One of the Best Things You Can Do for Your Health. Remember that having friends and social connections is good for your health and wellbeing; being lonely or isolated can affect your mental, emotional and physical health.

NO VACATION PLANS (Love Plans Series, book 9)

Amazon

Denise Lambert fell in love at first sight with Damien Booker, a biracial law student. They danced the night away, and she welcomed his passionate kiss. But then he disappeared.
Five years later, she can’t believe her eyes when the pizza delivery boy sporting a long frizzy mane and a bushy beard is none other than Damien. He kisses her and runs away. She manages to d reconnect with him. For weeks, they chat on the phone, until she bumps into Zorro, the exotic male dancer, at her friend’s bachelorette party—Damien again who kisses her senseless. But Denise is fed up with the jack of all trades. She’ll have to break it off with him unless…
Determined to be worthy of her love, Damian set aside his resentment against discriminating lawyers. Clean cut and well-groomed, he applies to various firms, until he finally lands the right position in the right firm. Will his effort pay off? Or will he have to fight her friends and relatives to bring Denise into his arms?
No Vacation Plans is part of Love Plans Series.

Visiting An Old Friend by @PatriceWilton

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I have moved around a lot in my life which makes it difficult to have an old friend. Started off in Vancouver, Canada, which I loved very much and always will. I was a flight attendant in my twenties and my favorite route was Vancouver to Hawaii and back. That became my second home.

Old Friend

I married later in life, at the age of thirty and my husband’s job took us to Toronto, Melbourne Australia then Sydney. Our final stop was England, where we spent three years before coming back to the United States.

We never had a chance to put down roots or develop longtime friendships. It was difficult for the children, but I adapted well, and enjoyed the new places, the people I met and the adventures I had.

Forever Friends

I have come to realize that the friends I made on this journey would always stay with me, but the communication would stop.

The real, true friends that you’ll never forget are the ones you meet as a child, and the tender years of growing up. I envy those who have had the chance to stay in one place and develop a long-time, forever friendship that will stand the test of time.

Yes, I do have a few, less than a handful of people from my past—the kind you don’t see in twenty years, but can start back where you left off.

Patrice and Friends

Over the years I have developed thousands of friendships, nearly all that I’ve never met. They are very special to me, a bond that will never break. Those amazing, wonderful people who read books, and those who write them.

Paradise Cove

Revisiting Paradise Cove

I am now revisiting a family, an old friend, that I quit on years ago, but returned to in the last few months. My Paradise Cove friends, the family I created in the first of six books. It is wonderful to be back with my old friends, who are still as engaging and adventurous as they were eight years ago. The new book will be a novella, but it will have the same characters and mishaps as the previous stories with a new cast of characters as well.

Hooked On You

Come back to PARADISE COVE and see for yourself how amazing and welcoming the Florida Keys can be!

Paradise Cove 6-Book Bundle

 

10 Pain Symptoms You Should Never Ignore

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According to M. Crouch, AARP,

1. Pain with loss of function The doctors say: If you hurt your leg but can still walk on it, it may be just a sprain. But if you can’t move it and you’re having pain, that should be investigated immediately. Loss of function can indicate a fracture, nerve injury, loss of blood flow or a serious infection. From personal experience: if you have a fracture you’ll be in excruciating pain. Something heavy fell on my toes last week, I’m still in pain and unable to wear shoes!

2. Eye pain that comes out of nowhere The doctors say: It could be caused by a blocked blood vessel, internal bleeding or acute glaucoma, a serious eye condition caused by increased pressure inside the eye. Eye pain can also be the first symptom of shingles, a viral infection that causes a painful rash. From personal experience: Take the shingle vaccine as I did two years ago and eliminate an unnecessary problem.

3. Chest pain The doctors say: An older adult experiencing any type of chest pain should be evaluated by a doctor right away. A heart attack doesn’t always manifest as sudden, crushing pain, it’s more like a dull pressure or a heaviness. Other signs of a heart attack are dizziness, fatigue or shortness of breath while doing ordinary activities like going up the stairs or gardening. Chest pain may also be a signal that a blood clot has moved to your lungs or heart — a life-threatening condition that needs immediate treatment. From personal experience: So many times I rushed to the hospital with chest pain and was told it was a stomach problem. The stomach pressing on the heart and causing muscle spasm. I would still go to the ER, if I have the above symptoms. No need to take unnecessary risks.

4. Pain in one or both arms, your jaw or between the shoulder blades The doctors say: These lesser-known symptoms of a heart attack are more likely to affect women, according to the American Heart Association. Nausea or vomiting, shortness of breath, dizziness and light-headedness are other heart attack symptoms to look for. Severe pain between the shoulder blades can also be caused by an aneurysm or a tear in your aorta, a major blood vessel.

