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FEATURES
A pajama conspiracy?
Dear Annie: Shortly after overall trends have held, you’re in
Christmas, my work friend, “Mike,” the plurality for American men.
and I were talking at lunch and dis-
It’s also worth noting that there
covered we have the same problem. are some scientific arguments in
Our wives both gave us silk paja- favor of sleeping in the buff. Uni-
mas. Worst yet, they expect us to versity of Amsterdam researchers
wear them! We think it’s
found that people achieve
DEAR
a conspiracy, even though
deeper sleep with lower
they have never met. Mike
skin temperatures, which
ANNIE
wears his boxer briefs to
sleeping in the nude helps
bed. I stopped wearing my
achieve. That said, if you
underwear to bed when I
should ever have to leave
went off to college. By the
your home in the middle
numbers — if you have
of the night because of a
them — what do Ameri-
fire (heaven forbid), you
can men wear, or not wear,
might be wishing you had
Lane
to bed? How can we con- Annie
on those silk pajamas.
Creators
Syndicate Inc.
vince our wives that sleep-
Dear Annie: My
ing naked doesn’t make us
heart goes out to “My Sad
perverts? Small children are not Story,” the woman who remem-
an issue here. — Sleeping Bare in bers traumatic experiences from her
Sunny Florida
youth. Her sister told her to get over
Dear Sleeping Bare: A 2005 it. For years, I had anxiety attacks
ABC News poll asked Ameri- and even panic attacks but thought
cans what they wore to bed. Thir- they occurred because I was weak
teen percent of men and 55 percent in some way. I meditated, repeated
of women said pajamas or night- positive affirmations, tried to see
gowns; 21 percent of men and 25 only the good in people and events,
percent of women said shorts and/or prayed for relief, and got counseling
a T-shirt; and 31 percent of men and and medication. Nothing worked.
14 percent of women said they slept
I am now in my late 60s. I
in the nude. It’s likely those percent- recently decided I needed to return
ages have fluctuated, as the survey’s to counseling because I could not
over a decade old. But assuming the bear living with a constant high
level of anxiety, which was nega-
tively affecting my quality of life.
I didn’t have the energy to go on.
By chance, I found a therapist who
specializes in anxiety and post-trau-
matic stress disorder. He diagnosed
me with PTSD, and I refused to
believe it, thinking that I had not
experienced the kinds of trauma
experienced by military personnel.
He reviewed with me the answers
I had given to his questions on our
initial intake appointment. I learned
that I suffered from traumatic expe-
riences in my childhood. It was
hard to accept because I had made
up so many excuses for my parents’
behavior over the years. He told me
he could help me get past the anxi-
ety with treatment. In less than two
months, my anxiety lifted.
Please tell “My Sad Story” to
find a therapist who specializes in
trauma and not settle for anyone
else. Not every therapist has this
training. Symptoms only worsen
over time if not treated. — Relieved
and Grateful
Dear Relieved and Grateful:
I’m printing your letter for “My Sad
Story” and anyone else who might
be carrying unresolved trauma from
childhood without even realizing it.
Thank you for sharing your story.
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, MAY 7, 2018
TOMORROW’S HOROSCOPE
By Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). Every person
you encounter over the course of this day
is someone who needs to be there. It’s all
on track and as it should be. Maybe it’s
not how you would have planned it, but it’s
time to trust what is.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). One of the
hardest things you’ll do is something that
no one is asking of you: to socialize. It’s an
implicit expectation. Light interaction will
be expected, even when you’re not in the
mood.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You’ll be first
on the scene, first to get the memo, first
to hear the whisper of a new idea, first to
join in with the giggle of novelty. Being first
comes with a choice that really affects the
future — to share or not to share?
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). It’s good
for the whole group when the strongest
are supported, encouraged and rewarded.
However, the strong must never be prized
above the weak, who have just as much to
teach us, if not more.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You like mak-
ing people laugh. If they are smiling and
having a good time around you today, you’ll
feel you’ve done your job. Anyone who
thinks this doesn’t count as work is dead
wrong.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Friend-
ships have highs and lows just like
romantic relationships do, but without the
pressure to get married or break up over it.
Differences in sensibility and simple misun-
derstandings will be easily overcome.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). You can see
so clearly where a project needs to land,
so work backward. Begin where you are
and visualize to the best of your ability to
do it to the extent that you can.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Science
doesn’t lie, but it will often tell the story of
the human being who executed it, funded
it, and in turn, did so when needing things
to go a certain way. When you get the
proof, look for the proof behind that.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Your affirmation of
the day: All is well and everything is work-
ing toward the highest and best. Repeat
often, especially when things are not going
according to your plan. Leos are lucky for
you now.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). The truth has
consequences that will be weighed against
the consequences of lies. In other words,
people will tell as much truth as they think
they can tell without getting into trouble.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Observe the
difference between what’s smart and
what’s wise. Knowledge is not wisdom. The
recitation of wisdom is not wisdom. Wis-
dom is a concentrated extract from a body
of experience accumulated over time.
FRANK AND ERNEST
BLONDIE
THATABABY
SALLY FORTH
PHOEBE AND HER UNICORN
B.C.
LOLA
DILBERT
SIX CHIX
BIZARRO
MUTTS
NON SEQUITUR
BABY BLUES
WIZARD OF ID
ZITS
ROSE IS ROSE
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Maybe you
need more money to finish what you start-
ed, but that’s only part of it. “Always bear in
mind that your own resolution to succeed is
more important than any other one thing.”
— Abraham Lincoln
TOMORROW’S BIRTHDAY (MAY 8). This
will go down as one of your most prosper-
ous years in all the ways that matter most.
You’ll put family first and you’ll take care of
your own, but community also matters to
immensely, as you really feel that everyone
is your family. Because of this focus on
others, you’ll be lavished in love and atten-
tion. Aries and Virgo adore you. Your lucky
numbers are: 40, 50, 37, 24 and 19.