During one of the forms of relaxation training that I teach my patients, I ask them to picture themselves in a relaxing scene that has personal meaning to them, and I ask them to experience with all of their senses. While that is often an effective exercise that leads to a relaxed state, it often…
Activity is a cure for many ills. It is difficult to be active and depressed. It is difficult to be active and lonely. It is difficult to be active and obese. It is easier to be active and healthy. It is easier to be active and positive. It is easier to accomplish things when you…
Some time ago, I developed the concept of “Competent Person’s Disease” which I consider synonymous with being addicted to 2nd place. Over time, I have become increasingly convinced of this phenomenon – which I consider to be one of the most self-limiting behavior patterns that I observe. A major problem with being addicted to 2nd…
Most people who eat healthy have something in common with those people who exercise regularly and those people who meditate and those people who consistently try to see the good in others. Actually they have several things in common – including maintaining a healthy lifestyle and exercising self-discipline. But the thing they have in common…
The world is changing. An increasing number of people are working from home – either telecommuting to their place of employment or creating their own entrepreneurial place of employment. Others who work in more conventional work settings spend their break time on their smart phones or other mobile devices. The end result is less interaction…
I’m not usually very big on making New Year’s resolutions. The main one that I annually make, and usually am pretty good at keeping, is that I resolve to write the current year – rather than last year – on checks, progress notes, and other material that needs to be dated. Other than that, I…
For many years, I couldn’t imagine that I would sit down to a dinner that was composed of salad or fish or anything that wasn’t meat and potatoes. Although I always participated in sports, for many years I resisted the discipline of a regular exercise program. The profession of psychology has been a good career…
In the course of my work with patients, I often ask some positive-oriented questions such: When was the best time in your life? What do you like about yourself? What makes you so resilient? While some patients don’t expect that type of question in therapy, and some struggle to answer, eventually most come up with…
One of the most negative and counterproductive questions that exists is the question of “what difference will it make?” It is often posed not as a question but rather as a statement to justify inactivity. Aside from the fact that the very nature of the question pre-supposes a negative outcome, as well as a certain…
This blog is being written shortly after Pope Francis concluded his visit to Philadelphia. During his two days in our city, everything else ground to a halt. Center City has been closed to vehicular traffic. My office and all other outpatient offices at the medical school and hospital where I work have been closed as…
Hopefully most of our habits are good ones – but probably all of us are carrying around some habits that we would like to change. The problem is that most people choose the wrong time to get started on changing habits. It is common to try to make changes in response to external factors –…