The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1171248
C-4 Wednesday, September 25, 2019 The Press-Dispatch HOME LIFE TO ADVERTISE: Call: 812-354-8500 Email: ads@pressdispatch.net Visit: 820 E. Poplar Street, Petersburg Deadline: 5 p.m. on Monday Youth First Today by Amber Russell, Youth First, Inc. Katiedid vs... by Katiedid Langrock Superstition is the way Down on the Farm By Hans Schmitz, Purdue Extension Educator Farm safety and health: Better late than never VEG JAMBALAYA MEALS IN Monica's MINUTES Share your favorite recipe! www.facebook.com/mealsinminutes Monica's Meals in Minutes PO Box 68, Petersburg, IN 47567 mealsinminutes@pressdispatch.net FACEBOOK MAIL EMAIL By Monica Sinclair While I am disappointed that the first day of fall will be hot, I am optimistic that the cooler weather will soon be here, and we will all be in the mood for fall dishes. So, I am putting that op- timism to good use this week with this recipe. It's been awhile since I have catered to my vegan and vegetarian readers, so this one is for you. It's easy, hearty and will warm you up when the cool weather finally arrives. Enjoy! INGREDIENTS • 1 tablespoon canola oil • 1 medium green pepper, chopped • 1 medium onion, chopped • 1 celery rib, chopped • 3 garlic cloves, minced • 2 cups water • 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained • 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce • 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning • 1/4 teaspoon salt • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes • 1/8 teaspoon fennel seed, crushed • 1 cup uncooked long grain rice • 1 can (16 ounces) butter beans, rinsed and drained • 1 can (16 ounces) red beans, rinsed and drained DIRECTIONS 1. In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the green pepper, onion and celery; cook and stir until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. 2. Add the water, tomatoes, tomato sauce and sea- sonings. Bring to a boil; stir in rice. 3. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 -18 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. 4. Stir in beans; heat through. Source: tasteof home.com Our brains are powerful things. They are wired to alert us to danger, to think, to learn new things, to re- tain memories, and to find solutions to problems we face every day. There may be times you want to question the message your brain is sending you. Over time you may have developed some faulty connections called cognitive distortions. Cognitive distortions are biased per- spectives we take on about ourselves and the world around us. They are irra- tional thoughts and beliefs that we un- knowingly reinforce over time. There are many types of cognitive distortions. Here are some of the com- mon ones: Mind Reading - Assuming you know what people are thinking with- out having evidence or proof of their thoughts: "He thinks I am unquali- fied." Catastrophizing - Believing what might happen will be so awful and un- bearable that you won't be able to stand it: "If I make a bad grade, I will never get into college." Negative Filter and/or Discount- ing Positives - Focusing almost exclu- sively on the negatives and seldom no- ticing the positives. When you do no- tice a positive about yourself or others, you discount it as if it does not matter. Overgeneralizing - Perceiving the likelihood of a negative outcome based on a past single incident: "He is nev- er on time." Polarized Thinking - Viewing events or people in all or nothing terms: "We have to be perfect or we are failures." Personalizing - Attributing most of the blame on you when negative events happen, and failing to see that some situations can't be avoided or that others could be equally responsible: "It was my fault my group got a bad grade." Blaming - Focusing on others as the source of your negative feelings or problems and failing to take responsi- bility. "My teacher hates me, which is why I am failing her class." Now that you know what some of these cognitive distortions look like, here are some things you can do to control them: Identify your possible cognitive distortions - Create a list of trouble- some thoughts to examine and match up with a list of cognitive distortions. Determine which thought processes you tend to lean toward. Examine the evidence - Examine experiences that could be the basis of your distorted thinking. Try to identi- fy other situations where you had suc- cess or proved the thought is not true. For example, if I am thinking, "Billy is always late," I would examine the thought and likely think of at least one time Billy was on time. Evaluate in a different way - In- stead of thinking