The reason you want to please other people (if you do) is that you have made them your standard of knowledge and truth your whole life. If the herd thinks something is true, it’s true; if they reject an idea, … Continue reading
Dear Dr. Hurd: How would you advise an empty nest couple with two professional careers of equal importance to the individuals, to find compromise when job loss is imminent for one spouse whose career is unstable by its nature, and … Continue reading
A reader writes in: “Drug abuse. There is a difference between dependence and addiction. Lots of people are on painkillers. Vicodin and Percocet are the most used. It starts out with a prescription for knee, wrist or back pain. Slowly … Continue reading
Q: I have been thinking about the topic of self-esteem and self-love as the foundation of happiness. It seems like one cannot exist without the other, and are really one and the same. Is one a byproduct of the other … Continue reading
A graduate student in clinical psychology recently asked to interview me for a study he’s doing. Below are his questions and my answers, published here with his permission. Many readers have written in with these questions themselves, so I thought … Continue reading
A new study reported in the General Archives of Psychiatry suggests that differences in people’s brains make some people susceptible to hypnosis, and others not. The authors of the study maintain that there are no personality differences explaining the different … Continue reading
One of the biggest impediments to human associations is the unwillingness to say what you think and request what you want. Notice how I phrase this. I say ‘request’ what you want. None of us are entitled to something—time, or … Continue reading
Self-help and psychology spend a lot of time exploring ‘how to find love’ or ‘how to keep the love that you want.’ But rarely do we actually take the time to ask: ‘What is love?’ To start this study, I’ll … Continue reading
Q: What are your thoughts on the psychology behind the old saying, ‘the grass is always greener,’ where people search endlessly for something better than what they already have? Is that an unhealthy mindset? I know that it’s always good … Continue reading
Dear Dr. Hurd: When someone in a romantic relationship expresses no preferences for both small things and values, are they compromising or self-sacrificing? Is it wrong to resent a love interest who consistently does this to themselves? Dr. Hurd’s … Continue reading
Several readers have asked me to be more specific about the difference between “short term compromises” and all-out sacrifice, the latter of which I’ve written should not be part of romantic love or marriage. A short-term compromise is doing something … Continue reading
I’ve been doing some research on the upcoming DSM-5. The DSM-5 is the diagnostic manual of the American Psychiatric Association. It’s used by all psychotherapists and mental health professionals in diagnosing mental disorders, syndromes and other problems. The current version, … Continue reading