Psychology teaches that we are born with a life instinct which drives us toward growth and creation, along with the death instinct, which drives us toward destruction and disintegration. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), said that to avoid being destroyed by our own death instinct, we employ our Narcissistic or, self-regarding lifeContinue Reading
The ancient Greeks spoke of and were acquainted with the violence of emotional excess, which they called “madness” or “frenzy.” However, it wasn’t until the work of Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) that we gained an insight into the “passions” and the origin of emotional disorders, as well as the general theoryContinue Reading
Emotions have been described and defined throughout history. Various passions were analyzed within certain dialogues of Plato and in Aristotle’s “Rhetoric,” as well as in Greek discussions of virtue and vice. All through the ages man has been trying to analyze and understand emotions. Francis Bacon (1561-1626) recommended “The PoetsContinue Reading
The word habit has been used since ancient times, and its root is derived from the verb “to have.” Artistotle considered this meaning in the sense that a man may be said “to have a coat or tunic” or to have “a piece of knowledge or a virtue.” So habitsContinue Reading
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs lists the qualities he observed in successful people who aimed high but kept their feet on the ground. Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) created a highly structured plan to explain his path of human motivation that people need to follow as they move to self-actualization. The plan isContinue Reading
Americans are four times more likely to suffer from Generalized Anxiety than Mexicans living south of the border, according to a 2002 World Health Organization (WHO) study. Other studies have found that Mexicans recover from anxiety attacks twice as quickly as Americans. However, Mexicans who migrate to the United StatesContinue Reading
If families were viewed as living human beings they would be living in a hospital intensive care unit on life support, suffering from an incurable disease that would most probably be passed on to their children. This disease is called codependency, and although it is not officially a disease, itContinue Reading
The human personality develops through eight distinct and predetermined psychosocial development stages from birth to old age. According to psychiatrist Erik Erikson (1902-1994), each stage of human life has its own psychosocial task or crisis that needs a resolution. By successfully managing each stage, we develop as mentally healthy individuals.Continue Reading
Personality Disorders are inflexible patterns of behavior that impair social functioning. There are usually three components or clusters, beginning with anxiety then moving to a group of eccentric behaviors, continuing to the third cluster of dramatic or impulsive behaviors. Antisocial Personality Disorder is characterized by a lack of consciousness coupledContinue Reading
Today’s breathtaking speed of tehnological change is dramatically altering people’s behavior. Research indicates technology is helping to produce new unintended psychological disorders. One such disorder, sometimes called internet addiction, is also coupled with smartphone usage marked by excessive and dysfunctional levels of texting, tweeting, networking, gaming, browsing, emailing, blogging, onlineContinue Reading