David Brooks surveys the happiness literature in an op-ed, The Sandra Bullock Trade. If the relationship between money and well-being is complicated, the correspondence between personal relationships and happiness is not. The daily activities most associated with happiness are sex, socializing after work and having dinner with others. The daily activity most injurious to happiness […]
A series of Q&A’s about sex addiction is underway at the NYT–therapists answering reader mail on the topic. Lively, diagnosis-doubting commenters by the dozen follow.
When Your Partner is a Sex Addict Read More »
Psychiatrist Richard Friedman, MD, writing about on self-defeating behavior in the NYT, confronts a client with a long pattern of not-so-coincidental-seeming disappointments: “Do you ever wonder why so many disappointing things happen to you?” I asked. “Is it just chance, or might you have something to do with it?” His reply was a resentful question:
Self-Defeating Behavior Read More »
The origins of marriage counseling and other dirty laundry are aired in this New Yorker review of Rebecca L. Davis’ new book, More Perfect Unions: The American Search for Marital Bliss. Enjoy.
The Origins of Marriage Counseling Read More »
Psychologist Dr. Eric Sherman talks about treating chronic pain with talk therapy at Where the Client Is: I have received photos from former patients in which they are break dancing, sky diving, or performing yoga contortions worthy of Cirque du Soleil. All of them had been advised to undergo surgery to correct disc herniations, the
An essay in the NYT, For Obese People, Prejudice in Plain Sight, by Harriet Brown. “As soon as I shook the interviewer’s hand, I knew she would not hire me […] She gave me a look of utter disdain, and made a big deal about whether we should take the stairs or ride the elevator
Fat Discrimination Read More »
Elizabeth Kolbert asks, What can policymakers learn from happiness research? in a New Yorker book review. A quick tease: [T]he relationship between money and well-being turns out to be a lot less straightforward than is generally assumed.
Happiness Politics Read More »
Being a parent is difficult and demanding on the best of days. But, as the L.A. Times reports, when parents are depressed, it gets much tougher–and kids are the ones most affected. The fallout from parental depression doesn’t just go away. […] Children caught in the cold grip of a parent’s depression can carry patterns
Depressed Parenting Read More »
MDs answer reader questions about living with Tourette’s syndrome –part of the NYT’s Consults blog. Linked from there, Patient’s Voices–audio, including Louis Centanni, a comedian with Tourette’s.
Tourette’s Syndrome Q&A Read More »
From PsyBlog, What Alcohol Does to Your Mind: Attentional Myopia takes a look at the narrowing effect drinking has on thinking: According to a growing body of evidence collected over the last three or more decades, people’s Jekyll and Hyde behaviour while drinking can be understood by a simple idea which has some intriguing ramifications.
Beer Goggles or “Attentional Myopia” Read More »