2022-09-01 Reader's Digest

SEPTEMBER 2022 WORDBUILD YOUR
POWER
GIETsNshuIeUe!S
FUN FACTS,
GOT QUIZZES & MORE
BURNOUT?
We’ve Got The Great
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From RESCUE
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From NEW YORK MAGAZINE

A Marriage
Proposal Miracle

From THE WASHINGTON POST

Learn a New Language
AT ANY AGE

By EMILY GOODMAN

Reclaiming My
Southern Accent

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Features 74 94

54 The Genius issue inspiraTion

Cover sTory My Favorite Word My Southern Accent,

SO THAT’S WHY We asked readers and Lost and Found*
WE SAY THAT!* they shared theirs,
whether in the diction- I denied this part of
Fun facts about the ary or made up. myself, until I realized
language that’s been by reader’s digest readers what I was missing.
confounding speakers
for centuries: English. 78 by becca andrews
from jezebel.com
by brandon specktor healTh

66 The Placebo Cure

The Genius issue Why doctors are
prescribing sugar
What I’m Currently pills instead of the
Reading real thing.

Classics? Self-help by lia grainger
books? Not for
tmb studio/k. synold this Reader’s 86
Digest editor.
Drama in real life
by andy simmons
The Great 9/11
70
Maritime Rescue*
The Genius issue
We’ve read about so
The Enduring many heroes of that
Delight of the fateful day, yet some-
Dictionary how this mission—
the largest of its kind
Every unknown in history—remains
word is a solvable largely unknown.
mystery.
by garrett m.
by rachel del valle
from the new york times 78graff from

new york magazine

cover illustration by Richard Borge Rd.com | septembeR 2022 1

Reader’s Digest Contents

Departments EvEryday miraclEs tHE rd list

4 Dear Reader 22 A Gem of a 101 A League of Their
6 Letters Own, and More
Proposal*
World of good QuotablE QuotEs
by cAthy free from
9 The Iowa Wave the washington post 104 Angela Bassett,
Ree Drummond
EvEryday HEroEs WE found a fix
TrusTed Friend
10 The Movie Gets 24 Preserve Your
a New Ending Herbs, and More 112 Walking with
Mozart by
by Adrienne fArr HoW to Christoph Niemann

13 Bear Trap 26 Learn a Language The Healthy

by Andy simmons as an Adult* 41 Beyond Burnout*,

lifE WEll livEd by emily GoodmAn a Not-So-Crazy
Skin-Care Trend,
14 Life Advice from food for tHougHt Apps for Insomnia
a Five-Year-Old 46 News from the
32 Bubble Tea World of Medicine
by tArA pArKer-pope
from the new york times by sArAh jinee pArK Brain Games

bEst pEt pals 13 tHings 106 Happy Campers,
Seesaw, and More
18 Oscar the Rooster 34 A Celebration of
100th Birthdays 109 Word Power

by emily GoodmAn

WHErE, oH WHErE?

52 Mama Mimi

32 Humor

Life in These United States ���������������������������������������� 20
Humor in Uniform ������������������������������������������������������� 30
All in a Day’s Work ������������������������������������������������������� 38
Laughter, the Best Medicine ������������������������������������� 50

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2 september 2022 | rd.com * Story referenced on cover



Reader’s Digest

DEAR READER

More than
Words

O n a list of life goals that I My wife, Melissa, guiding us in Italy. from top: courtesy jason buhrmester. tmb studio/mark derse
have so far failed to com-
plete, learning a foreign Not pictured: Me eating gelato.
language is somewhere
near the top. I always and the different sounds and rhythms
wanted to be fluent in a second lan- of each language.
guage. But aside from memorizing
a few useful phrases in high school So I was right at home here in our
Spanish and taking a Japanese course Word Power issue. I loved explor-
in college, I have yet to master a for- ing weird word origins (page 54) and
eign language. learning about your favorite words
(page 74), such as cwm, which is now
My wife, Melissa Gorski, has all the my secret Scrabble move.
talent in this department. She can
learn a language in a weekend—at Maybe it’s not too late for me. As
least enough to get around a foreign our own Senior Editor Emily Good-
city. She’s handy with Spanish and man points out on page 26, new re-
French. She once taught herself Japa- search shows it isn’t as tough to learn
nese using an off-brand CD box set
before a trip to Tokyo. Then she a foreign language when we get
did it again with Italian. These older as researchers previously
days, we know our roles when thought. There’s hope for me yet.
traveling: She does all the talk-
ing, and I nod and eat gelato. If this page is in French next
month, you’ll know I finally
That hasn’t dampened did it. RD
my passion for languages
and words. I love their Jason Buhrmester,
history and meaning, chief content officer
the way they change
and evolve over time, Write to me at

[email protected].

4 september 2022 | rd.com

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LETTERS 13 Things

Notes on You did a good job
Past Issues explaining the many
benefits of Airbnb and
“I Never Thought of It That Way” Vrbo (July/August), but
there are some down-
My four siblings and I are a microcosm of the sides too. My daughter
country, representing liberals, conservatives, lives in a vacation town
atheists, and Christians—just like the family where every house is
described as having a blowout on Thanksgiv- instantly snapped up
by someone who turns
June). Our mother’s solution to our argu- it into a vacation rental,
ing is that we’re not allowed to talk about which causes a severe
politics or religion or play Trivial Pursuit. shortage of affordable
That rule has kept the peace for 25 years. long-term rentals. She
sometimes has to block
—suzanne hutchinson Ozawkie, Kansas off half of her restau-
rant—not because of a
For Sale: My Catalog Everyday Heroes lack of customers but tmb studio
of Dad Jokes because of a lack of
It’s so refreshing that staff, since nobody
I both laughed and dads in Shreveport, can find affordable
cried at Gary Rudoren’s Louisiana, banded housing nearby.
story about having no together to help curb —tom hockett
use for his dad joke fighting at the local Colfax, Washington
collection now that his high school just by
son has outgrown them showing up and being Flip the ’Script
(June). I saved mine, good influences (June).
too, when my kids got Students must feel safer I enjoyed your story
too old. It was a great and also as if they have about home remedies
decision because I now adults to mentor and (June), and I have an-
have three grandkids listen to them. I’d love other cure for an ail-
who are young enough to see something like ment you described.
to laugh hysterically at this in every high school A few years ago, my
my now “Opa jokes.” in my own state. entire class was silent
—Mark Kohlbrenner —juanita livingston for a lesson—except
Rome, New York Akron, Ohio me. I couldn’t stop
hiccuping! My teacher
gave me a spoonful of
peanut butter, and my

