All Is Well

Looking at life through a glass half full.

Stress

Racial Discrimination Tied to Aging in Cancer Survivors

Patricia Prijatel on March 20, 2023

Racial discrimination adds an extra layer of stress that increases the aging process for African-American cancer patients.

Racial discrimination adds an extra layer of stress that increases the aging process for African-American cancer patients.

Anxiety

Overthinking Is No Joke

Patricia Prijatel on March 13, 2023

A Personal Perspective: Overthinking comes from a desire to control the unknown. But it can’t help us foretell the future—it just makes us stress about it.

A Personal Perspective: Overthinking comes from a desire to control the unknown. But it can’t help us foretell the future—it just makes us stress about it.

Grief

Political Grief Is Damaging My Mental Health

Patricia Prijatel on March 7, 2023

A Personal Perspective: What do you do when the place you call home no longer feels like it wants you?

A Personal Perspective: What do you do when the place you call home no longer feels like it wants you?

Aging

I Embraced the Cloak of Invisibility, but It Wasn't There

Patricia Prijatel on January 29, 2023

A Personal Perspective: I never felt at risk of invisibility, but I was willing to take it as a gift if it was available.

A Personal Perspective: I never felt at risk of invisibility, but I was willing to take it as a gift if it was available.

Friends

The Outrage of Louise Penny Fans

Patricia Prijatel on December 5, 2022

Personal Perspective: Outsiders are interpreting fans' inner worlds. Can they ever truly do it justice?

Personal Perspective: Outsiders are interpreting fans' inner worlds. Can they ever truly do it justice?

Wisdom

We Don't Talk Enough About This Way to Combat Aging

Patricia Prijatel on November 28, 2022

Personal Perspective: The self-perception of the wise and the wrinkled matters. Aging is a fact, but it doesn't need to be The Fact that manages our lives.

Personal Perspective: The self-perception of the wise and the wrinkled matters. Aging is a fact, but it doesn't need to be The Fact that manages our lives.

Personal Perspectives

What Makes Something a "House"?

Patricia Prijatel on November 5, 2022

Personal perspective: “House” is a semiotically loaded word that can symbolize stability and affluence, but that’s up to us. The way we define it reflects its cultural significance.

Personal perspective: “House” is a semiotically loaded word that can symbolize stability and affluence, but that’s up to us. The way we define it reflects its cultural significance.

Trauma

The Men We Lost to AIDS

Patricia Prijatel on October 14, 2022

These men lived the trauma of the AIDS epidemic, a lost generation who were the first to be affected by the deadly disease that decimated the gay community in the 1980s.

These men lived the trauma of the AIDS epidemic, a lost generation who were the first to be affected by the deadly disease that decimated the gay community in the 1980s.

Relationships

Is Spousal Control a Winning Defense?

Patricia Prijatel on September 7, 2022

Knowing how evil and badly planned her husband's scheme is, why does she go along with it?

Knowing how evil and badly planned her husband's scheme is, why does she go along with it?

Environment

What City Planners Can Learn From the Park Across My Street

Patricia Prijatel on August 24, 2022

Nature is regenerative, fixing what’s broken in our communities. An investment in green spaces is an investment in public health.

Nature is regenerative, fixing what’s broken in our communities. An investment in green spaces is an investment in public health.

Personal Perspectives

Why Can’t I Focus on Books Right Now?

Patricia Prijatel on August 22, 2022

While reading can seem like a cure for stress, if your brain can’t focus, you can’t follow a book.

While reading can seem like a cure for stress, if your brain can’t focus, you can’t follow a book.

Environment

A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World

Patricia Prijatel on June 11, 2022

If we care about the outdoors, then we care about climate change.

If we care about the outdoors, then we care about climate change.

Environment

We're Losing Part of Our Summer This Year

Patricia Prijatel on May 25, 2022

Nature is hurting, and it lacks subtlety at 8,000 remote feet.

Nature is hurting, and it lacks subtlety at 8,000 remote feet.

Environment

Sweet in Tooth and Claw

Patricia Prijatel on April 20, 2022

What if we embraced the natural world and its own messy, life-sustaining patterns? What if nicely mowed lawns and neat rows of corn were seen as the problem rather than the ideal?

What if we embraced the natural world and its own messy, life-sustaining patterns? What if nicely mowed lawns and neat rows of corn were seen as the problem rather than the ideal?

Friends

The Quiet Power of Our Daily Actions

Patricia Prijatel on March 30, 2022

Living a life using fewer resources can be freeing and calming. If we live by our own convictions, we can make a positive difference.

Living a life using fewer resources can be freeing and calming. If we live by our own convictions, we can make a positive difference.

Unconscious

I Dream of Houses

Patricia Prijatel on March 9, 2022

I find houses fascinating, but also a bit overwhelming. My restless mind and creative spirit have never found perfection. Apparently, I blame the houses.

I find houses fascinating, but also a bit overwhelming. My restless mind and creative spirit have never found perfection. Apparently, I blame the houses.

Pregnancy

An Honest Look at a High-Risk Pregnancy

Patricia Prijatel on February 9, 2022

Is bedrest a solution to a high-risk pregnancy? Author Aileen Weintraub warns that it can affect a women’s mental health, career, and relationships.

Is bedrest a solution to a high-risk pregnancy? Author Aileen Weintraub warns that it can affect a women’s mental health, career, and relationships.

Family Dynamics

What Do We Mean When We Say We're Going Home?

Patricia Prijatel on February 3, 2022

Pulitzer-prize winning author Marilynne Robinson leaves us to create our own definitions of home, sending us in too many directions to draw easy answers.

Pulitzer-prize winning author Marilynne Robinson leaves us to create our own definitions of home, sending us in too many directions to draw easy answers.

Relationships

Book Review: "The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse"

Patricia Prijatel on November 9, 2021

Father Damien Modeste has served the Ojibwe settlement of Little No Horse for eight decades, forming his life around their needs. He may well be a saint. But he’s also a woman.

Father Damien Modeste has served the Ojibwe settlement of Little No Horse for eight decades, forming his life around their needs. He may well be a saint. But he’s also a woman.

Personal Perspectives

Fighting Writer’s Block?

Patricia Prijatel on November 1, 2021

You may be more likely to write if you have a schedule, and an important part of that schedule is to be away from your desk, reading, researching, processing, and thinking about what you have to say.

You may be more likely to write if you have a schedule, and an important part of that schedule is to be away from your desk, reading, researching, processing, and thinking about what you have to say.