in an "all or noth- ing" way, try to gauge the situation on a scale of 1-10. When something does not go right, evaluate it as a partial suc- cess. Focus on what did go right and perhaps rate it as a 6 out of 10. Define terms - Define terms to ex- amine what they mean. Examining global labels will help you see a spe- cific behavior associated with the la- bel and not a person as a whole. If you think you always fail, then define the term failure. Think about what actions made you think you were a failure and if the definition truly fits you as a per- son. Survey a trusted friend - When in doubt, ask. If you think you might be blowing something out of proportion, check with a trusted friend to see if they think your feelings are justified. The more you get used to con- trolling cognitive distortions, the less faulty connections you'll have to wor- ry about. Take control of your power- ful brain and use it for good. This column is written by Amber Russell, LCSW, school social worker for Youth First, Inc., a local nonprofit dedicated to strengthening youth and families. Youth First provides 57 Mas- ter's level social workers to 78 schools in 10 Indiana counties. Over 38,500 youth and families per year have access to Youth First's school social work and afterschool programs that prevent sub- stance abuse, promote healthy behaviors, and maximize student success. Last week was National Farm Safe- ty and Health Week, a week which usually falls mid-harvest in this area. With late planting, harvest really be- gan in earnest around the county last week, which makes this week the per- fect week to discuss safety and vital- ity in agriculture. From the recently released 2018 Farm Fatality Report to the debunking of a few farmer suicide myths, the news cycle has been keep- ing track of agriculture. First and foremost, farmers spend a lot of time in fields. They spend sub- stantially less time with that large ma- chinery on the roads. Some of the most stressful parts of farming involve in- teractions with other drivers. That said, larger equipment usually wins the road, with the half a million dollar combine much more likely to protect its inhabitant than the $20,000 Pri- us. Meanwhile, the driver of the com- bine is usually much more concerned with their speed and position on the road. This time of year, the commut- er should be leaving a bit early from rural communities, anticipating a little time behind equipment. The rules of the road are simple, but not often well explained. When more than three ve- hicles are following a slow-moving ve- hicle, the slow mover should be look- ing for a way to pull over and allow a pass to relieve the traffic. Passing on a double-yellow line is illegal. When a slow-moving vehicle has flashers on, removing the flashers to signal a left- hand turn will help prevent confusion or unintentional driver interference. When ap- proaching large farm ve- hicles, any driveway will do as a way to pull in to allow a combine, sprayer, or plow to continue safe- ly. As a segue to the next topic, drivers in the op- posite lane of a two-lane road should stop for fu- neral processions. The 2018 Farm Fatal- ity Summary has not as of this writing been post- ed to the Indiana Rural Safety and Health Council web site yet, but edu- cators around the state had a chance to preview the report in the last cou- ple of weeks. Lowlights include 34 fa- talities on the farm around the state of Indiana in 2018, down from 2017 and 2016 numbers but still well above the trendline of the past 48 years. Of fatal- ities, 59 per cent were minors or adults over age 60, which is a very interest- ing statistic as the average age of the farmer approaches 60. Tractor-related fatalities continue to be a leader, with 44 per cent of farm deaths related to tractors in 2018. Of tractor fatalities, nearly all involve being run over, hav- ing a tractor overturn, or falling from a tractor. The farm fatality summary does give basic information on each fatality and its location. We remem- ber and honor the lives of those two Daviess County farmers, the Knox County farm- er, and the Posey County farmer lost in 2018, along with those who knew the 30 other farmers around the state. Farmer suicide rates have hit the news in the past year or so. The Centers for Disease Con- trol released some nation- al statistics that have been highly debated. Certainly, farmer stress levels are high with profit margins tight and reli- ance on government payments of con- cern for a fiercely independent portion of the population. Comparisons to the 1980s may or may not be warranted. Although national statistics did have suicide rates high during that