There are going to be many well-deserved tributes to Robin Williams over the next few weeks. It would be too simplistic to say he was funny – he was unique, brilliant, quirky, and talented. And he had problems with depression. When someone strikes up the courage to admit that they’re depressed, the response they receive […]

Before I parallel park, an ugly green gremlin that kind of looks like my driving teacher from years ago makes an appearance in my passenger seat. The jerk doesn’t even buckle up; he just sits there and openly mocks me. So you’re trying to park huh? *snicker* Oh this is going to be gooood! Let’s […]

There are a few memories from university that stand out for me: That time I walked in late to my History of Psychology class and knocked over a girl’s coffee. That night in a mind-numbing Sensation/Perception class where I contemplated switching to Journalism. The Neurobiology quizzes that required us to choose the wrong answer. Aside from […]

Lately, I’ve been toying with the idea of writing one of those “Stars are just like you” posts, but with a motivational spin. I don’t take pleasure in reading gossip magazines, or watching a celebrity spiral into self-destruction. I believe that if you want to help people, you should use celebrity stories of triumph as […]

When my friend came back from New York, she brought me the playbill from The Phantom of the Opera. I really love the musical, but I can’t help but recognize its fallacies. Like, how could Christine not know that the Phantom was a few keys short of an organ, if you know what I mean? […]

I am a master, a master I tell you, of creating dire scenarios of things that could happen. After giving my friend at least a dozen reasons as to why something in my life wouldn’t work out, she said something rather simple, yet powerful: “You’re really creative. So good at coming up with all these […]

I don’t know what it is with me lately. I’ve been on a “think positive” rampage. Maybe I’m tired of being so negative (gets so exhausting, doesn’t it?) Or of being anxious all the time. As I was putting my old psychology books into my new bookcase (because people need to know I’m smart, and […]

I don’t have the audacity to assume that all introverts are like me. So I took a sample of 5,572 people who took Queendom’s Extroversion/Introversion Test to back me up. I fear that we, the introverts, have been wildly misunderstood: We do enjoy making friends. In fact, 50% of my sample indicated that they enjoy […]

I’ve read oodles of stories about people who just seem to attract the most fortuitous circumstances. I read about a woman who always seems to know which slot machines at a casino will be paying out. Or a guy who needed to buy a ticket home but didn’t have enough money. He lined up at […]

I’ve been on an optimistic stint. Not because I’ve developed a serious case of Pollyannitis, but because the stress of the past month has required a personal intervention. So I’ve been scouring the internet for tips on boosting optimism and encouraging positive thinking and I can offer you this guarantee: If I, a stubborn, pessimistic […]

After I got my first (and at this point, my only) tattoo, I regretted it…after the adrenaline wore off, of course. I have grown used to having it, and many years later, I don’t really think about it much. After I got my first car, doubt started setting in about whether it was financially sensible. […]

Watching Charlie Brown made me so sad sometimes. Every time Lucy lifted the football just as he was about to kick it, I wished I could kick her in the head. And her 5 ₡ psychiatric help was worthless. I can kid a little about depression because I experienced Dysthymia (a less severe but long-standing […]