Noble

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Noble
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Noble

Sunday Inspiration.     Post by David Joel Miller.

“There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.”

― Ernest Hemingway

“People aren’t either wicked or noble. They’re like chef’s salads, with good things and bad things chopped and mixed together in a vinaigrette of confusion and conflict.”

― Lemony Snicket, The Grim Grotto

“I have possessed that heart, that noble soul, in whose presence I seemed to be more than I really was, because I was all that I could be.”

― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Wanted to share some inspirational quotes with you. Today seemed like a good time to do this. There are an estimated 100,000 words in the English language that are feelings related. Some emotions are pleasant, and some are unpleasant, but all feelings can provide useful information. I’ve also included some words related to strengths and values since the line between what we think and what we feel may vary from person to person. If any of these quotes strike a chord with you, please share them.

Look at these related posts for more on this topic and other feelings, strengths, and values.

Emotions and Feelings.                      Inspiration

Staying in touch with David Joel Miller.

For more information about my writing journey, my books, and other creative activities, please subscribe to my blog at davidjoelmillerwriter.com

Seven David Joel Miller Books are available on Amazon now! And more are on the way.

For these and my upcoming books, please visit my Amazon Author Page – David Joel Miller

For information about my work in mental health, substance abuse, and having a happy life, Please check out counselorssoapbox.com

For videos, see: Counselorssoapbox YouTube Video Channel

Ordeal therapy – experiences can change you

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Can drugs cure your depression in a single dose?
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Ordeal therapy – experiences can change you.

By David Joel Miller, MS, Licensed Therapist & Counselor.

Can drugs cure your depression in a single dose?

People have been asking me recently what I think of using psilocybin, Ketamine, and other psychoactive drugs as a treatment for anxiety and depression. I have seen some remarkable results. On the other hand, my years working in substance abuse counseling tell me that the magic pill, which is supposed to cure all your ills, often takes you to some nasty places.

Most people who develop alcoholism or an addiction begin by thinking that those substances could help them cope with the challenges of living. What started as the solution to their problems eventually morphed into yet another source of problems.

So why is it that sometimes taking a psychoactive drug can have a profound effect on someone, and other times it leads them deeper into the tangle of problems they began with while trying to cure their problems in the first place?

This may be a special case of ordeal therapy.

While the literature on ordeal therapy is not always easy to find, it goes back a very long way. There are plenty of examples of people who undertake a quest or journey that changes their perspective and life forever. I suppose this is the origin of the hero’s journey.

Sometimes, it’s as simple as setting yourself a task and proving to yourself that you can do it. Now, this doesn’t work for everyone, but when it does work, it’s remarkable. I remember reading several accounts of people who took off a summer and hiked the Appalachian Trail or the John Muir Trail here in California. That experience of living by yourself, struggling along the trail, careful of every morsel of food and water, can result in a radically new perspective on life.

When you get away from all the gadgets and the technology and life is stripped down to its barest essentials, most of the things we worry about and pursue every day have much less meaning.

Another example of ordeal therapy is those people who build a boat and then sail across the ocean to Hawaii or some other unusual destination. Setting yourself a challenge and proving to yourself that you can do this can be a very growth-promoting experience. Talk to someone who has trained diligently to run a marathon or compete in a bicycle race. Even if they finish far from the front, the sense of accomplishment changes their view of themselves.

I remember a story about a Native American tribe that lived up on the rim of the Grand Canyon. I hope that I have gotten this story correctly. Young men who wanted to prove that they were ready to transition into manhood would climb down the side of the Grand Canyon and seek out a cave with salt deposits. They would fill a bag with salt and climb back up to the men waiting for them at the top. Those who survived the ordeal had demonstrated that they were capable of acting like a man.

There was a time when many families would send their young men off to enlist in the military, believing that the experience of being separated from their family and having to rely on themselves to make the grade would “make a man out of them.”

It seems that there are fewer and fewer ways these days that someone can prove to themselves their worth as a person. Something about facing the demon in the blackened cave that gives you an altered perception of yourself and the world around you.

College degrees aren’t always enough of an ordeal to change people.

I strongly believe in education; love of learning is one of my core values. I read the reports that half of the people who obtain college degrees never work in the field they majored in. I also know that many students drop out of college, often saddled with large amounts of student loan debt, without ever completing their education.

