Dear Dr. Hurd, I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m a compulsive talker. My crazy need to say something or answer someone (even when no answer is required) often gets me into trouble. When I talk I get carried away. … Continue reading
Category: Life’s a Beach!
Spend your Time Wisely
Like an old friend who visits every so often, we’re again saying goodbye to the quiet season. Stress-free left turns and easy access to our favorite haunts is soon to be a thing of the past — at least for … Continue reading
Childhood is not a lifetime debt
Parents of teenagers sometimes tell me that they don’t feel appreciated by their kids. “Look at all I’ve done for them,’ they say. ‘Why can’t they show gratitude?” As reasonable as this may seem, it contains a huge error. Gratitude … Continue reading
Love your stuff!
It’s good for your mental health to appreciate material things such as your car, your clothes, your house — whatever. But, wait ‘ wasn’t I supposed to say something like, ‘Things aren’t really important. It’s your ‘inner life’ (whatever that … Continue reading
Disorders are not a free pass
A website visitor emails that her relative, a young woman of 19, has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. She asks if it is a valid diagnostic label or just another excuse to justify bad behavior. Psychiatrists define bipolar disorder as … Continue reading
Being contrary is not self-esteem
We all know at least one person who likes to disagree, simply for the sake of disagreeing. That person is easy to identify: disputing minor facts such as the weather, carrying on an argument over something that doesn’t matter to … Continue reading
Bad mood? Not so bad
Readers ‘of a certain age’ will certainly remember mood rings. Back in the ’70s everyone seemed to be sporting a ring, a pendant, earrings, bracelets or even lipstick containing thermotropic liquid crystals. Depending on the temperature of your skin, the … Continue reading
Teens aren’t stupid
A Cornell University study asks, ‘Why do teens do stupid things?’ Well, not so fast. Not all teens do stupid things, nor is there anything about being young that makes stupidity inevitable. It’s true that teens don’t have the knowledge … Continue reading
Love is not control
Valentine’s Day is a great time to celebrate all the positive aspects of being together. But every day I see many of the negative aspects as well. It’s not my intention to cast a shadow over this romantic holiday, but … Continue reading
Respect: The key to romance
How often have you heard somebody say, ‘He’s not a bad person, but I still don’t like him’? Most often, the missing element is respect. To genuinely like or love someone, they must first earn your respect. Like beach erosion, … Continue reading
Rehab: An empty promise?
We read every day about notorious and documented failures of drug and alcohol rehab, made even more public by Hollywood’s perpetually neurotic glitterati. Is it all a scam? Well, in fact, some people do successfully untangle themselves from drug and/or … Continue reading
Some minds are beyond help
A regular reader of this column asked me why I considered a killer to be ‘incapable of benefiting’ from psychotherapeutic help. She was referring to my 2007 article published shortly after the Virginia Tech shooting. She wondered why I, as … Continue reading