Columns

(This is the second of two columns on negative thinking. Today's column is about ways to be more positive.)

A common cold, exhaustion, stress, hunger, sleep deprivation, even allergies can make you depressed, which leads to negative thoughts.

However, in many cases, depression can be caused by negative thinking, itself. Our feelings follow what we are thinking, and dwelling upon negative thoughts can send us spiraling down into depression.

I found many techniques for fending off negative thoughts and becoming a happier person. The following are ones that worked for me.

Q. When doctors perform a cardiac ablation, what do they use to clean the heart?

This question made me laugh because I had the same misconception as the correspondent. We both confused ablation with ablution. Ablation is a surgical excision of tissue. Ablution is a cleansing with water or another liquid.

Cardiac ablation corrects heart arrhythmias by destroying tissue that blocks the electrical signal traveling through your heart to make it beat. By clearing the signal pathway of the abnormal tissue, your heart can beat properly again.

A while ago, I wrote about my wife, Gale, who told me she was hearing talk radio in her head. I researched this and I'm convinced that Gale is picking up radio signals through her teeth.

In the column, I invited readers to submit their experiences. The following are some accounts. I'm using only first names in case the readers would rather not have anyone else know about the radios in their heads.

Q. I'm 69 years old and I'm considering surgery for obesity. Am I too old for this?

There is no upper age limit for this type of surgery. However, the procedure is riskier for anyone older than 65.

Obesity surgery also known as bariatric surgery limits your food intake. Some operations also restrict the amount of food you can digest. It is designed for men who are at least 100 pounds overweight and women at least 80 pounds overweight.