In my years of clinical experience I’ve seen many human relationships that are not everything they could be. Marriages routinely end in chronic dissatisfaction and eventually divorce. More and more I see people treating one another poorly. I suspect that … Continue reading
Increased at-home time during this health issue is bringing up questions from my clients about family interaction – especially when it involves restless teenagers. My experience has shown that there are six basic techniques to use when dealing with kids … Continue reading
Even in the face of our current health scare and the measures people are taking to protect themselves, the topics of conversation in my office haven’t changed all that much. We’re still exploring day-to-day ways to make it through life. … Continue reading
Success is wonderful. We all want it. But the road to success can be blocked by failure. Detouring around those roadblocks can be a challenge, but it’s not without its rewards. In her article “Inspirational Stories of Famous Failures and … Continue reading
A reader emails that her father always cautioned her that “the grass is always greener,” i.e., that she should keep searching for something better than what she already has. She asks me if an endless quest for that “something better” … Continue reading
A growing volume of research appears to indicate that self-esteem might not be all it’s cracked up to be. Studies have shown that many people – from valedictorians to low-achieving students and everyone in between – think quite highly of … Continue reading
Several readers asked me to clarify the difference between short-term compromise and all-out self-sacrifice when it comes to relationships. More than one Life’s a Beach! column has emphasized that the latter should never be part of any partnered relationship. A … Continue reading
People often ask me why they become anxious over others’ opinions and judgments – and how they can get rid of those feelings. We become “people pleasers” when we make others our standard of knowledge and truth. If the herd … Continue reading
We see promises broken all the time in politics, but people also encounter it in everyday life. My experience suggests that promise-breaking points to a lack of character. What gives rise to the lack of character? Faulty thinking and faulty … Continue reading
We hear a lot about cyberbullying these days. It’s basically bullying through electronic means, e.g., Facebook, texts, IMs, email, etc. Alarmists lead us to believe that cyberbullying is fundamentally different from classic “playground” bullying. But is that true? The premise … Continue reading
For many years, “conventional wisdom” (often not wisdom at all) has preached to us that “suffering strengthens character.” We nod wisely and walk away – while quietly wondering how that can possibly be the case. What suffering can actually do … Continue reading
John R. Schafer, Ph.D. writes on psychologytoday.com: “Changing negative first impressions is difficult. A person who forms a negative impression of another person will be less inclined to meet that person a second time because that person has been judged … Continue reading