6 september 2022 | rd.com

Reader’s Digest

hiccups were gone. know I do it out of love! open and closed will
Now I understand why —carol beall get rid of hot air (June).
it worked (hard swal- Mount Airy, Maryland That vehicle has a fea-
lows activate the nerve ture that allows the
that regulates your We Found a Fix driver to turn the air
diaphragm). conditioning on re-
—Kate Ulrich I love that in your “Cool motely via a smart-
Montgomery, Alabama Off a Hot Car” fix you phone app.
chose a Tesla Model 3 —Phil stillman
Dear Reader image to demonstrate Newcastle, California
that flapping the door
I completely agree with
your editor’s letter THE “ORBISCULATE” CHALLENGE
about how much sup-
port Ukraine deserves We published “Warning: This Fruit May Orbisculate”
(June). Palestine is (December/January) about a family’s quest to register
experiencing a similar their dad’s made-up word in the dictionary. Later, we
crisis but doesn’t get printed a letter from Sue Mollineaux of Torrington,
nearly the coverage. Connecticut, who wrote that her senior community
Being born an Ameri- chose it for its word-in-a-word game. Within an hour,
can is a privilege, and the residents found 223 words with four or more
we should use it to letters within “orbisculate.” She challenged others
help others as much to try their luck, and lots of you did.
as possible.
—Safiya Blevins ✦✦ I accepted Sue’s ✦✦ I love word games
Knoxville, Tennessee challenge and found and sat down for an hour
278 words. Not bad for to make my list. I stopped
Advice to the Young an old broad! when I got to 400 but
probably could’ve
How I related to Marga- —Sue Starn kept going!
ret Atwood’s writing
about her urge to dole Pataskala, ohio —D.B.
out advice (June). I
often feel compelled ✦✦ We took more than Pittsburgh,
to offer helpful infor- one hour, but we are only PennsylVania
mation, too, but have two people. We counted
chloe zola also felt the tug on my 306 words, and we keep
sleeve to stop. The most finding more.
likely recipients of such
sagacity are my very —Ken and Hazel
patient grandkids. They Kirschenmann

huntington,West Virginia

You can help
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Matthew holst/Getty iMaGes Reader’s Digest

World of

GOOD

Reasons to Smile

The Iowa Wave

T une in to a University of Iowa football game at the end of the first
quarter and you’ll see players, coaches, and fans (Hawkeyes and
their opponents!) united in one goal: to cheer on the patients at
the Stead Family Children’s Hospital. All 69,250 people in attendance
turn and wave in the direction of the hospital, where kids, their families,
and staffers gather at the big windows overlooking Kinnick Stadium in
Iowa City. “It’s one of the reasons I go to the game,” says junior Olivia
Hasselmann. Her friend, senior Rubye Ney, agrees. “It kind of forces you
to stop and think about things more important than football.” RD

Rd.com | septembeR 2022 9

Reader’s Digest

EVERYDAY HEROES

The Movie Gets
a New Ending

A producer discovers that the bad guy in
his real-life crime drama is innocent

By Adrienne Farr

T imothy Mucciante was said a girl had once been murdered
an executive producer in that tunnel. By comparison, the
working on a film called officer told Sebold, she’d been “lucky.”
Lucky when something
in the script struck him In October of that year, Sebold said
as odd. The film was a man on a Syracuse street called out,
based on the 1999 mem- “Hey girl, don’t I know you from some-
oir of the same title by Alice Sebold, where?” Sebold mistakenly assumed
author of The Lovely Bones. It recounts that the man, Anthony Broadwater,
her sexual assault in 1981 while a then 20 and a Marine, was speaking to
freshman at Syracuse University. her. She became alarmed. Broadwater
looked vaguely like her attacker—both
It was late at night when Sebold was were Black, and around the same size
walking alone back to her dorm. As and age. Sebold called the cops, and
she entered a tunnel, a man brandish- Broadwater was arrested. Although he
ing a knife grabbed her, threw her to steadfastly proclaimed his innocence,
the ground, and raped her. The book’s he was convicted of eight felony
title came from a police officer who counts, including first-degree rape.

10 september 2022 | rd.com Photograph by Marvin Shaouni

World of Good

Timothy
Mucciante was

skeptical that
the convicted

man had a
fair trial.

Reader’s Digest

He would spend 16 years in prison. fingerprint on the pocketknife used in
Released in 1998, he had to register the rape could not be linked to Broad-
as a sex offender. water; distinguishing features like
a scar on Broadwater’s face and his
The crime was brutal. But was chipped tooth were never mentioned
Broadwater guilty? After comparing and did not appear in the police
the script to news accounts of the sketch; and Broadwater passed two
trial, Mucciante wasn’t sure. During a polygraph tests. And then there was
police lineup, Sebold initially picked the police crime lab analyst who tes-
out a different man before eventually tified that hair found at the scene had
changing her mind. Not only that, Se- characteristics that were consistent
bold later said she and the men stood with Broadwater’s—but the hair com-
only feet apart. “I knew that is not parison method he used was deemed
how lineups work,” says Mucciante, unreliable in later cases, leading to
who was no stranger to them. He was several defendants being set free.

“SOMETHING WAS Convinced they had enough to ac-
quit Broadwater, the team brought
VERY WRONG their findings before a judge. On No-
vember 22, 2021, Anthony Broadwater,
WITH THE then 61, sat in the courtroom, his salt-
and-pepper hair in cornrows, awaiting
VICTIM’S STORY.” the judge’s ruling. When he heard it,
he let out a gasp and wept. He’d been
in a lineup in the 1980s when he was exonerated. His name would no longer
arrested and ultimately served time be tainted by the words “sex offender.”
for investment fraud. Victims and
suspects are never that close. Was Sebold regrets her mistake, saying
she lying? Confused? Who knows, but she struggles with the role she played
convinced “something was very wrong in sending “an innocent man to jail.”
with this story,” Mucciante pulled the
$5 million he put up to finance Lucky. Mucciante was almost as happy as
Broadwater. “Watching Anthony get
It was not a decision he made his life back is the biggest benefit,” he
lightly. Mucciante, who had been a says. As for his film career, Mucciante
lawyer and journalist, had just formed is producing a documentary about
his own film company a year earlier. the case, called Unlucky. In it, Broad-
Lucky was to be his big break. Using water, overcome by all that Mucciante
his own money, Mucciante hired a and the others did for him, struggles
private investigator and contacted to find the right words. “This is amaz-
two lawyers who found numerous ing,” he says. “It’s just like, you can’t
discrepancies in the case: A partial fathom it, man.” RD

12 september 2022

World of Good

Bear Trap

By Andy Simmons

courtesy kaleb benham I t was the day before Thanksgiving Kaleb Benham and a fully healed Buddy
and Kaleb Benham was puttering
around outside his home in North- was bloodied and ripped up. His ears
ern California. His 90-pound pit bull, were dangling. He had a bite mark
Buddy, was romping around nearby, clear through his lip and one that
doing what dogs do: getting into trou- barely missed an eye.
ble. Only this time, Buddy was getting
into a whole lot of trouble. “My first thought was that I was
going to lose him,” Benham said.
The unmistakable sound that no He scooped up Buddy, put him into
one wants to hear alone in the woods his car, and sped off to a nearby
caught Benham’s attention. It was the veterinarian.
deep, guttural, otherworldly roar of a
black bear. Benham wheeled around Buddy’s surgery took nearly four
to see the beast, which Benham fig- hours. Benham watched the proce-
ures weighed around 350 pounds, dure through a window. “I just stood
some 100 feet away. In an instant, the there,” he said, watching as Buddy’s
bear latched on to Buddy’s head and ears were stapled back on and skin
started dragging him away. flaps were stitched, and tubes were
inserted into his head to drain fluid.
Benham, a lean, fit 24-year-old,
took off after them. “Honestly,” he told This was the second time Benham
CBS13 in Sacramento, “the only thing had rescued Buddy, says CBS13. The
I could think of was ‘save my baby.’” first was from a shelter a few years
Sprinting, he lowered his shoulder ago. “If it was your kid, what would
and plowed into the bear. But it only you do?” he asked. Nodding toward
tightened its grip on Buddy. Benham Buddy, he added, “That’s my kid.” RD
grabbed the bear by the throat. Noth-
ing. He tried prying open its mouth,
but the jaw was locked tight. Benham
resorted to street fighting—pummeling
the bear over and over around its snout
and eye. It worked. The bear dropped
the dog and ran off into the woods.

