finebergpsychotherapy

The brain’s irregular responses to taste may predispose to eating disorders. (Scientific American Mind, 2014, 25(2), p. 10)

Patrick Hardin: As children, we have imaginary friends. We grow up and we replace them with imaginary enemies.

Taffel (2014) spoke of the need for three-dimensional, fully connected, parenting rather than two-dimensional parenting. He saw two-dimensional parenting as resulting from several factors. He described today’s parents as hyper-stimulated and too distracted by technology, especially cell phones, to pay full attention to their children. Helicopter parents are too intrusive to provide the soothing, quiet times and explorations that children need to have on their own. Some parents respond too much by-the-book. They are trying too hard to follow the advice of parenting experts to respond from the heart.

He blames two-dimensional parenting for the decline in self-reported well-being by in-coming college freshman. He recommends three-dimensional parenting, comprised of both firm limit-setting and sensitive attunement, as providing the authentic parenting that encourages the development of secure, firm attachment.

Taffel, R. (2014). The rise of the two-dimensional parent. Psychotherapy Networker, 38(5), 18-25 & 46.

Steve Jobs: Let’s go invent tomorrow instead of worrying about what happened yesterday.

Toni Morrison’s book Home( 2012) is certainly as vivid a rendering of post-traumatic stress disorder brought on by the Korean war as is available in literature. It is also a story about the home coming of a veteran who had left his hometown with adolescent contempt for its people and culture and returned to recognize their rich possibilities for healing and community. There was also a little man in a zoot suit who magically appeared and disappeared. I don’t know what he symbolized to Ms. Morrison. To me, he was another variation of the fiddler on the roof, an embodiment of the magic and vitality of life in spite of its tragedies

Lily Tomlin: Reality is the leading cause of stress among those in touch with it.

Feelings of loneliness can have toxic health effects, while strong social connections can be beneficial.Some benefits are greater pain tolerance, a stronger immune system, and lower risk of depression and early death. For those who do not feel lonely even though they have few contacts, there is no need to force friendships. It’s not few friends but the feelings of isolation that can be harmful over time. Monitor on Psychology, 2014, 45(1), 54-58.

Playing video games may increase the brain’s areas responsible for spacial navigation. (Monitor on Psychology 2014, 45(1), p. 118.)

Research gives evidence that our lives are likely to feel meaningful when we feel socially connected, when we are in a positive mood, and when our world makes sense. Most people feel that their lives are meaningful. (Heintzelman, S. J., & King, L. A. (2014). Life is pretty meaningful. American Psychologist, 69 (6), 561-574.)

Joan Rivers: People say that money is not the key to happiness, but I always figured if you have enough money, you can have a key made.