I am addicted to sugar, which makes me a little jealous of people who are not, because sugar is not my friend, for health reasons and because it finds its way onto unwelcome parts of my body.

After observing a relative who loved salad (even without dressing!) and had no interest in dessert, I wondered what is going on? Why do some people love sugar and others don’t seem to care? What about cilantro? To some it is delicious; to others, it tastes like burning rubber or soap.

This cannot be a result of conditioning—and it isn’t.

First the basics, our taste buds detect sweet, bitter, salty, sour, and savory (sometimes called “meat”). Temperature is detected by our tongue.

Specific taste preferences arise from many factors…including environment and memory. My mother was a fantastic baker, and we had delicious homemade desserts after every dinner. She baked pies, cakes, homemade ice cream, strudels, tarts, fudge, cheesecake, cookies, puddings…I am feeling deprived just thinking about it. So, at a young age, I developed an expectation and a craving for something sweet after a meal. (The old—”blame it on mom” theory.)

We have 2,000 to 10,000 taste buds, the more that we have, the more sensitive our sense of taste. We even have some in our mouth, throat, and esophagus. (Which explains why we can sometimes taste a bitter pill that gets stuck in our throat.)

Scientists have categorized us into Super-Tasters, Average-Tasters, and Non-Tasters based on the number and concentration of taste buds on our tongues.

Super-Tasters (such as myself) have the most taste buds. About ¼ of the population are Super-Tasters. Tastes are more intense for us, so sweet is an intensely pleasant flavor. We cannot enjoy bitter foods or bitter vegetables such as brussels sprouts, broccoli, or kale. Super-Tasters cannot tolerate spicy foods and have difficulty with bitter beers and high tannin red wines. We add cream to our coffee.

Super-Tasters are the picky eaters in the family. My brothers (who are also Super-Tasters) subsisted on sugary cereals such as Quisp, Quake, and Cap’n Crunch. I was no better. My parents would occasionally require me to remain at the table until I ate everyone on my plate. I spent many hours staring at broccoli, spinach, and other earthy vegetables.

Average-Tasters make up half of the population. They like bitter, earthy vegetables and savory wines. They can taste the same bitter flavors as a Super-Taster; but it is not as intense and therefore not unpleasant. They are also willing to experiment more with foods.

Non-Tasters (which make up about 25% of the population) have the fewest taste buds. Those are the people who can eat very, very spicy foods and often cannot even taste bitterness. Because of their lack of taste buds, they tend to prefer very spicy, hot foods.

If you want to quickly find out what kind of taster you are, put a drop of blue food coloring on your tongue. If your tongue doesn’t get very blue (because it has so many taste buds), you’re probably a Super-Taster. The bluer it gets, the fewer taste buds that you have.

While taste buds play a major role in taste, there are other factors as well.

• Taste buds become desensitized with age, which may explain why we eat things as adults that we didn’t eat as children.
• We taste with our brain which allows taste memories to impact our senses. For example, when we compare a food with the same food in the past; we are using stored memories.
• Some of our taste preferences are genetic. Researchers discovered that a version of the TAS2R38 gene impacted children’s preference for sweet foods. They have recently identified two common gene variants linked to the taste of cilantro.
• We cannot taste what we cannot smell. If our sense of smell is compromised by competing smells (e.g., perfume or cigarettes) or deterioration of the sense of smell (e.g., a cold); the taste will be diminished. For example, olfactory (odor) genes are the predominant genes for determining the taste of cilantro. The smell of salty foods like ham or bacon, can actually make us taste salt.
• Taste buds can be temporarily impacted by previous tastes, for example brushing your teeth. A compound called cynarin in artichokes temporarily blocks sweet receptors.
• Loud, noisy environments (such as airplanes) suppress flavors.

And as for sugar, it turns out there are evolutionary and cognitive mechanisms diabolically contributing to my love of sugar.

• Sugar cravings are an evolutionary preference to ensure that humans ate high energy foods.
• Sugar releases opioids and dopamine in the brain and can cause a brief “high.”
• Some female hormones (e.g., estradiol), significantly increase the desire for sweets.
• And if the collusion of brain chemistry and evolutionary biology was not enough, research shows that eating sweets helps form the memory of the meal; which is why we often remember desserts.

