Articles from the Week of October 21, 2022
Thought-Provoking Quotes
The reason why worry kills more people than work is that more people worry than work.
Robert Frost
“Don’t be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams.”
RALPH WALDO EMERSON
Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others.
Plato
The point is not to pay back kindness but to pass it on.
Julia Alvarez
Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?
— L.M. Montgomery
You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.
— C.S. Lewis
“The miracle is not that we do this work, but that we are happy to do it.”
MOTHER TERESA
“Every human has four endowments—self awareness, conscience, independent will, and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom ... The power to choose, to respond, to change.”
STEPHEN COVEY
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
– Viktor Frankl
Interesting Facts (most from InterestingFacts.com)
Russian cosmonauts used to pack shotguns in case they had to fight off bears after landing.
An estimated $58 million in loose change is left behind on airplanes each year.
Need a Suggestion for a Christmas Gift?
Years pass so quickly, and sometimes we get too busy to notice one year ending and another one beginning. With that in mind, Dr. Julie Hamilton and her husband Tyler have designed a product to help commemorate the passage of time and to make the New Year's season more meaningful. "What a Year!" is a box of 35 conversation cards that have questions about the past year and the upcoming year.
"What a Year!" creates an opportunity to pause during the New Year's season, reflect on the past year, look ahead to the upcoming year, and connect more deeply with others. These cards can be used any time during the New Year's season at family gatherings, dinner parties, date nights, or small groups. The Hamilton’s also have bulk rates available for anyone who would like to buy them in bulk to use as Christmas presents or for re-selling in their place of business. People can contact them directly if they are interested in the bulk rate. To order this product, here's the website.
“Is ADHD Even Real?” How to Respond to Haters and Naysayers
Occasionally someone still meets a person who doesn’t believe ADHD is real, and that the behavior of a person with ADHD is just due to a child or adult who hasn’t been adequately disciplined. This article might be helpful to share with them. Click here to read full article.
What Is Complex ADHD? Symptoms, Diagnosis & Treatment
Complex ADHD is a relatively new term. ADHD rarely occurs by itself, and this article identifies some of the other mental disorders that frequently co-occur with it. It also has some good advice on how to decide which disorder to treat first. If you work with children or adults with ADHD, it’s worthwhile reading. Click here to read full article.
When You're Attracted to Someone Who's Not Your Spouse
This is another column from Juli Slattery whom I’ve mentioned before in this newsletter. It’s full of good advice such as “Every married person is at risk for an affair. If you say, “No, I’d never do that!” take to heart what Paul wrote: “If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” (1 Corinthians 10:12).
While it’s written by a woman to other women, I think the advice applies equally to men. Even if you’re in what you consider to be a good marriage, I think we all need to be constantly aware that Satan can tempt us if we’re not careful in this area. Click here to read full article.
7 Conditions That Can Go Hand in Hand with Bipolar Disorder
As with many other conditions, people with bipolar disorder often have co-occurring disorders that are missed because the symptoms of bipolar disorder are so prominent. This article, by well-respected bipolar writer Tanja Hvilivitzky, reminds us of what some of those co-occurring disorders are so we can be on the lookout for them as well. Click here to read full article.
Now researchers know how the sickest COVID-19 patients have fared
It’s time we heard some positive news about COVID and this is it. This was a study done on almost all the patients in the first couple years of the COVID pandemic who had severe enough cases that they had to be hospitalized in ICU units in Norway. The good news is that after six months only 24% of these persons with serious COVID reported lingering cognitive symptoms and after twelve months this number had dropped to 12%. Click here to read full article.
Chloe Cole, Detransitioning After a Double Mastectomy at 15
You may have already heard the story of Chloe Cole as the California young woman who believed her dysphoria was because she was born in the wrong body, had her breasts amputated, and is now in the process of detransitioning. If you haven’t been reading about the controversies in the gender dysphoria movement, this is a good introduction to what is happening and some good resources. Click here to read full article.
Peer Specialists Can Aid in Suicide Prevention
For many years we trained counselors to do suicide prevention plans with potentially suicidal clients, and then the focus shifted to creating safety plans with such clients. This study, although small and using paraprofessionals, found that using safety plans in the ER could reduce the likelihood of suicide with patients, and said that the quality of safety plans created by paraprofessionals was even better than those created by mental health counselors (I think with a little care we could do as well). Here’s the article if you’re interested. If your schooling did not include a safety plan feel free to email me (Hvirkler@aol.com) and I’ll send you a template for one. Click here to read full article.
