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Archive for the ‘Judges’ Category

Becoming a Better Lawyer: Identifying Addiction

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“It’s just coke that you smoke,” the dealer said. “It’s direct.” John drew on the pipe and blasted off into the ecstatic edge of consciousness. This was John’s escape from the problems, as well as the responsibilities, of his practice and his relationships. Although it was not John’s intent to become addicted, he did. Within […]

Demystifying 12-Step Programs

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If you are bewildered by the workings of 12-step programs but think that you or someone you know might benefit from one, this article is dedicated to you.  If someone (or more than one person) has recommended that you check out a 12-step program but you don’t think that you have an addictive or compulsive […]

Good Mental Health and the Lawyer’s Gift

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“The gift is to the giver, and comes back most to him — it cannot fail”   –Walt Whitman. In a recent speech in Laramie Wyoming, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor noted that job dissatisfaction among lawyers was widespread, profound, and growing.  She added that attorneys are more than three times as likely to suffer […]

Happiness

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If Professor Daniel Gilbert is right, then you are wrong to believe that a new car will make you as happy as you imagine it will.  You are wrong to believe that finally getting that big case in will make you as happy for as long as you might imagine.  On the other hand, if […]

Joe’s Brain (Alcoholism and the Brain)

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A lawyer (let’s call him Joe) comes home every day and pours a big drink into a Bobcats cup, goes into his den and closes the door.   Because his wife has been complaining about his drinking he has started keeping a bottle in the car, so he had had a couple of long pulls even […]

Lawyer Anxiety

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One of the leading mental health issues facing lawyers, including lawyers suffering from alcohol addiction or depression, is anxiety.  Anxiety can be a terrible emotional experience.  It is a feeling that something horrible is about to happen, that is not actually happening.  A mechanism in our body has been triggered to put us into a […]

The Addictive Personality and the Legal Profession

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One of the questions I get asked over and over in meetings with local bars across the state is, “Are lawyers really that much more likely to become alcoholics or drug addicts?” Or, said another way, are lawyers more apt than others to contract addictive disease? The statistics for the general population reflect that approximately […]

The Promises of Alcoholics Anonymous

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One morning I went to a place beyond dawn. A source of sweetness that flows and is never less. I have been shown a beauty that would confuse both worlds, but I won’t cause that uproar. – ‘Rumi No matter how we grow up -wealthy or poor, well loved or forsaken – we form a view of life. […]

Coping with Depression

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One of the great difficulties these days with contracting a serious illness is that the disease makes us tired, emotional, vulnerable, and uncertain at a time when we most need to be mentally sharp, resourceful and diligent in order to reach out and determine the most effective treatment. This is especially true with diseases like […]

Exorcising Your Depression Through Exercise

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In a recent column, I mentioned the results of Mary Howerton’s doctoral research.  Mary is the former director of the Mecklenburg County Bar and a member of the Lawyer Assistance Program Board.  Her doctoral research, concerning the quality of well-being of lawyers in North Carolina, revealed that over 27% of the lawyers in her study […]