Articles from the Week of April 12, 2024
Interesting Quotes
When you learn, teach. When you get, give.
Maya Angelou
The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.
Pablo Picasso
A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal.
Steve Maraboli
Fascinating Facts
Attila the Hun died of a nosebleed on his wedding night. Reportedly much alcohol was consumed during the wedding afterparty, and since the nose is very vascular, these two factors may have played a role in the unusual event. When his men broke down the door to his bedroom when he did not arise until long after his normal arousal time, they found his new bride weeping. (Source: HistoryFacts.com)
In Nova Scotia, Canada, you can stand on the corner of "This Street" and "That Street." (Source: InterestingFacts.com)
Although movies and television programs often portray this as fact, there’s no evidence of pirates making treasure maps(Source: InterestingFacts.com)
George Washington was an excellent dancer(Source: HistoryFacts.com)
The First High Heels Were Designed for Men
“While they’re typically considered feminine today, high heels started as functional footwear for men. In the 10th century, Persian men wore heeled shoes on horseback because they clicked into stirrups, which helped them stay steady when firing arrows in battle.” (Source: InterestingFacts.com)
Counseling Articles
Something to Try
If you haven’t tried Pure Flix I encourage you to give it a try. You can try for one week free and then subscribe for one year for $60.00 if you like it.
Believe data, not activists: Transgenderism among kids is mostly a fad
An interesting title, from a 15-year longitudinal study of 2,700 children at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. It discovered while 11% of young people experienced gender non-centeredness (gender dysphoria) during early adolescence, this decreased to 4% at the latest follow up (age 26). The researchers concluded: ““Gender non-contentedness, while being relatively common during early adolescence, in general decreases with age and appears to be associated with a poorer self-concept and mental health throughout development.” Unfortunately here in the U.S. many doctors, counselors and teachers are still encouraging early adolescents to start on a path of hormones and surgery that will have lifelong consequences rather than recognizing that this is a developmental pathway that the majority of children will outgrow as they become more mature and develop healthier self-concepts.
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Will the ‘Invisible Hand’ Finally Stop Doctors from Putting Kids on Experimental Gender Drugs?
Doctors who work in gender clinics have found that liability insurance rates were coming in five times higher than they expected and are continuing to rise. Teens who took puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones are suing their doctors, claiming that they were too young to give informed consent for these procedures. Doctors are being sued for violating their Hippocratic Oath, where they are supposed to do no harm. The “invisible hand” referred to in this title refers to increasing litigation that is increasing the risk to insurance companies, which in turn causes them to increase their rates to doctors and gender clinics.
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Children allowed to ‘socially transition’ face psychological harm, review warns
Many schools in the U.S. allow children to socially transition without informing parents. This study from Great Britain found that allowing children to change their name and pronouns was not a neutral act but prepares children to want to have puberty-suppressing drugs and cross-sex hormones in the future. This was a British study and was published in the Telegraph, so you will not be able to read it without a subscription. The implications for U.S. schoolchildren are clear: schools allowing children to socially transition without input from parents is not a neutral act and these changes should be explained to parents and the child before being applied by the school system.
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I doubt if any of you will want to read and save the 400-page Cass report, but if you want to read a good summary and have the option of downloading the entire report, you can do so at the following website:
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Most Kids Don’t Need Therapy. They Need Healthy and Supportive Families
Abigail Shrier’s book Bad Therapy: Why the Kids Aren’t Growing Up has been receiving lots of comments, both positive and negative. This reviewer agrees with some of her thoughts but also criticizes some errors she believes she makes. Shrier’s central concept is that children and teens will grow out of most of the difficulties they experience during adolescence if their families are healthy and supportive. The reviewer agrees with Shrier that most children will grow out of most of the problems they experience during adolescence, but does disagree with Shrier, believing that occasionally children will experience more significant mental health issues, and for them a well-trained counselor is important.
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Below are two articles related to ADHD that may be of interest to some.
Your Kids Don’t Need “Perfect.” They Need “Persistent” and “Patient.”
A good article on the extra qualities that parents of children with ADHD need. Please ignore the one swear word in it: the rest of the article is quite good.
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“How My Son’s ADHD Masked His Dyslexia for Three Decades.”
Here is one mother’s story that may help other parents with children with ADHD. Although learning about her son’s ADHD early and providing many helpful programs for him, she (and probably other parents of children with ADHD) missed recognizing his dyslexia, attributing those difficulties to his ADHD. As an adult of 30 he discovered and told his mother about this late discovery. In this article, among other things, she tells the symptoms that she missed. If you’re counseling with parents of a child with ADHD this could be an article that would be helpful for them to consider.