So, there are many forces at work…and all I have to combat them with is willpower.

Hardly a fair fight.

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.

When I tell people that love does not end with death, I often get a skeptical look. But when I ask if they still love their mom; I see the nod of understanding.

Most of us love our moms in perpetuity. Because they loved us so deeply. From the moment we were born, in our most vulnerable state, they cared for our needs, fixed our boo-boos, gave us warm embraces, and loved us no matter what. They protected us from onslaughts, perceived or real.

It is a mutual bond, unbreakable and eternal. And when Wanda Cooper Jones’s son was killed that bond remained unbroken.

When the McMichaels murdered her son, Ahmaud Arbery, they immediately sought protection through the “good old boy’s network” (which also includes a few women). This network has been in existence since slavery first tainted our soil. It is a group of people who determines which race, gender, religion, or nationality should be protected. When the McMichael’s called, the network functioned as it always has, covering up wrongdoing by a member of the  group.

And things would have continued the way they have for centuries, but for the eternal bond between mother and son.

Ms. Cooper Jones was quickly dismissed by this group, after all what could a poor, black woman accomplish? But they forgot about that bond.

And when she created waves; they made their fatal mistake. Believing that the world would see the threat through their eyes, they posted the video that had been hidden by the “good old boy’s network.” And they discovered that the world saw an innocent, unarmed black man hunted down by heavily armed men in pickups with a confederate flag vanity plate. The world saw a situation that we believed was in the dark recesses of the past.

I watched the full video for the first time this weekend and I cried with each shot that pierced the silence. I cried seeing his desperate, unsuccessful attempt to save his life. I felt his fear while they pursued him, deciding that they were judge, jury, and executioner. His crime? Walking through an empty house under construction and jogging in a white neighborhood.

The world erupted and both white and black townspeople demanded justice.

The McMichaels didn’t realize that the “old boy network” had shrunk. They may not have expected a predominantly white jury to convict them.

But a diminished “old boy’s network” was no match for the ferocity of a mother’s love.

And because of that, the world will be a better place. The Georgia legislature sharply limited the law that empowered the McMichael’s to believe that they could chase down and kill an unarmed black man. I, and most white people, no longer believe that black men and women are safe.

And while the world will be better, when the media goes away and our attention moves to another situation, there will still be a loving mother forever grieving the loss of her son.

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.

When my sister- in-law goes out of town, I take care of her chickens. I don’t mind, in fact, I rather enjoy it. I have always had an affinity for chickens.

Apparently, I am not alone. During COVID 19, backyard chicken coops became a popular hobby. The government doesn’t maintain statistics on backyard chickens, but hatcheries and chicken coop builders were unable to keep up with the surge of orders, with backlogs sometimes extending months.

My appreciation for chickens began in my youth. I was an avid animal lover with a menagerie of large animals and chickens. Before the sun crawled over the woodlands and after school, I would don my dungarees (which is what jeans were called back then) and collect eggs. Even though we had leghorns (which are boring white birds), I enjoyed their company. At the time, I didn’t even mind the snakes who slithered in to steal eggs. I have since developed an unhealthy fear of them.

The window to own chickens closed when I moved to New Jersey suburbia, so I satisfied my animal connection with dogs and cats.

But I never lost my affection for chickens, which is one of the reasons that we decided to retire in Key West. It offers great weather, scores of restaurants, theater, entertainment, arts, and outdoor activities, and chickens that roam freely around the island.

Key West chickens are escapees from cockfights from Key West’s disreputable past. Tourists and animal lovers, alike, enjoy watching the colorful birds that strut around the island.

Before the sun rises over the ocean, the island echoes with the “cock-a-doodle-doos” of Key West roosters claiming their territories. For “city folk,” who are used to sleeping in, it is not a welcome sound. But to me, it is a siren call. In the hush of the pre-dawn landscape, I leash my dogs and stroll into the park watching roosters on tree branches boisterously proclaiming their kingdoms.

