Q: Your ideas on psychology and self-help make sense. I know they are rational, but I don’t always feel them. My logic is rational, but my feelings are not. What am I supposed to do? Just ignore my feelings? What … Continue reading
Conclusion of yesterday’s column. Rationalization # 3: ‘It’s OK to lie if the subject is nobody else’s business.’ This rationalization implies that if someone is violating your privacy, you have no other choice but to lie to them. If, in … Continue reading
Continued from yesterday’s column. It’s not enough to ask people, intellectually, if they subscribe to these rationalizations or not. They might say ‘no,’ they sincerely don’t agree with these statements. Yet they could still feel something different on the emotional … Continue reading
There are two types of liars. The first type does not feel comfortable with lying. He feels guilty for betraying other people with his lie. He also feels awkward because lying complicates his life and his mind. He has to … Continue reading
Dear Dr. Hurd: There are those among us who think that it is perfectly fine to blurt out whatever “truth” that they feel/think at the moment and simply disregard the impact, effect or relevance of their unfiltered utterance. When they … Continue reading
Conclusion of Wednesday’s column. Dr .Phil.: ‘If you want confidence, you have to take on a confident posture. This can be as simple as putting more confidence in your walk and in your demeanor.’ Dr.Hurd.: Confidence comes from something much deeper … Continue reading
Readers of The Daily Dose of Reason and Life’s a Beach have repeatedly asked for Dr. Hurd’s opinions of celebrity psychologist Dr. Phil McGraw, popularly known as ‘Dr. Phil.’ Here, Dr. Hurd replies to some of Dr. Phil’s comments as … Continue reading
Dear Dr. Hurd: I have been unemployed for four years as a result of a combination of abnormal circumstance (a health problem in conjunction with the depressed economy). As the length of time that I’ve been unemployed increases, my odds … Continue reading
A reader writes: How can I overcome my fear of flying? When I’m on an airplane, every little bit of turbulence makes me jump. It’s not so much that I’m afraid of terrorism as I am of the possibility of … Continue reading
Many people have this idea that the purpose of therapy is to ‘deal with the past.’ I suspect they get this idea from all those silly authors who appear on ‘Oprah’ and elsewhere. The interesting thing is: What does ‘dealing … Continue reading
Conclusion of yesterday’s column. Many people never talk to a therapist or read a self-help book. They nevertheless develop a stance of anger towards the rest of the world. Why? ‘Because I had a lousy childhood, and because things haven’t … Continue reading
Q: Dr. Hurd, you write a lot about deterministic thinking. What is deterministic thinking and how does it develop in people? A: Deterministic thinking refers to the subconsciously (or sometimes consciously) held viewpoint that a person is less in control … Continue reading