5. The worst headache of your life The doctors say:  An occasional headache is usually nothing to worry about. More concerning is one that feels more severe than usual.

6. Severe abdominal pain  The doctors say: “Pain in your abdomen that keeps getting worse — or that is associated with vomiting, swelling or a fever — can be a marker of acute appendicitis, a serious infection, or diverticulitis. You know your body. If you’ve had this pain on and off for years, that’s one thing. But if it’s new and it doesn’t let up or it keeps getting worse, I want to see you.”

7. Calf or thigh pain, especially if in just one leg  Increasing pain in your calf or thigh after a prolonged period of inactivity, even if it’s not severe, can be a sign of deep vein thrombosis (DVT). This dangerous type of blood clot is especially common in patients recovering from knee or hip surgery. Patients sometimes describe the pain as feeling like a muscle cramp, and it’s often accompanied by leg swelling or redness. DVTs need to be treated right away because the clots can travel through your bloodstream and block the blood supply to your lungs, a life-threatening condition called pulmonary embolism.

8. Pain from a minor wound Say you’re working in the yard and something sticks you in the hand. Or maybe you cut yourself doing a home repair. If the pain from a wound (especially one that is red and swollen) keeps getting worse over a few days, that can be a sign of a serious infection that can turn deadly if not treated.

9. Pain after a procedure or injection Spinal injections, biopsies or other therapies that involve injections can occasionally cause infection or bleeding. If you experience persistent pain or loss of function after one of those, call your provider right away.

10. Pain with fever  If you have a high temperature as well as pain, your body may be fighting a dangerous infection. It’s especially important to seek treatment quickly.

On preorder FAMILY PLANS, Love Plan Series, book 7

Left inconsolable by his wife’s death in a plane crash, Tim Kent dedicates himself to his daughter, Brianna. He allows her to get closer to her best friend Debbie whose father died in the same plane crash. When Tim meets Erin Perkins, Debbie’s mother, he’s impressed by the beautiful, young woman struggling to raise six children on her own while working at an exhausting job. He does his best to help her. Attraction develops between them. While Brianna practically lives with her friend Debbie and shares Erin’s motherly attention, Tim acts as a surrogate father for the six fatherless children. But the sorrowful plane crash that brought them together threatens to separate them when shocking secrets are revealed.

Can a brighter future arise from those ashes at Christmas time?

Family Plans is part of the Love Plans Series.

On preorder KISSING PLANS, Love Plan Series, book 6

Susan Chen returns to Cincinnati to work as university professor. Her best friend, Royce Winston who’s been secretly in love with her for years, is determined to change their relationship for the best. Little did he expect Susan to arrive with her mother and a Thai fiancé imposed on her by her family. When Susan asks him to accommodate the unwelcome fiancé until he finds a job, and then help her get rid of him, Royce eagerly obliges.

The best way to succeed is to push the fiancé into another woman’s arms—even if she’s Royce’s former girlfriend and the fiancé has become his houseguest and good buddy. The complicated situation threatens to explode at any minute…and finally does, ripping apart their best laid plans.

Kissing Plans is part of the Love Plans Series.

Finding Long Lost Friends…

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If you’re like me, as you get older you wonder more and more about your friends from the past. Are they happy, do they have big families, where do they live, what do they do, are they still alive and this one is huge: Do they even remember you?

Recently while checking my Facebook account, I received two friend requests. I was both shocked and very excited to see them as they were very good friends of mine from 11th & 12th grade. What were the odds that these two found me on a day that I totally needed a mood lift?

Needless to say, I didn’t get much done that day because I was too excited trading messages with them and rekindling friendships that I know will last the rest of our lifetimes.
See friends are super important to me because unlike some people who grew up in one house and had the same friends their entire lives (Like my daughter), I went to thirteen schools before I graduated high school, and I wasn’t even a military kid. (I’ll just note that to date, I have had 23 addresses in my life and have lived in my current one for 15 years) I have friends spread all over the US, but lost contact with most of them with each move to the next place. Now, with the help of technology, I’m finally connecting with many of these friends. I’ve found people as far back as the seventh grade when I lived in Sarasota Florida (My favorite place out of all my addresses).
I think it’s super exciting to connect with these people and find out about their lives, laugh about the things we got into, and share the trials and tribulations of our adult lives. Some were shocked to find out I was a police officer (see they knew what I did as a teen). Others are pleasantly surprised to find I was a writer, although a recently found friend asked me, “When did you start this? You hated reading and writing back in school.”
There are still a handful of people I would love to touch base with, if only to say, hello, I’ve thought of you over the years and I hope you are happy. I won’t give up in finding them and hope that maybe someday I’ll get the chance to say hello to them.
I have a story about finding a first love years later, it’s called Tempt Me Too. I hope you check it out! Or you can download a copy to listen from Audible Audio  
Also don’t forget to enter our Janaury Contest on our Home page!