Assertive Bill of Rights

Posted by Andy Alt

This list is for anyone who thinks they could use some tips on how to be more assertive; it helps to more clearly define what one’s assertive rights are. They seem to expand on one basic right: the right to be human.

I don’t know what number 7 means though.

1. I have the right to be the ultimate judge of my own behavior, thoughts, and emotions, and to take the responsibility for their initiation and consequences upon myself.
2. I have the right to offer no reasons or excuses to justify my behavior.
3. I have the right to judge whether I am responsible for finding solutions to other people’s problems.
4. I have the right to change my mind.
5. I have the right to make mistakes – and to be responsible for them.
6. I have the right to say, “I don’t know.”
7. I have the right to be independent of the goodwill of others before coping with them.
8. I have the right to make decisions without using logic.
9. I have the right to say, “I don’t understand.”
10. I have the right to say, “I don’t care.”

http://www.bpd411.org/billofrights.html

Here is an alternate but similar version:

Empty-Nest Workshops – Learning to Live (and Love) in an Empty Nest

Posted by Andy Alt

This article recently appeared in TIME magazine. Below is an excerpt; click the link to read the full article on TIME’s web site.

Learning to Live (and Love) in an Empty Nest
Monday, Aug. 24, 2009
By Bonnie Rochman

[...]

There’s a growing cottage industry of experts who contend that sending kids off into the great wide open deserves at least as much attention as preparing to have them in the first place. Community centers and churches around the country are tuning in to the problem and hosting seminars in which parents try to reignite their relationship and figure out how to move forward as a twosome. Marriage therapists Claudia and David Arp call this stage “the second half of marriage.”

[...]

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1916284,00.html

NAMI presenting two workshops in Faribault: Children’s Challenging Behaviors, Kidshops

Posted by Andy Alt / http://northfieldmn.wordpress.com

From Tina at SCCMHI, I received a copy of the following email:

NAMI Minnesota will be in Faribault on Saturday, May 16, 2009 presenting two workshops at Kids Avenue located at 2700 Cardinal Lane in Faribault.

The first workshop, Children’s Challenging Behaviors, is for parents, caregivers and/or foster care parents of children with challenging behaviors and/or mental health diagnosis.  It will be held from 8:45 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and includes lunch.

The Grief and Loss of Miscarriage

Merely Me's Profile on Health Central

By Merely Me / Merely Me’s SharePosts

March 24, 2009

I remember the day I was told that I was pregnant.  I was in shock for a few days.  It was my first pregnancy and I had no idea what to expect.  I felt a little scared about how my whole life would change.  I remember going out to dinner with my husband to celebrate and ordering a vegetable plate.  For the first time I was eating for two.  I smiled at the thought of it and gently patted my belly.

It wasn’t long before I was bonding with this baby to be.  I felt a joy and a love I had never experienced before.  I was seeing a therapist at the time and I told him that I was pregnant and happy.  He asked me a question I will never forget.  He asked, “Do you now believe that good things can happen to you?”  I warily nodded my head yes.

I went through the next weeks looking forward to a future which included a baby.

But it was not to be.

Want to read more?  Follow this link!

Bullying – SF971 and HF1198

An editorial published in the Northfield News (March 25, 2009, Bullying is bad, but state needs priorities) was about legislation addressing bullying.

State Senator Kevin Dahle (D, MN District 25) responded on his web site. He didn’t specifically mention the Northfield News, but I assume the editorial he referred to in his post is the same article I linked to above. Below are two excerpts from Senator Dahle’s post.

Whose Priority?

A recent newspaper editorial criticized a legislative committee for taking up a bill which further defines bullying in the public schools. The bill (SF971) would require school boards to develop policy for training educators on dealing with bullying, reporting such instances, and for instituting disciplinary action should it happen. The final sentence of the editorial wondered why, with a multi-billion dollar deficit, we would be discussing these types of issues.
[...]

Ten Signs that you may be Involved in an Emotionally Abusive Relationship

By Merely Me / Merely Me’s SharePosts

February 17, 2009

When I was fifteen years old I met my first boyfriend.  He was the class clown and had the ability to make anyone laugh.  He was extroverted and charmed everyone who met him including me.  What the world didn’t get to see is that he was also emotionally abusive.  I knew because I was the recipient of his abuse.

You would think that I would know better.  I was bright, had plans for a future, and had heard plenty of stories about abuse from friends and family.  But I also suffered from depression and low self esteem.  And this combination made me an easy mark for becoming involved in an emotionally abusive relationship.  What I thought was love on his part was really my boyfriend’s attempts to control me.