http://www.drmadelinedaniels.com Fri, 16 Oct 2009 03:12:39 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en In Part I, we looked at the trauma surrounding being in a nursing home from the patient’s point of view. But what’s it like for the staff at a nursing home? They’re dealing with people traumatized by the effects of aging, injury, and illness. These people are not happy about ... http://www.drmadelinedaniels.com/2009/05/25/working-at-a-nursing-home-part-ii/ The reality is that most people equate “going into a nursing home” with a fate far worse than death or zombiehood. And what’s even sadder is that most people who work in nursing homes feel they are dealing with the most difficult patients in the world. Both of them have ... http://www.drmadelinedaniels.com/2009/05/15/why-is-%e2%80%9cnursing-home%e2%80%9d-a-scary-word-part-i/ If you have noticed some erratic behavior on the part of this site, it’s because so much has been happening! With the book published in December 2008, and the ordeal nearing an end, I knew I wanted to be in an area with far more resources than I’d been in ... http://www.drmadelinedaniels.com/2009/05/07/what-i%e2%80%99ve-been-up-to/ Sometimes a topic is just so big that I find myself gathering data until the pile is enormous but unable to write about it until a specific incident triggers an outpouring of all the information I’ve stored! Healthcare is a good example of this. Since I’m right in the middle ... http://www.drmadelinedaniels.com/2009/04/22/is-it-possible-to-reform-health-care/ I keep getting myself in trouble at social dinners for the simple statement that I am mixed blood. I simply refuse to self-identify as “white”, a meaningless term with lots of baggage that does disservice to my family’s wonderfully rich background. (Obviously I am turning into a somewhat controversial guest ... http://www.drmadelinedaniels.com/2009/04/12/pluralism-is-the-strength-of-our-county/ I was at a disturbing dinner table conversation with a group of young people the other day. (“Young,” in this case, meaning 20’s through 30’s.) The topic came up of whether one person’s voice speaking out was of any value. And the shocking consensus of the young people at that ... http://www.drmadelinedaniels.com/2009/04/05/does-one-small-voice-really-matter/ How dare ex-VP Cheney even use the phrase the “civil rights of U.S. citizens.” I got really angry when I heard his hypocrisy this week! It’s people with his attitude of entitlement that have led to the mess the United States is in! Having just finished an entire book detailing ... http://www.drmadelinedaniels.com/2009/02/08/the-masks-of-hypocrisy-or-what-planet-is-cheney-living-on-anyway/ I admit it: this is not one of my more thoughtful pieces. It’s more my expression of confusion! At the age of 60, I sometimes get accused of being “out of it” when it comes to popular culture. Well, my recent attempts to catch up to popular culture have not ... http://www.drmadelinedaniels.com/2009/02/02/characters-welcome/ In case you’ve missed it, there’s a whole cult of interest forming around “Fight Club” and its manifesto of destruction. The theory seems to be that any action is better than no action at all. Well, I disagree strongly! Good action is best, even if it doesn’t always provide instant ... http://www.drmadelinedaniels.com/2009/01/28/obama%e2%80%99s-fight-with-tyler-durden/ For many people, just using the terms “senseless violence” equates with “evil.” They don’t see their anger or bigotry as evil because they see through the filter of their own biases. Their rage is justified; their violent actions have reasons. Whether they swat a fly or burn a human, they ... http://www.drmadelinedaniels.com/2009/01/21/senseless-violence/ With all the news stories about corruption, violence, and just plain rotten behavior, my sons often ask me “Has it ever been this bad before?” In my 60 years of life, I’ve looked back and struggled, not knowing how to answer that question.  I think I had this fantasy that as ... http://www.drmadelinedaniels.com/2009/01/19/finding-hope/ Words have become tricky these days! During the election the situation reached nearly intolerable levels, but, let’s face it, it’s a general epidemic. For example, in the months leading up to the election, if I looked at how bad things are and said I wanted to see a “change”, it ... http://www.drmadelinedaniels.com/2009/01/14/has-thinking-gone-out-of-style/ It’s certainly become more difficult to keep treading water when it’s rising everywhere. Financial worries, too few jobs, constant fear – these days it’s a flood of epic proportions! But while I’ve talked about stress before, this time I think we need to deal with discouragement and despair. It’s seems ... http://www.drmadelinedaniels.com/2009/01/07/hope-is-your-life-preserver/ My new book is available now at Amazon.com! http://www.drmadelinedaniels.com/2008/12/15/new-book-surviving-human-venom-available-now/ Just a quick note to let you all know that, while I’ve been trying to keep up on current submissions to this website, I admit I’ve been preoccupied. Preparing the manuscript that describes the events of the last four years is finally done! I think it