I began to lose hope. It seemed that there was little chance that my great-grandmother was able to heal (康复). My blind, 94-year-old great-grandmother was sleeping soundly in the hospital bed. As l sat quietly with my family, I listened to the sounds of the machines that kept her alive. Her face was pale and empty. She was no longer the cheerful person I had always known.

It seemed that every day she got worse. She might not make it through Christmas. I tried to think of a present to give to her. Since she was blind, I would have to get her a gift that she didn’t have to see to appreciate, but that she could feel with her hands. I remembered that when she lived with us she always wanted to touch and play with my stuffed animals (填充动物玩具). Her favorites were my unique stuffed bears.

I knew right then what to get. She always wanted one for herself! I would have a teddy bear made especially for her. “Great-grandma’s Bear” is what I named the brown, stuffed animal — “Bear” for short. The bear was quite charming with his tiny black button nose and big chocolate eyes. I looked forward to visiting my great-grandmother on Christmas morning and seeing the look on her face when I gave Bear to her. The clay came more quickly than I thought. I carried Bear in my arms as I walked to Room 208 with my family.

There was my great-grandmother, sitting in her bed. Her eyes were wide open. I think she was sensing that we were coming. A smile grew on her face as we sat on her bed, close to her weak body hidden under the covers. “Merry Christmas!” my dad said. We talked with my great-grandmother for a while until it was time to give her the gifts we had brought. My mother gave her fresh-smelling baby powder because she could never have enough of it. My father brought her favorite candies. Now it was my turn.

I placed the bear in her gentle, skinny hands.

From that day on, amazingly, my great-grandmother started to heal.

As a teacher, my daily routine includes driving to a new school almost every day so I’m usually unable to predict the day’s events, good or bad!

needed coffee to even consider surviving the afternoon. So on my lunchtime, I drove to a nearby plaza to get a cup of On one particular day, I was teaching in a very difficult class. Some of the schoolboys didn’t finish their   homework   on   time   and   that   really   annoyed   me. I   was   managing   behaviour   all   morning   and   by lunchtime I knew I coffee. There I had a wonderful time and forgot the unpleasant experience in the morning. Upon returning to the car, I realized I had locked my keys and my phone inside!

I had about 10 minutes to get back to the school which was a good 4-or-5-minute drive away. I considered rushing back, but it was winter, and I thought a dirty fall on ice would make the situation much worse. So I ran into a Mcdonald’s which was in the same plaza and asked the man at the counter to call me a cab. The man happened to be the manager of the restaurant. I briefly explained my situation to him, and I could tell by the look, that he empathized. He hurried to the back to use the phone while I paced in the restaurant. I had less than 10 minutes to get back to my school at this point.

The manager returned, only to tell me that the cab company had put him on hold and then the line got disconnected, and that he was now on hold again, but had not yet been able to request the cab yet. My expression, I am sure, began to resemble some combination of hopelessness and fear.

Without a thought, the manager grabbed his coat and offered to drive me to the school.   

The manager’s calm behaviour and kind nature made me think

Working Out Worries by Writing

After his father was driven to the hospital for emergent treatment, 43-year-old Yanatha Desouvre began to panic. So, he did one thing that he knew would calm himself: He wrote. Over the next few weeks, Desouvre filled several notebooks, writing about his worry as well as his happy memories with his dad. “Writing allowed me to face my fear and process my pain,” he says. Psychologists refer to that kind of writing as “expressive writing”. People do it by recording their deepest thoughts and feelings. However, different from writing in a journal, expressive writing is to reflect honestly and thoughtfully on a particular frustration or challenge.

A well-known psychology professor says that hundreds of studies have looked at the potential benefits of expressive writing and found it can help reduce pain and improve mood, sleep and memory. It may even help reduce symptoms of various illnesses, and prevent colds and flu.

Expressive writing takes effect because translating a painful experience into language allows people to make meaning out of it, some experts say. The process forces them to organize their thoughts and offers a sense of control, thus completing the pursuit of value from such an experience. Another research suggested that during expressive writing, the act of labeling a feeling can lessen the activity relating to nerves in the threat area of the brain. With these nerves relaxed, people can lower the symptoms of their diseases, enhance their appreciation for life, and increase the acceptance of various experiences in their lives.

What can’t be ignored is that it shouldn’t be used as a replacement for other medical treatments. And people coping with a severe depression may not find it useful to do on their own, without therapy. Yet, it can be a powerful coping tool for many, in large part because it helps battle against their reluctance to face negative emotions.

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