This post is a revised and expanded version of an earlier post, “The Negative Emotions behind Addictions,” which was published here last October. In this version, I go into the heart of the emotional experience of the “helplessness trap” which addictive personalities experience … [Read more...] about The Helplessness Trap in Cravings & Addictions
Mark Twain’s Mysterious Misery-Machine
We all like to think we’re motivated by self-interest, self-protection, and self-love. Consciously, we are. Unconsciously, though, we operate a misery-machine inside us that churns up self-defeat, self-damage, and self-rejection. A reference to a misery-machine is made by … [Read more...] about Mark Twain’s Mysterious Misery-Machine
Obesity and the Dopamine Fallacy
Neuroscience Adds Excess Weight to the Obesity Epidemic The Flip Wilson Show was America’s second most-watched TV show for its first two seasons in the 1970s. In his role as the sassy Geraldine Jones, Wilson, a comedic genius, had a trademark line, “The devil made me do it,” … [Read more...] about Obesity and the Dopamine Fallacy
Four Favorite Ways to Suffer
If you’re looking for attention, try wearing a T-shirt with this question embossed across the chest in bold type—Who Will I be Without my Suffering? These words have a thunderous effect on an unconscious level. That’s because we often experience ourself and identify with ourself … [Read more...] about Four Favorite Ways to Suffer
The Deeper Issues that Produce Meanness
Tired of being mean? Tired of being on the receiving end of meanness? The nasty trait produces a lot of unnecessary suffering, both for the person who’s being mean (the “hell of your own meanness,” a character says in Jane Eyre) and for the recipient of the meanness. Meanness is … [Read more...] about The Deeper Issues that Produce Meanness