Articles from the Week of December 16, 2022
Interesting Quotes
“Look at how a single candle can both defy and define the darkness.”
Anne Frank
“Sometimes when you sacrifice something precious, you're not really losing it. You're just passing it on to someone else.”
Mitch Albom
“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature, and God.”
Anne Frank
You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.
C.S. Lewis
He [Jesus] came to breathe hope into hard places.
Sara Cormany
All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.
J.R.R. Tolkien
If you don’t know where you’re going any road will get you there.
George Harrison
All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.
From Ginny Sale’s webpage
Fascinating Facts and Trivia (many from InterestingFacts.com)
Ice cream cones were patented by Italo Marcione of New York on December 13, 1903 (from the Telegraph, a British newspaper).
For a time the Wright brothers rented and repaired bicycles, then started to design and build their own bicycles, and eventually used the proceeds from these efforts to finance their experiments in creating a flying machine.
The world’s largest tubas weigh about 100 pounds (be glad you’re not in a marching band that uses one of these).
Alcohol and the Aging Process
If you are working with a person who is abusing alcohol and is ambivalent about stopping, this article from WebMD identifies 11 ways that alcohol ages a person faster than normal. Click here to read the full article.
Test Commonly Used To Diagnose Autism May Be Unnecessary
A test that’s often used to diagnose autism has been found by some research to be unnecessary and may add to the expense and time needed to help a child access the services that would be helpful to them. Click here to read the full article.
‘Impending Intergenerational Crisis’: Americans With IDD Lack Long-Term Care Plans
Many persons with chronic mental or physical illnesses that will make them unable to care for themselves when their parents pass away may not have care plans. Some of you might feel called to help families make plans for this need. Click here to read the full article.
The Consequences of Talking Publicly About My Bipolar Illness
There are still controversy about how much therapists should share with clients about their own struggles. Kay Redfield Jamison is a highly respected psychologist and professor at John Hopkins University who has chosen to share openly about the fact that she has Bipolar 1 disorder. In this article she shares what the response has been since she shared about her illness and the impact it has had on students, clients, and professional colleagues. I think you will find her article interesting and thought-provoking. Click here to read the full publication.
Does Your Husband Need Sex?
Juli Slattery is a counselor who has a unique ability to speak to Christian women about sexual matters. Here is one of her recent columns. If you are counseling couples who are struggling with sexual issues, or differences in sexual drive, or women who are resentful because they view sex as a duty that they must perform to be a good Christian wife, this article might prove helpful.
Move Over, G Spot -- Scientists Have Found the C Spot
I believe I included some information about this research in a previous Friday news compilation, but this summary contains some information that I don’t believe was included in that article. If you work with women or couples, you probably will find this interesting. Click here to read the full article.
At-Home Vagus Nerve Stimulation Promising for Postpartum Depression
Even though most antidepressants have been found to be safe for nursing mothers to use, many women with postpartum depression are reluctant to use them while they are nursing, and if their depression is severe, this can interfere with the bonding process so important for newborn children and mothers. Now this noninvasive treatment (auricular vagus nerve stimulation or a VNS) has been found to be effective in significantly reducing depressive and anxiety symptoms. While this research is in its early stages, it seems like this approach has promise in treating postpartum depression in the future. Click here to read the full article.
My Mom, Patty Duke, & Bipolar Disorder
This is a brief article by Sean Austin, whose mother, Patty Duke, was an actor who won three Emmy’s, two Golden Globe awards, and an Oscar. As with most people with bipolar disorder, she spent much more time in depression than in mania, and her Bipolar Disorder was not diagnosed until Sean was 11. But besides being an incredible actor she was also a very loving mother. This article will give you a glimpse of what it was like to be raised by a mother with bipolar disorder. She and her family became tireless advocates for mental health and mental health services. I encourage you to spend a moment to have a glimpse into this incredible woman and what it was like for Sean to go through childhood with a mother who is suffering from bipolar disorder. Click here to read the full article.
