Get Rice: Ronnie O'Brien Rice, Ph.D., Lawyer

For those who don’t know what Learned Helplessness (LH) is here is the Webster’s dictionary definition:  Noun:  A condition in which a person suffers from a sense of powerlessness, arising from a traumatic event or persistent failure to succeed. It is thought to be one of the underlying causes of depression.  Now, how many of us have experienced this ourselves? Or know someone who deals with this. I know I have dealt with this with myself and with others.   So, why am I writing about this? Simple, if you are a business owner or lead a team of people, having to deal with individuals who have learned helplessness can be a daunting task. And more so, having these people on your team is not good for the company’s bottom line.   Ex. Susan in sales is always complaining that she doesn’t have any leads for mortgages. She makes calls, advertises, and constantly ask her friends for referrals. But it seems that she can’t get ahead. But one thing Susan doesn’t ta...

One of the increases legal issues that I see in present day society is the increased rate of arrest with people who have mental illness.   You might have heard of Matthew Rushin, a 22-year-old who was arrested for hit and run motor vehicle accident in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He was diagnosed with a mental illness and acquitted of the charges. But, just think about the use of taxpayers' money for the arrest, imprisoning of Rushin, and district attorney time for trying the case.  This post isn’t about money, but more so on how to deal with law enforcement and the court system with someone who has mental illness. One of the issues you must understand when it come to this is that not everyone is a psychologist and/or psychiatrist. You will have to do the educating of the law enforcement agency, the prosecutor, and the judge.   Too many times, individuals think that everyone has the same level of knowledge about mental illness, let alone a specific one.  ...

I'm currently reading a book titled The Greatest You by Trent Shelton. I’m on page 81 in the book and it’s very insightful. I’ve never heard of this author before, but I saw his book on the shelf in Barnes & Nobles in Macon, Georgia last year while with my college roommate.   Long story short, I'm in the chapter where he writes about burning the right bridges. And I think this is an interesting viewpoint because there are a lot of people in our lives who are negative, don’t add value, and look to gain from you at every waking moment.   Unfortunately, there are people out there who fall prey to these individuals because of their generous heart.   So you might be wondering why am I talking about this? The answer is simple:  Most schools of thought will tell you when you run into these ‘energy drainers’ run away fast. But, what happens when these energy drainers are spouses, children, supervisors, and/or clients? You become an energy transformer....