Dr. Hurd, here is a related issue to what makes people succeed. I take issue with parents/teachers who tell their young children/students: “You can be anything you want to be in life.” Some of these adults add: “ … as … Continue reading
A lot of people wonder what causes depression. One of the major contributing factors is a certain way of thinking. If I had to boil it down to a single phrase, I’d call it: victim-think. Another term, more popular in … Continue reading
The headlines read: Man falls ill with Ebola after arriving in Texas from Liberia. A reader and Facebook friend of mine wrote on her timeline: I’m not panicked about this, because I think the reason this disease spreads so far … Continue reading
What leads to murderous mayhem? What is a “Messiah” complex, and why do so many fall for it, even if not always in extreme forms? Whether it’s Osama bin Laden, the leaders of the up and coming terrorist group ISIS, … Continue reading
A fellow psychotherapist writes, “I am wondering what your thoughts are with regard to famous cognitive psychotherapist Albert Ellis and his expressed hostility toward the concept of self-esteem, at least as he understands (or misunderstands) the term. As a psychologist, … Continue reading
When having a stressful day, or when a lot of things go wrong — perhaps seriously wrong — all at one time, many people ask themselves the question, “Why me?” Or, “Why is this happening?” To me, the interesting thing … Continue reading
Adrian Peterson is now coming back to the Minnesota Vikings two days after he was charged with child abuse for using a wooden switch to spank his 4-year-old son, and the star running back said Monday he is not a … Continue reading
Some people dislike dissension and approve of conformity. And the psychiatric profession has been known to get into the act. A few examples: In his 2010 book The Protest Psychosis: How Schizophrenia Became a Black Disease, psychiatrist Jonathan Metzl explored … Continue reading
The Washington Post [9-2-14] ran an interesting article recently on “helicopter parents.” Helicopter parents are parents of young adult children (usually college age) who rush to solve problems for kids without first checking if the kids are able and willing … Continue reading
A reader wrote me with some interesting comments about the phenomenon of the nude “selfie,” i.e. taking a nude photograph of oneself with a cell phone and sending to others. He writes, “For my perspective, especially in the light of … Continue reading
It’s surprising to note that, according to the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) — a massive government study of 43,000 Americans’ lifetime alcohol and drug use, about 75 percent of people who recover from alcohol dependence … Continue reading
Have you ever heard of the term, “affluenza”? At the rate we’re going, it may soon be a new diagnostic category espoused by the American Psychiatric Association. Read on … It is not entirely clear who invented the term Affluenza. … Continue reading