Dear Happy Friends:),

Welcome to our Happ-E-Newsletter for June 15, 2001.

This is a bimonthly newsletter whose purpose is to remind you to be happy. It will also let you know about meetings, happiness information, and a copy of the Be Happy Zone Articles published twice a month in the Fairfield Citizen-News. Read today's article: Emergency! Enjoy it, and pass it on to your friends.

Happ-E-News:) Our last meeting for the summer will be Thursday, June 28, 2001. Come on down and meet some happy people. Our next meeting will be in September the date to be announced.

Happ-E-Quote:) "Happiness? It is an illusion to think that more comfort means more happiness. Happiness comes of the capacity to feel deeply, to enjoy simply, to think freely, to risk life, to be needed." - Storm Jameson

Happ-E-Book Recommendation:) Emotionally Free, Letting Go of the Past to Live in the Moment, by David Viscott, M.D.

Happ-E-Book Quote:) Unhappy people carry each new loss around with them, adding it to the pack of unresolved problems that weight them down, waiting for the next injury, and wondering if it will break their back. A person who is in emotional debt -- who is storing unexpressed feelings -- is an unhappy person. Being happy is liking the way you feel. Being unhappy is not liking the way you feel. - David Viscott, M.D.

Happ-E-Mail Response:) THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR WONDERFUL ENCOURAGEMENT. I WOULD LIKE TO
SHARE A POEM THAT I FEEL IS APPROPRIATE WITH JUNE 1ST NEWSLETTER.
TODAY
Yesterday is just a memory.
Tomorrow we may never see.
There's beauty all around us,
life can be so pleasant.
Today is like a gift
That's why it's called the present

Happ-E-Power:) "You give up your happiness to others for so many reasons, then you think they have made you unhappy. The truth is that you have given others power over yourself. You must take your power back in order to be happy again. Happiness is an issue of power. When you learn to use the power of happiness to deal with people in your life, not only will you be a success, but you will empower them as well." - Lionel R. Ketchian

Happ-E-Thought:) "Nothing is so exhausting as indecision, and nothing is so futile." - Bertrand Russell

Happ-E-Meeting:) Join us for the last meeting for the summer. The HAPPINESS CLUB will present: "The Spirit of Happiness!" by Lionel Ketchian and psychotherapist Alice Katz, M.S. Alice who is the author of the book; It's Not Personal! A Guide to Anger Management, as well as other books.

Date:) June 28, 2001
Place:) Fairfield Public Library
Topic:) "The Spirit of Happiness!"
Time:) 7:00 - 8:30 P.M.
In the:) Rotary Room
Address:) 1080 Old Post Road, Fairfield, CT 06430
Open to the Public and Admission is Free
Call Lionel Ketchian (203) 258-7777 or E-mail: PrintLRK@aol.com
http://www.happinessclub.com

Directions to the Fairfield Public Library
From New York - I- 95, Exit 21, Mill Plain Road, Right at bottom of ramp. Under railroad overpass. Left at light (Rt. 1), 1/2 mile on right

From New Haven - I- 95, Exit 22, North Benson Road. Left at bottom of ramp. Under railroad overpass. Right at light (Rt. 1), 1/2 mile on left

Be Smart! Stay Happ-E!
This will be our last for the summer. We will begin again in September.
Hope to see you at the meeting!

Be Happy! Stay Happy!
Lionel
P.S. Read the article Emergency! below!

BE HAPPY ZONE, By Lionel Ketchian
June 6, 2001, Fairfield Citizen-News

Emergency!

June 6, 2001
BE HAPPY ZONE
By Lionel Ketchian

I spent this weekend in an emergency room with a family member and I spoke to Dianne Morgan R.N. who has worked as a Registered Nurse for the past thirty years. She has been working in the Emergency Room for the last twenty-three years as part of the critical care team. She has taken care of many patients in that time and I had an opportunity to ask her a few questions, and this is what I learned.

What is it like to work in an emergency room? We have to make things better real quick. It is life and death

How do you feel about nursing? I like to say; If you want to stay well see a nurse. If you're sick see a doctor.

