Articles from the Week of June 23, 2023
Interesting Quotes
"There is no dignity quite so impressive, and no one independence quite so important, as living within your means."
CALVIN COOLIDGE
In the long run, the sharpest weapon of all is a kind and gentle spirit.
Anne Frank
The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.
Pablo Picasso
A man who correctly guesses a woman’s age may be smart, but he’s not very bright.
Lucille Ball
The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.
Isaac Asimov
Empathy is seeing with the eyes of another, listening with the ears of another, and feeling with the heart of another.
Alfred Adler
Fascinating Facts (from InterestingFacts.com unless otherwise noted)
“Taste buds are replaced every two weeks.
“The human body is an amazing powerhouse fueled by important organs like the heart, lungs, and brain. However, some of its most vital work is done by a body part you might not expect — our taste buds, a set of microscopic organs that do more than help us savor our food. Scientists believe human taste buds also have a bigger purpose: protecting us from poisoning. These microscopic sensors tell our brains that food is safe to eat based on flavor, encouraging us to consume sweets (potential sources of calories and energy) and alerting us to spit out bitter or unpalatable substances that could make us sick.
“Taste buds are such hardworking organs that their cells die off quickly. As they work, they age and lose sensitivity, which is why the body regenerates them about every two weeks. However, taste buds aren’t all replaced at once; on any given day, about 10% of the sensors expire, while 20% to 30% are in the process of developing, leaving us with 60% of the buds active to analyze the food we consume.”
Quoted material From NeedtoKnowFacts:
Which animal has the largest brain?
“The Sperm Whale. Having the largest-sized physical brain doesn’t necessarily make you the smartest and that is no different for animals than it is for humans. The sperm whale’s brain weighs up to 20 pounds, about as heavy as a shopping cart, a water cooler, or a patio table, making it the largest brain of any animal on the planet. “
British girl called “despicable” and will be expelled from school for asking a question
A British girl has a classmate who identifies as a cat. This student asked her classmate how she could be a cat if she was a girl. For this her teacher called her “despicable” and said she will be expelled if she does not change her views. [Found in the British newspaper “The Telegraph” which you will not be able to access unless you have a subscription.]
Counseling Articles
Girl Sues Hospital for Removing Her Breasts at Age 13
In what may be the beginning of a movement, an 18-year-old girl in California is suing the hospital because they allowed her to have a double mastectomy when she was 13. Now she has detransitioned and says she feels much healthier psychologically, but has medical issues remaining.
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8 Things Parents Of Kids With Learning Disabilities Need To Understand
If you work with children with learning disabilities or with parents who have a child with a learning disability this informative article could help them become aware of services that could help that they may not be aware of.
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Teenagers Who Take Contraceptives Are 130 Percent More at Risk of Developing Depression: Study
This is an interesting study. Consider also reading the comments posted by some of the readers of the study.
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The Best Bipolar Support Organizations
Tanya Hvilivitzky, a blogger who has lived with bipolar disorder for many years, has made a list of the bipolar support organizations that she considers the best for those with bipolar disorder to be in touch with.
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When ‘Harm Reduction’ Becomes Harm Promotion: Yale Study Shows Biden's Drug Policy is Misguided
This article uses more political language than I prefer to use in this summary of counseling articles, the point it makes is relevant for counselors. Many in the substance abuse field are recommending harm reduction policies—e.g., the vending machines in New York that dispense pipes and Narcan. But this Yale study concluded that three factors are more helpful to addicts: social pressure, family responsibility, and spirituality—not the encouragement of safer drug consumption—helped addicts recover.
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7 Christian men or movements who helped end slavery in America
In honor of Juneteenth the Christian Post included this article. Although not about counseling per se, I think it is encouraging to see how it was Christians, both in Great Britain and here in the U.S., who realized that slavery was incompatible with the Christian faith and who worked to eradicate it.
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Sober Consideration: Bipolar Disorder and Alcohol
If a person has bipolar disorder there are many temptations to drink, at least in moderation. Here is what the experts in the field recommend.
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Newlywed Couple Thinks They’ll Wait a Little Longer To Have Kids After Helping At VBS
In case you chuckled at this title, realize it’s from the Babylon Bee. But it might be a good reality check for couples before they decide whether or not they are ready to have children.
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FAU Card Invites You to Subscribe to their New YouTube Channel
Florida Atlantic University (FAU)’s Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (FAU Card) invites the community to gain access to a wealth of valuable resources, including videos from industry experts at the following website:
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Archeology Continues to Confirm Biblical Record
Those who have listened to liberal commentators have often questioned the accuracy of the Old Testament historical records. As more archeological studies are done, they continue to substantiate the accuracy of the Old Testament. Here’s one more brief summary of recent archeological findings which do that.
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U.S. Becomes Transgender-Care Outlier as More in Europe Urge Caution
Even though five of the most “progressive” countries in the world and the five countries that for years were leading proponents of puberty-suppressing drugs, cross-gender hormone treatments and gender change surgeries have now all put a stop to such treatments and said they must be studied further before promoting them to children and teens, most of the U.S. medical societies have continued to promote such treatments as if they were scientifically-established treatments that could not be questioned.
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It’s Time to Review the Research Behind Pediatric Gender Medicine
Do No Harm is one organization in the U.S. that is encouraging medical professionals to review the data that has caused the above five nations to stop promoting puberty-suppressing drugs, cross-gender hormone treatments and gender surgeries until those treatments and their effects have been studied further. Since progressives often claim that it is only conservatives who are arguing against these treatments, it is interesting that none of these countries have become more conservative in any other area, so conservative bias does not seem to be the reason they have changed their laws.
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California Moves Toward Giving Therapists Unconditional Power To 'Emancipate' 12 Year Olds from Their Parents
In a move that would give counselors in California more power than parents, a recent bill was proposed whereby counselors would have the authority to override parents for children as young as 12 in the transgender debate.
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Teachers share tips for helping kids transition without parental consent, skirting state laws
One more article on what is happening in some schools, hopefully not in Florida.
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Outrageous medical bill? You have options.
This isn’t a counseling-related article, but the advice in it is so good I wanted to pass it along to you. You may not be expecting to go in the hospital anytime soon, but most of us will go there for something sooner or later. I recommend you save this article to your computer to use sometime in the future, or to give a copy to a friend or relative or client when they receive a bill that is unexpected.
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Impaired Updating of Beliefs May Help Sustain Harmful Behaviors in Bulimia Nervosa
Research has found that even with excellent CBT about 60% of clients with bulimia nervosa remain refractory. Here was a research study that tried to determine why and then design an alternative CBT treatment that had greater success. If you work with eating disorder clients you may want to read this research.
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Music Therapy, More Powerful Than You Might Expect
Probably many of us have heard anecdotal stories of how music can sometimes produce significant changes (at least temporary changes) in clients with dementia, but this article describes how music can be used to produce improvement in a wide variety of disorders. You’ll probably be pleasantly surprised if you take the time to read this article, and you might find something you would want to add to your own set of skills.
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I hope you have a wonderful week or weekend!
Henry Virkler