Episodes

As a marriage dissolves, some parents find themselves asking questions like, “Should we stay together for the kids?” Other parents find divorce is their only option. And while all parents may have many worries on their mind—from the future of their living situation to the uncertainty of the custody arrangement—they may worry most about how the children will deal with the divorce. So what are the psychological effects of divorce on children? It depends. While divorce is stressful for all children...

One of the mysteries puzzling human mind since the origin of mankind is the concept of “reincarnation” which literally means “to take on the flesh again.” As the civilizations evolved, beliefs got discriminated and disseminated into various religions. The major division manifested was “East” and “West.” The eastern religions being more philosophical and less analytical, have accepted reincarnation. Tune in a learn from world famous author Dr. Walter Semkiw (M.D.) discuss reincarnation with me!

Fear and anxiety may not be anyone’s favorite emotions, but these powerful sensations go a long way in keeping us safe. If the dog down the street bites you, the fear that results when you next see the dog will help you avoid another bite. But what about when the response goes too far? If you instead come to fear all dogs, not just the one that bit you, that fear might drastically change where you go and with whom you spend time, becoming a detriment, not a benefit. Tune in and learn about how f...

Impostor syndrome (IS) refers to an internal experience of believing that you are not as competent as others perceive you to be. While this definition is usually narrowly applied to intelligence and achievement, it has links to perfectionism and the social context. To put it simply, imposter syndrome is the experience of feeling like a phony—you feel as though at any moment you are going to be found out as a fraud—like you don't belong wheryou are, and you only got there through dumb luck. It ca...

To say that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has changed the world would be an understatement. In less than a year since the virus emerged — and just over 6 months since tracking began in the United States — it’s upended day-to-day lives across the globe. The pandemic has changed how we work, learn and interact as social distancing guidelines have led to a more virtual existence, both personally and professionally. Tune in and learn how to recover!

For those who do wind up divorced, there seems to be a magic number for when. No matter where in the world you’re from or in what culture you’ve been raised, you’re most likely to get a divorce…drum roll…four years into your marriage. Even more fascinating is why our human brains have evolved to hone a drive for love and partnership that lasts just long enough to raise a single child through infancy.Partnering allowed women to raise children and their male partners to provide for and protect the...

The Oxford English Dictionary defines “oppression” as “the state of being subject to unjust treatment or control.” However, this does not mean that those subjected to unjust treatment or control are aware of it. This is an aspect of oppression that is largely missed in popular culture when we consider whether we or others are being oppressed. Indeed, when living day to day in concert with the constraints of a given cultural milieu, we seldom consider whether we are actually being oppressed. Inst...

If you are worried about the future of your marriage or relationship, you have plenty of company. There's no denying that this is a frightening time for couples. More than half of all first marriages end in divorce; 60 percent of second marriages fail. What makes the numbers even more disturbing is that no one seems to understand why our marriages have become so fragile. In pursuit of the truth about what tears a marriage apart or binds it together, I have found that much of the conventional wis...

Existential angst not only derives from the human inability to think, feel, and act in the world or experience a love for life, but also from the fear of the possibility of nonexistence and/or death. It can be lonely, isolating, and outright terrifying if one’s very existence is in question. Psychologist Carl Jung and philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre had similar thoughts about existential angst in that both focused on achieving meaningful existence through the development of inner resources, creativ...

How to stop eating emotionally? Emotional eating (sometimes called stress eating or comfort eating) is difficult to control partly because we have no control over its biological determinants (e.g., genes). But what if other factors, ones that are easier to modify, were of greater importance to emotional eating? These other determinants—according to an article in the November 2018 issue of Appetite—are psychological and situational: Restrained eating and stress level. What is emotional eating? Em...

Burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and often physical exhaustion brought on by prolonged or repeated stress. Though it’s most often caused by problems at work, it can also appear in other areas of life, such as parenting, caretaking, or romantic relationships. Burnout is not simply a result of working long hours or juggling too many tasks, though those both play a role. The cynicism, depression, and lethargy that are characteristic of burnout most often occur when a person is not in contro...

Regression therapy is an approach to treatment that focuses on resolving significant past events believed to be interfering with a person's present mental and emotional wellness. Therapists who practice this approach believe people seeking treatment for phobias, depression, intimacy issues, and a range of other concerns can see improvement in their state of mind by revisiting and reliving the early experiences that influenced the development of these issues. However, the approach is somewhat con...

