Can meditation eradicate racial prejudice? Are Shirley MacLaine and Mark Zuckerberg right, that mind-altering calmness and unconditional, unthinking love could bring about world peace and knock the terrorists flat? New research has supposedly found that just seven minutes of loving-kindness … Continue reading
Avoidance of risk is a major cause of personal problems.We hear a lot of talk about depression. What is depression? A lack of energy, motivation or purpose. What kills purpose? Very often, a habitual tendency to avoid risks. There’s actually … Continue reading
From a reader: Your article (on Donald Trump) was interesting to me, but not because it had anything to do with politics. Instead, I saw it as being applicable to relationships of all kinds, and perhaps particularly, to close personal … Continue reading
A DrHurd.com reader writes: I totally agree with your view that alcoholism is not a disease. In January 2009 I had my doctor enter me into hospital rehab for a week for my alcoholism. I have been in and out … Continue reading
“Do you crave Facebook likes?” asks Martin Graff, Ph.D., in a recent article and study. ‘The attention I get from social media is important to me’, ‘I consider someone to be popular based on the amount of likes they get … Continue reading
Hi Dr. Hurd, I have a “reader question” for you. I work as a mental health clinician in a school-based setting, and over the past couple of years, I’ve seen the term “executive functioning” thrown around quite a bit. However, … Continue reading
When you want somebody to do something for you, you’re COUNTING on their self-interest, whether you know it, or think so, or not. Just the other day, a man approached me and acted like he was entitled to a session … Continue reading
Recently, I wrote an article saying that alcoholism and substance abuse are not diseases, but problem behaviors. A disease, I wrote, is something that — regardless of the cause — progresses inside your body, and that only passive submission to … Continue reading
“The world doesn’t owe you a living.” Once upon a time, many parents said this to their children. Today, not so much. It would practically be considered child abuse. But it’s still true. Nobody owes anybody anything, unless an explicit … Continue reading
In December 2015, the state of Delaware (where I live) received 348 concealed carry applications, more than double the 155 from the previous December. There were 2,614 permit applications in 2015 as opposed to 1,674 in 2014. Each month last … Continue reading
A New York Times blogger recently questioned her choice to teach her daughter to be kind, above all else. She writes, “My daughter had become the girl I hoped she would be — the girl I always wanted to be … Continue reading
Is “affluenza” really a mental or behavioral disorder? From a CNN story: Mexican authorities have detained so-called “affluenza” teen Ethan Couch and his mother near the popular Mexican Pacific beach resort town of Puerto Vallarta, officials briefed on the matter … Continue reading