It bothers me to no end when a woman short-changes herself – maybe because I do it to myself fairly often. More specifically, I have an acquaintance who has refused to date anyone for the past decade because she still pines for someone…who used her and tossed her aside (and slept with one of her […]

Any story that starts with “In my time…” will no doubt lead to a lecture on how older houses, older cars, and older generations were made of sterner stuff. After all, most grandparents and great-grandparents alive today likely lived through at least one war and/or one major economic crisis, often surviving through sheer will and […]

I’ve had the pleasure of working with a number of volunteer psychologists over the years, each with their own unique approach to Queendom visitors’ questions. Dr. Bob Rich is unique, however. When you read his responses to people who are hurt, who have suffered, who are trying to get their lives back on track, you will […]

The goal of Queendom has always been to help people learn more about themselves and gain insight into their emotions, attitudes, behaviors, and life purpose. It’s only through self-knowledge and introspection that we can live life to the fullest and become the best version of ourselves. Years of researching human behavior has taught me that […]

I’m always curious about people who admit that they are workaholics. The question I always want to ask is, “Why?” Not because I’m lazy, mind you. But my friend, for instance, frequently works extra hours as a matter of necessity: There is a lot of work to do and not enough people to do it. […]

Many people are their own worst critic – even enemy. They sabotage themselves and their chances for success through self-doubt, indecision, and fear, and “build shrines” to commemorate their personal insecurities, their failures, and those who have hurt them. It took me a long time to recognize that I was a shrine-builder. I mean, we […]

When something is bothering me, there is almost nothing that can detract me from my obsessive contemplation of it. I’m a ruminator, plain and simple. I look at the problem like Sherlock Holmes looks at a crime scene, angle by angle, analyzing every grisly detail over and over. My head feels like that popcorn my […]

I go through a myriad of emotions on my daily (hourly?) emotional roller-coaster rides, but while fear and helplessness feel the worst, boredom is the real jerk. It’s so innocent, so innocuous. In my case, however, boredom is a gateway emotion. Because when I’m bored, I’ll suddenly find myself walking towards my pantry and grabbing […]

It’s not uncommon for mental health red flags to be dismissed by parents and teachers as “normal” teenage angst – a tendency toward isolation, nervousness, lashing out, or sleeping too much. I would often lock myself up in my room, which was dismissed as an introverted tendency, but I did so because I was actually […]

I’ve got some MAJOR pet peeves when I’m driving. Like those people who cut across three lanes at the last minute to get off at an exit. Or drivers who don’t signal their thanks when you allow them to merge ahead of you. I really, really wish driving through traffic was like the game Mario […]

It’s hard not to ignore the common theme of male characters in movies: The stoic silent type that doesn’t blink an eye in the face of danger, the bad boy who is always emotionally out of reach, or the gruff male character who prefers to display his feelings in actions rather than words. It seems […]

I know of few women who eagerly welcome the aging process, but getting older does have its benefits. With experience comes wisdom – and I’ve always found that the best lessons I’ve learned were learned the hard way. Like the importance of asserting myself. Or recognizing that destructive criticism, masked as advice, says a great […]