A psychologist's take on world events, life, happiness and the human condition
Studying health instead of disease. That was the motto of an informal but far reaching 2006 study into the devastating illness known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) or Myalgic Encephalopathy (ME).
With the cause of the disease eluding scientists, this study sought instead to uncover how those who had successfully recovered from CFS had done so.
Read more…
I’m not against self-help literature. I’m a shrink, so I’m all for it. There are a few fashionable self-help myths, though, that drive me up the wall because they are not only nonsensical, but it’s actually cruel to lead others to believe in them.
So I’m creating a series of Self-help Hooey posts that expose and put right some of this silliness. I hope to make you feel a whole heap better about yourself along the way, and equip you with much better strategies.
We’re going to start with these two doozies… Read more…
Having the radio or TV on in the background drives me bat-poop crazy. Fortunately, I and my other half have evolved a reliable arrangement that includes volume controls and a rather spiffy wireless headset. (For him, not me.)
It wasn’t always this way. As in any relationship, the compromises of cohabitation are negotiated and whittled over time. Working from a nice open-plan home much of the time, at first I found myself frustratingly unproductive. I had discovered the inherent incompatibility between the analytical nature of my business consulting and writing work, and sharing space with a stimulation-craving extrovert. Read more…
Settled into a comfy chair in a hotel room in the 1990s, at a time when online forums were new, I was counselling my troubled and pacing friend. He was very upset by some things that had been said about him online.
He was in the public eye just enough to garner gossipy interest from fans and hangers on. They chatted and gossiped as if he were out of earshot, with comments ranging from the flattering, to invasive and disrespectful, to exaggerations and outrageous falsehoods. Read more…
In Australia Psychologist is a protected term. Only those with specific tertiary education and training are allowed to use this job title…
Clinical Psychologists have specialised training for dealing with substantive mental illnesses…
Psychiatrists are first and foremost medical doctors. They also have post-graduate training…
Counsellor is not a protected term, so in theory anyone can say they provide counselling services… Read more…
My last article about Donald Trump drew an interesting response from a reader. She was experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after a nasty romantic run-in with a narcissist, and subsequently witnessing Trump’s behaviour was triggering her symptoms…
I’ve often suspected that romantic catastrophes can produce the gamut of PTSD-like symptoms. I’ve seen it in my clients, and I’ve experienced it myself. Yet we don’t seem to talk about it in those terms. Why not? Read more…