Retroactive jealousy is an obsessional problem. It sits under the umbrella of obsessive compulsive disorders (OCD). Commonly, people will identify that they have become caught up in an obsessive cycle before they recognise it as part of retroactive jealousy. The … Read More
The development of our sexuality is complicated and sophisticated. It develops as part of our physical development. Sexual desire is an area of human need that probably develops behind food, water, housing, sleep and relating to others, but it is … Read More
Near the end of Cormac McCarthy’s devastating novel, The Road (2006), the father and son duo who have traveled the post-apocalyptic landscape together, have to say goodbye to one another. The father is dying. The father tells the son ‘you … Read More
Bad cocaine stories tend to go in one direction: down There is a recognisable pattern that cocaine users go through, a negative spiral. As a user becomes more hooked on cocaine, as their addiction develops they go through various experiences. … Read More
People whose childhoods were characterised by a lack of emotional stability sometimes develop problems regulating their own emotions. They may be quick to become anxious and instinctively pick up on signals that their environment is not safe, settled and stable. … Read More
How old are our problems? Does thinking about our experience of primary socialisation help us find a way to live better? “I need help with my anxiety. I am getting really stressed about my relationship. I am worried about my … Read More
For as long as I can remember I have struggled to manage my emotions. Everything will be fine one moment, and then out of the blue something will go wrong. I will start to feel a deep sense of injustice … Read More
You know sometimes I get these crazy ideas about things that may not really be there. Howard Hughes, The Aviator (2004) Do you suffer from unwelcome and intrusive thoughts? Do you feel guilty, or that you may have done things … Read More
What is meant when it is asserted that someone is mentally ill? In this essay I shall describe the main uses of the concept of mental illness, and I shall argue that this notion has outlived whatever cognitive usefulness it … Read More
What it would be like if you could stop expecting too much? If you could let things develop in their own way. My old girlfriend used to say I was too reactive. I couldn’t see it at the time, but … Read More