Learn how to use the knowledge of psychology to deal with your negative moods and emotions, feel good, be productive, handle people well, and reach your goals. Self-improvement and personal development are inevitable while you’re trying to understand how the mind works. It all starts and ends with the mind.
To learn how to de-escalate situations, we first need to understand why they escalate in the first place. Conflict between two parties occurs when there’s a clash of interests. The parties’ needs and wants differ; one party’s needs and wants interfere with the other’s. Escalation means that a conflict has intensified or is beginning to …
Overthinking is getting stuck in repetitive thought loops about a problem or a situation in a way that is unproductive and leads to negative emotions like overwhelm, fear, anxiety, and depression. When you’re thinking about something too much, you can’t think about the other things, so your life gets derailed. This is why overthinking is …
Mental detoxification is the process of removing unwanted things from your mind. Note that I said ‘unwanted’, not ‘negative’. Sure, some of the negative stuff on your mind is probably unwanted, but some may be wanted. For instance, if your finances have taken a hit, then worrying about it is warranted and rational. However, if …
Neuroticism is one of the dimensions of the Big Five personality assessment, one of psychology’s most reliable personality assessments. The meaning of ‘being neurotic’ has evolved. In simple terms, it means to be emotionally unstable. A neurotic person has a greater tendency to experience ‘negative’ emotions like: They’re prone to getting stressed and, when stressed, …
“The biggest danger, that of losing oneself, can pass off in the world as quietly as if it were nothing; every other loss, an arm, a leg, five dollars, a wife, etc. is bound to be noticed.” – Soren Kierkegaard Identity is a complex topic. It has so many layers to it. If I ask …
Trauma is experienced when you face or witness a potentially life-threatening experience. A traumatic experience overwhelms the coping system of your mind. While most of us can deal with everyday stressors, a traumatic experience puts us in a state of permanent alert. It is an overactive and lingering stress response. Trauma that is experienced in …
Disorganized attachment, also called the Fearful-Avoidant (FA) attachment style, means that a person simultaneously experiences a desire and fear of close connection in relationships, especially romantic relationships. It’s a type of insecure attachment style. It’s called a ‘disorganized’ attachment style because, unlike other styles, there’s no clear strategy to meet one’s attachment needs in a …
A trigger is anything that generates a cognitive, emotional, or behavioral response in us. It’s a stimulus in the environment to which we react mostly automatically. Here, the environment includes not only the external environment (people, places, and things) but also things that happen in the mind and body, i.e., the internal environment (sensations, feelings, …
Why are you looking to manipulate someone? The desire to manipulate stems from an unhealthy desire to control. It stems from weakness and insecurity. Whenever you feel compelled to manipulate, look within first and try to figure out where it’s stemming from. People manipulate because they don’t believe they can meet their needs by asking …
Dismissive-avoidant (DA) is the attachment style of a person who values independence, self-reliance, and space more than relationships. DAs have low connection needs and avoid intimacy in relationships. They mainly derive their self-esteem from things that have nothing to do with other people—their skills, abilities, and personal accomplishments. DAs were likely emotionally neglected in childhood …