Interesting Quotes
"Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence."
GEORGE WASHINGTON
"Appreciation can make a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary."
MARGARET COUSINS
"The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are: Hard work, Stick-to-itiveness, and Common sense."
THOMAS A. EDISON
I'm a success today because I had a friend who believed in me and I didn't have the heart to let him down.
Abraham Lincoln
"Your talent is God's gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God."
LEO BUSCAGLIA
"Opportunity is missed by most because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."
THOMAS EDISON
Individual Barriers to an Active Lifestyle at Older Ages Among Whitehall II Study Participants After 20 Years of Follow-up
The evidence is overwhelming that physical exercise makes for healthier living throughout the lifespan. This study of nearly 4,000 persons for 20 years found that several factors were present in older adults that prevented them from being active in their older years, and that many of these factors were due to habits developed during their younger and middle years. The authors suggest that interventions, to be effective, should start during midlife or earlier. Click here to read full article.
School Outcomes Among Children Following Death of a Parent
Sweden has some of the most complete registries in the world, and so for researchers this country is often cited in long-term studies. In this study of nearly one million children, it was found that children who lost a parent during the school years had significantly lower grades than those who did not. The primary implication of the study, a common sense one, is that additional emotional support needs to be given to children who lose a parent during their school years. This is a particularly relevant study since so many children have lost a parent to COVID in the past two years. Click here to read full article.
Evaluation of Brain Alterations and Behavior in Children with Low Levels of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure
It has been known for some time that high levels of alcohol intake by pregnant women causes significant problems in children born from that period. This study looked at whether low levels of alcohol exposure during pregnancy caused identifiable issues. It found that even low levels of alcohol exposure produced higher levels of behavioral disruption after the children were born. Therefore it seems safest to say that pregnant mothers would be best to forego any alcohol during pregnancy. Click here to read full article.
Why hasn't my daughter caught COVID? 2 factors likely protect her — and maybe you too
This writer’s daughter has been exposed to COVID four times, and yet has never caught it. This motivated this mother to do some research on why some people seem not be as susceptible to catching COVID. Although the research and theorizing is still young and may change, here are some of the early theories on why some people seem to be less likely to contract COVID. Click here to read full article.
Real Advice from Real People Living with Bipolar
It’s always wise to listen to professionals, but always remember that professionals are not infallible and make mistakes too. But it’s wise also to listen to people who have experienced an issue and discover what they have learned from those experiences. Here are seven recommendations from people who have lived with bipolar disorder. Click here to read full article.
How to Be Happy: 25 Habits to Add to Your Routine
You probably know and are doing many of these things, but if you have a client who is chronically unhappy, this list might be a good discussion point with them. Click here to read full article.
‘Woke’ Transgender and LGBTQ+ Policies Under Fire in Oregon School District
The second largest school district in the state of Oregon is implementing new policies in grades K-12, effective immediately. Children starting in kindergarten will be able to choose what gender they identify with, and then may use the bathrooms and gym changing rooms that align with their chosen gender. They may do this whether or not they have had any professional treatment regarding gender issues, and teachers are not allowed to ask them if they have had any gender treatment. All these policies were implemented without consultation with parents or the school board. Click here to read full article.
California Senate Committee Advances ‘Gender-Affirming Care’ Bill Despite Opposition
A Senate committee in California advanced a bill that would require that all medical professionals show that all their staff had “trans-inclusive health-care training.” This bill is advancing even though there is not substantial evidence that the new gender-affirming treatments have been shown to be a good treatment for gender dysphoria. One de-transitioner said: ““Humans can’t change sex, and by telling them that they can and leading them down this path is harming a lot of people, and so I just want to bring some attention to that side of the issue.” Click here to read full article.
Transitioning Kids: “You want to give them unconditional love, but not unconditional permission.”
Although I try to avoid politics in this collection of articles, I thought this one from Hugh Hewitt was worthwhile mentioning, especially considering the above article. Click here to read full article.
Scottie Scheffler wins Masters, says 'reason I play golf is I'm trying to glorify God'
Mr. Scheffler, who didn’t expect to win the Masters, used his win to share his testimony. Click here to read full article.
The Illusion of Evidence-Based Medicine: How the government stopped worrying and learned to love propaganda
This article argues that “evidence-based medicine” is based on some practices that could call into question their objectivity. I think if someone were to do a similar analysis, some of the psychotherapies that we consider “empirically-substantiated” might also be questioned. For example, we know that the originator of a therapy typically obtains twice the effect size when he or she conducts the therapy than when a second-generation therapist uses the same approach. If someone were in a doctoral program and still looking for a research topic for their dissertation, this might be a very important (although admittedly controversial) topic to study. Click here to read full article.
