Articles from the Week of November 15, 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
"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known."
Carl Sagan
Only love can heal the wounds of the past.
bell hooks
There is a gift for us in each relationship that comes our way.
Author unknown
Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live.
Dorothy Thompson
"Truth is the only safe ground to stand upon."
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Happiness is not made by what we own. It is what we share.
Jonathan Sacks
We need old friends to help us grow old and new friends to help us stay young.
Letty Cottin Pogrebin
Since there is nothing so well worth having as friends, never lose a chance to make them.
Francesco Guicciardini
"The world cares very little what you or I know, but it does care a great deal about what you or I do."
Booker T. Washington
Fascinating Facts
Evidence of the Big Bang was discovered by accident.
“On May 20, 1964, astronomers Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson were conducting experiments at Bell Labs in New Jersey when they found something odd. While using the Holmdel Horn Antenna to study radio signals emitted by objects in deep space, they noticed that the antenna was picking up an unusual, persistent buzzing noise. At first, they thought the noise was caused by some sort of interference or equipment failure, so they methodically investigated every possible explanation, including the idea that pigeons were roosting in the antenna. Eventually, the astronomers realized the noise was not an equipment error, but an electromagnetic signal dating back billions of years, called cosmic microwave background radiation. Also referred to as CMB, it is the oldest known light in the universe, and one of the strongest pieces of evidence for the Big Bang theory. The Big Bang theory posits that the universe began as an infinitely hot, infinitely dense singular point in space, which then began to inflate and expand at an incredibly fast rate. Before this expansion, the cosmos would have been too hot and dense for light to travel through, but when the universe was about 380,000 years old, it finally cooled enough for the subatomic particles to bind together into stable atoms (a process known as “recombination”), allowing light to travel through space for the first time. The cosmic microwave background that Penzias and Wilson stumbled on is a remnant of that first light, and its discovery is strong evidence that the recombination event predicted by the Big Bang theory actually occurred. What’s more, the CMB’s temperature is uniform throughout the cosmos, supporting the theory that the universe originated at a single, super-dense point in space which then inflated rapidly in all directions. For their serendipitous discovery of the CMB, Penzias and Wilson received the 1978 Nobel Prize in physics.” (Source: HistoryFacts.com)
Hot and cold water make different sounds when poured.
“Temperature actually affects water’s viscosity (aka thickness), which produces different sounds that we can hear. At lower temperatures, water molecules are sluggish and create temporary bonds that thicken the liquid, producing a lower-frequency sound when poured. Conversely, heated water molecules are more energetic, making it harder for molecules to join together. Fewer bonds result in thinner water, which produces a noticeably higher-pitched sound when transferred into a cup. Researchers say bubbling also plays a role in water acoustics — hot liquids have more bubbles than cool liquids, which contribute to the higher tones we hear while pouring out a cup of coffee or tea.” (Source: InterestingFacts.com)
Counseling Articles
Hope in Suffering
Probably there is no better example of someone who has shown her faith through her suffering more than Joni Erickson, who has been a quadriplegic for 57 years. If you have a client who has been going through suffering for what seems to them like a long period and needs some encouragement from a fellow sufferer, this short article could help him or her.
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Blind woman has better than 20/20 vision after AI surgery
You probably won’t be able to read this article without a subscription to the Guardian, a British newspaper I subscribe to because Britain often covers psychological advances, but the headline is relevant for us all. Using a new AI-powered surgery, a woman who was declared legally blind because of astigmatism and extreme short-sightedness now has better than 20/20 vision. The process involved making digital scans of her eyes, then having AI experiment with what changes would result in normal vision, then having an eye surgeon make those changes. She now has 20/16 vision.
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World-first stem-cell treatment restores vision in people
Another exciting new treatment for those with severe vision difficulties. In this case stem cells were used to restore vision in several people with visual defects.
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“Girls with ADHD Need to Hear You Say These 5 Things”
If you are working with parents of a girl with ADHD, here would be an article that could be helpful to them and their child.
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Hormones, High School, and ADHD: A Parent’s Guide
Another good article for parents of a child with ADHD.
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The Top 8 Myths About Marriage
If you work with couples or lead couples groups, this article may provide some good discussion starters.
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How Bipolar Symptoms Change in Middle Age and Beyond
A helpful article about how people with bipolar disorder in middle age may be able to manage their symptoms better than at previous times in their lives. This article has a section on late-onset bipolar disorder. This is a fairly-newly recognized diagnosis and not little is known about the best treatment as of yet, but it’s a good phenomenon to be aware of.
