I’ve read a lot of articles lately (here’s one) that say that preventing mental illness would be better than treating mental illness. The way these authors want to do that is by promoting wellness. The theory is that we shouldn’t wait until people are sick to intervene. There should be more of a focus on…
Light pollution is a problem that doesn’t get enough attention, and it’s getting worse. Two astronomers, Chris Impey and Connie Walker, say that on average, it’s getting 9.6% brighter every year, or at least every year from 2011 to 2021 when they did the study. There is, of course, no reason to think that anything…
Aeon ran an article by James Barnes called “The space between us“. Its subtitle is “In order to understand and heal mental distress, we must see our minds as existing in relationships, not inside our heads”. Barnes presents what he calls a relational-intersubjective paradigm as nothing less than a revolution in therapy. I disagree and…
Louie Lang wrote an article in Phlexible Philosophy entitled “An Education Based on Happiness” (Full disclosure, I also write for Phlexible Philosophy.). The premise is that we need a shift of emphasis in education away from career-oriented education and towards a happiness education. That will go a long way towards stopping the mental health crisis….
“Revival (Love Is Everywhere)” is a 1970 song by the Allman Brothers Band. It was written by one of their guitarists, Dicky Betts, and Greg Allman takes the lead vocal. The first verse goes: People can you feel itLove is everywherePeople can you hear itThe song is in the airWe’re in a revolutionDon’t you know…
I read an article the other day called “Why taxing cow burps isn’t the best climate solution“. In the article, Kevin Trenberth explains why methane released from cattle, which has been brought to the fore and vilified recently, isn’t nearly as bad as people claim. The reason for this is the carbon cycle. Unlike fossil fuels,…
I’m about three weeks removed from having covid. It wasn’t a severe case, but I felt terrible. My symptoms were congestion, cough, fever, body aches, and fatigue. The doctor warned me that the cough and fatigue may continue for a while after I got better. And the doctor was right, especially about the fatigue. I…
Yesterday, I wrote about how depression puts people at higher risk for severe covid. Today I want to talk about another problem with covid. Apparently, covid can cause depression. “[O]ver half of a U.S. COVID-19 survivor sample reported symptoms of depression months after recovery, those with more severe COVID symptoms being more likely to have depression.” They…
I recently heard that depression is a risk factor for covid. It was actually in a commercial. In the commercial, a bunch of celebrities with various risk factors were telling people with those risk factors to be extra careful. It surprised me. I have depression, but never thought it put me at higher risk for…
The biggest of the music awards shows was yesterday. I didn’t watch it. It used to be exciting knowing my band was up for an award, but it’s gotten to be too much, so we’ve lost interest. Kermit the Band won its first award in 2008. We actually won two of them, but it was for the…