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These identical twins both grew up with autism, but took very different paths
Many years ago autism was thought to be caused by emotionally-distant parenting a child experienced. Then the emphasis shifted to genetic factors. But what about identical twins who share identical genes—shouldn’t their autism look the same? This case of identical twins, who have very different autistic traits, helps us think further about the factors that can influence how autism is expressed.
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Synchron, a rival to Musk’s Neuralink, readies large-scale brain implant trial
Neuralink is not the only company experimenting with brain implants that may enable people with paralysis to regain some functions for living a more normal life. Synchron has implanted its devices in six U.S. patients and 4 Australians and is now asking for referrals so that it can try larger trials. So if you know of someone paralyzed by a stroke or accident, this might be an option to consider for them to consider.
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Exercise May Boost Cognition in Adults with Down Syndrome
This was a well-structured study and found that those patients with Down Syndrome who walked for 30 minutes three times a week had measurably improved cognition versus those who did not. Since walking is a no-cost activity and we know exercise improves health in multiple ways, this certainly seems like something to encourage.
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Relationship Rescue for ADHD Couples
Many of the marriages where one person has ADHD don’t survive, which is sad. Here some marriage counselors offer helpful answers to some of the questions they’ve been asked.
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ADHD & Emotional Distress Syndrome
This article introduces a new phrase—Emotional Distress Syndrome—and defines it as the negative symptoms some people with ADHD feel when all the problems that ADHD often causes start to weigh on their self-esteem. Probably a good article to read if you work with or live with anyone with ADHD.
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Three Powerful Ways to Guard Against Child Sexual Abuse
This is an uncomfortable thing to think about, but the unfortunate reality is that all young children are at risk. This article has some important things to teach us.
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NHS to review all transgender treatment
The NHS is the British National Health Service which is highly regarded for the quality of its research and procedures. This article is in a British newspaper, The Telegraph, so you will probably not be able to read it without a subscription. For that reason, I’ll quote four paragraphs of the article: “The NHS will review all trans treatment, as a landmark report says that the evidence for allowing children and young people to change gender is built on “shaky foundations”.
“Dr Hilary Cass, a pediatrician, on Wednesday publishes her long-awaited review into the support and treatment offered to children who believe they are transgender and cautions that extreme care should be taken before anyone under the age of 25 transitions.”
“The 388-page report took four years to produce, amid mounting concern that children are being allowed to change gender in schools and by doctors without question.
“Dr Cass, the former president of the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health, cautions against hasty decisions while children’s brains are developing, calling for “unhurried, holistic, therapeutic support” for those aged between 17 and 25.”
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Florida woman claims God told her to shoot drivers because of eclipse
Hopefully none of you were in the vicinity of this woman!
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‘A move of God’: Thousands of students attending revival events, hundreds baptized
Not a counseling article, but hopefully one that will be an encouragement to you, and one that will probably not be carried in secular newspapers.
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Survey: Most Young Women Hold Conservative Beliefs but Hide Them
A few weeks ago I included a research study that found that young women often identify more with traditional feminine roles than with feminist ones. This survey explains why we often think that the majority of young women are feminists. It found that women often support traditional female roles but hide them.
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Acetaminophen Use in Pregnancy Not Linked with Autism, ADHD
A large Swedish study should help mothers lay aside one fear and be comfortable using Acetaminophen (Tylenol) during pregnancy. This study found that there was no increase in either autism or ADHD among children whose mothers used Tylenol during pregnancy. Early reports of such a link, according to the researchers, were due to confounders.
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How to Get Your Life Back on Course After a Bipolar Episode
Breakthrough bipolar episodes can often have lasting impacts on important relationships, especially in families. Here is some practical advice for people with bipolar disorder about how to get their life back on track after a bipolar episode.
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STRUGGLES FOR ADOPTED TEENS
Probably if we weren’t adopted we’re not aware of some of the unique struggles some adopted teens struggle with.
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Anxiety and depression is spiking among young people. No one knows why.
A kind of depressing article. Hopefully we will find some answers soon. I wonder whether the Christian faith will provide a cure for those who are willing to embrace it. One good result is that there will continue to be a strong need for those counselors willing to work with young people.
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Sorority sisters hailed as heroes after saving mother and her kids
A heartwarming story of how five sorority sisters rescued a mother and her two children from a sinking car that probably would have led to three fatalities had they not intervened.
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Ukrainian Evangelical Christians facing torture, destruction of churches in Russian-occupied areas
Something to add to your prayer list: Apparently Russian forces in parts of Ukraine that Russia has conquered are torturing believers, killing pastors, and destroying churches.
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I hope you have a wonderful week or weekend!
Henry Virkler