Articles from the Week of April 4, 2025

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

I think self-discipline is something, it's like a muscle. The more you exercise it, the stronger it gets."

Daniel Goldstein

"Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it's amazing what they can accomplish."

Sam Walton

“Without courage we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency.”

Maya Angelou

Aging gracefully means being flexible, being open, allowing change, enjoying change, and loving yourself.

Wendy Whelan

The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes.

Frank Lloyd Wright

"The really frightening thing about middle age is the knowledge that you'll grow out of it."

Doris Day

It is better to be defeated standing for a high principle than to run by committing subterfuge.

Grover Cleveland

Fascinating Facts

Couple, 101 and 105, Break World Record for Longest Marriage—Shares Their Secret to 84 Years of Happy Love

The story of this couple is inspiring. The humble couple has lived their lives in Brazil, have had 13 children. Their love multiplied through the generations, and their legacy now includes 55 grandchildren, 60 great-grandchildren, and 14 great-great-grandchildren.

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Florida Thief Swallows $770k Earrings from Tiffany’s During Arrest

This thief stole 4 diamond earrings from a high-end jewelry store and swallowed them when arrested. After 12 days in the hospital where he was monitored the earrings were recovered and returned to Tiffany’s.

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3D printer used to construct train station building in Japan

A train station was constructed in Japan using a 3D printer. Metal beams and a concrete floor were added and it reportedly has the earthquake resistance of concrete-reinforced houses. It reportedly cost ½ the cost of a comparable train station constructed by traditional means.

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Counseling Articles

Life With Kids Is Better: Analyzing Public Well-Being Data

If you are working with young couples who are debating whether to have children, this research says that children are worth it in contributing to one’s overall happiness. And when you see your children growing up, making contributions to the world, and then raising children themselves, it just strengthens your belief that you made the right decision to invest your lives in children.

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Shared Joy: Rediscovering the Power of Human Connections

Many of us have been blessed by the writings of Hope College psychologist David Myers. Here he reminds us of the joy of human connection, and of three types of human connections, each of which can add enjoyment to our lives.

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AI Chatbots for Kids: A New Imaginary Friend or Foe?

It is normal and probably healthy for young children to have imaginary friends. In today’s world parents might wonder about enhancing this using generative AI chatbots. This article talks about concerns about chatbots for children and teens and encourages parents to be vigilant in monitoring the activity of chatbots in their child’s life.

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Want to stay healthier and fulfilled later in life? Try volunteering

There have been several articles on the benefits of volunteering. This is one of the more comprehensive, and it cites some research that volunteering is beneficial for children and teens and for middle-aged people as well as seniors. This might be a good thing to encourage some clients to get involved in if you believe it would be healthy for them.

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Surprising Findings from New Research About Dementia and Marriage

Most research studies have reported that people who are married have better mental health than those who are single, divorced, or widowed. However, this recent study from the University of Florida reports the opposite of that trend. It found that a higher percentage of those who were married developed dementia, and a higher percentage went from mild cognitive decline to dementia. It will be interesting to see whether other research studies find the same effect or whether this research finding is an exception, since it seems like marriages, particularly good marriages, have so many beneficial effects.

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Who Is David Geier, the Man Leading Federal Autism-Vaccine Study?

Robert Kennedy, who believes vaccines cause autism despite widespread evidence that this belief is false, has appointed David Geier to lead a federal autism-vaccine study. Geier is not a physician, has been disciplined for practicing medicine without a license, and is the author of several previously-discredited research studies. If one wanted professionals to seriously consider the results of this study, Geier seems an unlikely candidate to lead the study.

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Here's What Doctors (and Parents) Should Know About Slushies and Kids

There have been a few cases in the U.K. and Ireland of reported glycerol intoxication when young children drank slushies. No reports of glycerol intoxication have been reported in the U.S., but if you have a very young child who becomes ill in the first hour after drinking a slushie, probably you should call 911. But probably this is not something parents in the U.S. need to worry about.

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Will Stimulating My Brain as I Age Keep It Sharp?

This article is from the New York Times, so I’ll try to summarize its gist. The quoted person, who is a psychologist who specializes in dementia, says there isn’t solid research on specific games and whether they prevent dementia. She suggests that people find some cognitive activities that they enjoy and stay active in them.

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3 Lessons in Education from a Renaissance Humanist

Although it is not a counseling article, this article about Thomas More is so interesting I think we can learn some things from him. See what you think.

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Antidepressant Monotherapy in Bipolar Disorder Boosts Depression Risk

Although treating Bipolar patients with antidepressants during depressive phases of their illness would seem reasonable, this research study found that when bipolar patients are in the depressed phase, it is better to treat them with lithium than with antidepressant monotherapy. Normally the physician would make this decision, but if you have a client who is questioning that decision, you could tell them that research confirms their doctor’s decision.