Hypnosis for Alcohol Abuse
This article examines the use of hypnosis for alcohol abuse. While the research is still limited, for some people hypnosis has helped them, often after other methods have failed. If you’re interested in specializing in substance abuse treatment, you might find this article interesting. Click here to read full article.
The Agony of Jesus on Good Friday, and His Triumph on Easter Sunday
Randy Alcorn makes this statement in his blog this week. “Today is “Good Friday,” commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus. But that torturous death of God’s Son was the single most horrible injustice in human history. So WHY do we call it Good? Why not call it Bad Friday or Horrific Friday?” I encourage you to take a moment to read this thoughtful blog. Click here to read full article.
From the Bipolar newsletter: What triggers and symptoms typically cause conflict in your romantic relationships, and what’s the best approach you’ve found to resolve it as a couple?
These are responses sent in by people with bipolar disorder to the above questions. Interesting answers. They might be helpful to share if you’re working with someone who has bipolar disorder or their spouse. Click here to read full article.
Battling Revenge Bedtime Procrastination: How I Stopped Losing Sleep
This is a term I hadn’t heard before: “revenge bedtime procrastination” refers to “delaying sleep in favor of ‘me time’ activities such as Netflix binges, Wordle games, or TikTok scrolls.” I’ve only heard it referring to people with ADHD who procrastinate going to be to have some “me time.” This article talks about it and shares some ideas from people who have found ways to overcome it. Click here to read full article.
How Parenting Kids With Disabilities Affects Marriage
Some of you may be working with parents who have one or more children with disabilities. This brief article has some helpful advice. Click here to read full article.
Disney to air ad accusing Americans who oppose genital mutilation of kids of wanting to ‘tear families apart’
In case you had any questions about whether Disney is “family-friendly,” there is now a new ad that will be airing on all Disney channels that states that parents who oppose genital mutilation of children of “wanting to tear families apart.” Click here to read full article.
Olivia Jaber: How I Survived Berkeley
This is one of the short videos in the “Stories of Us” series. Olivia is a very articulate young woman, and I think her message is a good one for anyone choosing a college or those who guide young people as they make their decisions about choosing a college to watch. Click here to read full article.
Network Meta-Analysis Identifies Best Psychosocial Interventions for Chronic Low Back Pain
You won’t be able to access this article without a subscription to a medical journal, but here’s a summary. For people dealing with chronic low back pain, the best treatment for pain and improving movement was found to be a combination of CBT and physical therapy.
‘Faces of Meth Progression’: Woman’s Mugshots Reveal Story of Addiction and Recovery
If you have a client struggling with a meth addiction who is ambivalent about whether to quit, showing them this series of pictures and the accompanying story might be helpful motivation. Click here to read full article.
Long-term Quality of Life in Patients with Breast Cancer After Breast Conservation vs Mastectomy and Reconstruction
When women have breast cancer that is caught in the early stages, they are sometimes given the choice between total breast removal and breast conservation surgery and reconstruction. Here is the summary of results from a ten-year followup: “In this population-based comparative effectiveness research study of 647 women with breast cancer, patient-reported satisfaction with their breasts was similar 10 years after breast-conserving surgery with RT and with mastectomy and breast reconstruction without RT. However, psychosocial and sexual well-being were better in patients treated with breast-conserving surgery with RT.” Click here to read full article.
As Families Grieve, Grandparents Step Up
This is a New York Times article, so many of you will not be able to read and see this pictorial article. A summary: About 200,000 children have lost a parent to COVID: in many cases grandparents are stepping up to care for these children at the same time they are dealing with their own grief. Click here to read full article.
Families Betrayed by Disney Have Alternatives
Families who believe Disney has betrayed their trust now have at least six alternatives, described in this article. Click here to read full article.
April Fools! San Francisco police pull over driverless car
In what could have been a great April Fools joke (but wasn’t), San Francisco police pulled over a car for driving at night without headlights on, but when they approached the car, found that there was no one inside. Apparently General Motors was doing some experimental work in their driverless car unit, and someone forgot to turn on the headlights before sending the car out for a nighttime run. Click here to read full article.
Happy Easter to everyone!
Henry Virkler