An open-access digital library of research-based information and reflections on psychology, wellness, and culture

Category: Note

  • Addiction and the Problem No One Talks About
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    Addiction and the Problem No One Talks About

    I am aware that this is a heavy topic. As a trauma survivor from a dysfunctional family of origin, I witnessed my father’s alcoholism and went through painful withdrawal from addiction myself. I have now been sober and clean for five years, but I still remember all the judgment, shame, and harsh criticism. Looking back,…

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  • The Truth about Judgement
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    The Truth about Judgement

    We all have judged and been judged. Yet the common assumption is that when someone judges you, they’ve thought carefully about who you are. That the criticism reflects an honest assessment, or at least, a genuine attempt at understanding. But sadly, it rarely does. (Related: Honesty Doesn’t Make Your Judgement a Fact) The Psychology of…

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  • Why Do We Prefer Older Times When They Were Not Actually Better?
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    Why Do We Prefer Older Times When They Were Not Actually Better?

    The vacation photos look perfect, and it may be the most heart-swelling memory with loved ones. Or you totally enjoyed the alone time, figured things out. Next time we go on a trip, and the car gets pulled over. “That time was so much better.” We sigh. But was it true? There was a delayed…

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  • Boredom Actually Exists for a Reason
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    Boredom Actually Exists for a Reason

    There is a specific discomfort that comes with having nothing to do. Not tiredness or sadness, but something closer to restlessness. Instinctively, we reach for the phone, scroll on social media, scan the room to spot untidiness, put something on in the background, or find a task. If someone asked about it, we would say,…

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  • Those Important Life Lessons Trauma Teaches Us
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    Those Important Life Lessons Trauma Teaches Us

    As survivors, we move through stages of recovery and eventually arrive at a place where we can become our own harshest enemy. Unfair as it is, there also seems to be a persistent cultural instinct to treat trauma as a flaw, a deficit to be corrected, a shameful chapter to close. Or, the experience is…

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