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Reasons to Be Proud and Hopeful for the Future
As the month of May Mental Health Awareness draws to a close, I reflect a little on the Make It OK calendar items that are salient for me: 3 things I’ve done that I’m most proud of and 3 reasons I’m hopeful for the future. I’ll keep it short. One thing I’m most proud of…
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An Anecdote About “Supportive” Psychotherapy
I just read Dr. George Dawson’s excellent blog post on supportive psychotherapy (“Supportive Psychotherapy—The Clinical Language of Psychiatry.” If you’re looking for an erudite and humanistic explanation of supportive psychotherapy, I think you’re unlikely to find anything superior to Dr. Dawson’s essay. Now, about my take on “supportive” psychotherapy—there’s a reason why the word supportive…
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New and Old Stories by Ray Bradbury!
We just got a couple of books by Ray Bradbury, and I’m pretty excited. Some of the stories I recognize, but there will be some, perhaps many, that will be new to me.
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Writing is Dope
I learned a new slang word from Houston White, the guy who makes that specialty coffee in Minneapolis I blogged about yesterday: Brown Sugar Banana (I’m not a fan, but I admire him just the same). The word is “dope.” That used to be an insult or an illicit drug when I was growing up.…
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Hearing an Old Song
I have to admit that I’ve been mis-hearing some of the lyrics of one of my favorite songs, “Lean on Me” for the past fifty-odd years since Bill Withers wrote it. It stayed on the top of the charts for more than 3 weeks back in 1972. That was a special time in my life;…
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Three Photos to Share for Mental Health Awareness Month
So, I have to hurry up and get these 3 photos posted for today because it’s getting pretty late. Recall the Iowa Healthiest State Initiative calendar along with my photos to share: The images are important features of events in my life or my sense of humor. I’m a birdwatcher and many different species of…
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Earth Day Trees and Other Thoughts
Today is designated Earth Day although there is such a thing as Earth Month. Among the several trees Sena planted in our back yard trees are a few that we hope exemplify the Earth Day theme, which is Our Power, Our Planet. One of them is a dogwood, which we’re hoping will bloom soon. Dogwoods…
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Music and Change Go Together
We listened to the Big Mo Blues Show last night on KCCK radio 88.3. It was recorded and we noticed that he sounded younger for some reason. Once he remarked that things were difficult because of having to “shelter in place.” The format of the show was different from usual. That made me wonder if…
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Certification of Old Fart Status by Iowa House of Representatives
Well, thank you very much, State Representative Adam Zabner, for recognizing me as an old fart as you prefer to call it, which is fine with me. I received a similar honor several years ago, from State Representative Dave Jacoby, who was much more prolix in his remarks on my certificate. A long time ago,…
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Members of the Human Club
I just read Dr. Moffic’s column, “Join This Club for Mental Health” in which he described the Clubhouse movement which got started in the 1940s to help those with mental health challenges to cope with their illness and, more importantly, to recover, grow, and achieve success in life. It made wonder if there are any…
Go Retire Psychiatrist 