It is Wednesday I’m late with this. I’d love to say my life is full of meaning and purpose. It’s filled with things to do. Meaning and purpose to follow this to-do’s like squirrel footprints in the snow. No squirrel to be just footprints leading nowhere.I keep looking for the pesky rat with a fuzzy tail.
Is Online Therapy Effective? 5 Pros and 5 Cons
It's important to note first that Online Therapy did not exist pre-pandemic. It’s new it has grown rapidly. Thank you COVID. It’s needed 100%. Needed not just because there is a mental health crisis. A recent survey found that 87% It is needed because finding a therapist takes a Sisyphus like task.
This is a fair piece though with all the ads on it feels a bit click bait. Ignore the ads we need the help where we can find it.
Living Without Amazon Prime Subscription
This article is a how to on how to cut the cord to your credit card with Jeff and company. I want to do it. Need to do. I will need more and more of these articles to embolden me and hold my hand.
I guess I can cut them off and see and go back... I am such a chicken shit
Thank you Swiss Miss for hooking me up this gem
My doggy ate my essay.
He picked up all my mail.
He cleaned my dirty closet and dusted with his tail.
He straightened out my posters and swept my wooden floor.
My parents almost fainted when he fixed my bedroom door.
I did not try to stop him. He made my windows shine.
My room looked like a palace, and my dresser smelled like pine.
He fluffed up every pillow. He folded all my clothes.
He even cleaned my fish tank with a toothbrush and a hose.
I thought it was amazing to see him use a broom.
I’m glad he ate my essay on “How to Clean My Room.
12 of the best page-turners from the Booker Library
I am always looking for books and well the The Booker Prizes serves up a great list from time to time. Now I guess I will have more books then I can read while I wait for my expiration date.
This is from a wonderful site I was introduced to by OM Malik. His newsletter is a must read for the content perfectly curated and shared. In his Newsletter was this article which looks at an interview David Bowie did in the early days of the internet. Bowie is asked "It's just a tool though, ins't it?" Bowie responds, "Not it's not. No. It's and alien life form."
The author of the piece /Sally Adee points to Arthur C. Clarkes first-contract novel Childhood's End published in 1953 about the inflection point in humanity's journey. It describes the last generation of people who understood the world as it existed for thoughts of years and their end. mmmmm yuppers
Speaking of Om Malik. His eye and his camera work is beholds the wonders of what the eye sees and how the mind captures it.
KOSA (Kids Online Safety Act) isn't designed to help kids
This is from Danah Boyd who is a technology and social media scholar. And so much more. Here is her Wiki Page.
Here is a quote from this long, well written, and smart piece on where we failing children. Hint , children under the age of 26 years old in the US do not have access to mental health services without involving their parents. Finding a therapist is next to impossible
"The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) continues to march through the halls of Congress as though it’s the best thing since sliced bread, even though one of the co-creators of this bill clearly stated that her intention is to protect children from “the transgender” and to prevent “indoctrination” from the LGBT community. I’m flabbergasted by how many Democrats shrug their shoulders and say that it’s still worth it to align with hateful politicians because it’ll help more kids. The thing is: it won’t"
There is so much in this essay that is thoughtful and how we can look beyond just the politics of children
As 988 centers struggle to hire, burnout plagues some crisis staff
This quote is the crux of the article and important to consider. "Data obtained by ABC News found that, in some states such as Oklahoma and Colorado, more than one-third of employees left within months of taking their first call. In addition, turnover rates continue to increase across the United States. In Washington, for example, state data shows attrition rates increased 1.5 times between 2022 and 2023."
I am doing 988 and I will say it has a different level of stress when I compare it to my texting volunteer crisis counseling. I will note that I've been doing texting for coming up on four years so I have comfort. Texting is by definition arms length (aka finger tips tapping away length). Being on the phone has an immediate deeply connected moment. I know for me voice drives a lot of emotions based around my compassion and empathy. My volunteer hours are four a week so I do have time to self heal and recover.
It is hard emotional work and I cannot image how stressful it is for those doing it full time.
Medical students often ill-equipped to help suicidal patients
"Suicide is a societal epidemic and a staggering public health crisis. In 2021, someone died by suicide every 11 minutes in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That rate equates to nearly 50,000 Americans every year. An additional 1.7 million people attempted suicide in 2021, and over 12 million more reported having suicidal thoughts."
As the lede states we may not be doing a great job in educating medical students about suicide. How to ask and the way to ask and why to ask. Most of all how to create a space for patients to confide. The quote from the article and the data is striking and shouts how medical students who will be physicians need this education. Saving lives is not only lowering blood pressure. It is asking, "Are you feeling suicidal?"
"The first point of contact for patients seeking treatment for mental health conditions is usually their primary care physician. About 44 percent of those who died by suicide worldwide had visited their primary care provider within one month of their death."