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...
Forget Critical Thinking. It’s Critical Ignoring That Will Keep You Sane.
"I feel like I have too many tabs open in my brain," explained my friend. I can totally relate. At the end of the day, my brain often hurts. I am overwhelmed by the...
‘Tis the Season for Contentious Dinner Table Conversations: 3 Strategies to Stop Persuasion Fatigue...
'Tis the season to be merry. For many, 'tis also the season for contentious dinner table conversations. If heated debates about politics, vaccine mandates or any other contentious topics are inevitable with friends and...