I'm back from my visit to the boyfriend's family in California. As soon as I woke up to go to L.A. a few days ago, I knew I was sick. By the time I got there, I was in wretched shape, and had to go immediately to bed. My boyfriend got sick the next day with a convulsive cough and a fever. Now he can hardly talk. Then an older member of the family took sick and is in the hospital, and the other adults are ill, as is my boyfriend's niece. Only the nephew has survived—and he's hiding out in his room playing videogames and trying to maintain a sterile environment.

My ears are completely clogged, and there are odd happenings in my sinus cavities. But enough about me. Let's talk about some headlines from the last few days:

•Psychotherapy on the road to where? [NY Times]
•Police: Bipolar Detroit man goes on shooting spree before killing self [WLNS]
•Study: Owning pets is good for physical, mental health [Tahoe Daily Tribune]
•Pakistan: IOM mental health teams deploy in cities and camps [Geneva news service]
•Mental Health: Serious Depression Raises Risk of Heart Ailments [NY Times]
•One Year On From the Asian Tsunami: In Aceh, children's mental health is the No. 1 priority [Korean news service]