Self-injurious behavior, such as cutting, is generally more than an attempt to get attention. Teens who cut themselves often report that they do it to stop or escape from intense, unpleasant emotions, such as anxiety or depression. For these teens, the pain of the moment provides a distraction to the overwhelming myriad of confusing thoughts …Read More
Tips on How Parents Can Respond to an Angry Teen
Dec 1, 2009
When a teen is angry, he or she is trying to tell you something. Sometimes they are simply frustrated with your rules and limits. Other times their anger reflects underlying fear, sadness, confusion, or feelings of rejection. Whatever the reason for your child’s anger, don’t let it drive you apart. Your teen still needs you, …Read More
Some Appropriate Consequences for Teenage Misbehavior
Dec 1, 2009
As your child moves from childhood to the teen years, you must adjust your style of discipline. Two things to consider: As you child gets older, your relationship with him or her is your most important leverage. Make sure that you are making time to do fun things together, creating opportunities for conversations, recognizing their …Read More
Happiness in Our Relationships
Dec 1, 2009
As I discussed in an article about our happiness and relationships, most of our happiness in life comes from our relationships with others…around 70%. To the extent that we have strong, positive relationships with others, we will tend to be happy. If we are in conflict in our relationships or feel alienated from others, we …Read More
Seeing the "Good" in Others
Oct 30, 2009
Part of me is as cynical as the average person, and another part of me really sees “the good” in others. I have come to believe that, but for very rare exceptions, most people have positive intentions and believe that they are a good person. So, whenever anyone chooses to act in a particular way …Read More
Managing Depression and Anxiety
Sep 20, 2009
Everyone has good times and bad times. We all have times when we feel more down or worried depending on what’s going on in our lives. Sometimes these reflect the typical ups and downs in our lives, other times it may become a bit more serious leading to clinical depression. Either way, symptoms of depression …Read More
The Importance of Play
Apr 18, 2009
The importance of play is underrated. Kids and adults both need it, as detailed in the Feb/Mar 2009 cover story in Scientific American Mind. The kind of play I’m talking about here is unstructured, creative play. Yes, board, card, and video games have their place as well, but free play is too often getting squeezed …Read More
You Never Get a Second Chance to Make a First Impression
Mar 12, 2009
Well, the old Head ‘n Shoulders ad slogan turns out to be fairly true. While breaches of trust at any point in a relationship are damaging, recent research conducted by Ohio State’s Robert Lount Jr. and colleagues suggests that violations of people’s expectations early in the relationship are particularly difficult to overcome. Once people have …Read More
Catching a Case of Happiness
Feb 25, 2009
I’ve written other posts about how we are all connected – that our happiness is integrally linked with others. Interestingly, there is some recent research to support that happiness spreads like an epidemic. Research by Christakis and Fowler published in a recent issue of the British Medical Journal (and cited in Time magazine in the …Read More
Dealing with Holiday Stress
Dec 20, 2008
Recently, I had the opportunity of visiting with Katherine Kisiel of Fox News here in Austin about coping with holiday stress. In particular, what should we do when we need to visit certain relatives and others with whom we don’t get along? Here are a few quick tips: 1. Recognize that you are not alone. …Read More