Articles from the Week of July 18, 2025
Note: Mary and I will be on vacation for parts of the next two weeks. I am not sure what kind of access I will have to news and articles and whether or not I will be able to post the Friday News. So these next two weeks there may or may not be a Friday News posting.
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
Education... has produced a vast population able to read but unable to distinguish what is worth reading."
Bill Walton
“All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.”
Galileo Galilei
The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once."
Albert Einstein
“A little misery, at times, makes one appreciate happiness more.”
Frank Baum, "Adventures in Oz"
Happiness comes when we test our skills towards some meaningful purpose."
John Stossel
"The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them."
Ida B. Wells-Barnett
"In seeking truth you have to get both sides of a story."
Walter Cronkite
“Wherever there is a human being there is an opportunity for a kindness.”
Seneca the Younger
"Do not pray for an easy life, pray to be a strong person."
Nadia Comăneci
Fascinating Facts
8 babies born with DNA from 3 people in world-first IVF trial aimed at minimizing risk of inherited disease
Great Britain sometimes has some of the world’s most advanced medical discoveries. Here is one that has not been approved in the U.S. It involves women who have a rare genetic disorder in their mitochondrial DNA that is not treatable. In order for them to have children without the disorder, IVF is used to obtain semen from their husbands, and material from their mothers, and then normal DNA from another woman. There have been 8 healthy children born in Great Britain using this technique. They will be followed for several years, but the hope is that through IVF most of the defective DNA was removed. The ethical issues of IVF remain (the unused embryos are discarded).
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LIGO Detects the Most Massive Black Hole Merger to Date
In recent years we’ve learned about black holes, which are hard to conceive. But now we hear of something even harder to imagine—the merger of two black holes that created a super-massive black hole about 225 times larger than the sun. Helps us realize how small our minds are!
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Not interested in those cakes!
In Germany, about 1,500 tarantulas were found inside cake boxes. Apparently they were being shipped by someone who wanted to sell them. Most, fortunately or unfortunately, did not survive.
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Counseling Articles
Baby on Board: Why States Should Embrace Pro-Family Parking
Many countries, including the U.S., are realizing that unless we do something to increase the birth rate, our countries will face some serious consequences in the years ahead. One simple thing that could encourage fertility is suggested in this article—giving mothers of babies a temporary sticker that would allow them the same privileges as disabled persons in being able to park closer to stores, medical buildings, churches, etc. while their children are very young. This idea has been approved in a few states (including Florida) already.
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Families Need Affordable Houses. Let’s Build Them on Federal Land
One of the biggest challenges for young couples is being able to find “starter homes” that are affordable. This article makes the plausible argument that there is a lot of land now owned by the federal government that could be released to contractors to build affordable housing for such couples.
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Parents Get Some Help from the Supreme Court
Two recent decisions from the Supreme Court can be an encouragement to families. One was the decision to allow parents to have their children opt-out of classes where teachers taught material that contradicted the parent’s religious values. The second was a decision that supported Texas’ decision to require age verification before young people could access pornography. Parents with evangelical religious values can be encouraged by both of these decisions.
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The Primary Reason Maternal Mental Health is Declining
A recent research article studying 200,000 young mothers in the U.S. cited declining mental health for these women. This article posits three major reasons for this: (1) the financial stress on young mothers, many of whom are single, (2) the stress of being forced to return to the work force too soon after giving birth, and (3) the competing stress of being expected to nurture their families and at the same time achieve career success.
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In light of the above article, I’m going to include an article from last week’s Friday News that shows how some young women are deciding to do something about this.
From Girl Boss to No Boss
This is from the New York Times, and I think it summarizes an interesting trend, so I’ll summarize its major point. It’s about the growing trend of middle-aged women, who worked full-time for many years, attempting to work their way up the corporate ladder, who are leaving their jobs and creating a new life for themselves. For some it involves spending more time raising their children, and for many it involves working part-time consulting in some area. But the common theme is taking more control of their lives and deciding what their personal priorities are and investing in those things.
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How to Trade Your Teen’s Lies for Trust
Some children, not just those with ADHD, develop a habit of lying. Here are a few insights that may help parents in some of these situations.
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The Perfect Hug Length to Improve Immunity and Reduce Stress
This research shows that regular hugs, handholding and other displays of support and affection triggers a cascade of biochemical reactions in our bodies that protect our bodies from illnesses and do start a cascade of other positive medical processes. So the positive expressions of affection in a marriage and family have more than just psychological advantages.
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‘Spared by God’: Trump allies reflect on assassination attempt in Butler one year later
Many believed before the assassination attempt in Butler one year ago that President Trump may have been a cultural Christian, i.e., someone who believed that Judeo-Christian principles were healthy for a society, but may not have had a personal faith himself. He is quoted as saying: “By the hand of providence and the grace of Almighty God, my life was spared” Many have remarked that since his assassination attempt, he seems to have deepened his faith that God personally spared his life because God had a mission for him to try to move the country in some right directions. While no human is perfect and there are things each of us wish he would change, some of the departments he has created, such as the department investigating bias against Christian believers (see article below), is a positive movement.
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4 highlights from the White House Summit of Faith and Business Leaders
In a development that will be encouraging to Christians, the newly developed White House Faith office hosted the inaugural Summit of Faith and Business Leaders on Monday to celebrate what President Trump calls "core values that built this country," which include "freedom, hard work, risk-taking, and above all, trust in Almighty God."
Here’s a good summary of those who attended this meeting and four highlights of that meeting.
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7 Early Signs of Bipolar Depression — and What You Can Do
Bipolar depression rarely comes without giving several early warning signs. This article by Tanya Hvilivitzky, respected blogger who has lived with bipolar disorder for several years herself, gives a list of symptoms that frequently precede a bipolar depression episode, and practical steps to take when they appear.
