How to Cope with Stressful Times

B'SD


6 Adar 5772


Readers, I recently experienced a series of unusual circumstances that have left me physically drained and increasingly aware of the psycho-social pressures building up around the world.


Sad to say, I've encountered people who have sabotaged the lives of their families and neighbors, let alone themselves. Many of those saboteurs seem to be operating on some sort of auto-pilot, not thinking things through with clarity and honesty. Their minds seem muddled with inconsistent thoughts and contradictory priorities. 

My conversations with mental health practitioners at a recent conference underscored the drama of what I've mentioned above. They're witnessing the same phenomenon.


I ask that all of you step back, reflect on and clarify what you believe to be your core values, and whether or not you're living up to them. Do what you can to shore up your clarity of mind, to refresh your spiritual take on life. Improve your relationships. 


Do a reality check. Clarify your values with reputable therapists or trusted confidantes who function in constructive ways.

Integrity is when 

your beliefs and actions 

remain consistent 

with each other.

Build inner and outer worlds. Don't destroy them with preventable mistakes.






Boost your spirits with the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge. Buy it from Booklocker.  Medical and mental health professionals recommend it.



Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.

Have Some Purim Fun!

B'SD


5 Adar 5772


The headlines are hard to take. The Hormuz Straits are shaping up as a possible setting for World War 4 (I believe that WW3 has been going on throughout the Intifada years).


I believe that indulging in healthy humor can help humanity to cope with fear, pain and uncertainty. So...


Friends and I worked together to launch some Purim fun at http://purimparodypaper.com/index.html (we're still uploading content). Adar is a month of miracles. We look forward to MANY!

(shhhh!!! don't tell anyone 
I'm behind 

this Purim project and mask!)

One more thing: I'm learning of people panicking at threats against Israel and a rumor about Purim. So I ask everyone to remember: A) Rabbi Frand's Tisha B'Av video about resolving problems with people so you can protect Israel B) Hussein's Scud Missile War on Israel ended on Purim and C) This is the time to focus on the 3 lines after the aleinu prayer in Jewish prayer books/sidurim: Fear not sudden terror, Conspiracies will be annulled, and H' is with us - we'll endure and be rescued!

oh - 1 more thing: Be nicer than usual. Can't hurt!

Buy the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge today. Name the medical challenge or disability. It's loaded with laughter to lighten your mind and heart. 

Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.

Here's How to Find Medical Information You Might Need

B'SD


3 Adar 5772


Word gets around about the very helpful EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge book.


Last week I received a plea for medically-related information from a friend eager to help a family with a desperately ill young child. His baffling illness had left an entire medical team wondering how to respond to it. I shared insights and facts that seemed appropriate to the situation.


Then I responded to a request from someone trying to help an ill adult in need of medical equipment. 


Another person asked me to advise a family who could not afford health insurance for their child, a foreign exchange student.


Each of those persons were outside the country I live in  (Israel). Yet, I provided them with information likely to prove helpful. They've helped other people. 

Those facts, and more, are inside the pages of

At the end of last week, I learned that I'd been nominated for public recognition due to my efforts and successes in helping fellow Israelis (and immigrant Israelis called "olim") to improve their physical, mental or spiritual health with the book and with the Refua Radio Show:

"Dear Ms. Kramer,

I would like to nominate 

Yocheved Golani 

for Olim Making an Impact.

Yocheved Golani has launched the

Refua Radio Show at 

www.embraceisrael.com, 

where she's inspiring listeners 

to live healthier lives with 

her divrei Torah and her book

It's MY Crisis! And I'll Cry If I Need To: 

EMPOWER Yourself to Cope

with a Medical Challenge . 

Yocheved's medical knowledge 

and unusual story of survival

in devastating circumstances 

is inspirational, helping fellow 

Israelis and people around the world.

I have reviewed and edited many 

articles and mental health curricula 

as a Program Manager at the 

Behavioral Health Care 

Resource Program at the 

University of North Carolina. 

I have also interviewed many

non-profit organizations in Israel 

for Embrace Israel. 

Ms. Golani's work is a prime 

example of olim bringing 

their expertise and experience to

enrich the People of Israel. 

She is a true star and example 

for us all.

Sincerely, Joseph Sherman

--

Joseph Sherman

Editor and Content Manager

Embrace Israel

Beit Shemesh, Israel"

It was not the only nomination made on my behalf. That book is helping people. All of us are grateful. 




