How to protect yourself from harm from “therapists”
“While nothing is easier than to denounce the evildoer, nothing is more difficult than to understand him.” — Dostoevsky
A therapist or, more appropriately, a psychotherapist, in this case, is a word we never associate with evil. The word evil is reserved for use in the religious realm as is the concept of the Devil (see Elaine Pagels’ “The Origin of Satin” or Bart Ehrman’s “God’s Problem”).
With the popularization of therapy, possibly related to its extolling by the wealthy and famous and availability of health insurance, change has come. Psychiatrists even considered whether or not if “evil” exists in anyone. …
Why there is such urgency to get kids back in school and the pushback this is receiving from families
The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next. — Abraham Lincoln
The COVID-19 virus is flourishing at breakneck speed into the small towns and states where they thought they were immune. It was a “big city” problem and they were protected until they weren’t.
And with the virus came the danger to work and education as companies sent workers home and schools closed. Then came the unending din of a call to open the schools.
We heard that children would be fine, teachers would be safe, and kids didn’t get the virus as adults do, but none of that was true. Having to make decisions about the safety of their children as opposed to sending them to school, moms opted to keep them home. Where would they be educated? …
Will a VO weeks before an election make a difference?
Brad Pitt is an actor whose name causes ears to shoot up whenever he’s mentioned anywhere in the world. He is among the pantheon of film stars who can ensure box office dynamite when his name is above the title and, as a result, he can influence many fans.
The guy with the cowboy hat and the made-for-movies bod (remember “Thelma and Louise?”), Pitt has been involved in many humanitarian causes, but he’s always kept it quiet. When Hurricane Katrina devastated housing in New Orleans, Pitt assembled a planning and construction crew.
His environmentally friendly Make It Right Foundation went to work to construct a projected 150 homes in New Orleans. The architects for the homes were famous in their own right, too, and among them was the uber-famous Frank Gehry. Additional homes are planned for other urban areas in need of housing. Some of these homes are for disabled veterans and persons with special needs. …
An app may be opening doors to the high-powered film execs who can reveal talent where it would have languished.
I don’t care who you are. When you sit down to write the first page of your screenplay, in your head, you’re also writing your Oscar acceptance speech. — Nora Ephron
Writing a screenplay and you want to get noticed, get a meeting with someone who really matters in this industry? Your prayers may have been answered to some extent, and it’s not how you think.
Anyone who writes, even the most famous writers who went on to incredible fame, has a trunk full of scripts that may never see the light of day. Why? …
You think you’re having a COVID-19 nose swab, but they see billions in profit potential.
There is a sufficiency in the world for man’s need but not for man’s greed. — Mahatma Gandhi
The COVID-19 virus is overtaking the world (a third surge is evident in the US now) and causing death and economic ruin wherever it is found, but not for all. Whenever there’s a disaster, therein lies the seeds for greed for those who see incredible opportunity in the wake of helplessness.
Who among us doesn’t feel helpless in the face of this virus that can kill so quickly despite the age or the social position of the patient?
Yes, we should be following the guidelines offered by medical experts who have advised us what to do to slow down or stop the pandemic. But here is where helplessness meets greed in a most secretive manner. And it’s not the first time this has happened, and it won’t be the last unless we have legislative protection. …
Medications that heal and keep us healthy also can have psychiatric effects, and therein lies a problem.
Medicine is not only a science; it is also an art. It does not consist of compounding pills and plasters; it deals with the very processes of life, which must be understood before they may be guided. — Paracelsus
Humans are prone to illness and disease; there is no doubt, but how these illnesses are treated is often misunderstood. Patients are thankful that there are medications today that were once mere far-fetched dreams in the minds of scientists. We not only have medicines, but we have medical procedures that save lives. Even here, there is no infallibility.
Research has pulled us from death’s door with medical alchemy, but there is no free lunch in medicine, either. Every medication, every procedure, comes with its share of side effects or dangers, some of which are missed by the most acute eyes. …
Pollution isn’t only the trash that is visible on our beaches and landfills; it is getting into our food chain, baby food, and baby bottles.
By nature, I’m very care-taking. There’s something really beautiful about cooking for someone and feeding them. — Eric Balfour
Pollution doesn’t hide in our environment. We see it everywhere in our oceans, on our beaches, in huge landfills, the air, and we smell it. But one form of pollution is being missed, and it is potentially the most dangerous — microplastics.
But even here, we are still missing the life-changing microform of pollution that hides from sight in our food and our drinking water, which we serve to our precious babies. Formula contains more than formula.
Not only are these potentially dangerous substances present in foods, but the bottles we use to feed our babies their formula also increases the ingestion of plastics by our infants. …
Lockdowns forced a new look at the in-home exercise potential for health maintenance, and it may be here to stay.
If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not too much, we would have found the safest way to health. — Hippocrates
The COVID-19 virus has resulted in death and destruction similar to the Spanish Flu of 1918, but it has been a boon for certain businesses as others withered under the imposed lockdowns. Among the many businesses closed or allowed only severely modified open hours were gyms — one area that expected continued growth in 2021. …
The heavy burden of caregiving is often met with reluctance by caregivers to engage in self-care.
If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am not for others, what am I? And if not now, when? — Hillel
Fifty-three million adults in the US have been caregivers for an adult or a child during the past year. The statistics indicate that forty-one million caregivers receive no pay for their services, but that does not negate the value of what they provide. The greater majority of caregivers are family members.
The 2020 update reveals an increase in the number of family caregivers in the United States of 9.5 million from 2015 to 2020. …
Sleeping is never a waste of time
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before. — Edgar Allan Poe
One-third of our lives is spent sleeping. Calculating the average lifespan with the usual six to seven hours slept indicates that we will sleep for twenty-five years. Who wouldn’t want 25 more years to work on projects? Tacking on leap year adds another seven days over the 9,125 days you’ll sleep normally.
Do you think of sleep as useless time spent doing nothing but letting your body rest and cleanse your brain? Thomas Edison disputed the need for sleep, although he napped throughout the day. Keeping his scientists awake for as long as possible, there is an apocryphal tale of his having brought a brass band into the lab to keep them awake. …
About
