FLORIDA ADLERIAN SOCIETY nEWSLETTER
OCTOBER / NOVEMBER/ DECember 2004
Social Support – A
Wonder Drug
By Dr. John B. DeCosmo, D.O.
The next
four words will probably save you life:
“Hello, how are you?”
Yes, Believe it or not
these words may save you life! How is
that possible, and how does it work?
These
words represent a system that can be called social support. A system of good social support has been
scientifically shown to increase quality of life (disease-free) and longevity. A study conducted on 7000 people in California concluded that people
with social ties lived longer and healthier lives whereas those who were
isolated died at a rate of two to five times higher and overall were less
healthy.
Good
social support does not just offer protection from a few diseases, but from a
vast array of diseases from arthritis to depression to tuberculosis and a “wide
variety” in between. Social support can
speed recovery, facilitate compliance, and reduce medication. In my own office when I am treating patients,
the ones with good ties to family and friends do much better than patients who
have no support. There are some patients
that I see with minimal social support and part of my prescription to them is
to develop social support! It is just
that important for optimal health!
Where
do we find this marvelous wonder drug of health called social support? Good social support stars right at home with
family. It also comes from friends,
co-workers, fellow church goers, neighbors, the post man, and anyone else that
you might salute with a “Hello, how are you?”
It is composed of intimacy and sharing with another individual. There are no hard and fast explanations for
exactly how social support works. Some
profess that in general it enhances our sense of control which has been linked
to greater health. Social support also
acts as a buffer against the stresses in life.
Still other research supports the health benefits of confiding.
Talking
with another about one’s life and problems is very therapeutic. I feel that a connection with another goes
deeper than stress or a sense of control.
I think that when we connect or share support with another, we are
touching our very core, our very nature – spirituality. When we connect with another, we are celebrating
the uniqueness that is each of us.
This
coupling ties us with all individuals and relates us to the whole of
mankind. When we connect we belong, and
when we belong we are complete, in essence, we are well. There is evidence to support the “safety in
numbers” from a spiritual viewpoint.
When people concentrate on a common goal, their combined efforts are
synergistic – greater that the sum of the individual efforts. Synergy works for social support also.
A
Publication of the Florida Adlerian Society 2004
Editors
Corner
By Lisa Pergament Runyon
I
hope that everyone survived the Hurricanes with none to minimal damage. What a scary time. We just moved from St. Petersburg to Lakeland in June, thinking that inland was safer –
and boy, were we wrong! All three
hurricanes went right through Polk County.
Fortunately, we survived them and hope that you did as well. What a great example of social interest in
action with all the wonderful stories of people helping people and all the
out-of-state people who came to help us out!
It’s
a busy time for us in FAS as we are in full conference preparation mode. As usual the conference will be held next
February 10th – 12th. The
great news is that it WILL be held at
the Phyllis Marshall Center of USF. I
guess their construction plans got
delayed long enough for our conference to occur.
Our
current newsletter features an article by Dr. John DeCosmo,
D.O. on Social
Support – A Wonder Drug which looks at how important it is to be connected
to others and how it positively effects not only our emotional state but our
physical being as well. The article also
validates the field of counseling as it provides that connection and social
support. I’m not sure if Dr. DeCosmo was exposed to Adler somewhere along the way or not
but he sure shares in the Adlerian ideals.
Congratulations
to:
Randal Gainforth and
Ross Cannon on successfully completing the course to be supervisors.
Florida Adlerian
Society
Board
of Directors (2004-2005)
President: Randall Gainforth
Vice-President: Nicola Haddak
Secretary: Stacy Henderson
Treasurer: Lisa Pergament
Runyon
Conference
Coordinator: Charla Conroy
Executive
Director: Tim Evans
Director: Tony Miller
Director: Ross Cannon
Director: Lolita Grohmann
Director: Becky Razaire
Director: Matt Welch
Director: Geri Carter
Director: Gloria Harvey
Articles for inclusion
in the newsletter are encouraged and requested.
The deadline for quarterly publication is the 1st of March,
June, September and December for publication the following month.
Advertising rates for
4 issues, based on page size of 8 1/2 x 11 inches, with 1/2 inch
margins on all four sides. All ads must
be copy-ready, black and white.
Full page - $100 Three-Quarter
page - $75
One-Half page - $50 One-Quarter page - $25
One-Third page - $38 Business Card - $15
Membership in the
Florida Adlerian Society is open to all people
interested in the Adlerian concepts.
Membership is based on a year that runs from February to January, for an
annual fee of $20 per person.
Social Support
– A Wonder Drug (continued from
page 1):
With
this in mind, your best friend or spouse may be your primary source of health
even over a visit to the doctor! (Please don’t go out and quit seeing your
doctor just yet!) A confidence need not
be between two people to have constitutional benefits. Keeping a journal is one way to divulge your
inner thoughts and feelings to a healthy advantage. People who have journals to “confide in” also
reap well-being.
So
we can see how just a small greeting can have major health benefits. There is much value in community. Much more than just a smile
and a kind word. The next time
you engage in socializing, realize what a precious natural gift it is and
enjoy!
Editors Note: Dr. John B. DeCosmo
is an Osteopathic Physician who is Board Certified in Family Practice and well
versed in alternative medical therapies.
He also practices Osteopathic Manipulative Therapy to treat a wide range
of musculoskeletal disorders and is a compassionate physician and a patient
advocate. He practices in the St.
