Category Archives: Anger and conflict

Turning in circles

Hi folks. Here is something I published last week in Metro. It is a concept I have discussed with almost all of my clients over the years. It is also a part of almost every presentation I give. I thought it was time to try and summarize the idea in my 400 word-limit column. Not an easy task [...]

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Vidéos sur la gestion des émotions / Video on the managing emotions

Re-bonjour! Voici les vidéos de mes présentations de l’École Mini-Psy (édition 2011). Prenez des méga-doses de caffeine et bon visionnement! Hi again, Here are the videos of my two-part presentation in our last edition of Mini-Psych School – 2011 edition (In French). Take some caffeine pills and enjoy! Du coeur au cerveau – Des émotions nécessaires [...]

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Mini-Psych School / L’École Mini-Psy 2011

Bonjour tout le monde (an English message will follow). L’automne dernier, j’ai eu l’honneur d’agir comme hôte de notre 6e édition de l’École Mini-Psy de l’Institut Douglas, une série de présentations qui s’adressent au grand public. Les vidéos des présentations se trouveront sur notre site web à partir du 1er juin, à raison d’une nouvelle vidéo [...]

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Good guys and bad guys

In today’s column, I returned to an old theme that remains one of the most important ones when we consider conflicts between two individuals or two groups. I’m referring to the tendency to think in groups. Here is an earlier post on the topic (Segregation). Here is what was published in this morning’s edition of [...]

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Thick head or thin skin

If a subordinate makes a mistake do you always point it out? How do you deal with someone who reacts badly to criticism? Do you continue to criticize? Do you address the person’s hypersensitivity? Or do you step back? The fact is, the best answer depends completely on the person being criticized. If the person [...]

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Take this pen and shove it!

Here is my column from last week. It is part of general talk I give on assertiveness and explains the problems that occur when we let frustrations accumulate too long. They almost invariably blow up in our faces. In order to avoid this problem we must first learn to accept minor frustrations. This involves changing [...]

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Abuse begets abuse

Today’s column was inspired by the many clients I have met with over the years who felt abused of neglected by their parents. In exploring their histories, the question of what made their parents into the people they became always comes up. Often the impact of an abusive experience can last far longer than one [...]

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Am I smarter than a lab rat?

One of the talks I like to give is called Human Nature 101. It discusses a number of classic studies in psychology and relates them to day to day experiences. The talk used to be called Simple and Profound. I called it that because simple principles can often have a profound affect on us. We [...]

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Love me, love my broccoli

It’s always amazing to see what triggers someone off. Every once in a while a seemingly innocuous event or statement can really get to us, resulting in a strong emotional reaction (anger, depression, anxiety, etc.). In most cases, this emotion is stirred not so much by the event as it is by the assumptions it [...]

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Toilet paper wars

There are no two ways about it. Some people are able to let thinks go while others are obsessive nutcases. Actually those two types of people may reside inside the same individual. After all, don’t we all have have our own little obsessions. For example, I know lots of crazy wine lovers. They go on [...]

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