Perfectionism About Memory May Undermine Recall

Not everyone realizes how powerful words can be. One negative statement can negate thousands of kind and thoughtful words we have said to someone. It's important to consider how our words—both negative and positive—will affect others and ourselves before we use them. I think everyone agrees that words...

Borderline personality disorder is typically regarded as a disorder making its first appearance before the age of 30, if not earlier. New research challenges this conventional wisdom, showing that cases can arise for the first time well into the years of adulthood. Early attachment issues reawakened by key events, especially...

Many people downplay emotionality as weak and dramatic. Fearing emotion leads to overthinking and anxiety. Regularly avoiding emotions can leave a lot of unprocessed baggage that can feel overwhelming when confronted, but no emotion lasts forever. It’s common to hear well-meaning helpers telling you to “trust your feelings,” or “go...

Patients with facial paralysis have an impaired ability to communicate and express their emotions. Depression and anxiety have been found to be much more prevalent in this patient population. Prompt diagnosis and treatment can help mitigate the impact of long-standing disease. Bell’s palsy, or idiopathic facial paralysis, can have a...

Why is it so challenging for adults to find joy in the everyday, yet so easy for children? We enter the world with a sense of wonder and curiosity. Because we are constantly in the present moment, our eyes see only what is right in front of us, making us little masters of mindfulness. We engage freely and smile easily. As we move from infancy through toddlerhood, we play ceaselessly and ask endless questions.

Prolonged Grief Disorder is a new DSM diagnosis for grief lasting longer than 1 year. It's OK to mourn; grief helps us recognize the preciousness of each moment. Grief affects family members differently, and it's important to respect how others grieve. As a psychotherapist, I’ve often worked with clients who...

Cannabis use is common during pregnancy, especially in the first trimester. THC concentrations in a fetus are one-third of the concentration found in the mother's blood. THC interferes with a fetus's natural cannabinoid chemistry guiding axon growth necessary for proper brain development. Adverse consequences for cognition and attention throughout childhood...

Be willing to accept and adapt when you fumble or misjudge in your choices. Use introspection to your advantage to reflect mindfully from different lenses. Seek to increase your number of alternatives to a reasonable, but not infinite, level and choose action over inaction when you are in doubt. If...

Grief takes as long as it takes; there are no shortcuts. It is a good idea to talk with someone you trust when you are hurting. It helps to accept that whatever you think, feel, or do is part of a new normal, at least for now. Experiencing a loss...

Sometimes, people don't want help, but their families do. Family members can learn skills to communicate more effectively with adolescents about issues from suicidal thinking to college applications. We can't control other people's behavior, but we can help them make good decisions by showing curiosity and respect. In my final...

Despite anecdotal evidence across cultures, mainstream psychology knows very little about spontaneous spiritual awakenings. They are often pathologized by the medical community due to overlap with symptoms found in mental disorders like schizophrenia. Spontaneous spiritual awakenings can result in a number of positive long-term outcomes. A recent study published in...

Entering the new year means saying goodbye to the holiday season, a time typically regarded as the happiest time of the year, associated with things like traveling, food, family, friends, gifts galore, and more. After the holidays, you may have struggled to transition back to business as usual, and you may have found yourself experiencing some feelings of depression and anxiety following the holidays (post-holiday blues). You may have not felt ready to adjust back to your normal routine after spending time with relatives and friends. Maybe you felt slightly more sluggish or unmotivated after the holidays. You, like many other people, may have had a case of the post-holiday blues.

Emotional individuals tend to make poorer decisions. It’s normal to want what others have, but this can become deceptively destructive. Measuring one's present self against one's past self, instead of against others, is a good way to combat envy. Envy has long been a destructive force in human relationships...

The nation's top pediatric health experts issued new guidelines urging earlier treatment for youth with obesity. The guidelines classify obesity as a complex disease and encourage medical intervention, including therapy and medications or surgery. Support should be non-judgmental and recognize the structural and environmental factors that contribute to childhood obesity.

People often co-opt mental health terminology to describe everyday behavior. These terms are used loosely, although the mental health community is specific about how they define these conditions. This can trivialize complex conditions and perpetuate harmful and misleading stereotypes and myths. People often borrow terminology from the language of mental...

Depression related to pregnancy is underreported. Various forms of medication and therapy are recommended to mothers with postpartum depression. Studies show that as many as a quarter of mothers struggle with their mood three years after delivery. If you’re feeling depressed during your pregnancy or after birth, don’t keep it...

Major losses are often followed by a slew of secondary losses. Secondary losses can show up in many forms and catch us off guard. Acknowledging your losses in whatever form they take is key to healing. Imagine you’re on a sailboat that gets caught in a relentless storm. Maybe you...

Parents can learn from marketing tactics by influencing their children with short teaching moments. Reactive parenting with frustration may be emotionally disruptive to the child impairing their ability to learn new behaviors. Short frequent guidance can build a strong bond and allow parents to model empathy and calmness and provide...

Values represent a direction and associated behaviors that have the potential to bring joy and fulfillment. There is no finish line. The focus on values is at the core of a therapeutic intervention called acceptance and commitment therapy. A classic ACT exercise for accessing values is to think about your...

How changes over time in two types of narcissistic traits are related to changes in relationship satisfaction. Increases in narcissistic rivalry, a defensive and antagonistic trait, were related to declines in relationship satisfaction. Here are several ways to interpret these research findings. It is well-documented that narcissists don't make good...