avatar Know Thyself – Listen to Your Feelings Posted by Dr. Mike Brooks
May 13, 2012

We have feelings for a reason. They provide valuable information that can help to steer us in the right direction in life…if we learn to listen to them. Imagine if we didn’t have the emotion of fear and we ran across a grizzly bear. Without such emotions I think the human race would have been  …Read More


avatar “Flourish” by Martin E. P. Seligman (Book Recommendation) Posted by Dr. Mike Brooks
Apr 23, 2012

I recently completed the unabridged audiobook version of Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being by Dr. Martin Seligman. Dr. Seligman, a professor at The University of Pennsylvania, is widely considered to be the primary founder of positive psychology (the study of human happiness & well-being). I’ve read a number of Dr. Seligman’s books  …Read More


avatar A Sure Way to Reduce Suffering in Life Posted by Dr. Mike Brooks
Nov 14, 2011

Although I can’t claim that I’m Buddhist, I’m really drawn to Buddhist psychology, and I’ve read a number of books by the Dalai Lama. I count him among a short list of very influential people in my life. In one of his books, perhaps it was The Art of Happiness, he presents a simple (but not necessarily  …Read More


avatar Can Having More Money Lead to Greater Unhappiness? Posted by Dr. Mike Brooks
Sep 12, 2010

We’ve all heard the adage that “money can’t buy happiness,” and yet, within our culture, it seems that we are constantly being told that it can. Whether we receive these messages from advertisers, movie stars, pop divas, it is undeniable that these messages abound. Indeed, we are swimming in them. The messages that we receive  …Read More


avatar Ways To Combat Stress When Looking For A Job Posted by Dr. Katie Shepard
Jul 2, 2010

With the slowed economy, looking for a job is often a full time job. Furthermore, a recent article in Psychology Today (entitled Conducting a Rational Job Search) highlighted that finding a job is a very stressful process.  The stress involved in this process often leads to task-avoidance.  Oftentimes, the stress involved in the job search  …Read More


avatar Looking for Something? Get “Lost”! Posted by Dr. Mike Brooks
Jun 1, 2010

Perhaps this seems odd to give a plug to my favorite TV show, ABC’s Lost, on this website . What on earth does this have to do with psychology & well-being, you ask? Well, let me explain myself. First, I have to say that I’m pretty bummed that Lost has concluded. I loved the finale. I’m  …Read More


avatar You Matter…Here’s Proof Posted by Dr. Mike Brooks
Apr 13, 2010

I recently finished the audiobook Connected: The Surprising Power of Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives by  Nicholas A. Christakis and James H. Fowler. As the name implies, the professors (Christakis a professor of medicine, sociology, and health care policy at Harvard and Fowler a professor of political science at UC San Diego)  …Read More


avatar The Bucket List, Surfing, and Zen Posted by Dr. Mike Brooks
Mar 27, 2010

I recently returned from my first trip to Hawaii…Aloha! I went with my family and had a wonderful time. It is truly magical there…I can see why everyone I’ve ever talked to who has visited there touts her beauty. We stayed in Waikiki on Ohau for about a week…it was too difficult to make an adventure vacation  …Read More


avatar “The Art of Happiness in a Troubled World” by The Dalai Lama (Book Recommendation) Posted by Dr. Mike Brooks
Mar 5, 2010

I have read the original The Art of Happiness by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and psychiatrist Howard Cutler, M.D. three times and count it among my short list of favorite and influential books. They have worked on a series of books that include The Art of Happiness at Work (I got about 1/2 through  …Read More


avatar Internet Addiction & Depression Posted by Dr. Mike Brooks
Feb 13, 2010

As cited in a recent Reuters news article on MSNBC, a study by British scientists published in the journal Psychopathology found that people who spend a lot of time on the Internet are more depressed than those who don’t. In this study, the researches analyzed the Internet use of 1,319 Britons between the ages of  …Read More