Forget Bed Rotting—There’s a Better Way to Recharge
“Take it easy for a few days.” My doctor’s instructions were straightforward. I had just had a lumbar puncture and was supposed to chill...
Practice Psychological Halloweenism to Boost Your Creativity
"Be yourself" may sound like good advice but research shows that pretending to be someone else may be a more effective way to boost...
Here’s What You Can Do When the World Feels Upside Down
One of the best parts of my job is getting to hear what’s on your mind. Below are answers to three questions I am...
An Antidote for Overthinking
Feelings aren’t facts.
A basic principle of every non-pharmaceutical treatment for depression and anxiety involves putting some distance between oneself and one’s emotions. Psychodynamic therapy,...
The Difference Between Feeling Anxious and Having an Anxiety Disorder
What does anxiety feel like to you?
Here are a few descriptions I have heard over the years:
From the literal:
Queasy
Revved up
On edge
...
How We Talk About Mental Health Matters
The practice of seeking support when we’re distressed is typically associated with emotional well-being. It makes sense: Most of us believe that having somebody—a...
How to Stop Jumping to Conclusions
What makes you tick?
This is the question that drew me to psychiatry in the first place. What interested me most was not what people...
Why Learning From Failure Is the Key to Success
Without any experience in retail and very little cash, Sara Blakely founded Spanx when she was 29 years old. How did she do it?...
An Antidote for the End-of-Summer Blues
Too soon?
It may only be August but pumpkin spice season is officially upon us. Brands are already rolling out their fall-inspired offerings and Christmas...
Are We Afraid of the Wrong Things?
After all these years, the movie Jaws still haunts me. I love to swim in the ocean but lurking in the back of my...
Get a Hobby. Seriously…
How do you spend your free time?
Before you say, “Free time? I don’t have any free time” consider the following. According to the most...
Music to Your Ears? Psychology Explains Why You Love Certain Songs
Mrs. S couldn’t talk but she sure could sing. I met her when I was an intern on the Neurology service. She had suffered...
How Nervous Should We Be About AI-Augmented Therapy?
While I like to think of myself as a supportive and responsive doctor, a recently published study in JAMA makes me think again. According to the...
A Simple Trick to Replace Dread with Delight
“Any idiot can face a crisis; it’s this day-to-day living that wears you out.”
— Anton Chekhov
Do your days feel non-stop? Is your to-do list...
Here’s Why the Titanic Still Captivates Us
I must have refreshed my browser 1,000 times last week, hoping for an update and some positive news about the Titan submersible. Endless experts...
Worried About Moral Decline? It’s Just an Illusion
“The world is always ending…”
— Arthur Miller
“Remember when people used to be nice to each other?” I have heard some version of this on...
How Our Minds Shape Reality
“Ow… Ow… That hurts soooo much… Ow…” My patient was literally howling in pain. It was the middle of the night and I was the...
The Benefits of Being Profoundly Bored
“Only boring people get bored” … I have said this to my kids on countless occasions. Boredom has always been something I eschewed—in my mind,...
Five Steps to Transform Ill-Will into Good-Will
“Not forgiving is like drinking rat poison and then waiting for the rat to die.”
— Anne Lamott, Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith
Last week I wrote...
How to Apologize and Why It Matters
“If it means so much to you, then … sorry.” Logan Roy’s apology to his children in episode 2 of the fourth season of Succession...