Reader's Digest Canada

animal instincts

On a recent visit to my GP, I experienced my first case of white-coat hypertension: my blood pressure spiked as it was being measured, an anxious reaction to being in a medical environment. My doctor set the machine to take three readings and left the room so her presence wouldn’t exacerbate my stress. Luckily, the results were fine. My trick for calming down? Imagining I was petting my dogs. I’ve long believed that having pets can make us better humans. Their enthusiastic greetings remind us to smile; they reinforce the healing value of touch when we pet them; they compel us to head outside for a walk or to slow down for a cuddle. Anyone who’s held a purring cat understands the satisfaction of connecting with a furry creature. But beyond…

reader’s digest

Christopher Dornan CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD Dominique Ritter EDITOR-IN-CHIEF EXECUTIVE EDITOR Stéphanie Verge EXECUTIVE EDITOR, DIGITAL Brett Walther SENIOR EDITOR Micah Toub ASSOCIATE EDITOR Megan Jones ASSISTANT EDITOR, DIGITAL Robert Liwanag CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Samantha Rideout PROOFREADER Katie Moore SENIOR RESEARCHEr Lucy Uprichard RESEARCHERS Martha Beach, Matthew Halliday, Tessa Liem, Nicole Schmidt, Leslie Sponder COPY EDITORS Chad Fraser, Amy Harkness, Richard Johnson ART DIRECTOR John Montgomery ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOr Danielle Sayer GRAPHIC DESIGNER Pierre Loranger CONTENT OPERATIONS MANAGER Lisa Pigeon CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Edward Birkett CONTRIBUTORS: Elamin Abdelmahmoud, Colleen Kelly Alexander, Marley Allen-Ash, Roger Aziz, Nathaniel Basen, Kate Beaton, Lisa Bendall, Jamie Bennett, Derek Bowman, Chloe Cushman, Katie Daubs, Prajakta Dhopade, Jaroldeen Edwards, Danielle Groen, Clayton Hanmer, Robert Harris, Joel Kimmel, Sophie Kohn, Susan Camilleri Konar, Katherine Laidlaw, Jessica Wynne Lockhart, Jocelyn Michel, Julia Monson, Jacqui Oakley, Christina Palassio, Paul Paquet, Salini Perera, Jana G. Pruden, Darren Rigby, Julie…

contributors

ANNA SHARRATT Writer, Toronto “Brain Pain” As a long-time migraine sufferer, Anna Sharratt relies on a mix of bananas, caffeine, ice packs and ibuprofen to stop her pain. She’s pleased to share headache-prevention tips in this story because she knows how much pain affects quality of life. Treating a headache before it gets bad, she says, can have you back to normal sooner. Read more about treating headaches on page 24. PRAJAKTA DHOPADE Writer, Toronto “Money Talks” Prajakta Dhopade doesn’t have trouble talking about money. When she was working at a personal-finance magazine, spending and saving were constantly on her mind. She believes in speaking openly about money—since most of us lack training related to managing it, talking with peers can be a great way to educate ourselves. Learn how to discuss money matters on page 62. JOCELYN…

letter of the month

Bringing Awareness When I read your May 2019 cover story about women’s pain, I felt for the people who were quoted. I also dealt with unbearable suffering due to endometriosis. After years of being told by an OB/GYN that my pain was normal, I learned to just deal with it. One particularly bad episode lasted two weeks before my husband finally convinced me to go to the hospital. I went, but only to be given gas tablets and sent home. The next day I returned in agony, and staff confirmed that I had appendicitis—my appendix had been leaking for two weeks. My pain didn’t end there. Even after this incident, it took more than a year and several appointments to access treatment for my endometriosis. In the meantime, I suffered. Your…

fighting period poverty

IN MANY INDIGENOUS cultures, “moon time” is considered sacred, a gift. The first time a young woman gets her period, her community holds a ceremony, and her mother, aunts and grandmothers teach her about what it means to become a woman. Nicole White, a Metis woman from Saskatoon, learned of the rite of passage from an elder. “The tradition has fallen away a little bit due to colonization,” she says, though some people are now returning to it. It’s fitting, then, that when White read about girls in northern Saskatchewan staying home from school because they didn’t have period supplies she tapped into her own circle of female friends. “People give food, but not menstrual products,” she says. “We think about women in developing countries going without them, but I hadn’t…

life’s like that

The More You Know I’ve accidentally set up push notifications for the BBC science magazine, and it’s like being followed around by an inquisitive but annoying child. —@JAMCOLLEY Not Worth It My 35-year-old son and I had just finished our meal when I realized I’d left my wallet in my truck. As I headed out the door, I told the waitress what had happened. “But don’t worry,” I said with a grin. “I’m leaving my son as collateral.” She looked at him. He winked at her. She turned back to me. “What else you got?” —GARY MARTIN I was trapped in an elevator for 30 minutes before the doors finally opened. Relieved, I turned to a fellow captive and said, “Well I guess there’s a first time for everything!” She grumbled back, “There’s a last time for everything, too.” —CAROL…