How Self-Awareness Leads to Effective Communication
Listening is one of the most important skills we need to master. In fact, listening contributes in a fundamental way to our wellbeing and to the quality of our relations. Moreover, by learning how to...
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Time Travel Holds Little Appeal for the Old
My mother can use a cell phone, though it took some convincing to get her to accept my gift of an old flip phone. But nothing else about the modern world is of interest to her. Even items you'd think...
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Is Your Brain Nagging You? The Science of Intrusive Thoughts
Why can’t we stop thinking about the things we’re trying not to think about?Your job review is scheduled in two days and, in passing, your boss says, “Well, we’ll certainly have a lot to talk about.”...
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The Great Portland Pee: The Psychological Power of Disgust
If you’re running a little short on potable water, you might want to take some empty jugs up to Portland Oregon, where for the next few weeks they will be throwing away 38 million gallons of...
View ArticleComplexity First, Simplicity Last
Simplicity is the new thing. Quality is so over and innovation is fading into everythingness. We’ve all but given up on trust so I guess that just leaves us with getting more by doing less. Wasn’t that...
View ArticleHow to Practice Mindfulness With NO Special Skills
Mindfulness is hot, and like all hot topics, it comes with a lot of truths and a lot of falsehoods. Teaching mindfulness, I hear the same questions arising time and again, misunderstandings really...
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The True Explanation of Savantism, Acquired or Autistic
The intriguing article in the NY Post, “From Mullet to Math Genius after a Concussion” documents how brain damage from a severe concussion brought out an acquired savant quality in a previously...
View ArticleIntervention Step by Step
If you are reading this and someone you care about is suffering from alcoholism or drug addiction, my heart truly goes out to you. No one wants to be the bad guy and no one wants to point at the...
View ArticleCutting Through the Hype About Anti-Anxiety Medication
Cutting Through the Hype About Anti-Anxiety MedicationMedications designed to treat mental health conditions can be true life-savers. Indeed, studies show that people with severe and untreated mental...
View ArticleWhy Is the World More Depressed?
There is good reason to believe that the world is getting more depressed. T.M. Luhrmann, Professor of Anthropology at Stamford travels a lot, frequently to the third world, so she has a chance to...
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Casual Marijuana Use Linked to Brain Changes in Young Adults
Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States. Recent studies have shown that heavy marijuana use by young adults is associated with changes in brain structure linked to a loss...
View ArticleHow to Become Productively Generous
In Western culture, many people define success narrowly as money and power. In her uplifting book Thrive, Arianna Huffington argues that this leaves us sitting on a two-legged stool, which will tip...
View ArticleNBC’s “Parenthood” Tackles the Social Struggle of Aspergers
April is Autism Awareness Month, and The NBC television series “Parenthood” is boldly going where no show has gone before by examining the social isolation and stigma experienced by people with...
View ArticleNew Hope for Treating Depression and Alcoholism
Alcoholism and depression are the right and left hands of a heartbreaking condition that often includes both. Nearly half of people in treatment for alcohol addiction exhibit co-occurring depression....
View ArticleYour Lizard Brain
In 1954, the limbic cortex was described by neuroanatomists. Since that time, the limbic system of the brain has been implicated as the seat of emotion, addiction, mood, and lots of other mental and...
View ArticleWhen Emotions Well Up In The Work Place Tread Carefully
An exasperated Tom Hanks, in A League of Their Own, told his sobbing female right fielder: "There's no crying in baseball," creating a catch phrase for the ages. He also raised a question. Does the...
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Addressing Sexual Deviance: Does Making Art Help or Hinder?
Last month, as part of a series of lectures, discussions and book signings in Kansas and Oklahoma, I presented at Emporia State University’s Art Therapy Discovery Day. While there, I met Dr. Katrina...
View ArticleAlcohol’s Effect on the Brain: Important New Information
Do we always learn from our mistakes? New research suggests that alcoholics may not. University of Utah neuroscientists recently published a study that can help us understand behaviors that can...
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5 Simple Rules to Avoid Being a Smartphone Jerk
Smartphones have only been around for a few years but they have certainly taken the world by storm. As one of my college students told me before getting one myself, “Even second graders have them!”...
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Trust of Strangers Requires Effort (Sometimes)
Trust is important. Without the ability to trust strangers, society would fall apart. You have to trust that people will generally deal with you honestly, and that they will follow through on their...
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