You know the old saw: The more things change the more they stay the same? I've been reminded of that lately. A lot! Because of one thing leading to another, as is usually the case. I've been looking back at my writing through the years. In fact, as far back as 1970. It was good … Continue reading The More Things Change: Recovery
Category: Therapy
Coronavirus Effect: Christmas Edition
Friday I had my Year End Review with my psych girl. It went well, I thought. I celebrated the way I do, by myself in the Magpie Cafe - eating, drinking and listening to my favorite playlists. Then I went to bed. "Merry Christmas" and a happy New Year. But in the early morning hours … Continue reading Coronavirus Effect: Christmas Edition
Election 2020: My Prediction
I can't help myself, despite my psych-girl's counsel (to be quite). I have to go on the record. I was right in 2016, and think I'm right again. Why Trump Wins even bigger than before? You might ask? Because, as before, I believe my own eyes, ears, and analysis. In other words, I base my … Continue reading Election 2020: My Prediction
Baseball 2020: Fall Frenzy
I was skeptical when major league baseball announced its plan to play a sixty game "regular" season and then the "Fall Frenzy" playoff format. Really, I thought. What with all the craziness of 2020 - Who cares?. The season began July 23rd, with the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers being featured on ESPN. Because … Continue reading Baseball 2020: Fall Frenzy
Mental Health
Mental health, what is it? I define it here. Briefly, it's only one element of your overall health. There are five other components. In short, mental health is how your brain functions. Or, how is your brain at problem solving? Dr. Melfi (Tony Soprano's psychiatrist) in the scene above, says out loud to her own, … Continue reading Mental Health
PROZAC diary
Lauren Slater has been on Prozac since it burst on the scene in 1988. PROZAC diary (1998) is her book recounting the first ten years of the drug and how it affected and saved her life. That's not an exaggeration. She was twenty-five and suffering debilitating OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder). Slater had been hospitalized five times beginning … Continue reading PROZAC diary
Lying
Lying is a thing people do. It has been a subject and action, central to my understanding of communication, between and within persons nearly all my life. Because of reasons not pertinent to this review. Lying (2000) is a memoir by Lauren Slater published twenty years ago, when she was 37. It's a beautiful, fascinating story. … Continue reading Lying
The Territorial Imperative
The Territorial Imperative was a book I read back in the late 60's, as a freshman at Colorado State University. It has informed and influenced me ever since. Its "big ideas" predated Evolutionary Psychology, by some ten/twenty years. Sociobiology was a word coined by The Naturalist, E.O. Wilson, around 1975. Sociobiology, as defined by Wilson … Continue reading The Territorial Imperative
The Pursuit Of Happiness
At a recent session with my psych-girl, she closed with three "suggestions": Lower your expectations Reduce your drinking Censor yourself Is there a better prescription for unhappiness? Or is it one for happiness? Christopher Hitchens once said: It's not true that you shouldn't drink alone; these can be the happiest glasses you ever drain. I … Continue reading The Pursuit Of Happiness
Talk Therapy
How do you know what it is? Do you know if you're getting it? Is it effective? Those questions illustrate the value of the Health & Well-being Inventory (HWBI). If you can accurately assess your score? Then maybe you can decide if you can/are benefiting from therapy? However, what kind? Because once you've determined you … Continue reading Talk Therapy