Conversations Blog

A common type 2 diabetes drug called metformin may have an unexpected, but positive, side effect: new research suggests that people taking the drug appear to have significantly slower declines in thinking and memory as they age. “Our six-year study of older Australians with type 2 diabetes has uncovered a link between metformin use and…

Phil McGraw has been the public face of psychology for the last twenty years, and America needs to take a long, hard look at his television empire to see what’s right and wrong with how he portrays mental illnesses and their treatments. McGraw, aka “Dr. Phil”, has had a syndicated television show for the past…

Alzheimer’s News The holidays are often filled with sharing, laughter and memories. But they can also bring stress, disappointment, sadness — and due to the COVID-19 pandemic — heightened risk for spreading the virus, especially for older adults who tend to have underlying health conditions. A person living with Alzheimer’s may feel a special sense…

Probably no human has made a bigger mark on children’s television than Fred Rogers (1928-2003), who is more commonly known by the title of his show, Mister Rogers. The show, Mister Rogers Neighborhood, ran from 1968 to 2001 on public television and was a staple for young baby boomers and generation X viewers.   I…

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) is one of those old famous guys we all think we know something about. He had something to do with psychiatry, but that’s about as far as the average person goes. Many of his theories have largely been debunked by 2020, yet he changed the course of many lives when it comes…

When it comes to mental health, there are three general categories of people. There are the severely vulnerable who need help much of their lives, there are the super-humans who can absorb any and all tragedies and shake them off, and there’s the rest of us. Most people fit into the last category- able to…

German soldiers near the end of World War II were among the most determined warriors ever- battling to the last man even though they knew they were losing the war. When interviewed after the war was over, the soldiers professed no great love for Hitler or what he stood for. Their main loyalty was to…

Being a Civil Voice in Uncivil Times “Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many.  If the foot would say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body.  And if the ear would say,…