Beautiful landscape with colorful butterflies

Peter Michaelson · February 12, 2016 ·

Primary Sidebar

Search this website

MOST OF OUR suffering is

avoidable. Our emotional and behavioral problems can be resolved. We just have to understand how our psyche works. This website is dedicated to teaching vital psychological knowledge. Do you need help to curb drinking or to get off drugs? Are you facing a divorce or a career failure? Are you anxious, depressed, or overwhelmed by life's challenges? Perhaps you're simply unable to get your mind or intelligence into high gear. I can help. I'm Peter Michaelson, an author and psychotherapist in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I teach people how to overcome unconscious programming that produces suffering and self-defeat.

WHY WE SUFFER–THE BOOK

My book, Why We Suffer--A Western Way to Understand and Let Go of Unhappiness, is the story of what mainstream psychology has failed to teach the world. The depth psychology in this book has vital insights, answers, and solutions for you. Click on the Books link above for more information. --

Other Articles

Are You Addicted to Self-Punishment?
A Hidden Cause of Loneliness
The Impulse to Destroy Democracy
We Get Stronger by Seeing Our Weakness
The Warmonger in Our Psyche
Armed with Stubbornness, the Weak Go on the Warpath
How to Rescue Yourself from Suffering
My New Book (of Poetry!) Is Versed in Depth Psychology
Finding in Self the Richness of Being
Sports Fans and Their Discontents
Two Terrible Voices in Your Head
Why People Support Donald Trump
The Vital Knowledge We Disown
Climate Anxiety and the Psyche
Abandonment, Self-Abandonment, and Democracy
Our Readiness to Feel Controlled
The Key to Emotional Self-Regulation
Seven Villains in a Sad Love Story
The Latest Pandemic: Feeling Overwhelmed
The Blindness of the Species
Why Americans Are So Wretchedly Divided
Are You Passive to Your Mind?
What Freud Knew That We Still Hate to See
The Emotional Conflict Behind 50 Mental-Health Symptoms
A Novelist’s Quest to Unravel His Madness
When Inner Growth Feels Impossibly Difficult
Haunted by Incessant Wanting
My New Book: Healing Our Deadly Flaw
Inner Conflict’s Role in Child Suicide
Putin’s Psyche
The Flaw Wars that Sabotage Relationships
Can You Be Your Own Therapist?
The Difference Between Learned Helplessness and Inner Passivity
The Sad Sordidness of Inner Conflict
The Deep Knowledge that Liberates the Self
The Four Dimensions of Our Ego
Are You Overly Sensitive to Rejection?
Evolving Consciousness is the Lifeblood of Mental Health
Answers to Questions from Readers (Part 9)
Don’t Be Duped by Your Defenses
The Shocking Secrets of the Psyche
The Undercover Enabler of Habitual Oversleeping
Understanding the Assault on the U.S. Capitol
The Sheepishness of the Psyche: A One-Act Play
Three Self-Defeating Reactions at the Heart of American Disunity
Answers to Questions from Readers (Part 8)
Our Compulsion to Self-Punish
Ego and Self Do Battle for the Soul of America
The Hazards of Inner Conflict
A Toxic Inner Process Afflicts Humanity
Don’t Let America Betray Herself
Inner Conflict Ripens in the Hothouse of Pandemic
Living and Dying with Coronavirus
How the Coronavirus Plays with Our Mind
Access the Genius Within
How Meditation and Depth Psychology Overlap
Guilt: A Favorite Way to Suffer
Understanding the Psyche of Boys
The Joy of Militant Ignorance
Answers to Questions From Readers (Part 7)
Breaking the Chains of Self-Imposed Oppression
Jordan Peterson’s Blind Spot
Learning to See Ourselves Objectively
When Food is Used to Feed Inner Conflict
How You Can Save the World
The Inner Critic is a Primitive Brute Force
The Self-Defeat of Passive Morning Thoughts
Get Rid of Guilt with Deeper Insight (II)
Discover Sublimation, the Agent of Success
The U.S. Government’s Flawed Intelligence on Clinical Depression
