Watershed Voice columnist Charles Thomas writes, “While a cure for depression and anxiety remains stubbornly out of reach, becoming an agnostic thinker and questioning the assumptions we make about the world is most certainly good behavioral medicine. While an apple a day is said to keep the doctor away, doubting our negative assumptions each day can be an effective way to keep the therapist away as well.”

In this week’s column, Watershed Voice’s Charles Thomas writes, “[…] the benefits of asking better questions are immense. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that changing the questions you ask yourself in times of struggle can alter the trajectory of your life, and over the long term be life changing. Better questions can also lead you away from narrow-mindedly blaming yourself whenever something bad happens in your life.”

Watershed Voice columnist Charles Thomas writes, “When I was a kid, the Dallas Cowboys were called America’s football team because they were winners. But today, I think the Detroit Lions are America’s football team because even though they are perennial losers, they just keep getting back up, again and again and again. Through grit and determination, the last are now first, and the Lions are finally having their moment in the spotlight. As Prince once sang, ‘the ride up front is better once you been in the back.'”

WSV columnist and limited licensed psychologist Charles Thomas writes, “While there weren’t many silver linings to the pandemic, one good thing that did happen as a result of it was that our culture developed a fresh appreciation of the importance of mental health care. But a large block of Americans has been left behind. This is in spite of the fact that they make up nearly 80% of all suicides, have fewer friendships and social connections than other groups, and are also more likely to binge drink and have substance use disorders than other groups.”

Watershed Voice columnist Charles Thomas writes, “If you’re lonely this Valentine’s Day, I think it’s normal and even laudable to yearn for the opportunity to love in this active way and to find the kind of love that is real, harsh, and at times, even dreadful.

“But dreaming of a love perpetually frozen in the moments after a meet cute is likely to bring only sorrow. While that kind of love does exist, it’s as fragile as a soap bubble that immediately pops when hit with the faintest of breezes. When that bubble has burst, we are left with a mess that must be cleaned up. Then it’s time for us to start the harder task of active love. As G.K. Chesterton wrote, ‘to love means loving the unlovable.'”