Buddy was in bad shape. His face

Rd.com 13



World of Good Reader’s Digest

LIFE WELL LIVED

Life Advice from
a Five-Year-Old

Stressed? Overwhelmed? Maybe doughnuts,
dinosaurs, and Dolly Parton can help.

By Tara Parker-Pope

from The New York Times

W hen Gwenyth Todebush Here is Clark’s advice, followed by
told her five-year-old son, brief explanations from his mother:
Clark, that she was feeling
anxious about a meeting, he knew he “You gotta say your affirmations in
could help. your mouth and your heart.”
“Another mom on Twitter talked
“Mama, I am nervous all the time,” about saying affirmations with their
he said. “I know what to do.” kid before school. We tried it. Some-
times I tell him, ‘Say it like you mean
What followed was a stream of up- it.’ I guess he translated that.”
lifting advice through a five-year-old’s
filter. Gwenyth posted their exchange “You say, ‘I am brave of this meeting!
on Twitter, and it went viral. I am loved! I smell good!’”
“He knows you can be ‘scared of ’
“Everybody is kind of coping with something, so he talks about being
one kind of stress or another in a ‘brave of ’ things. I love the gram-
pandemic,” says Gwenyth, who lives matical construction. I’ve never
in northern Michigan. “I think it rang corrected it because I like it better.
true with people. I said on Twitter that
he’s the only life coach I know that
gets paid in goldfish crackers.”

illustrations by Ruth Burrows Rd.com | septembeR 2022 15

Reader’s Digest World of Good

I don’t know where the ‘I smell good’ Song.’ It goes, ‘Watch the doughnut,
came up, but I like it. I’m going to use not the hole.’ After we listened to that
it a lot.” song a lot, that became our thing.
Every night at bed he tells me about
“You gotta walk big. You gotta mean the doughnuts of his day.”
it. Like Dolly on a dinosaur. Because
you got it.” “Even if you cry a little, you can think
“He really loves Dolly Parton’s ‘Coat of about potato chips!”
Many Colors.’ When kids are making “When he’s upset, sometimes I tell
fun of her in school, she still went in him to think about things he’s look-
and was brave and talks to those kids. ing forward to. Potato chips are high
I don’t know where the dinosaur thing on his list.”
came from.”
“Even if it’s a yucky day, you can get
“Never put a skunk on a bus.” a hug.”
“I don’t know what it has to do with “There have been so many times
being nervous.” when there’s nothing I can do. I tell
him, ‘Even if it’s a bad day, when you
“Think about the dough- get home, I’ll hug you.’”
nuts of your day!”
“We used to go to this little Clark didn’t have other kids around
record shop. There was during the pandemic, Gwenyth says,
a room in the back and a so she’s been working with him to
whole section of records for make the transition to school easier.
a dollar. I would take him Affirmations helped, though she
down there with a dollar bill, didn’t realize how much until Clark
and he came back with a Burl offered his own versions of them. RD
Ives record from the ’50s. There’s
a song on there called ‘The Donut The New York Times (FebruarY 3, 2022), CopYrighT
© 2022 The New York Times CompaNY.

Kids Today Will Never Know ...

… the annoyance of calling your friend and having to ask to speak to them.

@robiN_991

… the joy of being selected to go outside to dust the erasers.

@DarlaiNkY

… the rush of the Internet finally connecting on that third dialing attempt.

@CroCkeTTForreal

16 september 2022 | rd.com

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Reader’s Digest World of Good

BEST PET PALS

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crow about
your pet?

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radn.dcosmee/tpeermtpsaalst.

Oscar the Rooster Then disaster struck: Richard was louise gilhome
hospitalized, and while he was away,
NeptuNe, New Jersey the township took Oscar. When Rich-
ard returned, he was crushed to find
W e were all confused when a his friend gone. He went to the animal
rooster showed up in our sub- shelter to spring him, but there was a
urban senior community, con- hefty fee for Oscar’s release.
sidering there are no farms nearby.
The colorful bird strutted from porch Two days later, I heard a familiar
to porch for corn and other goodies cock-a-doodle-doo. Oscar had re-
from generous neighbors, and then appeared! We’re not sure how our
roosted in trees at night. jailbird was sprung, but we suspect
a neighbor bailed him out.
One neighbor, Richard, became es-
pecially close with the rooster, named Every time I hear Oscar crow, I’m
Oscar by the neighbors. Richard has grateful that Richard’s life is a bit more
lingering PTSD from military service, livable thanks to Oscar’s company. RD
and spending time outside with Oscar —Nominated by
noticeably improved his outlook. Louise Gilhome

18 september 2022 | rd.com



Reader’s Digest

LIFE

in these
United States

Whenever my three- shouting, “Soldier! I cashier, “How much
year-old grandson can’t get my pants up!” was that milk?”
comes to visit, we inev- —Kathy Dever —Bryan Iselt
itably play Army. I’m Park City, Illinois Lexington, Texas
the lowly private and
he’s the general bark- The guy in front of me Forget about endless
ing out orders. “Sol- in the grocery store school concerts.
dier, do this! Soldier, checkout line was The worst part of
do that!” One day, buying just three the school year is the
while we were playing, things: a case of beer, morning drop-off:
he needed to use the a carton of cigarettes, ✦✦Commute to school:
bathroom. A few min- and a gallon of milk.
utes later, the door The total came to $75. 3 minutes
opened and there He stood there for a Wait in the drop-off
he stood, his pants moment in disbelief
around his ankles, before asking the line: 3-4 business days.
— @momsense_ensues
✦✦My husband is

20 september 2022 Cartoon by Frank Melanson

World of Good

helping me relax by I’ve never meditated. The closest I’ve
taking the kids to come to thinking about nothing for
school this morning. 30 minutes is the time my husband talked
We went over the drop- about his fantasy football league.
off procedure 37 times
and he just left without — @mommajessiec
one of the kids.
— @maryfairybobrry or two. Recently, I was cuz she’s seen my
✦✦Me at school drop-off: grinding up a steep many struggles with
hill when I passed a Capri Sun straws.
Have a good day. 77-year-old neighbor — @daddygofish
Six-year-old: You can’t in his driveway. “Nice
make me! day for a walk,” he said. Your funny story
— @XplodingUnicorn —Bill Deane about family and
Cooperstown, New York friends could be
I’ve been running for worth $$$. For details,
more than half of my I’m supposed to give go to page 2 or
life, and I admit, it’s my wife an injection rd.com/submit.
possible that I’ve today but she’s worried
slowed down a step

