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World of Psychology


Books

A Vital But Often Overlooked Way to Foster Productivity

You likely already employ a variety of effective strategies to help you get things done. Maybe you work in short bursts. Maybe you use a timer. Maybe you stay off social media until you’ve completed your goals for the day. Maybe you check email at specific times of the day, instead of leaving it open to fracture your focus.

You leave your phone in a drawer. You delegate. You batch tasks, keep a planner, stay hydrated, and write everything down. You know how to say no—and do so often.

All of these are important strategies. And there’s another one—an important one—we tend to forget.
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Aging

Trusting Others and Knowing What to Believe: More Than 10,000 Americans Weigh In

If you live in the U.S. and you think that your fellow Americans’ trust in the federal government and in each other has been taking a hit recently, then you have something in common with most of them. In a study of trust and distrust in America, based on a nationally representative sample of 10,618 U.S. adults, the Pew Research Center found that 75% of the participants believed that trust in the federal government has been shrinking. Sixty-four percent believe that trust in each other has also been dwindling. 

Americans also believe that the loss of trust has implications that ripple through our lives. Close to two-thirds (64%) think that our slipping sense of trust in the federal government is making it harder to solve problems. An even greater number, 70%, believe that the same is true of our decreasing sense of trust in each other. 
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Self-Esteem

That Destructive Not So Little Inner Voice

No, you’re not hearing things -- that voice telling you you’re not good enough, you should do more, or that no one likes you is usually coming from inside your own head. Too often our biggest critics are ourselves and that nagging inner voice can create a great deal of worry, self-doubt and trouble in a person’s life.

Although not a real voice, these persistent feelings of inadequacy and self criticism can be deafening and too often keep us from pursuing our dreams or achieving our goals. They can make us feel helpless and as though there is no possibility of living up to our own self-imposed standards, or what we think others expect. This can become a vicious cycle of mental gyrations -- you should be this, you aren’t good enough, you can’t, etc.
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Antidepressant

Podcast: Psychiatric Medications: Separating Fact From Fiction


Psychiatric medications are the religion and politics of the mental health advocacy world -- don't bring them up unless you want a fight to break out. Luckily, here at Not Crazy, we don't shy away from confrontation. 

In this episode, we cover the good, the bad, and the ugly surrounding medications. Like whether or not you should take them. We tackle side effects like feeling numb and sexual dysfunction and share our personal histories with medication therapy. Listen now!

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Grief and Loss

What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You — Different

"And once the storm is over, you won't remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won't even be sure whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won't be the same person who walked in. That's what this storm's all about.” -- Haruki Murakami
“People keep telling me what doesn’t kill me will make me stronger. I’ve come to hate that phrase.” Janie B. has been going through a tough time. She is overseeing the care of her elderly mother who has Alzheimer's. Her husband lost his job, throwing them into financial difficulty. And Janie herself has had some health issues. Friends and family mean well. That chestnut of a phrase about finding strength through adversity is intended to encourage her. Instead it has become an annoyance and, worse for Janie, a pressure. “I mean, what if I don’t get stronger? What if I just manage to keep going? Isn’t that enough?”
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Self-Help

Support Groups: Are They for You?

No matter what challenges you are facing -- cancer, caregiving, addiction, behavior disorders and many more -- there are local and online support groups where you can talk to people who understand. Those who are struggling with similar situations, others who have found ways to cope, and professionals who often facilitate meetings can all provide a shelter where you can express your honest thoughts, hear what has worked for those around you, and find compassion and strength in the words of other people.  
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Anger

Learn Ways to Communicate Without Yelling

As a therapist, I sit in the presence of individuals, couples and families who share stories about the challenges in their interpersonal relationships. What remains with me, after decades of being a privileged listener, is a litany of complaints about how yelling is the primary means of communication between them and if not a direct reaction to disagreement, it becomes the default mode when the temperature rises. 
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