Updated on 3/2/21 Do you ever feel like you’re not interested in sex the way that other people are? Maybe you feelattractionto people, but have no urge to do anything further. There’s nothing wrong with you — and you’re definitely not alone. Instead, you may be asexual, someone who experiences little to no sexual attraction. In fact, arecent studyfound that 1.7 percent of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people also identify as asexual....

Updated on 9/26/2022 Although the term “gaslighting” is considered a fairly modern word, this type of psychological manipulation is anything but new. In fact, the term can actually be traced back to the 1940s filmGaslight— where an emotionally abusive husband makes his wife question her perception of reality through lies and deceit. After its release, this type of psychological manipulation was referred to simply as “gaslighting.” Unfortunately, gaslighting exists off the stage as well, and is often found inemotionally abusive relationships....

Updated on 3/2/21 While you want to think your partner always has your best interest at heart and is your biggest supporter, unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. Insecurities can lead to an unhealthy relationship dynamic where your partner tries to sabotage your success. They might try to hinder your progress toward reaching your goals, discourage you from working hard to get a big promotion at work, or keep you from embarking on a new fitness program to lose weight....

Updated on 2/18/21 As you’ve gone through life, you’ve probably noticed ebbs and flows in your libido, times when you want sex 24/7 as well as times when sex is the absolute last thing on your mind. This is normal and to be expected. Everyone’s desire for sex isn’t the same all the time. Furthermore, in a relationship your sex drive isn’t always going to match your partner’s…and that’s when things can get tricky....

Updated 10/6/23 Relationships, like most things in life, have stages. Regardless of the path you choose — down the aisle or navigating love whole states apart — those stages remain the same. How you navigate those stages will define the shape, or the end, of your relationship.Understanding the stages of relationships — aggregated from various studies and neurologists’ expert opinions — as they happen can help you and your partner steer your bond toward a long lasting, loving partnership....

If you have ever trained a pet, chances are you have used a regular schedule of rewards and punishments to help an animal learn or change behavior. Whether consciously or not, you used experienced operant conditioning in those moments. Operant conditioning is a theory of learning in behavioral psychology that emphasises the impact that rewards and punishments for certain behaviors can have on future actions. The goal of operant conditioning is simple: Reinforce desirable behaviors through a system of rewards and eliminate undesirable behaviors through targeted punishments....

Around the world, thousands of people face daily violence and persecution. With few opportunities at home, they flee in hopes of safety and opportunity. But the journey is perilous and emotionally draining. And even when immigrants arrive in a new country, they face new kinds of stress, discrimination, and isolation. It’s an intense, physically taxing experience that impacts the whole person.A reportfrom the United Nations University Institute on Globalization, Culture and Mobility outlines the far-reaching implications for mental health for refugees and migrants....

It’s no wonder why people who live with fibromyalgia frequently report that they experience mental health disturbances, such asdepressionandanxiety, along with the already devastating physical symptoms of the condition. What Is Fibromyalgia? Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain condition affecting 2-4% of Americans, according to theAmerican College of Rheumatology. In general, more women are affected than men, and the condition can affect people of all ages, including teens. The cause of the condition is still unknown, although it’s been determined that it’s not a disease of the autoimmune, inflammation, joint, or muscle system....

Here are three common reasons people avoid their therapists. 1. You’ve Been Triggered During this painful work, it’s possible more uncomfortable feelings come up. If you’ve been triggered during the therapy process, you might be avoiding your therapist. It’s not that you don’t believe the work can be helpful, but more so that the work itself is so painful that you don’t feel like you can make it through. You don’t think that you can withstand getting further in touch with your anger or hurt....

Updated on 12/15/2022 We all have times when we feel inadequate or insufficient compared to others, whether that be because we failed to reach our goals at work, scored low on an exam, or feel less accomplished than our peers. As children, we might have compared ourselves next to the straight-A student, or classmates who were faster, or better at singing. Experiencing inadequacy at times is completely normal, sometimes it can even encourage us to improve ourselves....

Here are five ways to defeat the self-fulfilling prophecy: 1. Leverage the Power of Trust Have you ever convinced yourself that your partner is cheating on you? Or that a friend is secretly mad at you? It’s such an awful feeling. When it comes to matters of the heart, it’s natural to want to protect yourself from getting hurt. However, it’s important to keep things in perspective and not obsess. You don’t want to end up creating problems where there were none to begin with....

As a person who suffers from chronic anxiety, lowself-esteemis something I experience frequently. For me, low self-esteem isn’t just feeling low self-worth or a negative self-image. It’s more often a feeling that I am incapable of doing things that come easier for others; it’s overthinking my every move; and it’s predicting that terrible things will befall me basically all the time. Low self-esteem is something that so many of us suffer with, and it can be confusing because it looks different for everyone....

But just because “honesty” can go too far doesn’t mean it’s not an important ingredient in human connection, along with its sibling character trait, vulnerability. Together, these two similar-but-different traits deepen existing friendships and develop newrelationships. Here’s how to know when to be honest and vulnerable —and when to take a step back. Honesty As a baseline, the maxim’s not wrong: honesty is a good policy. After all, no one likes a liar....

People usually wonder what their therapist isreallythinking. This is especially true for parents, who already feel pressure from all directions about how they raise their kids. Simply put, being a parent adds another dynamic to therapy. When therapists work with parents, whether in individual therapy unrelated to parenting or in family therapy, they have to consider factors related to both the parent and the child. Therapists’ Thoughts About Parents As a therapist, I definitely have things I wish clients’ parents knew, not only about how to raise the kids, but about how they view themselves as parents....

We all compare ourselves to those around us, it’s human nature.Social media makes this comparison gameseemingly impossible to avoid. We all have fallen into endless scrolling of someone ’s timeline, or seeing a new LinkedIn update and think, “Why don’t I have that job?” or “Why can’t I work for that company?” Now, it’s much easier to look at what your peers have and instantly feel you don’t have enough — in every aspect of life....