AH, THE JOYS OF PARENTHOOD

shingopix/getty images My six-year-old, to her of our hand soap into Me: Yes, you were in my
crying brother: It’s OK the bathroom sink, all belly.
to be sad. Sometimes while chanting “wasting My three-year-old, with
we need to let our soap, wasting soap” tears in her eyes: Why …
feelings out. Just let to himself. why did you eat me?
yourself be sad. — @NULLSTATEOFMIND — @GOINGBYRENEE
Me: Oh darling, that’s so  
lovely. Well done. Why Six: So, you’ll never get You may be tough,
is he crying anyway? taller? but you’re not “just sat
My six-year-old: I hit Me: Nope, I can’t grow through a 4th grade re-
him. taller. corder concert” tough.
— @ELSPELLS13 Six: Only fatter, right? — @mcdadstuff
— @HomeWithPeanut
I walked in on my three-
year-old pumping all

Rd.com 21

Reader’s Digest

EVERYDAY MIRACLES

A Gem of a Proposal

By Cathy Free

from The WashingTon PosT

C hristian Liden was in eighth “I’ve always been a rock hound,
grade when he hatched a gran- so, to me, this is the perfect way to
diose plan to create a personal- get an engagement ring,” said Liden,
ized engagement ring for his future who lives in Poulsbo, Washington,
fiancée. Never mind that he didn’t near Seattle. “Actually, it’s the only
have a girlfriend. If a natural diamond way. I couldn’t imagine not making
could take billions of years to form, he it myself.”
figured he could be patient.
Last year, Liden decided that it was
Liden decided that he would not finally time to put his plan into action.
pick out a ring in a jeweler’s case like He and his girlfriend, Desirae Klok-
most other people. Instead, he would kevold, had been together for more
go into the wild to find his own mate- than five years.
rials: the diamond, the gold, the ac-
companying gemstones. Everything. “I knew that I wanted to marry her,
and I also wanted to surprise her,” says

22 september 2022 illustrations by Ben Kirchner

World of Good

Liden, who works for his family’s ex- a shiny pebble a bit larger than a pea.
cavating business. “I was so excited that I started shak-
ing, and I called Josh over to take a
So, in May 2021, Liden told Klokkev- look,” he says.
old that he and Josh Tucker, his best
friend since sixth grade, were heading Tucker let out a whoop when he saw
out on a camping trip to Yellowstone. the stone. “It was oily and shiny, and
we both just knew it was a diamond,”
He and Tucker made their way in- he says. “We freaked out a little bit—
stead to Crater of Diamonds State Park we couldn’t believe it.”
in Murfreesboro, Arkansas, which is
set on an eroded volcanic crater. The WHEN HE RETURNED,
park is one of the few places in the
world where the public is welcome to HE CONFESSED TO
search for real diamonds—and keep
what they find. HIS GIRLFRIEND.

About 33,000 diamonds have been The two quickly took the find to the
found at Crater of Diamonds since it park office, where it was confirmed
opened in 1972. Most are fairly small. that Liden had found a 2.2-carat
Only 1 in 10,000 park visitors is lucky triangular yellow diamond.
enough to find a diamond that weighs
a carat or more. Similarly sized diamonds go for
$2,500 to $20,000 per carat, depending
Liden knew that the odds of finding on color, cut, and clarity. But the value
anything spectacular were minuscule. wasn’t what was important to Liden.
Still, he was up for the challenge.
“To me, it was priceless,” he says.
He had started panning for gold “I’d found Desirae’s diamond.”
around his home state years earlier
and now had enough to make the When he returned to Poulsbo,
ring band. On the way to Crater of Liden confessed to his girlfriend that
Diamonds, Liden and Tucker had he hadn’t been in Yellowstone.
stopped in Helena, Montana, to mine
for sapphires. There they found a “Then I pulled out the diamond
couple of small beauties to add to the and got on my knee,” he says. “I told
diamond they hoped to score. Desirae that I’d like to design a ring for
her if she’d marry me.”
In Arkansas, the pair paid $10 each
to get into the park and got to work. She was stunned. “I knew that he
They spent almost three days sifting was going to propose someday,” Klok-
through the volcanic dirt. kevold says, “but I certainly didn’t ex-
pect this.” She said yes. RD
On the third morning, Liden sud-
denly spotted something reflecting The WashingTon PosT (June 22, 2021), CoPyrighT
light in the gravel on his sifting screen: © 2021 by The WashingTon PosT.

Rd.com 23

We Found a

FIX

Help, Hacks,
& How to

1 cooking
Preserve Your Herbs
Once you have a nice dinner
on the table, it’s difficult to
predict when you’ll be up to
such gourmet cooking again.
But don’t let those handfuls
of chopped rosemary,
oregano, thyme, and
dill go to waste. Freeze
leftover herbs in olive oil
in an ice cube tray, then
while warming a pan for
your next pièce de résis-
tance, toss in a cube or two
to melt. The herb-olive oil
mixture will leave the pan
both lubricated and seasoned.

source: rd.com

24 september 2022 | rd.com

Reader’s Digest

2 money 3 travel
Turn Gift Cards Plan “Green” Plane Trips
into Savings Want to be kind to the earth while seeing every

No matter how badly you corner of it? Search on Google Flights and use the “Any
want something, it’s hard emissions” filter to see how many kilograms of carbon
not to dip into the money dioxide are emitted by each available flight based on
you keep setting aside. flight plan, aircraft, and number of seats in each class.
To make sure those funds You can even filter by “Low emissions only” to see the
stay untouched, buy and greenest flights available.
save gift cards until you
have the amount you source: apnews.com
need. Want a new laptop?
Throw down on Apple gift 4 home
cards. Need a new dish- Magnetize a Screwdriver
washer? Put your extra The next time you go to war with an IKEA table,
cash into Home Depot gift
cards. This way, you can’t place a small magnet on the metal part of your screw-
dip into your shiny-new- driver. Screws will automatically attach to the tip of
object fund. You may be the screwdriver so you won’t have to hold each screw
motivated to save even in place with one hand while you twist the screwdriver
faster if the cards have handle with the other. It’ll make a complicated project
expiration dates. much easier.

source: lifehacker.com source: familyhandyman.com

tmb studio 5 tech
Scramble Your Passwords,
Not Your Brain

The best passwords are so good, so unguessable,
that everyone (sometimes even you, apparently)
gets locked out. Instead of using something obvious
(no pet names!) or going through the hassle of
password recovery, try this trick that cyber security
experts recommend: Choose a short phrase, lyric, or
quote that you’ll remember. Then, swap in numbers
and symbols that resemble the letters. For example,
rewrite “No place like home” as “n0-Pl@ce_
L1k3-ho^3.” It’ll still be memorable but a lot more
secure. For even further security, refrain from

making that lyric or quote your Facebook status. RD

source: rd.com

Photographs by K. Synold

Reader’s Digest

tmb studio

26 september 2022 Photographs by K. Synold

HOW TO

Learn a Language
as an Adult

Contrary to conventional thinking, it isn’t too late

By Emily Goodman

F or more than two years, Of her college German, Shoener says,
Dulcie Shoener of Milwau- “I remembered very little.”
kee, Wisconsin, has done daily
German lessons on her smartphone. Yet the rewards for those who do
To some, that might sound like self- learn a second (or third, or fourth…)
imposed homework, but Shoener, a language are profound: increased
language lover and the copy chief for travel opportunities, of course, but
Reader’s Digest and other publica- also improved memory, focus, and
tions, doesn’t see it that way. ability to multitask. Bilingual brains
are better shielded against cognitive
“I enjoy it so much,” she says. “It’s a disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.
delight to be able to read a short story And, according to a poll conducted
in German.” by the language app Babbel, know-
ing multiple languages can make you
To be able to read, write, or carry on seem more attractive.
a conversation in another language is
a feat few Americans attempt, let alone So, why aren’t more of us multi-
achieve. Just 7 percent of our university lingual—or trying to be? There are
students study a language other than dozens of decent answers to that
English, and less than 1  percent of question, but one common retort
American adults are proficient in a for- doesn’t have much merit at all: the
eign language they studied in school. idea that adults, especially older ones,

