Articles from the Week of December 8, 2023

Interesting Quotes

While we have faced challenges before, this one is different. This time we join with all nations across the globe in a common endeavor, using the great advances of science and our instinctive compassion to heal. We will succeed — and that success will belong to every one of us. We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return: We will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again.

Queen Elizabeth II’s broadcast to the U.K. and Commonwealth amid the coronavirus pandemic, 2020

“Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.”

EARL NIGHTINGALE

I think it's nice to age gracefully. OK, you lose the youth, a certain stamina and dewy glow, but what you gain on the inside as a human being is wonderful: the wisdom, the acceptance, and the peace of mind. It's a fair exchange.

Cherie Lunghi

I tell my story not because it is unique, but because it is the story of many girls. I think realizing that you’re not alone, that you are standing with millions of your sisters around the world is vital.

Malala Yousafzai

The best way to lift one's self up is to help someone else.

Booker T. Washington

“The man of power is ruined by power, the man of money by money, the submissive man by subservience, the pleasure seeker by pleasure.”

HERMANN HESSE

"Many of the great achievements of the world were accomplished by tired and discouraged men who kept on working."

OSCAR WILDE

'Truth is incontrovertible. Panic may resent it. Ignorance may deride it. Malice may distort it. But there it is.'

WINSTON CHURCHILL

"There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don't care who gets the credit."

RONALD REAGAN

Fascinating Facts

“5 Ways Albert Einstein Changed the World

• 1.       GPS Would Be Impossible Without the General Theory of Relativity: Some 10,900 nautical miles above our heads, 31 satellites orbit Earth as part of the Global Positioning System (GPS) — but if it wasn’t for Einstein, those satellites would be little more than space junk. The very foundation of GPS is accurate timekeeping, as satellites need to keep time to correctly log the distance from a ground-based receiver (such as your smartphone). GPS satellites are so precise, the atomic clocks on board are accurate to within three-billionths of a second, a feat impossible without Einstein’s special and general theories of relativity.
• 2.       The Explanation of Photoelectric Effect Helped Make Modern Solar Power Possible
• It probably comes as no surprise that Einstein won the Nobel Prize for physics in 1921, but what many people don’t realize is that the award wasn’t honoring the wunderkind’s groundbreaking general theory of relativity, but rather his revolutionary yet often overlooked explanation of the photoelectric effect.
• 3.       Lasers Were Developed Thanks to Einstein’s Quantum Theory of Radiation
• Lasers (an acronym for “Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation”) scan your groceries at the supermarket, make self-driving cars possible, and form the backbone of optical communication. And yes, we can thank Einstein for this one, too.
• 4.       The E=MC2 Equation Formed the Scientific Basis for the Nuclear Bomb
• The final discovery of Einstein’s “miracle year” was the concept that light and energy are equivalent, and that their relationship can be explained with the elegantly simple equation E=MC2, meaning energy equals mass times the speed of light squared. Describing mass as essentially super-dense energy, Einstein’s equation shows how even small amounts of mass at atomic levels can produce a tremendous amount of energy when multiplied by the speed of light squared — and you probably see where this is going.
• 5.       The E=MC2 Equation Could Point to the Future of Energy
• As previously described, nuclear fission works by breaking apart an element such as a heavy uranium-235 atom into two smaller atoms (krypton and barium). However, something interesting also occurs: If two light nuclei (i.e., hydrogen) can overcome electrostatic repulsion, they fuse together to form a heavy helium-4 atom — sort of like fission but in reverse. Similarly, following the E=MC2 equation, this process produces a tremendous amount of energy and heat. This is known as nuclear fusion, and it’s the atomic science that is the energy-producing engine of stars.” Source: HistoryFacts.com

Most foods that are 3,000 years old would no longer be edible, but archaeologists have found 3,000-year-old pots of honey in Egypt that are still edible. The Pharaoh’s believed in taking some food along to aid them in their final journey and so apparently some of them had honey placed with them in their tombs, which is how archeologists gained access to 3,000-year-old honey. (Source: HistoryFacts.com)

Cats can make up to 276 unique facial expressions (Source: InterestingFacts.com)

Which U.S. President had the most children, and how many children did he have?

John Tyler had 15 children (Source: HistoryFacts.com)

Counseling Articles

Need for an additional SFACC board member

Due to the resignation of one of our board members we are looking for someone to replace them. The duties of board members are not burdensome, and you have the satisfaction of knowing that you’re helping Christians in south Florida find well-trained Christian counselors when they need someone. If you’d like to learn more, please contact Henry Virkler at 561-317-4369 or by email at hvirkler@aol.com or Leah Carmo at 561-346-7244 or by email at LeahCarmo@aol.com

Excessive TV-Watching Tied to Elevated Risk for Dementia, Parkinson's Disease, and Depression

We know that excessive use of social media by children and adolescents is unhealthy. What about excessive watching of TV for adults? This large study (almost 500,000 people) in Great Britain found that watching television four hours or more per day was associated with higher risk of dementia, Parkinson’s Disease and depression.