time, Indiana observations analyzed by Dr. William Field at Purdue University show inconclusive evidence that Indi- ana farmers had higher suicide rates either then, today, or at any time in between. That said, suicidal thoughts and tendencies in any population are way more common than are commu- nicated. The number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800 - 273-8255. For more information, con- tact Hans at hschmitz@purdue.edu or 812-838 -1331. "Do you know why they call it a superstition? " Mr. Patrick, my sixth-grade teacher, asked the class. He had just told us about an old friend who died a horrific death with welts and boils, rash- es and coughs, fevers and halluci- nations, after refusing to heed the warnings and entering an ancient pyramid. The doctors didn't know what was afflicting him, other than everything. Other than the curse. "Because if you don't take the warning super seriously, you'll be super dead! " Mr. Patrick said, punctuating the point with a deep chuckle. It was a terrible joke. They were always terrible jokes. But we didn't love him for the jokes; we loved him for the stories. Having to take superstitions su- per seriously or end up super dead has stuck with me somehow in the back of my mind. I am not supersti- tious — except, of course, for the fact that I am. One week ago, it was both Fri- day the 13th and a full moon. This overlap in fodder for superstitions happens only about every few dec- ades. The next full moon on Fri- day the 13th will be in 2049. Add- ing to the werewolf summoning of the full moon and the release of evil by the 13th, it was also the har- vest moon. The harvest moon is the moon closest to the autumnal equinox, ushering in such delight- ful things as apple cider and pump- kin spice lattes and, of course, Hal- loween, with its witches, ghouls and apocalyptic nightmares in tow. I don't believe in any of these things. I'm almost positive I don't believe in any of these things. I was in Santa Fe, New Mex- ico, for the 13th and the harvest moon, attending a bachelorette party with my old college friends. If a date could be a harbinger of bad luck and a moon the flint that illuminates and amplifies the evil swirling around, Santa Fe might just be the perfect portal into the super-unknown — the entry and exit point of all luck, good or bad, malicious or magnificent. It's a city that oozes magic and untold secrets. She clasps tightly in her hand the map to the other realms, but she'll never unclasp her fin- gers. Your attempts to pry them open only cause her to smile more broadly, blindingly. One eye is most certainly made of crystal, and if you stare into it long enough, you can see your future — or at least how you die. This is Santa Fe personified. That is why, in the early morn- ing of Friday the 13th, the day of the full (harvest) moon, I was not excited to be greeted by a black cat pacing back and forth across the outside windowsill of our Airbnb. "Do not let the black cat in," I told my friend Carolyn as she opened the French doors onto the back patio. "But he's so cute," she said, coo- ing and petting the cat. "A black cat crossing your path is good luck," she said. "That's not how the superstition goes," I said. "Oh, right. But a black cat on Fri- day the 13th is good luck," Car- olyn corrected herself. "Nope," I re- plied. "Are you just making this up as you go along? " Carolyn wasn't listening. She was getting the black cat, who kept crossing our pathway, a sau- cer of milk. "Let's let him inside," she said. "Do not let him inside! " "But it's Friday the 13th," she said with the same conviction that Bob Cratchit has when expecting goodwill from Scrooge on Christ- mas. "If you don't take a superstition warning super seriously, you will be super dead," I said. My friends, who were now all crouched down around the stray cat, stared up at me with concern. Or maybe it was pity. I can't be sure. They named the cat Lucky. They left milk out for him every day, but we only saw him on the 13th. That night, with the full moon, went on with joy and no incident. But the days that have followed have not been so smooth. While she was out for a run, Carolyn's knee popped. It's a torn meniscus. Another friend tripped and suffered a radial frac- ture. There were missed flights and suddenly moldy suitcases and a house flooded upon return. X-rays and damaged proper- ty were shared in our group text message chain. "It was that cat! Lucky wasn't lucky! " Carolyn exclaimed. Look, I'm not superstitious, but I told ya so! Like Katiedid Langrock on Face- book, at http://www.facebook.com/ katiedidhumor. Cognitive distortions: Is your brain tricking you?