Answers to Questions from Readers (Part 6)
12 Ways We Fail to See or Experience Reality
Is Ambivalence a Hidden Factor in Much of Human Misery?
Inner Conflict is the Source of Cognitive Distortion
A Psychological Hindrance to National Unity
A Technique for Overcoming Insomnia
Liberals Need More Psychological Insight
Why We Urgently Need Inner Truth
Notes to Psychotherapists on Addressing Inner Passivity
Are You Living Your True Story?
Another Visual Portrayal of Our Psyche’s Dynamics
Get to Know Your Psyche’s Operating Systems
Illustrating the Characters Who Mess With Our Mind
How to Love Yourself
Don’t Let Inner Passivity Undermine Democracy
Connecting With Our Best Self
The Deeper Roots of Social Unrest
The Las Vegas Killer’s Hidden Motive
My Latest Book is Now Available
Insight that Conquers Incessant Negative Thinking
New Editions of All My Books Now Available
The Exhausting Race against Time
The Perils of Past, Present, and Future
The Mocking Voice of Inner Resistance
The Essentials of Empowerment for Enablers and Codependents
Answers to Questions from Readers (Part 5)
The Appeal of Alternative Facts
Are You a Clone of Your Identifications?
Unmasking Fear Itself
Fundamentalism and the Psyche
Ascending to Joy
Now’s the Time for Heroes
Feeling Like a Fraud or an Imposter?
The Invisible Wall of Psychological Resistance
Cognitive Therapy’s Flawed Premise
Dealing with Election Aftershock
After the Election: Healing the Divide
Collapsing into Helplessness
Solve the Mystery of Your Suffering
Answers to Questions from Readers (Part 4)
An Insightful Case of Self-Injury
Understanding Inner Evil in Mass-Killers
A Common Theme in Relationship Strife
Breaking Free of Inner Passivity
Are You Hopeless of Ever Finding Love?
Words to Enlighten Younger Children
Deeper Reflections on Inner Passivity
Escape the Misery of Moodiness
Answers to Questions from Readers (Part 3)
Emotional Fortitude for Anxious Times
Follow Your Fantasies to Self-Awareness
Answers to Questions from Readers (Part 2)
The Art of Self-Regulation
The Thrill of Fear
Answers to Questions from Readers
“Why Am I so Easily Discouraged?”
Paris and Our Discontents
Unconscious Bias in Race Relations
Acquiring a Feel for Natural Aggression
Defensiveness for Dummies
Exposing the Roots of Emotional Suffering
Who Wants to Be a Celebrity?
Say Goodbye to Your Regrets
How to Recognize Good Psychotherapy
Visions of Human Destiny
Tears of Self-Deception
Westerners Who Identify with Terrorists
A Decisive Look at Indecision
Neurotics on Capitol Hill
Inner Passivity Impairs Leadership Skills
Hidden Dynamics of Racism
Unconscious Factors Fuel Abortion Fight
The Two-Minute Inner Workout
Defeating the Inner Bully
When Life Becomes Unreal and Dreamlike
Releasing Inner Passivity
Deliverance from Addictions & Compulsions
Life’s Painful Entanglements (Part II)
Insight into Gender Identity Disorder
The Psychology of Wealth Disparity
How Do We Achieve Self-Control?
Anger and the APA
A Painful Game People Play (Part I)
Prisoners of Guilt
Neurosis Unbound
The Lingering Pain of Old Shame
Emerging from Shyness
An Unconscious Factor in PTSD
When in Doubt about Sexual Orientation
Why Students Fail to Learn
How to Enhance Your Verbal Skill
Be Brave when Truth Comes Knocking
What Warps the Mind of Domestic Terrorists?
Greed as a Mental-Health Disorder
The Core of Being
The Folly of Modern Psychology
The Scoop on Intimate Partner Abuse
Tormented Mothers, Endangered Babies
Terrific Knowledge for Trying Times
Stung by Ingratitude
How to Be Your Own Inner Guide
Does Inner Growth Require Practical Steps?
A Remedy for Feeling Trapped
The Golden Rule Needs Depth Psychology
A Deadly Case of Inner Conflict
Vital Knowledge for Marriage Intimacy
Stressed Out in America
Four Steps to Stifle Our Inner Critic
Oh, Sweet Narcissism
The Pain We Lock Away
