Squishy Memories: Part I-The Big Con Stan Goldberg March 23, 2015 Life, Thoughts of the Day I was asked if I thought individuals can block memories of traumatic events, and if not, could certain triggers cause these events to resurface. Although the question was about PTSD, I realized it had...
Our Insane and Destructive Thoughts: Part III-What to Do About Them Stan Goldberg March 13, 2015 Life, Thoughts of the Day 5 Comments Knowing what destructive thoughts are is one thing. Knowing how to stop them is another. In Part I of this three-part series, I maintained one form of our insane thoughts is the creation of “what if”...
Our Insane and Destructive Thoughts: Part II-Their Purpose Stan Goldberg March 12, 2015 Life Sometimes answers to questions come from the strangest places. For example; who would think to look at films to identify the purpose of our insane and destructive thoughts? In Part I of this three-part...
Our Internal Insane Thoughts: Part I-What Are They? Stan Goldberg March 9, 2015 Life, Thoughts of the Day 4 Comments How many days has it been since you replayed a scene in your mind where you said hurtful, revealing or politically incorrect words you wish could have been taken back? Possibly you were diligent in your speech...
Compassion and Cancer: Part III-Putting “Meat” on Compassionate Behaviors Stan Goldberg February 27, 2015 Cancer, Thoughts of the Day 4 Comments We want to be helpful to whose living with cancer, but often we don’t know how to transform compassionate intent into helpful behaviors. I discussed why compassion isn’t sufficient to be helpful in Part I....
Compassion and Cancer: Part II-How Cancer Changes Identity (Thought of the Day) Stan Goldberg February 25, 2015 Cancer, Thoughts of the Day 5 Comments We like to think life is on a seamless continuum, moving along, maybe in spurts and stops, but having consistency throughout the years, as does our identity. We're the same person today we were last week and...
Compassion and Cancer: Part I-Why Compassion Isn’t Enough Stan Goldberg February 23, 2015 Cancer, Thoughts of the Day 1 Comment We have an inherent desire to be compassionate. In the misery of another person, we see ourselves, if not in the present, than in the past or future. But compassion is not sufficient for helping people living...
Alzheimer’s/Dementia Part III: How to Speak Dementia-Thought of the Day Stan Goldberg February 6, 2015 Alzheimer’s/dementia, Thoughts of the Day Who would think there is anything humorous about Dementia? Most people who experience it or their caregivers wouldn't. But humor and improvisation may be a key element to reducing anxiety and creating joy for...
Alzheimer’s and Dementia (Part II): 5 Strategies for Recreating the Rules for Living. Thought of the Day Stan Goldberg February 4, 2015 Alzheimer’s/dementia, Thoughts of the Day 3 Comments In part one of this weekly series, I discussed some myths and facts about Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. I stressed the most alarming memory problems have less to do with names and events, and more...
Alzheimer’s and Dementia (Part I): What It Is and What It Isn’t. Thought of the Day Stan Goldberg February 2, 2015 Alzheimer’s/dementia, Thoughts of the Day 8 Comments Alzheimer's: it's becoming a less distant illness and something directly touching us. If a friend or relative doesn't have it or had it, it's just a matter of time before someone you know will. Unfortunately,...
Providing a Voice to the Voiceless Stan Goldberg January 31, 2015 Interviews 2 Comments This is an interview conducted by Melody Ruth Bromma of MarinScope, the online website for three Marin County Newspapers. The purpose of the interview was to see how early experiences shape present values and...
Thought of the Day. Family Conflict (Part III) Preventing Family Conflict Stan Goldberg January 30, 2015 Grieving and Recovery, Life, Thoughts of the Day 1 Comment In Part I of Family Conflict, I presented the idea conflicts often involve looking at the present through our history. In Part II I wrote that “universal” or “enduring” truths are myths-especially when...
Thought of the Day. Family Conflict (Part II) Why Truth is Relative Stan Goldberg January 28, 2015 Grieving and Recovery, Life, Thoughts of the Day 1 Comment In Part I of Family Conflict I presented the idea conflicts often involve looking at the present through our history. There is an amazing similarity in the type of conflicts created by a health crisis and...
Thought of the Day. Family Conflict (Part I): How the Past Affects The Present Stan Goldberg January 26, 2015 Grieving and Recovery, Life, Thoughts of the Day Passover was a dreaded holiday for me as a teenager growing up in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It was a time when my uncle, who thought of himself as a "lay Rabbi," rose at the head of the table and straightened...
Thought of the Day: Part 3 Grief Hierarchy- Reducing Grief Stan Goldberg January 22, 2015 Grieving and Recovery, Thoughts of the Day 2 Comments In Part 1 of Grief Hierarchy, I presented the idea grief shouldn't be evaluated in terms of whose is greater. In Part 2, I introduced the notion (controversial based on the feedback I received) we don't grieve...
Thought of the Day: Part 2 Grief Hierarchy- The Nature of Grief Stan Goldberg January 21, 2015 Grieving and Recovery, Thoughts of the Day 2 Comments THOUGHT OF THE DAY. In the first installment of this series, I presented the idea grief shouldn't be placed on a hierarchy of importance. I maintained the grief of someone who lost a dog can be as substantial...
Thought of the Day: Part 1 Grief Hierarchy- It Shouldn’t Exist Stan Goldberg January 20, 2015 Grieving and Recovery, Thoughts of the Day Everyone has lost a partner, friend, parent, job, ability, pet, or object that created joy. It is something viewed as irreplaceable by the person experiencing the loss, but often thought trivial by...
A Lesson from Terrorism: Violence and The Grayness of Life Stan Goldberg January 16, 2015 Grieving and Recovery, Life, Thoughts of the Day 2 Comments THOUGHT OF THE DAY. Each day’s new violence makes people want to retreat into a 1950’s bomb shelter, or buy a home in a gated and guarded community, or hide in a shack in a remote part of the woods. Of...
Breast Cancer and the Fear of Recurrence Stan Goldberg January 16, 2015 Cancer 9 Comments By Khevin Barnes My surgeon recommended that I have an ultrasound exam every four months for the first two years after my mastectomy. As the date approached for my first quarterly check up I found myself...
Elder Abuse: What They Don’t Show on TV Stan Goldberg January 15, 2015 Aging, Thoughts of the Day Thought of the Day. A number of years ago I witnessed elder abuse as I walked behind a twenty-something-year-old couple in downtown San Francisco. My hearing then--as opposed to now--was acute enough to hear...