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God bless America

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Before today I'd never read Woman's World, "the Woman's Weekly," even though it's placed at every checkout counter in every store in the country. What's generally deterred me from picking it up is what it says at the top: "God Bless America." Ew. That's just disgusting.

But I picked it up this week for the mental health tips. According to WW, it's all about visualization. Hypnotherapist Kerstin Sjoquist suggests different images for different moods. Tense? Imagine the sun! Angry? Imagine your own private island! Worried? Imagine a babbling brook (even though that's the most annoying setting on your noise machine)!

I am depressed, thus I'm going to imagine "a shower of flowers":

"Envision: delicate blossoms drifting through the air. Watch them softly falling, cascading around you and covering the ground. 'Breathe in the luscious scents,' says Sjoquist. 'Actually feel the flowers caressing you, their gentle touch remind you of all that's good in your day."

I gave it a try, but it just made me dizzy trying to figure out which kind of flower should be falling at my sun-dappled feet. Orchids? Too complex. Roses? Too trite. Lilies? Do I even know what lilies look like?

I think I'll visualize my bed instead. Sheets enwrapping my tired soul. Pillows like clouds beneath my head. Ahhhh.

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About

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Liz Spikol is senior contributing editor of Philadelphia Weekly. She writes the award-winning column The Trouble With Spikol, which began as a chronicle of her struggle with mental illness, and has since expanded into humorous musings on everything from graphic novels to how to use a mop. She also writes the paper's book review column, Lit Gloss. This blog -- named one of the Top 10 Bipolar Blogs of 2007 by PsychCentral -- is about mental illness policy, news, personal journeys and more.