Certainly, having a college degree increases your potential lifetime earnings. Still, it’s not enough for most people to be able to say that having completed that degree, they feel satisfied with themselves. In fact, many of the clients I talked with feel cheated. They went to school and got that degree, believing it was the magical cure to them feeling accomplished, but that sought-after job never materialized, and the wages they earned were not enough to pay back the loan. Thinking that getting a particular degree is the magic key to happiness has proved to be an illusion.

Climbing that metaphorical mountain may be a disappointment.

Undergoing an ordeal may prove to yourself what you’re made of and are capable of, but be aware that no matter how successful you are at climbing that mountain, that does not create a permanent success. Life is filled with challenges. There will be more mountains to climb. The lessons you learned by undergoing an ordeal may be valuable, but there will be more lessons to learn. One of the keys here is to appreciate what you’ve been through and accomplished, but don’t think that what you learned about yourself will be the end of the story. While what you did matters to you but, to others, you’re only as important as your most recent success. There will always be more mountains to climb and more ordeals to endure.

Does David Joel Miller see clients for counseling and coaching?

Yes, I do. I can see private pay clients if they live in California, where I am licensed. If you’re interested in information about that, please email me or use the contact me form.

Staying in touch with David Joel Miller.

Want the latest blog posts as they are published? Subscribe to this blog.

For more information about my writing journey, my books, and other creative activities, please subscribe to my blog at davidjoelmillerwriter.com

Seven David Joel Miller Books are available on Amazon now! And more are on the way.

For more about my books, please visit my Amazon Author Page – David Joel Miller

For information about my work in mental health, substance abuse, and having a happy life, please check out https://counselorssoapbox.com

For videos, see: Counselorssoapbox YouTube Video Channel

Nice

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Nice
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Nice

Sunday Inspiration.     Post by David Joel Miller.

“When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That’s relativity.”

― Albert Einstein

“Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?”

― L.M. Montgomery

“I did not attend his funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it.”

― Mark Twain

Wanted to share some inspirational quotes with you. Today seemed like a good time to do this. There are an estimated 100,000 words in the English language that are feelings related. Some emotions are pleasant, and some are unpleasant, but all feelings can provide useful information. I’ve also included some words related to strengths and values since the line between what we think and what we feel may vary from person to person. If any of these quotes strike a chord with you, please share them.

Look at these related posts for more on this topic and other feelings, strengths, and values.

Emotions and Feelings.                      Inspiration

Staying in touch with David Joel Miller.

For more information about my writing journey, my books, and other creative activities, please subscribe to my blog at davidjoelmillerwriter.com

Seven David Joel Miller Books are available on Amazon now! And more are on the way.

For these and my upcoming books, please visit my Amazon Author Page – David Joel Miller

For information about my work in mental health, substance abuse, and having a happy life, Please check out counselorssoapbox.com

For videos, see: Counselorssoapbox YouTube Video Channel

Are you satisfied with your life?

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Are you satisfied with your life?
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Are you satisfied with your life?

By David Joel Miller, MS, Licensed Therapist & Counselor.

Among the people I talk with daily, an almost universal characteristic is that they are unhappy with their lives. I realize some of that may be skewed because I work as a counselor and mental health therapist. When I’m not doing those things, I also work with a very limited number of clients, trying to coach them on creating a plan for life and achieving the goals they would like to achieve.

But if you’re one of those many people who aren’t happy with the life you’re living, now might be a good time to look at where you’re at and figure out how you’ll get where you want to be. For most people, life is a road trip to unexpected places, relationships, and events. But it’s a lot easier to get to the destination you’re headed for if you have a roadmap. The map doesn’t have to control your journey, but it can sure keep you from making wrong turns.

Consider creating a personal mission statement.

Successful businesses and many successful people start by creating a mission statement for themselves. I like the book “Start with Why,” in which Simon Sinek details the differences between businesses that began with a mission and purpose, their own specific why, and those that started with the how.

The how would be, “We’ll get to be the biggest by selling things cheaper.” Most of the time, businesses that take that approach discover they have zero profit margins and eventually begin to lose money as their competitors lower their prices to meet the new company’s low prices.

