Good sayings

• ''I cannot make my days longer, so I strive to make them better.''

  HENRY DAVID THOREAU

  The injuries we do and those we suffer are seldom weighed in the same scales.

  Aesop

  Believe you can and you’re halfway there.

  Theodore Roosevelt

  ''God has given you one face, and you make yourself another.''

  WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

  ''If a man does not make new acquaintances as he advances through life, he will soon find himself left alone. A man, sir, should keep his friendship in a constant repair.''

  SAMUEL JOHNSON

  ''In life, all good things come hard, but wisdom is the hardest to come by.''

  LUCILLE BALL

  From Interesting Facts.com

  First, two interesting facts about guinea pigs:

• 1)    In Switzerland, it is illegal to own one guinea pig. Apparently guinea pigs are social animals, and quickly become lonesome all by themselves. Therefore the Swiss have a law making it illegal to only own one guinea pig. There is even an industry for renting a pig temporarily if one of your pigs die and you need to find a companion for the other one quickly.
• 2)    Guinea pigs are not related to the pig family. They are in fact rodents.

• Other interesting facts:

• 1.     It takes 25,000 years for light from the center of our Milky Way galaxy to reach us.
• 2.     The estimated number of galaxies in the universe is two trillion!

When Gender Surgery Goes Wrong

Part of transitioning from male to female or female to male requires gender surgery. This surgery is quite complicated and can lead to medical problems and complications. If you or a client would like to understand the process this article explains both processes more completely. Click here to read full article. 

The Better Part

One of my best friends is a retired priest who lives in our neighborhood. He sends out a devotional once or twice a week. The one he sent out this week is a good reminder for all of us and might be something to share with some of your clients. Click here to read full article. 

20 Life Lessons from Mister Rogers

Probably few people in life have had a more positive influence on more people than Mister Rogers. Here are 20 wonderful quotes from him. Click here to read full article. 

Carrots vs. Sticks: The Science of Reward and Punishment for Children with ADHD

We’ve known for some time that children with ADHD respond differently to rewards and punishments than neurotypical children. Here’s a good summary of what the research reveals, and some new details that you might not know as well. Click here to read full article. 

If You Take Medication for Bipolar, Do You Really Need Therapy?

This article is written by a person who has bipolar, has found medication that works for her, but who still says she, and others like her, can benefit from counseling. It might be helpful if you are working with a client who is asking the same question. Click here to read full article. 

How the Brain Knows to Take out the ‘Trash’

God’s Word tells us that “we are fearfully and wonderfully made.” This article, from Yale University, gives us one more glimpse of how that verse is beautifully illustrated. Click here to read full article. 

College Valedictorian with Nonverbal Autism Calls on Classmates to Serve Others in Commencement Speech

This young woman with autism, who cannot speak and has other neuromuscular disorders, graduated as valedictorian of her class at Rollins College (a college here in Florida). She also gave the commencement speech. Learn more about this remarkable young woman here. Click here to read full article.

Will a No-Suicide Contract Help My Client Stay Safe?: Four Clinicians Weigh In

You probably will not be able to read this article if you don’t have a subscription to the Psychotherapy Networker, a magazine that I think is a good investment for therapists. The consensus of these four clinicians is that, while no-suicide contracts were commonly recommended in previous decades, the current emphasis is on using safety plans, since safety plans emphasize what the client can do, rather than on what they are not to do. Click here to read full article.

Why I Stopped Teaching

Here is a five-minute video by a woman who taught school for 15 years, loved teaching, but eventually stopped because of what she experienced happening in our schools. She also includes several excellent suggestions that parents can take to influence what is happening in our schools. If you have children in public schools, this information is important. Click here to read full article.

A Get-Things-Done Guide for the Overwhelmed and Overloaded

All of us have at one time or another had trouble getting everything organized and done. Most of us eventually find a method that works for us, but people with ADHD often have more difficulty finding techniques that work for them. Here is a list of 11 ideas especially compiled for people with ADHD to help them organize and accomplish their workload. Click here to read full article.

Everything You Need to Know about “Coming Out” about Your Bipolar Disorder

I included an article about this topic a while back, but this article, written by someone with bipolar, is even better. I believe many of the principles could be adapted to apply to “coming out” for any mental disorder. Click here to read full article.

Managing Bipolar & Chronic Illness with Style

Speaker, advocate, and author Jessica Gimeno has bipolar disorder and five other chronic illnesses, one of which causes chronic pain. This article gives us a glimpse into how she manages her life. She is a Christian and includes dependency on her faith as an important part of her outlook. Click here to read full article.

