Good Sayings

You can’t calm the storm so stop trying. What you can do is calm yourself. The storm will pass.

Allannah Hunt

Trust yourself — you know more than you think you do.

— Benjamin Spock, pediatrician

Don’t get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.

Dolly Parton

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

Winston Churchill

"When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it."

HENRY FORD

If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.

— Dale Carnegie

“Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.”

HENRY VAN DYKE

"In poverty and other misfortunes of life, true friends are a sure refuge. The young they keep out of mischief; to the old they are a comfort and aid in their weakness, and those in the prime of life they incite to noble deeds."

ARISTOTLE

Interesting Facts (most from InterestingFacts.com)

Did you know there are four North Poles? There is the geographic North Pole, which is what we normally think of as the North Pole. Secondly, there is the magnetic north pole. There is also the geomagnetic north pole. Lastly, there is the north pole of inaccessibility, so named because no one has been able to reach it in the last 100 years.

Interesting sensory pathways: Bats “see” with their ears, snakes “smell” with their tongue, and perhaps most strangely of all, butterflies “taste” with their feet.

100 Lightning Bolts Strike Earth Every Second on Average

'Doomscrolling' Takes a Toll on Both Mental and Physical Health

This large study of more than 1,000 men and women found that 17% of those who obsessively checked the news had an increased likelihood of mental and physical health symptoms. Since this was a correlational study one cannot attribute causation to “doomscrolling” but if you have clients who do this, you might want to have them consider experimenting with engaging in some other activity and see whether it reduces mental or physical health issues. Click here to read full article.

Brick Wall, Jellyfish, or Backbone: What Type of Parent Are You?

Interesting metaphor of three types of parenting, with some practical ideas for healthy parenting. Although written for parents of children with ADHD, the concepts could be applied to most types of families. Click here to read full article.

What Do We Know About Pornography Use Among Women?

There are far too many points in this compilation of research to attempt to summarize. This compilation includes both the frequency of women who view pornography and the psychological impact such viewing has on them. I recommend all counselors read this and perhaps save it to their computers to use when they believe it is appropriate. Click here to read full article.

An Author’s Remarks on Bipolar, Motherhood, & Overcoming Her Past

This person has a unique history as an indigenous Canadian and a mother with bipolar disorder. Especially if you work with indigenous clients, her thoughts might be helpful to them. Click here to read full article.

Epigenetic Memories Are Passed Down 14 Successive Generations, Game-Changing Research Reveals

We have for many years believed in Mendelian genetics, that is, that each organism’s development was determined by the genes inherited from the previous generation. This article describes epigenetics and says that these features determine whether or not a gene is turned on, and in what time period. Furthermore, it says that experience shapes these epigenetic influences, so therefore our experiences and habits may be more of a determinative factor than the genes themselves.

This was the first time I had heard some of this information, so I recommend that we not take this as settled truth until we see it confirmed by more research, but if it turns out to be true, then this has strong implications for counselors. The habits that we help our clients develop may not only improve their lives, but through epigenetics, may improve the lives of their offspring in successive generations. Click here to read full article.

Socializing Gives Older Adults a Cognitive Boost

It has been generally accepted that socializing is healthy for older adults (e.g., ages 70 to 90). This well-done study measured this by having older adults keep record of the number of social interactions they had throughout each day and then using three measures of cognitive ability. What they found is that positive social interactions boosted cognitive performance not only on the day of the positive interaction, but also on the next two days. Click here to read full article.

Association Between Sleep Duration and Cognitive Decline

In this study of more than 28,000 people, those who slept less than four hours per night or more than 10 hours per night declined cognitively significantly faster than those who slept an average of 7 hours per night. Click here to read full article.

Getting Control to Work Around Bipolar Depression

Julie Fast is one of my favorite bipolar bloggers. Here she talks about the strategies she uses to get to work even when she is depressed. Some of her ideas would probably work for anyone experiencing depression, whether that depression came from bipolar disorder or some other source. Click here to read full article.

Children’s hospital that promoted disputed puberty blocker study tried to hide mistakes, avoid questions, emails show

I know this article will be controversial, but I think its important that we hear both sides of an issue and keep our minds open to all the data that comes in. Click here to read full article.

Intention Deficit Disorder: Why ADHD Minds Struggle to Meet Goals with Action

Intention deficit disorder is not a DSM diagnosis, but is a term coined by Russel Barkley, famed ADHD doctor to refer to the difficulties people with ADHD often have turning intentions into effective behavior that accomplishes the goals they have. Here’s an article by Barkley with some insights and practical suggestions. Click here to read full article.

Women Are Disproportionately Hurting Our Country

When I first saw this article title, I couldn’t believe someone would write such a thing, and I skeptically started to read it. But before I finished, I concluded that I think the author makes some valid points. See what you think. Click here to read full article.

Here Are 10 Signs of Autism in Adults, According to Experts

We are now recognizing that many people with autism were not diagnosed during childhood and aren’t diagnosed until they have a breakdown during adulthood. If you work with adults, I encourage you to read this informative article. Click here to read full article.

When Bipolar Mood Episodes Return

After bipolar patients effectively recover from their first psychotic episode, some are never told about the possibility of having another episode. Most will experience several return episodes during their lifetimes. This is a good article to share with clients to give them helpful information about the reality of returning episodes. Click here to read full article.

How the Church (and the State) Failed Abigail Martinez

This story is a grim reminder of what can happen when gender-affirming schools and counselors collaborate and tell a teen that all her problems will be solved if she enters “gender affirming” care. Click here to read full article.

In Large Study, Those Diagnosed with a Psychiatric Disorder Were More Likely to Develop Dementia

The World Health Organization has said that those with significant mental disorders (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression) have lifespans that are normally shortened by 10 to 25 years. This study also found that dementia rates are also increased in those with these major disorders. Click here to read full article.

Ex-porn stars demand minimum age increase to enter industry, say naive teens are exploited

Twenty ex-porn stars have sent a letter to major porn producers demanding that they raise the minimum age from 18 to 21 before young girls are allowed to enter the industry. Click here to read full article.

Dissenting Voices Must Speak Out to Extricate Society From the Grip of Mass Formation

This is an article about a clinical psychologist from Belgium, Mattias Desmet, who refers to mass formation as situations in which many individuals believe in an unreasonable narrative but are unable to think critically about it. In mass formation people become very intolerant of anyone who thinks differently.

I think here in the United States we might refer to it as whatever beliefs are accepted at the time as politically correct. He refers to beliefs about COVID and treatments for COVID as examples of mass formation (or beliefs we are told are the correct way to think). There were medical doctors who espoused beliefs or treatments different than the CDC, but they were often vilified as creators of disinformation.

Dr. Desmet says that to combat mass formation, there must be individuals who are willing to speak assertively about their views, even if they are not widely supported.

Dr. Desmet says that there have been numerous examples of mass formation throughout history including beliefs about Nazism and the thinking that underlies most totalitarian regimes. Today we have many beliefs that are being held by the majority as being politically correct, even though they are contrary to the principles in God’s Word.  I think his antidote is correct: we must have the courage to speak up against false beliefs, and the ability to articulate why we believe those views are incorrect. Especially as our culture deviates further and further from a Judeo-Christian understanding of life. See what you think. Click here to read full article.

Inside ‘derealization,’ the psychological disorder affecting Landon Barker

A rare psychological disorder, derealization, that’s getting a lot of attention recently, may not be familiar to you because you never had a client with it. For a quick refresher, read this article. Click here to read full article.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Henry Virkler