What exactly do you mean by that? Doctors are problem solvers as a result of their training. They need to see symptoms to figure out what is wrong with someone. Most people do not see a doctor until they start to experience symptoms. They will not go until something is wrong. Nurses are trained differently than doctors, being a nurse is like being a Mom. Nursing is a nurturing skill and nurses are involved with the healing process.

How do most people get hurt? A very large percentage of people have accidents in their homes. They feel all right in their home, and sometimes they take their living space for granted and think they are safe. When people are outside of their own homes they are more careful. Public places seem to take better safety care of their environment then people do in their own home.

Does age have anything to do with safety? Yes! As people get older, they do not deal well with ladders. It seems that when you are over fifty, watch out because if you fall -- you will break. I had a person 83 years old fall off his roof cleaning it during a storm. Even a small three-foot ladder can be real trouble. People need to do the best they can to be safe.

How does your job make you feel? I work twelve hours a day, three days a week. It is a long day, but I can touch someone in a positive way in my work. In that sense I love my job, because I have reached out and did something to make someone's life a little better. I feel that I have made a difference.

How are people when they first come into an emergency room? They are scared, they are vulnerable, and they are under stress.

How should they deal with stress? We need stress! Stress is not the problem. The problem is our ability to deal with stress. In fact you might say our problem is our inability to deal with stress effectively.

What is a leading cause of illness in your view? If you are not in control of you stress than your immune system is compromised.

What is the biggest problem for people in the emergency room? People don't listen. They don't retain what is being said to them.

Is pain a problem? Worrying about having pain frightens people. Pain is more of a perception problem. Anticipating pain in your mind makes it worse than it really is. If someone becomes stressed that I am going to give him or her a needle, they tighten up and their fight or flight response produces adrenaline, and things get worse as a result of it.

How do you deal with difficult people? I take their hand, I hold it, and I listen to them. Sometimes that is all I need to do.

Is humor important? The ability to make people laugh is medicine. Laughter can diffuse a difficult situation and completely turn things around for the better.

Is people's attitude important? Yes! People who are positive, optimistic and happy are people that heal faster. These people express their gratitude for the things we do, and seem to appreciate things more. People who are unhappy seem to complain, be ungrateful and do not heal as fast as happy people do.

Is touching a person important? It is very important. It is a connection between two people. Not only adults benefit but children also benefit. We have proof that touching, holding and stroking premature babies does miracles. It lowers the heart rate, calms them down, and lowers their need for oxygen. Humans need to be touched; it is a natural part of our system.

What health advice do you have for people? Practice preventive medicine. Don't wait for a pill or cure to be your magic fix. Check on anything that seems unnatural to you. It is your body, get to know it. People do not want to know what is wrong with them, when something does not feel right. Don't try to be the doctor, check it out. Don't be afraid to find out what is wrong. What you don't know can hurt you.

Have you ever witnessed a miracle? All the time! I have seen thousands of miracles. Small ones, big ones and all sorts of them. A miracle is being able to see something beautiful in a different way. Sometimes a miracle can be a family group that is not talking to one another and as a result of visiting a family member in the emergency room the entire family starts coming together and talking to one another. There is an older woman known as the "Cat," she is a miracle because medically she should not be alive.

What is your advice to living life? Don't be afraid to ask for what you want.

Why do people have a problem with that? People do not know what they want. That is part of what makes it so hard to ask for what you want.

What do you think of people? Human behavior never ceases to amaze me. I love people.

Dianne is a person with a high stress job that is happy and passing along that happiness to others. She has knowledge and skill, but it is Dianne's vision, her caring, and her capacity for compassion that is her contribution to the healing process. Dianne is an excellent caregiver, and a person that is truly making a difference.

Our last meeting for the summer is, June 28, 2001, from 7:00-8:30 p.m. The topic is "The Spirit of Happiness!" and will be held in the Rotary Room, at the Fairfield Public Library, located at 1080 Old Post Road. There is no charge for the meeting.

Lionel Ketchian is the founder of the Happiness Club, a Happiness Coach, and can be reached at PrintLRK@aol.com. The Web site is www.HappinessClub.com

© Copyright 2001, Lionel R. Ketchian, all rights reserved.