Jul 03 2008

Jon and Narcisso were legally married in California today

Jul 03 2008

I won’t be the one to tell him, but Darth Vader probably needed prozac (anti-depressants)…

Have I gotten your attention?
If you were wondering what depression looks like, the fictional Star Wars villain, Darth Vader, is the “poster boy” for depression. He has all the signs of someone who could have benefited from prozac or some other anti-depressant!
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Jul 01 2008

“Self esteem: A family affair”…A book highly recommended by Sandy Dellutri, Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Chicago

Interested in a book that can help you discover what you didn’t receive growing up in your family? My friend Sandy Dellutri, LCSW recommends Self-Esteem: A family affair.  Here is what Sandy says about the book:

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Jul 01 2008

Escape, by Carolyn Jessop: An inside look at the oppression and abuse of women and children by a religious cult

I am nearly finished reading Escape, by Carolyn Jessop. It is her story of life inside the FLDS religious cult and her eventual escape. I am upset and confused…

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Jun 27 2008

“Life in a Jar”: the souls of 2,500 Jewish infants and children

Life in a Jar, was the play a group of young Kansas students wrote to honor Irena Sendlerowa for her humility and courage saving the lives of thousands of Jewish infants and children in the Warsaw ghetto during World War II.

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Jun 26 2008

Irena Sendlerowa: Polish social worker nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize

Irena was a Polish social worker and member of the Polish underground and Zegota, the Polish underground anti-Holocaust resistance. She rescued about 2,500 Jewish infants and children from the Warsaw ghetto during World War II. Pretending to be a nurse entering the ghetto to check for diseases, she would leave with infants in suitcases, in her clothing, under bags or even in coffins…anyway she could to save their lives.

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Jun 26 2008

Protest, Despair, and Defense: What’s this got to do with your life?

Sorry. I know there are a lot of you out there who believe that your infant and early childhood years should not be that significant. “That was then and now is now!” right?

Well, for all you disbelievers, read on…

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Jun 25 2008

John Bowlby’s 3 stages of attachment distress in infancy and early childhood: Protest, Despair and Defense

John Bowlby was the first clinician to identify the 3 stages of an infant’s or young child’s response to the separation and/or deprivation of a mother or other attachment figure.

Bowlby identified 3 stages in the infant/child response:

  1. Protest…the initial crying out in distress when the attachment figure is not available to help soothe the infant/child’s distress or as it is commonly termed, “separation anxiety.”
  2. Despair…the grief and mourning related to the deprivation of the mother or other attachment figure.
  3. Defense…the reaction to the privation or deprivation of the mother or other attachment figure.

Bowlby postulated that these 3 stages were interconnected as a single process. An infant who has lost or been deprived of their mother or other attachment figure will experience all three responses.

This includes the final stage of “defense” where their listlessness, increased detachment and minimal attachment (crying, smiling, etc) behaviors signal that they have “given up” looking for their mothers.

Or maybe we could say the infants/young children have given up their interest in connecting, relating and establishing the type of passionate relationships associated with joy and love.

Not a good thing and predicts difficulties later in life as adults forming healthy relationships.

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Jun 25 2008

Rani the Bear: The connecting link between Ram Singh Munda and John Bowlby.

Ok, here is the connection. John Bowlby can be called the “father of modern attachment theory” and Ram Singh Munda can be called the “father of Rani , the sloth bear from India.”

Here is a picture of Rani and Ram. Apparantly, riding on the back of Ram’s bike is a favorite activity for Rani.

Well, there is more…
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Jun 25 2008

Attachment: What the story of Rani the Bear in New Delhi, India can teach us

Ram Singh Munda found an abandoned sloth bear cub in the forest near his home in India. Fearing the cub would die left alone, he brought the cub home as a pet and companion for his young daughter.

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