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Sunday, September 27, 2015

September 2015 Update

Favorite picture of the month
my brand new niece Leilani

This has been an incredibly busy month for me. I started my second class of the semester (now I'm taking Abnormal Psychology and an EMT certification class). These, together with my full time job in a nursing home and my volunteer work at a crisis hotline, keep me feeling pretty darned overwhelmed. 

My EMT class is a lot of information. As of yet, I'm not keeping up  with the reading in the 2000 page text at all, but I'm bumbling along in the class regardless. I am now CPR/AED certified for infants/children/adults. That's a nice feeling. I think everyone should know how to save a life in this way. 

In Abnormal Psychology I have taken my first test and got a fantastic score. I give my blogging complete credit for that score. Writing blog posts about my psychology class is the best studying I've ever done in my life. If only I could do the same thing with my EMT text without boring you all silly. This month's Abnormal Psychology posts are:



My most popular blog post this month was: The Definition of Abnormal

I am currently reading or listening to:

I'm hoping to finish this one in time for Aarti's A More Diverse Universe
Thought this spooky book would be a good one for October


This month I finished reading or listening to: 

This was my RL book club's choice for September

I read this with Doing Dewey's nonfiction book club
Read this to supplement my posts about warehousing the mentally ill in prisons

I think I'm going to a conference on addiction in a couple weeks. Thought this would be a nice supplement.




Next month's blogging activities include:

Aarti's A More Diverse Universe at BookLust

The Halloween Reading Challenge at Reading Every Season
R.I.P. X hosted this year by The Estella Society
Picture used by permission by creator Abigail Larson



This post is linked up to the Facebook Group The Sunday Salon. "The Salon is open to anyone who'd like to discuss books of a Sunday (or, frankly, any other day of the week). ... Discuss what you're reading here, or link to relevant blog posts, or comment on one anothers posts. Enjoy."

This post is also linked up to the Sunday Post at Caffeinated Book Reviewer. "The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead."


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24 comments:

  1. LolaSeptember 27, 2015 at 5:47 PM

    I studied psychology, so I don't mind a few posts about psychology, might have to check out a few of them next! We didn't got abnormal psychology at our uni, or maybe it's called differently here. Have a great week!

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    1. RachelSeptember 27, 2015 at 5:51 PM

      Really? No Abnormal Psychology? I'm sure you must have some sort of equivalent - can't study psychology without having a course on mental illnesses, right?

      Taking this class makes me wish I could get a degree in psychology. I mean, I CAN, but what would I do with it in today's culture? Become a social worker or therapist, I guess. I think I'll stick to my current plan to become a psychiatric physician's assistant, though that's more medicine and less psychology, unfortunately.

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    2. LolaSeptember 29, 2015 at 1:50 PM

      They called it clinical psychology at my university, it was about mental illnesses and how to cure them. We had a course each year, until we could choose subjects ourselves and then I focussed on social and organizational and cognitive psychology. I majored in consumer and economic psychology.

      I have to admit I couldn't really find a job with my degree, especially in the current job market people weren't willing to take a risk and hire someone with a weird master like I had. I now have my own blog tour organizing company, which means I don't really use my psychology knowlegde, but I love my job and sometimes my knowledge does come in handy.

      Delete
    3. RachelOctober 4, 2015 at 6:10 PM

      I think it's great that you're able to keep your own professional blogging company. I wouldn't even know where to begin with that. Though I did consider becoming a for-pay beta reader for a while.

      Delete
  2. Laurel-Rain SnowSeptember 27, 2015 at 9:31 PM

    Your books are all new to me...not Abnormal Psychology, however. As a psych major back in the day, that was one of my first core courses. Things have changed over the years, however, with new diagnoses, etc. I have kept up, as I spent thirty years as a social worker. Enjoy your classes, and thanks for visiting my blog.

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    1. RachelSeptember 28, 2015 at 4:13 PM

      Yeah, things have changed a lot just in the past decade, what with the publication of DSM-5. They're also changing the way they fund mental disorder research: they'll focus less on the actual diagnosis and more on individual symptom groups. It's a very dynamic field.

