Self Development

Gaining Awareness Through Loss

One of the saddest things I have read in a long time was this gut-wrenching excerpt in the New York Times (2/23/10) about a Haitian earthquake survivor: “Don’t cut off my leg!” Fabienne Jean screamed repeatedly as she was carried through the gates of the General Hospital here after the earthquake. “I’m a dancer. My… Read more »

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Letting Go of Anger

Anger is a basic human emotion that everyone experiences. Learning to deal with one’s anger is an important lesson, as repressing it can have harmful effects, while unleashing it in an unhealthy manner can hurt you and those you care for. So how do we deal with our anger? What are some healthy forms of… Read more »

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Military Suicide: A New Battle to Save Lives Must Begin by Dr. Lisa Firestone

In a March 1 blog, Time Magazine‘s Joe Klein reported that “during the month of January, more soldiers committed suicide (24) than were killed by enemy fire in Afghanistan and Iraq combined (16).” Sadly, this upsetting statistic comes as neither a freak occurrence nor a great shock, as it points beyond itself to a longstanding,… Read more »

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"Get by With a Little Help from Your Friends"

It seems everyone, from financial experts to real estate agents, has offered practical advice on how to survive the recent economic downturn. But what about psychological advice? Even as the economy takes a turn for the better, there are few answers on how to cope with the fear and frustration that many of us are… Read more »

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How to Identify Your Critical Inner Voice

Millions of self-critical thoughts circle our minds everyday, leaving us miserable, discouraged and held back from going after what we want. Identifying these thoughts as mean-spirited, external points of view can free us from that destructive critical inner voice. You don’t have to look far to find your critical inner voice. It’s there when you… Read more »

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Marigold Memories by Bonnie Badenoch, Ph.D.

In the last few years, I have become fascinated with the dance and architecture of our brains, just as I had become enchanted with the movement of the stars as a child.  I am finding that adding this neurobiological perspective about what it means to be human opens our resources of compassion in a unique… Read more »

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Eight Ways to Actively Fight Depression

When you’re depressed, it often feels like nothing in the world can make you feel better. Depression is a devious disorder, because the symptoms it creates can discourage you from completing the very actions or seeking the help that would get rid of the affliction once and for all. Lack of energy, low self-esteem and dwindling excitement are some of the symptoms that make it hard to get out of a depressed state.

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Beyond the Symptom of Food, the Hunger Disease that Lies Beneath by Angela Wurtzel

This blog is being written for anyone who may be interested in understanding eating disorders, self-injury and compulsive shopping from a psychologically dynamic point of view. It will address the underlying hunger of these symptomatic disorders. I am a psychotherapist in private practice and I work mainly with people struggling with an eating disorder, self-injury… Read more »

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Your Worst Enemy is Within by Robert Firestone, Ph.D.

My life’s work as a psychotherapist has focused on the problem of resistance. In my study of people’s resistance to change, I was deeply perplexed by a seemingly paradoxical phenomenon: the fact that most people consistently avoid or minimize experiences that are warm, successful, or constructive. I observed that most of my patients tended to… Read more »

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For those Living with Mental Illness by Michael D. Rosberg Ph.D.

Let me introduce myself! My name is Michael D. Rosberg Ph.D. I’m excited about the opportunity to contribute to the PsychAlive mental health community. In the coming months I will be blogging about the issues facing persons suffering from a major mental illness, along with the important issues facing the families and friends of these… Read more »

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