Cognitive Decline Tied to Midlife Diet
If you or your client is in midlife and need a little motivation to cut down on your intake of ultra-processed foods (e.g., white bread, candy bars, cookies, frozen meals, and soda, for example), this study might be a motivation that could help. What this study found was that when 20% or more of intake was ultra-processed foods, it was associated in a modest cognitive decline in the coming decade. There was also a modest decline in executive functioning skills. So if you want to stay your sharpest (or your clients want to), try to cut back on ultra-processed foods. Click here to read the full article.
‘Invisible Brain’ Concept Gives Hope to Brain Revival and Regeneration
I’m not sure about some of the discussion at the end of this article, but what I’d like to draw your attention to is the first half. A neurologist studied 600 individuals, ½ of whom had brain volumes of 5% or less of normal volume, i.e., that means they were missing 95% of their brains, but most of whom had normal intelligence or higher. How is this possible? I think this research tells us that there are many things about the human brain that we still have no understanding of. As the psalmist said, we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.” Click here to read the full article.
10 Strategies for Getting Through the Holiday Season with Bipolar
The holiday season can be stressful for many people, and the disruption of normal schedules and other events can be particularly unpredictable for those with bipolar disorder. Here are 10 practical strategies for dealing with those stressors written by someone with bipolar disorder. Click here to read the full article.
If You Have a Menopausal Client Who Complains About Feeling Overwhelmed and Having Trouble With Concentration
An article in the December issue of the AARP Bulletin mentioned something that I had not heard before. Women with undiagnosed ADHD sometimes feel overwhelmed and unable to pay attention after the estrogen level in their bodies decreases. They may never have been diagnosed in school (not uncommon 25 years ago), and as long as their estrogen levels were in the normal range they found themselves able to cope. So if you have a postmenopausal woman with these symptoms it would be wise to consider undiagnosed ADHD as one possible explanation. I could not find a way to give you the web address for the article but thought this would be helpful to those of you who counsel middle-aged women.
We Are Not All the Same: How Bipolar Disorder Varies from Person to Person
Although this article is focused on people with bipolar disorder, I think the points this author makes apply to every disorder. Because of our individual makeup and experiences, every person is different. It’s important to listen to each person’s story in order to understand them fully. Click here to read the full article.
How Vaping Harms the Brain—2 Million American Teens in Danger
Many adults vape, thinking it is a healthier alternative to smoking, and many teens vape for the same reason. It is now found that the various vaping compounds contain many cancer-causing ingredients. If you work with teens you may want to make sure they know this. Click here to read the full article.
Cambridge Dictionary updates definition of ‘woman’
Apparently the Oxford Dictionary (see last week’s Friday News) isn’t the only dictionary going woke. Cambridge Dictionary, a well-respected online dictionary, now considers a woman to be any adult who lives and identifies as a woman, regardless of what her gender was when she was born. Their definition of man has been similarly updated. Click here to read the full article.
PUBLIC LIBRARIES BLOCK KIRK CAMERON FROM READING HIS NEW CHILDREN’S BOOK
Public libraries have been quite open to having female impersonators do children’s story hour when asked, but when Kirk Cameron has offered to read his new book “As You Grow,” a book designed for children 10 years old and younger, which teaches kids about biblical wisdom and the importance of relying on biblical principles through all seasons of life. His offers to 50 libraries have either been rejected or ignored. Click here to read the full article.
Why ADHD Masking Is a Form of Self-Sabotage
ADHD Masking is related to one article from last week’s Friday News. ADHD masking refers to various attempts to hide ADHD symptoms in order to try to appear “normal” to one’s peers. It may be used by people with ADHD, autism, or other disorders. The amount of time and energy that goes into masking can be discussed and you can help clients decide whether there would be better ways to use their time and energy. Click here to read the full article.
German Biologist Plans On Incubating 30,000 Lab-Grown Babies A Year
This is not a counseling article, but it is something so important that I think we need to be aware of it. A German scientist is planning on developing a factory that would grow 30,000 babies per year. This article points out some of the many ethical issues that such a plan raises. Click here to read the full article.
“My Signs of ADHD Were Obscured by Comorbidities for Years”
Sometimes people are given diagnoses like depression and anxiety when they actually have ADHD, and their symptoms don’t improve until they receive treatment for their underlying ADHD. Click here to read the full article.
Have a wonderful week or weekend!
Henry Virkler
