HAL’S HEADLINES: Winnipeg therapist launches loneliness course

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There’s a new tool, created locally, to combat loneliness which experts around the world agree has become an epidemic. Some jurisdictions have even appointed loneliness ambassadors to try to address the problem. Winnipeg therapist Carolyn Klassen at Conexus Counselling saw a need and created The Loneliness Course. As she says, everyone could use a little TLC. “The single greatest thing we can do for our health and well-being is to improve the quality of the relationships in our lives and move from loneliness to connection.” Carolyn points out that one in three of us are lonely at any given time and we’re simply not talking about it. Her online course is made up of five modules that break down loneliness and leave you with strategies so you can move from loneliness to connection. If you’d like more information, go to TheLonelinessCourse.com. Full disclosure, Carolyn has been a regular guest on my radio show for years and she’s become a dear friend. She’s amazing! Her one and only goal is to help people and she’s done it again with this.

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TAKE A YEAR OFF LOTTERY

Ever since a deadly blaze at a neighbour’s cottage several years ago, I’ve tried my best to help Winnipeg Beach’s volunteer firefighters with their fundraising efforts. They’ve got a new campaign that I hope you’ll support. The Take A Year Off Lottery will pay the winner $1,000 a week for an entire year. $52,000 is a very nice jackpot for one lucky person. There are also other cash prizes. Chief Dave Schellenberg tells me the money will be used for new fire trucks and other equipment and supplies. Get your $100 tickets while you can at RaffleBox.ca. The draw date is Nov. 2.

THE NIGHT OF

A couple months ago, I highly recommended Presumed Innocent which was streaming on Apple TV+ at the time. Well, if you loved that courtroom thriller as much as I did, you’ve got to check out The Night Of on Crave. It’s actually several years old but like Presumed Innocent, I couldn’t wait to get to the next episode. It just happens to also star Bill Camp who plays a New York City police detective in this one. He’s great! And as good as Presumed Innocent was, The Night Of is getting even better reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics give it 94%, while audiences rate it 93%.

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THINGS NOT TO-DO

I love this idea! Instead of constantly creating and updating a never-ending series of to-do lists, some mental health professionals are suggesting we switch it up and try making to-don’t lists. Rachel Botsman at Oxford University is credited with coming up with the concept. The whole idea is to identify things that are draining you and then stop doing them or delegate. For example, don’t schedule meetings between 9 and 11 a.m. Or don’t wash the dishes every day, do it every other day.

ANN WILSON UPDATE

Heart’s Ann Wilson has given her fans a health update. She says fine after successful chemotherapy for cancer and she’s excited to tour again. Ann, her sister Nancy and the rest of Heart will play Winnipeg’s Canada Life Centre on March 24th of next year.

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EXOSKELETON PANTS

OK, this is pretty cool. A company has developed a pair of pants that come with a built-in exoskeleton powered by motors. They can increase the person’s leg strength by 40% and also make them feel 30 pounds lighter. Arc’tryx MO/GO Hiking Pants (MO/GO is short for mountain goat) come with carbon fibre support structures that feed power from AI-controlled motors at the knees. The pants look like regular khakis but with an outside brace on each leg. The battery, around the waist, recharges while the wearer walks downhill.

— Hal has written columns for years. He’s also the host of Connecting Winnipeg weekday mornings from 10 to noon on 680 CJOB. You can email him at Hal@HalAnderson.ca.

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