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The Difference Between Anger and ‘Bipolar Anger’
People with bipolar disorder sometimes experience normal anger, just as we all do. But there is such a thing as bipolar anger, and understanding the difference is important.
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You Know Who Else Served His People For A Few Years, Got Rejected, But Then Came Back To Reign Anyway?
Babylon Bee headline
‘Invisible Brain’ Concept Gives Hope to Brain Revival and Regeneration
This article seems partly scientific but has some parts that seem to verge on the “hard-to-believe.” You may want to skip this article, but if you do take the time to read it, know that you’ve been forewarned.
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ADHD: A Failure-to-Regulate-Mood Disorder?
I think this title (in a magazine about ADHD) is misleading. While people with ADHD often have difficulty regulating their emotions, I think this is one of the symptoms of ADHD, and not the primary cause of ADHD. While the subtitle within the article is overall a good one, the primary title could give the impression that ADHD is something it is not.
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How to Teach Children Healthy Intimacy and Boundaries
This isn’t a long or in-depth article, but it might serve as a useful beginning to discussions with parents of young children who have questions about these topics. It’s written by Julie Slattery, who talks with women about sexual matters in a very thoughtful and sensitive way. The Authentic Intimacy website has many excellent resources available.
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Is Being Busy Good for People With A.D.H.D.?
You may not be able to read this article without a subscription to the New York Times, so I’ll summarize a few of the most important details. One conclusion from this research suggests symptoms of the disorder may be less severe in those with a demanding schedule. However, some skeptics of this conclusion said that this might only hold true for those who have less severe ADHD. There were several caveats to this study. One conclusion that many experts agree on is that those with ADHD appear to do best when they organize their schedule and use things like to do lists to make sure they complete tasks. One suggestion is that those who work with clients with ADHD experiment with what works best for their individual client and help them develop a plan to use that approach. Another important finding from this study (which was multi-year) is that ADHD symptoms vary in intensity over the years, so when doing life-planning, do not make assumptions from short-term results, recognizing that some fluctuations in symptoms may be due to variations in the disease itself and not to the specific treatment you were using at the time.
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Advice from Yale Psychiatrist and a growing number of commentators
As you may have seen on news media and social commentary, this Yale psychiatrist and a growing number of commentators are recommending that you not associate with family members this Thanksgiving or Christmas if they voted differently than you did. I think the principle of respecting others and their choices includes fellowshipping and wishing well others who may view things differently than we do.
Evidence Grows of the Effectiveness of Rapid-Acting Brain Stimulation to Treat Bipolar Depression
A five-day treatment with non-invasive rapid-acting brain stimulation showed improvement in 10 patients with bipolar depression who had been unresponsive to traditional treatments. They were monitored for emergence of mania/hypomania but none showed signs of this. While this is a preliminary study (all the participants knew they were getting the treatment) it does seem like this brain stimulation treatment has promise both for unipolar depression and bipolar depression in the future.
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Being Noble-Minded
Here is a column about Lee Strobel, a highly-respected secular reporter and legal expert, who several years ago reported that he had become a Christian. He has used his keen mind and legal training to write several books about Christian issues, and I have read several of them. If you’ve not read any of his books, I highly recommend you read this article and then consider reading one or more of his books. I believe you’ll be richly rewarded.
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A "slowmance" could be a great dating approach this season. A therapist explains why.
A new name for something some counselors have been recommending for many years—taking time to get to know a person gradually before moving to serious dating. But some young couples may be more attracted by this new title.
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New vaccine may eradicate Alzheimer's disease
Up until this time we have had no treatment that would prevent Alzheimer’s disease, the most prevalent cause of dementia, from developing. We still do not, but there is a vaccine in development, Vaxxinity, which it is hoped has the potential to accomplish this. I’ll keep you posted on new developments.
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AI aids drug trials with simulations
AI has two new additions to enhance pharmacotherapy. One is that AI can be used to create new drugs. However, one bottleneck is that even if new drugs are developed, the process of doing field studies often prevents these new drugs from going through Phase 1, 2 and 3 trials. But now a new AI program has demonstrated 85% accuracy in doing simulations on such drugs. This is certainly an exciting time to be alive!
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I hope you enjoyed these articles! Have a wonderful week or weekend!
Henry Virkler