Note: I have readers from all over the world and many of you may not be fans of US college sports, much less basketball, but please be assured that, as always, there is a positive mental health theme here. The key word is loss, and the message is about how to handle loss, no matter the venue: basketball or your ... Read More »
Before we move on to unfortunate current events such as ISIS, AQAP, and terrorism in Paris, let’s take a break from man’s inhumanity to man to reflect on the heartfelt story of a sole survivor of a small airplane crash. By now you’ve heard the story of 7-year-old Sailor Gutzler who survived the crash of her father’s Piper small twin-engine ... Read More »
Marilyn vos Savant is a national columnist and author and has been listed in Guinness World Records for “highest IQ” (both as a child and an adult). I was reading her Q&A column in Parade (Sunday newspaper magazine, readership 79 million) and was delighted to see a mental health question. The reader asked why, if we could hypnotize people to ... Read More »
My clients have been talking all week about Robin Williams’ suicide. Then I talked to my girlfriend, the successful ghost writer, over the weekend. She said, “Surely you’re going to write a post about Robin Williams?” I said, “Surely there is nothing I could say that hasn’t already been said.” She convinced me that perhaps I had a few words ... 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 »
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 »
Los Angeles Times reporter Karen Kaplan reported on a longitudinal study published online last week in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health that proved that arguing leads to early death. The study looked at middle-aged adults who frequently fought with their spouses and found that they were twice as likely to die young when compared to their nonfighting or ... Read More »
Dear Ask My Jackie, I understand that life consists of growth and transitions, but some transitions are overwhelming. I’ve faced marriage, divorce, re-marriage, childbirth, empty nest, and now, the so called “twilight years.” This was supposed to be the reward for persevering the previous transitions and surviving relatively intact. However, last week I had the sensation of being swept up ... Read More »
One of my clients, Charity (not her real name), mentioned her son’s recent diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactive disorder. (ADHD) She had been resistant to the diagnosis at first, she shared, but she soon gave in, after realizing that in fact, she and her husband both suffered from ADHD as well. In the end, it was good news. An occupational therapist ... Read More »
From Ask My Jackie (see above link) — When does being alone become unhealthy? Dear Alone, If you have to ask—then right now. Let’s talk about loneliness. We live in a culture with seemingly endless electronic distractions. With computers, smart phones, tablets, social media and the like, we are only a device or an app away from our connections with ... Read More »