But…but…what if a tornado hits during an earthquake?

We all have obsessions. As unpleasant as they may be, they do serve a protective function. It seems even a squirrel looks more than once when crossing a street! Double-checking and triple-checking is a way of eliminating errors caused by distraction or absentmindedness. But how far can we go with this? For a person with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) it can be debilitating.

As our worry about something increases, so does our need to control outcomes. For example, the more we worry about health the more we do things like consult doctors, check internet websites, exercise, watch what...

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Posted on 30 Jul 2013
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32

My dog has no willpower. Neither do I.


Lucy visits the Douglas: Are you gonna finish that?

Willpower, where does it come from? Is it just a question of wanting something enough? In some ways it is but it is far from being that simple.

Motivation comes not only from wanting something but also from how easy it is to attain it. In other words, we are more likely to do something if we really really want to. But if it is easy to do, we will probably do it even if the need isn’t very strong. For example, if we are hungry enough and there is no food at home, we will get off our sofas and get to the corner store for something –...

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Posted on 16 Jul 2013
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I have a feeling about my feelings

This week’s article is about our tendency to add problems to our problems:

I have a feeling about my feelings
(Source: Je ressens quelque chose à propos de mes sentiments. Journal Métro, July 02, 2013)
Voir plus bas pour la version Française.

A funny thing about people is that we have feelings and then we have feelings about our feelings. I can feel sad or anxious but I can also feel anxious about my sadness, or depressed about my anxiety. In other words, our brain not only does stuff, it also thinks about the stuff it does. 

The executive
And what does the brain do? It acts, it thinks and...

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Posted on 05 Jul 2013
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Turbans, tabouli, and identity politics

I’d like to start out by thanking Quebec Premier Pauline Marois for first inspiring the column I published last week in Métro. All the recent talk about religious headgear worn by soccer players made me decide to publish it. During the last provincial election she relied heavily on identity politics with her talk of a creating a secular charter. The charter proposes a ban on religious symbols – except of course the crucifix which she claimed was a cultural symbol.

She is certainly not the first politician to play the identity card. It happens regularly in the US and in countries all over...

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Posted on 28 Jun 2013
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Can I Go Back There?: Understanding Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

I hosted our annual Mini-Psych lectures again in 2012. The first three lectures are posted on our website (Mini-Psych 2012) and the last two should be ready in the next week or two.

As part of the series, I gave a talk entitled Can I go Back There?: Understanding Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, in which I discuss some general anxiety principles and then review the effects of trauma on a person’s sense of security. I also discuss some of the differences between “normal” responses to trauma and PTSD.

You can also watch this class directly on the Douglas Website.

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Posted on 04 Jun 2013
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31

Seek immediate medical attention…and then wait eight hours!

Looks like a rock...feels like a crowbar!

A few weeks ago I was visited by an old friend: a kidney stone. That little sucker, pictured above, was my third experience with one. For those who haven’t had the pleasure, the pain of a kidney stone can best be described as more or less like shoving a crowbar into your scrotum and pulling it out thought your kidney.

Did I say more or less? I meant more.

Of course, pain varies from person to person and will depend on the size and shape of the stone and whether or not is gets lodged causing a build-up of fluid…and ever-increasing pain.

Why do I...

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Posted on 28 May 2013
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30

Pie charts and scribbled napkins

When I see a particular client it doesn’t take me long to find her file in my file cabinet. It’s the one with the colour-coded tabs sticking out. These tabs form part of the many background documents she wrote for me to assist in the treatment process. Meanwhile, I have another client who has yet to complete a simple questionnaire given to him several sessions ago. I’ve given up asking him for it. I’d like to thank both of them for inspiring today’s column.

Pie charts and scribbled napkins (Voir plus bas pour la version Française)
(Source: Camemberts et gribouillages. Journal Métro, May...

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Posted on 07 May 2013
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29

Jackie Robinson

Jackie Robinson in his Montreal Royals uniform (www.milb.com)

I haven’t seen the movie ’42′ yet but the Jackie Robinson story is one I know well. The theme of segregation and “Us versus Them” thinking is one I have written about in a number of previous posts including Segregation and Desegregation, but given the movie’s recent release, and the theme of the talks I am giving this week (see below), I decided to revisit the story in today’s Métro column. It always feels good to do so.

This week I am giving talks (English and French) at the Blue Metropolis literary festival called: On the...

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Posted on 23 Apr 2013
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29

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 I might add. However, I could probably have shortened it even further by saying simply: Life is about changing what you can and accepting what you can’t. Not an original concept on my part for sure. Here is my way of saying the same thing.

Turning in circles
(Source: Comment ne pas passer sa vie à...

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Posted on 18 Apr 2013
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42

Where am I?

Where am I?
(Source: L’effet pervers du GPS. Journal Métro, April 9, 2013)
Voir plus bas pour la version Française

Have you ever noticed that if you drive someone home and he or she guides you all the way with precise step-by-step directions you will never remember the route the next time you have to go there alone? You can’t get lost when the person in the passenger seat tells you take a right at the light, and a left after the truck, etc., but good luck when you’re on your own! You would have to be guided many times before you begin to remember any of the turns.

Yet when you are alone...

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Posted on 09 Apr 2013
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