Marty Nemko's Blog, page 359

Male Suicide: A Silent Epidemic

Men are four times as likely to commit suicide as are women.

The gender gap increases over the lifespan:  "The male suicide rate goes from equal to females' prior to adolescence to five times as high’ between 20 and 24. Among the elderly, men over 85 have a suicide rate 1300% higher."

Perhaps surprising, the rate is highest among whites and lowest among African Americans and Hispanics.

White male suicide is up 40% in the last decade.

In my PsychologyToday.com article today, I explore the gender death gap and argue that it's just one example of why the conventional wisdom that women are treated unfairly should be tempered. 

A Workover: She's Complaining About Her Boss: Sometimes it's not the boss's fault

On my NPR-San Francisco radio program, I do Workovers: Callers call in with a career problem.

I've been posting edited transcripts of Workovers that might interest PsychologyToday readers. Here's today's offering.

A 30-Year Old With A Career Dream But Hasn't Acted On It

A career counseling client, 30, describes herself as having wasted the eight years since she graduated from a well-regarded university. Her passion is musical theatre and is intrigued by a career in theatre marketing but is daunted by the odds.  

My PsychologyToday.com article today offers the transcript of an exchange we had during our recent session.

An Overwhelmed Law Student

My PsychologyToday.com article today consists of the transcript of the last of a career counseling session I conducted yesterday. I believe it offers lessons for helping professionals as well as nearly anyone.

Are Authors Paid to Embed Cigarettes in Their Novels?

The last two novels I read,  both Pulitzer-Prize winners,The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay and All the Light We Do Not See, gratuitously include lots of cigarette smoking, painted in a neutral if not positive light. 

I'd welcome your posting a comment here to say whether you've noticed this in award-winning novels that you've read.

I cannot help but wonder if the tobacco companies paid the authors to embed that. If so, how hypocritical that these authors, who take pains to write with antiseptic political correctness, encourage people to smoke cancer sticks merely to make more money, especially since they're already wealthy.

The Story Game

There's a little mind game you can play by yourself or with something. It can be most revealing. I use it with some of my career counseling clients. 

In my Psychology Today.com article today, I describe it and include a transcript of the "game" I played with a client yesterday.

Use of Music in Counseling Sessions

Of course, there's music therapy. But even in traditional counseling and coaching, music can be a potent and enjoyable tool in sessions, even if you're not a musician. I offer ways to do that in my PsychologyToday.com article today.

A Workover: A Successful Man Wants to Chuck it All

On PsychologyToday.com, I've been posting edited transcripts of calls into my NPR-San Francisco radio program looking for a solution to their worklife problem. I call them Workovers. Here's today's offering.  

A Workover: A New College Graduate Wants a Career in Advertising

On PsychologyToday.com, I've been posting edited transcripts of callers to my radio show wanting career advice. I call them Workovers. 

Today's is a recent college graduate who'd like to launch a career as a creative in advertising. It was a fun exchange about how one might market Crayola crayons.

Career Advice for Men

In the fourth and final part in my PsychologyToday.com series on career advice for boys and men, I finally turn to career advice for men.