If you have a teenager, their teachers (or you) have probably said it: “Pay attention.”“Focus.”“Why are you so distracted?” After hearing these corrections repeatedly, many teens begin to draw painful conclusions about... Read more »
If you deliberately scan one fewer lemon than you are taking at the self-checkout at Whole Foods, you might be “microlooting.” This newly coined term does a nice job of distinguishing the... Read more »
“For those who seek to understand it, death is a highly creative force.The highest spiritual values of life can originate from the thought and study of death.”— Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Death. It’s... Read more »
What didn’t happen for you as a child? Over 20 years of practicing psychology, I started to see a factor from people’s childhoods that weighs upon them as adults, sapping their joy... Read more »
We’re all busy and have trouble keeping up with calls and voicemails. But a phenomenon called telephobia shifts phone call anxiety to a much higher order of magnitude. We’re familiar with phobias... Read more »
My 92-year-old friend Anne Wennhold told me recently that she took a “mini-vacation” from the aging process. Why in the world would a 92-year-old take a break from aging? Well, Anne is... Read more »
Something is undermining American relationships. Not the usual suspects but trusted confidants—ones that are unfailingly validating and designed to take sides. Tens of millions of Americans now turn to AI chatbots when... Read more »
What happens when being dogged isn’t enough? For years, living in a chaotic city neighborhood, I experienced repetitive negative events while walking my dog, Beau. The whizz of scooter riders terrified Beau,... Read more »
Yes, gaslighting is real—a really manipulative tactic that’s a buffet of lying, denial, and misdirection to essentially warp reality. It’s also a real problem dealing with gaslighters. If you are not really... Read more »
At their best, friendships provide a range of positive benefits, such as companionship, stress reduction, and emotional support. But they can also have a dark side—marked by manipulativeness, exclusion, and intense duress.... Read more »