Through a series of homegrown experiments, I discovered that chickens are also somewhat intelligent.

My first experiment was to see if the chickens could recognize me. In the pre-dawn darkness, I would walk my dogs and scatter chickenfeed. Within days, roosters were racing at breakneck speed toward my silhouette to gobble up the scattered food. They were friendly and respectful and followed me throughout the park. But they never learned temporal boundaries. Even though I only fed them at dawn, they followed me whenever they spotted me.

They only recognized me if I was walking both dogs, if I walked alone or with one dog, they ignored me.

Roosters and hens have a short lifespan in the Keys. Predatory birds, raccoons, cars, and even irate citizens keep the flock in check. It is unusual to see the same bird the next year. So, I was pleased when I returned from my summer in Maryland to discover that a favorite rooster recognized me. After a week or two, my experiment over, he realized that I no longer provided food and lost interest in me. For him, it was merely a transactional attachment.

The hens were more cautious, and it took weeks for them to approach me when I had food. If I didn’t see a hen for a while, I knew that she would soon appear with a scattered, peeping brood of up to a dozen newly-hatched chicks. Most hens chose a polygamous relationship based on the desirability of the rooster’s territory. It was unusual to see a single hen and rooster pairing. The hens assisted each other by taking turns nesting and caring for their combined brood.

But tragedy lay ahead. On the first day, hens would proudly stroll with a trail of scatterbrained, peeping chicks, who had little use for hanging with their siblings. Mom’s full time job was keeping these fluffy little “peepsters” in the group. But the little chicks were a tasty appetizer for eagles, hawks, raccoons, and even iguanas and each day one or two would disappear. A lucky hen would raise a single chick to adulthood. Survivors stayed with their moms even past adulthood, peacefully foraging while trying to avoid horny roosters.

The squawking and wailing of a hen who lost a chick was unmistakable. And if she lost the whole brood, she would not eat for several days, searching the scrub bushes and beach refuse for a lone survivor.

But within six weeks, she would reappear with another large brood that she would patiently protect and teach how to forage for food; hoping that this time the outcome would be better.

On the Eastern Shore, the predators are a significant presence at night. My chicken-owning friends have constructed chicken wire fortresses that are carefully monitored to protect their hens from foxes, raccoons, owls, and other raptors. Some allow chickens to roam freely during the day; and an hour before dusk the hens slowly strut back to their pen. But many owners keep their chickens in a large fully enclosed run with raccoon proof locks.

My sister in law purchased female “sexed” chicks (only experts can determine a chick’s gender). One slipped through, however, a defective, tailless rooster. His original name has been changed to “Crockpot.” Unlike my friendly Key West roosters, he has a “chip” on his wing and attacks anyone who tries to get in or around the pen.

It turns out that the hens don’t like grouchy, controlling guys either and they had large bald spots on their backs where Crockpot tried to mount them. In addition to being ornery, he is also inept, and has yet to fertilize an egg. My sister in law has been trying to find a home for him, but there is not a large demand for a nasty, tailless rooster…so he stays, out of the kindness of her heart.

I have discovered that temperamental roosters are not uncommon. During the pandemic, I was entertained by a series of popular You Tube videos called “F Off Kyle.” A frustrated farmer posted videos of his obstreperous, nasty rooster named Kyle who attacked anyone roaming the barnyard.

When I am caring for my sister’s brood, I usually arrive at dusk to feed and check on them, they immediately spot me and come running toward the door of their chicken wire citadel, eagerly awaiting the feed, kale, and mealworms that I will gingerly scatter while trying to keep Crockpot from attacking me.

Yesterday, the hens and Crockpot behaved differently, they were milling about quietly and even Crockpot ignored me. I sadly discovered why. A Plymouth Rock hen had died in the coop. When I went in the coop to retrieve her, Crockpot didn’t challenge me and remained out in the pen.

John Barth, in his book, Tidewater Tales, used chickens in a cage as an analogy for how we handle death. When someone dies, we squawk loudly, but then we settle back to our businesses.

