Obsessive shoppers fascinate me, particularly those who shop for luxury items even when they can’t afford to. Why do they do it? Because shopping is like any other addiction: You know it’s not healthy but you just can’t help yourself. When a friend turned 30, she decided she wanted to party in style, so she […]

Under stressful circumstances, I lose my appetite. I’ve admitted more than once that I’m an emotional eater (I heart you, french fries), but emotional eating isn’t limited to those times when you’re feeling depressed, anxious, and utterly unlovable. I eat when I’m bored and when there’s a psychologically empty space in my soul that needs […]

I never really joke about therapy. I think it can be extremely useful, especially since some doctors are a little trigger happy when it comes to doling out prescriptions. I don’t oppose drug therapy. If a person is suffering from a debilitating disorder, medication is often required to help the person achieve a degree of psychological balance. But […]

Therapy is a major investment, which is why it’s so important to find someone who is worth investing in; someone whose values and personality complement your own. I conducted three months of research before purchasing my first car, so as you can imagine, I wouldn’t insist on anything less if I was looking for a […]

A lot of experimenters hate it when their theories don’t stand up to research, which is understandable. Personally, I love to be pleasantly surprised. I like it when my studies at Queendom reveal the unexpected. Like just recently, when a study I conducted on gender roles indicated that younger men adopt more traditional beliefs, while […]

#1: Role-play—with yourself. Set up a chair next to your couch, like you’re sitting in Freud’s living room. Lie down on the couch and tell the chair everything that’s been bothering you. Pressures at work, difficult relationship with your in-laws, lack of romance between you and your partner, your concerns that your child’s part-time job […]

I came across a post on Reddit where a girl was complaining that her boyfriend felt uneasy about staying overnight at her place because he felt bad about leaving his cat alone. She went on to question whether this was a sign that he (or his cat, or both) had an unhealthy attachment. I wonder […]

It’s inevitable. I’ll be watching the finals in an Olympic event and there will always be that one athlete who, on the brink of getting a medal, will suddenly stumble (literally and figuratively). In their tearful post-interview, they’ll say something along the lines of, “I don’t know what happened. I guess it just wasn’t mean to […]

I watched The Karate Kid movies in the late 90’s, years after they originally came out (the one’s with Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita, not the remakes). I didn’t grasp much of what the trilogy was trying to teach me because my young mind was too busy thinking about how cute Daniel LaRusso was. I […]

When someone strikes up the courage to admit they’re depressed, the response they receive from some family members and friends is usually one of the following: Here’s my typical rejoinder: Yet, the power of the stigma of having a therapist or a mental health issue becomes overwhelming, and people who need help are too afraid […]

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 […]

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 […]