MSI Press Blog

  Today's book back story is about The Pandemic and Hope by Dr. Dennis Ortman From the publisher: In 2020, everyone was reeling, caught off-guard by the coronavirus that descended quickly and viciously. Work places closed, families grouped together in lockdown (and sometimes the coronavirus ran right into those families, and people were dying. There was much confusion and much fear. At that time, MSI Press asked its authors, who are nearly all specialists in one domain or another, to prepare "little" books (a few dozen pages) of information in their fields for people coping with the pandemic. Fifteen responded; that become our popular pandemic series. One of those little books was The Pandemic and Hope. Not long thereafter, Dr, Ortman expanded the information into a full-sized book, Life, Liberty, and COVID-19 . Read more posts about Dennis and his books, click HERE .  For more book back stories, click  HERE . To purchase copies of this book at 25% discount, use code FF2...

  Now available in audiobook edition: The Pandemic and Hope by Dennis Ortman. Book description: This little booklet, written by a former priest and well respected psychologist, takes an in-depth and multi-aspectual look at the covid-19 pandemic. Topics addressed include panic, post-pandemic stress disorder, and pandemic anxiety addiction. Full of compassion and wisdom, this book offers explanations for reactions to the pandemic, means of dealing with thoughtfully and pragmatically, and hope for a better today and tomorrow. Dr. Ortman describes what happens in a pandemic initially is akin to the sensation of drowning. Those living through a pandemic are indeed experiencing a life-threatening event every bit as frightening as an earthquake, tsunami, tornado, or any other natural disaster. They feel a sense of helplessness. They experience a sense of intrusion; indeed, the pandemic has intruded into their lives. It did not come into their lives invited. The result is a push toward av...

    Excerpt from The Pandemic and Hope by Dr. Dennis Ortman -- PROLOGUE “There is no fear in love, for perfect love casts out fear.” I John 4:18 The Coronavirus has swept across the earth, not respecting national borders. It is truly a universal, global event. No social class is immune: the old and the young, the rich and the poor. The death toll rises each day. Its numbers are in the tens of thousands. Government leaders around the world are mobilizing their forces to fight this invisible enemy. COVID-19 has become a common enemy, surprisingly uniting countries with hostile relationships. Indeed, the media mantra rings true:”We are all in this together.” It appears to me that we are facing two invisible enemies: the Coronavirus and the fear virus. Both are equally pernicious and contagious in their own ways. The Coronavirus can kill the body. Fear can destroy our mental/emotional and spiritual wellbeing. It can lead to despair, and even suicide. We are witnessing tod...

  Excerpt from The Pandemic and Hope (Ortman) -  A CRITICAL OPPORTUNITY The word “crisis” implies both danger and opportunity. The anxious mind sees only danger, what can go wrong. The wise mind glimpses opportunity and joins the battle with compassion and wisdom. We hear countless stories of people coming forth, risking their lives, to help others. So many people are responding to this tragedy with bravery, generosity, and compassion. There is a dawning awareness of our connectedness. But how far does it reach in our minds: to our community, our nation, the entire world? Will we hang on to a tribal view or open to a global consciousness? Our planet is a mere speck in the boundless, expanding universe. It is so fragile and cries out for care. It appears the epidemic will soon engulf the whole world. As our flu season ends, the time of disease will likely take hold in the southern hemisphere. We have an opportunity to extend our compassion to our southern neighbors, sharing ...

  In anticipation of the increasing sunniness of spring and the hope that such weather brings, we include here an excerpt from Dr. Dennis Ortman's book, The Pandemic and Hope . BREAKING BAD, MAKING GOOD How can we overcome the grip of our fears and let our natural light shine? It is a matter of breaking a bad habit of negative thinking and acting. Just as an alcoholic can have urges and still not drink, we can have anxious reactions and not indulge them. We have a choice to live with unavoidable anxiety or depression. If we refuse to change and grow, we will become depressed with a sense of a wasted life. If we want to mature, we will move out of our comfort zone and inevitably feel anxious. But in taking the risk and succeeding, we will grow in self-confidence, creating a larger comfort zone. So we choose our poison: growth-inhibiting depression or life-enhancing anxiety. Overcoming the bad habit of an anxiety-driven life involves four steps, requiring insight, courage, and persev...

Alone with Ourselves  In therapy sessions, I have been asking my patients how they are coping with the confinement, loneliness, and fear. Regarding their quarantine, I ask if they experience it more as a prison or retreat. Almost all have told me that it feels mostly like a retreat. Perhaps my encouraging them to relax and observe themselves is paying some dividends. For example, one insight patient, commenting on the lock down, said, “If we allow fear to take over, we’re exchanging prisons and giving ourselves a life sentence.” However, as the quarantine drags on for weeks, I suspect they may change their tunes. Surprisingly, my most emotionally fragile patients struggle little with the virus fear. They do not sweat the big stuff, only the small stuff. For example, they may agonize for years about a rude comment. My patients also complain about so much closeness with restless, bickering kids and bored partners that, they say jokingly, it will eventually lead to the do...

Proudly announcing the release of The Pandemic and Hope , the first book in our pandemic series -- a set of books dedicated to helping people make it safely (mentally and physically) through the pandemic. These books are written by experts in their fields, who are also authors by their own right of other MSI Press books, and  information about new books to be released in this series can be found on the MSI Press home page . Dr. Ortman has authored three hig hly respected, beloved, and extremely well reviewed MSI Press books related to various forms of addiction--all relevant to these times: Anger Anonymous Anxiety Anonymous Depression Anonymous   Find more posts about and by Dr. Ortman HERE . Find more posts about the pandemic (quarantine) HERE . And take the precautions needed to STAY WELL!