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  3. Deb Nance at ReaderbuzzSeptember 28, 2015 at 5:53 AM

    I love it that you credit writing blog posts about your class with your fantastic score on the class test! Great way to learn and share!

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    1. RachelSeptember 28, 2015 at 4:14 PM

      Yeah, it really is. Psychology is interesting enough that people might want to read my posts. And it helps me to organize my thoughts.

      Delete
  4. thecuecardSeptember 28, 2015 at 8:11 AM

    wow how do you fit it all in? congrats on your CPR/AED certification, and your new niece! adorable.

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    1. RachelSeptember 28, 2015 at 4:14 PM

      "wow how do you fit it all in?" I'm not sure I am. I just keep going anyway.

      Delete
  5. Bryan G. RobinsonSeptember 28, 2015 at 9:10 AM

    First, love the picture...and congrats on your certification.

    I saw Let The One Right In, the movie, actually both of them, with the original one being the best. I hope you enjoy the book and that it's as creepy as the movies were. :)

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    1. RachelSeptember 28, 2015 at 4:16 PM

      Yeah, maybe I should add Let the Right One In to my Netflix queue. I can't remember the name of the original movie, but I vaguely remember that the name was changed for the book and American movie. I'm sure it's pretty easy to find on the internet.

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  6. Brian JosephSeptember 28, 2015 at 9:18 AM

    Congragulations on your certification.

    It looks like you have been reading some interesting books. I hope that you Blog about the Biology of Desire, it looks so interesting.

    I agree that blogging about a subject allows us to comprehend the subject in all sorts of ways.

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    1. RachelSeptember 28, 2015 at 4:17 PM

      Thanks Brian! My hope is that I will blog about every book I read - even if it's only a minireview about fluffy YA books. But I'm woefully behind. I've been trying to write a review for Hobbit for a few weeks now.

      Delete
  7. Anne@HeadFullofBooksSeptember 28, 2015 at 6:22 PM

    Wow. You have quite a reading list. Thanks for hopping by my blog.

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    1. RachelOctober 4, 2015 at 6:06 PM

      Thanks! I've been reading a lot of nonfiction lately - it's not always that way. :)

      Delete
  8. UnknownSeptember 29, 2015 at 6:13 AM

    I really enjoyed Let Me In (I think it's called Let the Right One In over here) and it is definitely a good one for this time of year. Leilani is a cutie :)

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  9. brandileigh2003September 29, 2015 at 5:35 PM

    Dark Eden looks good, hope you enjoy and have a great week.

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    1. RachelOctober 4, 2015 at 6:07 PM

      Dark Eden was pretty good, though it had a slow start.

      Delete
  10. DannieOctober 1, 2015 at 9:55 PM

    Congratulations on all you are doing for your education. Also, I commend you on how you discuss openly here your bipolar disorder and reducing the stigma about mental illness and suicide. My daughter does not share the same disorder, but has suffered being bullied and this year she partnered with a national organization in order to speak up about bullying and suicide.

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    1. RachelOctober 4, 2015 at 6:09 PM

      Thanks for the congrats! I've been working really hard - hopefully it will come to fruition. I DO try to be open about my bipolar disorder, even though it means that some coworkers or professional contacts could come upon my blog and see - I think reducing stigma is worth the risk. Way to go for your daughter. I know that is really difficult.

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  11. Martha EskuchenOctober 5, 2015 at 10:17 PM

    That look gets a smile! Best wishes for good studying! I have family and friends with bipolar disorder and I commend your hard work as I know from their experiences it can be a struggle. I hope you stay warm as winter comes on. Oh well - I guess I shouldn't rush past fall! Thanks for visiting my blog last week. Happy reading - and studying!

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    1. RachelOctober 9, 2015 at 9:10 AM

      Hi Martha! Thanks for stopping by my blog! Yes, it is very important to me to educate the public on mental illnesses. Fortunately, my own MI is well-controlled at the moment, so I don't often have the opportunity to share experiences as they are happening.

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