Archive | Mental Health

Comforts of home – travel candle

In a previous post, I mentioned my use of earplugs to mask unwanted sounds while sleeping, particularly, in hotel rooms (where I spend a lot of my time!). In this, related, post, I will mention another helpful travel aid that I employ on a frequent basis: a small, scented candle. I have entered many hotel […]

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This is another example of learning from others.  Those who have been there, done that, and survived to tell about it, can be invaluable teachers.  And, travel candles are quite popular when you begin looking for them.  They are often in a tin jar with a lid that makes them easy to travel with, easy […]

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Sleep – ear plugs

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On November 5, 2019

Category: Business Travel, Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Mental Health, RoadWarrior, Travel

I am a light sleeper. I travel a lot, for both business and pleasure. These two realities often conflict, but, over the years, I have learned how to minimize the conflict with a simple and inexpensive solution: earplugs. Although I routinely request a room as far away as possible from the elevator and ice machine […]

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Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On November 5, 2019

Category: Business Travel, Careers, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Mental Health, RoadWarrior, Travel

Earplugs are but one of many travel tricks learned by years of being a road warrior.  Not that you can’t use them at home as well; Melissa can, and often does, wear them for the rare occasions when sleeping late is an option.  On the road though, with so many strange and unfamiliar variables at […]

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Rainbows in Hawai’i

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On October 22, 2019

Category: Getting Through Life and Work, Life Outside of Work, Mental Health, Travel

I have had the fantastic experience of visiting Hawai’i on several occasions. Growing up in Florida, I frequently heard people say not to bother going to Hawai’i because, in their opinion, it was similar to Florida. These people, in my opinion, are wrong. There are a few similarities but, overall, Florida and Hawai’i have little […]

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Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On October 22, 2019

Category: Getting Through Life and Work, Life Outside of Work, Mental Health, Travel

There is a reason that the song (Somewhere) Over the Rainbow resonates with Hawaiians. Sung by many, including Judy Garland in the Wizard of Oz, my favorite version is the one by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole, better known as Iz. His take on the words written in 1939, combined with Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World, is […]

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Sunsets

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On October 1, 2019

Category: Getting Through Life and Work, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Research, Mental Health, Travel, Uncategorized, Work-Life

I was born, and grew up in, Fort Myers, Florida, located on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Watching the sun set over the Caloosahatchee or the Gulf of Mexico was a huge part of my existence as a child. I have had the fortunate experience of watching sunsets in all 50 states in […]

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Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On October 1, 2019

Category: Getting Through Life and Work, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Research, Mental Health, Travel, Uncategorized, Work-Life

I love the colors of sunsets. And I love that you don’t have to get up before sunrise to experience a sunset – I’m not that much of an early bird! Some of the first photos I ever took were of sunsets as viewed across the St. Johns River, a few minutes walk from my […]

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The Price of a Vacation

What is the cost of a vacation? I’m not referring to the cost of airplane tickets, the hotel, the cruise, the meals, activities, etc. I mean the less obvious costs. As I write this, I have just spent 2 days, well, maybe 1½, in a crunch time mode ensuring that all client work is under […]

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David wrote his part of this post before our fantastic vacation to the land of The Beatles, while I am writing my part after our return home. We had a wonderful vacation; it was the trip of a lifetime and a dream come true! Getting ready for it, as well as recovering from it, however, […]

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Purr more; Hiss less

Purr more; hiss less. This could be a good mantra for our lives. In other words, look for the good things in life instead of focusing on the bad things. Find solutions to problems instead of whining and complaining about them. When someone spills an entire glass of iced tea (after sweetening it with sticky […]

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It is sometimes difficult in today’s polarized world to remember to purr more. There are so many things to hiss about. But, as my now 102 year old friend Dr. Fran Kinne reminds me, be positive. Melissa and I have a purr reminder in the form of a Siamese cat named Rex. Pick him up, […]

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Common Sense (fill in the blank)

A growing pet peeve of mine is the use of phrases like “Common Sense” as in “Common Sense Legislation” or “Common Sense Rules.” (Fill in the blank after common sense with immigration reform, gun control, tax reform, health care reform, etc. and you’ll get an idea of the topics I’m thinking about when writing this.) […]

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I’m not sure what sparked David’s sudden interest in common sense. Many people I know believe they possess common sense, defined as “sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or facts.” Upon close examination of this, dictionary, definition of common sense, I will agree that many people have a simple […]

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Same as it Never Was

With apologies in advance to David Byrne and others who wrote the song Same as it Ever Was, and which I recently heard, I was prompted to change “ever” to “never” for this post. Better stated, perhaps in the context of this post, it is perhaps Sane as it Never Was. As has been written […]

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Everyone experiences dementia, and other psychological maladies, differently. In addition, families and friends of people with psychological problems react to the changes in their loved one’s behavior in their own, unique, ways. There are no two people who are alike and this truism applies to coping with mental health issues in oneself and one’s family. […]

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Chris’ Dad

This morning I learned of the death of the father of one of Melissa’s lifelong friends. Chris and Melissa have known each other since childhood. Melissa provided guidance to Chris in recent years as he and his family dealt with health and end of life issues related to his father. These included those issues related […]

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The power of human touch cannot be underestimated. Pioneering psychological research, conducted by Dr. Harry Harlow and his colleagues, beginning in the 1930s, established that physical contact is an essential part of human development. Although Dr. Harlow’s studies were primarily focused on the establishment of a bond between mothers and their offspring, it is well […]

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Dodged Bullets

We’ve all heard the expression, “I dodged that bullet” to indicate that one missed something that, in hindsight, would have been bad, or at least, less than positive. I was recently reflecting of at least 3 bullets that I have, or Melissa and I have, dodged. Two of these involved the beginnings of Magnus, way […]

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As John Lennon famously wrote in the lyrics of his song, “Beautiful Boy,” “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” It is interesting to see where our lives take us, including when it takes us in directions different from those we had planned. David and I founded Magnus in 1993 with big […]

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