A personal crisis may be painful, but it can also benefit you, says an expert.

“Although a crisis brings pain and unhappiness, it can also lead to good things – closer ties to loved ones as well as increased self-confidence,” declared Dr. Walter O’Connell.

“A crisis is painful while it’s happening, but it gives you the opportunity to develop your strengths.”

A personal crisis could be either a death, divorce, injury, illness or loss of job.

“However, just about any stressful experience can bring on a personal crisis, depending on how you perceive and handle it,” explained pyschologist, Dr. O’Connell.

Here are three ways a crisis can be good for you, according to Dr. O’Connell:

1. It can boost your self-esteem because you were strong enough to weather the difficulty.

A crisis often brings out your best. “Most of us are capable of rising to meet the challenges of life.

“The more problems we encounter and resolve, the greater our feelings of self-worth and self-esteem.

“As you handle each new experience, you’ll gain confidence and poise.”

2. A personal crisis can strengthen the bonds between you and your family and friends. It’s natural during times of trouble to reach out to people in your life.

When you confide your worries to family members or friends, they comfort you and offer you sympathy or advice, and this sharing brings you closer to them.

3. Getting through a crisis signals the start of a new era of hope and opportunity. It’s the culmination of a stressful period in your life, so it signals the beginning of the end of the rough time.

“When you resolve difficult personal problems, you are ready to face new opportunities, to build a new life that’s right to you.”

PANAMA CITY – A group of Panamanian teenagers claim to have killed and photographed a monster!

A group of teenagers, ranging from 14 years to 16 years old, were spending time outside in Cerro Azul when they spotted the creature. According to them, it startled them when it suddenly crawled out of a cave.

As it came towards them, they panicked and began to throw things at it. It subsequently died from the injuries inflicted, after which the teenagers ran away.

Apparently they went back to take photos, as they were posted on Telemetro.com

It’s appearance near water and its lack of hair has lead to comparisons to the famous Montauk Monster, a still unsolved creature that washed ashore on Long Island.

However, the ‘paws’ on the monster are leading some to believe it is merely a sloth missing it’s fur.

NEW YORK, NY – Parents are in an uproar after pictures of a supposed pole dancer doll were posted online!

It is unclear who originally took the photos and where the doll was found, but it is very clear what kind of “toy” it is:

The doll begins dancing when the music is turned on, and she goes “up and down” and “round and round”. While the doll itself does not look very provocative, the very concept of the toy is causing great distress amongst concerned parents.

A similar “toy” was yanked from shelves in Tesco, one of Britain’s largest chain stores. The Peekaboo Pole Dancing Kit included an 8.5-foot collapsible pole, a “sexy dance garter,” and play money for “tips”. The packaging featured a cartoonish stripper, and the toy was listed under the Toys & Games section of Tesco’s website.

Despite being clearly marked as “adults only”, Tesco agreed to remove it from the section, instead including it in the Fitness category.

PALM BEACH, FL – A strange creature has been videotaped just off shore in Florida!

The Lagoon Keepers is a group of volunteers who remove floating debris from the waters of Palm Beach County. While working, they noticed something in the water and grabbed their video camera.

They decided to name it the “Muck Monster”, because every time they got close enough to get a good luck, it would dive into the muck where they couldn’t see.

Lake Worth Lagoon has never had previous reports of unidentified creatures in the water. Perhaps something came in from the ocean and got trapped?

NEW YORK, NY – Photographer Zach Hyman takes pictures of nude women in New York City subway trains. Art or sensationalism?

Zach Hyman’s recent project was to take 10 photos of women on subway trains. But these were no ordinary straphanger images: he gave himself and the model 30 seconds for her to strip to the nude in a middle of a full car!

On various trains throughout the city, Hyman and a female volunteer have given commuters something to stare at. The model quickly gets naked so Hyman can take 10 photos, while a friend keeps an eye out for police.

Hyman knows the danger involved, and keeps bail money on him at all times, but so far he has not been arrested. This is quite a feat, considering he has even taken photos of women in busy Chinatown and Times Square!

Said Hyman in a recent NY Post article, “In Times Square, there are cops everywhere. It seemed that always right before or after the shoot, a cop car would roll by. Thankfully, we never needed bail money. But I have a clean record, so I’m open to the experience of getting arrested.”

The models have felt anything but exploited, with one even declaring how liberating it felt to be naked in the middle of a New York City street. “There was so much adrenaline,” she said. “I was bouncing around for the rest of the day. I told him I want to pose nude every weekend.”

But some feel his art is sensationalist, while others are angry that he subjects innocent passerbys to explicit nudity. A woman on a train began screaming after seeing one of the nude models.

His photo series, “Decent Exposures”, will be on display this week at the Chair and the Maiden art gallery (link NSFW).

CHERRY HILL, NJ – A piano playing cat called Nora has taken the world by storm!

Betsy Alexander, a piano instructor, adopted Nora in 2004. Little did she know that the cat would have such an ear for music.

