No one loves the man whom he fears. — Aristotle Dictators don’t get it. They motivate by fear, force and terror; and then wonder why still nobody loves them, and their dictatorships never survive. Family tyrants don’t get it. They … Continue reading
Category: Psychology & Self-Improvement
How to Love Your Spouse Forever
Elizabeth Bernstein, writing at the Wall Street Journal online, 7/28/14: What do you do when something about your partner that you used to adore suddenly starts to drive you crazy? Researchers call this phenomenon a “fatal attraction.” It is exceedingly … Continue reading
So You Love an Addict, Do You?
In response to my recent article, “What Many Don’t Get About Addiction?” [7/23/14 Daily Dose of Reason] a reader asked, “So what can people that care about the addict do? And how can addicts overcome their addictions?” My initial reply … Continue reading
What Many Don’t Get About Addiction
Here’s the thing most people miss about addiction. When somebody is addicted or hooked on some substance or behavior, that substance or behavior becomes the most important thing in the person’s life. In essence, it becomes the only thing. The … Continue reading
The Psychology of Loyalty
Loyalty is widely considered a virtue. And psychology generally falls into line behind widely accepted virtues as a measure of mental health. Is loyalty actually healthy, wise and good? Subconsciously, most people probably equate loyalty with integrity. Integrity refers to … Continue reading
“If Human Nature is Flawed … What Does that Say About Me?”
A DrHurd.com reader writes: In a recent Facebook rant, a friend used the phrase “please fix yourself”’ This is a rich, short statement. Should we be looking to fix ourselves; adjusting our values, virtues, and morality; our perceived flaws? Or, … Continue reading
So What’s Going on in the HAPPY Marriages?
The author of a book called Against Love: A Polemic by Laura Kipnis blames contemporary problems with marriage on—surprise, surprise!—capitalism. Rolling out the intellectuals’ same old stale argument for more than a century now, Kipnis tries to persuade her readers … Continue reading
Do Readers Make Better Lovers?
According to both 2006 and 2009 studies published by Raymond Mar, a psychologist at York University in Canada, and Keith Oatley, a professor of cognitive psychology at the University of Toronto, those who read fiction are capable of the most … Continue reading
Alone Time … How Does That Make You Feel?
How do you feel about being left alone with yourself, and your thoughts? Before answering, consider the findings in a recent University of Virginia/Harvard University study [reported at pjmedia.com 7/4/14]: Many people would rather inflict pain on themselves than spend … Continue reading
Harvard Study Blasts Childhood Achievement
The “Making Caring Common” project at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education surveyed 10,000 middle and high school students about what was more important to them, “achieving at a high level, happiness, or caring for others.” Almost 80 percent of students … Continue reading
10 Ways to Prevent Raising a Spoiled, Entitled Brat
Increasingly, I hear parents and grandparents talk about an entitlement mentality in their grown children. This mentality manifests in many different ways. Sometimes it’s righteous and angry, but more often it’s simply a quiet expectation. “I can’t do this. You’ll … Continue reading
Please, Let’s Stop Using the Word “Depression”!
It’s time to get rid of the term “depressed.” The concept “depression” started out as a term used by psychiatry to designate a clinical syndrome or condition. In other words, it was supposed to describe the abnormal, the unusual, or … Continue reading