Addicted to ‘Wow’: Inside of the Mind of a Perfectionist

We think of addiction as entailing some sort of substance, whether a drug, alcohol, or even a video game that…

Bursting the Bubble of Inadequacy: Shifting Our Distorted Beliefs to Love Ourselves

We fear our thoughts more so than reality. The cognitive model of psychotherapy posits that our ideas about ourselves, others,…

In Defense of Anger and Pride: How Negative Emotions Can Be Healthy

Anger and pride, in most religious traditions, are conceived of as engendering vices, corrosive feelings that cause us to react…

Everything Happens With A Reason: How We Can Control Our Destinies in Difficult Times

There’s an old Chinese proverb that tells the story of a farmer who’s unfazed by the perpetual turning of his…

Simple, But Not Easy: Creating Perseverance Through Psychotherapy

In my article, Goodbye Neverland, I wrote that in order to overcame the past, we had to simply choose to…

We Aren’t Unlovable if We Aren’t Loved

Childhood lays the foundation for self-esteem. Children reach out for comfort and affection when they’re scared, sad, and hurt, needing…

All Roads Lead to Self-Love: How the Desire for Self-Esteem Permeates Most of What We Do

Reducing human complexity to any one particular source is usually fruitless and misleading; the most that we can do is…

In Defense of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Against Depressive Realism

Words matter. When we’re happy, we’re more likely to uncritically internalize positive feedback; and when we’re sad, or depressed, more…

Choosing Authenticity Over Perfection: Examining the Consequences of Our Values

All of have bad coping mechanisms which stem from false beliefs of their utility. Recall the time when you believed…

Blurred Lines: How Mental Illness and Mental Health are Closer Than You Believe and Why It Matters

I’ve had several discussions with people that I thought would be good to disclose here, as they’re pertinent to earlier…