And the next day, things were back to normal, the chickens raced to the door, pecked at their food, and, of course, Crockpot tried to attack me. I lingered to watch them eat, listening to their mumbled clucks and tuneless murmurs. Just going about the business of being a chicken. Until the next tragedy.

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.

The George Floyd trial is over. Most believe that the verdict was just…and the ugliness of racism is beginning to recede from the news.

Most Americans became uncomfortable when confronted with racism on that scale. We witnessed other videos and learned that racist epitaphs were hurled at Black Capitol police officers during the January 6^th riot.

Sadly, the memory of George Floyd has dimmed, and attention has been turned elsewhere. COVID 19 continues to divide the country, and Afghanistan and other issues dominate the media landscape.

Some of the remaining debate centers on the extent of racism, with some believing that these are isolated incidents. While others see a frustrating. systemic racism that renders us powerless.

If history is an indicator, racism will continue to haunt us. New incidents will arise, such as the trial of Ahmaud Arbery, a young Black man killed while jogging by White vigilantes.

But there are less visible scars from racism. Not believing in oneself, learned helplessness, a belief that the deck is permanently stacked. Systemic racism tamps down ambition, as generations of Nonwhite Americans have concluded that the wheel of opportunity is rigged. Even with the gains of each generation and the positive impact of affirmative action, progress remains frustratingly slow.

The world is not given to us because we are White, but we enjoy special privileges without being aware of them. My friends and I worked hard to be successful; but we were given the keys to the system by our parents and grandparents. Affirmative action may give someone a key, but if he doesn’t know where or what a lock is…it is pretty hard to get in the door.

It is impossible for me to understand the trauma caused by generations of racism. I wonder how a Nonwhite American can distinguish White racists from White Americans who want change. History might cause someone to believe that all White American belong the first group.

These are not easy conversations.

Fortunately, a local group, St Michaels Community Conversations, hosts these discussions. On Tuesday, November 30, at 5 p.m., St Michaels Community Conversations will partner with the American Association of University Women (AAUW) to host a virtual conversation via ZOOM about long-term racial trauma. Sherone Lewis from Mid-Shore Behavioral Health, Inc. will speak about the trauma of racism from the perspective of the perpetrator and the victim. After her presentation, the group will engage in open dialog, with a goal of mutual understanding.

I hope that everyone who is curious will participate in this conversation. To receive a ZOOM link, email [email protected].

As we learn to walk in each other’s shoes, a true American melting pot can emerge. What a great opportunity for us all!

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.

Reading George Merrill’s honest, heartfelt account of his diagnosis and journey brought me back to my husband’s and my last journey.

Six years ago, we were driving to a hospital where doctors would surgically remove a metal scaffolding from his broken leg. Doctors couldn’t understand why his bone wasn’t healing or the source of his excruciating pain. After removing this metal device, they would be able to perform body scans to diagnose a rare, advanced, terminal cancer.

They didn’t know that this would be the beginning of his last journey.

But somehow we did.

On the long drive to the NYC hospital, I impulsively I put in a CD; one that we hadn’t listened to in decades…it was the music that we fell in love to. He touched my arm and smiled, “I would have picked that, too.”

And instantly we were transported back to the time before life’s annoyances and pressing demands overshadowed love. Squeezing the toothpaste from the middle of the tube, late nights at work, career setbacks, parenting struggles…all of those melted away. We were back in love, for the last time.

Every day we talked as we hadn’t talked in years. And we cried. We cried a lot. He would ask me to remarry…still wanting to care for me after he was gone. I promised him that I would take care of what remained.

Hospice workers will tell you that this is a common occurrence. They see it is a privilege to witness and assist these couples’ love stories.

Because love doesn’t end when someone dies.

Love is our superpower.

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.

In a couple of weeks our streets will be filled with fluffy animals walking on two legs, protected by superheroes, tended to by pint-sized doctors, medics, and firefighters, and dazzled by princesses in flowing tulle. The littlest will be riding in wagons pulled by parents eager to steal their stash after they have fallen asleep. The little ones will have plastic pumpkins brimming with candy swinging from their little arms.

But there will also be macabre characters in various states of decay. And some costumes will represent sexualized female heroines.

And this can be a problem.