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Breast implant illness after reconstruction with silicone breast implants
Women who have had breast removal surgery because of breast cancer or threat of breast cancer are sometimes worried about receiving silicone implants because of reports of breast implant illness, a condition with varying symptoms. This research found that women who received silicone implants had no higher incidence of breast implant illness than those who did not receive such implants. So it seems that these various symptoms of breast implant illness may be secondary to the surgery they have undergone, and not to silicone implants. This information may be helpful to young women during this stressful time in their lives.
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How Do You See Other People?
This is not a counseling article, but I think it has some important applications to our counseling. In some studies a few years ago, it was found that the primary reasons people left places of employment were not for higher-paying jobs, but because they didn’t feel recognized and valued.
It then goes on to talk about how we can either be illuminators (people who show curiosity about understanding people or diminishers (people who cause others to feel small, unseen and used. Insights we might be able to use as we work with some families.
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Here's What to Know About the MMR Vaccine, Fetal Debris, and DNA
You may have occasional clients who fear having their children vaccinated for measles, mumps and rubella because of remarks by Robert M. Kennedy that the MMR vaccine carries fetal debris and DNA. Please read this article from Medpage Today showing that these statements are not true, and even in the unlikely event that some remnants of DNA remain, these would be safely disposed of by normal bodily processes. Especially in light of the fact that Kennedy goes to tanning salons on a weekly basis, which doctors say increases his chances of skin cancer significantly, (see article below) it seems that some skepticism about his medical statements are warranted.
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Should Kennedy Kick His Alleged Tanning Bed Habit?
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Why ADHD in women is finally getting the attention it deserves
Between 2020 and 2022 the number of adult women receiving ADHD diagnoses doubled. This highly respected blog for physicians explains some of the reasons understanding ADHD in women is so much more complicated than ADHD in boys and men. I think taking a moment to read this article is worthwhile for all counselors, for it helps us understand the many factors that affect the presentation of ADHD in women.
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Ask the Doctor: How to Manage Your Bipolar Medications
People with bipolar disorders frequently take several medications simultaneously, and sometimes medications from different classes. How does this situation happen? Often the explanation is that each of these medications were given to control a specific symptom within a particular episode. Some were given when a person entered the hospital in the midst of an acute episode. However, sometimes often these previously-prescribed medications were never discontinued. A recommendation by this writer, a psychiatrist, is that the treatment team, together with the patient and family, discuss each medication and consider removing it, at least on a temporary basis, to see if it is still necessary.
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Caffeine May Slow Cellular Aging by Activating a Protective Stress Response
Even though there have been several studies that suggest drinking 1 to 3 cups of coffee a day is linked to longer lives for many people, the reason this is true has been a mystery. This article suggests a biological reason why modest amounts of coffee per day may have this beneficial effect.
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America’s Biggest Medical Facility for Transgender Youth Is Shutting Down
Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles was America’s largest medical facility performing transgender procedures for children and teens. The closing of this hospital follows closings of large hospitals in Illinois, Colorado, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. which had also provided transgender procedures. The federal government has argued that children and teens do not have the maturity to make such permanent life-altering decisions, and that they should be offered counseling instead.
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Combined CBT and Drug Therapy Reduced Binge Eating Episodes in Patients with Obesity by 96%
This interesting study had three treatment comparison groups in working with clients with binge-eating disorder and obesity. One group received CBT only, one group received medication only, and a third group received both CBT and medication. The combination group had significantly better improvement.
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How Pornography Taxes the Brain and Emotions
Some new research shows that chronic watching of pornography changes the brain so that it resembles the brains of those who have become addicted to hard drugs. This article also talks about a type of counseling that is helpful to those who have become addicted to pornography.
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Surge in Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome Cases
Cannabis hyperemesis sounds pretty horrible (cyclic episodes of vomiting). It is found increasingly among teens who regularly use pot, and its frequency has increased by a factor of 294 times between 2006 and 2023 (U.S. hospital admissions to emergency departments). This is probably caused by increased use of cannabis and increased availability. If cannabis hyperemesis doesn’t sound like something the teens you work with would want, it might be good to tell them it could happen to them if they keep using cannabis.
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Doubt Cast on the Need for Long-Term Antidepressant Tapering
Some people are reluctant to start on antidepressants for fear that they will get addicted or will suffer antidepressant withdrawal symptoms when they try to discontinue them. Antidepressants can often be very helpful in treating depression that otherwise would significantly hamper clients’ lives and functioning.
You can reassure them that no antidepressants are addicting, and this new research says that discontinuation symptoms are generally mild (which doesn’t mean the antidepressants were addicting but only that the body is adjusting to the absence of the medication) and typically abate within a few weeks. Therefore these researchers suggest that the guidelines for long-term antidepressant tapering may need to be reevaluated.
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Green Spaces Support Children’s Brain Development
Several research studies confirm that when children spend more time surrounded by nature it nurtures greater development in several parts of the brain related to areas related to sensory processing, motivation, language, and emotional controls such as the temporal lobes and the insular cortex. They also showed fewer mental health problems. So it seems wise for parents to encourage children to spend more time out in nature when possible.
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Buddhist monks slept with ‘blackmailing’ seductress
This is from the Telegraph, so you won’t be able to read it without a subscription, but it’s just one more reminder of why it’s not a good idea to have an affair. It’s the story of an attractive seductress who seduced at least nine monks into sleeping with her and blackmailed them into giving her millions of pounds. All nine monks were disrobed.
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I hope you enjoyed these articles. As I mentioned at the beginning, the Friday News may or may not appear the next two weeks.
Henry Virkler