Psych With Mike

Communicate Better

If you argue about facts, then you are arguing about lies. Every persons' reality (their facts) is from their perspective. Even if that perspective is different from yours. They believe theirs over yours. Even science has come to the conclusion that there may be no objective reality! https://interestingengineering.com/new-physics-experiment-indicates-no-objective-reality 

Is There Objective Reality in Psychology?

It is something that most of us parents have to do most days...schlep the kids to school. Of course, we love our children and mostly we do this with joy in our hearts and a song on our lips. But sometimes...sometimes things go wrong. If you have even wondered if you are a bad parent because you pulled a gun on another parent in the drop-off line... let me state that irrevocably... YES, YOU ARE. https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local/hazelwood-parents-bring-gun-school/63-858a7bac-0311-4c92-8471-c2770c2c7716 

Moms with Guns

After war has ravaged a country, what is left is the indigenous population. Most of them didn't want the war and may not have even been on one side or the other, but they are left to try and pick up the pieces of their lives. The physical devastation to their environment is a major hurdle but so too is the psychological trauma. The article linked here is long but really paints the picture of the hardship and struggle that is life in the aftermath of war.  https://www.apa.org/international/united-nations/un-matters/rathi-war.pdf  

The Psychology of the Aftermath of War

Alfred Adler was a part of Freud's inner circle along with Carl Jung until the three began to form very divergent ideas and split. Adler formed a theory of psychology based on the concepts of advantage/disadvantage and superiority/inferiority. As with all psychodynamically influenced theories, this is an example of motivational-based psychology. The concept of birth order being an important influencer of an individual's personality development also comes from Adler.  https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/types/adlerian-psychology

Adlerian Psychology

Brett and I discuss the nature of wisdom as well as new evidence from the neuroscience of depression.   https://cathywild.com/understanding-depression-a-woe-that-is-wisdom/ https://www.psypost.org/2021/08/family-history-of-depression-associated-with-altered-brain-connectivity-during-a-social-cognition-task-61726  

Wisdom and Depression

Systems theory is a belief that we cannot separate the individual from the system because we all influence and are influenced by the system we operate in. From family to peers to the community, the country to the world, we all operate in an ever-expanding web of systems that can impact us.    https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/types/family-systems-therapy  

Family Systems Theory

We may have all thought that the pandemic was over at the end of May/June. But now in August, it seems like things are worse than ever. It's hard to keep up mentally with all the vacillations. So it may be time for each of us as individuals to start thinking about what we want our own worlds to look like post-pandemic! https://www.pennmedicine.org/news/news-blog/2021/july/how-to-create-the-life-you-want-post-pandemic   https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/11/our-post-pandemic-world-and-whats-likely-to-hang-round/    

Life After Coronavirus?

According to the DSM 5, the prevalence of ADHD in society is expected to be 3.55% reported by the National Institute of Health (NIH). But way more than 3.5 percent of the population is diagnosed with ADHD. So understanding what ADHD is and what it isn't is super important!   NIH report on ADHD https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4301194/   Resource for Parents https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/adhd/Pages/Understanding-ADHD.aspx  

Understanding ADHD

Brett and I got into a conversation that was not planned but ended up being pretty fascinating. Please let us know if you have any thoughts on our discussion!

Happiness

Cognitive Restructuring really just means changing how you think about a thing. It is a powerful tool in psychotherapy. https://www.therapistaid.com/therapy-guide/cognitive-restructuring  

Cognitive Restructuring

Dreaming may seem to be the best part or the worst part of an individual's day. Some people don't even think they dream at all. The truth is there are both psychological and physiological reasons for dreams.  https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/why_your_brain_needs_to_dream https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/memberarticles/the-importance-of-dreams-what-they-can-represent  

Why We Dream

Stress and anxiety are thought of as being the same thing but really they aren't. Understanding the difference can help to manage both better.    What is stress https://www.verywellmind.com/stress-and-health-3145086   General Adaptation Syndrome https://www.healthline.com/health/general-adaptation-syndrome#stages    

Stress

In 2004 Brett and I had the opportunity to make several Parent Presentations on substance abuse and parenting of adolescents. I recently found an old recording of one of these presentations and thought I would share it. If you would like to see what Brett and I looked like 20 years ago, you can go to YouTube and search Psych with Mike to find this episode. 

2004 Parent Presentation

This is a revisit to an episode where my son stopped by to discuss the psychology of collecting. This is the most-watched episode of Psych with Mike on YouTube. 

The Psychology of Collecting Revisited

Being human is hard work. Let Psych With Mike be your users manual to make it a little easier. Psych With Mike started as a radio show in 2017 and has now evolved into a podcast. The show explores topical events from a psychological perspective and gives insightful, practical and expert information. Psych With Mike is presented by two individuals with more than 60 years of clinical experience between them.