You hear it all the time, at least if you’re in a profession such as mine—where people hire you for answers, objective perspective, advice or feedback. One spouse or family member says the following about another: ‘When I tell him … Continue reading
Most politicians aren’t worth the private wealth they confiscate. Let’s be honest: They’re parasites, not producers; they take away from the private wealth and psychological stamina of the population, rather than add anything to it. This wasn’t always true, but … Continue reading
‘Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.’ So says the New Testament of the Bible—the basis for the dominant Christian ethics of our society, and for much of the Western world. I don’t understand … Continue reading
Obama promised to bring ‘change’ to America. Actually, his policies of taxation, government borrowing/spending, and wealth redistribution/regulation are merely an extension of what the government has been doing for decades. We keep doing the same thing over and over again, … Continue reading
Dear Dr. Hurd: What are your thoughts on the so-called ‘doomsday preppers’? As you probably know, these are the people who build bunkers, stockpile food, practice survival skills and the like in the event of a financial collapse or terrorist … Continue reading
Most people dismiss the crisis in North Korea — including recent threats to attack the United States, once able, with nuclear weapons — as irrelevant to their daily lives. In a narrow and short-term sense, this may be true. But … Continue reading
‘I have no expectations.’ Or, ‘I didn’t know what to expect.’ (The implication being that ‘I had no expectations.’) People say this a lot. And they generally believe it when they say it; but it still cannot be true. Why … Continue reading
Nearly everyone seems to agree that self-confidence is a good thing. But few ever take the time to define it; or even ask what it is. The idea ‘self-confidence’ implies confidence OF something or IN something. The obvious implication is … Continue reading
One of the biggest falsehoods of our day is that freedom is based on faith. In politics and culture more broadly, we are constantly given a choice: Traditional, faith-based freedom (think: Sarah Palin); or modern, supposedly sophisticated and scientific government … Continue reading
Dear Dr. Hurd: What is it that happens to us mentally as we mature, that the mystique of events and accomplishments lose meaning and that emotional passionate edge we felt in our youth doesn’t ignite us any longer? For example, … Continue reading
A 2009 study of psychotherapy patients in the U.S. and Great Britain found that many patients are “subjected to a kind of dim-sum approach — a little of this, a little of that, much of it derived more from the … Continue reading
People say this all the time: ‘I know, intellectually, that such-and-such is true. But I don’t feel it.’ The next question is usually, ‘How can I make myself feel it?’ This is what reasonable people often expect a psychotherapist to … Continue reading