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The act of petting and even the sound of purring can trigger oxytocin release in our brains. One 2002 study found this oxytocin rush from gentle cat contact helps lower cortisol (our stress hormone), which in turn can reduce blood pressure and even pain.
In many ways, I’ve known sickness my whole life. Born with eczema that covered my arms and legs in red, rashy welts, peaking as a teenager and returning, uninvited, throughout my adulthood. As a teen, I had regular tonsil infections, two strains of mononucleosis at the same time—“I’ve never seen this before,” remarked my doctor—and the norovirus. In my thirties, a friend who’d known me since undergrad told me, “I’m not sure I’ve ever seen you not sick for more than a couple of weeks.”
Each week Jodie is joined by Amy McCarthy, Director of Clinical Social Work, Adolescent Substance Use and Addiction Program at Boston Children’s Hospital.
Burdens associated with enrolling in a public program can substantially depress take-up among eligible individuals. The more time-consuming it is for a person to learn how and when to apply for coverage, the more steps they must take to enroll, the more challenging it is to complete application paperwork and submit documentation, and the more frequently enrollees must repeat these tasks to reestablish eligibility — the less likely it is that people will have coverage, even though they are eligible.
Ludwig’s arguments about traditional inflation measures not capturing the true state of Americans’ fiscal stability were backed up by a report from The Washington Post on Sunday, which examined recent trends in housing, healthcare, food, and utility prices, and found that all of them have been rising faster than the top-line rate of inflation as measured by CPI.
For years, local DJ Dave Gilmore soundtracked other people’s nights out in pubs and clubs. But now he’s curating a uniquely personal playlist – the songs of his own life to carry him through terminal illness. Above: Dave and Kate on their wedding day in 1986