Category: Fear
The Good Therapy Blog
August 10th, 2011 |
Superstitious people believe the physical act of touching a good luck charm can elicit luck and think that physical cleansing can remove bad luck. However, researchers from the University of Toronto, the University of Michigan, and the University of California, Riverside, wanted to determine if superstitious people would take more or less risk as a result of washing their hands. They enlisted 59 students and asked half of them to remember a particular incident that... Read More
© Copyright 2011 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Denver Bureau - All Rights Reserved.
August 7th, 2011 |
Most young children experience anxiety or fear in uncomfortable situations. Almost all kindergartners are a little apprehensive on their first day of school. But Kristin Buss, of Penn State University, wanted to see if these fearful behaviors were a precursor for future anxiety issues. She said, “The exact mechanisms by which individual differences in fearful behavior develop into anxiety symptoms... Read More
© Copyright 2011 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Orlando Bureau - All Rights Reserved.
July 19th, 2011 |
Even when it is unintended, some people find it intolerable to hurt someone they love. To experience hurting the other can create shame, guilt and strong “I am a bad person” feelings. As a result, we may avoid saying what is on our mind and put aside our own feelings and needs. This inhibiting of the self can be harmful to our relationships and can create the conditions for developing anxiety and depression.
Marlene, a 27... Read More
July 15th, 2011 |
Congratulations to all of you college grads out there! You made it through four or more years of cramming for tests, writing papers, late nights studying (and other late night activities), hangovers, morning classes, dining hall food or top ramen and boxed macaroni and cheese. You also had a lot of unforgettable experiences, made lifetime friends, learned an amazing amount of material, grew tremendously as a person, became more independent, and perhaps... Read More
June 23rd, 2011 |
The Pleasure Principle is simply this: Our bodies are wired to move towards pleasure and avoid pain. We naturally gravitate towards things that taste, smell and feel yummy and delicious. We naturally avoid the opposite. To try to fight the pleasure principle, as so many diets encourage us to do, is to fight one of our most basic instincts. Is it any wonder then that so many diets fail?
What if following and listening to our pleasure was really the secret to it all?... Read More
June 22nd, 2011 |
Undergraduate students at the Washington University in St. Louis were given memory tests to determine the effects of negative emotions have on recall and retention. Bridgid Finn, Ph.D., postdoctoral researcher in psychology in Arts & Sciences, said, “Memory is labile and dynamic – after you retrieve something, you’re still engaged in processing that information in some way.” The study showed that test subjects had improved retention when they viewed frightening or negative images immediately after retrieval.... Read More
© Copyright 2011 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Hollywood Bureau - All Rights Reserved.
June 22nd, 2011 |
What are your basic needs? Do any of your basic needs fit into the categories of better health and conquering specific fears? Do health issues or your fears hold you back from living fully and contributing in the way you would like to? What can you do to help yourself?
Discover your own unique ways to bring a playful attitude into all areas of your life and you will find optimal health and removal of the blocks that stop you from making the changes you want to incorporate into... Read More
May 25th, 2011 |
Thanks again to those who responded to my last article on why some partners or loved ones (POLOs) of those struggling with addiction/alcoholism may be reluctant to attend Al-anon. I’ll sum up the answers into 4 categories, based on public and private (i.e., emails to me) responses to the article:
1. Denial. For a POLO to attend an Al-anon meeting is to admit that the problem really is that bad. To give up the illusion that maybe things ‘aren’t so bad’ is to open a pandora’s box of emotions, such as anxiety, terror, guilt, shame and so on. A few of my patients have told me that attending... Read More
May 23rd, 2011 |
Why do people we care for sometimes engage in cruel behavior? What can we do about it?
Alfred Adler believed the ultimate goal for all human beings is to belong and feel connected to others. Unfortunately, when a person doesn't find connection with others through kindness and good deeds, they become discouraged and feel inferior to others. Adler said no one can tolerate these inferiority feelings and so they over compensate by striving for superiority. One way to strive for superiority is to become a bully. There are a number of such bullies who ban together with other bullies in order to strengthen... Read More
May 6th, 2011 |
I enjoy reading the responses to my articles. Responses to the most recent one of Feedback: The Single Most Important Skill, focused on the complexity of giving and receiving feedback. I want to now add a few comments to those responses. Here are some challenges I have named related to using feedback.
A. A Fear of causing pain or disregard for causing pain
"D" says, "someone may have done a very bad job and you could be furious with him or her, or you may be a frank person, but this does not entitle you to shout at the person... Read More
May 3rd, 2011 |
As a therapist, I talk about feelings a lot. Building a good relationship with one’s emotions can be incredibly helpful for increasing self-confidence and peace of mind. This can be daunting to many people—some feelings seem so big and overwhelming it can be scary to acknowledge them and actually spend time with them. The idea of being on friendly terms with painful emotions is a completely foreign concept to many people. Feeling an emotion deeply in order to fully understand, accept, and transform it takes courage, confidence, and trust that the process will not result in disaster.
The... Read More
April 18th, 2011 |
It’s that time of year- spring! It’s about renewal and rebirth: life-force energy that has lain dormant through winter is now resurging above ground, driving the emergence of flowers and tender young shoots. I look out my window and can no longer see the street for the riot of leaves. Spring is a colorful illustration of the ongoing flow of life, a testament to the fact that everything is always changing.
Eating disorders are another matter entirely. Disordered eating patterns, which often seem irrational and illogical, offer protection from the unknown, the unpredictable. Rigid rules about... Read More
April 4th, 2011 |
Well, once again it’s my readers who are instructing me just as much as (if not more than) the other way around. Thanks to all who take the time to read and comment on my blog articles. Your feedback is much appreciated.
Based on the verbal and written feedback I’ve gotten on my last post, I’ve learned 3 things – more, really, but these seem to be the headlines – about the “disease” concept of addiction/alcoholism, whether it truly is a disease, whether the concept is helpful or hurtful, and so on. And they are, in no particular order:
1. The debate may be moot. I’m now... Read More
March 29th, 2011 |
“Dave” is a 72 year old man who recently found out that his friend “Carl” has colon cancer. Carl had surgery and ended up with a colostomy. His prognosis was not very good. Dave went to see him in the hospital. Carl didn’t look so good, but Dave wasn’t about to tell him that. “You look great,” Dave said. Carl smiled wanly. Fortunately, there was a game on the television. Dave and Carl watched it as their wives chatted about one thing and another. After about 15 minutes, Dave just had to get out of there. Later, in the car, his wife asked him why he wanted to leave so... Read More
Page 4 of 6« First«...23456»
