Mental Health Association of Nebraska

Are we joyless working machines?

According to CNN's Linda Petty, psychologist/author and Lincoln resident Mary Pipher "was on a runaway train of success."  With multiple bestselling books and in high demand as a therapist and inspirational speaker, Pipher found that "she had given all she could give. and suffered a meltdown." 

In her latest book, Seeking Peace: Chronicles of the Worst Buddhist in the World, Pipher warns about the "danger of being a joyless constant working machine" when we squeeze more and more into each day, leaving little time to just slow down and enjoy life.  Pipher now describes herself as a "seeker of moments, those times when you stop in your tracks and really pay attention to something beautiful or feel a connection to another person."  Pipher suggests that we all take time out of each day for "peace and quiet, to mediate, have a cup of tea and watch the sunset."  To learn more . . .

Book Review: Psychiatry's failed paradigm

Steve E. Levingston of the Washington Post writes that "the solution to mental illness has seemed to lie in application of drugs.  If a serious psychiatric disorder arises, the reasoning goes, it must be centered in the brain - and, the reasoning further assumes, the most successful treatment is a biological one."  Author Richard P. Bentall, a professor of clinical psychology at the University of Bangor in Wales, argues in his book, Doctoring the Mind: Is Our Current Treatment of Mental Illness Really Any Good?, for "treatment that focuses on the patient as much as on the brain in a setting that stresses a strong relationship between patient and doctor."  To read more . . .