A 3 Day Plan to Break Free from Irritation
posted by Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D. on May 18th 2012
"Irritation is a part of everyday life and it is adaptive in some ways. It gives us information and at times, motivation to change a situation. However, most of the time, our minds get stuck in habitual ways of relating to people and events that bring up irritation, creating a sense of everyday suffering. In other words, irritation itself becomes a habit. Here's a 3 day plan to break free. " More...

Depressed, Forgetful? Take a Walk in the Park
posted by Allan Schwartz, LCSW, Ph.D. on May 18th 2012
"Do you remember Henry David Thoreaux, who spent two years in Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts, during the mid nineteenth century? He wrote about what it was like for him to live in nature while being away from the forces of modern civilization. Thoreau favored a pastoral kind of life where people could live in an environment of the country with rolling hills... " More...

Are Mental Health Apps the New Generation of Self-Help Books?
posted by Carrie Steckl, Ph.D. on May 17th 2012
"I've become fascinated lately by the number of mental health apps available to us. These apps claim to help us track our moods, improve our outlook, and apply therapeutic principles to our daily lives while waiting in line at Starbucks or during our morning commute. " More...

Grief Ghosts: Four-Step Rise and Seven Factors Influencing their Nature - Part VI
posted by Mark Gorkin, LCSW ("The Stress Doc") on May 17th 2012
"Are all grief ghosts alike? Of course not. The character of our "Grief Ghosts" depends on the nature of our loss, the variables surrounding this loss, and the subsequent grief reaction (including "Prematurely Buried Grief") or response. " More...

The Downside of Expectations
posted by Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D. on May 16th 2012
"So often we go through life doing things and expecting something to come from it. We may do a favor for someone expecting something in return or maybe we practice Yoga so we will look for fit or be relaxed, or maybe we're going to practice meditation in order to break some old habits. It’s important to take a moment and be mindful of our expectations. This may best be explained by a story: " More...

Is Hating Someone Because They are Different a Mental Illness?
posted by Bob Livingstone, LCSW on May 16th 2012
"The DSM-IV does not accept that the hatred of someone because they are different as a mental disorder. According to a recent ABC News article, The American Psychiatric Association (APA) does not list racism in its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the bible of psychiatrists worldwide. Most psychiatrists believe that racism is a cultural and social problem, not a matter of individual pathology. Harvard University psychiatrist Alvin Poussaint thinks that's a mistake. " More...

OCD and Transitions
posted by Janet Singer on May 15th 2012
"But I am also keenly aware that change, by its very nature, comes with stress, and for Dan, the changes are already huge. He is not in school anymore, living with his three best friends. His girlfriend is not nearby. In fact, none of his friends are around now. He has to make a lot of decisions; types of decisions he has never had to make before. Dan, like other college graduates, is basically building a new life for himself, and though that can be stressful for anyone, it is often even more so for those struggling with OCD, the "doubting disease."" More...

Fast Food, Health and Depression
posted by Allan Schwartz, LCSW, Ph.D. on May 14th 2012
"How good are your eating habits? I have worked with many people for whom a meal is something they have on the way between one appointment and the next. Another variation on the theme is that, dinner is something that consists of hamburgers from McDonald's, " More...