Rd.com 27

Reader’s Digest

just can’t learn languages as easily as understand the story, joke, or game
children can. that’s going on. By contrast, adults
tend to learn in rigid academic set-
Linguists have long debated how tings where they have little say in
old is too old to acquire a language, what they study and where the stakes
but newer research is refuting the are also higher. What Shoener can
idea wholesale. “There is no magical recall from her German classes is the
point at which it becomes impossible pressure to maintain her grade point
to learn a new language,” says Alison average. “I was horrified of making
Gabriele, PhD, of the University of mistakes,” she says. “Now I’m not
Kansas, who led a study published last afraid, and I know I’m doing better
than I did in college.”

If you dream of being bilingual,
your age does not disqualify you.
Make the process more fun—and,
by extension, more successful—with
these tips:

year showing that adult learners—even Find your motivation.
as beginners—could process sentence
structures in new languages much like Wish you had paid more attention in
native speakers. Separate research at high school Spanish? Consider why
Cambridge University recently found you didn’t. Perhaps all you wanted
that language instruction affects adults out of the class was a good grade, or to
and children the same way. fulfill a graduation requirement. Lin-
guists call these incentives “extrinsic
While it’s true that children tend to motivators,” but the most successful
pick up new languages quickly and language students are “intrinsically”
easily, this has more to do with how motivated, sincerely invested in their
they learn than how old they are when own learning. So pick a language you
they do. Kids absorb and infer lots of are excited to use, whether on a grand
information about language simply by vacation in Spain or on your couch
listening: to family, friends, teachers, watching Spanish soap operas.
and the media around them. It hap-
pens without much thought or effort Pick your tools.
on their part and, when they do put
in effort, it’s because they want to It might take some trial and error,
but you’ll figure out which resources
work best for you. Mobile apps such
as Duolingo and Babbel gamify your
learning, so if you could easily spend

28 september 2022

We Found a Fix

hours playing on your phone, you’ll Don’t sweat your mistakes.
likely find these similarly addictive.
Others such as Rosetta Stone and Kids get it wrong all the time. They’ll
Pimsleur are less gimmicky but more say, for instance, that they “goed” to
rigorously researched. Consider a school and played with other “childs.”
conversation-based class on Italki or But inherent in these errors is an un-
Idlewild. And don’t neglect books. derstanding of the general rules: We
McGraw Hill and Barron’s offer excel- use “-ed” as a suffix to put an action
lent textbooks, grammar guides, and in the past, we add “-s” to make things
workbooks with answer keys to let you plural, and so on. Although kids often
see how you’re doing. But you may misapply these rules, they pick up on
enjoy children’s stories more, with the patterns and use them in novel
their simple vocabulary and easy-to- situations. This is what successful lan-
understand narratives. guage learners do. Sometimes you’ll
miss the mark as you unknowingly
Dive in. stumble on an irregular verb or an
exception to the rule. But more often
Immerse yourself in your chosen you’ll be right. And even when you do
language as much as you can. Watch falter, those who are fluent should still
movies or listen to songs, even if they be able to understand what you mean.
are just on in the background. Peri-
odically look around you and see how Try less.
many things you can name in the lan-
guage you’re studying. Or, better yet, It seems counterintuitive, but you’re
label items around your home with more receptive to pick up on language
those words. You’ll have no choice patterns when you aren’t hyper-
but to see them and, in very little time, focused on learning them. So rather
learn them. than stare intently at a vocabulary list,
glance over the words while you lis-
Get social. ten to instrumental music. Or enjoy
a glass of wine ahead of conversation
Practicing with other people helps practice. As research at the University
solidify what you’ve already learned of Liverpool has shown, our ability to
and makes you more aware of which speak a second language improves
ideas you’re able to express. These after a bit of alcohol. Or turn on sub-
need not be native speakers you chat titles in the language you’re learning
with, though various websites and even as you watch TV in English. But
apps such as languageexchange.com, don’t devote your full attention to
HelloTalk, and TalkAbroad can con- them—just enjoy the show and absorb
nect you with some, either free or for what you can. The less you stress, the
a small fee. more you’ll be able to learn. RD

Rd.com 29

Reader’s Digest We Found a Fix

Humor in

UNIFORM

I asked a new trainee “No, my memo isn’t encrypted.
when he needed The spell-check broke.”
to hand in his
paperwork. “Sure thing.” He if we’re surrounded?” Chris Wildt/CartoonstoCk.Com
Trainee: The training reached over with his “Son,” the instructor
manager said any spatula and cut my
time after a thousand. potato in half. “There, said, “never think
Me: A thousand? now you have two.” of yourself as being
A thousand what? —Kenneth Fragmin ‘surrounded.’ Look at
A thousand clicks? A Mount Clare, it as being in a target-
thousand minutes? West Virginia rich environment.”
Trainee: That’s all her —Edward Rouse
message said. See? Military personnel Mechanicsburg,
(shows me the mes- Pennsylvania
sage, which does in- are an optimistic
deed say “After 1000.”) bunch. During an your funny military
Me: OK, that’s ROTC class on defen- story could be worth
ten-hundred, as in, sive positioning, $$$. For details,
10 a.m. someone asked go to P. 2 or
our instructor, rd.com/submit.
—notalWaysright.Com “What do we do

I was in the chow line
staring at a measly,
lonely potato on my
plate. “Is that all I
get?” I asked the cook.

Taking pity, he
asked, “Would you
like two?”

“Yes, please.”

