Interesting Quotes
There is always satisfaction in the reflection that, if there were no trials, there would be no victories.
Anne Sullivan (Helen Keller’s teacher)
I do not wish any reward but to know I have done the right thing.
Mark Twain, “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
No man becomes rich unless he enriches others.
Andrew Carnegie
The best way you can find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.
Ernest Hemingway
Love is something that if you give it away, you end up having more.
Malvina Reynolds
“You cannot do kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.”
RALPH WALDO EMERSON
From InterestingFacts.com
Before the federal government established time zones in 1883, the United States had 144 local times.
Many people believe cats are nocturnal, since they seem to sleep a lot during the day. They are not. They are actually crepuscular creatures, which means they are most active at dusk and dawn (low light conditions) because their eyes are designed to work best for hunting in these conditions.
The coastal redwoods are the tallest living beings on earth. A typical redwood will remove 250 tons of carbon from the atmosphere in its lifetime (a typical tree removes 1 ton in its lifetime). The name of the tallest redwood is Hyperion (named after a Greek titan): it is 380 feet tall.
The planet Jupiter has a storm (similar to our hurricanes) that is larger than the earth. The winds in that hurricane are blowing approximately 400 mph, and the storm is approximately 10,000 miles across. It is gradually shrinking: in the 1900s it was 30,000 miles across. So we should be thankful that God put us on the planet He did.
Ketamine via Telehealth: Psychiatrists Urge Caution
Apparently ketamine can provide prompt relief for some with depression. However, it has been inadequately studied, according to some psychiatrists. There is special concern that it is being prescribed through telepsychiatry without any in-person contact with the client, which concerns many practitioners. For example, it increases blood pressure, heart rate and the risk of psychosis, which is why many psychiatrists are concerned when it is prescribed without meeting with the client in person. Click here to read full article.
What to Consider if Your Boyfriend Watches Porn
Some Christian women may come to you with this question. Here are some good ideas from a counselor who works at one of the Rapha counseling centers. Click here to read full article.
It Could Be Hotter
State employees in 10 provinces in Iraq were sent home on Thursday when temperatures soared to 120 degrees.
One Not-So-Good Way to Avoid Going to Work
Janya Williams, 18, is facing terrorism charges after sending text messages threatening a mass shooting — all to avoid showing up to her job as a Lollapalooza security guard. Her message said that terrorists had identified 150 targets. (It seems like it would have been less risky to just call in sick.)
6 Things I’ve Learned From the Amish
This author has written 29 books about the Amish, and with such intensive study, she’s found some things in Amish culture that she wants to, or already has, adopted into her own life. She identifies at least six things that she believes we might adopt into our lives that would make our lives more fulfilling. A very worthwhile article to read. Click here to read full article.
How Modern Marijuana Changes the Brain
Some of our political leaders in Congress are attempting to introduce bills that would legalize marijuana in all 50 states. This in-depth article reminds us of some things we may have read elsewhere, but it also adds new information about how marijuana changes the brain. It has in-depth discussions of medical marijuana and recreational marijuana and the impact on states that have legalized marijuana for recreational purposes. For counselors, knowing this information is important in talking with clients who are considering using it in their own lives, and for all of us, knowing this information can be important in talking with our legislators. Click here to read full article.
Nobel Prize Winner: 5 Things That Speed up Aging, and 1 Anti-Aging Secret
This is an article primarily about the research of Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn, who is credited with discovery of telomeres, the ends of chromosomes that serve as protective caps essential for preserving genetic information, and for co-discovering telomerase, an enzyme that maintains telomere ends. As an organism ages, the telomeres shorten as cells replicate, and the shorter the telomere, the shorter the remaining lifespan becomes.
This article summarizes several small studies, each of which points to the fact that certain negative attitudes are correlated with shortened telomeres and lifespans, and that self-awareness and more positive attituded appears to increase the healthiness of cellular telomeres.
Although I think we probably should wait until more studies confirm this association, if the relationship between healthy attitudes and longer life holds up, this could be one more reason for people to embrace psychotherapy. And the attitudes which the article refers to is also one that could come from trusting in a loving heavenly father, and in trusting his watchcare over all of our lives. Click here to read full article.
What Are the ‘Auras’ Around People Seen in Photos? Scientists Explain the Mysterious Energy That Humans Emit
I imagine we’ve all heard references to auras, those mysterious energies that certain kinds of photography can sometimes show around people. But what are they? This article compiles many of the theories about what they represent. You probably won’t be able to use this information in counseling, but you might enjoy the article if you’re interested in the topic. Click here to read full article.
A Surprising Risk Factor of Coronary Heart Disease
We know that smoking, drinking, and obesity increase a person’s risk of heart disease. But there’s something that is an even greater risk than these, and its something that we as counselors can help people reduce. See what the research says it is. Click here to read full article.
Easily Distracted? How to Tune Out Distractions & Focus on School
Children with ADHD are easily distracted. The first half of this article is written for teachers, but the second half has suggestions for parents about how to reduce distractions at home when children are doing homework. Click here to read full article.
Women can have 3 types of orgasm, scientists discover: Do you ‘avalanche’?
This article may be too explicit for some readers’ taste, so you can ignore it. For those of you who are interested, these sex researchers reported in the Journal of Sexual Medicine that women have one of three types of orgasms, which the researchers distinguished from each other by the way the pelvic floor contracts when having an orgasm. The three types of orgasm have been labeled as the wave (the most common type), the volcano, and the avalanche. Click here to read full article.
The actual journal article is quite technical (and boring) and has the title “Women's Orgasms Determined by Autodetection of Pelvic Floor Muscle Contractions Using the Lioness “Smart” Vibrator” and can be found at https://www.jsm.jsexmed.org/article/S1743-6095(22)01328-5/fulltext
NEW Virus Outbreak Reported In China
A new virus that has transferred from animals to humans has been identified in China. At present there are only 35 diagnosed cases. It is a virus that can be fatal in humans, although none of the 35 present cases has died. This is the first news of this virus, so we do not know much about it or how serious it will become. Click here to read full article.
The Hardest Part of ADHD for My Family and Me
ADHD causes different challenges for different people. The author of this article, who has ADHD and a husband and son with ADHD, asked each of them what the biggest challenge they faced as a result of ADHD. A worthwhile article to help us remember that the same mental disorder has different effects on different people. Click here to read full article.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Henry Virkler