Author Archives: Bob Ritzema

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About Bob Ritzema

I am a fourth-generation American of Dutch ancestry and am trained as a clinical psychologist. In 2012, I retired from Methodist University in North Carolina to return to Michigan to help family, and, in 2023, I started again with a move to Milwaukee to be near my children. I maintain a part-time therapy practice. I can be reached at bobritzema@hotmail.com.

Dealing With Bereavement: Irrational Thoughts and Hope

Posted on May 9, 2016 by Bob Ritzema

In Joan Didion’s memoir of grief, The Year of Magical Thinking, she reports that her thoughts were often irrational. Her husband John Gregory Dunne died on December 30, but, according to her, “It was deep into the summer… before I … Continue reading →

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Is It Just About The T-Shirt? Experiences Of A Race Day Volunteer

Posted on April 27, 2016 by Bob Ritzema

I’ve been a runner/jogger for over forty years, and am thankful that my old hips, knees, and ankles still can churn along faster than walking pace. Last year, I ran in a local 5-kilometer race (the Calvin Spring Classic). As … Continue reading →

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Ageism Through the Ages

Posted on April 16, 2016 by Bob Ritzema

Ageism is prejudice or discrimination against those who are middle-aged or elderly. Psychiatrist Robert Neil Butler coined the term in 1969, but of course ageism existed well before that. What attitudes did people have toward the elderly a hundred or … Continue reading →

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Doing, Being, and the Flu

Posted on April 9, 2016 by Bob Ritzema

There is doing. . . and there is being. Sometimes we are in the doing mode. There are checklists of things to accomplish, requirements someone expects us to meet. We keep our noses to the grindstone, our eyes on the … Continue reading →

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Life Changes Fast–Dealing With Sudden Bereavement

Posted on March 29, 2016 by Bob Ritzema

“Life Changes fast. Life changes in the instant. You sit down to dinner and life as you know it ends.” So starts Joan Didion’s memoir The Year of Magical Thinking. She’s alluding to her husband John’s death from a massive heart attack … Continue reading →

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What To Hope For Now?

Posted on March 18, 2016 by Bob Ritzema

On her blog “Everyone Has a Story,” Bird recently wrote about hope in midlife. She notes that in childhood, we all had hopes for what we would be when we grew up, in our twenties our hopes had to do … Continue reading →

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Maturity and Wisdom: Lessons from King Lear

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Bob Ritzema

Adults supposedly gain wisdom as they age, but there are plenty of exceptions. Shakespeare’s King Lear is certainly one of these. As I wrote earlier, Lear foolishly elicits exaggerated professions of love from his daughters, disinheriting the one who is … Continue reading →

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“45 Years” and Past Selves

Posted on February 23, 2016 by Bob Ritzema

I caught a showing of the movie 45 Years over the weekend.  A couple–Kate (Charlotte Rampling) and Geoff (Tom Courtenay)–are preparing to celebrate 45 years of marriage when a letter related to Geoff’s past threatens to derail their relationship. The letter … Continue reading →

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The Old Fool: Lessons from King Lear

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Bob Ritzema

I recently wrote about the relationship between Shakespeare’s King Lear and his daughters. The behavior of Lear and his two eldest daughters demonstrate how family members shouldn’t treat one another. There’s much more to learn from King Lear than the problems that can occur between parents … Continue reading →

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Disrespectful Adult Children: Lessons from King Lear

Posted on February 6, 2016 by Bob Ritzema

In an earlier post I wrote about Shakespeare’s King Lear, looking at the king’s interactions with his daughters. Lear promised to distribute his kingdom to his daughters if they would profess great love for him. Goneril and Regan, the two … Continue reading →

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