I can’t help but see a symbolic coincidence in the timing and subject of this inaugural blog post. See, I had intended on writing about the emotional dangers of what happens to us if we let our lives get out of hand. It just so happens that I’m posting it as fast as I can because Hurricane Sandy is making her way across south Jersey and my home is not far from her path. And what is a hurricane other than a dangerous event when the weather gets out of hand?

If you think about it, hurricanes are a remarkably creative way for Mother Nature to show us what can happen if we don’t balance out the potentially destructive forces brewing within us. Think about it.

Ever notice the terms used to describe these storms? They start out as tropical “depressions” – as if all that’s needed is the right amount of Abilify or some other prescription to fix it. And when they discuss how the barometric pressure changes with the storm, they use the words “low” and “high.” For example, yesterday the meteorologists said New Jersey is probably going to be hit hard by Sandy, and we will experience the deepest “low” here on record. (Which surprised me. I thought we experienced that when Jersey Shore was at its height of popularity). Then later, on another channel, someone was explaining wind or another destructive force and told us the of intensity this storm was a result of Sandy being “negatively tilted.”

Hmmmm . . . depressed, low, negatively tilted . . . Doesn’t that sound like Mother Nature is giving us a wake-up call? What happens when a depressed, low, negatively titled weather condition exists for too long? Devastation on a grand scheme. What happens to people when they remain in a depressed, low, negatively tilted state for too long? Devastation on a personal level.

Which brings me to the topic of this page. As I explain in my Philosophy page, I believe there’s an epidemic of unhappiness going on in our culture. And because no epidemic may remain unnamed, I’m calling this affliction Overosis. Symptoms of Overosis include feeling overstressed, overfatigued, overextended, overtaxed, overscheduled, overwhelmed,overworked, or overburdened and can include being overweight and overrun.  If left untreated, a patient suffering from Overosis may develop Overitis: a generalized sensation of being inflamed after suffering in a perpetually Over-It-All state and massive damage to lifestyle may result.

Unfortunately, I can only baptize this dis-ease state. I’m not quite sure how to cure it. While I believe a sabbatical from our workplaces and/or emancipating ourselves from our families would often nip the problem in the bud, those medicines may have serious side effects that could result in:

• Divorcion: losing a spouse one used to love more often than hate.
• Financial Hemorrhaging: a loss of income and financial stability, which, if allowed to continue, may lead to the debilitating condition called bankruptia.
• Incarceration: what happens when one is arrested after an attempt to cut and run a la Maria Osmund and one forgets one does not have a nanny and leaves minors behind without supervision or at least without alerting them to the fact that they must not juggle knives.

One day, after enough marathons (read: bar crawls) or other fundraisers are coordinated by those already in the throes of this insidious disease, we may have enough money to invest in a cure. In the meantime, we can only hope to manage it. To date, the most effective therapies include rest, good food, and laughter.

In other words, we need to balance out our lives or we’ll turn into individual versions of Sandy on a smaller scale.

Hence, my books and why I promise never to burden you with sad or depressing stories.