Articles from the Week of October 28, 2022
Thoughtful Quotes
Stay afraid but do it anyway. What’s important is the action. You don’t have to wait to be confident. Just do it and eventually the confidence will follow.
Carrie Fisher
If you want momentary happiness, serve yourself. If you want lasting fulfillment, serve someone else.
Debby Sales’ Facebook page.
"Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it."
HENRY DAVID THOREAU
Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, and therefore is wing’d Cupid painted blind.
— Shakespeare in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
Little progress can be made by merely attempting to repress what is evil. Our great hope lies in developing what is good.
Calvin Coolidge
"The reading of all good books is like a conversation with the finest minds of past centuries."
RENE DESCARTES
"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others."
MAHATMA GANDHI
I speak to everyone in the same way, whether he is the garbage man or the president of the university.
ALBERT EINSTEIN
"He is happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home."
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE
Interesting Facts (most from InterestingFacts.com)
Totally useless fact: What is anatidaephobia the fear of?
Answer: The fear that a duck is watching you
A Brief History of Mischief Night
Mischief night historically was the night before Halloween, when folks would devise pranks according to their creativity. Fortunately that tradition has died out in most localities. Click here to read the full article.
Olympians, Professional Athletes, and Sports Legends with ADHD
If you’re working with a young person with ADHD who may be struggling with self-esteem issues, it might be helpful to encourage them to view this article on the internet that briefly describes 16 top athletes who have ADHD. Click here to read the full article.
High Schools Cancel Games with School that Allowed Transgender ‘Girl’ Player to Seriously Hurt Female Athlete
Several high schools in North Carolina are canceling games with a fellow school that allowed a transgender athlete (a natal boy) who seriously injured a girl when playing on a girl’s team. Click here to read the full article.
Netflix Renews Autism Dating Show
Netflix has announced it is renewing a show for a second season, Love on the Spectrum U.S., which features young adults with autism who are dating and looking for love. The show has won multiple Emmy’s. Click here to read the full article. [Later note: I just read that Amazon has cancelled a show, apparently a different show featuring young people on the spectrum, called As We See It after one season.]
Variation in Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Effectiveness in the US by Age at Vaccination
Although the HPV (human papilloma virus) vaccine is available in the U.S. and is recommended before children and teens become sexually active, some Christian parents are reluctant to give this to their daughters because they fear that giving this to their children before their sexual debut may encourage their children to become sexually active before marriage. This research study showed that giving the vaccine before sexual activity started decreases the likelihood of girls developing cervical cancer.
I think one approach Christian parents could take would be to say to their daughters that even though they hope they will not become sexually active until they marry, that they could still be exposed to HPV if the man they fall in love with was not sexually abstinent until marriage. Click here to read the full article.
Celebrities With Bipolar Disorder
You will be amazed to learn that some of your favorite celebrities (and at least one famous world leader who played a crucial role in World War II) have (or had) bipolar disorder. Click here to read the full article.
9 Bipolar Documentaries to Watch Right Now
Another option if you wish to learn more about bipolar or are a counselor who has clients with bipolar disorder. Nine documentaries about people who have made significant contributions to the world who have bipolar disorder. Click here to read the list.
More And More Teens Dropping Dead from This Sick Social Media Challenge…
If you work with teens or families, you probably want to be aware of the social media challenge. Overdosing on Benadryl can be fatal. Click here to read the full article.
There’s A New “Beauty” Trend Going Around That Has Dentists Absolutely LIVID…
As if parents didn’t have enough to worry about, there is a new trend that is being promoted by several popular TikTok influencers which, while not deadly, would have lifelong consequences. This is something called “teeth shaving,” and fortunately, most teens would have to go to some foreign country to find a dentist who would do it. It might help persuade a rebellious teen to tell them that most dentists tell them that if they have this done, they will need dentures by the time they are 40. Click here to read the full article.
Beauty Influencer puts erection cream on his lips to get a fuller pout
I’m not going to include a web address for this article, but this young man saw a girl do this to get a fuller pout and decided to try it himself. It did make his lips fuller, but doctors recommend it is not a healthy thing to try.