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The Untold Story of Benzodiazepine Dependency

Although benzodiazepines (anti-anxiety medications) are commonly prescribed by doctors and are typically assumed by patients to be safe, people can develop dependency in as little as two weeks of constant use and may develop some withdrawal symptoms after that time. So while these drugs are legal and may have use short-term in crisis situations, it seems like helping clients use non-medication resources (e.g., relaxation exercises, physical exercise, spiritual resources such as prayer and meditation, etc.) is preferable to long-term use of such medications.

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Tween girls are now self-harming almost as much as 15- to 19-year-olds

Tween girls (girls between 10 and 14 are now engaging in self-harming behaviors significant enough for them to go to emergency rooms almost as much as girls 15 to 19. So if you work with this age group, you may want to see if your clients are feeling any temptations in this area.

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How Advocacy Can Improve Your Bipolar Treatment

This article talks about several things relevant for bipolar patients—how they can advocate for themselves with insurance companies, why having an advocate attend at least some of your sessions with your doctor can be helpful, and suggestions to the advocate so that they advocate, but continue to respect the right for the patient to make their ultimate decisions. Though this is written for people with bipolar disorder, I believe the discussion could have application to many couples, especially older couples or couples where one has serious or lifelong conditions.

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Bipolar Symptoms Thrive on Chaos — Routine Brings Stability

Another article written for people with bipolar disorder that could have helpful applications to many clients who don’t have bipolar disorder. For many of our clients, helping them develop regular healthy daily routines (of things they do and do not do) would probably help their lives be healthier.

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 Kennedy Called A.D.H.D. Drugs Poison. What Does the Research Say?

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy has called ADHD drugs poison, so you may have clients who are taking them or have children taking them who come to you with concerns. Since this is from the New York Times I’ll give you a summary of the article, which probably gives a pretty good summary of what most medical professionals (in contrast to RFK Jr.) believe.

Many medical professionals believe that these drugs are some of the best researched drugs that psychiatry has to offer those with ADHD. Besides ADHD, these same drugs are used to treat narcolepsy, binge-eating disorder, treatment-resistant depression, and catatonia.

The drugs are divided into two classes: methylphenidates like Ritalin, Focalin and Concerta and amphetamines like Vynase and Adderal. They work by amplifying the activity of the neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain, which produce desire and help maintain focus.

There are non-medication methods, such as behavioral therapy, parent training, school support and lifestyle changes such as adequate sleep and exercise. Some people with ADHD can suffice with these treatments; others supplement medication with these treatments.

About 6% of adults in the U.S. have ADHD, and about 1/3 of adults diagnosed with ADHD take medications. About 5% of children are diagnosed with ADHD, and it is estimated that about that same percentage take ADHD medication. About 1.5% of teens report abusing ADHD medication: younger children abuse less (.9%), and young adults somewhat higher (3.7%). So research studies indicate that the percentage of people with ADHD who abuse their medication is very small.

Since ADHD symptoms vary over the lifetime, sometimes people with ADHD can discontinue medication for periods of time and depend on methods such as those mentioned above.

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ADHD’s Vanishing (and Reappearing) Act

Here is an article about a topic that I have been seeing more recently—that ADHD symptoms often wax and wane throughout the lifespan. Sometimes people who need medication to be most effective may not need it at other times in their lives. And ADHD symptoms do not always correlate with the amount of stress in a person’s life: it appears that sometimes more stress causes a person to focus on solving those problems. Read the article for new insights.

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Stop Lying to Women

This Breakpoint article says that websites such as www.shoutyourabortion.com that tell women they will be happier if they don’t marry or have children are lying to women. They point out that married women with children are those who are happiest. If you have female clients who are asking how they can be most fulfilled, this might be a good article to show them.

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Chewing Gum Contributes to Microplastic Ingestion

You may have seen this headline more than once recently—chewing gum releases microplastics, and there is some concern about health risks related to microplastics. According to these researchers, if you’re a gum-chewer you don’t have to stop until there’s further research. It may be worthwhile to keep your eye on the results of future research.

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 Beyond Romance: The Missing Element in Modern Relationships

1/3 to ½ of marriages end in separation or divorce. This article articulates what many Christian counselors have long said—that when couples share deep and common religious commitments it helps them maintain long-term marriages. The early paragraphs talk about spirituality in pretty nebulous terms, but the later parts of the article emphasize the importance of deep shared religious commitments in maintaining long marriages.

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Why You Should Decide Once—And Stick with It

Some of you have clients who are either indecisive or prone to overthinking and find these problems handicapping them. If so, this article might be helpful discussing with them.

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4 Ways to Foster Growth and Respect in Your Teen

If you are working with parents who are having trouble with one of their teens, here is an article from Mark Gregston that you might want to discuss with them and see which ideas they might implement (or see if you or they could come up with alternative ideas).

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The Truth about Transgenderism

In an editorial sure to inflame those who believe in transgenderism, Austin Ruse speculates that, at least for some individuals, it may only be a sexual fetish (if you read the article, Ruse’s argument might be true, at least for some transgenders). Another benefit of reading the editorial is that you’ll learn something about the movie The White Lotus without having to view the movie yourself.

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I hope you’ve enjoyed these articles. Have a wonderful weekend!

Henry Virkler