#psychcentral

[mood-swings-and-roundabouts]

If You Wonder Why You Should Stay Alive, This Is for You

Why do we need to live life? There are many possible answers to that question, and here are 22 of them, together with an exercise to find yo

[drekingreen]

25 Fabulous Years of Psych Central: An Interview with Founder & CEO John Grohol

http://dlvr.it/RRYKcM

[arcticdementor]

Toxic Positivity: It’s a Thing

Every once in a while, the popular culture calls BS on a phenomenon in a refreshing backlash. I’ve been hearing “toxic positivity” mentioned a lot lately, and I love it! I remember the positive-thinking bandwagon as a product of the 1970s—possibly...

Every once in a while, the popular culture calls BS on a phenomenon in a refreshing backlash. I’ve been hearing “toxic positivity” mentioned a lot lately, and I love it!

I remember the positive-thinking bandwagon as a product of the 1970s—possibly as an offshoot of the hippie movement, but it’s probably always been around. I just got old enough to observe it during that time. It really took off during the early days of the internet, when The Celestine Prophecy was a bestseller and the self-help book section at Border’s expanded into the surrounding aisles.

The Internet is fertile ground for vacuous new-age memes declaring that it’s all about attitude. Now, I don’t dispute that attitude matters, and can make the difference between success and failure, but to think that we can all control our destinies with positivity is just magical thinking. Worse, it leads to victim-blaming. If you die of cancer, it’s because you didn’t visualize hard enough to make your good cells kill your bad cells. If your business fails in a tough market, it’s because you didn’t attract prosperity and manifest your own success.

…

Positivity becomes toxic when it fails to process the legitimate underlying emotions judged to be “negative.” Negative feelings are ignored and repressed. Emotions are complex, though, and using mindless positivity to shove “negative” feelings aside will lock you into a zero growth pattern. Grief is real, regret is real, even shame. Those emotions are our teachers, and mindlessly positive people are cutting class.

People with invisible disabilities are a favored target of toxic positivity. We look fine, why all the stinkin’ thinkin’? Turn that frown upside down and get back in the game. Are you cringing yet? We’ve all had our feelings diminished and even been shamed for them. There is a balance to be struck between suffering and joie de vivre, and we’re not always perfect at putting on a happy face. That’s okay. We’re learning and growing. Pollyanna Patty or Peter, not so much. Do you have an example of toxic positivity to share?

[laurenlcsw]

https://psychcentral.com/blog/how-to-deal-with-an-especially-cruel-inner-critic/

Your relationship with yourself sets the tone for every other relationship you have.

This is probably the third time in not very many posts on Instagram that I’ve shared this sentiment, but it’s really that important.

So many of us are unbelievably hard on ourselves. And it’s hard to know where to begin in changing that relationship.

Check out my contributions to the Psych Central article linked above on how to manage an especially cruel inner critic.

#psychcentral #innercritic #selfesteem #selfcare #selflove #nyclife #loveyourself #nyctherapy #haes #haestherapy #therapy #relationships #relationshipgoals https://www.instagram.com/p/BogzHItH-Kn/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=185nkeem5mj9m

[drasadonbrown]

"Boundaries are in simple terms, the recognition of personal space." @drasadonbrown

#quote #boundaries @psychcentral

[arcticdementor]

A new research study suggests men are almost as likely as women to want children, and they feel more isolated, depressed, angry and sad than women if they don't have them. This finding, presented at the British Sociological Association annual conference, challenges many preconceived notions regarding marriage, parenting and family life. Investigators discovered that cultural and family expectations were among the main influences on men's wish to have children. The suggestion that men are more distraught when a couple cannot have children is significant. For the study, Robin Hadley of Keele University surveyed 27 men and 81 women who were not parents. He asked them if they wanted to have children and why. Hadley found that 59 percent of men and 63 percent of women said they wanted children. Of the men who wanted children: 50 percent had experienced isolation because they did not have any children, compared with 27 percent women; 38 percent had experienced depression because they did

A new research study suggests men are almost as likely as women to want children, and they feel more isolated, depressed, angry and sad than women if they don’t have them.

This finding, presented at the British Sociological Association annual conference, challenges many preconceived notions regarding marriage, parenting and family life.

[michaelsmosey]

Plenty of perfectly good humans end their lives on account of work/money. There is an overwhelming sense of failure that often comes along with living a different life than the one we think we’re supposed to have. And that is unfair, I think. And it sucks.

Serge Bielanko; Your Career Never, Ever Reflects Your Self-Worth

[lovejam]

Dedicated to those left behind by a beloved pet.