Boredom Can Drive One to Drink, Or it Can Be a Catalyst For Change Most of us know what it feels like to be bedeviled by boredom. First encountered in childhood and expressed in the characteristic “I have nothing to do” whine, boredom grows up to be associated with depression and with emotional instability and neuroticism more broadly. Boredom is most[…]
Tag Archives: Mental Health
15
Dec
Dec
Men, Women, Cocaine Addiction, & Stress Current research indicates that a person goes through three phases when developing a drug addiction and that particular brain region is associated with each phase. The first phase occurs when a person tries an addicting drug for the first time and finds that the experience feels good—perhaps uniquely good. This positive[…]
11
Dec
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A Guide to Help Loved Ones Find The Motivation For Recovery People suffering from eating disorders are often ambivalent about recovering, which makes these types of illnesses harder to treat. Helping loved ones find their motivation for recovery can sometimes be hampered by the circumstances under which they “accepted” the need for treatment in the first place, i.e. was[…]
11
Dec
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Are Highly Sensitive Kids More Prone to Depression Last Monday, I was invited to teach a program to second-graders about “Emotions” and how to become happier. I have led this lesson countless times. So I began by introducing myself and connecting with the kids about what they do to feel happier such as skateboarding, singing,[…]
11
Dec
Dec
It’s So Basic, But It’s Not Easy to Understand I have been thinking a lot about cravings lately. What is craving, really? What’s it all about? Craving seems to amount to a fundamental sense of being incomplete. When we crave, we want something to fill us up. We want to fill a hole, by taking[…]
11
Dec
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“Has Your Attention Become Narrowly Fixated on Your Work” Workaholism & Obsession In order to further understand one of the inner dynamics of workaholism—that perfectionism leads to obsession, and in turn, obsession leads to increasing levels of narcissism—our focus now turns to the role that obsession plays. The Thinking function has a single-focused awareness capacity that zeros in on[…]
11
Dec
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Why Shame Can Both Help & Hurt Self-Control A recent blog post I wrote has been generating debate in the comments section: Does shame motivate self-control? And more specifically, can shame encourage people to lose weight? It’s quite a real debate in the field of psychology, and there’s evidence to support both sides. But a careful review of the seemingly[…]
09
Dec
Dec
Meditating Our Way Away From Addictions Addictions come in many different forms. We can all think of stories of people addicted to drugs and alcohol. One of my uncles struggled with alcohol. He was a very giving, loving person, but the years of drinking truly destroyed his life. His daily use of alcohol aged him and cut his life short. Before[…]
09
Dec
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How Do I Approach Clients Who Feel Out of Control Is addiction an issue of bad choices or is it a case of biological, compulsive, necessity? If you know anything about me and my views, you know that I think little of anyone who tries to separate these. I see and talk to people all the time who are stuck in compulsive[…]
09
Dec
Dec
Food Addiction’s Not The Only Addiction For Dieters For many, weight loss is a traumatic affair, and one of the most common afflictions of serial dieters is a condition I refer to as scale addiction. Traumatic dieters tend to live and die by the scale. It’s the barometer of mood and the arbiter of how things are going. A[…]