30 september 2022 | rd.com



Reader’s Digest

FOOD On most bubble tea menus, you’ll tmb studio
find an array of options for the tea
for Thought itself, including green, matcha, jas-
mine, chai, and even fruity herbal
Bubble Tea varieties. Some favorites in Asia are
Blows Up lychee, white peach, and taro, which
has a nutty vanilla flavor. You can
By Sarah Jinee Park then top your tea with flavored jellies,
fruit, ice cream, custard, and mochi (a
W hen bubble tea was first sweet Japanese rice cake) to make it
introduced to the United even more indulgent.
States about 30  years
ago, you could get it only Several Taiwanese teahouses claim
in mom-and-pop shops in big-city to be the birthplace of bubble tea,
Chinatown and Koreatown. Now it’s though Chun Shui Tang in Taichung
popping up in cafés around the coun- has perhaps the most perpetuated
try; Baskin-Robbins even offered a origin story: Its owner started serving
version this spring and summer. chilled tea in the early 1980s after see-
ing coffee served cold in Japan. A few
Classic bubble tea is black tea years later, a staffer poured
brewed with milk and sugar, then tapioca balls straight into her
poured over ice and tapioca pearls cup, and the fantastic fusion
(also known as balls or boba; bubble was born. Whether or not this
tea is often called boba), and served was truly the case, bubble tea has
with an oversized straw so you can a relatively short history despite
slurp up a pearl or two with each sip. the fact that drinking milky tea and
Made from tapioca starch extracted eating starchy desserts are both long-
from cassava root, these marble-sized standing Southeast Asian traditions.
pearls traditionally are boiled and
caramelized in brown sugar syrup, Some shops use a machine to seal
giving them their dark color and sweet the cup with cellophane so it’s easy to
flavor. (Just take care not to swallow tote around without spilling. But the
the pearls whole; they’re meant to be process doesn’t have to be so high-
chewed and savored.) tech: You can even make bubble tea at
home. In fact, you likely already have
all of the ingredients—minus the tapi-
oca pearls, which you can make your-
self, though it’s far easier to buy them
online or from an Asian grocery store.
While you’re there, also pick up some
fat straws. Slurp and enjoy! RD

32 september 2022 Photograph by K. Synold

We Found a Fix

HOW TO MAKE IT
Start with 1 cup tapioca
pearls (enough for two
to four servings of
bubble tea). Boil 3 cups
of water, cook pearls
until they float, then
keep them on the heat
for about a minute more.
Rinse pearls in cool
water, drain, and put
them in a jar with some
simple syrup. Next, brew
the tea, letting it steep
a little longer than if you
planned to drink it plain.
Sweeten to taste, and
chill. Place pearls in a
tall glass, fill two-thirds
of the way with tea,
then top with your
favorite milk. Stir with
a straw and sip.

Rd.com 33

Reader’s Digest

13 THINGS

A Celebration of
100th Birthdays

By Emily Goodman RuthBlack/getty images (cake), aRtiss/getty images (candles)

34 september 2022 1This little maga-
zine just celebrated
a big birthday: Our
February issue marked
a century of circulation.
We want to fete our
fellow centenarians,
such as the Newbery
Medal, which honors
outstanding children’s
literature. The first
winner: The Story of
Mankind by Hendrik
Willem Van Loon.

2 If you happen
to drive a Jaguar
with Belle Tires
and insure your car
with State Farm, then
your road trips are
sponsored by 100-year-
old companies. The
United Services Auto-
mobile Association,
or USAA, which serves

illustration by Serge Bloch

We Found a Fix

those in the military 5 The blender was (where Gummibär
community, was also born 100 years translates to “rubber
founded in 1922. The ago. Its inventor: bear”) by Hans Riegel
original members Stephen Poplawski, for his candy company,
were 25 Army officers a Polish immigrant Haribo. To celebrate,
who all insured one to Racine, Wisconsin the confectionery giant
another’s vehicles. (also the home of is offering special edi-
Horlicks Malted Milk). tion bags all year with
3 A century ago, Poplawski’s blender blue raspberry-flavored
the New York helped make the mod- party hats as well as
City radio station ern milkshake possible. single-flavor bags—a
WEAF aired the first- And, in fact, the first longtime fan request.
ever radio commercial, shake made with ice
a whopping 15-minute- cream came together 8 the first example
long real estate ad for at a Chicago Walgreens of skywriting in
available properties in in the summer of 1922. the United States
Queens. Later that year, happened in May 1922,
the BBC was formed, 6 America’s first when Royal Air Force
and the popularity of chocolate-covered Capt. Cyril Turner
this new medium of ice cream bar, the wrote “Hello USA”
radio helped usher Eskimo Pie (renamed over New York City.
the word “broadcast” Edy’s Pie in 2021), The following day he
into the dictionary. was patented in 1922. took to the skies again
Creator Christian Kent to write “Call Vander-
4 Other words Nelson partnered with bilt 7200,” referencing
that got official chocolatier Russell the hotel where he was
entries in 1922 Stover on the treat, staying. Over the next
include “by-pass” (as then the pair sold the few hours, the hotel
in the road), “sidecar” manufacturing rights to received 47,000 calls.
(as in the cocktail), a few ice cream compa-
“tracksuit,” and “poly- nies in Iowa. They were 9 Waterskiing was
ester.” “Eye shadow” an instant hit, as the invented 100 years
was also added that first 250,000 bars sold ago by a daring
year, even though it’s out within 24 hours. Minnesota teenager
been worn since the named Ralph Samuel-
time of ancient Egypt. 7 Gummy bears are son, who held on to a
(Egypt also formally also a century-old clothesline while his
gained its indepen- sweet. They were brother Ben towed him
dence in 1922.) invented in Germany behind a boat in Lake

Rd.com 35

Reader’s Digest We Found a Fix

Pepin. Samuelson then States, sparked by a head. (This is merely a
spent years developing British ban on the fanciful interpretation
his own waterskiing sport. The English of his hair.) Others
equipment but never Football Association claim there is a typo in
patented any of it, so declared soccer “utterly his Second Inaugural
he likely never saw unladylike” in 1921, Address on the north
any money for it. so in 1922, one of the wall of the memorial.
United Kingdom’s best While an engraver did
10 Rose Bowl women’s teams came initially carve a wrong
Stadium in to play in America— letter, the mistake
Pasadena, against men. Although was corrected almost
California, opened the athletes finished immediately.
in late 1922 and has their nine-game series
hosted the New Year’s in the States with three 13 A few beloved
Day tradition every wins, three losses, and characters turn
year since with only three draws, they left 100 this year:
two exceptions: first with something of a Smitty, the office boy
in 1942, due to fears trophy: a soccer ball from the eponymous
of another Japanese signed by President comic strip that ran for
attack following Pearl Warren G. Harding. 50 years in hundreds
Harbor, and again in of newspapers; Walt
2021, due to COVID-19 12 The Lincoln Disney’s Julius the Cat;
restrictions. Centre Memorial and the kids’ classic the
Court at Wimbledon celebrated Velveteen Rabbit. The
opened for matches its centennial in May. little plush bunny who
in June 1922. After all this time, came to life reminds us
several false notions that in order to be real,
11professional about the monument you must first be loved.
women’s soccer persist. Some say, for And for 100 years, our
also has 100 years instance, there’s a face readers have made us
of history in the United on the back of Lincoln’s at RD feel very real.

Are You as Good as Your Word?

In a survey of nearly 2,000 Americans, 58 percent of respondents
admitted that they’ve used a word to try to sound smarter—
despite not knowing what it meant.

.