Human beings need to trust. Trust allays anxiety, helps lift depression, and makes it possible to consistently invest interest and enjoyment in one another. There could be no civilization, enduring health, or mental wellness without trust. The most ordinary interpersonal, commercial, medical, and legal interactions would be impossible without some degree of trust.In contrast, distrust is fraught with anxiety and resentment. No loneliness is lonelier than distrust.Intimate betrayal—abuse, infidel...

A miscarriage is a real loss that can affect you physically, emotionally, and spiritually. But those who haven't experienced a miscarriage may not understand how deeply it is affecting you because people rarely talk openly about pregnancy loss. Often people don't view pregnancy loss as significant because the pregnancy was short. But the duration of a pregnancy does not determine the bond that you can feel with a baby you have lost. Tune in while we go through healing, dealing and understanding ...

Stress generally refers to two things: the psychological perception of pressure, on the one hand, and the body's response to it, on the other, which involves multiple systems, from metabolism to muscles to memory. Some stress is necessary for all living systems; it is the means by which they encounter and respond to the challenges and uncertainties of existence. The perception of danger sets off an automatic response system, known as the fight-or-flight response, that, activated through hormonal...

We all have to face it at some point; an event of such enormity that it can make everything else in our lives seem insignificant: death, the end of our existence, our departure from this world.We live in a culture that denies death. We’re taught that death is something we should shy away from, and try to forget about. If we start contemplating our own mortality – so this traditional wisdom goes – we’ll become anxiousand depressed. And there’s no doubt that this is often the case.In psychology, T...

One of the fundamental laws of social psychology is the reciprocity principle. When we pay back what we receive from others in social situations, we are engaging in reciprocity. If I do you a favor, there’s a reasonable probability that you’ll do me a favor in return. Social-emotional reciprocity is the back and forth interaction that takes place in communication. We take a social approach to have conversations with others, and we share our interests in our discussions. Part of that social-emoti...

There are two types of people, those who contribute and those who detract. You must learn that the best way to build your career and your life is through your own achievements, not by attacking the achievements of others. People will always remember what type of person you are, and they will trust or distrust you accordingly. Seldom have I heard words that were truer or more genuinely wise. People who have only criticism to offer are soon forgotten—those who contribute in a constructive way beco...

A person who steals things that he already owns, can easily afford, or does not want or need can be baffling. Mental health professionals may think that his stealing can be explained by a psychological disorder. The habitual thief may appear to suffer from a compulsion (“kleptomania”). He may be seen as resorting to stealing as a way to “feel better” while coping with depressionor adverse circumstances over which he has no control. Perhaps a person steals to boost his self-esteem. Cheating is a ...

Developmental psychology is the branch of psychology that focuses on how people grow and change over the course of a lifetime. Those who specialize in this field are not just concerned with the physical changes that occur as people grow; they also look at the social, emotional, and cognitive development that occurs throughout life. Change is inevitable. As humans, we constantly grow throughout our lifespans, from conception to death. Psychologists strive to understand and explain how and why peo...

From eccentric and introverted to boisterous and bold, the human personality is a complex and colorful thing. Personality refers to a person's distinctive patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving. It derives from a mix of innate dispositions and inclinations along with environmental factors and experiences. Although personality can change over a lifetime, one's core personality traits tend to remain relatively consistent during adulthood. Tune in and learn how personality turns to character!

If you’re like most people, you figure you’ll get married once—maybe twice—in your entire life.However, if you’re a serial monogamist (a person who engages in repeated serious relationships, one after the other), you might marry three, four, five or more times during your life.But what drives someone to become a serial monogamist? Do they begin with psychological issues, or do they simply end up with them?As several studies have shown, people who marry several times in rapid succession are more ...

When we think of people being dramatic – or in this case, overly dramatic - we think of them making much of their appearance before others. They enjoy feeling and displaying emotions. They have a taste for tension-filled scenes. They want others to know how they are interpreting a situation and how it is affecting them. The only thing that matters, or so it seems, is what is happening now. Dares, tantrums, and ultimatums reign. Life becomes operatic. Certain situations can magnify these inclinat...

Although many people use the two words guilt and shame interchangeably, from a psychological perspective, they actually refer to different experiences. Guilt and shame sometimes go hand in hand; the same action may give rise to feelings of both shame and guilt, where the former reflects how we feel about ourselves and the latter involves an awareness that our actions have injured someone else. In other words, shame relates to self; guilt to others. I think it's useful to preserve this distinctio...