The following is an excerpt from my book: If you still feel your loved one needs psychological help, the other thing to watch out for is arrogance. By arrogance I mean the irrational assumption that your negative views about your … Continue reading
Category: Psychology & Self-Improvement
Giving Means Mutuality and Joy, Not Pain
At Christmastime, there are people who say, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Think about this for a moment. Giving certainly can be a joyful experience. However, giving does not bring pleasure when it renounces the self. … Continue reading
What’s Your Therapist REALLY Thinking?
A number of readers asked me to comment on the recent Wall Street Journal article, “What Your Therapist Is Really Thinking: Yes, therapists sometimes get bored; excerpts from an interview with psychotherapist Paul Hokemeyer.” When asked what the most common … Continue reading
Women for Sobriety: Great for Men, Too
Women for Sobriety has a remarkable series of “13 Steps” to serve as an alternative to the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. I have a life-threatening problem that once had me. I now take charge of my life and my … Continue reading
Is Trump a Narcissist? What About Obama?
Here’s what some in the psychiatric professions have to say about Donald Trump: “Remarkably narcissistic,” said developmental psychologist and Harvard Graduate School professor Howard Gardner. Clinical psychologist Ben Michaelis echoed the sentiment, referring to Trump’s diagnosis as “Textbook [narcissistic] personality … Continue reading
PTSD … For Seeing a Confederate Flag? University Madness Continues
University students in Massachusetts who were upset by an image of a Confederate flag sticker on another student’s laptop were offered counseling services at Framingham State University. The offer came after the university’s “chief diversity and inclusion officer,” Sean Huddleston, … Continue reading
The Missing Thirteenth Step of Alcoholics Anonymous
Step Thirteen: Wrote my psychological declaration of independence. I no longer needed to rely on my feelings or others to make my decisions for me. Came to realize that my own mind, with its capacity to think and reason, was … Continue reading
Dr. Hurd Talks With a Veteran About PTSD, the VA and Much More
Daniel Duffy served in Iraq from November 2006 to April 2007. He was part of the “surge” strategy President George W. Bush ordered to quell the insurgency. His basic mission was to help keep insurgents from getting a stronghold in … Continue reading
The Shamefulness of Shaming
What is “shaming”? Do you engage in it? Is shaming done to you? How much power should shame and blame have? Shaming refers to the use of moral intimidation (name calling, humiliation) in place of facts, reason or logic when … Continue reading
Does Belief in the Supernatural Make Life More Meaningful?
What psychological purpose, if any, does belief in the supernatural serve? Clay Routledge Ph.D., researcher on the subject and author of “More Than Mortal” thinks it’s about meaning in life: My research lab studies how religious beliefs contribute to perceptions … Continue reading
“Blaming the Victim” Takes on a Bizarre New Twist
We’ve all heard the phrase, “blaming the victim.” Normally, this expression applies when one party blames another — the actual victim — for something he or she did not cause. Things have become so backwards and upside down in our … Continue reading
Mental Health in One Lesson
Serenity now … Serenity how? When you experience an emotion, identify the emotion (to yourself). “I feel [insert emotion here].” But don’t blame the cause of the emotion on some person, situation or thing. In other words: Do not say, … Continue reading