36 SEPTEmBER 2022 | Rd.com

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Reader’s Digest

All
in a Day’s

WORK

School administrators “Do you have any true-crime podcasts?”

frown upon bus drivers’ was simple and to Vacation’s over, back Asher PerlmAn/cArtoonstock.com
letting our students the point. Handwritten to work!
off before 8:15 a.m. boldly across the in-
But one day, at a little voice in red ink, it ✦✦After taking a week
after 8, it began to rain, read: “Please cancel of vacation, I like to
and a concerned driver this policy. My hus- slowly ease back into
announced over her band is dead, and it my workload. This
radio, “I’m letting my was no accident.” process typically
kids off now so they go —Kathleen takes 51 weeks.
into school dry.” Johnson Simmons — @RodLacroix
Omaha, Nebraska ✦✦I wrote up a to-do
A fellow driver list of things for when
agreed. “Good idea.
They smell even worse
when they’re wet.”
—John Pickerl
Wheaton, Illinois

I opened an envelope
from one of our cus-
tomers regarding an
accidental life insur-
ance policy on her
spouse. The request

We have plumbers working in our house. I just heard one of
them say “Lefty loosey, righty tighty.” I know we’re in good hands.

— @rollinintheseat

38 september 2022

We Found a Fix

I’m back from vaca- BACK TO WORK
tion. It was so long BINGO
I gasped and wrote
“Write to-do list” at Ask for Think Find a Realize “I didn’t
the top so I could the WiFi (NOT say) desiccated that real recognize
cross one thing off. password “I thought spider in life has you with a
— @karencheee no mute mask on.”
✦✦Listen to me. If you’d desk button
you haven’t returned be tall”
from vacation yet, do
not return. Stay there. Google “How do Buy “Is this Pretend
wherever you are. Keep your office I call IT “fancy” food/ to text
that OOO up. It’s too building’s again?” leggings drink/ to avoid
late for me, but save or sweat­ medicine hallway
yourselves! address pants still good?” small talk
— @theferocity
RIP, Office Eat stale Introvert
Text message exchange potted crush no cele­ realizes
between reporter Doug plant longer they like
Wolfe of WAND TV attractive bratory people
in Decatur, Illinois, doughnuts after all
and a local viewer:
Viewer: Can you please “It feels Reunite Zoom Wow, that “Did you
tell me if the interstate as if we with favor­ meeting in coworker get
is safe to drive? never left.” ite printer, your cube
Wolfe: IDOT is asking which then chews COVID?
everyone to stay off the loudly I got
interstate unless abso- jams
lutely necessary. COVID.”
Viewer: Why call me an
idiot? I was asking be- Wonder Enter 2020 hand Temporary Extrovert
cause a friend is taking if bottled wrong sanitizer nostalgia realizes
that road to work. restroom has evapo­ for they like
Wolfe: IDOT stands for water being
Illinois Department of expires rated commute alone
Transportation.
Peter Dazeley/Getty ImaGes — @wandtvdoug While volunteering in aDaPteD from nPr
a hospital during col-
lege, I was tasked with He replied, “That
feeding an elderly pa- depends on your aim.”
tient who didn’t have —Sandy Speer
the strength to do it Fairless Hills,
himself. When his tray Pennsylvania
arrived, I picked up
the utensils and asked, Your funny work
“Would you like me to story could be worth
use a spoon or a fork?” $$$. For details, go to
rd.com/submit.

Rd.com 39

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Reader’s Digest

The

HEALTHY

Wellness from Thehealthy.com

Beyond
Burnout

What to do when

(or ideally, before) stress

reaches epic proportions

By Leslie Finlay

A merica is seriously stressed
out. According to The Ameri-
can Institute of Stress, even
before the pandemic 94 percent of
workers said that they regularly felt
stressed. And more recently, the
American Psychological Association
reported that the country’s collective
stress had reached alarming lev-
els. We all get busy sometimes, but
feeling constantly and chronically
swamped, worried, and over-
whelmed can lead to burnout, which

can have serious consequences.

illustrations by James Steinberg Rd.com | septembeR 2022 41

Reader’s Digest The Healthy

Think of burnout as stress taken that demands are building faster than
to another level. “Typically, burnout you can recover from them,” he says.
is defined as an extreme state of psy- That fatigue evolves into feelings such
chological strain,” says YoungAh Park, as pessimism and withdrawal, “be-
an associate professor at the School coming grumpy and cynical about
of Labor and Employment Relations work you used to love—especially
at the University of Illinois. It’s a re- feeling that way toward people you’re
sponse to facing prolonged, chronic supposed to care about.”
stressors that go beyond your ability
or available resources to overcome. That’s the end stage of burnout, but
it takes a while to get there. “At first,
Because so many of us frequently we might find ourselves experienc-
feel stressed, it can be hard to recog- ing hyperactivity, trying to manage
nize when the line has been crossed. our stressors by frantically working to
True burnout is different from feeling reduce them, and juggling more and
overextended. Michael Leiter, a pro- more simultaneously,” says Emily
fessor of psychology at Acadia Univer- Balcetis, PhD, an associate professor
sity in Nova Scotia, explains, “Burnout of psychology at New York University.
combines three key dimensions: over- Unfortunately, this desperation can
whelming exhaustion, feelings of cyn- contribute to making mistakes, losing
icism, and a sense of discouragement, concentration, or even starting to feel
inadequacy, or low accomplishment.” emotionally unhinged—all of which
pave the way for more chronic issues
Feeling exhausted when you begin to develop.
working is a red flag. “This is a sign

i tried it...

Sleep Apps for Insomnia

As someone living with fibromyalgia and psoriatic Westend61/Getty ImaGes
arthritis, I often struggle to fall asleep. Nighttime
stretches and white noise machines rarely helped,
so I decided to try some sleep apps. The one that
worked best was Aura. It offers bedtime stories,
soothing sounds, meditations, insights from psy-
chologists, even hypnosis—not just for sleep but
for well-being all day long. It also has personalized
suggestions based on information I shared, such as how long it takes me to drift
off. By the end of the weeklong free trial, I was falling asleep peacefully, which
made the $60 annual fee seem worth the investment. —Jennifer Huizen

42 september 2022

Living at a burnout level of sus- more likely to experience chronic,
tained stress can lead to serious health burnout-inducing stress when some-
consequences, including problematic thing seems out of our control, against
sleep patterns, digestion woes, and our will, or totally meaningless. Try to
even a greater risk for depression, identify ways in which even the small-
heart problems, diabetes, and weight est of your daily tasks contributes to
gain, according to Balcetis. Perhaps the lives of others. “Take stock of
most frightening, a study published in what’s on your plate,” Balcetis says. “If
the Journal of Psychosomatic Research you can, cut or outsource one or two
found that people who experience of those things that don’t personally
chronic burnout have up to a 35 per- give you meaning.”
cent greater risk of early mortality.
Look for meaning outside of work
Before the stress in your life ramps If you’re struggling to make your work
up to that level, know that experts say meaningful, prioritizing life outside of
there are proactive steps you can take work might be especially beneficial.
to prevent burnout: Research published in BMC Medicine
shows that people more likely to ex-
Look for meaning at work perience a greater sense of engage-
We can tolerate stress longer if we be- ment when on the job are those with
lieve we’re doing something purpose- a hobby—the ultimate burnout buffer.
ful and worthwhile. Balcetis says we’re

