There are numerous books, websites, and other media outlets that are devoted to educating people about various types of mental disorders. Recently, I found a very unique website that provides a new take on mental illness issues in teen populations (www.copecaredeal.org). Cope, Care, Deal organization provides numerous resources on various aspects of mental health. One …Read More
Tech Workouts to Build Brain "Muscle"?
Jan 20, 2010
I recently read an article in the January 18, 2010 issue of Time magazine concerning “Workouts for Your Brain” by Bonnie Rochman. She reviewed some of the recent software and tech devices designed to enhance cognitive functioning. She also briefly examined some of the research findings as to whether such software really does enhance cognitive …Read More
Is Diet Related to Depression?
Jan 18, 2010
Many studies have shown that our diet affects physical health such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. However, up until recently, researchers haven’t explored the effects of diet on our mental health. A recent study that was published in the American Journal of Psychiatry found that diet is in fact associated with mental health. This study …Read More
"A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle (book recommendation)
Jan 16, 2010
Eckhart Tolle is a spiritual teacher and author of the bestseller The Power of Now, which I read after one of my clients highly encouraged me to do so. I’ve read A New Earth twice now (well, read once then listened to the unabridged audiobook) and prefer it to The Power of Now. Perhaps I’ll …Read More
Is Self-Compassion Selfish?
Jan 4, 2010
In an earlier post, I define the concept of self-compassion. In the current post, I would like to briefly talk about one of the questions many people ask when I introduce the concept of self-compassion. Is self-compassion selfish? Many of us feel that there is something wrong with showing compassion for ourselves, as if it’s …Read More
The Pursuit of Happiness – 60 Minutes segment (YouTube video recommendation)
Jan 1, 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shepBx2ogJo As far as countries go, Denmark wins the prize for being the happiest overall, as they have done consistently over the past 30 years. The United States, at number 23, lags far behind. In this news segment, you will learn about some of the interesting findings from the research on happiness, why the Danes …Read More
What We Can Learn From Spaghetti Sauce – Malcolm Gladwell (YouTube video recommendation)
Dec 29, 2009
From the Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) Convention Malcolm Gladwell is a writer for the New Yorker and the author of bestsellers Blink, The Tipping Point, and Outliers. He is quite an engaging storyteller…whether in writing or speech. I highly recommend all three of his books for some captivating and illuminating reading. In this very entertaining …Read More
Why Are We Happy? Why Aren’t We Happy by Daniel Gilbert, Ph.D. (YouTube video recommendation)
Dec 28, 2009
Lecture from the 2004 Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) Convention Harvard social psychology professor, Dr. Dan Gilbert gives a fascinating and entertaining talk about some of the errors that we tend to make in choosing actions that we think will make us happy. In the lecture, he discusses how the evolution of our frontal lobes has …Read More
Authentic Happiness – Martin Seligman, Ph.D. (book recommendation)
Dec 27, 2009
Dr. Martin Seligman is one of the co-founders of the Positive Psychology movement. Positive psychology is the focus on strengths, virtues, and happiness rather than on pathology and “what is wrong” with us. In this book, Dr. Seligman goes through some of the major findings from the research on happiness and how we can use …Read More
The How of Happiness – Sonja Lyubomirsky, Ph.D. (book recommendation)
Dec 26, 2009
I listened to the (unabridged) audiobook entitled The How of Happiness, which was read by the author, Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky. She is a professor of psychology at The University of California at Irving who has conducted research on happiness for close to 20 years. The material contained in the book is quite fascinating, although I …Read More