As the Christmas holiday nears, it is often the best time of year for friends and family to come together so they can enjoy each other’s company, friendships, and joyful spirit. But for so many people, the Christmas season can also trigger stress and anxiety, and feelings of loneliness. It’s important that we acknowledge those loved ones this holiday that may be in treatment or recovery for substance abuse or alcoholism. This week, Nicole Soria published an important piece in Thrive Global … [Read more...]
Let There Be Peace on Earth
Much gets written each holiday season about the desperate need for peace in our world. And yet, despite these universal admonitions for peace from political and religious leaders across every creed, culture, race and religion around the world, I sometimes wonder if there’s something buried deep within the human genome that drives our need for constant sabre rattling and conflict. Some would say it all goes back to Cain and Abel. After all, since time immemorial, humans have subjected each … [Read more...]
Christmas Music All Around
As many of you many know, I love music in all its forms, and often write posts about songs that have touched me in fundamental ways over the years. However, with December 25th fast approaching, cloyingly cute music classified as “holiday-themed” is upon us once again, as pervasive as the army of inflatable Santa Clauses that began popping up in yards across America in the past few weeks. These songs have for years rattled around us like the chains shackling poor Jacob Marley’s ghost, … [Read more...]
Musical Memories: Silent Night – A Lovely Gift on Christmas at The Menninger Clinic
From the time, I was a small child, Christmas was my favorite holiday. My Grandmother, Nennie, and Grandfather, PaPa, always hosted our entire extended family at their family farm and I thought it was the most spectacular time of the year. One year, though, while my husband, Larry, fought in the Vietnam war, I spent Christmas at the Menninger Clinic, waging my own battle with clinical depression. Instead of feeling joy and awe, I felt worry. I pined for Larry, afraid he’d never come home, and … [Read more...]
