Helping humans one conversation at a time
Helping humans one conversation at a time
This conversation between psychologist Nick Wignall and therapist Emma McAdam is one of the best I’ve heard about how to address social anxiety. The advice is immediately usable whether you’re in therapy or not, or a therapist yourself. There’s a lot there that applies to anxiety more generally and so is worth a listen for […]
Do You Experience or Treat Social Anxiety? Great Podcast for You! Read More »
A new method of therapy called Metacognitive Therapy (MCT) is spreading quickly in Europe but not yet in the US. Early research shows that it’s more effective than Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), which for decades has been the gold standard of evidence-based therapy. In addition to anxiety and depression, MCT is also being used to
Stop Overthinking with Metacognitive Tools Read More »
You don’t need to be a “writer” to make sentences that will change your life. If you want to skip this next part and get started making sentences, go here. A friend sent me this short essay by philosopher/programmer/artist Paul Graham in which he says, “If writing down your ideas always makes them more precise
Why We Need to Make Sentences Read More »
Psychologist Michael Greenberg lays out four different kinds of compulsive thinking traps we often get caught in. I’ve done all of these at one time or another and am glad to have them laid out so I can catch them when they crop up. Rumination is a common but very unhelpful habit that fuels unhappiness
Pay Attention to these thinking traps Read More »
Most of us didn’t grow up learning how to take care of difficult feelings and it’s rare that adults are able to model this well. So many of us arrive into adulthood with more emotional reactivity and more emotional avoidance habits than we need. Small things set us off and we can get to feeling
What to do with those terrible, horrible, no good, very bad feelings Read More »
When we circle around and around on a topic in a tight, repetitive way — that’s ruminating. Our minds will try to convince us that we’re solving a problem when we’re actually just stirring the same tired mud puddle. And often the feeling tone of rumination is negative, whether it’s worry, regret, or self-criticism. Problems
Stop ruminating: it’ll make a big difference in your life Read More »
The five techniques described in this short piece loosen the grip that sticky thoughts have on us. The TED talk on that same page about developing psychological flexibility is really good as well. The short-hand for these practices is “thought defusion” and in short they are: Our sticky thoughts often get to run the show
Making difficult Thoughts Less Sticky Read More »