I have wondered for awhile if it is possible to communicate with other living things through electromagnetic waves that are emitted by our brains.  This could explain how caring about someone can be felt by that person or how prayer works or how empathy works or how intuition works, etc.  Of course it is not…

I have previously blogged about the importance of not feeling responsible for others and not taking responsibility for others as this inevitably leads to stress and anxiety.  Why does it? Well, it is actually not possible to be responsible for others as they are separate human beings.  I know, as a parent or even as…

It has become clear in my work with people that when they are interacting with others and feel exhausted or drained that something is wrong in how they are interacting. This may seem obvious but fairly often people tell me that they are exhausted by being with certain people. Now it may be only certain…

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry [AACAP] has a new initiative called “Break the Cycle” to fund new research; increase the number of child psychiatrists; and help mentally ill children to get the treatment they need. The May/June 2017 issue of the  AACAP News contains statistics including that: 50% of all mental illness…

I was listening to a TED talk by Anne Lamott [from June, 2017] and she mentioned that “there is almost nothing outside of you that will help in a lasting way.”  Ms. Lamott believes that “it’s an inside job.” We are responsible for helping ourselves in lasting ways. This idea is complemented by her other…

The first amendment to our constitution prohibits the making of any law abridging the freedom of speech.  The supreme court has clarified the extent of the protection for free speech.  This applies only to speech against the government and more recently has been broadened to allow for more political dissent.  Of significance lately is concern…

A few years ago as part of a course that focused on spiritual journey’s, I watched a short film called “The Butterfly Circus.” The film is about encouraging people to believe in themselves and take responsibility for themselves. It is not about enabling people by acting like they can’t do things themselves. The circus performers…

These are three things that the leader of the “Butterfly Circus” said to the limbless man.  I have recently blogged again about this wonderful short film called “Butterfly Circus.” I was discussing this film with some of my patients who had watched it, at my encouragement. We discussed the statement “of course you have an…

The nocebo effect is the opposite of a placebo effect, so it is a negative response to a sham treatment where the person believes that they are getting the treatment but actually are not. What is amazing is how powerful expectations and outlook are as the placebo response is often close to that for those…

I have recently been thinking about the idea that wisdom is connected to knowing that we don’t know anything. I was aware of this idea from reading that after Socrates was called the wisest person in ancient Greece he at first doubted this until he realized that his wisdom was because he knew that he…