The pleasures of summer are here, and for many of us, that’s why we’re living or vacationing at the beach. So it might seem kind of silly to write a column about smiling. But after doing what I’ve been doing … Continue reading
Protected by the privacy of a therapy session, clients occasionally admit to me that interactions with family, grown children, aging parents and old friends were often tinged with guilt. In spite of all the jokes (“What? You can’t call your … Continue reading
Well, it’s that time again. As we wade through caramel corn, pepperoni-topped slices, salt-water taffy and crab cake sandwiches, how can one possibly maintain one’s slim, trim, beach-ready figure? Isn’t there some sort of middle ground where we can still … Continue reading
Well, it’s that time again! Every year for the past 20 years that I’ve had the pleasure of writing for the Gannett Papers, I receive multiple emails and texts asking me to reprint this article. So May 2025 seems like … Continue reading
A website visitor writes, “Dear Dr. Hurd, I am afraid of blood pressure measurements. It started three years ago when I had a panic attack. My blood pressure was high, and the emergency medical team mistook it for a heart … Continue reading
A Delaware Wave reader tells me that she’s frustrated with her teenage son. She wants to remind him that he should at least listen to her suggestions and opinions since she’s still paying for everything. Well, Dear Reader, the first … Continue reading
Problems in relationships and business often boil down to one thing: Bad judgment. Good judgment is in terribly short supply nowadays. Like the overabundance of selections on cable and the Internet, we’re saturated with options and dilemmas, including everyday decisions … Continue reading
It seems that social media is constantly sputtering over horror stories about bad experiences with service providers. And interestingly, when I look closer at some of the individual situations, I begin to see a pattern. Many of these complainers seem … Continue reading
Barely a day goes by in my office when I don’t hear the word “materialism”. Interestingly, it’s often uttered in a negative tone, and my response is met with varying levels of acceptance. In short, I don’t believe there’s such … Continue reading
Dear Dr. Hurd, I loved your column a few months ago describing resort dwellers as “outlaws.” I agree with everything you said, and I do consider myself self-sufficient and capable of “being alone without being lonely.” But I have to … Continue reading
I often meet people who have an obsessive need to keep their kids busy. Every spare moment must be filled! I wonder if it’s pressure to get into the top schools, or are the parents worried that they’ll become delinquents? … Continue reading
The last few of years have been stressful for everyone. But I’m finding that a surprising number of friends and clients used some of that unwelcome … “leisure” time … to accomplish things that they had been putting off. They … Continue reading