I see so many people who spend more years caring for their elderly parents than they spent raising their own children. This is becoming more and more commonplace as advances in medical science continue to extend the lives of Baby … Continue reading
A reader of this column emails me about disagreements she has with her friend. Their differences are on fundamental levels, and she wonders if there is a point that two people reach when the gap between their values is simply … Continue reading
So many people say to me, “Why is it that what I can’t have, always seems more appealing than what I can have?” The answer is easy: Wanting what you can’t have is the easy way out. In other words, … Continue reading
One of the subjects that comes up very often in my office is smoking. A website visitor emails that she has successfully reduced her cigarette intake from 22 (!) to only 6 a day. Now she’s stuck, and asks for … Continue reading
A reader sent me a comment about one of my columns where I suggested that the biggest mistake people make is to try to change others. She agrees that the choice of what to think and do will always be … Continue reading
Regulars here at Life’s a Beach! know that I regularly refer to the term “cognitive therapy”. Has an impressive scientific ring, don’t you think? But aside from sounding official, just what is it? People ask me, “Cognitive therapy is all … Continue reading
A reader emails: “Dear Dr. Hurd, my brother is 32. He doesn’t work. He, his wife and daughter live with our mother. They scrape by on disability, food stamps and our Mom’s generosity. I believe that his disrespect and mooching … Continue reading
The craziness of the last few of years has created a situation where potential retail and restaurant employees will sometimes present glowing resumes, then don’t come close to living up to what they claimed they knew – assuming they showed … Continue reading
It’s important to be careful about the way we phrase things when talking about ourselves or others. And “being nice” has nothing to do with it; the way we phrase things has an impact on how we view them, and … Continue reading
I recently received an email from a woman who told me that she was thoroughly fed up with a friend of hers. She just didn’t enjoy being with him any longer. Though she had already decided to back away from … Continue reading
Recent medical/psychological studies are finally suggesting what I’ve been saying for years: Much of the psychobabble surrounding fashionable labels like “ADD”, “ADHD”, etc. are nothing more than haphazard “diagnoses” of teenagers’ behavior, triggering a flurry of needless prescriptions that benefit … Continue reading
A question I hear almost daily is what factors or behaviors can prevent one from finding a loving relationship. The answer boils down to a combination of reasons, the first of which is simply not searching persistently enough. One must … Continue reading