Cognitive Therapy’s Distorted Thinking
Indecisive No More
Chasing the Shadow
How Inner Passivity Robs Men of Power
A New Understanding of Bipolar Disorder
A Chaos Theory of the Mind
Free Yourself from Inner Conflict
Curbing Our Appetite for Brutality
The Futility of Compulsive Approval-Seeking
How Worriers Unconsciously Chose to Suffer
Get to Know Your Psychological Defenses
The Love Song of the Self
Finding Inner Longitude
Overcoming a Type of Resistance to Studying
Understanding Anorexia
The Human Weakness behind Alcoholism
Rebutting 9/11 Conspiracy Beliefs
Achieving Inner Freedom
The Mysterious Allure of Kinky Sex
Hooked on Deprivation
Aspects of Women’s Empowerment (Part II)
Men’s Resistance to Women’s Empowerment
The Missing Link in OCD
A Hidden Reason for Suicidal Thoughts
Overcoming Fear of Intimacy
O Shame, Where is Thy Secret Source?
The Correct Interpretation of Our Dreams
Escaping the Clutches of Helplessness
The Double Barrels of Gun Mania
Exterminate Infestations of Negative Thoughts
The Psychology Behind Mass Shootings
Our Messy Mix of Aggression and Passivity
Speeding Up Our Evolution
Why Our Emotional Suffering Persists
Easing Tension and Stress at Family Gatherings
Wallowing in the Lap of Bitterness
The Hidden Dynamics of Marital Strife
The Psychological Roots of National Disunity
The Futile Dialogue in Our Head
Psychologists of the World, Go Deeper
When You Feel Bad About Yourself
Cultivating a Life of Disappointment
Lost in the Fog of Inner Passivity
The Private Joke behind Our Laughter
Why We Fear and Hate the Truth
When Eyes Are Blinders of the Soul
How Deeper Insight Relieves Stress
When Money Enriches Our Suffering
The Common Ingredient in Human Misery
The Infantile Basis of Our Fears
Cynicism: The Battle Cry of the Wimp
Desperately Seeking Validation
Being Seen in a Negative Light
The Need to Believe in Yourself
Why We Dither on Climate Change
Avoidable Miseries of the Workplace
Taming the “Little Monsters” of Insomnia
A Plague of Neurosis Upon Our House
The Origins of Feeling Overwhelmed
Teach Your Children Well
Why We’re Quick to “Go Negative”
8 Ways We Sabotage Physical Health
Occupy the Psyche
The Astonishing Basis of Our Addictions
Deliverance From the Lonesome Blues
Our Global Strategy for Self-Defeat
The Mayo Clinic’s Bogus Psychology
The Meaning of Evolved Consciousness
The Hanky-Panky Behind Our Anger
Lincoln’s Integrity, Our Integrity
Stubbornness: The Guts to Fight Reality
A Participant in National Self-Sabotage
Underlying Dynamics that Breed Bullies
Deliverance from Low-Level Anxiety
The Politburo in Your Psyche
Nagging: Love Destroyer, Marriage Killer
A Singular Cause of War
The Temptations of the Injustice Collector
The Dire Determinants of Divorce
Enjoy the Quality of Your Consciousness
The Helplessness Trap in Cravings & Addictions
Mark Twain’s Mysterious Misery-Machine
Obesity and the Dopamine Fallacy
Four Favorite Ways to Suffer
The Deeper Issues that Produce Meanness
Panic Attacks Arise from Within Our Psyche
The Overlooked Factor in Criminal Behavior
The Three Amigos of Woe
Overcoming Incompetence and Its Miseries
Three Great Truths from Psychology
The Hidden Cause of Clinical Depression
Terrorism and the Death Drive
Welcome Aboard the Voyage of Self-Discovery
The Bittersweet Allure of Feeling Unloved
How Inner Fear Becomes Our Worst Nightmare
The Problem with Positive Psychology
Respect, Disrespect, and Self-Respect
Neither a Procrastinator Nor a Dawdler Be
Prose to Shatter Writer’s Block
Stop Smoking through Psychological Insight
The Secret Allures of Pornography
How Deeper Awareness Can Eliminate Shame
When Sexual Desire Covers Up Self-Sabotage
The Dreary Distress of Boredom
Problem Gamblers are Addicted to Losing
The Tyrant that Rules Our Inner Life
The Negative Emotions Behind Addictions
Beware the Limitations of Superficial Psychology

Article Archives