From article Are You Suffering From Cumulative Stress?, by Bertil Hjert, author of the Panic Goodbye program :
For many people, finding an outlet where you are free from worry is a great way to find some respite from the stress. Find time in your day to do something you enjoy.
Do you have a hobby you [...]
In his Positive Psychology News Daily article, Derrick Carpenter writes about experiencing a firefly: “Its body flashed, emitting a gorgeous amber light… I was instantly reminded of innocent and perfect childhood summers.”
He goes on to write about Stanford psychologist Phil Zimbardo who “discussed the research presented in his book The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good [...]
ScienceDaily — “The effect of anxiety on academic performance is not always obvious but new research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council suggests that there may be hidden costs.
“The research found that anxious individuals find it harder to avoid distractions and take more time to turn their attention from one task to the [...]
“We’re taught to be ashamed of confusion, anger, fear and sadness, and to me they’re of equal value as happiness, excitement and inspiration.” Alanis Morissette
To live a full life, we need to deal with extreme and self-limiting levels of feelings like anger, anxiety and depression. But too often, people run away from or try to [...]
“I didn’t discover I was an artist until I was 17… It was very hard to be an artist and a child… it was like having sand up your butt when you go to the beach.”
Alfre Woodard
Related page: Identity
First, a provocative quote from psychiatrist Thomas Szasz:
“People often say that this or that person has not yet found himself. But the self is not something one finds, it is something one creates.”
In the following clip from one of his many podcasts, Leo Laporte quotes internet entrepreneur Jason Calacanis: “When times are tough, you invest [...]
In this sample clip from his audiobook Excuses Begone!: How to Change Lifelong, Self-Defeating Thinking Habits Wayne Dyer says “Just because people know what to think, doesn’t mean they know how to think, or how to change what they’ve been thinking for a lifetime.”
A news story about two Caltech students who died of suicide in the weeks before the recent commencement made me wonder again: Do more gifted people die from suicide? Are high ability people more vulnerable?
[The image is a self-portrait by Sylvia Plath.]
Continued on High Ability.
[From a Dana Press Blog:]
At the recent Learning and the Brain Conference in Washington D.C., Nancy C. Andreasen, M.D., Ph.D., discussed the importance of providing students with a “liberal education” that combines the study of the arts and the sciences.
She asked: How important are the arts for optimal development of the mind and brain? How [...]
The self-help ‘author’ Stuart Smalley, a fictional character created by satirist Al Franken on Saturday Night Live in the mid-90’s, had a certain goofy self-effacing charm, but a proclivity for psychobabble, using phrases often taken from common 12-step slogans, such as:
* “That’s just stinkin’ thinkin!”
* “You’re should-ing all over yourself.”
* “Denial ain’t just a river [...]
Author Gregg Braden says, “I was working as a defense systems computer engineer during the last years of the Cold War when I first read Louise’s book, You Can Heal Your Life.
“It came to me at a turning point in my life and I found it so beautiful, so powerful, and so true.
“Through the simple [...]
Video interview of Sark, author of Juicy Pens, Thirsty Paper: Gifting the World with Your Words and Stories, and Creating the Time and Energy to Actually Do It.
One of Sark’s pieces of advice for realizing a creative project such as writing is, “Remember, action comes before inspiration. The inspiration comes from the actual doing of [...]
Does hypnosis work? There is a wealth of research and clinical experience to confirm it as an effective part of psychotherapy, and as a self-help approach that can relieve many physical and emotional challenges, and enhance personal growth.
“Look Into My Eyes: You Are Feeling Sleepy.”
There are many myths about hypnosis, promoted in stage hypnotism shows, [...]
Many creative and talented people choose to express themselves in performing arts such as acting and singing. But there are emotional and psychological consequences to the fame many performers gain.
Helen Hunt had a thoughtful comment about becoming famous as a movie and tv star:
“There’s a Rilke poem: ‘I want to unfold. / Let no place [...]
Being unsociable, bored at parties or uneasy with people aren’t qualities that always or necessarily go with being creative, of course – but often they do.
Many talented artists and others have a creative personality type that is highly sensitive, introverted or shy – or all at once.
Not that people are simply “types” – but these [...]
“If the imagined future is better, it gives you hope or pleasurable anticipation. If it is worse, it creates anxiety. Both are illusory.”
Eckhart Tolle – from The Power of Now.
What we anticipate and imagine can be so much worse than reality, and make our distress all the more intense. Being uncertain makes it worse.
It may [...]
