Many believe that our first reaction to stress or impending danger is the fight-or-flight response. But before we take flight or fight, we need some time to assess the situation and decide what the best course of action would be- to fight or to run away. This results in what is known as ‘the freeze response’ …
In this article, we discuss self-sabotage behavior, reasons why people engage in this behavior, and common examples of self-sabotaging behaviors. How many times do you hear people telling you, rather sanctimoniously, “Be yourself”? And to complete the famous Oscar Wilde quote, they add, “Everyone else is taken”. Let’s say you decide to heed the advice. …
Think about it: Will I be exaggerating if I say that a part of your behavior and personality is shaped by the things that you see on the screen? Definitely not! It is naive to think that television is a harmless pastime activity that doesn’t affect your psyche in any way. Every thinking person knows that anything you expose your mind to, affects it. Your …
This article attempts to explain the famous placebo effect in psychology, throwing light on the historical background of the effect. You go to a doctor with a severe headache and fever. After examining you for a while, he gives you some shiny pills and asks you to take them every day after meals. He says …
The goal of hypnosis is to program the mind of a person with a desired belief or a suggestion or a command. This is done by inducing a highly suggestible ‘trance state’ in the person in which he becomes highly receptive to ‘suggestions’ and his conscious resistance is greatly weakened, if not entirely turned off. …
This article will throw light on the concept of psychological identity, how it’s related to ego, and the causes of an identity crisis. We have many identities that we acquire from our past experiences and cultural backgrounds. These identities may be broadly classified as positive (the identities we like) and negative (the identities we dislike). …
Our self-image is how we see ourselves. When someone has a distorted self-image, it means how they see themselves is inaccurate. Our self-image or self-concept not only includes our physical appearance but also the beliefs we have about our own abilities, talents, values, etc. However, in this article, my focus will be on physical appearance. …
I recently came across a mind-blowing story about how Pepsodent was launched in the market and how brushing teeth became a worldwide habit. I came across the story in a book titled The Power Of Habit by Charles Duhigg. To those of you who have read the book, this post will serve as a nice little reminder …
Why do addicts want higher and higher doses of a drug, even if it’s ruining their lives? Why do people spend endlessly on gambling only even though it saps their financial resources? Why do people that are addicted to junk food even though it’s fattening them up? When it comes to how addiction works, drug addicts …
This article will discuss the psychological process of addiction with a focus on the major reasons behind getting addicted. The word addiction comes from ‘ad’, which is a prefix meaning ‘to’, and ‘dictus’, which means ‘to say or tell’. The words ‘dictionary’ and ‘dictation’ are also derived from ‘dictus’. Hence, etymologically, ‘addiction’ means ‘to tell …