Tag Archives: Social anxiety

The High School Mantra: I’m a freakin’ loser!

Last March the Huffington Post was running a series on youth mental health. For that series I wrote an article about the theory of mind (the ability to imagine another person’s thoughts) and how the lack of this ability can impact children’s behaviour. This makes them point out differences in classmates because they are oblivious [...]

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The teaser and the teased

Social anxiety is one of the more challenging forms of anxiety to treat. The reason for this is because anxiety is fed by assumptions and some are harder to alter than others. If a person is afraid of a plane crash and manages to get on a flight, he or she will generally learn that [...]

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Pig depression

Here is what I published in today’s Metro column: Pig Depression (Source: Dépression porcine: Journal Métro, November 05, 2013) Voir plus bas pour la version Française. Do animals feel the same things we do? Well, I suppose that if emotions evolved in humans in order to increase their chance of survival, the same must be [...]

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The Rudolf in all of us

Perhaps I should get a life but I really hate the sentiment behind the song Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer. “Hey, let’s make fun of the funny-looking kid until he becomes useful to us.” Nevertheless, I will try to take it in the light spirit it was intended and see if a reindeer’s life can [...]

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I’d beat you up but I have my good stuff on!

It was my second week of ninth grade (now known as secondary-III) when I overheard a kid in a sports jacket and dress pants glare at another kid and say, “I’d beat you up, but I have my good stuff on.” Good stuff? What kind of ninth grader dresses up like John Travolta’s Tony Monero? [...]

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22

He said WHAT about me?

Sorry I didn’t get a chance to write for a while but as you know, the world was in celebration mode last week. While the French were celebrating Bastille Day on the 14th, we in Canada and the rest of the world were commemorating a much more significant day. I am referring, of course, to Saint Camillo’s day. [...]

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The long and short of first impressions

Very few of us would want to give a bad impression to others, especially when we find ourselves in a new situation. That goes without saying. Unfortunately we cannot always guarantee that the impression we give others will be a good one. In general, while it is important to be aware of the effect we [...]

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The paradox of anxiety

Anxiety is a very easy to understand. When we are confronted with a danger, we feel anxiety. This anxiety then pushes us to protect ourselves by either fighting against the danger or by running away from it. Very simple. But what happens if you are afraid of being anxious? Where do you run or how [...]

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