Mental Health Topics

Every year there seems to be a new parenting style trending in popular culture: helicopter parenting, tiger parenting, lighthouse parenting. People write about free-range parenting, gentle parenting, and slow parenting as if children are food items that need to be carefully cultivated through a certain recipe. Child psychologists and mommy/daddy…

Q: I have a friend that I think might be a manipulative narcissist and we definitely aren’t on good terms right now. They’re part of a larger group of friends that I hang out with pretty often. Basically, they tend to monopolize all of our conversations, and usually only talk…

To be fully present as a human being—that’s the goal of mindfulness. Though it sounds lofty, being mindful isn’t nearly as difficult or strenuous as it appears on the surface. Mindfulness is about coming to terms with reality and how our personal experiences truly make us feel. It’s about the…

When we see someone spend a little too much time in front of the mirror or obsess over taking the perfect selfie, we may casually throw out the term “narcissist.” Everyone can become self-occupied on occasion but true narcissism is different. Narcissists often show disregard for the feelings and general…

Any family can tell you: There’s no such thing as a perfect relationship. Friction between relatives is unavoidable—but having nosy parents takes it to another level. Having your feelings of independence and freedom cut down by invasive questioning and over-the-top pushiness can get on your nerves. But it’s not as…

We all have a dream world — a mirror of our subconscious mind. This is where those monsters under your childhood bed live and your pantsless self in public, too (modern nightmares at their finest). We also can’t forget about your ability to fly or your new boyfriend… who is…

When you think about bullying, you probably think about middle school or high school. Teenagers can be cruel after all, and it’s common for them to bully their weaker peers — shoving their victim against a locker (at least in the movies), teasing them in class, tripping them in the…

Eating disorders can take many forms: the aspiring model who disappears to the bathroom after every meal; the college student who hoards junk food in his dorm room so he can binge in secret late at night; the gymnast who skips meals and time with her friends so she can…

As we get older, many things change: our appearance, our interests, our goals, our routines, and our relationships. I’ve found the latter to be especially true.  Sure, my hair’s grown, I now enjoy camping, I’m no longer pressed to lose weight, and I actually go to bed at a decent…

The choice between getting divorced or staying together may be one of the hardest decisions you ever have to make. It’s a critical crossroads where you may see your life heading in two different directions. What kind of future do you want? How do you make an informed decision about…

The front door open for the last time that night, my friends standing on the front porch, arm in arm, waving goodbye, their silhouettes shimmering against the half-moon behind them. Just beyond, I see another set of friends (another couple) climb into their car, as the cabin light illuminates the…

What is a starter marriage? Well, obviously it’s the beautiful union between a starter wife or a starter husband and their starter spouse. Gorgeous wedding, all the gifts, no children, and they’re divorced within five years. These kinds of marriages have also been called entry-level marriages, icebreaker marriages, warm-up marriages,…