Back when I was studying to become a psychologist, I had been fascinated by the “termites” – the nickname of the participants of a project by Lewis Terman, who over 80 years ago began to study 1,500 ten year old Californians. Generations of researchers have been working on this project, following the termites over the […]
The Longevity Project: Psychological predictors of a long life Read More »
I stumbled upon a great “infographic” : Desk Rage – The Tell-Tale Signs of an Overworked Employee. Although made to help bosses, I think it’s very important for employees (actually, everyone!) to know this stuff too. All too often, people suffer from these symptoms and don’t even make the connection between overwork and their
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Most people reading this sentence are far more likely to have heard the name of drugs used to treat depression and anxiety (ex: Prozac and Xanax) than the name of a psychological therapy. However, more and more people are coming to learn about a particular type of therapy that has steadily been gaining attention for
What is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and why is it so popular? Read More »
Let’s begin with a description of what the experience of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) might be like for someone affected: “I was raped when I was 19 years old. For a long time, it felt as though someone else had been raped instead of me. I was very aware that it had happened to me,
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Read More »
How are obsessions and compulsions treated? Combining medication with cognitive-behavioural therapy is usually considered the most effective way to treat the obsessions and compulsions seen in clinical Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, OCD. Several medications are available to treat OCD. These medications are also often effective for treating other kinds of anxiety as well as depression, which are
How are OCD treated? Read More »
Many people have had the unfortunate experience of dealing with a boss or supervisor they perceived as a bully or as inconsiderate. Dealing with such a problematic relationship is sometimes made all the more difficult by the imbalance in the power or authority that each person in the relationship has. On the one hand, a
Dealing with a difficult boss at work? Read More »
Obsessions and compulsions Let’s begin with a description of what obsessions and compulsions might feel like for someone affected: “My rituals invaded every aspect of my life. There was counting; counting really bothered me a lot. I would wash my hair three times as opposed to once because three was a good luck number and
Obsessive-compulsive disorder Read More »
Suicide can be a heavy and frightening subject. Knowing someone who has attempted or died by suicide can be shocking and extremely sad. Far more people die by suicide each year than are murdered. The latest data available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that almost 40 thousand suicide deaths were reported
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Borderline Personality Disorder: what is it? People with Borderline Personality Disorder experience chronically unstable moods, behavior, and relationships. They have problems having consistent and calm emotions and thoughts, they show highly impulsive and reckless behavior and they usually have unstable or dangerous relationships with other people. People with this disorder also have high rates of
Borderline Personality Disorder: what is it? Read More »
When most people think of perfectionism, they think of striving at any and all costs to achieve a wanted result. In fact, psychologists have shown that perfectionism has multiple components, some of which are adaptive (and even desirable) while others are actually more problematic (because they get in the way of goals or can lead
