New Perspectives, Inc.

Life surely has its ups and downs. Whether you lose a friend, a promotion, a significant other, or you just fail at achieving a goal, the anguish of disappointment can be devastating. Whether the disappointment is in us or in someone else, the overall feelings of disappointment are akin to the grieving process. Personally, I believe we can work better at grieving the disappointment with others versus the disappointment with ourselves. For me, being disappointed in myself leaves me feeling out of sorts, lost, and, dare I say, vulnerable. It's often a reminder of how fragile life and the human experience is as it pertains to the loss of confidence. Disappointment can kick you squarely in the teeth leaving you dazed and confused. It is never a good feeling, but, with the right direction, you can recover from the feeling. The feeling of disappointed is also a part of life. Do we need disappointment? Well, maybe. I think we all need a modest level of disappo...

Before you go any further, this blog is not going to give any insight into health care reform nor will it attempt to sway your interests in any party affiliations. This is a blog about two subjects that have seemingly intertwined in our daily thought process. At last count, I have watched 2 billion political hate commercials over the past two months. Keep in mind; I only watch about an hour of television a day. The ads run morning, noon and night. They are constantly on and constantly spewing hatred of the other party. The messages are loud and strong: This candidate didn’t pay their taxes, this candidate will ruin the government, this candidate cheated on their SATs, this candidate cheated on their spouse, this candidate is…..BLAH BLAH BLAH! I am waiting for the ad that simply states, “Don’t vote for this candidate because they are a no good rotten SOB who has bad breath, cooties, and will be personally responsible for the downfall of society!” Really?!? Why hav...

Feeling blue, sad, or even depressed even though the holidays are upon us? You may be suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder (aka SAD). According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, “Symptoms of winter SAD usually begin in October or November and subside in March or April. Some patients begin to slump as early as August, while others remain well until January. Regardless of the time of onset, most patients don’t feel fully back to normal until early May. Depressions are usually mild to moderate, but they can be severe.” SAD is often found in women in their twenties and thirties, but statistics report children, men, and teens may suffer from the symptoms as well. At first, symptoms are mild, but gradually increase in intensity. The symptoms of SAD include, but are not limited to, depression include oversleeping, daytime fatigue, carbohydrate craving and weight gain, features of depression, especially decreased sexual interest, lethargy, hopelessness, suicidal thought...

When I first set up this blog for the New Perspectives, Inc. web site, I had high hopes for myself. I was ready to sit down nightly and type out information which could be useful to any reader. But......I looked back to my last entry and saw that I had typed about summertime and here it is December 2009. What happened to my plan? What happened to all my hopes and goals? Did life just get in the way? NFL hall of fame coach of the Dallas Cowboys Tom Landry once said, "Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan.” Obviously, Coach Landry speaks to the idea of procrastination. Procrastination refers to the deferment of actions or tasks to a later time. Psychologists often cite such behavior as a mechanism for coping with the anxiety associated with starting and/or completing any task or decision. There are three criteria: for a behavior to be classified as procrastination, it must be counterproductive, ...

Well i'm a-gonna raise a fuss, i'm gonna raise a holler About workin' all summer just to try an' earn a dollar Everytime i call my baby, to try to get a date My boss says, "no dice, son, you gotta work late" Sometimes i wonder what i'm gonna do 'cause there ain't no cure for the summertime blues' (Eddie Cochran) In a previous posting, I discussed the joys of having a stress free summer vacation, but I have noticed a significant trend among patients this summer. A trend, which at best, seems to be growing in a very rapid pace over the past few summers. This trend is the emergence of what the National Institute of Mental Mental (NIMH) has termed "reverse SAD" or reverse Seasonal Affective Disorder. SAD is most commonly asociated with the dark and gloomy days of winter where afflicted people suffer symptoms of depression including, but not limited to, fatigue, lethargy, excessive sleep, hopelessness, social withdrawal, decreased in...