Female Friendly Porn–What It Is and Why It’s Still Harmful

Quote from the beginning of this article: “So much porn is violent, degrading and hateful towards women–almost beyond imagination. One study shows that women receive 97% of the physical aggression in porn. That’s why some are advocating for a “female friendly” genre of porn–one where women are not verbally or physically abused and their sexual pleasure is portrayed in a positive, romantic light. 

“Proponents of female friendly porn reason that if porn isn’t violent or degrading to women, it should be an acceptable form of entertainment or even sex ed for our teens. So why do I still caution against it?”

Click here to read full article.

Too Much Church in the State

This article by Maureen Dowd is from the New York Times, so you probably won’t be able to read it without a subscription, but I’d like to make a couple comments about it. She references that six of the nine Supreme Court justices are Catholic, and therefore they are letting their theological beliefs influence the decisions they are making about Roe v. Wade. The first point I would make is that every worldview, including atheism, has a theological foundation. Atheism is a statement about God, and the moral principles that come implicit in atheism also have a theological foundation. So every worldview and set of moral principles is essentially a theological position, and every human being operates from some worldview or another—it is inescapable, even for Supreme Court justices.

The second point I would make is that if anyone reads Judge Alito’s draft, you’ll see that his arguments are fully based on the Constitution (which is what a Supreme Court decision should be based on) and not on any religious belief. Click here to read full article.

Over 75 Percent of Long Covid Patients Were Not Hospitalized for Initial Illness, Study Finds

This is a large study. It is in the New York Times, so you may not be able to read it. But this headline is a good summary. Three quarters of the clients coming to you with “long COVID” symptoms had an original bout with COVID that was mild, but now have one or more symptoms of long COVID. Common long COVID symptoms include breathing problems, extreme fatigue, and cognitive and memory issues. The medical  diagnostic code is U09.9 for “Post COVID-19 condition, unspecified.” I am not aware of a DSM-5 code, although I believe many insurance policies will accept an ICD code. Click here to read full article.

Bipolar & Identity: Living Beyond the Label

This is a really worthwhile article. Let me just quote the opening lines to give you an inkling of why I believe it is so good. 

“Dana remembers the “aha moment” when her therapist interrupted to correct a statement she’d just made: “I am bipolar.” Her therapist gently responded, “You have bipolar, but you’re Dana.”

“That changed everything.” Click here to read full article.

California woman says dog defended her from mountain lion

This article has nothing to do with counseling, but I think it’s a remarkable story of how this 24-year-old woman and her dog fought off an attack by a mountain lion, should you care to read it. Click here to read full article.

Most US voters oppose body mutilating sex-change surgeries for kids but too afraid speak up: poll

It appears that the majority of Americans believe that children and teens should wait until they are adults to have gender-change surgeries but are afraid to voice those opinions in public. Click here to read full article.

South Carolina becomes 16th state to ban biological males from girls’ sports

The movement to ban males who claim they are transgender females in order to compete in female sports continues to grow. Click here to read full article.

Virginia's largest school district reviews rule suspending students for 'deadnaming'

In case you are not aware of the term “deadnaming” this is defined as “referring to someone by their previously known name, often their name given at birth, rather than their "chosen name," and "malicious misgendering."

At present students in Virginia who “deadname” another student may be suspended for up to five days. The gender identity issue in public schools in Virginia became important in that state’s most recent gubernatorial election, so certain schools, particularly those in “progressive districts” are reviewing their policies. Click here to read full article.

‘2000 Mules’ Allegations Not Part of Claims Dismissed by Georgia Elections Board, Despite Media Reports

In case you are not familiar with the methodology used by the makers of the film “2000 Mules” this article gives a good unbiased description of the methodology used, and the allegations stemming from their investigation. It had been reported that the Georgia Elections Board had dismissed those claims, but apparently that was not true. Click here to read full article.

Trans murderer shows up to court as a woman, referred to as ‘Miss’ and moved to female jail

We can be thankful we do not live in New York state. A 24-year-old man who is accused of murdering a 64-year-old man in New York City will now be housed with females and adolescents as he undergoes gender transition while awaiting trial. I wonder how long this insanity in New York state and California will continue before someone realizes that placing men who claim to be women in women’s prisons is grossly unfair to the women housed there. Click here to read full article.

Have a wonderful week!

Henry Virkler