Companies with a mission statement detailing their “Why” do much better. If your goal is to make a product that is so inexpensive that anyone with a low income could afford to buy it and that your product would meet one of their basic needs, you have a great chance of being successful. Companies who envision simplifying technology so that market segments who have never used their product can quickly master it likewise know their why, which takes them a long way.

A personal mission statement guides your life journey.

Having a mission statement for your life keeps you on track. Your mission statement identifies the direction you’re going and how you’ll know when you’ve arrived at your destination. One way to help distill your many thoughts into a personal mission statement is to begin by writing your own obituary. What would you like people to say about you when you are gone.

How do you create a personal mission statement?

In this blog post, I will give you a brief overview of what you should consider in writing a personal mission statement and the process you might go through. In future blog posts, I’ll try to elaborate on these ideas. This process can take more or less time, depending on your objectives. If your life’s going well now, but you’re not accomplishing your goals as rapidly as you would like, you probably need to put in some detailed planning time. If you’re in the middle of a crisis, you’ll take some shortcuts and then come back and fill in the details as your life stabilizes.

Creating a personal mission statement is not a short-term process, but it is something you can do in bits and pieces and something you should continue to add to as you live your life. The things that will inform your mission statement are who you are and who you want to be.

Who you are involves taking a personal inventory. What are your good points, and what are your weaknesses. Self-appraisal points you in the direction of self-improvement. Who you want to be involves getting clear on your goals for life. Let’s look at a series of steps you can take to develop self-knowledge, get clear on your long-term goals, translate those long-term goals into short-term goals, and then develop action steps to take you and these directions.

You need to write your mission plan down.

Many people sit and think about their problems and the goals they would like to accomplish. Those great plans roll around in their head, but they never become concrete and actionable. Writing them down makes those things you have been thinking about real. Almost every self-help book I’ve read, and believe me, I’ve read a great many, include exercises where you write down the answers to the questions you’re asking yourself.

It’s also more effective if you have someone in your support system that you can talk with about this journey. Sometimes, that can be a friend, and sometimes that will be a professional. Be careful that your support system is large enough so that you don’t have to go to one person for everything. Trying to wade through all your problems and all your ambitions can overwhelm any one person.

For long-term plans, it helps to have an accountability partner, someone you tell about your plans and whom you will have to report to on how you are doing. Without this accountability partner, abandoning plans in the early stages is easy. Here are the steps we will discuss in more detail in upcoming blog posts.

Start your planning by getting to know yourself.

Self-knowledge is the key to any self-improvement or change process. Think about what is important to you. Is it money? Are you looking for success? Or are relationships more important to you?

Do you have traumatic or painful experiences? Part of your mission in life may be to heal from those traumas and avoid passing them down to another generation.

Do you have particular beliefs and principles? Any plan for accomplishing things must be consistent with your religious and spiritual beliefs and your value system. Spend some time thinking about what your core priorities are.

Identify your Strengths and Passions.

I relied on the viacharacter.org character strengths assessment when writing my mission statement. It turned out that creating a life that was consistent with my top five core strengths was a lot more satisfying than trying to be someone I wasn’t. I described that process in more detail in an earlier blog post.

Pay special attention to the times when your actions take you into the Flow State. When doing something meaningful and enjoyable, you will tend to lose all sense of time. If you work at something you love doing, you can enjoy yourself for the rest of your life, and they will pay you to do it.

Think about your many and varied relationships.

In developing a life plan, you will need to balance what you want with maintaining relationships with others. Think about what you want in the way of a romantic relationship and how you want to relate to your children. Consider whether you want to be the kind of boss or coworker that others respect. The end of your life will get very lonely if you reach your goals by sacrificing your relationships with friends and family.

Does David Joel Miller see clients for counseling and coaching?

Yes, I do. I can see private pay clients if they live in California, where I am licensed. If you’re interested in information about that, please email me or use the contact me form.

Staying in touch with David Joel Miller.

Want the latest blog posts as they are published? Subscribe to this blog.

For more information about my writing journey, my books, and other creative activities, please subscribe to my blog at davidjoelmillerwriter.com

Seven David Joel Miller Books are available on Amazon now! And more are on the way.

For more about my books, please visit my Amazon Author Page – David Joel Miller

For information about my work in mental health, substance abuse, and having a happy life, please check out https://counselorssoapbox.com

For videos, see: Counselorssoapbox YouTube Video Channel

Nervous

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Nervous
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Nervous

Sunday Inspiration.     Post by David Joel Miller.

