PSYCH PERSPECTIVES

                         Fear, panic & mass hysteria…. How to get through a global health panic-demic by thinking realistically and by trying to reconnect to both ourselves, our families & ultimately to eachother as a global society! Fear. Just the name in itself can be enough to generate its namesake. Repeated enough & the intensity could be increased to full blown panic. Of course at a mild level, fear is nothing more than caution, which can be a good thing. Even having some degree of fear can be helpful, in order to keep us out of a potentially harmful or dangerous situation. In dealing with the worldwide outbreak of this year’s Coronavirus (COVID-19), the term fear takes on a whole new level of intensity. Full blown panic, hysteria generated by this pandemic or as i’ve started calling it a global health “panic-demic!” (A phrase, which I coined, to describe the world wide hysteria associated with the virus)…Question being: is this level of fear all wa

                                                                      Society encourages us to be social. It is built into and engrained into our whole way of function. Socializing does in fact have many psychological and physical -health benefits. Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter have made billions of dollars, capitalizing on our "friendships". However, with all of this pressure and encouragement to socialize with everyone, the billion dollar question might be, "What if we just don't feel the need to?"  What if having one or two good friends is all that we really need to get by? What if we spend 6 out of 7 nights in the solitude of our own home? What if we are just simply not as comfortable in larger groups, social outings, or prefer to have a night at home with Netflix, rather than a night out in the city bar hopping? Is there anything really wrong with that? Many would label that as "Socially awkward", "Soci

   Parents love keeping their kid's busy. It seems it has become a new interwoven fabric in today's parenting. On Monday; its karate, then play rehearsal, Tuesday; piano lessons, therapy, after school homework help, Wed; clarinet lessons, social group club, Thur;....Well this pattern continues right on into the weekend, where they have basketball-soccer-softball games, stop at grandma's house, over indulgence on X-box (3-4 hours of screen time), followed by another 3-4 hours of IPAD time, and before you know it, the weekend is over, and back to Monday madness....again!! With all that, there seems to be no time to even relax, breath or just be. Well "relax, breath and just be" will be the theme here, as it is highly important and beneficial to give our kids a break sometime, and teach them the importance of doing so, and not always having to be busy!     It seems many Kids these days, of all ages, are just way over-anxious, restless, worried or on-

  An opinionated blog.                                                                                                           Feb. 3, 2014.      Don't get me wrong, I love the internet! I use it for many things, from paying bills, booking vacations, social media, to watching my favorite movies/TV shows and downloading  music...Don't we all? Well maybe that is precisely the problem!! We have become "dependent" on the internet, which is magnified if you are under 30 years old, however even those in their 40s-80s and beyond, can be impacted!        Lets face it, the internet is it's "own world", so it is easy to lose site of our "real world" when we are constantly connected to it. Add to the fact that we can now carry the internet wherever we go in the palm of our hands via our smart phones, means it is always connected to us, as well. So is this "constant connection" to the internet good for us psychologically? While there a

 For many the holiday season brings joy, cheer, positive energy and families together. It is a season of giving, and cherishing those we love & care about... And for some, its about pretending to cherish those we really can't stand the rest of the year! For some holiday season isn't all that fun at all. For this group of people, its anything but "the most wonderful time of year"... The holidays can often bring about mood issues, anxiety, stress and depression. It can trigger anger/frustration and often bring out the grinch in some. For others it triggers drinking, or other substance use- relapse or even suicide attempts.... So why is that? 1- Loneliness: Being lonely on the holiday is the #1 reason for holiday depression. Not everybody has a family, or at least a close one. Not everyone has friendships, or at least supportive ones. Seeing "everybody else" bond with their family and friends can be very agonizing and depressing for those who wish