The Conflicted Mind – Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive dissonance and suicide. #removethestigma Cognitive dissonance and suicide; how it can kill. The conflicted mind. No one wants to spend their life with an endless internal battle going on in their head. Mental conflict is exhausting, unproductive and can lead to depression. Being your own enemy is such a sad waste of mental energy. Surely what we’re looking...
Read more
Mind in Mind – The Book
Mind in Mind and Self-Help The self help book Having not long just published my latest book (2018), Mind in Mind, I’ve been thinking about the role and value of self-help books. Although Mind in Mind will appear in the ‘self-help’ section of bookshops (and in that category on Amazon), it actually has a two pronged approach, firstly, gaining...
Read more
The Sycophant Effect
The Sickness of Sycophancy. Who are the sycophants? We all know who they are and how they work – the ones who suck-up to the boss, the teacher’s pet, those who go-along to get-along, the blindly loyal, those who are obsequious to anyone in authority – the White House, the Kremlin and Downing Street are full of them. They...
Read more
Big boys DO cry (and die)
Big boys do cry (and die). Suicide and men. The recent suicide by a young former soldier – deployed to Iraq at 18 – has once again focussed attention on PTSD, depression and the shocking numbers of males that take their own lives. The single largest cause of death of men under 45 in the UK is suicide. An...
Read more
Depression does not discriminate
Money, fame and and our pursuit of happiness Depression does not discriminate Barely a day goes by without a celebrity or high profile public figure revealing their experience of depression. Most recently, the heavy weight boxer Tyson Fury, told the media of his battle with depression and thoughts of suicide. This raises several themes. First, that the many forms...
Read more
Lost in the Mental Jungle – Get Me Out Of Here
Ant McPartlin, Mental Health – Lost in the Mental Jungle. Get Me Out of Here! Addiction & Ant McPartlin. Who could possibly be unmoved by the sight of Ant McPartlin suffering this mental anguish? The latest video of him after the car crash and drink-driving charge shows the face of a man in torture. By all accounts he has...
Read more
Spook Psychology
The spy amongst us The Psychology of a Spy – Spying continues to dominate the headlines. Twenty-Three Russian embassy staff are currently on their way home accused of espionage. Russia is expelling the same number. It’s a familiar story – indeed spying has been around throughout history. Spy novels sell in their millions. It’s fascinating and made out to...
Read more
The Brexit Debate – How Minds Have Closed
The Brexit ‘Debate’ – how minds have closed. Many years on from the Referendum, and the Brexit ‘debate’ continues at its heated, emotional level and with no sign of let-up. The Brexit Debate But is it really a ‘debate’? The word ‘debate’ carries with it the idea of a free, reasonable exchange of ideas that can result in a...
Read more
Are Your Words Slowly Killing You?
Are Your Words Slowly Killing You? Negative words are hurting you – Negativity kills Negativity kills – Whether or not we are aware of it, we are living in some of the most stressful times in modern history. Life has become progressively faster and more demanding, especially since computers began to manage our work and home lives. We’ve become...
Read more
Loneliness, the Millennial Epidemic
Loneliness, the Millennial Epidemic The British Government has publicly backed the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness, (a commission set up before the MP Jo Cox’s untimely death in 2016), with cross-party support, having both a Conservative and a Labour MP co-chair the commission. This backing will be costly, there is no doubt. As areas for improvement are highlighted across...
Read more