Last week, which was the second week of the government shutdown, was the week in which a large proportion of the clients I saw complained about the stress of having a government that, not only can’t get along, but does not seem to even want to get along. I didn’t bring it up; they did.Continue reading “Better Angels”
Tag Archives: mental health
Mental Illness Happy Hour
If you have ever thought you were the only person who thinks the thoughts that you do, in the way you do, I would recommend that you listen to the Mental Illness Happy Hour. There, you will hear yourself think. The weekly, hour-long audio podcast of interviews with artists, friends and the occasional doctor isContinue reading “Mental Illness Happy Hour”
What’s the Best Form of Therapy?
The easiest method of doing something is not always the most effective; but it is the easiest, so that’s saying something for it. Easy is more effective than the most effective if the most effective is impossible for you to do. When it comes to treatment for mental illness, if I were to rank theContinue reading “What’s the Best Form of Therapy?”
Project I am Not Ashamed
If you have a mental illness, you know stigma. There’s stigma in the shame you feel if you say you have a mental illness. There’s stigma in the way people react if you say you have a mental illness. There’s stigma in the way mental health coverage is still something that needs to be foughtContinue reading “Project I am Not Ashamed”
Multiple
There aren’t many mental illnesses that therapists are accused of creating, but dissociative identity disorder, or multiple personality disorder, as it officially used to be known, is one of them.
Why I Don’t Specialize in Anything
As a therapist, I could’ve had a specialty. I did some post grad work in family therapy and some more in substance abuse. I sought for ways to address the desire my clients had to quit using tobacco back in the days when few others were doing so. I ran therapy groups for sex offenders.Continue reading “Why I Don’t Specialize in Anything”
The Gumbo of Grief
These days, no one can shed a tear without someone mentioning the five stages of grief. I’m convinced that when people sit with the bereft, they bring up the stages just so that they can have something to say. Anything is better than the delusional denial, the bitter anger, the useless bargains, the hopeless dejection,Continue reading “The Gumbo of Grief”
The ACE Study
Bringing you the best of mental health It makes no sense, but one of the most remarkable and important findings in recent psychological research hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves and still has not had much impact on the practice of psychotherapy. I’m talking about the ACE Study. In the 1990’s, the CDC and theContinue reading “The ACE Study”
Electric Eve
Bringing you the best of mental health every week. One of my personal holidays is tonight, December 18th. I call it Electric Eve. This is the thirty-second anniversary of the original Electric Eve. I spent five years of my young adulthood living close to the land, on a dirt road, with my first wife inContinue reading “Electric Eve”
How Caretaking Can Be A Problem
You may have actually said it, and it’s true. Taking care of a person with a Problem gives meaning and purpose to your life. Your life needs meaning and purpose. It makes your life worthwhile; it indicates your existence matters. That’s important. Sometimes, it’s the only thing that keeps you going. It’s something you canContinue reading “How Caretaking Can Be A Problem”