By definition, depression is not a fun emotion to be experiencing. There are different levels of depression ranging from a baseline level of unhappiness to a temporary reactive depression when something lousy happens to major depression marked by despondency, hopelessness, and possibly suicidal thinking. Depression may involve biochemical and/or environmental factors. It would be an…
Those of us who live in the United States celebrate Thanksgiving this week. Although I believe that the U.S. and Canada are among the few nations that have a holiday with that official name, many other countries and cultures have similar celebrations – often times to give thanks for a bountiful harvest. If a holiday…
Brainstorming is a technique that is widely used in the corporate world BECAUSE IT WORKS. Encouraging meeting participants to offer their ideas and solutions in an unrestrained atmosphere often produces more creative ideas than would be the case when people sensor themselves for fear of being perceived as silly, stupid, or absurd. Yet Albert Einstein,…
One of the questions that I routinely ask new therapy patients is, “What do you do for fun?” Some are able to answer in a positive manner without hesitation. Others, however, treat it like a trick question – and an uncomfortable trick question at that. I get all kinds of uncomfortable responses from various patients:…
Although it marks a transition to shorter days and colder weather, there is no more beautiful time of the year in the northeastern United States than the fall. Whether you take time off, as my wife and I did, to take a trip to do “leaf peeping” with some good friends, or whether you enjoy…
If you are not going out by yourself, there are two reasons why you out to dinner, a movie, or another event. Obviously one of the reasons is to enjoy the activity. The other is to enjoy the time that you are spend with your spouse, partner, friend, date, or other couple(s). Too often, however,…
If you are at all into popular or academic psychology, you may be well aware of the fact that the concept of “mindfulness” is one of the hottest topics in the entire field today. Dr. Jan Chozen Bays, who is both a physician and Zen master, has defined mindfulness as “deliberately paying attention to what…
We are living during some difficult times. It is easy to become cynical. On a near-daily basis, the news contains reports of terrorism, gun violence, political polarization, and an uncertain economy. Under these circumstances it is easy to say, “What’s the use of trying? How can I make a difference?” It is precisely at times…
When facing challenges or tasks that are not inherently enjoyable, I try to approach each one with the question of, “How can I make it be fun?” It doesn’t always work! Sometimes it’s because of me and the way I’m feeling and the way that it detracts from some things that I’d rather do. Sometimes…
Perfectionists have been getting a bad name in some quarters. And some of the criticism is justified. At its worst, perfectionism promotes rigidity in thinking, non-acceptance of others whose ideas are different, and the setting of standards that are often impossible to achieve. It is impossible to be better than everyone else at everything that…
It would be nice to go through life without having to deal with disappointments. Nice – but not realistic. The issue is not whether we will have to deal with disappointments in our family lives, careers, and relationships. We will. The issue is how will we cope when those things occur. In this area, like…