[DISCLAIMER] When providing psychoeducational lessons on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), I teach people about the ABC model of self-disturbance (how people upset themselves through use of irrational beliefs). Now, I’ll address a finer point of this psychotherapeutic model of wellness. For context, REBT uses the ABC model to illustrate how when an undesirable Action occurs and you Believe an unhelpful narrative about the event, it’s your unfavorable assumption, n

[DISCLAIMER] When involved in the last intimate partner relationship that I care to entertain, the woman to whom I referred as “my girlfriend” (“Marisela”) taught me a lesson on ownership (the state, relation, or fact of being an owner—a person who owns [to have or hold as property] something). “I don’t belong to you,” Marisela frankly told me. “Suppose we one day marry,” I retorted, “would you then be my wife, my partner, or not mine at all?” Marisela responded, “We’d be

[DISCLAIMER] Civil Libertarianism Having been raised under the tenets of the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith, even as I now identify as religiously agnostic, I was taught to remain politically neutral. Thus, I don’t vote. Nevertheless, I currently identify with aspects of civil libertarianism, about which one source states: Civil libertarianism is a strain of political thought that supports civil liberties and rights, or which emphasizes the supremacy of individual rights and

[DISCLAIMER] In 2019, rapper Kevin Gates released his second studio album I’m Him (His Imperial Majesty) that featured the track “Have You Ever”. Noting that “wasn’t” represents the word “weren’t,” I’m choosing to state the rapper’s lines in his intended manner of delivery, as the chorus states: Have you ever been treated like you wasn’t shit? (Wasn’t shit) Backstabbed by the niggas you was fuckin’ with (Fuckin’ with) Laughed at by the niggas you was runnin’ with (Runnin’

[DISCLAIMER] When enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, while stationed aboard Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (2001-2003), I fulfilled the role of a non-commissioned officer (NCO). For context, the American Psychological Association (APA) thusly defines the term role: [A] coherent set of behaviors expected of an individual in a specific position within a group or social setting. Since the term is derived from the dramaturgical concept of role (the dialogue and act

[DISCLAIMER] As Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is informed by Stoic philosophy, this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding a book entitled The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman. The authors quote ancient Stoic philosopher Epictetus, who stated, “In short, you must remember this—that if you hold anything dear outside of your own reasoned choice, you will have destroyed you

[DISCLAIMER] As Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is informed by Stoic philosophy, this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding a book entitled The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman. The authors quote ancient Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius, who stated, “If we judge as good and evil only the things in the power of our own choice, then there is no room left for blaming gods o

[DISCLAIMER] As Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is informed by Stoic philosophy, this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding a book entitled The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman. The authors quote ancient Stoic philosopher and Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, who stated, “When you are distressed by an external thing, it’s not the thing itself that troubles you, but only your

[DISCLAIMER] On the debut mixtape Indigoism (2013), by hip hop duo The Underachievers (rappers AK the Savior and Issa Gold), is the song “Play Your Part”. Also referred to as ‘play your role’ or ‘play your position,’ one source states that this phrase means to “check yourself’, or ‘act right.” As an example, the hook of “Play Your Part” states, “Better play your part, nigga, or you won’t get far. Started from the bottom, we was swimming with the fishes. Now, we the New Yo

[DISCLAIMER] As Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is informed by Stoic philosophy, this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding a book entitled The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman. Using a Stoic perspective, I view many events through the proverbial lens of REBT. Thus, I’ll now provide a psychoeducational lesson that involves thinking and believing which is rational (in acco

[DISCLAIMER] Photo credit, property of Women’s National Basketball Association, fair use Why on Earth Would I Pay Attention to Reddit? To strengthen my practice of providing care for mental, emotional, and behavioral health (collectively “mental health”), I often peruse Reddit to obtain knowledge, wisdom, and understanding about social trends affecting the field in which I work. “Why?” you may ask. For better, worse, or otherwise, artificial intelligence (AI) mechanisms

[DISCLAIMER] When browsing the Shuffle subreddit recently, I discovered one Redditor’s video that featured the electronic dance music (EDM) track “Make Me Feel” (2025) by oskar med k. In repetition, lyrics of the song state, “Don’t nobody else make me feel like.” According to one source: The song is built around a vocal sample, with its lyric cutting off after the phrase “make me feel like…”, letting place to synth melodies in where the missing word would normally land. O

[DISCLAIMER] When browsing the Shuffle subreddit recently, I discovered one Redditor’s video that featured the electronic dance music (EDM) track “What Can I Do” (2025) by Portrait. Lyrics of the song, which I enjoy quite a bit, soulfully state: When I rise into the morning light There’s a joy that gives a way I know that one moment he is my world to embrace What can I do? You give me that feeling, get us the feeling Fresh, free, and you don’t wanna lose this feeling Ke

[DISCLAIMER] I invite you to consider that one source states, “We’ve all heard the phase before – ‘Don’t cry over spilled milk.’ It’s a classic saying meant to remind us that getting upset over things we can’t change won’t do any good,” using milk as a symbol of something valuable, yet easily lost. Sometimes expressed as “there’s no use crying over spilled milk,” the meaning of this idiomatic expression infers that there’s no point in being upset over something that has a

[DISCLAIMER] Jeffrey (2016) is the fourth commercial mixtape by rapper Young Thug, featuring the track “Wyclef Jean”, which was produced by TM88 and Supah Mario. It’s reportedly in homage to singer and lyricist Wyclef Jean, yet the song bears no meaningful connection to Jean’s legacy. On the track, Young Thug addresses a one-night stand by stating, “I told her keep going on the gas, fuck the brakes. Only here for one night, let me put it on your face.” If you don’t compre

[DISCLAIMER] Hate the Sin, Not the Sinner When enlisted in the United States Marine Corps (1996-2007), my religious foundation in the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Churches of Christ informed my worldview. Of course, as a fallible human being, my faith-based perspective wasn’t practiced perfectly. For example, I was taught Leviticus 20:13 which states, “‘If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to b

[DISCLAIMER] On The Imperial (1998), the only studio album by hip hop group Flipmode Squad, was the track “We Got U Opin, Pt. 2” that was produced by Da Beatminerz. It featured lyricist Buckshot, of Black Moon and Boot Camp Clik fame, as the song also sampled an earlier piece by Buckshot. In order of appearance on “We Got U Opin, Pt. 2”, Flipmode Squad members, all lyricists, were thusly featured: Rah Digga, Spliff Star, Baby Sham, Rampage, Lord Have Mercy, and Busta Rhym

[DISCLAIMER] As Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is informed by Stoic philosophy, this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding a book entitled The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman. The authors quote ancient Stoic philosopher and Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius who stated, “The best way to avenge yourself is to not be like that” (page 312). For context, “avenge” is defined as e