My daughter was so traumatized by horror costumes that she dreaded Halloween. Desperately wanting to go trick or treating (for the candy, of course), she would close her eyes tightly and only open them after I verified that the oncoming costumes were not scary.

Today’s costumes are much more graphic. We sported stylized skeletons, sheets for ghosts, and stiff, unrealistic Frankenstein masks. Today’s costumes have fake skin, fake blood, and gooey guts.

Some costumes have become so macabre that principals in K-5 schools prohibit them. The school leadership also bans “weapons,” even the plastic kind, fearing that children may get overzealous in their play acting.

So, are these costumes really a problem?

It depends upon your perspective.  If you believe that horror is good fun; then these costumes are amusing.  But if you have been too close to real death and trauma; they can be troublesome, especially for children under five.

Young children have difficulty distinguishing between make-believe and reality. Fortunately, for most children, their trauma dissipates quickly.  (A recent survey found that only 26% of college students reported still being scarred by a horror image or movie.)

However, some psychologists believe that realistic “horror” costumes have the potential to desensitize children to violence. There are also reported cases where children succumbed to phobias. A few reported anxiety, fear, sleeplessness, and in extreme cases, bedwetting.

And what about sexualized heroines such as Wonder Woman? While Gal Gadot beautifully plays one of my favorite heroines; her costume requires significant modifications for young children. And one parent even spotted a French maid’s costume…for a 6 year old!

As children get older, parental influence wanes. If their peers are wearing sexualized or scary costumes, they will wear them too.

So what to do?

One of the authors had a great idea.  Her son had decided to be a very realistic grim reaper, but he didn’t understand the character. After she explained its significance to him, he opted to be a superhero.

So I hope that this year I will see angels and cowboys and walking telephones and homemade costumes and Winnie the Pooh characters and superheroes carrying sacks full of candy.  No matter their costume, I am anticipating the joy on their little faces as they grab handfuls of candies and stuff them into their overburdened sacks.

Happy Halloween!

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.

Just a quick search on Amazon reveals over 800 hemp oil products. I am sure that many of these are duplicates; but it is an impressive list. Hemp oil (or CBD oil) is often heralded these days as a cure for what ails you.

We have a habit of rushing to the newest herb or vitamin. At one time, petroleum jelly was a miracle cure, and its advocates would consume a teaspoon a day.

For those who don’t know…CBD oil is a compound found in marijuana and hemp that has medicinal benefits but does not produce the “high” that people experience with marijuana. The compound that produces the psychotropic effect in marijuana is THC. Hemp has less than .3% THC.

But hemp oil and CBD oil has rapidly jumped into our medicine cabinets and is available to anyone without a prescription. I wanted to understand its meteoric rise; especially since marijuana is still classified as a schedule 1 drug; meaning that it is as dangerous as heroin, and it has no potential medical benefits.

Despite its classification, grassroots (no pun intended) efforts have put marijuana on the ballot and citizens are voting to decriminalize and even legalize marijuana. There are 36 states, DC and four territories that offer medical marijuana through prescription. Twenty seven states (and DC) have decriminalized marijuana and another 18 have legalized it.

The movement has far surpassed scientific research.

How did this happen so quickly? Why is CBD and hemp oil available to all of us?

One of the avenues to CBD popularity were parents of epileptic children. Desperate parents watched their children have upwards of 50 epileptic episodes daily; knowing that that the cumulative effect of these seizures would be brain damage. They had tried all the FDA approved medications to no avail. Approved medicines have no impact on 1/3 of the patients; and many drugs have serious side effects.

In their frantic search for treatment, some parents (including a neuroscientist) discovered research in England that demonstrated that CBD oil could be a promising treatment. But since marijuana is a schedule 1 drug in the US, research was prohibited. Some parents made their own tinctures and one, Charlotte’s web, is available commercially. In many cases, CBD proved to be an effective treatment with no side effects. In some patients, CBD reduced the number of seizures to single digits and stopped brain damage. It didn’t work for everyone; but it has been clinically demonstrated to be effective in also reducing side effects from FDA approved drugs. The parents’ relentless campaign was so effective that there is now an FDA approved CBD drug.

