Clients often ask me if their children or adults in their lives are just looking for attention when they “act up” or become emotionally distraught. This is often true, but the issue isn’t attention as much as visibility. People have … Continue reading
Category: Life’s a Beach!
The Psychological Equivalent of Prison (DE Coast Press)
People often ask me if anything annoys me about my job. I love what I do. But if anything gets to me, it’s when a client pays me good money for advice, and then doesn’t take it – returning again … Continue reading
Black Friday: Mob Psychology? (DE Wave)
I received an email from a reader who says that she doesn’t get the idea of gift-giving for the sake of gift-giving or to not look bad in front of others. She’s referring to Black Friday (just a couple of … Continue reading
For the Love of Pets (DE Coast Press)
I received an email from a Delaware Coast Press reader who writes, ‘In a recent column, you wrote, ‘The death of a beloved pet is certainly among the more difficult situations I face in my office. I try to help … Continue reading
Are you really happy? (DE Wave)
Psychologist and researcher Dr. Martin Seligman, 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
Appeasement Isn’t Smart (DE Coast Press)
Many people are trained to believe that when dealing with other people, the reasonable thing to do is to compromise; to meet the other person halfway. That might sound nice, but in my experience it doesn’t always work. All action … Continue reading
The Psychology of Disguise (DE Wave)
The high holy days of masquerade are upon us, and rarely does a Halloween go by without my getting a few inquiries about the psychology of costumes and disguise. Ancient mystical beliefs held that if you disguised yourself on All … Continue reading
You Can’t be too Perfect… (DE Coast Press)
I received a letter from a reader to whom I responded in another local publication. She told me that her boss was a bit of a micromanager, and that she (the writer) felt insulted, i.e., she was taking her boss’ … Continue reading
It Really Is How You Look at It! (DE Wave)
You never know what you’ll discover in the nooks and crannies of the Internet, and I recently ran across a great saying (author unknown): “Sometimes when things are falling apart they may actually be falling into place.” In other words, … Continue reading
Honesty Is Not Your Enemy (DE Coast Press)
So many relationships — business, personal or otherwise — end up boiling down to honesty. For example, are you obligated to deal honestly with somebody who has been proven to be dishonest? The person who asked me this question suggests … Continue reading
Is All Conflict Bad? (DE Wave)
Many people are under the impression that they’re avoiding trouble in their relationships by not fighting. They mistakenly assume that the absence of fighting is an indication that the relationship is healthy. But that assumption is wrong. A happy relationship … Continue reading
Tell me what I want to hear! (DE Coast Press)
People often react badly when you say something they’d rather not hear. But it’s just as bad when you don’t say what they want to hear. The perfect example is an email I received from a reader: “Dear Dr. Hurd: … Continue reading