Does anyone out there remember the “Peanuts” comic strip? One of my favorites is the classic where the perpetually grumpy Lucy Van Pelt suffered from “Post-Christmas Letdown” over gifts she didn’t get. But what about gifts you got, but for … Continue reading
New Year’s Day has come and gone. Did you eat your black-eyed peas and turnip greens? Each portion is supposed to bring financial luck in the coming year. The proof for all this apparently lies in the fact that the … Continue reading
Dr. Martin Seligman, psychologist, educator, and author of “Authentic Happiness”, asserts that happiness has three components: mood, meaning, and how engaged people are in what they’re doing. “You could think of [these] as three different ‘takes’ a person has on … Continue reading
Have you driven on the highways lately? It seems to me that people are driving more aggressively than ever before. In fact, a couple of weeks ago I was sitting at a red light thinking about that very thing when … Continue reading
Too much bubbly and lots of those little round quiche things can result in some pretty outlandish new year’s resolutions. It’s tricky to say what you mean and mean what you say when you’re debating the cat’s thoughts with an … Continue reading
The approach of a new year can be an opportunity to organize your schedule and prioritize your goals. But some get tripped up by making their schedules too inflexible. An organized schedule reflects an organized mind, but if you want … Continue reading
Around this time of year, so many people tell me how they find the gift-giving process stressful and/or downright unpleasant. (Not everybody does, mind you, but some definitely do.) There’s got to be a better way to enjoy Christmas! I … Continue reading
It’s a rare social event where somebody doesn’t ask me to tell them what spouses and couples complain about the most. I see so many problems: money, kids, in-laws (!) — it’s tough to nail it down. But if I … Continue reading
All the endless political rhetoric about bullying hits a little close to home. A while ago, a very good friend confided to me that his son, a smart, gentle and pleasant 11-year-old, was being attacked by bullies. All of a … Continue reading
I’ve written before that many people set their holiday expectations very high. So high, in fact, that the need for “comfort and joy” can sometimes set the stage for tension. Clients often admit to me that the seasonal pressure to … Continue reading
People ask me all the time, “So what’s better? Psychiatric drugs or talk therapy?” Regular visitors to this page know that ideas and thoughts are the cause of emotions and actions, and that psychiatric drugs cannot be the primary tool … Continue reading
Barely a week goes by where somebody doesn’t ask me what mistake people make most often when dealing with family and friends. Regular readers of this page can probably predict my answer: The biggest mistake people make is trying to … Continue reading