by jmalouff | Feb 5, 2023 | Bereavement and Grief, Coping, Emotions, Psychotherapy
I am reading the autobiography of Billy Connolly. As a boy Billy was sexually abused for years by his father. Decades later, as his father lay dying from a stoke, Billy finally told his wife about the abuse. He broke down in tears and did not go in the hospital to see...
by jmalouff | Aug 1, 2021 | Bereavement and Grief, Emotions, Human Thinking and Behavior
I recently listened to a new song: Roger Ebert. I learned about the song from a Facebook post by the son of a man with a recently diagnosed deadly disease. The song is about the last words of Roger Ebert, famous movie critic, who died in 2013. Just before...
by jmalouff | Oct 29, 2020 | Bereavement and Grief, Coping, Mental health problems
When I was a PhD student, a therapy instructor did something that I will never forget. First, she told us students that she had decided not to have a second child. Then she talked out loud as if she were speaking to that never-to-be child. The instructor explained her...
by jmalouff | Mar 6, 2019 | Bereavement and Grief, Coping, Human Thinking and Behavior
Lots of people get cremated when they die. You know the saying: ashes to ashes. The family members of the deceased person then decide what to do with the ashes. The options are limitless. Some families keep the ashes in an urn. Some spread the ashes over...
by jmalouff | Dec 13, 2018 | Bereavement and Grief, Coping, Emotions, Human Thinking and Behavior, Positive psychology, Well-Being
You have heard of the Serenity Prayer? It suggests that a person solve problems where possible and accept that some problems cannot be solved. Accepting what can’t be changed is important to living a happy life. A particular type of acceptance plays an...
by jmalouff | Nov 20, 2018 | Bereavement and Grief, Human Thinking and Behavior, Mental health problems
No one likes being rejected. Whether the rejection is social or professional, the rejection stings. Jack Canfield knows about rejection. His idea for a nonfiction book was rejected by 100 publishers. Nonetheless, he kept trying. After a total of 144 rejections, he...