Petersburg/Tampa Bay area.
Groups,
Workshops and other Community Events:
Lolita Grohmann
will be leading Family
Enrichment Workshops
that will focus on the
Principles
of child guidance, relationships, and encouragement. They will be held on the last Saturday of
every month at 8:30 am - 4:00 pm, the next one will be October
30th, 2004.
The location will be The Counseling Center of Tampa Bay, 3910 Northdale
Blvd. Suite 208‑
Tampa, Fl 33624. For more information, you can call 813‑961‑4406
or e-mail hgrohmann@aol.com
Tim Evans is leading a Choice Theory Focus Group
for Mental Fitness
on Wednesday evenings. The next group
will be on October 13th and the group is held every other week. This is to be a safe, supportive refuge, where
people who would like to be happier can meet and support each other. The only
requirement is you become acquainted with the book Warning: Psychiatry Can
Be Dangerous To Your Mental Health, written by
William Glasser. This will be a study group where you
can attend as long or as often as you wish.
Anyone
interested can contact Tim Evans via phone at 813-251-8484 or e-mail: TimEnc@aol.com
FAS HOLIDAY SOCIAL
DECEMBER
20, 2003
HOSTED BY Dr. Tim Evans
This year the Florida Adlerian
Society's Holiday Social will take place at Tim Evans home in
the New Tampa Area.
Tim has hosted many other gatherings at his home and everyone always has
a great time. This year, Tim has
requested that our Holiday Social be an Adults Only event so that we
can take the time to talk and smooze without the
distraction of children.
FAS invites all of you - our members and
newsletter readers, to come and socialize and to bring your friends and
significant others. A good time will be
had by all! As in the past, FAS
encourages you to bring a quality dish to share along with any festive libation
you care to drink. FAS will provide soft
drinks, ice, and paper goods. This has
been a genuinely successful soiree with FAS folks and their guests having a
wonderful time reconnecting, making new friends, sharing conversation and good
food. Understanding that this is an
active time of the year with many commitments, we hope that you consider making
the FAS Holiday Social a PRIORITY among your many social engagement for this season.
Please mark your calendars for December 18th at 7:30pm and plan on joining your friends at the Florida Adlerian Society
for the Holiday Social.
To Tim's house: From I-275:
Exit on Bearss Ave and go east to Bruce B. Downs (or 30th St).
Turn left
(or north)
and go past Hunters
Green to Cross Creek
Blvd.
Turn right. Go to the
first
street on your left and turn
left on to
Dayflower. Turn
left on the first street which
is Rockrose Dr.
Follow the
street around the curve to the
right and Tim's house will be
on the left - a two story, grey
home: 9122 Rockrose Dr.
RSVP at 813-973-4471
Special
Announcement: Dr. William Glasser will be doing a Full Day presentation on February 11, 2005 as part of our 10th annual conference. We are very excited to welcome him and have
him share his knowledge of Choice Theory with us!!!
Book Review: Warning:
Psychiatry Can Be Hazardous to Your Mental Health, William Glasser, 2003.
By: Timothy D.
Evans, Ph.D., and Cameron Meredith, Ph.D., responsed
to Tim@evanstherapy.com
As a follow-up of his 1965 classic
book, Reality Therapy and his 1965 classic book, Reality Therapy and his 1998
psychologically sound, Choice Theory,
Dr. William Glasser’s 2003 provocative
insightful book, Warning: Psychiatry Can Be Hazardous to Your Mental Health,
could be the most important mental health book ever written. It is a must-read
for anyone involved in the mental health system or concerned with the mental
health of a child, teen, or adult in the family.
Dr. Glasser presents proof that there is nothing wrong with
your brain and there is no pill for the happiness you need. He refers to the
DSM-IV manual as the red book of unhappiness rather than mental illness. He
contents that there is no pathology for the assumption of an imbalance of brain
chemistry thus no justification for drug therapy.
Instead, people need talk therapy based on choice theory to improve relations
with others.
This is good
news for Adlerians who believe that there are no bad
(ADD for example) children, just discouraged children. Adlerians
also believe in helping people become healthier rather than curing illness.
Rather than drugs, people need encouragement and the opportunity to develop
social interest, the feeling that they belong, have a place and count.
Obtain a copy of this book ASAP and
spread the word. Start some focus groups. It may mean our very survival as
democratic free, creative, happy, encouraged and healthy social beings.
CALENDAR OF SOCIAL EVENTS
October
13th Choice Theory
Group (held
every other week)
6:30 – 8:00pm For more information contact Tim
Evans at 251-8484 or e-mail:
TimEnc@aol.com
October
30th Family
Enrichment Workshops (held the last
Saturday of the month)
8:30 – 4:00pm For more information contact Lolita Grohmann at 961-4406 or e-mail: hgrohmann@aol.com
December 18th FAS Holiday Social at the home of Tim Evans
7:30pm until the cows 9122 Rockrose Dr., Tampa (813) 973-4471
come home!
February
10 - 12, Florida Adlerian
Society 10th Annual Conference, USF
2005 Phyllis Marshall Center, Tampa, FL
Contact: Dr. Tim
Evans (813) 251-8484 or Tim@evanstherapy.com
“People
are interdependent; each of us influences and is influenced.” Rudolf Dreikurs
Florida
Adlerian Society
Provider
# CM - 439 -
3/2005