Articles from the Week of October 7, 2022
Good Quotes
"No man is free who is not master of himself."
EPICTETUS
You can't lead the people if you don't love the people. You can't save the people, if you don't serve the people.
Cornel West
'People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character.''
RALPH WALDO EMERSON
Our ultimate freedom is the right and power to decide how anybody or anything outside ourselves will affect us.
Stephen Covey
''As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do.''
ANDREW CARNEGIE
Love sought is good but given unsought is better.
William Shakespeare
Interesting Facts (most from InterestingFacts.com)
Killer whales are not really whales, they’re actually dolphins. And although they’re called “killer” whales they’re not really vicious to humans. Attacks on humans are rare. They got their name from ancient sailors because they are intelligent hunters of marine animals.
“The human nose is a biological wonder. It can smell up to 1 trillion odors, trap harmful debris in the air before it enters your lungs, and affect your sex life. But arguably its most important job is to condition the air you breathe before that air enters your respiratory tract. This means warming and humidifying the air before it passes to your throat and beyond. To do this, the nose undergoes a nasal cycle in which one nostril sucks in the majority of the air while the other nostril takes in the remaining portion. A few hours later (on average), the nostrils switch roles. This cycle is regulated by the body’s autonomic nervous system…..”
I’m not sure who decides what we should celebrate, but this week has been denoted as “Fat Bear Week.”
How 1 Small European Study Changed Transgender Medicine in US
This is an interview. It will take about 10 minutes to read, but it’s an exceptionally important source of information on the transgender movement, how it got started in Europe, and how 7 of the countries who were its original proponents, have now stopped giving teens puberty-suppressing drugs, cross-sex
hormones, and providing sex change surgery so easily and quickly to children and teens. If you work with children or with families, I highly encourage you to read it. Click here to access full article.
New Ambassador
President Biden has now created a new ambassadorial position. It is an ambassador for plants and animals. Click here to access full article.
Grandpa Lovingly Sings ‘What a Wonderful World’ for His Grandson with Down Syndrome
Not a counseling article, but a beautiful demonstration of family love. Click here to access full article.
How Robots Are Helping Children with Autism
Interesting article on how robots are being programmed to assist students with autism in school settings. Click here to access full article.
Coping With the Stigma of ADHD
Since October is ADHD Awareness Month, this is a good time to encourage those with ADHD to help others understand what ADHD is. Especially girls and young women often deal with stigma about their ADHD. This article has some good suggestions for them. Click here to access full article.
Reducing Alcohol Intake May Reduce Cancer Risk
Since this was a post-hoc correlational study only (finding that decreasing alcohol intake was associated with decreased incidence of cancer), the headline reads “may” rather than “does.” Click here to access full article.
Sex Is Still a Taboo Subject for Patients with Breast Cancer
In this study, while breast cancer surgery had a negative impact on women’s body image and 50% said that it decreased their sexual experience, none discussed this with a counselor or sex therapist. If you have a client who has breast cancer surgery, it may be worthwhile to bring up these two subjects with her. Click here to access full article.
ADHD, Bipolar, or Both? Getting an Accurate Diagnosis
There are some symptoms of bipolar disorder and ADHD that overlap and occasionally some clients may have both. For a brief introduction to the two, see this article. Click here to access full article.
Major Scientific Publisher Retracting Over 500 Papers
Hindawi, a British-based publisher of open-source journals (the U.S. company John Wiley is the parent company) retracted over 500 scientific papers after discovering unethical practices in the peer-review process. Click here to access full article.
Fifteen Ways to Stay Healthy in Retirement
When preparing for my own retirement, I read six books on retirement and old age. This is a good, comprehensive summary of 15 things people can do to stay physically and mentally healthy during retirement. Click here to access full article.
The Amazing Benefits of Doing Hard Things
An interesting article for us and possibly for some of our clients. Click here to access full article.
20 Life Lessons From Mister Rogers
If you appreciate the late Mister Rogers, you might enjoy reading these 20 quotes from the man himself. Click here to access full article.
PHOTOS: Hungry Deer Thumps Ukrainian Woman on Elbow and Shoulder for Cookies
Not a counseling article, but a cute article that illustrates that apparently humans are not the only ones who like cookies. Click here to access full article.
Fact: Multitasking Is Counterproductive.
There is one thing that has been settled by solid research several years ago: while we can sometimes do two overlearned physical tasks simultaneously (e.g., a mother cooking a meal and nursing her child simultaneously), when it comes to cognitive tasks, we cannot multitask effectively. Research has shown that even bright people make more mistakes, are prone to become irritable inappropriately, are likely to increase one’s level of anxiety, and chronic attempts to multitask is harmful to the brain. And yet we sometimes see job notices that say applicants must be able to multitask. If you have clients with ADHD you are likely to find them stubbornly holding on to the idea that they can multitask. Here is an article specifically written for those with ADHD to help them replace their belief that they can multitask with some work habits that will ultimately help them to be more effective and efficient. Click here to access full article.
My Life with Bipolar: 10 Things I Know Matter Most
I have often included articles from Stephen Propst in these issues of Friday News because I found them so helpful. The word came out today that Stephen passed away at his home in Atlanta from natural causes. He will be missed. Here is one of his last articles. Click here to access full article.
Sharp Rise in Marijuana-Related Psychosis: American Board of Pain Medicine President
Five states this year have referenda on legalizing marijuana. This prominent physician in this article cites the sharp rise in marijuana-related poisoning in children and marijuana-related psychosis in adults as cautions to states who are considering approving this move. If you didn’t attend Aaron Norton’s webinar on marijuana last week, I highly recommend you read this article and watch his webinar as soon as it is available. Both are highly worthwhile. Click here to access full article.
Citing Concern for Free Speech, 12 Federal Judges Say They Won’t Take Clerks from Yale Law School
For many years Yale Law School has been one of the most esteemed law schools in the world. But several recent incidents at Yale where the administration has cracked down on allowing free speech among guest speakers and not a single conservative scholar among their faculty has caused a dozen federal judges to say they will not take graduates from Yale as clerks. Perhaps this is just one of the first real life consequences when universities become so “woke” that they no longer allow college to be a place where the free exchange of a variety of viewpoints are allowed. Click here to access full article.
Beth and Alex Malarkey of the 'Boy Who Came Back From Heaven' book evicted from their home by ex-husband
Probably several of us read the book “The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven” and didn’t know the stories about heaven were all fabrications by Alex’s father. To learn a little more about the fabrication see this article. Click here to access full article.
What I Learned about Facing Alcohol Misuse & Bipolar
This client with bipolar disorder talks about how alcohol can intensify both manic and depressive episodes, even though people with bipolar disorder initially think alcohol will help them deal with those episodes. If you work with people with bipolar disorder, this would probably be a worthwhile article to share with them. Click here to access full article.
One important thing to check out with clients who believe they have “long COVID.”
This isn’t an article but something I heard on a TV broadcast last night in an interview with a nationally-respected medical doctor. He said that because of COVID and other factors, some people may have become inactive for an extended period of time. The fatigue they feel may be due to physical inactivity rather than long COVID.
Have a wonderful week!
Henry Virkler