will explain much of ... http://www.drmadelinedaniels.com/2008/11/06/the-latest-happenings/ In my career, I’ve written so much about self-fulfilling Prophecies, SFP’s. That’s the idea that what you believe will happen, you will create by the subtle non-verbal messages you send out to create your future. Visitors to this Website have always been fascinated by the positive aspects of this concept, ... http://www.drmadelinedaniels.com/2008/11/01/a-bad-new-twist-to-self-fulfilling-prophecies/ Generosity is a funny thing. You give and receive gifts of great value when you least expect it. When I think about the gifts of last year, I don't necessarily remember the wrapped presents tied with ribbons and under the tree. I tend to remember the gifts of love we ... http://www.drmadelinedaniels.com/2007/11/22/giving-and-thanksgiving/ I once asked a pessimist friend of mine why he persisted in expecting the worst of every situation. He responded with a variation of an old proverb: "They told me to cheer up; things could get worse! So I cheered up. And they were right, things got worse!" I have to ... http://www.drmadelinedaniels.com/2007/07/28/sometimes-there-is-no-silver-lining/ Most people accept that there is room for improvement in their lives and their behavior. Nobody's life is perfect, and every unpleasant feeling or uncomfortable situation is a motivation for change. Why then do we often find it difficult to change? Everybody who has tried to break a habit like smoking ... http://www.drmadelinedaniels.com/2007/07/24/every-action-produces-a-reaction/ Writing regularly gives me a chance to explore many different thoughts and feelings. Sometimes I'm very serious, but other times I can't help laughing as I write. Erma Bombeck I'm not, but I enjoy sharing my light-hearted moods with you, the reader. Without humor, life would be unbearably flat, and our ... http://www.drmadelinedaniels.com/2007/07/14/humor-is-a-funny-thing/ One of the ironies of life is that when we most need help, it's often hard to know where to go to get it! As a psychologist, I am often faced with clients who are afraid to tell anyone that they are getting professional help. It's a variation of the ... http://www.drmadelinedaniels.com/2007/07/02/need-help/ Summertime is the season for family vacations, family cookouts, family reunions, and visiting relatives. Whew! That's a lot of family. It can seem like visiting a well-planned flower garden, or a fearsome jungle filled with quicksand. I know people who look forward to the chance to renew family ties, and people ... http://www.drmadelinedaniels.com/2007/06/28/the-family-garden/ You know what they say: 'Everybody always talks about the weather, but nobody ever does anything about it.' Baloney! We do lots of things about it! Watching Californians in the summertime is a study in a glorious variety of summer strategies to cope with the weather. When exposed to the particular ... http://www.drmadelinedaniels.com/2007/06/14/fitting-into-nature%e2%80%99s-scheme-of-things/ Have You Been Less Than Perfect Today? A lot of readers found a chord touched by the book excerpt on Self-Fulfilling Prophecies (SFP). But I wrote that book from the perspective of a manager working with other people. Being a business manual, it was focused on the Other rather than the ... http://www.drmadelinedaniels.com/2007/06/05/have-you-been-less-than-perfect-today/ Unless you're exceptionally lucky, you know what it's like when the proverbial bottom falls out of things. It's such an epidemic that we have lots of words to describe it: the pits, the dumps, so far down it feels like up, on our knees, flat on our back. Okay, okay, ... http://www.drmadelinedaniels.com/2007/06/01/climbing-out-of-that-barrel/ If the information on this site helps you and you'd like to make a donation to www.drmadelinedaniels.com, please click the button below. The amount you donate is entirely up to you. Why donate? This site has a real cost associated with maintaining it, and Dr. Daniels would like to continue providing ... http://www.drmadelinedaniels.com/2007/04/03/donate/ http://www.drmadelinedaniels.com/2007/04/03/contact/ Books on approaching sports, motorcycle repair, and job hunting with a Zen attitude were very popular for a while. I think it's time I provided some guidelines for approaching money the same way! You see, Zen is really an attitude towards life. It encourages people to be natural and spontaneous, yet ... http://www.drmadelinedaniels.com/2007/03/07/zen-and-the-art-of-money-management/ Driving down a country road the other day, I stopped behind a school bus and watched a young teenager get out. Even before the bus had pulled away, he had his thumb out in the universal sign for hitchhikers. With nationwide concern over the rising amount of crimes against children, ... http://www.drmadelinedaniels.com/2007/03/04/predators/ In my otherwise bright day, there is one flaw. I look out my office window to a battlefield and the weeds are winning again! I got the garden ready for planting early enough. I just didn't get around to putting the seeds in. One too many emergencies; one too many ... http://www.drmadelinedaniels.com/2007/03/02/weeding-out-guilt/