Exploring the forces that shape the human psyche
Hitting rock bottom is one of the most unpleasant experiences in life. When you’re at the lowest point in your life, you get bombarded by all sorts of unpleasant emotions- fear, insecurity, doubt, frustration, hopelessness, and depression. Common reasons people hit rock bottom are: Losing a job/business Failing in school/college Going through a breakup/divorce Losing …
A rebound relationship is a relationship that a person enters into soon after the end of a serious, prior relationship. The word ‘rebound’ conjures up scenes of an object (such as a rubber ball) bouncing off quickly from wall to wall. Similarly, a person who enters a rebound relationship- the rebounder- gives the impression that …
What does it mean when someone says they feel lost in life? We can begin to understand this phenomenon by looking at the words people who feel lost utter. Let’s start from there. Language, they say, is a window to the mind. Here are some of the common utterances of people who feel lost in …
Seeking validation from others means seeking their approval for your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, choices, values, and actions. The desire to seek validation stems from the basic human need to be liked and accepted by others. Since we’re a social species, we have a fundamental need to belong to our herd and be accepted by them. …
A toxic family is defined as one where there’s a consistent pattern of family members exhibiting harmful behaviors toward other members. While conflict is a normal part of a family dynamic, a toxic family handles conflict in ways that are damaging to one or more members. In a toxic family, there’s a constant pattern of …
Lima syndrome is when a captor or abuser develops a positive connection with the captive. This positive connection could be sympathy, empathy, attachment, or even love. The captor, having developed a bond with the captive, does things in favor of the captive. Lima syndrome is the opposite of Stockholm syndrome, where a captive develops a …
Limbic resonance is defined as a state of deep emotional and physiological connection between two people. The limbic system in the brain is the seat of emotions. When two people are in limbic resonance, their limbic systems are in tune with each other. Limbic resonance is also referred to as emotional contagion or mood contagion. …
When watching a game on TV, have you noticed how some viewers shout at the players? “Make the pass, you MORON.” “You’ve got to hit the home run this time. COME ON!” I used to think these people were silly and that I could never do such a thing. To my dismay, I caught myself …
“Most misunderstandings in the world could be avoided if people would simply take the time to ask, ‘What else could this mean?’” – Shannon Alder The actor-observer bias occurs when people attribute their own behaviors to external causes and the behaviors of others to internal causes. External causes include situational factors that one has no …
When people talk about suddenly remembering old memories, the memories they’re referring to are usually autobiographical or episodic memories. As the name suggests, this type of memory stores the episodes of our life. Another type of memory that can also be suddenly remembered is semantic memory. Our semantic memory is the storehouse of our knowledge …