“One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important.”

― Bertrand Russell, The Conquest of Happiness

“Your worst enemy, he reflected, was your own nervous system. At any moment the tension inside you was liable to translate itself into some visible symptom.”

― George Orwell, 1984

“True, nervous, very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am, but why will say that I am mad?! The disease had sharpened my senses, not destroyed, not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute.”

― Edgar Allan Poe, The Tell-Tale Heart and Other Writings

Wanted to share some inspirational quotes with you. Today seemed like a good time to do this. There are an estimated 100,000 words in the English language that are feelings related. Some emotions are pleasant, and some are unpleasant, but all feelings can provide useful information. I’ve also included some words related to strengths and values since the line between what we think and what we feel may vary from person to person. If any of these quotes strike a chord with you, please share them.

Look at these related posts for more on this topic and other feelings, strengths, and values.

Emotions and Feelings.                      Inspiration

Staying in touch with David Joel Miller.

For more information about my writing journey, my books, and other creative activities, please subscribe to my blog at davidjoelmillerwriter.com

Seven David Joel Miller Books are available on Amazon now! And more are on the way.

For these and my upcoming books, please visit my Amazon Author Page – David Joel Miller

For information about my work in mental health, substance abuse, and having a happy life, Please check out counselorssoapbox.com

For videos, see: Counselorssoapbox YouTube Video Channel

What are character strengths and virtues?

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What are character strengths and virtues?
Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com

By David Joel Miller, MS, Licensed Therapist & Counselor.

What are character strengths and virtues?

The idea of character strengths and values comes from Peterson and Seligman’s book Character Strengths and Virtues, where I was first introduced to the concept of universal strengths and values.

They studied a wide variety of cultures, current and ancient, and concluded that twenty-four fundamental character strengths or virtues are valued by almost all cultures. There is an online test that you can take that will give you your rankings. I think there are several versions of this test, but the free one I use is found at viacharacter.org  A similar test is available on the Gallup Strength Finders website.

My take on this is that you may be high in all the virtues or low in all, but the most significant thing to look at is your top character strengths. I would recommend looking at the top five. You might also want to look at the bottom five, which are sometimes called underdeveloped strengths.

Here is a condensed list of their character strengths and virtues list.

The descriptions below are my rough paraphrases of my understanding of these characteristics. I hope I’ve gotten them close to the original concepts of Peterson and Seligman. Each of these 24 virtues includes several related words or ideas. For example, creativity, the first one below, would also include originality, ingenuity, and similar characteristics.

Creativity.

This might be artistic, but it might also be new and novel ways to put things together and to do things.

Curiosity.

The curious person likes exploring and discovering, finds new topics and subjects fascinating, and likes having new experiences just for the sake of experiencing something for its own sake.

Judgment.

The strength of judgment involves looking at things from all sides, weighing the evidence, and not jumping to conclusions. It includes an openness to changing your mind when new information is found. People who use the strength think things through and examine them carefully.

Love of Learning.

This is related to curiosity but goes beyond simple curiosity. It includes learning more about various topics and bodies of knowledge and mastering new skills. Some people do this in schools, and some people simply study many subjects on their own. People who love to learn continue to explore new fields of knowledge just for the joy of learning.

Perspective.

This involves being able to look at situations and facts from all sides. Someone with perspective may be good at giving others advice. People with perspective can make sense of the world for themselves and others.

Perseverance.

The characteristic of sticking to it or continuing on a course even when the going gets hard and overcoming obstacles. People with perseverance enjoy finishing what they started.

Honesty.

People who are high in honesty value genuineness and act in sincere ways. You can count on what they say to conform to the facts. They don’t try to slant information to make themselves look better; they can take responsibility for what they say, do, and feel.

Zest.

The character strength of Zest has been connected to living a long happy life. People with a zest for living approach everything they do with excitement and energy. They are either all in or all out, but not halfhearted. People with Zest feel alive and ready to go. Him

Love.

Love is one of the more challenging emotions or values to pin down. I think a lot of people confuse love with several other emotions. If you look at an old dictionary, there will be a whole page of definitions for the word love. The way the character strengths and virtues test applies the virtue of love is someone who values being close and having good relationships with others. They seek out reciprocal relationships where they can both give and receive love. Someone high in the characteristic of love prefers being close to other people.

