I saw a handsome, smart, and ambitious young man recently who unfortunately is suffering from anxiety and stuttering issues. His first assignment:  watch The King’s Speech. I wanted to inspire him. And while you’re at it, please read my blog post on “Movie Therapy.” (“Feeling Sad, Anxious, or Just Out-of-Sorts? An Introduction to Movie Therapy,” February 19, 2013*) I wanted ... Read More »

A young man sat in my office today and pondered his father’s unhealthy behavior.  He said his dad would go on daily rants over the smallest infractions. When not having angry outbursts, he is just generally irascible (teens: that means cranky) to his wife and kids. He is clean to a fault (being clean is good; to a fault, not ... Read More »

I remember when I was in graduate school and first heard about the disorder Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (MSbP). First off it’s a strange name. It is named after Baron von Munchhausen, an 18th century German nobleman known for allegedly making up stories about his travels and experiences in order to gain attention. As it turns out, that’s not even ... Read More »

Note: This is part two on this subject. Please start by reading my January 13 post: This is Your Brain on Psychopathy: And For Some, a Cure.  It tells the background story on how James Fallon discovered that he had the brain scan of a psychopath. Just finished reading James Fallon’s book, The Psychopath Inside: A Neuroscientist’s Personal Journey Into ... Read More »

I recently read, The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr (W.W. Norton & Company). Hint: It’s making us shallow. The author makes a good case, backed up by solid evidence, that the Internet is causing us to think less deeply (less concentration, contemplation, and reflection). Instead we are becoming more ADHD, as we flit ... Read More »

Just finished reading The Bluegrass Conspiracy: An Inside Story of Power, Greed, Drugs, and Murder; by Sally Denton. The book is dense with facts, dates, names, and places; along with crimes, unsolved murders, and murder convictions. Don’t let the density dissuade you! It is a true story, written by a reporter, and reporters love facts. Once you get past the ... Read More »

The term psychopath is part of our common language. Psychopaths make headlines. They are the lead story on the evening news. Books are written about them. Recently, I was watching a CNN broadcast on the Jonestown killings. A survivor was quoted as saying that Jim Jones was a psychopath. No one argued the point. So–criminals, rapists, predators, murderers, and mass ... Read More »

Anderson Cooper, if you weren’t gay, and I wasn’t married, I’d think you were trying to win my heart. For the second time in two weeks you have broadcast an outstanding report that has life-changing implications. (See my December 21 post, “Fear of Death—The Antidote, Part 2” for the previous one.) The latest one is “Professor learns he has the ... Read More »

I see a young client, let’s call her Maria, who suffers from nearly every anxiety disorder listed in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – the bible for mental health professionals). Maria has panic disorder, social phobia, agoraphobia, specific phobia, generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic-stress disorder. As part of her treatment plan, she and I are ... Read More »

This book by Kiera Van Gelder is a must-read if you’ve been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, if you think you should be diagnosed with BPD, if your friends or family have amateurishly diagnosed you with BPD, or if you just want to understand approximately 20% of the population.*  Kiera: Thanks so much for sharing your story with us. Here’s ... Read More »