Work Well. Be Well.

April 23, 2016

North Carolina Hires 217,812 “Anatomy Inspectors” to Enforce State’s New Bathroom Bill*

By Warren Holleman

In the jargon-laden world that is HR (Human Resources), it’s not unusual for one acronym to serve multiple purposes. When a business executive lists “ED” beside his name, it’s never clear whether he’s an “Executive Director,” a “Doctor of Education,” or, simply letting you know he has erectile dysfunction. A younger executive using the term “PC” could be talking about anything from personal computers to political correctness. But her old-school counterparts might incorrectly assume she’s calling out a “privileged character.” Or ordering a sandwich (pimento cheese).

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April 14, 2016

Memo to Wall Street Journal: Patients Are Not a “Nuisance” to Their Physicians

By Warren Holleman

The other day an article in the Wall Street Journal caught my attention, and for all the wrong reasons. The article reviewed two recent Dutch studies showing that medical trainees have difficulty diagnosing patients with complicated histories or confounding psychosocial features. At least, that’s the way I would describe those studies.

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March 11, 2016

Stress Management Tip #4: Learn the Names of the Emotions Associated with Your Stressors

By Warren Holleman

I used to work with victims of child abuse and partner violence. They tended to cope by not being aware of how they felt.

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February 19, 2016

The 7 Habits of Highly Healthy People

By Warren Holleman

A quarter century ago a guy named Stephen Covey wrote a book called The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. As best I recall, it only sold a few dozen copies, so I’d doubt you ever heard of it.

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February 14, 2016

When Love Comes

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January 16, 2016

A Place for ALL of Us . . . Somewhere

By Warren Holleman

Remember the heart-wrenching song from Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim’s West Side Story? It’s the prayer of two star-crossed lovers, unable to be who they were or to love the one they loved. And, of course, the stars weren’t the real problem. The real problem was the unmitigated prejudice and hatred of those around them.

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December 26, 2015

Bold Predictions for 2016

By Warren Holleman

On New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day each year my family eats a meal with our friends–the parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles of Katie, the little girl pictured here. We have some fun making predictions for the coming year. We predict election winners, Super Bowl winners, Oscar winners, stock market prices, and things like that. We also check our predictions from the previous year, and see who had the best crystal ball.

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December 18, 2015

Three Tips for Surviving Holiday Stress

By Warren Holleman

Revised December 2016.

According to one of the great crooners of yore–and a widely held popular belief—it’s “the most wonderful time of the year!” And why not? “With the kids jingle-belling and everyone telling you ‘Be of good cheer!’”

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December 10, 2015

Warning! New Year’s Resolutions May Be Hazardous to Your Health

by Warren Holleman

When we make big changes in our lives–or try to make big changes–they can be like this sunset I saw last week, as I was walking to my car at the end of the workday. The Texas sky looked like it was on fire. I couldn’t decide if it was beautiful or eerie, alluring or scary, an exciting omen or the dusk of doom.

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December 3, 2015

Beating the Holiday Bulge: Tips for Those Who Eat Too Much

By Warren Holleman

Food is a big part of what makes the holidays special. It’s what brings us together with family and friends. Good food–like the dish on the right–nourishes us with vitamins and nutrients, energy and resilience, and health and happiness.

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