Dr. Gary Bell's Absurd Psychology

Insight in psychotherapy is defined many ways, but most experts agree it is a new way of understanding your experience which resonates emotionally. It is not a thought, but a discovery that reverberates in your bones. When a dawning insight is then put into words, it can revise our self-narratives (beliefs). It’s important to recognize that insight is not merely an intellectual exercise. If you are simply using your mind to analyze yourself or rework a familiar story, this may be interesting, bu

Recognizing how resentment can act as a psychological safeguard offers a profound perspective on trauma recovery. Resentment is an intricate emotion, often lying beneath the surface, yet it can greatly influence our mental health and relationships. Unlike the more familiar emotions of joy, fear, or anger, resentment tends to be more subtle, quietly shaping our inner experiences. Its hidden nature and potential impact on our well-being make it crucial to understand and address. Tune in and learn

As parents, we want ALL of our children to grow up healthy, happy and to live a fulfilled, productive life—no matter their gender. This is a difficult enough task to accomplish in today’s complex world. In a society with many, often conflicting, messages on what it means to be a strong, successful, beautiful woman, raising a girl to be strong, competent and engaged can feel like a daunting task. Hearing your I’m Stumped questions, we want to offer you insights and approaches that might make this

Popularity boils down to a mix of likability, visibility, and emotional intelligence. Rather than just being loud or having "clout," truly popular people consistently make others feel valued, possess high empathy, and exhibit confident, magnetic personalities. Tune in and learn all bout wht draws people to you!

What is human nature? This is a question that has perplexed philosophers and psychologists throughout the ages. Are people essentially socially constructive and altruistic or are they destructive and selfish in nature? Tune in and learn all about what it is to be human!

The psychology of marriage centers on the shift from survival-based unions to models of self-actualization. Historically, marriage was an economic and political institution. Today, partners view each other as sources of emotional fulfillment, which introduces higher expectations and greater psychological pressures on relationships. Tune in and learn how marriage has worked historically and how expectations have evolved!

Entitlement is an enduring personality trait, characterized by the belief that one deserves preferences and resources that others do not. Like boundaries, we recognize entitlement chiefly by its effect on us: envy, anger, and frustration. "Why do they think they deserve it any more than I do?" we wonder. And then, "Is it them, or is it just me?" Tune in and learn how to recognize and deal with entitled people!

There are some things that are so awful they really can derail people. And there are some people who are so fragile they are more easily derailed. But there’s a whole lot of people — most of us — who need to get on with our life and take responsibility for what we do with it. Staying stuck in the victim role completely undermines that process. Tune in and learn how peole acquire victim mentality and operate with it!

Boys learn at a very young age from their parents and others around them about expected behaviors based on their gender. These societal norms are described as masculinity ideologies. Masculinity ideology refers to the traditional and socially constructed definitions about the cultural norms and expectations regarding appropriate male behavior. Tune in and learn how to guide your son into manhood!

While need for human connection appears to be innate, the ability to form healthy, loving relationships is learned. Some evidence suggests that the ability to form a stable relationship starts to form in infancy, in a child's earliest experiences with a caregiver who reliably meets the infant's needs for food, care, warmth, protection, stimulation, and social contact. Tune in and find out what makes relationships deepen and grow!

The adverse experiences encapsulated by Complex Trauma typically begin in early childhood, are longstanding or recurrent, and are inflicted by others. Most often they are perpetrated within a person’s formative attachment relationships. Sometimes they are compounded by patterns of risk and dysfunction afflicting generations of families. Frequently, they intersect with structural and institutional forms of violence and oppression that beset certain peoples and communities, particularly those hold

Relationships thrive on emotional and physical connections, and one of the most intriguing aspects of romantic bonds in the concept of a "turn on." But what does it really mean to be "turned on" in a relationship? Is it purely physical, or does it go deeper? Tune in and learn all about relationship turn ons!