People struggling to realize their potential or find inner peace often turn to psychotherapy. Yet they find themselves wandering without much guidance through a marketplace of mental-health offerings and claims, lacking the knowledge to distinguish good therapy from bad. More … [Read more...] about Cognitive Therapy’s Flawed Premise
Inner Passivity
Collapsing into Helplessness
James E. Holmes’s spiral notebook helps us understand his descent into madness. Holmes, a neuroscience graduate student who killed 12 people in a 2012 mass murder spree in a Colorado movie theater, had covered page after page of his notebook with the single handwritten word … [Read more...] about Collapsing into Helplessness
Answers to Questions from Readers (Part 4)
Readers often send me emails with their comments and questions. Here I answer three of them, edited to remove identifying details. My responses are in italics. My life has been a struggle for many years. The negative emotions I experienced (mostly being viciously manipulated … [Read more...] about Answers to Questions from Readers (Part 4)
Breaking Free of Inner Passivity
Inner passivity is an unconscious realm of our psyche that’s very much “in our face” emotionally. I write a great deal about inner passivity, and I keep trying to bring this psychological aspect into better focus. My readers keep asking me how, exactly, can they eliminate … [Read more...] about Breaking Free of Inner Passivity
Deeper Reflections on Inner Passivity
A few years ago the actor and filmmaker Seth MacFarlane made a brave and honest observation about his inner life: “I wish I was better at taking in how great my life is, but that’s surprisingly elusive. I tend to be very hard on myself and insecure about failing no matter what … [Read more...] about Deeper Reflections on Inner Passivity