Good Sayings

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.

Winston Churchill

In the end, some of your greatest pains become your greatest strengths.

Drew Barrymore

"The more we value things outside our control, the less control we have."

MARCUS AURELIUS

“I know it’s time to clean out my purse when my car assumes it’s a second passenger who’s not wearing their seat belt.”

From Ginny Sale’s Facebook page

The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.

Amelia Earhart (the first woman to complete a solo flight across the Atlantic)

"Your talent is God's gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God."

LEO BUSCAGLIA

From InterestingFacts.com

“The dog ate my homework” is a phrase many students have tried to use with teachers (it rarely works). But in one notable case, that really happened. When John Steinbeck wrote his first draft “Of Mice and Men” his dog Toby ate the first draft. Steinbeck had to rewrite the entire book and it has often been credited as one of his most moving works.

Humans like to think of themselves as the smartest species, but we only have one brain. Leeches have 32 brains, putting us to shame. However, as far as we know, no leech has applied to Mensa for membership.

Famous People with Dyslexia, Dyscalculia & Other Learning Differences

Here are brief stories about 12 famous people with some sort of learning disability who credit their success to the resilience they have developed from having to overcome their disability. Click here to read full article. 

Women Addicted to Porn: What You Need to Know to Break Free

Here is a very comprehensive summary about women who are addicted to porn by a fulltime employee of Covenant Eyes who works with women.  It includes a good compilation of resources to help women break free. Click here to read full article. 

Novel Effect of Video Gaming on the Brain

The headline announces “Playing action video games boosts brain activity and decision-making skills.” This was a observational study comparing 47 college students, about ½ who said they spent 5 or more hours per week playing video games, and ½ who spent one hour or less per week playing such games.

Although this headline might give the impression that every student should become a gamer since it boosts brain activity and decision-making skills, notice what the criteria for success were. It was found that on an online task, the gamers were 190 milliseconds faster in responding and were 2% more accurate in their decision that a set of dots was moving to the left or right. There was no indication that these two differences translated into any real-world difference that would improve their lives, whereas spending those five hours studying for their courses probably would make a real-world difference in college. There was also no attention paid to whether their videogame playing might be contributing to an addiction. So although this study was published in a psychiatry journal I think it is wise to read the entire study and not just the headline before making a decision on what the research means. Click here to read full article. 

‘Conversion Therapy’ allowed to continue in Palm Beach County

Conversion therapy has often been misconstrued as an abusive therapy that tries to coerce those who identify as gay, lesbian, or trans to change. Probably no licensed therapist would attempt to do this today. However, some groups broadened this definition to say that any work by a counselor that results in a client changing their sexual orientation or gender identity is conversion therapy, even if the client requested such help. 

There are some clients who have same-sex attractions and want to change them or who have questions about their gender identity and wish to think those questions through in therapy. Many Christian counselors believe that counselors should have the freedom to help such clients pursue their goals without fear of losing their counseling licenses.

Two years ago a federal court ruled that such counseling could continue in Palm Beach County and Boca Raton, and this past week affirmed that the practice could continue. Click here to read full article. 

How AI is helping prevent suicide in veterans

Suicide among veterans has been a significant problem for many years. This article explains how artificial intelligence is starting to provide pre-emptive action to reduce the suicide rate. Click here to read full article. 

Association Between Vaccination and Acute Myocardial Infarction and Ischemic Stroke After COVID-19 Infection

This is not a counseling article but may be of interest to some of you or to your clients. Opponents of COVID vaccinations have sometimes charged that the vaccines cause increased risk of heart attacks or strokes following vaccination. This research found that fully vaccinated people were less likely to have heart attacks or strokes than those who had not received the COVID vaccinations. Click here to read full article. 

The Ultimate Guide to Handling Hypomania

After coming out of a depressed episode, it may be hard to know if a person is just feeling “normal” or if they’re entering a hypomanic episode. This is an in-depth article about hypomania that talks about its advantages and disadvantages, and offers some good insights for anyone who experiences bipolar disorder. Click here to read full article. 

Video Game Addiction: Definitions, Best Treatments Remain Elusive

If you haven’t already had a client who has a problem limiting the time they spend on videogames, you probably will. Here’s a report from a recent psychiatry conference on the current state of treatment. Click here to read full article. 

‘This Is Very Dangerous’: If You See Folded Money on the Floor Like This, Do Not Pick It Up—Here’s Why

I had seen this headline several times so finally decided to read the article it pointed to. Here is a summary: a few people are putting a few grains of fentanyl in folded pieces of money. As you probably know, even a few grains of inhaled fentanyl can kill you, so be cautious.

