This week’s Psychology Around the Net is, unsurprisingly, heavy on COVID-19 news. Get tips on how to build a psychological first aid kit, the latest on how coronavirus quarantine could affect different kids, ways your media consumption is traumatizing you, and more. Be well, friends! How to Build a “Psychological First Aid Kit”: The American Mountain Guides Association recently published...[ read more ]
Empathy is a powerful tool to enrich your life. What is the purpose of empathy in our lives? ‘Empathy’ is often a word you use with respect to other people and your expectations of them. We make comments like “they don’t have empathy” or “they need empathy.” Sometimes it seems as though we don’t have a deep understanding of what...[ read more ]
Some Simple Techniques to Take the Self-Sabotage Out of Your Coping Skills The thing about coping skills is that we develop them in order to cope with hardship. But how good are we at letting down our guard and allowing ourselves moments free of hardship? How do we remember how to let in serenity, to make room for it in...[ read more ]
Grudges are exasperating. Holding one eats away at our insides, no matter how much we think someone deserves it. You may have heard that holding a grudge is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die. It’s no picnic to be on the receiving end of a grudge either. The person who resents us could be a...[ read more ]
I am a psychotherapist. In the last month, I’ve heard a lot about guilty feelings like: I feel guilty I’m not on the front lines. I feel guilty I have a nice place to live during quarantine. I feel guilty others have died and lost loved ones and I have not. I feel guilty for not helping out enough. I...[ read more ]
Do you ever wish you had an always-available friend to confide in? One who never got tired of hearing your woes? How about a non-judgmental robot who only gives the best advice based on cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)? Well, now you’re in luck! Let us introduce you to Woebot, a robot character who helps you identify your distorted thinking. In...[ read more ]
Is your mind constantly preoccupied with the past or the future? What if you could train your brain to just BE in the present moment? This is the essence of mindfulness — simply being in the here-and-now (not worrying about that stupid thing you said last week), and gently noticing your surroundings and thoughts without judgment. In today’s podcast,...[ read more ]
For many of us, the pandemic has triggered a tornado of emotions. And we can’t rely on our usual self-care practices to pull us through, which can make us feel even more overwhelmed and disoriented. The pandemic can lead past traumas to resurface. Some of Amber Petrozziello’s clients have been reminded of being unable to leave their homes while struggling...[ read more ]
People all around the world are on lockdown. Many — though not all — suddenly have fewer commitments on their calendars than they ever had before. Freed from all the traveling to work or school and back, from rushing out to meet other people at restaurants or sporting events, and from doing all those errands that are no longer possible...[ read more ]
As we collectively experience the prolonged pandemic emergency due to the spread of the coronavirus, and as we make our way through a new norm of social distancing and practicing shelter-in-place (or staying home), it’s important to find different ways of managing the excessive worry and fear that is hitting all of us very hard. It’s hit us hard in...[ read more ]
