Articles from the Week of June 28, 2024

Explanation: Although I scan the Internet primarily for counseling articles, in the process I run across quotes and interesting facts that I sometimes include in these first two sections. If you’re just interested in the counseling articles, you can skip these first two sections and go directly to the section called Counseling Articles. HV

Interesting Quotes

"Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy."

ISAAC NEWTON

Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, and therefore is wing’d Cupid painted blind.

William Shakespeare in “A Midsummers Night’s Dream”

“Greatness is not intelligence. Greatness comes from character. And character isn’t formed out of smart people, it’s formed out of people who suffered.”

JENSEN HUANG

Fascinating Facts

I didn’t run across anything for this category this week.

Counseling Articles

Eight Tips on Managing Medication Shortages

Medication shortages for both medical and psychological issues (especially ADHD) have been causing problems for patients because of supply chain issues and other factors. This article explains some of those factors and also has some suggestions for how clients can deal with those issues.

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How to Choose the Right Hospice Care

Hospice care is recommended when loved ones no longer desire aggressive medical care but they and their loved ones desire that they receive palliative care so they can die with dignity. It can occur at home, or in a nursing home, a hospice facility, or a hospital. This article explains information on making the best choice for the patient and family.

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Hearing Aids May Lower the Risk of Cognitive Decline

We’ve known for some time that when older people have untreated hearing loss it can lead to cognitive decline. Some older people refuse to consider hearing aids because they believe wearing them will label them as “old.” Fortunately hearing aids are becoming smaller and smaller, and some people wear them for years without anyone noticing them. Here is an informative article that encourages people to give them a try.

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Can Courts Ban Persons Who Have Domestic Violence Histories from Possessing Firearms?

Late last week the Supreme Court issued a ruling that will make those of you who work with domestic violence victims (and those victims themselves) breathe a sigh of relief. The Court recognized that although the Second Amendment does say that citizens have the right to possess firearms, that in cases of domestic violence that right may be temporarily suspended.

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A Look into The Science of Addiction

If you are working with the family members of someone with an addiction who could benefit from an understanding of the various factors that go into producing and maintaining an addiction, here is an accurate understanding of addictions.

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Addicts Are Now Injecting FLESH EATING DRUGS To Get High…

This seems hard to believe, but addicts are starting to use flesh-eating drugs to get high. If you work with substance abusers, you may want to be informed of this practice.

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The Self-Organizing Human Embryo

Pro-abortion advocates assert that the early human embryo is nothing but a clump of cells that can be dispensed with if not wanted by the mother. This research by some Australian scientists indicates the miracle that occurs so that this small clump of cells organizes itself to produce each of the different organs the child needs in order to survive, and in the process becomes a complex and fully functioning organism. It helps us marvel at one more of the complex mysteries designed by our Heavenly Father.

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Policing the Neurodivergent — Safely

Those with invisible disabilities, such as autism or ADHD, may often act out when frustrated, and if a safety officer is present, whose mission is to protect and serve, that officer may react based on the disruption and unintentionally, cause the situation escalate. This is particularly true if the person is male, large, and black. Having someone present who can explain the invisible disability to the officer is helpful, and can offer to handle the meltdown, but this is not always possible. Police departments are sometimes receiving training, but since these disabilities are often invisible, the officer may not know that that is what they are dealing with. If you are a counselor who has one or more of these clients with an invisible disability, this might be a good thing to offer to spend some counseling time to train them on how to respond so they have some ideas about how to de-escalate the situation themselves.

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When Family Members Deal with ADHD with Covert Denial and Faux Concern

This article deals with a topic that probably many people with ADHD experience—one or more family members who minimize the problems such people face with statements like “all young children are fidgety” and “everyone loses focus sometimes.” The author of this article has some good thoughts about how such tactics underestimate the difficulties neurodivergent individuals have in doing tasks that “normies” do without problems. If you’re a “normie” yourself it will give you empathy for some of the challenges these individuals experience.

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Frederick Crews, Withering Critic of Freud’s Legacy, Dies at 91

This article may not be of interest to many of you. Frederick Crews was a literary critic who believed Freud was a charlatan and that psychoanalysis was pseudoscience. You probably will not be able to read this article unless you have a subscription to the New York Times.

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Six Distinct Subtypes of Depression, Anxiety Identified Via Brain Imaging

Interesting article. While this research is still too early to have practical application, in future years this may provide more precise treatments for different causes of depression and anxiety.

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Chronic Loneliness Tied to Increased Stroke Risk

We’ve known for some time that loneliness can lead to increased levels of depression and even suicide risk. This research shows another risk of chronic loneliness: those people older than 50 who reported chronic loneliness had a 56% increased stroke risk over those who did not report chronic loneliness. Those who experienced situational loneliness had no increase in stroke risk. This research clearly has implications for counselors, churches and bereavement groups.

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Mastering Hypomania: The Dos and Don’ts of Taming Your ‘Dragon’

Hypomania is a less extreme mood episode than mania, and for many of us who haven’t experienced bipolar disorder, it may seem like less of a threat to an orderly existence. As this author, who has lived with bipolar II for several years describes, it can cause major disruptions to one’s life. To understand what she means, read this article.

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Evidence of How the Experience of Racial Discrimination May Alter Brain Connectivity, Cellular Aging, and Brain Health

We have known for some time that the experience of discrimination affects individuals psychologically. This careful and time-consuming study is showing that the experience of discrimination changes the brain in identifiable ways.

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At least 7 stars in our galaxy have the potential to harbor advanced alien technology, researchers find

In case you have clients who are quite interested/anxious about whether we are alone in the universe or whether there are aliens with advanced technology in other parts of the universe, this astronomical study found there are at least 7 stars in our galaxy that might harbor Dyson spheres, which could indicate the presence of advanced alien technology. This possibility could be explained by other factors, so you can encourage them to focus their mental energy on challenges that are more likely to be important.

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This week appeared to have less counseling-related articles than most. I hope you have a nice weekend or week.

Henry Virkler