"Don't Look Back"

If you're a person, like I once was, who has a hard time making a decision, then you are probably aware of the time and energy you spend in the process. Changing indecisiveness is a very difficult job, particularly if it is deeply ingrained into the fabric of your life, (like cotton..haha). But indecisiveness is learned, and therefore it can be unlearned. It will, however, take tough choices and regular practice before decisive decision making comes easily.

Ask yourself:

On a scale of 1 to 10, how decisive are you?
How long did it take you to answer that question? hahahaha


Major decisions still need major consideration, but wisdom lies in recognizing which decisions are minor and can be decided quickly.

Once a decision is made, you may still second-guess it. That's a problem for many, which produces major anxiety. They live their lives in the land of "should haves" and "could haves." This is an incredible waste of time and energy, since most decisions cannot be undone. It's best to live with your decision -- or learn from it and use that knowledge to make a better choice next time.

Try practicing telling yourself one or more of the following phrases.

1. "What's the worst that can happen?"
This is especially helpful for small decisions. When you're agonizing over whether you should go to a meeting or whatever, because you're feeling especially run-down, ask yourself, "What's the worst that will happen if I miss that meeting tonight?"


2. "I made the best decision I could with the information I had at the time. Whatever outcome, I'll make the most of it."
This applies to major decisions, which can be subject to major second-guessing. Practice this phrase for yourself. It really works! Whether the decision is big or small, we can only deal with the knowledge we have at the time. Hindsight might tell us more about what we might have done, but don't worry about hindsight. That's a no-win situation!! We can't look back. We must learn and look forward!
Many have agonized over the decisions involved in buying a house. These choices can cost or save thousands of dollars. Should you lock in at a certain interest rate? Or should you wait in case the rates go down? Of course, the experts disagree on the direction of rates, so you can constantly agonize over this. But what's the worst that can happen? Well, a wrong choice would mean a higher mortgage payment each month. If that thought isn't very comforting, try this phrase: "I made the best decision I could. Once the decision is made, there's no sense in looking back."

3. "God is still in control, life still goes on, and I can adjust to whatever happens."
This is another comforting phrase that we should practice often!! God never wakes up and says, "Oh no! Look at what happened while I wasn't paying attention!"
As Christians, we can trust that God is in control of our lives. Yes, we make mistakes, but God is still in control. As long as our attitude is one of submission to him, there is really nothing for us to fear.

Hopefully you can, and will, take the gist of one of those phrases above and put it in your own words. Or make up a whole new pep talk, to keep yourself from wasteful second-guessing of the decisions you' ve already made.

FDA: Antiepileptics Linked to Increased Risk of Suicidal Thoughts, Behaviour

ROCKVILLE, Maryland --
The US Food and Drug Administration has announced today that it will require the manufacturers of anti epileptic drugs to add to these products' prescribing information, or labeling, a warning that their use increases risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The action includes all anti epileptic drugs including those used to treat psychiatric disorders, migraine headaches, and other conditions, as well as epilepsy.

The FDA is also requiring that the manufacturers submit for each of these products a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, including a Medication Guide for patients. The guides will contain FDA-approved information about the risks of suicidal thoughts and behaviors associated with the class of anti epileptic medications.

"Patients being treated with anti epileptic drugs for any indication should be monitored for the emergence or worsening of depression, suicidal thoughts or behavior, or any unusual changes in mood or behavior," said Russell Katz, MD, Division of Neurology Products, FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Rockville, Maryland. "Patients who are currently taking an anti epileptic medicine should not make any treatment changes without talking to their health care professional."

Healthcare professionals should notify patients, their families, and caregivers of the potential for an increase in the risk of suicidal thoughts or behaviors so that patients may be closely observed.

The FDA's actions are based on the agency's review of 199 clinical trials of 11 anti epileptic drugs which showed that patients receiving anti epileptic drugs had almost twice the risk of suicidal behavior or thoughts (0.43%) compared with patients receiving a placebo (0.24%). This difference was about 1 additional case of suicidal thoughts or behaviors for every 500 patients treated with anti epileptic drugs instead of placebo.

Of the patients who were randomized to receive one of the anti epileptic drugs, 4 committed suicide, whereas none of the patients in the placebo group did.
Results were insufficient for any conclusion to be drawn about the drugs' effects on completed suicides.
The biological reasons for the increase in the risk for suicidal thoughts and behavior observed in patients being treated with anti epileptic drugs are unknown.

Acting under the authorities of the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007 (FDAAA), the FDA is requiring manufacturers of anti epileptic drugs to submit to the agency new labeling within 30 days, or provide a reason why they do not believe such labeling changes are necessary. In cases of non-compliance, FDAAA provides strict time lines for resolving the issue and allows the agency to initiate an enforcement action if necessary.

The following anti epileptic drugs are required to add warnings about the risk of suicidality:

carbamazepine (Carbatrol, Equetro, Tegretol, Tegretol XR); clonazepam (Klonopin); clorazepate (Tranxene); divalproex sodium (Depakote, Depakote ER, Depakene); ethosuximide (Zarontin); ethotoin (Peganone); felbamate (Felbatol); gabapentin (Neurontin); lamotrigine (Lamictal); lacosamide (Vimpat); levetiracetam (Keppra); mephenytoin (Mesantoin); methosuximide (Celontin); oxcarbazepine (Trileptal); phenytoin (Dilantin Suspension); pregabalin (Lyrica); primidone (Mysoline); tiagabine (Gabitril); topiramate (Topamax); trimethadione (Tridione); and zonisamide (Zonegran).
Some of these medications are also available as generics.

Health care professionals and consumers may report serious adverse events or product quality problems with the use of these products to the FDA's MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program either online, by regular mail, fax or phone.

-- Online : www.fda.gov/MedWatch/report.htm

-- Regular Mail : use postage-paid FDA form 3500 available at: www.fda.gov/MedWatch/getforms.htm and mail to MedWatch, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20852-9787
-- Fax: (800) FDA-0178
-- Phone: (800) FDA-1088


SOURCE: US Food and Drug Administration