Carolyn Joyce

Carolyn Joyce
Carolyn Joyce joined PsychAlive in 2009, after receiving her M.A. in journalism from the University of Southern California. Her interest in psychology led her to pursue writing in the field of mental health education and awareness. Carolyn's training in multimedia reporting has helped support and expand PsychAlive's efforts to provide free articles, videos, podcasts, and Webinars to the public. She now works as an editor for PsychAlive and a communications specialist at The Glendon Association, the non-profit mental health research organization that produced PsychAlive.

Blogs by Carolyn Joyce

How to Be Confident

A Psychological Guide to Building More Self-Confidence Society offers us plenty of advice on how to be confident. “Just be yourself.” “Fake it til you make it.” “Dress for success.” Tips fly at us from every direction, from mothers to magazine covers. Some of this advice can be useful, but it can ultimately feel ineffective… Read more »

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How to Get Over a Breakup

“Someday you’re gonna look back on this moment of your life as such a sweet time of grieving. You’ll see that you were in mourning and your heart was broken, but your life was changing…” ― Elizabeth Gilbert No matter what their specific circumstances, breakups take a very real emotional toll. Like any loss, there’s no… Read more »

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Why We See Ourselves Negatively

Most of us spend a lot of time thinking about ourselves. We question whether we fit with a romantic partner, analyze our interactions at work, and wonder over how we came across at everything from parties to parent-teacher conferences. On some level, most of us are always keeping ourselves in line. It’s safe to say… Read more »

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Coping With Anxiety

7 Ways of Managing and Coping with Anxiety Millions of people are coping with anxiety. Whether our worries are global, political, or entirely personal, it’s easy to become consumed by them. This can leave us feeling powerless and paralyzed, a state which is never conducive to either finding peace or making change. In order to be the… Read more »

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The Colorado Shooting Leaves Us Wondering: What Makes a Person Violent?

The tragic mass shooting that occurred in Aurora, Colorado just after midnight on Friday, July 20th, left at least 12 people dead, 59 people wounded, and millions of people stunned as to what could possibly drive a person to commit such a violent act. With no motive, we are left to wonder why James Holmes,… Read more »

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prescription drugs , psychalive, drug abuse, mental healtth

Mental Health Professionals React to U.S. Abuse of Prescription Drugs

With a 2011 Centers for Disease Control report showing U.S. overdoses of prescription painkillers to have more than tripled in the past 20 years, mental health non-profit The Glendon Association is encouraging Americans to face their emotions drug-free The tragic loss of Whitney Houston was yet another highly publicized death resulting from prescription drug overdose…. Read more »

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Serious scolding at sunset

What You Need to Know About Disciplining Your Child

From sitting them in corners to sending to their rooms, from saying to “say sorry” to giving a time out, the methods are all different but the question is the same: What is really the best way to discipline a child? Disciplining our children is one of parenting’s least appealing tasks. Unless you intended to… Read more »

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Where Does Our Love Go?

Its obituary has been announced internationally… in the plot of a thousand books, films, TV shows, articles and tabloids – the sad loss of the initial spark in a relationship. Disapproving wives on evening sitcoms make snide remarks at their lazy husbands. Movies depict failing marriages, worn by routine and destroyed over infidelities. The excitement… Read more »

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What to Do When Your Child is Stressed

My 2-year-old nephew sat calmly amid the frantic atmosphere of the playground. Bigger kids clamored noisily around him: chasing, digging, screeching in delight and crying over newly scraped knees. My nephew appeared to be in some sort of trance. Slowly and meticulously, he lifted scoops of warm sand and poured them gently on his head…. Read more »

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It’s Not Me: It’s My OCD: Overcoming Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

My cynical 16-year-old face would grimace each and every time. My older sister’s gentle, yet insistent voice: “Just tell yourself, ‘It’s not me’ it’s my OCD.’” “How corny,” I would think before retaliating with, “You don’t understand, it is me.” These were my real thoughts. Real fears. I had real reasons to wash my hands… Read more »

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