Mental Health

Dr. Clifford N. Lazarus ••• Norman, a twice-divorced thirty-six-year-old lawyer, came for therapy.  He often ran into interpersonal problems, but recently he had lost three close friendships, had a serious falling out with his parents, and his fiancée had broken off their engagement.  No wonder!  Norman had more rules and regulations than the Army,...
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Hmmmm.   Back to school.  A topic fraught with pride, expectation, a little fear, and a sense of inevitablility. All I can convey to you is my experience from my not so typical perspective on the subject. Some background.  My daughter Elizabeth and I are unusually close.  I had her late in life, an only...
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While attending your average summer party, a rising college sophomore like myself will be asked the same two questions perpetually throughout the evening: One,  “How was your first year at college?” and two, “are you excited to be going back to school?”. In an attempt to spare my acquaintance from the bursting floodgates of...
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Dr. Clifford N. Lazarus ••• Al could not understand why he had no close friends.  He saw himself as honest and caring.  What he did not realize was that he had so many shoulds, oughts and musts that it was impossible to be around him without being corrected or criticized.  “One thing I don’t...
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Dr. Clifford N. Lazarus ••• “I’m actually very pleased that Joe broke off our relationship.  ” None of Elaine’s friends believed her.  It was evident to them that she was really very hurt and puzzled by Joe’s behavior.  By rationalizing, instead of facing the truth, Elaine was preventing herself from learning how to stop...
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Dr. Clifford N. Lazarus ••• Gina complained that she felt down or upset a lot of the time.  “I have no control over the way I feel,” she said.  When she learned that her thoughts were largely responsible for her feelings, she was able to gain much more control over her disturbing emotions.  She...
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I have a couple friends who are a couple!  A very loving, couple.  They adore each other and are wonderful people alone and together.  I am friends with them both.  And, they have helped me increadibly with some of my challenges in the recent years. One day I asked Mike if he and Genevieve...
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Dr. Clifford N. Lazarus ••• Ken’s friends kidded him about always putting things off.  “If there were a Nobel Prize for procrastination, ” they said, “you’d be a sure winner.”  But the fact that Ken had been fired from three jobs in the past five months because of his delaying tactics was not at...
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Dr. Clifford N. Lazarus ••• Friday, 4:15 p. m. Glenn realizes tte grant proposal has to be in the mail today or he stands no chance.  The proposal is still in outline.  Can he finish it, polish it, and mail it by 5:30?  Tuesday. 6 p.m. Geneva will chair the PTA subcommittee on recreation...
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Dr. Clifford N. Lazarus ••• Betty’s poor sleep habits were getting her down. She took sleeping pills and tranquilizers from time to time, but hated to rely on pills ~ especially habit-forming drugs. She was not aware that some simple methods of “sleep hygiene” could be of enormous help to her. ••• Almost everyone...
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