Getting What You Want Out of Life
Have you wondered why some people are more effective in getting what they want than other people? What are they doing that makes them effective? What distinguishes them from people…
Social Networking
Social Networking Websites: What’s the Point?
My local newspaper recently ran a story about how Facebook.com can ruin people’s romantic relationships. The argument was that the site makes it too easy to get back in touch…
Is Technology Running Your Life? Set Some Boundaries
I am not very good at separating my work from my life, partially because my work is a big chunk of my life. I’m that person who tucks herself into…
Why and How to Teach Grandma to Access the Internet
The Internet offers promising new ways to end isolation and loneliness among the senior citizens we love. This is no small thing. Relationships, after all, are at the core of…
Book Review: Rethinking Narcissism
While developing an awareness-raising campaign for the identification and treatment of psychological abuse for the nonprofit I work with, I delved deep into researching personality traits and disorders that contribute…
How Our Social Network Helps Us Thrive
One way that your attitude can affect your health is that a bad attitude can drive other people away. And interaction with other people is vital for your health. Human…
Adolescence: A Time of Growth and Change
Adolescence in American and Western European cultures is a time of enormous emotional as well as physical changes. Although each child is an individual and grows and develops in his…
How Do You Get Your Needs Met?
How do you respond to other people? Do you know the difference between assertion and aggression? Is it ever appropriate to be aggressive or submissive? Which style do you favor?…
Facebook: Enough Already!
I have now heard it said by a few different people: Facebook is over. The social networking tool that the world fell in love with has become so thoroughly embraced…
Texting, Sexting… What’s Next?
A mother with her three teenage daughters sat in my office the other day. Two of the girls were there for sick visits. The third sister was just along for…
The Anxiety of Facebook
Social media has changed the way people interact. We can now remain in constant contact with hundreds of so-called friends, even ones we rarely see in person. The impact of…
Guidelines for Managing Kids’ Screen Time
“I don’t know what to do about my kids’ use of screens.” The mother who was talking to me was clearly worried. When asked to be more specific, she replied,…
Anxiety, Worry, and Stress, Oh My: The Bugaboos of Modern Life
Anxiety, worry, and stress are all afflictions of life in the modern world. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, approximately 10 percent of the American population, or 24…
Parenting and Sports: Bleacher Buddies
I’m sitting on a bleacher again. I think I’ve clocked a million hours since my kids started participating in sports and things artistic. By now I’m a pro at it….
Self-Esteem and “Oops” Events
I had a hero when I was a young girl: Loretta Young. On her 1950s television series, she represented all that was stylish, glamorous, and graceful. Each week, when she…