Welcome to From Insults to Respect. I hope all of you are having a fine holiday season. This, of course, is the time of year when the longing for peace on Earth and good will to all is beautifully expressed in songs and stories. Despite this longing, over the centuries, during the holiday season, for many, it brings a lamenting because we have not achieved this…
Welcome to From Insults To Respect. As someone with considerable training in developmental psychology, I sometimes view certain styles of behavior on a scale ranging from immature to mature. When I do that, might I be insulting those who I view as acting immature? For those of you, who like me, prefer not to insult anyone, I invite you to join me in considering this question….
An Exercise for Deepening One's Understanding of the Nature of Respect
Welcome to From Insults to Respect. As I write this post, Election Day, with all of its turbulence, has now passed us by. Perhaps now is a good time for us to take some deep calming breaths and reflect on all that transpired. Along this line, I’m thinking it would be a useful exercise at this point if we attempted to integrate what we have learned…
Welcome to From Insults to Respect. These days we’ve been hearing a heck of a lot about doctoring. Steadily coming our way are reports about the surging virus pandemic, possible treatments, and progress regarding vaccines. There are disturbing reports about doctors over prescribing pain medications, leading to numerous addictions and overdoses. We’ve been hearing about doctors, when prescribing antidepressants and other psychiatric drugs, failing to inform…
Welcome to From Insults to Respect. Today we take a close look at one reason some folks have a low level of respect for people who are viewed as having a mental illness–the belief that such people are avoiding responsibilities. There are two other main reasons for the stigma associated with being labelled mentally ill that we won’t dive into today, but I’ll just briefly mention….
Welcome to From Insults To Respect. Today we explore the question, Is it helpful or harmful to view our anxiety and grief experiences as painful? Let’s begin this exploration with a diary entry from a mental patient that appears on page 224 in Richard P. Bentall’s fine book, Madness Explained: Rhoda [a friend] asked me if I were spoiled and I angrily said no, but feel…
Welcome to From Insults To Respect. In two recent posts I aimed to encourage folks to consider learning to deal with anxiety in a manner that can improve their self-respect. The first of these, “The Nature of Anxiety,” provides a general overview of the topic. The other, “Anxiety, Guilt, and Responsibility” makes the case that anxiety is an enormously helpful state of mind when acted upon responsibly,…
Welcome to From Insults to Respect. Recently, I wrote a post titled, “The Nature of Anxiety” (see HERE). It provided a general overview of this natural, enormously helpful, state of mind. The point of view that I described is in stark contrast to the common view in our society that looks upon anxiety as a negative, destructive, “abnormal” experience, a symptom of mental illness, one which…
Welcome to From Insults To Respect. Today, with some of us deeply concerned about family members dealing with the aftermath of the catastrophic hurricane, it seems to me this is an apt time to take a few minutes to think about what family means to us. For many of us, during times when we find ourselves in rough waters, our family is a lifeline, members pulling lovingly…
Welcome to From Insults to Respect. One day, upon striking out in a baseball game, the F-word leaped from my mouth. I immediately looked around to see who was in earshot. I knew my teammates wouldn’t take offense, but my curse was shouted, and I feared it might have reached the ears of my coach, or some in the stands who might be wounded by the…