Buy yourself or someone you love the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge.

Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.

DIETERS Beware of a New Weight-loss Drug!!!!!!!!!!

B'SD


30 Shvat 5772

The news just hit my monitor minutes ago: Weight-loss drug Qnexa now has FDA approval. But doctors are alarmed about possible heart problems! See MedPage Today, in the upper left corner (click that bothersome subscription notice off your screen). 

When you want a safe, proven to be effective way to lose weight, limit your intake of food and increase your level of activity. The idea is to burn more calories than you swallowed. If you have trouble limiting what and how much you eat, read EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge (YES - dieting is covered in there, too) and scroll around this blog for excellent weight-loss tips. 


And do increase the amount of water you drink. That flushes fat and toxins out of your body. 

Want an EZ Shmeezy calorie-burning tip?

As I wait for links to work, while listening to online content or when my PC is booting up, I lift weights! They sit near my desk for that very purpose. No flabby arms for me. Just toned muscle and burned calories, even though I use a computer often in my business day. Try it and feel the fat fading away...

Buy the E-book or print edition for a slimmer, stronger you TODAY: Click on the words EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge.

Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.

Here's How to Get Ready for International Wheelchair Day!

B'SD

30 Shvat 5772


Woohoo the fun-filled Jewish holiday of Purim will be here in about two weeks. I'm looking forward to that colorful celebration of miracles. Now for more good news!

You can learn about 
International Wheelchair Day 

 at

5th International Wheelchair Day 

and at

International Wheelchair Day on Facebook

How important is it to respect wheelchair realities? Very. Look at the facts presented in EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge:

".... While we're on the topic of good manners, here's the skinny on Wheelchair Etiquette 101:

People who use wheelchairs don’t do that for your convenience. Think of it this way: the wheelchair is similar to an arm, leg or any other necessary body part for the person sitting in one. A wheelchair is literally the extension of a person's body, not a toy or handy-dandy catch-all.

You don't smear fingerprints on someone's glasses, do you? Try out their hearing aids? Of course not; that's crossing personal boundaries. When you fail to heed the personal boundaries that wheelchairs represent, you make people uncomfortable.

Please visit the Walking is Overrated Disability News, Reviews & Passion for Accessibility website: http://walkingisoverrated.com/2010/12/17/5-things-you-shouldnt-do-when-hanging-with-a-wheelchair-user/ to get perspective from a wheelchair user. You'll know how to be a better behaved from visitor now on."

There’s more about wheelchair etiquette plus tips about

• Attitude Adjustments
• Employment Opportunities
• Etiquette
• Happiness
• Get a Wheelchair at
  Little to Zero Cost
• Preventing Abuse of
  Permanently Seated People
• Transportation Options
• Wheelchair Care, Safety
  and Theft Prevention

in EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge. Buy it from Booklocker today!

Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.

Do it YOURSELF Healthcare that Works!

B'SD


29 Shvat 5772


I received a forwarded E-mail the other day:

... My stepdaughter is in college 
abroad. Before she left, 
we signed her up for their
recommended medical

insurance plan. 


The problem she's having 
is that most of the medications 
that her doctor prescribed for 
her are not covered under that 
plan. Also, she needs to find 
a dermatologist but the 
insurance plan does not 
cover dermatologists.

Does anyone know of any 
 doctors/dermatologists 

who take American medical 
insurance? And/or are there 

any pharmacies that accept 
American medical 
insurance?


I've heard of dentists 
and doctors who work both 

abroad and in the states 
and have been willing to bill 
from  the states for some 
patients.

Thank you for any information.

I alerted the messenger to "See pages 87, 93, 96, 109, 112, 113, 126, 132," among others, in the Global Resources section of 

It informs you of affordable health care options all around the world - even for travelers and foreign exchange students!


Parents, educators and everyone else: you can easily EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge TODAY. It's DIY (Do it Yourself) health care that soothes you and your wallet. 


You'll get a great return on your modest investment, International Bank of Mom & Dad: $14.95 for the paperback and $8.95 for the E-book version.

Save money on any sort of health concerns.

  Buy a copy today.

Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.

Do Alternative and Complementary Healing Things Work or Not?

