The Psychological Diagnosis for People Who Lie About Everything
It's a basic truth of the human condition that everybody lies. The only variable is about what. — Hugh Laurie
Truth be told, we all lie sometimes. Ninety percent of our deceptions are white lies told to...
The Benefits of Diversifying Your Social Portfolio
“Friendship isn’t a big thing — it’s a million little things.” Paulo Coelho.
Mounting evidence shows that tending to our friendships matters as much to our health as going to bed early and eating well. Want...
A Cure for Catastrophizing
“There were many terrible things in my life and most of them never happened.” — Michael Montaigne
“Everything is ruined:” Catastrophizing is the tendency to jump to negative conclusions and assume a bad outcome.
My patient, Juliet,...
Take Control of the Story You Tell About Yourself
“We tell ourselves stories in order to live.” Joan Didion
We are story-telling creatures. They help us make sense of the world and our place in it. The story we tell about ourselves—our narrative identity—is especially...
Goblin Mode: The Antidote for Perfectionism
So the Word of the Year is goblin mode. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the selection is “a word or expression reflecting the ethos, mood, or preoccupations of the past twelve months, one that has potential...
Houseguests Take Note: How Not to Overstay Your Welcome
My parents used to have a pillow with the inscription, “All our guests bring happiness. Some by coming, others by going.” Benjamin Franklin put it more bluntly. “Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days,” he famously...