I recently had a close encounter (of the obnoxious kind) in a local grocery store. My regular readers know that these little adventures of mine frequently end up as columns, and this one’s no exception. A woman who showed no … Continue reading →

One of the great things about writing a newspaper column is wondering what’s going to show up in your email box. Every logon brings a vague sense of anticipation (or is that dread?). This morning’s ritual was no different, and … Continue reading →

It’s a rare Halloween season where I don’t get a few inquiries about the psychology of costumes and disguise. The mystical foundations supposedly stem from the ancient belief that if you disguise yourself on this special night, a confused Grim … Continue reading →

A reader kindly emailed that she liked my recent article where I answered a question about pity actually being contempt. She makes it a little more personal by asking if self-pity is also self-contempt. Affirmative again. It follows logically that … Continue reading →

Dear Dr. Hurd, I am a straight male who is attracted to a woman who is bisexual. She is also attracted to me. I want a committed, monogamous relationship, but am uneasy about making such a commitment with her because … Continue reading →

A website visitor writes, ‘I have a friend who projects her own shortcomings and personality faults onto others; holding them accountable for those actions or inactions. For example, she’s always late, yet she expresses anger when others are late. Why … Continue reading →

I have a friend who loves to proclaim, ‘Suffering strengthens character’ whenever anything goes wrong — especially if he caused it. I admit it’s kind of funny (if not a bit annoying), but I totally disagree with the idea. It’s … Continue reading →

Are you a snob? Do you know one? Obviously the word is not very complimentary. In order to know exactly what it means, we first have to explore why people achieve success. There are two kinds of achievers out there. … Continue reading →

There was a recent crime in Rehoboth Beach where Chris Johnson, a reporter from Washington DC, was attacked — on his birthday, no less. Three or four men ganged up on him, struck him repeatedly and stole his outdated iPhone. … Continue reading →

There are so many situations where people ask me ‘How much is too much?’ In other words, at what point does something become an addiction? If a person consumes X number of drinks (or cigarettes, or slices of bacon, or … Continue reading →

A reader emails that she has successfully reduced her cigarette intake from 22 to only 6 a day. Now she’s stuck, and asks for advice on how to end the habit altogether. Well, dear reader, your mistake was setting a … Continue reading →

After doing what I do for almost 23 years, one can’t help but notice patterns. A problem may take different forms, but the core issues often fall into pretty specific categories. I thought it might be interesting to make a … Continue reading →