Interesting Quotes
Three quotes from Albert Einstein:
Bear in mind that the wonderful things you learn in your schools are the work of many generations. All this is put in your hands as your inheritance in order that you may receive it, honor it, add to it, and one day faithfully hand it on to your children.
If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music... I get most joy in life out of music.
I am enough of the artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.
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Right actions for the future are the best apologies for wrong ones in the past.
Tryon Edwards, theologian
History is a strange teacher. It never repeats itself exactly, but you ignore its general lessons at your peril.
Madeleine Albright
''The real problem is not whether machines think but whether men do.''
B. F. SKINNER
You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.
C.S. Lewis
“If you want to make your dreams come true, the first thing you have to do is wake up.”
J.M. POWER
Fascinating Facts
How many muscles does an elephant’s trunk have?
1. 1,000
2. 2,000
3. 5,000
4. 10,000
5. 40,000
Answer at end of this email
Counseling Articles
10 Time-Tested Tips for Achieving and Maintaining Stability
This is a good article by Stephen Propst, a blogger who has lived successfully with bipolar disorder for many years.
Click here to read full article.
Mental exercise could prompt brain to remove waste
Another reason for us “oldsters” to stay mentally active: apparently being involved in mental exercise prompts the brain to remove the waste products that are normally created by our bodies and brains.
Click here to read full article.
AI Enhanced Scams
This is not a counseling article, but I just read about a new application of Artificial Intelligencethat could fool any of us if we’re not aware. This is a quote from the April edition of the Florida Consumers Newsletter.
“You get a call. There’s a panicked voice on the line. It’s your grandson. He says he’s in deep trouble — he wrecked the car and landed in jail. But you can help by sending money. You take a deep breath and think. You’ve heard about grandparent scams. But darn, it sounds just like him. How could it be a scam?
Voice cloning, that’s how. Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a far-fetched idea out of a sci-fi movie. We’re living with it, here and now. A scammer could use AI to clone the voice of your loved one. All he needs is a short audio clip of your family member’s voice — which he could get from content posted online — and a voice-cloning program. When the scammer calls you, he’ll sound just like your loved one.
So how can you tell if a family member is in trouble or if it’s a scammer using a cloned voice? Don’t trust the voice. Call the person who supposedly contacted you and verify the story. Use a phone number you know is theirs. If you can’t reach your loved one, try to get in touch with them through another family member or their friends.”
My Story: A #GirlDad Finds New Purpose
This is a fascinating story about a Black father who received many false diagnoses over the yearsand how the birth of his daughter helped him have the motivation to adjust to his Bipolar 1 diagnosis and gave him a new purpose in life.
Click here to read full article.
Scientists Discover Strong Correlation Between Trusting Government And Eating Paint Chips
This isn’t a serious referral, but I thought I needed to do something to celebrate April Fools Day. For many years some of us have enjoyed the Babylon Bee’s tongue-in-cheek approach to the daily news. I just found out recently that it’s created by someone from a neighboring town—Jupiter, Florida. If you think your mental health might be improved by a little humor, you could give it a try.
‘Trans Day Of Vengeance’ Canceled, Organizers Cite ‘Threat To Life And Safety’
I mentioned in last week’s articles that the “Trans Day of Vengeance” was scheduled for April 1 through 3. According to this article the “Trans Day of Vengeance” was cancelled because the organizers had received threats to the lives of those who participated. Twitter officials said they had removed over 5,000 comments about the day of vengeance.
Click here to read full article.
8 Things NOT to Do When Bipolar Symptoms Keep You Awake
Probably everyone has trouble sleeping from time to time, but for people with bipolar disorderdisrupted sleep patterns are particularly dangerous because they are one of the primary things that can trigger another manic or depressed episode. Here are 8 good suggestions from Tanya Hvilivitzky of things NOT to do when a bipolar patient is having trouble sleeping.
Click here to read full article.
Meet the Whittakers: Inside ‘America’s most inbred family’ that speaks in grunts
I think we all know that inbreeding raises the likelihood of unhealthy genetic traits can raise the likelihood of unhealthy physical and mental traits appearing. Here is a description of America’s “most inbred family” and the sad results of multiple generations of inbreeding.
