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social, health, political imagery through the lens of G J Huba PhD © 2012-2021

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It makes me very annoyed (well really pissed off) that some Twitter users identify themselves as physicians, psychologists, lawyers, nurses, etc., in their Twitter bios or screen names and do not identify themselves by actual name.

If you are going to claim PROFESSIONAL credibility for your PROFESSIONALLY-oriented tweets then tell us your name. If you must remain anonymous for whatever reasons, do not put your professional qualifications into your screen name or bio and act like you are professionally qualified to render factual and accepted information rather than a WAG (wild ass guess).

I think that this is a special problem for physicians and other healthcare providers. There are many on the Internet who are searching for information about untreatable, incurable diseases as well as how to control their depression or rage or addiction or how much aspirin to give an infant. A screen name implying professional qualifications when you do not state who you are misleads people looking for help.

Oh, I know, you put a statement in a Twitter statement that says something like “all Tweets are not XYZ advice.” That goes 15% of the way, but the reality is that a lot of people are going to believe what you tweet because they are desperate for information that their own doctor will not provide because there is no definitive answer.

If you cannot put your actual name on a Twitter account, then you have no business putting your professional credentials (be they MD, PhD, MSW, LCSW, JD, Dr, etc.) in your screen name or bio. If you want to be anonymous, so be it, but then you should not be anonymously providing information that will be taken as more definitive because you have those magic words or acronyms in your bio or screen name.

I do not give psychological or medical advice because I am not a licensed treatment provider. I do evaluate research, an imprecise science, but it is a professional activity and I have a relevant professional degree and a lot of experience.

While my screen name in Twitter does not include my FULL name, my actual name is attached to the account and you can see it any time by clicking the screen name. My curriculum vitae (professional resume) is on the Internet as is a website that discusses what I think I know and what I think I do not know. I am a Fellow of the two primary psychological associations in the USA and you can check their directories to see if I am correctly stating my credentials. My professional degrees and licensure are listed on my CV and website and you can confirm if what I say is correct. I am on Linkedin which contains much professional information, all of which can be fairly easily confirmed on the Internet or in the rare case where the information is not electronic, by a telephone call.

Without your name, you could, after all be –

 

Including a “real looking name” is no guarantee — of course — that someone actually has professional degrees and experience that are claimed and even Frank or Bedsheet (above) may say he is Dr Joe Smith, MD, PhD, nice guy. But in most cases the names will be true and can be verified.

Will I still follow and retweet Twitter accounts that do not list actual names. YES. But if I do I make significant efforts to determine the real person making the comments (yes, the Internet is a powerful tool for this).

I urge all who do not use their actual name but do state their “professional credentials” to start to use their actual name.

Every year when I review mind mapping programs, iMindMap draws further ahead of its competitors for the Number 1 ranking.

iMindMap 9.0 was released at the end of 2015. I used it for a month before writing this review.

The new Version 9 is an incredible piece of theoretical design for a system of applied visual thinking, a programming masterpiece, and one of the most useful applications for everyone who thinks. [On the other hand, if you are a career couch potato who wishes to take little control over your own life, you might find you money better spent on a world domination, military game for your favorite addictive device.]

iMindMap is game-changing software, and used properly can be life-changing. This year is no exception. The addition of new techniques, programming efficiencies, and usability features keep this program at the top of the pyramid not only for mind mapping, but also as a more general visual thinking environment (or as I term it, a VITHEN).

Want to think better and more accurately, understand both the big-picture and the details, plan optimally, manipulate and analyze information, enhance factual memory, and communicate more effectively? This is the best integrated tool you will find for PC, Mac, Smartphone, and tablet computers.

As a personal note, this software has helped immeasurably improve my quality of life while dealing with neurodegenerative disorder.

[The mind map below is Version 1.01: minor additions to the original and a clarification.]

Click the mind map to expand it.

IMINDMAP  9.0  REVIEW  G J HUBA PHD

Note: The version reviewed was that available for the Mac.

As I say all over the place in this blog, I think that the mind mapping program iMindMap is by far the best for this application.

However, some of the other programs work easier, or better, for specific applications. One example is creating a timeline in the style of a mind map (or as an actual mind map, depending upon how you define a mind map).

Here is a partial mind map of some events in my life very easily and quickly created in the mind mapping program XMIND. I used the most basic FREE version of this program. While not of the artistic quality of iMindMap, the program very quickly produces a timeline mind map.

Click the image to expand.

G J Huba PhD  draft lifemap 2

 

So you have dementia or cognitive impairment. Instructions are confusing. You don’t always hear correctly or understand what people are saying to you. Instructions for putting together a young child’s toys at the holidays or a birthday drive you crazy. You cannot figure out how to get from where you are now to where you want to be by bus, foot, car, or plane.

There are a few phrases you should know and not be embarrassed to use. Some require you disclose your health problems, others do not. There are some dangers in disclosing your health status (increased probability of being scammed or ignored or victimized or stigmatized) so before using alternatives that require disclosure think about the pros and cons quite carefully and also discuss this with your doctor, caregivers, and family members. I AM NOT RECOMMENDING YOU DISCLOSE YOUR HEALTH STATUS AND I THINK THAT THIS MIGHT BE AN EXTREMELY POOR CHOICE FOR MANY MUCH OF THE TIME. If you do feel that you need to disclose your health status to get the help you need, a doctor or nurse or law enforcement officer might be a better choice than a random stranger.

dementia-phrases-to-know-for-a-better-life-2017
Ask for help. Don’t let your embarrassment put a wall between you and those would be more than willing to help you. Remember that if 1 person is too busy or not otherwise inclined to help you, there are 7.3 billion others on the planet to ask. And virtually all will make whatever efforts they can to help you.

