Parental verbal abuse of children is well-known, easily recognized, and often with devastating effects.  The dynamic is clear – parent as perpetrator and child as victim. The child needs and seeks approval and acceptance, but the parent is unwilling or unable to provide it. Parental verbal criticism and insults to the child leads to pervasive […]

In response to the Covid 19 pandemic people are naturally becoming afraid of acquiring the viral infection, either in themselves or in people they love. This fear – also called anxiety – is very uncomfortable and just as the infection itself can be mild, moderate or severe, so too the resulting anxiety can be mild, […]

For people with health anxiety the internet can be constructive or destructive, a blessing or a curse. The internet contains enormous amounts of health information, some of it reputable and some just not true. It can provide information about diseases, symptoms, treatments, research studies, testimonials from patients and names of doctors and other practitioners able […]

As I indicated in a previous blog post, there is no such thing as absolute certainty, There are only probabilities that something will or will not happen. For many people this is not a problem because a very high probability is enough to enable them to behave in ways that fulfill their needs and desires. […]

There are many diverse mental health care professionals who work with people having anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties and/or many other problems in living. While there is significant diversity between mental health workers in terms of education and training, there are similarities as well. All mental health professionals have decided that they want to devote their […]

Can we have absolute certainty about anything? We certainly think that we can. Many of us believe that we know what is going to happen in the near future, whether it is in a few minutes, a few hours, a few days, or a few years. We “know” that a short drive will take 10 […]

Many people complain about the medical care they receive, especially from doctors but also from nurses and other health care professionals. The most common complaint is that doctors don’t spend time with patients, listening to their concerns, fears and discomforts. Even when a patient tries to take the initiative and talk to the doctor, he […]

The words anxiety and fear are often used interchangeably to express the same feeling of dread that something terrible is going to happen momentarily or sometime in the future. Anxiety and fear are obviously similar but also quite different. The difference is that fear refers to an actual, realistic, objectively verifiable danger, whereas anxiety refers […]

“Health care” is generally understood by most people to mean the diagnosis and treatment of diseases by doctors, hospitals, and other health care professionals. Also included in the understanding of “health care” is the financing arrangements that pay for this medical care. This usually involves health insurance companies, often referred to as “payers” of health […]

Stress is a physiological or emotional response to certain environmental events. The environmental events are called stressors. Examples of stressors include illness or death of a loved one, marital separation or divorce, losing a job, moving to a new residence, and many others as well. Any environmental event can be a potential stressor. Signs of […]