Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Quite Possibly The Most Important Idea For Happiness & Emotional Health

I am so grateful that one of my clients recently reminded me of something she tells herself whenever she needs to regain her emotional composure.  I was blown away by the insightfulness of her thinking and told her so.  She said, "Well I learned this from you."  I want to pass along the essence of this extremely important idea while protecting her confidentiality. 

Paraphrasing what she said, she tells herself, "I feel the way I think. So when I want to feel better, I must correct the way I am thinking." And for me, that pretty much sums it all up: We only feel as well as we think. No better, no worse, no ifs, and no buts. Our happiness and mental health are forever determined by how well we apply this idea, so let's all get good at it!

Creating Greater Happiness & Emotional Health:  Because life doesn't offer the help we need, many of us struggle with happiness. But those who desire a happier and healthier life can create it.  My passion is working with people who have this desire.. 

The desire for a happy and healthy life moves us forward. We can learn the best ways to build strong self-esteem, the best ways to overcome problems with anxiety, depression and addiction, and the best ways to experience happier relationships over our lifetime.  By gaining this knowledge, we not only create a better world for ourselves, but also for our friends and family, and for the world around us.

As a cognitive-behavioral psychologist for more than three decades now, my experience shows that with the right tools we can readily learn how to elevate and maintain emotional well-being and happiness. I invite you to discover many of the essential tools right here at the Think Right, Feel Right Blogoscope.

Sunday, August 14, 2016

Defeating Negative Thinking: The Trouble With Using Thought Stopping

Thought stopping is a popular technique that is used to curb negative thinking and emotion. For instance, If I tell myself to stop thinking "I really  hate going to the dentist office," I will probably feel less distressed about going to the dentist. That's because I stopped the troubling thought.  However, although this technique may help, it is not a panacea.

The trouble with thought stopping is that it does not really get rid of the trouble—we still have the upsetting thought in our head.  As long as we still believe awful thoughts about visiting the dentist, we will be in for a lot  more trouble and more thought stopping. Thought stopping only provides a temporary fix.  If we want a lasting solution, we have to replace our disturbing thoughts with better ones.  A useful technique for for doing this is called cognitive restructuring.  I will post more on cognitive restructuring.

Creating Greater Happiness & Emotional Health:  Because life doesn't offer the help we need, many of us struggle with happiness. But those who desire a happier and healthier life can create it.  My passion is working with people who have this desire.. 

The desire for a happy and healthy life moves us forward. We can learn the best ways to build strong self-esteem, the best ways to overcome problems with anxiety, depression and addiction, and the best ways to experience happier relationships over our lifetime.  By gaining this knowledge, we not only create a better world for ourselves, but also for our friends and family, and for the world around us.

As a cognitive-behavioral psychologist for more than three decades now, my experience shows that with the right tools we can readily learn how to elevate and maintain emotional well-being and happiness. I invite you to discover many of the essential tools right here at the Think Right, Feel Right Blogoscope.

Monday, August 8, 2016

Helping People Who Want To Be Happier And Healthier.

Because life doesn't offer the help we need, we struggle with happiness. But with the right help, I believe that all of us can be happier and healthier in our relationships—both with ourselves and with others.  My passion is helping those who desire greater happiness.

The desire to be happier can move us forward.  We can learn the best ways to to build strong self-esteem, the best ways to overcome problems with anxiety, depression and addiction, and the best ways to experience happier relationships over our lifetime.  By gaining this knowledge, we not only create a better world for ourselves, but also for our friends and family, and for the world around us.

As a cognitive-behavioral psychologist for more than three decades now, my experience shows that with the right tools we readily learn how to elevate and maintain emotional well-being and happiness. I invite you to discover many of the essential tools right here at the Think Right, Feel Right Blogoscope.

Friday, August 5, 2016

Dial Back On The Political Vitriol

Our political pot has reached the boiling point. Fueled by mounting social and economic fears, a widening divide between liberals and conservatives and rampant zealotry, the conduct of our political campaigns has sunk to unsavory lows. This political season, almost anything goes. Day after day, we find ourselves surrounded by shameless half-truths, character assassinations and political diatribe driven by a win-at-any-cost fervor. The news cycle seizes upon and intensifies the discord. We get drawn into the degrading fracas.
Not in a good way, we become part of the problem. When those "on the other side" denigrate our values, we set aside the rules of civility and go on the attack. By descending into the same biased and ill-mannered behavior that we see in our political candidates, just like them we provoke conflict rather than reasoned discourse. We become part of the ill-tempered political drama that swirls around us. We become like them.
Yes, our values are precious to us, but that doesn't mean we are justified or well-served to throw away the rule book because others are. Civility and respect are always important. Emulating the ravaging political demeanor of this election cycle when our values are challenged brings no good. We feel and act better when we stand for what we believe in without the vitriol.


The inspiration for this site: I believe all of us can gain the skills for emotional health and happiness.  My passion is offering help to those who share this vision.  We can learn the ways to defeat anxiety, depression, and addiction and build strong self-esteem, positivity and happiness over a lifetime.  By gaining these critical life skills, we create a better world for ourselves and the world around us. 

My experience as a cognitive-behavioral psychologist for more than three decades now shows that, when given the right tools, people readily learn how to elevate and maintain emotional well-being and happiness. You can learn about many of the essential tools right here, at the Think Right Feel Right Blogoscope


My vision here: I believe we can all learn the secrets of emotional health and happiness.   We can defeat troubling conditions such as anxiety, depression and addiction, and empower strong self-esteem, positivity and happiness over a lifetime.  My passion is helping others who share this vision.  

Experience gained from my 30+ years practice in cognitive-behavioral psychology shows that, when given the right tools, people readily learn to elevate and maintain emotional health and happiness.  At the Think Right Feel Right Blogoscope you will find  practical tools and information for achieving these goals .