Kindness.

This value goes beyond simply doing nice things for the less fortunate. It includes both favors and good deeds, helping others and non-possessive taking care of them.

Social Intelligence.

The way character strengths and virtues define social intelligence seems to parallel the concept of emotional intelligence. It’s the ability to understand both the feelings and the motives of others. It’s knowing what to do and not do to fit in with groups in social situations. I think a lot of people who define themselves as introverts, in fact, have social anxiety and avoid others because they don’t know what to do to fit into social situations. Developing more Social Intelligence can help you overcome natural feelings of shyness.

Teamwork.

Some people are real team players, and others are individualists. I think back to high school when some guys from the basketball, baseball, and water polo teams. Other people preferred track, wrestling, and other individual sports. There are advantages to working well as a member of a team and being loyal to your group. There’s also a place for individuality.

Fairness.

Fairness involves giving everyone a fair chance. We all have our own concepts of what’s there and what’s just. People who practice fairness try not to let their feelings bias their decisions about everyone else.

Leadership.

Many companies put their management staff through leadership training classes. The skill of leadership is much more than simply being the boss and telling people what to do. Leadership skills are not limited to rewards and punishments. The leader should use techniques to encourage the group and get members to cooperate in accomplishing their shared goals and purposes.

Forgiveness.

People who are high in forgiveness can let wrongdoing go and give people a second chance.

Humility.

Characterized by letting your work and accomplishments speak for themselves. Not thinking you are special or better than others.

Prudence.

Prudent people are careful about their choices and tend to be risk-avoidant. The kind of people who like to think things over so they don’t do something they’ll regret later.

Self-Regulation.

Self-regulated people are highly disciplined. They can control themselves, both their actions and their emotions.

Appreciation Of Beauty.

People with this virtue quickly notice and appreciate something that’s well-made. They enjoy beauty and appreciate people who are skilled in many areas.

Gratitude.

Gratitude is a virtue that is highly connected to good mental health. It involves noticing and appreciating the good things when they happen. Cultivating a practice of gratitude can help reduce excessive negativity. This trait includes giving thanks for the good things that happened to them.

Hope.

People who are high in hope can see the possibilities for the future and are willing to work to reach them. Hope counterbalances negativity. Having hope allows you to do work now in the present, expecting that there will be rewards in the future.

Humor.

Humor is the virtue of playfulness. People who are high in humor can laugh and play. They can tease and accept teasing. People who are high in humor make you smile.

Spirituality.

Spirituality is sometimes connected with religion, but it can exist apart from a specific faith. Spirituality can lead to finding your meaning and purpose in life and your place in the universe.

What were my top character strengths?

I was frankly a little surprised when I first took this test, but after closer analysis, all of my top five made a great deal of sense. Here are my top five with some personal comments.

  1. Love of learning.

Hardly a shock since I have been going to school now for over seventy years, either taking classes or teaching them, and just this year, 2024, I have completed yet another online extension class.

  1. Creativity.

That need for creativity might explain why I have written several blogs, published seven books, been a photographer, and have a YouTube channel.

  1. Curiosity.

I think this goes hand-in-hand with my love of learning. It also goes well with my work life. In working with clients, I am incredibly curious about their lives and how they are coping.

  1. Humor.

Definitely nothing funny about that. I take my humor very seriously.

  1. Zest.

I enjoy my life, and I’m constantly seeking out new challenges.

How about you?

What things are important to you in setting goals and planning your life? What are your top character strengths and virtues, and how are you using them to create a fulfilling, positive, happy life?

Does David Joel Miller see clients for counseling and coaching?

Yes, I do. I can see private pay clients if they live in California, where I am licensed. If you’re interested in information about that, please email me or use the contact me form.

Staying in touch with David Joel Miller.

Want the latest blog posts as they are published? Subscribe to this blog.

For more information about my writing journey, my books, and other creative activities, please subscribe to my blog at davidjoelmillerwriter.com

Seven David Joel Miller Books are available on Amazon now! And more are on the way.

For more about my books, please visit my Amazon Author Page – David Joel Miller

For information about my work in mental health, substance abuse, and having a happy life, please check out https://counselorssoapbox.com

For videos, see: Counselorssoapbox YouTube Video Channel

Negative

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Negative
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Negative

Sunday Inspiration.     Post by David Joel Miller.

