johnthurman.net

(c) 2014 John Thurman – Happy Dancer Premier Rally Push Back Depression Tip # 5: Re-energize Depression is an energy eater. If you have ever struggled against depression, you know that it can suck the life right out of you. It drains your energy, heart, mind, body, and soul. The good news is, you can fight back, and you do not have to let the darkness pull the life out of you.One of the best ways to re-energize yourself is to monitor your mouth. Depressed people tend to talk depressed using sad words and sad […]

Continue Reading

(c) 2013 John Thurman Beach Jumper 1 Last summer I was in Grand Rapids, Michigan for a some training as a Crisis Response Specialist. I stayed over a couple of extra day to experience Lake Michigan. My friends told me to check out Grand Haven Beach and I did. What a delight to see people enjoying a day at the beach. Walking out to the light house I noticed a group of local teens jumping off the pier. They were having an absolute blast. You can check out some of my shots on my flickr […]

Continue Reading

Bear Canyon Bicycle/Pedestrian Bridge (c) 2013 John Thurman The Second Tip for Pushing Back Depression is: Quit Comparing Depression, by its nature, fogs up your sense of self. When you are struggling in the negative swill of depression, it can be easy to find other people who are doing better in nearly every area of life.  For just a moment, I am going to reach way back into the vault and link you to a clip that is so old, you can probably find it on the RFD Channel, no offense to my farming and […]

Continue Reading

Robin Williams entertaining troops in 2003 Robin Williams’ memory, his acting, his stories and comedy sketches will live on through video clips and the internet. Hopefully, we will take some lessons from the loss of this extraordinary actor, comedian, and exceptional communicator. Depression can be a quiet killer. It is a disorder that is widely experienced and yet few people seek treatment for it.  According to the CDC, suicide is the tenth leading cause of death for all ages in 2010. The CDC report also states that there were 38,364 suicides in the U.S—an average […]

Continue Reading

Laughter, Joy, tenderness, and passion are things that come to mind when I think of Robin Williams. Another attribute I admired was his ability to be vulnerable. For years he talked about his struggle with addictions, depression, and open heart surgery. He had struggled a great part of his adult life with a brain disorder which included severe depression, which in many cases co-exists with addictions. Even with treatment, support from friends and family and remarkably successful career, mental illness can still end up killing a person. As a Christ follower, I have been somewhat […]

Continue Reading

My first recollection of the zany comedy of Robin Williams goes all the way back to his guest appearance as Mork on “Happy Days.” Over the years, I followed him mainly through television and then through his movies. I have to admit, I rarely missed his late night appearances on Jay Leno because I knew it was going to be a roller coaster ride.  He did touch millions of lives through his art, his kindness, and the multitude of characters he played throughout his career. There are thousands of tributes to him on the internet. […]

Continue Reading

This is the third and final blog of the 10 steps for Surviving a Rough and Tumble world. Here is a quick review of the first seven. 1. Practice optimism.2. Find a resiliency model.3. Develop a moral compass and unbreakable beliefs.4. Practice generosity and kindness.5. Develop acceptance and cognitive flexibility.6. Face your fears and learn to control negative emotions.7. Build an ever-expanding tool chest of active coping skills to manage stress.    8. Establish and maintain a supportive social network to help you. Dr. George Bonanno’s research, in his book The Other Side of Sadness, points out one of […]

Continue Reading

(c) 2014 John Thurman As I begin this installment of 10 Steps, I wanted to let you know that on I will send out the third installment of 10 Steps Thursday evening and the next three to four blogs will be be very focused on depression, and things you can do to help yourself and others get better. Growing up watching  Robin Williams, I am 62 and he was 63, it was very sad to hear about his suicide. While I strongly disagree with how some media outlets went into the gory details of his […]

Continue Reading

(c) 2014 John Thurman By John H. Thurman Jr., M.Div., M.A. Adapted from The Survivor’s Guide, by Ben Sherwood Ever wondered what you can do to increase your odds of winning the race of life? Dr. Dennis Charney is the dean of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. The fifty-eight-year old is the king of resilient studies in North America. In his years of research and collaboration, he has developed what he calls the Resiliency Prescription. Here is a brief outline of it, as well as some scriptures that support his points. 1.  […]

Continue Reading

Sex Begins in the Kitchen is a fun and informative book that my friend Dr. Kevin Leman wrote several years ago. His second book on marital intimacy is called Sheet Music. Both of which are still in print. I encourage couples to add these books to their reading list. Kevin has an uncanny ability to communicate in a clear and fun way about crucial things. Years ago he and I shared the microphone on national radio show called Parent Talk. It seemed that whenever he and I were on the show the topic of sexuality […]

Continue Reading