B'SD


28 Shvat 5772


Here's a heads-up on the topic for a forthcoming Refua Radio Show, where you can hear me speak about health matters. In a few weeks I'll be making pre-recorded remarks about the alternative healing world, the one with words such as "complementary," "alternative" and "natural." Here's an outtake:

"Some people are angry or sad that they or someone they love has not recovered from or survived a medical situation. They tend to express that unhappiness by scoffing at natural healing claims and techniques. That emotional response to heartache is not an intellectual, fact-based assessment of facts. But over time, some skeptics are becoming believers. Many of them are in the medical world, and what an F-Y-I that is!

"The fascinating TedTalks have featured oncologist Dr. William Li, who cures people of cancer with food instead of using harsh chemicals! His presentation is called “Can we eat to starve cancer?” and the answer, to his former BIG surprise, is a resounding “YES.” Dr. Teri Wahls ended her misery and Multiple Sclerosis with food. She explains how at Minding Your Mitochondria.

"GOD is in the details. So is the natural healing pharmacy spread out across our planet. That natural pharmacy is in plants, animals, simple foods, pure water, air, sunshine and even rain. The trick is to be aware of how to benefit from those items and to avoid health-endangering behavior. Naturopaths study all that. Reputable naturopaths save or improve lives with their knowledge and applied healing skills.

"Still skeptical even though those MDs, PhDs and their naturally healing patients are gaining more health by the day? Do you suppose that a woman, blinded by a benign brain tumor crushing every nerve between her head and body, could hope to regain her vision with crushed optic nerves? Guess again. I did."

You can read about how I went from powerless to empowered - and how YOU can, too - in  



Save money and improve your health. Lower the cost on your healthcare with information from the Global Resources section in the back of the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge.

Lower your stress with one reading of the soothing text that explains how to take control of a chaotic medical, disability or mental health situation. Click on the words EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge.

You're going to love the results. Let me know how the book helps you.

Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.

Want to Know What to Say to Someone Ill, Sad, Home-bound or Bereaved?

B'SD


27 Shvat 5772

Want to know what to say to someone ill, sad, home-bound or bereaved? It's quite a challenge to say anything that won't increase the person's pain. But it is possible.

Ponder the "Don't TELL Me" poem on page 6 of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge. Look into a mirror as you say the words and consider the times you'd have have appreciated such thoughtfulness from someone remarking on the suffering in your life.

Pages 27-31 of EMPOWER Yourself  hold tips for making - and listening to - tactful, compassion-filled comments for people going through emotional turmoil.

Nothing can guarantee the response that distraught people will make to anyone's caring words and efforts. This is a volatile time of strength, shock, comfort, despair, insight and cluelessness. But at some level, everyone will know that compassion is being provided.

Delayed reactions can be very different from immediate replies. Bear with the ill, disabled or bereaved person’s inner pain. Resolve to let them have time to consider the tumultuous thoughts churning in their hearts and minds, and how to cope with all that. Considerate behavior from you can become a turning point for much good.

Pages 42-47 can enlighten you to other unpredictable pieces of life for someone ill and/or heartbroken. Those pages hold sound advice for making the best of a given situation and for preventing it from becoming worse.

There are other passages about sharing a sense of hope, comfort and optimism that can build inner strengths, including courage, in the person who needs that assistance. None of the suggestions are about giving orders such as "Snap out of it!" or "Grow up!" Emotions do not respond favorably to commands.

Let life unfold at the pace most beneficial to the who needs the boost: Gradually. 

There's a very good reason that the book's full title is "It's MY Crisis! And I'll Cry if I Need To: EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge." Mental health professionals recommend that you read it.




Buy the E-book or print edition today for more insight into handling delicate situations: Click on the words EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge.

Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.

Are Hidden Hormones Affecting Your Diet and Health - and Your Family's?

B'SD


26 Shvat 5772


You've heard and read so much about natural foods, organic foods, arsenic in baby formula and in organic foods plus other mind-boggling stuff. It's enough to make a person dizzy - and skeptical about the natural healing/organic food worlds.


Take a step back. The arsenic in organic foods and baby formulas seems to be coming from one ingredient only: Brown Rice Syrup. Arsenic is NOT poisoning the entire organic foods industry.


However, one item is affecting the commercially processed foods and hygiene products industry, apparently wreaking havoc with fertility rates and other health issues. WHAT is that item?