Sleep Experts Say Shift to Permanent Daylight-Saving Time Would Have Adverse Health Effects
There continues to be discussions most years about switching our clocks twice a year, or whether it would be better to make Daily Savings Time permanent throughout the year. About ½ the population would like to do so, but this may be primarily because we associate the summer months with more pleasurable experiences (e.g., picnics, recreation, vacations, etc.). Apparently many professional groups who’ve studied this say that a shift to permanent daylight savings time all year would have more disadvantages than advantages. To understand their reasons, see the article. Click here to read full article.
Canada Euthanized 10,000 People in 2021
Physician-assisted suicide has rapidly gained acceptance in Canada, in some European countries and in a few states here in the U.S. This is a very thoughtful article by a Christian medical doctor in Canada that I encourage you to read, for this topic will probably be coming to us with more and more frequency in the years ahead. You probably will need a subscription to Christianity Today to read the whole article, but if you have a subscription, I think it is worth your time. Click here to read full article.
A Scientist’s Arduous Path from Hard Atheism to Faith
This essay tells the story of a person raised by atheist parents who developed a strong atheism himself, but after a life spent studying science and philosophy, finally became convinced by the scientific data and by philosophical study that the Christian worldview was the best explanation of the world we have and became a believer himself. Click here to read full article.
If I Ever Meet “Mr. Bipolar”—Why I Would Thank Him
This is an imaginary conversation this woman would have if she could meet with a personified “Mr. Bipolar.” It’s a fascinating conversation, that includes questions she would like to ask “Mr. Bipolar,” some of the struggles she has experienced, but ends with some of the things she is grateful for about her bipolar disorder. Click here to read full article.
Sadder but Wiser? Maybe Not.
This is from the New York Times, so you may not be able to read it if you do not have a subscription, so I’ll summarize the major points. A research study in 1979 concluded that depressed people have a more accurate perception of their ability to predict outcomes of their behavior, sometimes referred to as “depressive realism.” If you’ve taken psychology courses in the last four decades, you’ve probably heard this conclusion repeated. Now some researchers have tried to replicate this study, and the results have been mixed. Some studies have found no distinct relationship between depression and one’s ability to accurately predict events. So it’s probably better, as with all scientific studies, to realize that reality is often more complex than human research concludes, and to “hold our theories lightly.” Humility wears well on all of us. Click here to read full article.
Future of Child Transgender Surgeries to Be Decided in Pivotal Trial
Recently Arkansas passed a law banning gender-altering procedures—puberty-blocking drugs, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries--for those under 18. In response, about two dozen states are siding with Arkansas, and about the same number are opposing the law. This is a comprehensive article that I believe objectively portrays the arguments on both sides of this issue. Click here to read full article.
How Dads Change With Fatherhood
Fascinating new research that says, at least for involved fathers, that there are important brain and neurological changes when men become fathers. Click here to read full article.
A drag queen in every school
Michigan's Attorney General Dana Nessel, an open lesbian, explained the following at a civil rights conference this past summer: "Drag queens make everything better. Drag queens are fun." She said that she thinks there should be "a drag queen for every school."
No Effect of Diet on Dementia Risk?
Various studies have resulted in differing results about whether diet does affect the possibility of developing dementia. This Swedish study followed 28,000 people for 20 years and found no consistent relationship between diet and risk of dementia. The authors speculate that dementia risk is due to multiple factors working together, such as diet, regular exercise, vascular risk factor control, avoiding cigarette smoking, drinking alcohol in moderation, etc. Click here to read full article.
Addiction drug shows promise lifting long COVID brain fog, fatigue
Naltrexone, an older drug that has been used to treat addiction, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, etc. has been showing some promise in treating two of the symptoms of “long COVID,” namely brain fog and chronic fatigue. If you have clients who are complaining of long COVID, you may want to share this article with them. Click here to read full article.
Married Moms Are the Happiest, Report Says
Another interesting article from Breakpoint, that contrasts with much of what modernity tells us—that married moms as a group, are the happiest women in America. Click here to read full article.
New study suggests religion is good for youth mental health
Numerous previous studies have said something similar, but this most recent poll of 10,000 young people affirms that religion is good for youth mental health. Click here to read full article.
‘You Don’t Look Anorexic’
This is from the New York Times Magazine, so you probably won’t be able to read it without a subscription to the New York Times. But the topic is worth your time to do some research on because it is likely to affect some of your present or future clients without you being aware of it. The term is “atypical anorexia nervosa” and many people with it do suffer from the same problems as those with anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa, but do not look like they have either. If you don’t have a subscription to the New York Times I recommend you do an internet search to learn more about it. Click here to read full article.
Have a wonderful week!
Henry Virkler