Myth of ‘Moderation’: Is There No Safe Amount of Alcohol?

Although it was at one time thought that small amounts of alcohol per day was healthy, this article compiles data saying that there is no safe amount of alcohol. If you’re open to hearing the data, the article explains why. Click here to read full article. 

Cannibalism and the New York Times

A recent article in the New York Times asserts the practice of humans eating humans is going mainstream…and we should be “prepared.” In an article entitled “A Taste for Cannibalism?”, the New York Times stated there is a “time and place” for the practice of people eating other people. I’m not going to include the link. My only prayer after reading this was: “Even so, Lord, come quickly.”

How Does Brain Fog Differ from Dementia

Brain fog and dementia both share many symptoms in common, so clients with brain fog may come to you wondering if they are in the early stages of dementia. This article from the Amen Clinic clearly explains the differences between the two. It also lists the many things that can cause brain fog and that brain fog is generally temporary and will lift when the cause is identified and treated. Click here to read full article. 

Possible Fraudulent Images Used in Key Alzheimer’s Study Has Misled Research for Years, Report Says

For many years the predominant theory about the causes of Alzheimer’s was that it was caused by the development of amyloid plaques in the brain. Many years of research and millions of dollars have been spent trying to find medication that would slow or stop the development of such plaques, but none have been successful. It now has been verified that 12 to 15 of the slides of amyloid plaques conveyed in research many years ago were doctored. This demonstrates the terrible results of one unethical researcher claiming to have discovered something that they have not. Click here to read full article. 

For another article discussing this situation, see the following:

Click here to read full article. 

Psychologists Have Traditionally Focused on the Past but What If That’s All Wrong?

This is an interesting article that asks whether we might be better therapists if we focused on helping clients develop a positive view of the future rather than trying to heal the traumas from the past. I think that the idea is worth considering. However, be aware that the author is a senior lecturer at a positive psychology institute.  Thus, while it is always good to be open to new ideas, what she is saying may not be the whole picture. Click here to read full article. 

Well-Meaning Comments about Bipolar & Their Unintended Consequences

Stephen Propst, a well-known speaker and writer about living successfully with bipolar disorder, shares a list of ideas that well-meaning family members make to those with bipolar disorder. Click here to read full article. 

I Feared I Had Alzheimer’s. It Turns Out It Was Undiagnosed ADHD.

This is a humorous article about a 50-year-old woman who had two grandparents die of Alzheimer’s and feared she was having the symptoms of it herself. She eventually found out she had undiagnosed ADHD, and once on medication her “Alzheimer’s symptoms” disappeared. Since that time all four of her children have also been diagnosed with ADHD or definitely have the symptoms suggesting that diagnosis. If you need a humorous article to read today this is a good one to try. Click here to read full article. 

10 Books Every Woman Should Read After Her ADHD Diagnosis

This is a fascinating set of books to consider. If you have female clients with ADHD, I recommend you share this list with them. Click here to read full article. 

How Gender Ideology Cost a Chicago Mother Custody of Her Child

Although you may not have encountered this yet, I think it’s a trend we all should be aware of—gender ideology becoming a weapon in child custody battles. Read this story to understand how something like this can happen. Click here to read full article. 

 ‘I Had a Secret Addiction. Do I Have to Tell Anyone?

This person had an addiction to prescription medicine which she believes she kept a total secret from everyone and performed very effectively while addicted. She has asked her prescriber to change her to a new medication which is less likely for her to abuse. Now she asks Ana Marie Cox whether she should tell anyone. I think Cox does make some good points. See what you think. Click here to read full article. 

Tavistock transgender clinic shut down by NHS

This is a quote from the Telegraph, a major British newspaper: “

The Tavistock transgender clinic is to be shut down by the NHS after a review found it is "not safe" for children. NHS England will move young people who believe that they are trans into regional centres which will take a more "holistic" approach to treatment and look at other mental health or medical issues they may have. The decision is a response to the interim Cass Review, which warned that medics at Tavistock had felt "under pressure to adopt an unquestioning affirmative approach" to gender identity rather than going through the normal process of clinic assessment with young people. The review was commissioned amid concerns over "inconclusive evidence to support clinical decision making" which saw children as young as 10 given puberty blockers.”

I cannot give you the address for the full article because you and I both need a subscription to the Telegraph to access it.

I hope you enjoyed these articles.

Henry Virkler