Question from a reader: If you sense something is bothering your partner or friend, whose responsibility is it to initiate dialogue? The person who is upset or the person who is sensing something? The person who is bothered is responsible, … Continue reading
Category: Psychology & Self-Improvement
“Will You Please Lie for Me?”
Dear Dr. Hurd: I‘ve been put in a very uncomfortable position by my best friend’s girlfriend. Right out of nowhere, she tried to sell me … shall we say … an illegal substance. Not the end of the world, I … Continue reading
One Major Reason Not to Hate Your Boss
According to a study done by LinkedIn.com, the # 1 reason that three-quarters of employees dislike or hate their jobs is … the boss. If you dislike your boss because your boss has undesirable characteristics, that’s fine. But if you … Continue reading
Reining Mother in for the Holidays
Dear Dr. Hurd, My mother is in her mid-70s, and both my husband and I have a great relationship with her. When she comes to visit, she’s always anxious to go out and meet our friends. Christmas is here and … Continue reading
Beware of the “Overlap” Relationship
Dear Dr. Hurd, I’ve been in a relationship with the same woman for 10 years. (We haven’t married.) I love her, but I’ve met another woman who has swept me off my feet. We’ve been discreetly seeing one another in … Continue reading
Why Children Need Imaginative Play
A reader writes: Children lose the inner drive responsible for playing, and become bored if left alone to themselves after there is TV watching. Continuous daily TV watching completely erases the inner drive leaving the child in a bored, aimless, … Continue reading
Repressing Others: Not Only Dictators Do It
The Soviet Union used new “mental illnesses” for political repression. People who didn’t accept the beliefs of the Communist Party developed a new type of schizophrenia. They suffered from the delusion of believing communism was wrong. They were isolated, forcefully … Continue reading
Does Your Relationship “Complete” You? Then Watch Out!
In enmeshment, people feel like their well being is not complete unless they’re meeting their partner’s needs all the time. They worry that their relationship is not “close” if they’re not their partner’s shadow–“if we’re not intertwined emotionally we’re nothing.” … Continue reading
“It’s All About Me”…Know the Type?
“It’s all about him.” “It’s all about her.” You hear people say it. Maybe you’ve said it yourself, about someone you know. “She thinks she’s the Queen.” Or, “He acts like the little prince.” The analogy of arrogant royalty implies … Continue reading
Does Belief in God Make You Smarter? (Part 2 of 2)
Conclusion of yesterday’s column. Other research throughout the years has strongly suggested that most of us do not use nearly the capacity for intelligence that we possess. Those who do use their full intelligence stand out as the great innovators … Continue reading
Does Belief in God Make You Smarter? (Part 1 of 2)
Here’s a recent study that you probably won’t find widely discussed by the media. It would offend too many people: Religious people are less intelligent than non-believers, according to a new review of 63 scientific studies stretching back over decades. … Continue reading
Get More Done by Working Fewer Hours?
The Greeks are some of the most hardworking in the advanced economies, putting in over 2,000 hours a year on average. Germans, on the other hand, are comparative slackers, working about 1,400 hours each year. But German productivity is about … Continue reading