A Guide To Anger And Conflict Resolution
Currently, in many countries a wide variety of children are being classified as having ADHD and placed on a regimen of consuming psychiatric drugs. Supporters of this trend often cast a disrespectful eye toward their critics while arguing that scientific research supports their position. Meanwhile, equally scientific minded individuals who have looked at the same research come up with a completely different set of conclusions….
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Welcome to From Insults to Respect. Today’s topic, “payback.” There are a couple of definitions for payback, so to be clear, I’m referring to a tactic involving punishing someone, or a group of people, for something done in the past. Synonyms include revenge, reprisal, retaliation, retribution, and vengeance. When discussing a topic such as this, it helps to utilize a vivid narrative that is not only illustrative, but also provides…
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Welcome to From Insults to Respect. Today we take up the question, can the science minded and religious minded legitimately take up an attitude of mutual respect? There are, of course, people who fervently believe that opinions that do not rest firmly on the broad shoulders of scientific evidence are nothing more than superstition. Many of these individuals, as soon as they hear that a person…
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Welcome to From Insults to Respect. One day I was watching Donald Trump’s first news conference since he became president. There, the remarks that I found most interesting had to do with his expressed outrage about how hateful the press has been toward him. The first time it came up, he was asked the following question by a reporter: “I just want to get you to…
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With some regularity, former President Trump has been accused of being mentally ill. Here at From Insults to Respect, we’re going today to take a discerning look at this. We’ll begin with some pieces that appeared in the media when he was president, and then see if we can move ahead to make our own informed personal decision. The Washington Post Article In a Washington Post…
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Judy becomes bitter when she finds out that her husband, Glen, lied to her. That bitterness leads to a loss of the tenderness she had for him on their glorious wedding day. Despite efforts by Glen to straighten things out, his previous loving relationship ends in divorce. Of course, not all incidences of lying end so sadly. Nevertheless, how much respect people have for you…
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Welcome to From Insults to Respect. Empathy, as we have been lately discussing (see HERE and HERE), is crucial for being respected by your friends, coworkers, and community. And fostering empathy in our kids is crucial if we desire that they will grow up with integrity and honor. Several suggestions have been made in my earlier posts on how best to foster this set of skills,…
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In an earlier post titled, “Empathy, Kindness, and Maturity,” I heaped praise on empathy. There I spoke about a dog who had recently passed away, and how my empathy helped the owner through his anguish. Further, I presented arguments that empathy motivates individual behavior that aids in solving communal challenges. Since writing that post, I learned of a study by Sidney Blatt and his colleagues…
Read MoreIt was way back in 1972 on a pleasant autumn day. As I stepped out of the sparkling sunshine into the shadowy confines of the Coney Island Child Psychiatric Clinic, I was greeted by three people who could have been movie actors. One was a beautiful social worker in her late twenties, with flowing brunette hair; another, a tall, handsome psychologist in his early thirties;…
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Welcome to From Insults to Respect. Regular visitors know that on this blog, we often find suggestions for improving our stress management skills. The evidence supporting learning these skills includes studies demonstrating that prolonged stress is related to adverse psychological and physical health effects, as well as an increased risk of premature mortality (See Keller, et al., 2012 for a review of this evidence). Other studies indicate that not…
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