Search Results for: Robert%20Firestone

The Bloodiest Shows: Why We Watch Violent Television and How it Affects Us

…strategy to just ignore it altogether? In their book Beyond Death Anxiety, Robert W. Firestone and Joyce Catlett point out that efforts to repress and deny the reality of one’s own death are never fully effective because death anxiety is still present in the subconscious. It frequently acts as an unconscious motive for many defensive behaviors. One of the common defenses people employ to manage death anxiety is adopting a sense of vanity and speci…

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Home (not again) for the Holidays

…my parent? In his upcoming and updated book, Challenging the Fantasy Bond, Robert Firestone discusses how we recreate the past in our current relationships. The concept of the fantasy bond, when applied to a couple relationship, demonstrates people’s compulsion to relive the past with new persons. The illusory connections they form invariably lead to a re-enactment of defensive styles of relating developed in childhood. In essence, people transfor…

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How Childhood Defenses Hurt Us As Adults

…ions in our development can lead us to develop what my father psychologist Robert Firestone and I refer to as the “self-system.” The self-system is made up of the unique qualities of the individual combined with a harmonious identification and incorporation of parent’s positive attitudes and traits. Of course, no person, or parent, is perfect. The “Division of the Mind” is a model my father and I developed, which poses that every person is divided…

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Self-Sabotaging: Why We Get in Our Own Way

…rpetuated by an inner critic we all possess, which psychologist and author Robert Firestone, calls the “critical inner voice.” The critical inner voice doesn’t represent a positive sense of self that you can entrust in. Rather, it epitomizes a cruel “anti-self,” a part inside us that is turned against us. It casts doubt on our abilities, undermines our desires, and convinces us to be paranoid and suspicious toward ourselves and those close to us….

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Why We See Ourselves Negatively

…ourselves. The “critical inner voice” is a term often used by psychologist Robert Firestone to describe a part of ourselves that is against us. This “voice” insults, undercuts, and outright attacks us, pushing us deeper into self-hatred and further from our goals. Like a mean parent or coach that we’ve internalized, the critical inner voice tries to keep proving the validity of whatever negative ideas we got into our heads about who we are from ve…

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Aging and Positive Psychology: Biological, Cognitive, Personality, Health, and Clinical Issues

…D., consider challenging life transitions for Baby Boomers. Sexologist Dr. Robert Birch shares his 30+ years of clinical experience as a sex therapist and discusses how to foster a fulfilling sex life for Boomers and seniors. John Erickson is a visionary who revolutionized retirement living, founded Retirement Living Television network (the only cable TV network devoted to seniors), and has developed remarkably effective medical services for senio…

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Can Love be Learned?

…t initial attraction as a sign of lasting love? As a recent article by Dr. Robert Epstein puts it, “I don’t believe you can fall in love with absolutely anyone, but there are many people around us with whom we could very deliberately create lasting love.” It may not seem that romantic: meeting someone, liking that person enough to give him or her a chance, then seeing whether strong feelings can develop toward that person. But Dr. Epstein’s articl…

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Vulnerability, Psychalive, Dr. Robert Firestone, psychotherapy, critical inner voice

On Being Vulnerable: Part I

[This blog contains excerpts from an interview with Dr. Robert Firestone by Fred Branfman, political activist and author of Voices from the Plain of Jars] Vulnerable: “A weak position, defenseless, helpless, exposed, at risk, in danger” Fred Branfman: In our culture the idea of being vulnerable is associated with being fearful, anxious, and weak. For example, politicians and business leaders tend to project an air of invulnerability. In contrast,…

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Aging and Positive Psychology: Biological, Cognitive, Personality, Health, and Clinical Issues

…D., consider challenging life transitions for Baby Boomers. Sexologist Dr. Robert Birch shares his 30+ years of clinical experience as a sex therapist and discusses how to foster a fulfilling sex life for Boomers and seniors. John Erickson is a visionary who revolutionized retirement living, founded Retirement Living Television network (the only cable TV network devoted to seniors), and has developed remarkably effective medical services for senio…

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A New Slant on Vulnerability: Strength Not Weakness

[This blog contains excerpts from an interview with Dr. Robert Firestone by Fred Branfman, political activist and author of Voices from the Plain of Jars] Part I: Fred Branfman: In our culture the idea of being vulnerable is associated with being fearful, anxious, and weak. For example, politicians and business leaders tend to project an air of invulnerability. In contrast, one of your central ideas is that vulnerability is an adaptive and desira…

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