The world is falling apart, if you believe everything in the media. Few of us are immune to “headline-induced anxiety.” Research and statistics show that while the world has for some decades actually become increasingly safe, healthy and humane, society perceives the opposite...

Considering what homeless people face, it’s easy to understand why they may feel unloved, hardened and hopeless. It’s also easy to see why some people misunderstand them, are afraid of them, and see them as a drain on community health, safety and resources...

[My friend Cindy Sheltmire and I wrote this piece together.] Millions of people are affected annually by what is now considered one of the most prevalent crimes in the U.S. -- identity theft. It strikes a chord close to home. “Missouri is the state with the highest per capita rate of reported identity theft complaints,” according to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s 2015 Data Book released in February 2016. And we see this reflected in our local news reports...

Around the same time several acquaintances were welcoming new babies, headlines focused on maternal and postpartum depression -- currently ranked one of the most common medical complications among pregnant and new moms, and considered detrimental to the health and safety of both mother and child...

[My friend Marilyn and I wrote this piece together.] Local, national and international headlines indicate that acts of crime and terrorism are increasing, and that they’re striking closer and closer to home. It’s easy for the headlines to make us fear that crime is inevitable, and worry we might find ourselves helpless victims...

The gloomy adage that every breath we take is one step closer to death implies that we're on a perpetual course to frailty and decline. Yet, ninety-four-year-old Columbia, Missouri resident Eugenia Crain has been a model of happiness and health at every stage. Although she's an inspiration to many who know her, most can't put their finger on how she does it. There are many aspects to her approach to life, but one of the most impressive element is selflessness...

"Generation Stress" is, apparently, the new label uniting my generation (GenX) with my daughter's generation (Millennial). A survey by the American Psychological Association (APA) finds stress levels reported by both generations have consistently risen over the last five years and imply that Millennials not only learned stressful state-of-mind from their parents, but are also outdoing them...

When my daughter and her college study-abroad group returned from Nepal just days before the first earthquake in April, I received many iterations of these questions: "Aren't you grateful they're home safe?" and "Can you imagine if they were there when it happened?" These questions spurred me to think deeply about the short- and long-term physical impacts -- on individuals, families, communities and environments -- of events that people find traumatic...

An article I read recently, entitled "Why butter and eggs won't kill us after all: Flawed science triggers U-turn on cholesterol fears," really got me walking down a memory lane depicting my own changing views about food's impact on health, and my resulting eating habits. It also prompted me to ponder how, in this world of ever-changing food theories and advice, we can make the right choices, and feel and be healthy...

Like so many parents today, anyone who knew me could see I was the epitome of the adage, "if you want something done, ask a busy person." As a full-time working mom, I was devoted to ensuring my kids didn't feel short-changed when compared to friends with homemaker moms. At the same time, I felt it essential to model an ethic of nonprofit service elbow-to-elbow with my kids...