Long-term Antidepressant Use Tied to an Increase in CVD, Mortality Risk
Most people who take antidepressants only take them for several months and then discontinue them when the depression has lifted for a period of time. This long-term study from Great Britain suggests that chronic use of some antidepressants, particularly mirtazapine, venlafaxine, duloxetine, and trazodone, were associated with increased risk, and there is also some risk associated with long-term use of some of the SSRIs. So probably the safest thing is to complement medication with counseling, and only use antidepressants at those times when counseling is not sufficient. Click here to read the full article.
Should We Still Be Concerned About Cell Phones and Brain Cancer?
Ten years ago there was quite a bit of concern about whether cellphone use might contribute to brain cancer. After several large studies in multiple countries, it was concluded that there is probably not a danger. The concern has now diminished also because more people resort to texting or to using earplugs. For those who are prone to worry, there might be some renewed concern about whether 5G might result in danger, at this point no large-scale studies have been done with 5G. Click here to read the full article.
How to Tell Patients They're Dying
Probably many of us will not face this task, but some of us might. Here is a thoughtful discussion from a palliative care physician. Obviously if the person is a believer, some options will be open that would not be if the person is not. I still remember when my grandmother, a solid Christian, was dying from cancer that the beliefs at that time (60 years ago) were that you shouldn’t be honest with them. I think, as a loving grandmother, it would have been so much kinder to let her know, so she could tell each of the children and grandchildren whom she loved so dearly, good-bye. Click here to read the full article.
She Built a $15,000 Cottage in the Back Yard For a Brother With Autism: ‘The change has been incredible’
I included an article about a movement where parents or relatives build a small home in their backyards that allows them to be close to a grown child who has some handicaps but who does better if he has more autonomy and privacy than he would living in the same home as his relatives. Here is an example of how this is working for this family. There may be families you are working with who would benefit from considering an option like this. Click here to read the full article.
Biden tells TikTok star that trans-identified individuals should have 'every single solitary right'
There is a strong controversy in the counseling field about whether “affirmative therapy” (providing children and teens who believe they are transgender with puberty-suppressing drugs, cross-sex hormones, and then sexual reconstruction surgery) is the best treatment for such children and teens. President Biden this past week provided support for the “affirmative therapy” side by granting an interview with a TikTok star who is a biological male but who identifies himself as a “glittery girl” (not a woman but a girl). In the interview President Biden said that he believes those states that are forbidding these treatments to children and teens are doing something that is illegal and immoral, that these young
people should be able to use the restrooms that conform to their gender identity and should be able to play on the sports team that is consistent with their identity. Click here to read the full article.
Video Games May Not Rot Kids' Brains After All
This title and the first couple paragraphs of this article might lead the reader to think that the overall impact of video game-playing was positive. However, I think three considerations should moderate drawing this conclusion. First, the small improvements in processing speed of gamers were related to behaviors found in gaming and may not generalize to improvement in life outside of the gaming environment. Secondly, the time children have during the day is finite: therefore the time they spend gaming means less time available to engage in our activities that might be developmentally more beneficial, such as developing social skills, studying for classes, participating in sports teams, or part-time employment. Third, those who were active gamers scored higher on several problem areas measured by the Child Behavior Checklist, including social problems, thought problems, attention, rule-breaking behavior, aggressive behavior, depression, anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, oppositional-defiant disorder, conduct disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and stress. Although scores of gamers were higher than non-gamers, they were not significantly higher. But I think based on these considerations, we should not encourage young people to spend large amounts of time gaming. Click here to read the full article.
Lab-Grown Human Neurons Transplanted into the Rat Brain Grew, Connected, and Promise to Shed Light on Psychiatric Illness
There have been some ethical debates about this research. This article doesn’t deal with the ethical issues but does give a summary of how the current research is developing. Click here to read the full article.
The Voice in My Head Doesn’t Want Me to Get Sober
For those of us who have not experienced addiction and the tortuous path to sobriety, it may help to hear this recollection from someone who has. While it contains some language that I don’t recommend, it does give you an honest description of what that process is like for some clients. Click here to read the full article.
Disney Film Encourages Witchcraft
In one of the latest films about to emerge from Disney, Hocus Pocus 2, three witches harvest children for human sacrifices. However, it is portrayed in a light, comical manner, thereby making occultism appear “not that bad.” To learn more about this film and to sign a petition to Disney to not release this film, click here.
Netflix’s “Big Mouth” Demonstrates Hollywood’s Penchant to Sexualize Children
If you have a Netflix subscription and children in your home, you probably will want to read this article.
Have a wonderful week or weekend!
Henry Virkler