The answer is Xenoestrogens, synthetic hormones added to things in your shower, bathroom cabinet and kitchen pantry. I've blogged about that in the past at

Warning #1

and at

Warning #2

Please do yourselves a favor. Read an easy-going book that gently helps you to take better charge of your health, and the health of people you love.




Buy the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge today!

Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.

Lower Your Pain with a Loving Gesture

B'SD


22 Shvat 5772


Whew, I'm not comfortable with every technology. I find the task of creating, then uploading segments from

tedious - and challenging to my ever-changing vision. 

But I'm eager to share the world of medical facts with you. So, here's an excerpt from one of the newer shows still uploading. It's about how to treat yourself with love and respect even when you're in off-the-charts emotional and/or physical pain:

Today’s topic is DRUGS! Lots of everyday and famous people have died of accidental and even intentional drug overdoses. See the link on your monitor http://www.pharmacytechs.net/blog/18-celebrities-who-died-from-prescription-drugs to know what I mean.  

Too bad Whitney Houston, Heath Ledger, Elvis and a lot of other people never read EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge. Pages 29 – 35 teach you how to minimize, even how to lose all your physical pain with can-do techniques that cost less than a few dollars. Some of the ideas are from pain expert Dr. Neal Barnard of the Physicians’ Committee for Responsible Medicine. I interviewed him for a news story years ago. Some of the other content in that section of the book comes from my personal experiences. Trust me, when I needed to recover from a busted face and a crushed elbow on my dominant arm, I was very motivated to lower my pain. And I did, to the total astonishment of my medical team...

Read the E-book or print edition to learn the rest of my pain-reducing story and how it can help YOU or your loved one. Click on the words EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge!

Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.

Need to stock your store or office with stress-busting, cost-cutting content for ill or disabled readers? Doctors, organization heads and CEOS need to know that Bulk Orders can be made by clicking on Booklocker Wholesale Orders. 

How YOUR Heart Affects Your Health

B'SD

21 Shvat 5772

I've been having unpredictable successes and misses with YouTube today. I want to share a video with you. Please click on Mysteries of the Heart.


Fascinating, huh? Want to learn more about teaching your heart to work with and for you, not against you?

Read a book that 

medical and mental health professionals endorse, 

along with clergy of various faiths.

Buy an E-book or print edition today for a brighter, easier, healthier and more loving future. Click on the words EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge. 


Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.

Here's How to Minimize the Pain, Embarrassment and/or Fear of Your Medical and Disability Life!

B'SD


19 Shvat 5772

Want to protect yourself and/or your loved ones in the scary, confusing,  world of medical procedures and realities?

Care to know how to cut costs and still receive the first-quality care, medication and medical appliances you need?

Calm down with soothing text, 

light humor and a meaningful 

look at why all of the pain, 

frustration and confusion 

is happening in your life - 

and what you can do about that.

Increase your independence!

No boring bormides here. Every page is filled with compassion and good-sense strategies to make that monster of a medical reality work with you, not against you (and vice versa!).


One reader calls EMPOWER Yourself "Inspirational. Informative. Entertaining. Powerful stuff!" - S. Schnee

Get your grin back with a book that medical and mental health professionals recommend:

“I’ve given Yocheved’s book to therapists and to several patients on chemotherapy. They found it very helpful.” - Abraham J. Twerski, M.D., Gateways Addiction Rehabilitation Founder and Therapist 

"… a powerful 'can-do' message to those most in need of it …It could save your life or the life of your loved one. This combination of positive attitude and positive action makes this guide useful and complete. Its lessons extend far beyond the medical sphere to life challenges whatever they may be: lessons we can't afford to ignore." – Life Coach Y. Ives, England

The inspirational, calming words that author Yocheved Golani put in the book will make you feel as if she's reading directly to you, as one reader exclaims:

"It was amazing to order a book and then it appears on my computer!! I started reading it (I love how it tells you what page I am on on top)... I love it because I feel like you are reading it to me. I love your humor and style!" D. Schneider, USA

Stress-busting, cost-cutting 

It's MY Crisis! 

And I'll Cry If I Need To: 

EMPOWER Yourself to Cope 

with a Medical Challenge. 

There is no other book on the market to equal this one.

Buy the E-book or print edition today. Simplify your medical and/or disability life - or maybe someone else's! 


Click on the words EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge. Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity. Face Your Future with Optimism.