Human development is fascinating isn’t it? There are many remarkable transitions in life. When we stop and take a mental picture, and compare it to one taken at an earlier age, the transitions become glaringly obvious; babies holding their own bottles, children reading books, teens traveling into town alone, young adults earning their living or [...]
Category Archives: Life
It gnaws at me!
“I’m like a fish out of water / a cat in a tree /I got a big chain around my neck / and I’m broken down like a train wreck / well it’s over, I know it but I can’t let go.” – Lucinda Williams from the song “Can’t Let Go” When you’re thinkin’ of things [...]
Haiti: Can help really help?
Every time a tragic event occurs I receive a call form someone in authority and am asked if I, or a team of my colleagues, can provide some psychological help. Whether the events are local (the suicide of a patient, the collapse of a highway overpass, the accidental death of a circus performer) or international [...]
The rising tide of dementia
January is Alzheimer’s awareness month. Last week, media picked up on some alarming reports about the rising social and financial impact of dementias. As the popularion ages, it is estimated that within 30 years one person in Canada will be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or other form of dementia every two minutes. Currently the rate is one every five minutes. [...]
All I want for Christmas is a big smelly monkey
I don’t indulge in bowls of sorbet very often, yet the idea of cleansing the palate appeals to me. Whenever I play poker with my brothers and a few friends, and it’s my turn to deal, I choose to play straight poker (no wild cards) as a means of cleansing the poker palate after several [...]
Why put off until tomorrow what you can put off until the day after tomorrow
I used to think that my biggest fault was my tendency to procrastinate. All my university papers were finished at the last possible moment. They were started not much earlier. Every single time, I swore to myself I would do better next time. Eventually I simply gave in and stopped deluding myself. I always laugh [...]
Sad anniversary
Today is the 20th anniversary of Marc Lépine’s rampage. Yesterday, I was in my car and heard two riveting interviews on CBC’s As It Happens. The first was with Nathalie Provost, who was shot by Lepine. The other was with Monique Lépine, Marc’s mother. I thought it might be a good time to re-post a [...]
Taking back your life
There are always two blows one receives when one is the victim of a crime. The first is the direct loss of material or the sense of violation. This is what the criminal takes. But there is also a second blow, the impact on the victim’s sense of security. This is the consequence that can [...]
Golf green with envy
As a clinical psychologist I normally deal with people’s unwanted emotions (and my own for that matter). Yet the fact is most of our emotional reactions are normal ones, whether they are wanted or not, and they can’t all be “treated.” Sometimes our best option is to live with them…as best we can. Of course all [...]
He said WHAT about me?
Sorry I didn’t get a chance to write for a while but as you know, the world was in celebration mode last week. While the French were celebrating Bastille Day on the 14th, we in Canada and the rest of the world were commemorating a much more significant day. I am referring, of course, to Saint Camillo’s day. [...]
