Watch what happens in red counties and states with the Omicron variant.

 

“It is possible to ignore reality, but it is not possible to ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.”  (Attributed to Ayn Rand)

Editor's note: One of the definitions of mental health is being in touch with reality.

I was a polio vaccination pioneer.

I will turn 76 on my birthday on 12/25. I was born in 1945. I was a polio pioneer when I got my vaccination at age 9. Several of my playmates got polio. I remember my mother being afraid that I and my younger siblings would get it too. We were very grateful for the polio vaccination.

Fast forward to the 2,000s when I was in Rotary International whose main community project was to provide the polio vaccine world wide to eradicate polio from the planet just as we, humans, have done with Small Pox.

Back in the 50s almost all children got measles, chicken pox, mumps, whooping cough and other diseases which nowdays are rarely heard of because of vaccinations.

When you consider the degree of pain, suffering, and death that vaccinations have prevented, it is a major human accomplishment in the improvement of personal and public health. The anti vaxers don't seem to understand how good we, as humans, have got it.

 

Egocentric thinking of a two year old manifested in adults

 

Good news - High school cheerleaders for the arts.

What a great idea to have cheerleaders for the arts. Students formed a group of cheerleaders for the arts at Mountain View High School in Orem, Utah.

Supposing this became a thing, and there were cheerleaders for the arts at every high school where there were cheerleaders for sports?

Check it out by clicking here.

Delusional people need special treatment - don't poke the bear.

I had a discussion with a woman in her late 50s or early 60s in the Brockport Post Office in Monroe County on Monday 12/12/21 while we were waiting in line.

She told me she was vaccinated but wouldn't do it again.

I asked, "Why not?"

She said, "Vaccinations make people sick. I know three people in the hospital because they were vaccinated."

I said, "Really........"

"Oh yes," she said.

I said, "Well I believe there are a lot more people who could be in the hospital if they weren't vaccinated."

She seemed upset so I changed the subject to the sunny weather we were having and whether she is ready for Christmas.

Today, I ran across this chart.

The cognitive dissonance I was causing by challenging her beliefs spiked her anxiety and she shut down. My psychiatric training has taught me to let the truth go. Many people, maybe most, don't want to hear and know the truth. It is too upsetting for them and they can't handle it. Better sometimes to keep your own council and not poke the bear.

Gaslighting at home, work, or personal life is damaging to a person's sense of reality

How to you manage relationships when a person says one thing and does another and then makes it sound if the contradiction is your problem?

I call this "mystification". Mystifying someone can make them think they are crazy. The opposite of mystification is "validation." Validation is affirming and we feel heard.

From HBR IdeaCast

 Mita Mallick, head of inclusion, equity, and impact at the firm Carta, says gaslighting at the office is more common than many people realize. That’s when a manager or coworker engages in behavior where one thing happens, and they try to convince the victim otherwise. Gaslighting can damage the victim’s well-being and performance as well as the company overall. She explains how to recognize the manipulative behavior, what to do about it in the moment, and how companies can respond. Mallick wrote the HBR.org article “How to Intervene When a Manager Is Gaslighting Their Employees.”

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