“Learning to distance yourself from all the negativity is one of the greatest lessons to achieve inner peace.”

― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

“Some changes look negative on the surface but you will soon realize that space is being created in your life for something new to emerge.”

― Eckhart Tolle

“Rather than letting our negativity get the better of us, we could acknowledge that right now we feel like a piece of shit and not be squeamish about taking a good look.”

― Pema Chödrön, When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times

Wanted to share some inspirational quotes with you. Today seemed like a good time to do this. There are an estimated 100,000 words in the English language that are feelings related. Some emotions are pleasant, and some are unpleasant, but all feelings can provide useful information. I’ve also included some words related to strengths and values since the line between what we think and what we feel may vary from person to person. If any of these quotes strike a chord with you, please share them.

Look at these related posts for more on this topic and other feelings, strengths, and values.

Emotions and Feelings.                      Inspiration

Staying in touch with David Joel Miller.

For more information about my writing journey, my books, and other creative activities, please subscribe to my blog at davidjoelmillerwriter.com

Seven David Joel Miller Books are available on Amazon now! And more are on the way.

For these and my upcoming books, please visit my Amazon Author Page – David Joel Miller

For information about my work in mental health, substance abuse, and having a happy life, Please check out counselorssoapbox.com

For videos, see: Counselorssoapbox YouTube Video Channel

Every day is April Fools’ Day when you are fooling yourself

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By David Joel Miller, MS, Licensed Therapist & Licensed Counselor.

Fool.

Fool.
Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com

Do you know what is real and what is a hoax?

Today is April First. In many places, people will be celebrating April Fools’ Day. This day is dedicated to a whole lot of fun practical jokes and good times. Not everyone should be laughing.

The challenge in life is to tell the difference between the truth and things that are not true, regardless of the label we choose to put on those less-than-true thoughts and comments. Today you may be able to get away with some untruths if you can tell the difference, but not every day.

The falsehoods told today in the course of the April Fools’ Day festivities are in the medieval tradition when Fools were jokesters, comedians and the like. When we know things are exaggerated and overblown they can be laughable and a bit of silly fun. Not all untruths are innocent.

The most dangerous types of lies are the kind we tell ourselves. People in recovery, from whatever they chose to call their problem, may find that they have been telling lies, giving people stories, so much they have begun to believe their own dishonesty. Substance abusers, required to be dishonest to continue their addiction are at special risk to have stopped seeing the distinction between the true and the false in their own minds.

If you have been telling yourself things that are not true and have started to believe those stories they can be a huge obstacle to overcome on your road to recovery.

People in recovery need to stop worrying about who they told what and begin to get honest with themselves. The most important person to tell the truth to is you.

Some recovering people have been told a lot of things that were not true. Those lies create a lot of pain and sometimes separating the true from the false can be a chore. When the addict starts to get honest the others around them are at risk to become confused about what is true and what is false.

Some people have families who have kept deep dark secrets. Those families can’t stand, to tell the truth. They pressure the other family members to deny things happened and to continue to rely on the make-believe family tale

Lie, falsehoods and the like are not the only untrue information that takes up residence in our heads. False memories and beliefs, delusions and hallucinations are also traps for the unwary.

There are technical distinctions between hallucinations and things that are really there. There is a realm of in-between things that the profession has to call in or out. Did you really see that or were you hallucinating? There are reports of things that look like a hallucination but are not.

People with addiction and mental illness may have seen and experienced things that other people tell you never happened.

Sometimes we see something and we decide what that means. If we are correct in our apprised that is all well and good. But what if you are mistaken in what you think this means or what has happened? We might call these false beliefs or even delusions.

It is likely that we can tell when someone else around us is delusional but can you tell when you are delusional? Are there things that kind of look like delusions but are not?

So while walking the road to recovery we need to take a look at hallucinations, false memories, and delusions and try to find ways to understand why our own mind may trick us into believing things that just are not so.

This whole area of what is true what is false and what you think you know is a lot confusing. In some posts over this month I want to explore delusions, hallucinations both true and pseudo and some other aspects of getting honest with ourselves. Since psychologists and therapists call some of these phenomena by different names and understand it differently I want to start by looking at how these two professions get such different answers and then proceed to some thoughts about why your brain and our survival may have benefited at times from believing things that turn out to not be true.

