Better Brains Online has been undergoing a make-over, and I’m very proud of the results. Many thanks to my Web Monster — er, I mean Webmaster — who also doubles as my business manager and triples as my loving husband — Wade.
(He’s blushing — he hates being pushed into the spotlight)
We’ve decided to start anew with fresh postings. But never fear — all of the old postings dating back to when I started this blog in June of 2009 will be available in book form (both e-book and hardcover).
And of course, I’ll have some supplementary material for the book —
So please let me know how you like the new style of the blog, and if you are interested in getting a copy of the older posts as an ebook or hard-copy.
My best wishes for your health and happiness!
Docteur G
Estelle Toby Goldstein, MD
Filed under News by on Nov 19th, 2009. Comment. 
We always look forward to this time of year, when the holidays seem to slide down upon us like an avalanche.
The period from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day are always a special time of year. But once they arrive, we often find outselves stressed-out, depressed — even broke.
Sign up for my newsletter in that cute box on the right and I will send you free of charge my new report 18 Ways To Enjoy The Holidays.
Whether you are having one of those traditional huge family gatherings or if it is just you and a loved one, I’ve got some suggestions to make the holiday season cheery and bright.
Enjoy!
Filed under News by on Nov 20th, 2009. Comment.
I wanted to re-post this message now that we are starting a new round of articles. The reason is probably obvious — it’s a very personal statement. But also, it was only posted for a few days before we took the blog down to refurbish it. I hope you enjoy this.
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The opening sentence of Erich Segal’s novel Love Story asks the question, “What do you say about a girl who died?”
I think of that when I’m going to talk about Harry — my little brother.
Read more on Remembering Brother Harry — A Case of Asperger’s…
Filed under Asperger's by on Nov 20th, 2009. 1 Comment.
This was the last item I posted on the blog Nov 6 before we took it down a few days later to start the overhaul. In case you didn’t get a chance to read it, I’m reprinting it.
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She was a saleswoman prone to bipolar mood swings, stable on a brand name prescription mood stabilizer. It had originally been marketed as an anticonvulsant and her medication was doing its job. She recently returned to full-time work after a manic attack had cost her both her marriage and the custody of her child.
“I don’t have the insurance I once did; I now sell home decoration instead of heating fuel like I used to. The money is better, but now all of a sudden the cost of my medication is really ridiculous. The generic is lots cheaper.”
Read more on What Happens When A Pill Gets Inside Your Body?…
Filed under Generic drugs by on Nov 20th, 2009. Comment.
There was one woman who gave me a bad time and to my knowledge, never did anything I recommended, although she came to see me for many months. As a matter of fact, I do not think that I ever figured out why she continued to see me for many months. It was back in my very first practice after I left academics, for I had left the “honor” that went with a University professorship thinking I could actually make some money.
I had walked into someone else’s insurance practice, and I was on all their panels, and I knew the patients would love me at least as much as they had loved her, for she was nowhere near as charming as I was.
Read more on Healthcare reform — Blame the doctors…
Filed under Healthcare reform by on Nov 24th, 2009. Comment.
I have sat silent for a long time, waiting for the news to come in from Fort Hood, waiting for people to understand and explain. Now, I have read and seen enough that I think I understand.
As always, my own life and experiences have been so rich and so diverse that I have an overwhelming memory or vision.
It was a California state prison; I have worked in a few. Religion was always especially popular within the prisons where I worked. I assumed, as did the mental health personnel in general, that it was because inmates felt so dehumanized and downtrodden that they could be expected to grasp onto anything that made them feel good. We knew and understood this.
I certainly maintained friendly associations with all chaplains. I considered them a bit idealistic, a bit naive, but I also considered myself that way. And in that feeling, that belief, that “give them the extra mile” feeling, I got some peace.
Still, I remember the day I was scared. I rarely ventured into the areas of religious worship, but once, just once, I happened to be out crossing the yard during one of the five daily times of Muslim prayer. I could not count the number of inmates, as they covered the yard.
Filed under Religion by on Nov 30th, 2009. 2 Comments.
We want religious freedom, which is good. We do not want prejudice that is unfounded. We do not want people to preach or incite sedition. We have no interest in disguises of sedition as religion.
We have problems with anything that gets in the way of freedom. We love popular votes, and want to see the president of the United States elected directly some day, so the people have the sovereignty that Jefferson had in mind. Radical factions corrected by some sort of wisdom, perhaps divine in origin, that flows down among honest and intelligent and diverse groups, so that they somehow exercise a sort of internal control, and radical factions cancel each other out.
I have no idea how a referendum about minarets made it to the Swiss ballot. It seems that most people there don’t want these public symbols of the Islamic faith. There is a nice photo in the Wikipedia article of a plastic minaret of Turkish construction that someone put on a cultural center in Switzerland for what I suppose are religious reasons.
Read more on Minarets in Switzerland: Can’t We All Get Along?…
Filed under Prejudice by on Nov 30th, 2009. Comment.