Religion, Spirituality and Health Previous Lecture attended - Speaker Dr Koenig MD

Dr Koenig wrote a handbook of Religion and Health, 1st ed Oxford. University Press, 2012. I mentioned attending his lecture before, but I don’t believe I had his notes handy. I am typing all my notes and so why not share it with you. Some time ago I attended a lecture when Dr Koenig, an American Physician, was in Toronto. I wrote about him at that time but I did not include these notes. Dr Koenig lectured that Religious involvement is related to less depression, and faster recovery from depression. This stemmed from 272 of 444 studies (61%) 67% of best; more depression (6%). In one Canadian Study, Those who attended religious services at least monthly in 1994 were 22% less likely to develop major depression, compared to those who did not attend. There is a lot of research suggesting that religion is correlated with better health - longitivtiy is seven years longer if caucasian and 14 years longer if African American. His latest book is “Health and Wellbeing in Islamic Societies where he compares all religions.” Dr Koenig suggests taking a spiritual history, respect values, and identify spiritual needs. Ensure that some one meets a patient’s spiritual needs. “Religions is like the elephant in the room that no one talks about”. What I found interesting was to hear that 40% of all general physicians say they would quit if they could afford it. A part of nursing in the States is spirituality. Regarding Veterans - important was loss of faith. Check out Berntson et al (2008) Annals of behavioural Medicine 35(2)198-208 (CV) I think if I was sick in the USA I would go to John Hopkins since it is considered the best hospital there. Tid bits - More religious don’t lose memory as quickly. Among religious, cortisone levels are lower. I would recommend you buy his books if you want to learn more about the topic. Have a nice weekend.

Reminder: I will be at Indigo this Saturday at Bay and Bloor from 12:00 to 4:00 pm signing/selling my two books Aso Happy Women's Day and etc....

I know - I have missed a week(?) of writing to you. I have been very busy with doing my taxes for Revenue Canada and paperwork for my College. Hopefully, I did everything right for Revenue Canada. I do my own taxes. I was surprised when I was at a local mall to see that they charge 50.00 for a basic file. It is easy people. Years ago when I was a kitten, I used to go and have them done. They made a mistake and Revenue Canada made the correction. When I saw that, I decided that I can do it, and if I make a mistake, it is ok because Revenue Canada will correct it. So, use those grey cells and try it if it is basic. As for my college, I know I made a mistake and will be hearing from them. Oh well. I have confused direct hours with currency hours and I am so happy about that because it works in my favour. I had thought that I would have to take another early retirement because I enjoy my time off. The College of Psychotherapy is new and I feel like an experiment. However, it is for the protection of the public and so I agree with it, though the paperwork and counting of hours for this and that is grueling. I always read and research for myself and clients, however, I have not been counting endless of hours and so I have to start doing that. I thought it was all over, but I was wrong. I shall be more prepared when I am corrected formally. It is Women's Day and I will be celebrating that before the weekend. I love being a woman. I have never thought of being a woman as too restricting, because I always worked with men in non traditional roles. I have also been fortunate to have had wonderful men in life. But this week as I heard about the abuse that women still face, I thought that perhaps I too should participate in helping women again. When I can slow down a bit, I intend to reach out to some Sisters who had contacted me before. Not that I do not help women now. I have always been interested in helping men and at times I have been considered a traitor, but what the heck. I like men. I have had wonderful relationships and so I do not have a skewed view. I know there are men who do terrible things, however, unless the cycle of violence is broken than abuse just continues. I was pleased to hear on the news today that there is an organization out there who will begin campaigning against dog fighting. I heard myself exclaim "yes!" Then the news talked about protecting women who have to wear skimpy clothes in restaurants as part of their jobs. Again, I exclaimed "yes!" We are finally moving into the 21st century! I think it was "Market Place", a program I always tape and watch that did an expose' about waitresses and the short, revealing clothes they have to wear plus high heals. As you know, I don't care what people wear. But, if a mode of dress is forced upon women to be revealing to attract male customers, than we have a problem. Of the men interviewed, only one male customer wanted to see women with revealing clothing. I was not surprised that he was "old" being from an era where he felt indulged and perhaps a tad enabled. At Casa Loma, where a group of us went for my "infamous" high tea, I was surprised to see young women clad in those short "French maid" uniforms. I don't recall that being a traditional uniform for the servers of the blue blood. But, please correct me if I am wrong. Of course I had to comment and the wearer informed me that she had to wear it. That rather surprised me. What era are we in people? If she does not want to, don't force her, especially at minimum pay which she needs to pay tuition. So, Happy Womens Day Women and remember you are in Canada. If you are being abused, think again. There are so many organizations out there to help you. Go for it! So, I hope you come and visit me at Bay and Bloor Indigo this Saturday from 12:00 to 16:00 hrs. That will be the only discount you get because Indigo wants 45%, so that tells me they want to give you a discount. I won't swear by that. Maybe they want the whole 45%. So I hope to see some of you. Take care. What do you think? If you ever have a question about psychotherapy/psychology don't be afraid to ask. I still have lots to type out for you, but if you have a concern that I can reply to everyone, feel free. If it is personal, however and you do not want the world to know. Let me know and I will respond personally.