As a kitten, Nora would run around in circles on top of the piano while Betsy taught students. But over time, Nora began to sit at the accompanying piano and pound out her own notes!

Betsy decided to start recording her cat and put it on Youtube. Her first video has alone accrued over 14,000,000 views and has made a fan of numerous celebrities, including the one and only Piano Man, Billy Joel!

Nora now has a DVD, a book, an upcoming calendar and her own blog. But Betsy denies any involvement in Nora’s musical abilities. Some believed Nora was tricking the cat into “performing” by rubbing catnip all over the keys. Betsy said, “Look, if I put catnip on those keys, Nora would be rolling her entire body on the keys, because she’s like a total catnip addict. I would never do that!”

“It’s not something we taught her. She plays when we’re not in the room; she plays when we’re in the room; sometimes she plays when we don’t want her to play. I can be teaching a child or an adult who is trying to concentrate and then Nora hops on the bench.”

Composer Mindaugas Piecaitis has even written a piece around one of her videos!

LONDON – Researchers believed a five-fold increase in UFO sightings in 1996 was due to the screening of TV series “The X-Files”.

As part of a project between the Ministry of Defense and The National Archives, the MoD has been releasing records of UFO sightings for public viewing.

While the sightings didn’t vary much in content, researchers are paying attention to the numbers. In 1996, the number of sightings jumped from 117 to 609, a five-fold increase!

The number remained high in 1997, at 425, but dropped down to the average number of 193 in 1998.

It is believed there may be a link between the increase in sightings and the population’s exposure to UFO theories through the TV series “The X-Files”, which reached it’s height in popularity in 1996.

Dr. David Clarke, a UFO expert and lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University, said, “I think there has got to be some kind of connection – it was a year when people were absolutely obsessed with UFOs and aliens.

“Obviously, films and TV programs raise public awareness of UFOs and it’s fascinating to see how that appears to lead more people to report what they see to the authorities.”

NEW YORK, NY – A new piece in Consumer Reports gives a list for how people can create their own swine flu survival kit. Too extreme?

Consumer Reports is a monthly magazine published by the Consumers Union, an independent nonprofit group that gives unbiased reviews and comparisons of products. Although there focus is almost exclusively on retail items, there will be an article in September’s issue on how to build a swine flu survival kit.

The idea is that if the spread of the flu becomes so severe that citizens are confined to their homes, these are a list of things one “should” have on hand:

• A two-week supply of food and water.

• Fever reducers, such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen, Cough and cold medications containing chlorpheniramine, diphenhydramine, oxymetazoline, and pseudoephedrine and lozenges with dyclonine, glycerin, or honey can help ease symptoms.

• Electrolyte drinks, such as Gatorade or Powerade, to keep you hydrated.

• Hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol, such as Purell, to kill viruses when soap and water aren’t available.

• Surgical masks with an FDA rating of at least N-95 to help prevent spreading the flu. Masks need to be replaced often and disposed of after use.

They also recommend general emergency supplies, such as:

• at least three days’ worth of nonperishable food

• at least one gallon of water per person, per day

• a first-aid kit that includes any prescription or over-the-counter medications your family might need

Considering the unnecessary mass hysteria when swine flu first emerged, do you think this is excessive? Or is it better to be safe than sorry, in case swine flu becomes a pandemic?

SAN JOSE, CA – A doughnut cafe in California has recently come under fire for its controversial theme.

According to the company: “Psycho Donuts has taken donuts to the next demented level. We bid a fond farewell to the tired, round ring of lameness, and the drab, time-weathered environment of donut past. Psycho Donuts has taken the neighborhood donut and put it on medication, and given it shock treatment.”

The cafe offers a number of special doughnuts, such as:

The Bipolar

The Psycho

MHT (Massive Head Trauma)

These bizarre combinations are served by workers in doctor white coats or nurse uniforms, who offer customers the opportunity to eat their sweets in a padded cell.

Sounds like a blast, right? Except some organizations are not happy with the cafe’s seemingly disregard for serious mental health issues.

“As the former regional administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, I appreciate an individual’s goal to live the great American dream and start a business, but profits should not be made at the expense of others,” said Oscar Wright, chief executive officer of United Advocates for Children and Families, a support group for parents whose children receive mental health services.

Public debate became so severe that Wright and Psycho Donuts co-owner Kipp Berdiansky held a televised debate on local channel KTVU. Ultimately, no agreement was arrived upon, and the store continues to operate while Wright’s organization continues to protest its existence.

NEW YORK, NY – Another supernatural scene has been caught on Google Street View, this time as a possible entrance to heaven!

Since Google Street View has debuted, a number of strange sights have been found by Internet users, including an alien in New Jersey and a group of UFOs over London.

Yesterday, the website Buzzfeed discovered a strange scene of the more spiritual nature. It appears to be a glimpse of heaven!

You can look for yourself by going to this map, click on Street View and turn to face east.