Granted – it can feel reassuring to come determine a reason why we or other people behave in certain ways. However, just having insight and knowing (or thinking that we know) the reason underlying people’s motivations does not always lead to taking effective action regarding the situation. While, to quote Socrates, “The unexamined life is […]

Very few of us are strangers to depression or anxiety in some form, whether it be a mild but unpleasant funk for a few days or a more serious mood disorder lasting months or even years. After all, just being alive usually means that we’ve ridden the emotional rollercoaster, be it due to a personal […]

Having a panic attack can be one of the most frightening and almost unbearable experiences you may ever suffer. Panic attacks, which can hit you at any time and any place, and which generally last ten minutes or less – can truly be traumatic. Common physical symptoms of a panic attack include: Heart palpitations Shortness […]

Whether or not you set resolutions for the New Year, you probably would like to maintain or increase your happiness quotient. If so, the following tips may prove to be helpful: Write down three positive things that happened to you each day and think about how and why they occurred. Maybe they seemed to happen […]

In any relationship we are bound to have differences with our partner. This is all the more true when we’re in a close, committed relationship which means a great deal to us – so much is at stake. Given no two people are exactly alike, our goal should be to develop skills in the area […]

How do you usually respond when life just isn’t going the way you want it to? Maybe your spouse forgot your birthday, you got a flat tire on that day when you simply have to get to an important meeting, or you received a scary health diagnosis. What to do? Yes, you could yell at […]

“I never finish anything I start”. “He’s a complete loser.” “She always gets everything she wants.” At times, do you make extreme statements like these? Do you view things in all-or-nothing terms? If so, how does this habit affect your life? Do you have a hunch that it’s getting in the way of your happiness, […]

It’s usually pretty easy to feel good about ourselves when things are going our way, when we’ve been making significant progress on our personal and professional intentions, and when we’re in harmony with the important people in our lives. However, when we fall short of our own expectations, disappoint others, or fail to achieve a […]

Our minds are meaning-making machines. First and foremost, our minds try to protect us by figuring out how to avoid danger. Our minds are interpreters of our world and immediate circumstances. It’s a fact of nature – we are instinctively on high alert for danger, because first and foremost we want to survive.  After all, […]

It’s the beginning of July, and you may be wondering where all of those New Year’s resolutions went. You thought that you really meant it when you vowed to never again eat an entire chocolate cake at one sitting, drunk-dial your ex at 2 a.m., or fall behind on your credit card payments. Yet here […]