But that movement alone would not bring CBD oil to the US. CBD and hemp oil needed a political heavyweight. Buried in the 2014 farm bill was limited approval for farmers to produce previously banned hemp and in the 2018 farm bill, it was legalized. And can you guess who we have to thank for this?

Mitch McConnell. No, this is not a misprint. Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul have been powerful advocates for hemp oil.

Hemp oil is now widely available, and its advocates believe that it can reduce pain, improve sleep, reduce anxiety, cure skin conditions, and treat PTSD. Most of these claims have not been scientifically validated. But scientists believe that CBD and hemp oil is relatively benign since the body typically absorbs less than 10% of the active agent. But as long as there are herbs and the ability to buy remedies without a prescription…there will be products to sell.

A third of the population has used CBD oil. There are creams, oils, gummies, and pills. I accidentally discovered its benefits while I was helping with a hemp harvest. After a week, I noticed that some neurological skin disorders that defied Dermatologist’s medications had improved. I give hemp oil to my PTSD dog (I haven’t noticed a lot of results with that though); and I use it occasio`nally to sleep.

In the meantime, research is trying to catch up. Scientists have discovered how it works. Surprisingly, we have THC receptors throughout our bodies…and CBD reduces absorption of THC at the receptors. Unlike other medications, CBD and THC work backwards from the synapses. Early research suggests that THC and CBD can be effective treatments for some neurological disorders. There are double blind studies on its impact with anxiety and stress in autistic children.

For now, hemp and CBD oils are the “wild west.” Manufacturers are not required to validate the potency claims of their product. And hemp and marijuana contain over 100 different compounds; in an unregulated world, we can’t know if there are dangerous levels of other compounds. And perhaps its benefits stem from a placebo effect.

But if people are finding relief, isn’t a placebo effect as good as the real thing?

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.

Happiness is easy when something wonderful happens—the birth of a child, finding love, getting married, landing your dream job, a financial windfall. But those are infrequent events. As tragedies and disappointments accumulate, happiness becomes a choice.

I found over 400 books on Amazon about how to be happy. If happiness were so easy, I suspect there wouldn’t be so many books on how to achieve it.

Martin Seligman, a well-known psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, became the strongest voice for the new field of positive psychology. His prior research in learned helplessness, a condition where animals and people learn that they have no possibility of success and give up, might have inspired him.

Most happiness texts focus on having goals, working toward achieving them, and maintaining good social relationships. I have nothing to add to that equation.

But then I began thinking; what if attaining happiness was merely stopping the behaviors that cause unhappiness. On this, I may be an expert. So here are my keys to unhappiness.

1. Keep Score. In your relationships with people, keep score about the help that you provide vs. the assistance that you receive. We always overvalue our own contributions and undervalue others. Keep these tallies and you are assured of unhappiness.
2. Envy. Looking at what others have in relation to what you lack is sure to make you feel resentful, and, yes unhappy.
3. Harbor Resentments. Why forget a past hurt? After all, keeping our memory in our older years is difficult. Your parents, your friends, your former lovers; all of the slights over the years increase in value; so keep track of them.
4. Self-Loathing. Keep reminding yourself that you are not good enough and that you provide no value; it is a sure way to undermine your contribution in the world.
5. Self-Absorption and Selfishness. Make sure that people recognize that your needs are more important than theirs.
6. Grumpiness. Being grumpy offers a double bonus; you see the world as irritating and you also irritate others. An added bonus: this can keep loved ones from wanting to be a part of your life.
7. Devalue what you have. You deserve more. So what if you have children who love you, loyal siblings, and friends? They aren’t anything compared to what you really need.
8. Don’t Keep up Your Appearance. What do you care if people are offended by your dress or scent?
9. Avoid love. Avoid pets and anyone who gives you unconditional love.
10. Watch the news every day. This allows you to realize that the world is “on fire;” and there is nothing that you can do to fix it. Another double bonus; feelings of powerlessness and hopelessness.

I fear that I could go on; but, this looks like a pretty good list. I hope that you have other suggestions.

Hmmm, maybe I should write a book.

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.