Psychological Matters

I am excited about the upcoming 2011 articles. Several mental health specialists have agreed to be interviewed about their areas of expertise. The topics will include: 1) what is the purpose of a neuropsychological assessment; 2) what to expect from couple's therapy; 3) when and how to obtain treatment for one's child(ren); 4) what are the symptoms of an eating disorder and what should one expect from treatment; 5) what is life coaching and how does it differ from counseling; and 6) what is the role of nutrition in psychological health. Please feel free to leave comments or suggestions of other topic areas you would like to see discussed. In the meantime, have a wonderful and safe holiday!

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. . ." Matthew 6:9-10 There are four principle driving forces we use to direct our daily lives. They are our emotional needs, our logic and reason, our personal willpower, and God's will. You may have noticed that I started this series with the one most commonly used to govern our lives---our emotional state. Few of us use our analytical reasoning, but even less of us utilize our willpower. The last driving force is the one we least employ: God's will. God's will, however, should be the primary direction for our lives since it provides us with a moral code and clarifies what is important. So, what is God's will for our lives? That is a huge question. There are many wonderful books written on this topic, but it can be simplified for the purposes of this article. According to Jesus, we are to love God with all our heart, soul, body, and mind, and to

". . .he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone. . ." Matthew 14:23 Over the years I have met a few rare people who live mainly by their willpower. These individuals usually have done amazing things. I was particularly impressed by a 60-year-old man who regularly competed in triathlons. He explained that he daily ran several miles, biked a couple of hours, and regularly swam to prepare for the next race. This man was not prone to using his emotions as a driving force. I suspected he didn't ask himself if he felt like exercising on any given day. Reason also wasn't a driving force. I doubted he allowed distractions to interfere with his training schedule. He probably stayed extremely focused on the necessary preparations for the next race. To an outsider, he may have seemed irrational at times. It was only by his strong determination he was able to be successful. This man is an example of a person who lives his life by w