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High Achievers: Balancing Bipolar Symptoms with Peak Performance

Some people with bipolar disorder are able to harness that energy and function highly. Research from Denmark suggests that individuals with bipolar disorder are seven times more likely than someone in the general population to rank among the top 5% of wage earners. However, some people with bipolar disorder are significantly hampered by their disorder. On average, people with bipolar tend to earn 38 percent less than the general population and are 26 percent more likely to have no earned income. Here are some quotes from three people with bipolar disorder about what helps them be successful.

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A World Record Christmas

The above is a heartwarming movie on Hallmark about a family with a son on the autism spectrum and a special challenge he committed to. This would be a fine movie to be used to introduce your children to autism in a very positive way.

Gen Z’s “Bed Rotting” Trend Alarms Health Experts

I included an article on “bed-rotting” a few weeks ago. It seems that more and more young adults are engaging in this activity. The Urban Dictionary defines it as “the Gen Z term for staying in bed for days on end, binging on Netflix, Tik Tok and Hinge.” Since you are likely sooner or later to run into a client or a client who has a loved one engaging in it, it’s probably worthwhile to know something about it.

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Study finds exercise helps treat and prevent postpartum depression

Postpartum depression affects at least one in eight women after delivery, and some experts say the percentage is probably higher since not everyone who experiences it seeks help. As you know, untreated depression can have significant and even serious consequences. Now the study, which combined the results of 26 studies across 11 countries, found that moderate exercise was effective in both preventing and treating postpartum depression. See article for more details.

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What is toxic ‘breadcrumbing’? Experts share signs and how to address it

In case your clients come in complaining that they’re being “breadcrumbed” by their romantic partner, you probably will want to know what they’re talking about. Breadcrumbing refers to “sporadic acts of attention that don’t really result in anything the recipient may consider meaningful.” One therapist described it as ““feigning interest and acting as though they feel sincerely interested and invested in a relationship with another person when they are not.” This article gives more details about how it works and some suggestions for people who believe they’re the recipients of this process.

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Whatever Happened to Good Old Singletasking?

People with ADHD are often tempted to multitask and often believe that they can do things equally well when multitasking.  Studies have shown that we can multitask successfully when the tasks are overlearned and simple. But the truth is that when tasks have even a moderate amount of complexity, trying to multitask increases the likelihood of making errors.  If you have someone with ADHD who is sure they can multitask successfully this article might be helpful.

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Lawsuits by Regretful ‘Detransitioners’ Take Aim at Medical Establishment’s Support for Gender-Transition Treatments for Minors

These lawsuits by detransitioners are significant in several ways. One way is that they are against two of the most prominent surgeons in the transgender movement, and a second is that they are taken against the American Association of Pediatrics, which is the foremost medical group that has been supporting gender transition treatments. It is noteworthy that there are now 9 lawsuits by detransitioners happening simultaneously.

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Caution about a Company That I Included Some Humor from in the last two weeks

I included some humor from a company called Temu in the last couple weeks because I thought some of the sayings on their t-shirts were cute. However, I just learned that they are a Chinese company and have been known for selling counterfeit goods, violating intellectual property rights, and engaging in deceptive marketing practices. So please be aware of these concerns.

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Clinical Outcomes of Magnetic Seizure Therapy vs Electroconvulsive Therapy for Major Depressive Episode: A Randomized Clinical Trial

We know that ECT is an effective treatment for severe depression, but it often causes at least some memory loss. A new type of therapy, called magnetic seizure therapy is starting to be used and reported on. Initial reports are that it reduces depression quite similarly to ECT but may cause less of the memory loss that ECT sometimes causes.

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Tips to Deter Porch Pirates

Reportedly, more than 40 million people per year report a package has been stolen from their porches, many around the Christmas season.  Here are five tips of ways to decrease porch thefts.

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Babies Learn Language Best Through Sing-Song Speech, Not Phonetics

If you have a newborn, or counsel mothers of newborns, or if there is an infant in your family, this article may be of interest to you. A scientific study found that in the first seven months of life, infants pick up language better through sing-song speech, such as nursery rhymes.

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What We Know About Autism — And How To Treat It — Could Change After New Study

One more advance from AI: even though some of the genetic mutations caused by autism have been identified, this doesn’t help develop new treatments. But now AI has taken this one step further, by identifying the proteins produced by these genes. While this still hasn’t produced any new treatments, it’s one step closer to identifying some treatments.

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Why Conservative Christian Men Make Good Husbands

Nancy Pearcey is a gifted writer and scholar and everything she writes is worth reading. She recently wrote a book titled The Toxic War on Masculinity. Many people assume that conservative religious men are domineering and patriarchal. Instead, she cites research that says that “devout Christian family men who attend church regularly are more loving husbands and more engaged fathers.” If interested, read the entire article about her book.

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Reminder: If you would like to know more about joining our Board, see the information at the beginning of the newsletter.

Have a wonderful week or weekend!

Henry Virkler