~ There are a lot of folks who would benefit from psychotherapy, I know I certainly did, unfortunately it was later in life when the benefits were not as great as they would have been if I had had therapy much sooner…Anyway. I’m thinking of a particular person here – who, when it was suggested they might benefit from ‘talking to somebody’ responded, quite angrily, “I’m not crazy”. No, not crazy but hurt, angry, depressed and just generally unhappy and making the same interpersonal mistakes over and over. 

Now I wonder if this person, or any person resistant to ‘talking to somebody’ would be more receptive if it was emphasized that in therapy THEY get to be the center of attention. THEY get to talk about themselves for those magical 45 minutes. That therapy IS all about THEM. And that their therapist is on THEIR side. 

Would framing it that way make someone more amenable to getting the help they need?

~ I love technology, truly I do. In the early days of personal computing I was an early adopter (as much as my budget would allow). Back in the late 1980’s I had an all-in-one word processor/printer. I believe it was made by Brother, and if memory serves me right, it saved work on a diskette. That was replaced by a combination typewriter/word processor made by either Sony or Panasonic which also used a diskette to save work. I didn’t get a real computer until 1991 and I didn’t get onto the internet until maybe 1994 or 95 (ah, dial up and pay by the minute.) 

My first introduction to computers was back in 1969 and it was IBM, all the way, all the time. I had my very own stand alone desktop computer at work in 1982 – also IBM – also marvelous. We didn’t have internet/wi-fi back in those days and my computer wasn’t linked into the mainframe but other “terminals’ in the office were. Yes, back in the day when you had a ‘toaster’ into which you inserted a floppy disk (and yes, they were truly floppy!) 

Where is this mini-history lesson going? My 6th generation iPad Air is wonky as all hell and making me crazy and I categorically refuse to buy another. I remember when the first iPad came out – 2010 – I pre-ordered it and I thought it was just the cat’s pajamas. I think I have had 4 iPads – the newest was a mini which was a replacement for the one I am using now since I gave the mini to my husband because the ereaders and tablets he was getting from Barnes&Noble were total crap. 

And where is this all going?

I can afford a new iPad but last July (July!) I pre-ordered a Re-Markable, which I won’t be getting until November (so they reassure me). Now the Re-Markable is a whole different animal. It will allow me to write, actually write, not type. It does a whole bunch of cool stuff and I am antsy to get it. The stuff in my head will be more easily converted to stuff on a page with it – I hope. With that on the horizon I am super reluctant to spend any more money replacing my techie toys. 

Going old school with new technology…it better be good! In the meantime, I’m ready to throw this old iPad through the window!