2015_12_16_09_31_07

I have received help in Jerusalem at the Kotel (Western or “Wailing” Wall) from a rabbi who helped me get a taxi at midnight, an Imam on Temple Mount who discussed with our family the Dome of the Rock and gave an introduction to Temple Mount, his son who was the Chair of Islamic Studies at UCLA, American college basketball, and coming to the USA to play golf in Arizona. Many in France, Spain, and Israel have endured my inability now to be able to learn and remember even the most simple and common of the words in their languages and struggled with English for my sake in order to help me. Many in more US states than I can remember have run after me with items I have left behind, and watching television my son endures my repeated questions about rules, statistics, and players I once knew as well as he does now.

Ask for help when you need it and when you can, provide it to others.

lab mouse

I studied the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Version 5 (or DSM 5) of the American Psychiatric Association over the past week.

I have concluded that the terminology developed by the psychiatrists is superior to that traditionally used to describe different types of dementia in the medical literature and the International Classification of Diseases, now Version 10 (or ICD-10).

There is a direct correspondence between DSM-5 and ICD-10 (or the earlier Version 9) diagnoses so nobody is really being reclassified because of the newer DSM-5 terminology. BUT, the terminology is MUCH clearer and I think it will be much more useful for the general public, people with dementia, and other non-physicians to think about the conditions that cause dementia such as Alzheimer’s Disease, Lewy Body Dementia, Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (Dementia), Huntington’s Disease and many others in this framework which makes much clearer the relationship of the many diagnoses made of brain diseases and conditions.

The explanations available to non-physicians are much simpler using the DSM-5 terminology and the psychiatrists have done a better job of formulating neurocognitive disorder (major and minor) in their diagnostic model than the standard way of doing so. It is, of course, extremely important that psychiatrists and neurologists develop improved terminologies for brain diseases and conditions so as to guide public awareness, research, and communication.

Many more posts about this in the next few weeks. I personally believe that adopting the nomenclature of the psychiatrists will do much to decrease the confusion that can be caused by reading the information provided in books and on websites.

Labelling the neurocognitive diseases in the way that the psychiatrists have goes a long way to making the conditions understandable by those who have them, their caregivers, and decision makers who approve treatment and research funds.

More unfolding, much of it in the form of mind maps and other graphics. Stay tuned.

brains1

Geek Boy - Two Thumbs Up

 

 

That legal stuff: Nothing in this blog post constitutes medical or other treatment advice. Go see your doctor or another licensed and appropriate healthcare professional for treatment advice and recommendations.


Want to start a potentially fun conversation with a family member with dementia or another memory condition?

Use the world’s visual and audio memory — YouTube.

A funny or personal event or some aspect of a hobby displayed as a short video or audio clip could get a great conversation started. Or not. Try another 3 minute clip or try something else if at first you don’t succeed.

We have lots of personal memories of TV commercials, great finishes to sports events, the cartoons of our childhood, Who’s on First, favorite songs, concerts, and the radio shows from Sunday evenings driving home from Grandpa’s house. Jackie Robinson stealing home plate? Cal Worthington’s Dog Spot?

Here is a mind map of some of my favorites. Don’t use my list — use a list appropriate for yourself or your parent or your grandparent that incorporates their life experiences and likes and is age appropriate. Keep it light. Keep it funny.

You may be surprised about the wealth and details of memories and stories that are elicited by these materials. Or not. And if not, do not give up on the person with dementia; try something else. Every person with dementia is different.

This one likes to watch the those folks with the “small guitars” from Great Britain and listen to Allman Brothers Band cuts. And the Blues Brothers are always “on a mission from God.”

May the force be with you.

Click image to expand.

BACK IN THE DAY  VIDEO AND  AUDIO FOR  PERSONS WITH  DEMENTIA


star wars

Sure I wish I did not have a neurodegenerative disorder.

But life goes on.

I feel a lot better knowing I am trying my hardest to positively experience my life and help others and the community as much as I can.

There is more to life than “I Love Lucy” reruns. Or even Star Trek masterpieces.

Give yourself a chance to be happier and to make those around you happier.

Click the mind map to expand it.

I REFUSE  TO SUFFER  WITH DEMENTIA

 

I have been working pretty intensely over the past week with the iMindMap 9 version just released.

I should have a full review posted in a few days.

This preview of my review is quite simple.

➙ This is the best piece of visual thinking (mind mapping) software I have ever seen. Ever.

Details in a few days.

Click here for the FULL Review posted on December 31, 2015.

mm9

I first published a version of this mind map on World AIDS Day in 2011.

Since then, I have updated the map every year since.

This is the mind map for 2015. May the power of visual thinking help convince all that some new directions at a larger cost need to be implemented to meet the United Nations goal of eliminating HIV/AIDS by 2030.

Please click the map to expand.

2015 ELIMINATING HIVAIDS  FROM THE PLANET  G J HUBA PHD  DEC 1 2015