Stay tuned for more on the subject of the real and the false, truth and lies over the coming month. These posts will be interspersed with some other topics as they come up so as not to put all the readers to sleep at the same time.

Have a great day fooling around and we will return to the search for reality and recovery tomorrow.

Related articles

Staying connected with David Joel Miller

Seven David Joel Miller Books are available now!

My newest book is now available. It was my opportunity to try on a new genre. I’ve been working on this book for several years, but now seem like the right time to publish it.

Story Bureau.

Story Bureau is a thrilling Dystopian Post-Apocalyptic adventure in the Surviving the Apocalypse series.

Baldwin struggles to survive life in a post-apocalyptic world where the government controls everything.

As society collapses and his family gets plunged into poverty, Baldwin takes a job in the capital city, working for a government agency called the Story Bureau. He discovers the Story Bureau is not a benign news outlet but a sinister government plot to manipulate society.

Bumps on the Road of Life. Whether you struggle with anxiety, depression, low motivation, or addiction, you can recover. Bumps on the Road of Life is the story of how people get off track and how to get your life out of the ditch.

Dark Family Secrets: Doris wants to get her life back, but small-town prejudice could shatter her dreams.

Casino Robbery Arthur Mitchell escapes the trauma of watching his girlfriend die. But the killers know he’s a witness and want him dead.

Planned Accidents  The second Arthur Mitchell and Plutus mystery.

Letters from the Dead: The third in the Arthur Mitchell mystery series.

What would you do if you found a letter to a detective describing a crime and you knew the writer and detective were dead, and you could be next?

Sasquatch. Three things about us, you should know. One, we have seen the past. Two, we’re trapped there. Three, I don’t know if we’ll ever get back to our own time.

For these and my upcoming books; please visit my Author Page – David Joel Miller

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For videos, see: Counselorssoapbox YouTube Video Channel

April

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April
Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com

April

Inspiration.      Post by David Joel Miller.

“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.”

― George Orwell, 1984

“April 1. This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four.”

― Mark Twain, Pudd’nhead Wilson and Other Tales

“April hath put a spirit of youth in everything. (Sonnet XCVIII)”

― William Shakespeare, Shakespeare’s Sonnets

Since time is such an important part of human existence, humans being finite after all, the passage of time on planet Earth has affected our customs and our thinking. After writing a series of posts about various feelings and, character strengths, and values, I thought it might be worth exploring the connection between the seasons and our experiences and emotions.

Because planet Earth is tilted, the seasons in the northern and southern hemispheres are opposite. How you experience Mother Earth and our changing weather depends on where you’re situated on this planet. My apologies to those who might read this who live in the southern hemisphere, but since I am much more familiar with the weather and the seasons in the northern hemisphere, I’ll am following that system.

Our current calendar is heavily weighted toward the Roman calendar. Originally, there were only ten months with the stormy times after New Year’s left out. Eventually, two more months had to be added to cover what we now call January and February. The Irish calendar, sometimes called the Celtic calendar, begins each of the seasons one month earlier, probably due to the difference in the weather farther north. I hope you find some of these thoughts worthwhile.

Emotions and Feelings.                      Inspiration

Staying in touch with David Joel Miller.

For more information about my writing journey, my books, and other creative activities, please subscribe to my blog at davidjoelmillerwriter.com

Seven David Joel Miller Books are available on Amazon now! And more are on the way.

For these and my upcoming books, visit my Amazon Author Page – David Joel Miller

For information about my work in mental health, substance abuse, and having a happy life, Please check out counselorssoapbox.com

For videos, see: Counselorssoapbox YouTube Video Channel

Happy Easter.

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Happy Easter

Happy Easter.
Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com

Staying in touch with David Joel Miller.

For more information about my writing journey, my books, and other creative activities, please subscribe to my blog at davidjoelmillerwriter.com

Seven David Joel Miller Books are available on Amazon now! And more are on the way.

For these and my upcoming books, please visit my Amazon Author Page – David Joel Miller

For information about my work in mental health, substance abuse, and having a happy life, Please check out counselorssoapbox.com

For videos, see: Counselorssoapbox YouTube Video Channel