Emotional and psychological trauma is the direct result of very unusually stressful events that tend to fracture our sense of safety and security. These events, like the tragic bombings in Boston this week, leave us feeling vulnerable and scared. It rocks our foundation and makes us doubt our previously-held beliefs...

Making peace with your anxiety and not fighting it is a concept used in everyday mindfulness training that was first introduced to me years ago when I was grappling with severe symptoms of anxiety. Back then, when I first heard it, I thought it was ridiculous. Others might be capable...

Although I am not very political, I have voted in every election dating back to 1980. I am not an economist or a businessman. I am not a master at foreign policy, I am not a lawyer and I don't know how to fix the health care system. But I...

What is holiday stress?

There are many reasons why we suffer from holiday stress, but one of the reasons is we unknowingly put undue pressure on ourselves with unrealistic expectations that generally revolve around family, friends, time management and spending.

The holiday hype that starts at the end of Halloween...

After the 9/11 attacks on American soil that took so many lives, a writer reflected as to why certain horrific life events are so much harder to endure and subsequently so much harder to understand. He discussed the concept of tragedy vs. atrocity. He said that in a tragedy, there...

Is empty nest syndrome a real psychological condition to be reckoned with or just a natural process of life? Well, it's both.

With September approaching, many teenagers will be leaving the nest and parents will be left with mixed feelings that are sometimes difficult to manage. Empty nest syndrome is...

Over the many years of treating couples in my private practice, I have used six behavioral directives that help committed relationships last. These directives are of course only effective when both partners are honestly dedicated to the relationship and are willing to change and grow together.

Remember, all couples...

If I have a personal belief or a fixed thought that a "real man" is a stoic individual who should never ask for help -- because that indicates weakness -- I will be critical of myself whenever I am sad or whenever I am going through a difficult time. I...

The kind of separateness we are discussing here does not mean indifference or isolation from others, and it does not mean avoiding intimate relationships either. The power of separateness comes in the form of a human connectedness that values the treasured spaces that exist between us and others. When we...

According to existentialist thinkers like Jean Paul Sartre and Soren Kierkegaard, we are born into a cold and empty universe with no meaning. Consequently, when humans fully comprehend this void and isolation is when the "self" is born. The practice of living existentially is a parallel process of defining the...

Whether we know it or not, we all possess core values that drive our existence. These values are the pillars that support the infrastructure of our lives. They are the reason why we get up in the morning. They are also the fabric of who we are as individuals, because...

Extreme Acceptance: The X Games for the Mind

The concept of "Extreme Acceptance" is purely a state of mind. It is a sweeping mental attitude that in many ways can act as a universal coping skill. It is not a destination or a goal, but instead, the ongoing process of...

Over the many years of treating patients suffering from stress, excessive worry and even severe anxiety disorders, I have discovered that many of these individuals cling to the notion of a "consensus reality."

Consensus reality is a cognitive construct we unknowingly subscribe to as ultimate truth. It is a narrow...

Throughout our lives, we often inspire undue stress and anxiety by viewing our existence with a "dualistic mind." We create a world of private duality, a world that is limited to fixed or black and white thinking. We do this because it gives us a (false) sense of security and...

As we progress deeper into the new millennium, and since the terrorist attacks of 9/11 a decade ago, we have seen more traumatic events unfold than ever before.

Think about it. In the 10 years since 9/11, we have been unremittingly slammed with persistent and often overwhelming stressors that...