How to Remain Fragile
If you tend to avoid anxiety-provoking situations, perhaps you remain hopeful that one day you will overcome your fears. For now, though, you continue to tell yourself that you just aren’t ‘ready’ and will try ‘next time’.
Writing
A selection of writing on psychotherapy, psychology, psychiatry and related subjects.
Public Perceptions of COVID-19 and the Availability Heuristic
A recent survey suggests people grossly over-estimate COVID-19’s fatality rate. The availability heuristic helps explain why.
Anxiety on the Rise in Shanghai, China
How has 2020 impacted anxiety levels in Shanghai, China? Data from Community Center Shanghai suggests anxiety-related issues are on the rise.
Behavioural Geneticist Robert Plomin: ‘There Are No Disorders, There Are Just Quantitative Dimensions’
Behavioural Geneticist Robert Plomin recently spoke with author Sam Harris on the Making Sense Podcast (Episode 211 – The Nature of Human Nature).
Why People Pay $50,000 a Year to Attend Harvard
Harvard University recently announced that despite deciding to allow only 40 percent of its undergraduates to return in the fall, and that all classes would be conducted online, that it would still be charging students $50,000 in tuition fees, for the 2020-2021 academic year.
Shanghai Anxiety: 2019 vs 2020
Data from Community Center Shanghai suggest anxiety and stress are on the rise in Shanghai, China.
Understanding Counseling: An Analogy
If you’re confused about how counseling works, the following analogy might help to clarify a few things.
Alex Honnold: The Anxious Avoider Who Triumphed
In a previous article, I described how the habit of avoiding anxiety-provoking situations can not only prevent growth, it can exacerbate weaknesses. Honnold’s story is fascinating, in part, because unlike the typical ‘anxious avoider’, his aversion to strangers actually facilitated his climbing mastery.
A Note on Why We Sleep
A note highlighting some criticisms of Matthew Walker's bestselling book, Why We Sleep.
When the Cure is Worse than the Disease
Life is one trade-off after another. There are no “solutions,” even though intellectuals and politicians are constantly talking as if there were.