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
A faithful reader of this column asked me the difference between an “irrational” (her words) avoidance of people versus the need for true and healthy solitude. To figure out what’s irrational, you have to define what kinds of interactions with … Continue reading
It’s hard to make it through a day without hearing about “entitlement” – especially in a negative context. To be entitled simply means that one believes that he or she deserves something. A sense of entitlement can be valid, i.e., … Continue reading
Rarely does a day go by then somebody doesn’t say, “Can you help me?” The answer is … well, yes … and no. A good therapist can help you identify your beliefs, what behaviors you choose to exhibit, and whether … Continue reading