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Red Flags, Red flags everywhere! But where are the green flags? We tend to spend a fair amount of time looking for and being aware of red flags like like Narcissisms, jealousy, anger issues and more but do you know any green flags? Do you talk about green flags with your friends and family like you do red flags? If the idea seems novel, you should try it and your not alone. We all tend to focus on being able to “Catch' the red flags so we don't fall into bad relationships but don't seem to focus as much on the green flags or positives in people. In other words we don't do a very good job of checking to see if the grass is green.

Tyler Jamison, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of New Hampshire, wrote about some green flags to look for including trustworthiness, they respect your boundaries, help you grow and generally speaking good gut feelings are all green flags. Doctor Jamison also talks about how these traits aren't something to compare your partner to but rather that if you see they may not be a strong communicator, it is room for growth because great relationships are formed, not found. A list of green flags and more explanation can be found at the link below.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/assembly-required/202401/10-green-flags-for-relationships

Do you have a crazy uncle you see every once in awhile? Maybe not anymore as it becomes more acceptable to cut people out of your life, even family that are seen as 'toxic.'

YouGov conducted a survey in which 1 in 4 participances said they were estranged from at least one family member. 25% is a fairly high number for something so troubling in our society, especially when loneliness is on the rise as well. Joshua Coleman is a psychologist and the author of the book “Rules of Engagement” Why adults cut ties and how to heal the conflict” and through his research they have concluded that family estrangement is indeed on the rise.

Joshua talks about how there are cases where the family member is aggressive, violent and will not change regardless of anyone's actions. However, Joshua and his colleagues work with individuals who are not like that, they would do anything to make amends, go to therapy, take responsibility to do whatever necessary to fix the problem but they are being told no. That the child or other family members therapist is saying they are a narcissist or a gaslighter, and it is a huge problem in our society.

So what do we do? Joshua says to start by not giving stock Hallmark advice. Something like “It'll get better” or “They'll come around” because it may never get better. Like with most things, it is best to listen and hear the person. Empathize, relate. And contrastly, don't tell them to just call their mother or “Just do” it, because we don't feel listened to then either do we?

REF: https://www.npr.org/2023/12/31/1222370607/family-estrangement-is-on-the-rise-a-psychologist-offers-ways-to-cope

What is a Compact Disk? Surely you know what a CD is right? Maybe you are more familiar with Vynle, O those sweet warm sounds. Well as it turns out nostalgia doesn't care about quality as CD's are making a come back.

Generation Z folks, those currently between the age of roughly 11 and 26, are bringing CD's back. Music streaming services continue to dominate the music industry with 84% of music industry revenues in 2023, CD's accounted for 3%, an increase in recent years but a dramatic fall from being the top format in 2002 accounting for nearly 92% of revenue generation. But Why CDs? Why collect stamps or anything for that matter? Gen Z folks see CD's as a collectable in many cases and a way to support their favorite artists and recording lables. Some go so far as to display them proudly in their homes. So it may not be concert posters and Beatle mania anymore, but we still love to support our favorite artisits.

REF: https://www.axios.com/2024/01/06/gen-z-cds-buying-collection

Do you have a nose? How effective do you think your nose is at smelling things? You can smell garbage right, maybe some bad B-O from a distance, and a skunk for sure. However, according to research, you can also smell emotions but may not know how.

Naturally, researchers conducted experiments on sweat. These experiments may not be for the weak of stomach either. Researchers, had volunteers watch cheerful videos with absorbent pads in their armpits. Later they had another group sniff the pads, gross right? Regardless, the sniffers had noticeable reactions in their facial muscles that relate to mood improvement, their smile muscles were more active. Happy feelings weren't the only thing that could be communicated by body odor either. Women were particularly sensitive to the body odor of anxious men, and reacted differently to the odor of men who played an aggressive sport as opposed to a calm construction game. Other research indicates that those with sensitive noses generally have larger social circles and more friends indicating our sense of smell might help us smell out potential friends. So Next time try putting a little more time into “Stopping And Smelling the Roses” because your nose might be trying to tell you something. Or maybe we all should be a little more like Toucan Sam and Follow Your Nose.

REF: https://www.livescience.com/health/relationships/humans-can-smell-each-others-emotions-but-we-dont-know-how

Do you want to heal faster? Time might not be the best medicine...exactly. A new study from Harvard suggests there is a connection between how you experience time and the rate at which you heal. Sean Torres with more.

https://pod.ottawaks.us/@ivrezul/episodes/time-heals-better-with-help

” Researchers developed an experiment to make similar wounds using a method called cupping. Cupping therapy involves creating a localized suction on the skin using suction cups, which causes the expansion of blood vessels beneath the skin. Cupping was used in this study because of the marks left which allowed for a standardized process to create wounds that healed within a short time frame. All participants completed three experimental conditions. The Normal Time condition was based on a standard clock time of 28 minutes. The Fast Time condition had a Perceived time of 56 min and the slow time condition was 14 minutes, while actual clock time for each was 28 min. Perceived time was manipulated by altering the tablet timer to run at twice or half its normal speed. They go into more detail with the experiment however their results suggest the fast time healing experiment resulted in the wound healing or returning to normal much faster. So the next time you're waiting for your muscles to stop acing, get lost in your favorite thing and when you wonder how long it has been, just assume it has been hours. “

A full explanation of the experiment can be found in the link below

REF: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-50009-3