Rd.com 43

Reader’s Digest

Try to separate work rewarding, and under your control.
and home/outside life “It’s very common for superiors to
“With boundaries blurring between continue to increase tasks over time,”
work and nonwork these days, Maxson says, adding that if we don’t
research has suggested that there are communicate our needs or limita-
some tactics individuals can use,” Park tions, they may be overlooked. If you
says. She suggests turning off work don’t expect things will improve, con-
e-mail notifications on your phone, sider changing jobs or even careers.
using separate e-mail accounts for
work and personal life, and setting up For nurse Wendy Reynolds, direc-
boundaries—physical and temporal— tor of a hospital intensive care unit in
between work and personal life, Pennsylvania, stress had always been
especially if you work from home. part of the job. Then the pandemic hit,
and the stress ramped up to a whole
Don’t neglect yourself new level. “I wasn’t sleeping, always
“Neglecting your diet or eating fast had a headache, and was always anx-
foods or comfort foods can become ious and worried about everything,”
a way of dealing with stress, but it she says. “I knew I needed to leave.”
will rob your body and brain of nu-
trients necessary to facilitate energy She realized the ICU had become
and regulate moods,” says Benjamin too much for her, and the stress and
Maxson, AMFT, a family therapist in long hours weren’t fair to her family,
Orange County, California. Physical either. She solved her burnout prob-
activity is essential to shaking out lem by transitioning into a health-care
stress hormones too. “Many individu- administration role where she can
als are less active when under stress in manage her work-life balance while
order to rest,” Maxson says. But move- still having a career that aligns with
ment is the most natural evolutionary her passion for clinical health care.
response to our body’s stress. While
you don’t have to run away from a “I love my new job,” she says. “I
mountain lion these days, even light actually see my family now, and I can
movement helps “complete” the stress use my clinical skills to help leaders
cycle, flushing stress hormones out of at other hospitals improve workflows
the bloodstream. for their staff, so it’s very rewarding.”

Recognize when it has If you do feel burned out, therapy
become too much can help you process work-related
Talk to your supervisors when you feel stress and learn coping strategies, and
your job should be more manageable, it can teach you to communicate with
your employer and set healthy bound-
aries. Maxson says cognitive behav-
ioral therapy is especially effective for
dealing with workplace burnout. RD

44 september 2022

The Healthy

Forget Those Crazy prescription, in topical creams and
Skin-Care Trends gels sold under brand names such as
Retin-A, Renova, and Avita.
By Leslie Finlay
Brooke Jackson, MD, a board-
I n contrast to some of the re- certified dermatologist in Durham,
juvenating skin-care trends out North Carolina, says tretinoin works
there—vampire facials? bee venom as an exfoliant, irritating skin to speed
serums?—dermatologists consider up natural cell turnover. “As your skin
tretinoin the gold standard for keep- cells turn over faster, the dull, dry,
ing skin smooth and glowing. damaged skin will be replaced with
brand-new skin cells,” she says.
Tretinoin is a vitamin A derivative
called a retinoid. It was originally “Tretinoin can also regulate the
studied in the 1960s to treat keratotic genes involved in collagen produc-
disorders—conditions that cause the tion,” says Tanya Kormeili, MD, a
skin to become thick and painful. board-certified dermatologist in
Researchers recognized that tretinoin Santa Monica, California. Collagen is
also worked to fight acne and started essential for skin firmness and elas-
prescribing it in the 1970s. By the ticity, but we produce less of it as we
1980s, people were using it to treat age. Tretinoin can enter skin cells and
fine lines, wrinkles, and sun dam- switch on the genes responsible for
age. Tretinoin is still available only by collagen production.

Retinol, a less potent retinoid found
in many over-the-counter antiaging
creams and serums, is available with-
out a prescription. But retinol doesn’t
have the same powerful effect on the
skin that tretinoin does. “Retinol is
less effective at turning on the [colla-
gen] genes,” says Dr. Kormeili.

Dermatologists say that most peo-
ple can start using tretinoin for skin
rejuvenation long before wrinkles
appear. However, it’s not recom-
mended for pregnant women and
those with ultra-sensitive skin, and
it takes several months of regular use
before you’ll see results. RD

Rd.com 45

Reader’s Digest The Healthy

News From the Why It’s OK to the Voorhes

WORLD OF Forget Sometimes
MEDICINE
Forgetting things can
By Mark Witten be frustrating or even
worrying, but it might
MIND OVER MIGRAINE actually be good for
our brains. Based
A German study of migraine sufferers on pre-clinical trials,
found that weekly sessions of mindfulness- researchers at Trinity
based cognitive therapy reduced the fre- College Dublin and the
quency of their headaches by 40 percent. University of Toronto
This may be due to the therapy’s psycho- propose that forgetting
logical benefits—decreased stress, anxiety, is something the brain
rumination, and catastrophizing—which does to prune clutter.
remove potential migraine triggers. On the flip side, their
research suggests that
buried memories could
be brought back, even
in people with amne-
sia. If further study
supports these findings,
more serious memory
loss could be treated.
Also, a new German
study shows that cogni-
tive processing speed
generally begins to
change after age 60.
In the study, older
participants took lon-
ger to settle on deci-
sions, but mainly
because they were
more careful to avoid
making mistakes—
which is, of course, a
smart thing if you want
to make better choices.

46 september 2022 | rd.com



Reader’s Digest The Healthy

Another Reason Good News About OLIVE OIL
to Take Vitamin D HIV Prevention
Supplements COULD ADD
The U.S. Food and Drug
A study at Brigham and Administration recently YEARS TO
Women’s Hospital in approved an injectable
Massachusetts found drug, called Apretude, YOUR LIFE
that taking 2,000 IU of that could help
vitamin D3 every day prevent the 1.5 million A Mediterranean diet
for two years lowered HIV cases contracted is known to be heart-
the risk of developing globally each year. healthy, and a new
autoimmune diseases The shot, given every Harvard study found
by more than 20 per- eight weeks, is 70 per- that consuming just
cent. Physicians may cent more effective a small amount of olive
soon recommend a in lowering HIV risk oil every day lowers
daily dose for people than Truvada, the pill your risk of dying from
in their 50s. commonly used now. a variety of ailments.
Researchers followed
Implant Helps 90,000 Americans for from top: pamela_d_mcadams/Getty ImaGes. ruslandashInsky/Getty ImaGes
Patients Walk Again 28 years and found
those who consumed
A small Swiss study a half tablespoon of
has accomplished the olive oil daily had a
incredible: After electri- lower risk of death from
cal stimulation of the cancer (by 17 percent),
spinal cord, three men respiratory disease
paralyzed from the waist down following a motor- (by 18 percent), heart
cycle accident were able to stand, walk, swim, and disease (by 19 percent),
cycle again. The patients had a device surgically and neurodegenerative
implanted that sends electrical stimulation into diseases such as de-
the spinal cord. Within days, each participant mentia (by 29 percent).
could take as many as 300 steps using a walker Whether taken straight
for support—and even farther with practice. If from the bottle or used
similar, large-scale trials underway in the United in cooking, olive oil has
States and Europe are successful, the device could anti-inflammatory and
be permanently implanted into paralyzed patients, antioxidant properties
who would use their smartphones to adjust the that contribute to over-
level of stimulation needed for various activities. all health, as does re-
placing other artery-
clogging fats. RD

48 september 2022 | rd.com