A User-Friendly Book

I have been reading an easy-to-read book on mental health. It is called Mental Health First Aid USA. It is published by the National Council for Behavioral Health.

The book's primary goal is to help train people to respond to those who are going through a mental health crisis.

The chapter I find the most helpful is on depression. In there is a lot of interesting and informative facts, such as:

--"Depression often co-occurs with anxiety or substance use disorders" (p. 20).

--"Once a person has had an occurrence of depression, they are prone to subsequent episodes" (p. 20).

--"Those most prone to develop depression are:
     --People who previously have had an episode of depression
     --People who have family members who have had episodes of depression
     --People with a more sensitive emotional nature
     --People who have had a difficult childhood (for example, those who experienced physical,      sexual, or emotional abuse, neglect, or overstrictness)
     --Females" (p. 23).

--"Males are four times more likely to die by suicide than females, but women attempt suicide three times as often as men" (p. 24).

Indeed, it's a well written book.

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An Interesting Website

I just discovered (or maybe rediscovered, because I think I visited the site years back) a enlivening website. It deals with humor in America. It is at humorinamerica.wordpress.com.

The article I read had to do with political cartooning and the current president. The author talked about how President Trump is the only political figure he knows of that has been portrayed so frequently as a fascist.

The article resonated with me.

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A Rabid Spinmeister

The president has someone who is running spin preemptively, Mr. Giuliani. I must say it is almost saddening to see such a sight. It is like when Chris Christie did the bidding of President Trump. Such sights, to many, seem almost comical.

But I guess to people who want to work their way up the political ladder, it is a price they are willing to pay. Also, I would put the vice-president in this category. To me, considering the conservative views of Mr. Pence, to be on the same team as President Trump seems like treasonous behavior.

Before it's all over with, though, when the house of cards comes thrashing down, some of these false devotees will be scurrying for cover.

And when they write their books quickly thereafter, the message will be, "It seemed I was loyal to President Trump. But that is a misreading." And they will spend their entire books trying to convince everyone of this lie.