Narcissistic - Abnormal psychology notes ( prior to DSM revision)

Narcissistic Person extremely self centred and view only from their own perspective. Entitlement - thinks smarter than everyone else. eg. of case: A male waitor from the Adriatic Coast, married/divorced, had a wish to buy a castle in the Adriatic when retiring. A young woman was hired from another part of Eastern Europe. She criticized how he lined up soft drinks on a tray. They have no toleration for criticism. This bothered him so much that he could not sleep at night. He told his friends that he would beat her up or kill her. Co-workers told her to stop. There had been no problems for 20 years. She continued and he warned that he would bring a knife and kill her. He did. This man was assessed to try to get a sense of remorse from him for the judge. Prof asked him if he didn’t feel bad, just a bit. The woman aged 23, who had a couple of children was now dead. His response: “I should feel sorry for that bitch. I was going to retire in two years now I can’t because of that bitch……..”He accepted no responsibility. They had an excellent defence lawyer. He was charged with second degree murder and was out in four years (mainly because of his age). He did not go home to his native country. Every year he visits his lawyer and brings him a bottle.

Error on date for book signing/sale at Indigo

The book signing/sale at Indigo at Bay and Bloor will be on Saturday, Mar 12 (not Sunday).

Will be signing and selling my books at Indigo, Bay and Bloor, 55 Bloor Street West, Saturday, 12 Mar 16,from 12:00 to 4pm

When there is an opportunity to sign and sell my books, I take it. Bloor and Bay is in the heart of Toronto, just South of Yorkville. I do hope that some of you stop and say hello so I know who reads my blogs. I shall be selling "Hey Guy Buy Me" and "For Love of Country: Military Policewoman." They have my favorite coffee there as well, so what else can I ask for? My books are my hobby and I had to stop writing my third book for a while because of my practice but it is all good. When you do what you love, it does not really seem like work. I did write about 130 pages of "The Internet Murders" but I found myself doing a lot of reading so I shall have to re-organize my schedule to focus on the ending of the book. It is all in my head. I have all my clues on a whiteboard I mentioned to you and it is a matter of re-reading all I have written and throw in all the tidbits here and there. Ideally I would just like to take a two week vacation and just focus on completing my book, but it is not possible. So, I will have to just figure out how to manage that into my workload without being too distracted. I have given myself lots of play time and rest time this winter. Sometimes, it is nice to just clear your head, so you have room for more. I think the next article I will write about either later this week or next week for sure is about narcism. It is a continuation from Abnormal Psychology. That has been my favourite course but I had to memorize all the signs and symptoms etc....Did you know that "80% of information transmitted is forgotten by students in 8 weeks....and by faculty in 8 minutes"? That was at the end of slides which I had to record though there was no author mentioned. That is why there is so much repetition in psychology me thinks. I also have some notes from Dr Koenig MD, regarding Religion Spirituality and Health. I found some notes that I don't think I shared with you. That I shall include as Pastoral. My heartfelt sympathy to the families and those suffering from the train crash in Germany. Germany is a beautiful country. I am also following a bit of the politics in the States as well as in Canada these days. So have a nice week and remember to play as well as work. I plan on playing a bit more than usual this week. Happy Valentine. I couldn't help but give myself a head start by buying my own chocolates and flowers. I also bought a vase of tulips and another of daffodils. The price was right and it was so warm on Sunday that I just had to begin my spring ritual of flowers. Did I mention I love flowers. So, take care of yourself, so you too can take others in your life. HAPPY VALENTINE!!!!!

Updated www.redigondapsychotherapy.com

Time is flying. However, I always make time for me. My priority is my self care so I can take care of others who see me. It is a new year and yet it is speeding by. I am looking forward to sunny warm days, as I prefer to be outside. If I could have a practice in my backyard, I would have it. However, it is not the norm at the moment, nor the climate. I know my great great grandmother immigrated to San Francisco once upon a time with my great great grandfather. Unfortunately she didn't like it there, prefering Switzerland. If she had I probably would not have had the same parents and therefore I would not be here right now as me. I do wish at times we had a Canadian Island somewhere tropical, but that too did not happen. So, I am here typing while the outside is struggling with global warming. I have my happy pet resting on my left arm perfectly content at the moment, while she has me. She is the heroine of my third book. Her name is Holy Terror. That is not her real name. That is her name in the book. I am protecting her identity. I am in the process of updating my web site. I do that myself so it always needs a tweek here and there. I am trying to ensure that only my pictures are there and not others supplied as options. That still needs a bit of adjustment. I have added a map for your convenience. Some people still think I am in the States, but I am in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I hope the map helps with that. I have spent some time this year connecting with more insurance/EAP programs but there are confidentiality clauses. Check with your insurance/work plans if you want to know if I am covered by your plans. I do belong to a regulated body. So, take a look at my web site. Let me know if you have any questions about it and feel free to provide input. I am open to any questions you may have regarding psychotherapy, spiritual care, individual, couple and family therapy. You may ask questions here or on Face book page. I have a closed group but I have a page for psychotherapy and a page for my books. Feel free to interact at either one or both. Have a nice day. Tip of the day: You need to do what is good for you. People in your life may mean well, however it is your life. Changes you make, does affect those close to you and as you change yourself, you will see a change in them. This can have a positive or negative reaction. When someone has power over you and wants to maintain that power common in unhealthy relationships, remember you can find the courage to make a change. There are laws protecting you. You have the choice to decide what is best for you. Do you take care of yourself? What do you think?

Sorry, meet and greet has too be cancelled.

Sorry but I have to cancel the meet and greet. This happens in my line of work. Sorry. If you do wish to see either me or my office, please contact me. If you are already on your way and the door is closed that means I am with a client.