Click here to read full article.
Florida House Passes Bill Defining ‘Sex’ as ‘Immutable Biological Trait,’ Says Pronouns Must Match
The Florida House has passed a bill saying that pronouns must match a person’s biological traits. It is expected to pass in the Florida Senate.
Click here to read full article.
No, Gabor Maté Did Not Actually Diagnose Prince Harry with ADHD on Live TV
Gabor Mate is the author of a controversial book and frequently advertises his webinar on the web. Recently he diagnosed Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, after watching the video Spare. He also claims that ADHD is caused by trauma and can be “healed” without medication. Many experts in the field, especially those who specialize in treating ADHD, disagree with Mate and also disagree with the concept of diagnosing someone without meeting with them and making the diagnosis public as Mate has done. To read more about this controversy, see the following article.
Click here to read full article.
The Trouble with Gabor Maté’s ADHD Diagnosis
It is unusual, but Attitude Magazine actually ran articles two days in a row having experts in ADHD disputing the misinformation Gabor Mate articulated with regard to his diagnosis and explanation of Prince Harry’s diagnosis. It is quite sad when someone with the popularity of Gabor Mate propounds so much misinformation about a common mental health issue and violates so many ethical norms while doing so.
Click here to read full article.
10 Things Your Doctor May Not Have Told You About ADHD Medications
Here two respected doctors who specialize in treating individuals with ADHD give 10 ideas about how to get the best use of doctor visits and ADHD medications.
Click here to read full article.
10 Silver Linings Of Biden's Presidency
I try to avoid political leanings in this compilation of counseling articles, but regardless of yourpolitical beliefs, I think you might enjoy this spoof from the Babylon Bee. (In case you don’t remember from last week, I mentioned that the Babylon Bee is tongue-in-cheek satire of the daily news.)
Click here to read full article.
‘It’s A Fraud, It’s Immoral …’: Megyn Kelly Blows Up After Biological Male Trans Golfer Wins Women’s Professional Tournament
The controversy continues—should biological men be allowed to compete against women in swimming and golf and be allowed to win trophies and prizes that deprive women of those benefits?
Click here to read full article.
Accomplished psychiatrist says demons, demonic possession are real
Many people think demons, demon possession, and demonic oppression are not real. This board-certified psychiatrist has been studying mental illness and demon possession for 25 years. He is also a member of the International Association of Exorcists. He has written a 272-page book on the subject. He believes demon possession is real, but rare, and is frequently confused with various types of mental illness. To understand more of his thinking and the name of his book, see the following article:
Click here to read full article.
Parents Report Child’s ‘Mental Health Deteriorated Considerably’ After Transitioning: Study
Advocates of transitioning by gender dysphoric children often say that treatment and the freedom to transition improves the mental health of those children. This survey of more than 1600 parents of children or young adults who transitioned says the opposite—that the mental health of children and young adults who transitioned deteriorated considerably. Parents also said that most of those children and young adults had mental health issues before they transitioned.
Click here to read full article.
Neuroscience Study Uncovers Consequences of Social Distancing
A study of the brain activity of children engaged in virtual activities found that brain activity is significantly lower with virtual interactions than with actual face-to-face interactions. This research has implications for the impact of remote learning versus actual in-class learning for children.
Click here to read full article.
How exercise leads to sharper thinking and a healthier brain
There have been multiple research studies suggesting that exercise leads to healthier brain functioning, but some have criticized these studies as being too small or for other reasons. Now a large study (350,000 subjects) has laid to rest the criticism that studies have been too small. And a smaller study gives us a hint at why exercise leads to sharper thinking and a healthier brain. Apparently exercise promotes the creation of a brain chemical—brain-derived neurotrophic factor (abbreviated as BDNF) which promotes the growth of new brain cells and synapses (some call it Miracle-Gro for the brain). I know that as you get older it gets easier to find justifications for not exercising, so find an exercise buddy or some other way to keep you motivated.
Click here to read full article.
Answer of Fascinating Facts question:
The average elephant has more than 40,000 muscles in its trunk (Source: InterestingFacts.com).
Happy Easter!
Henry Virkler
