Monthly Archives: February 2016

The Shrink’s Links: Terry

Bringing you the best of mental health every week. You may think you know George McGovern. Maybe not, maybe you’re too young to know the Democratic presidential nominee who challenged Nixon in 1972 and lost abysmally. Politically, he was my generation’s Bernie Sanders. Long after his presidential bid, he wrote a book, Terry: My Daughter’sContinue reading “The Shrink’s Links: Terry”

Addiction Wants it All

The trouble starts when you accommodate the wrong thing. Partners deserve accommodations. Reasonable compromise is at the heart of friendship, much less love. It’s better to give than to receive. You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours. There is no greater love than to lay down your life. If your girlfriend had the flu,Continue reading “Addiction Wants it All”

The Shrink’s Links: Surviving Infidelity

Bringing you the best of mental health every week. There are few experiences as painful and as confusing as learning your partner has been unfaithful. Was it him, her, or you? Do you stay together or split? What do you tell your children? Can anyone understand? survivinginfedelity.com conducts forums staffed by experienced moderators. There’s aContinue reading “The Shrink’s Links: Surviving Infidelity”

Are you a Partner or a Hostage?

Let’s sort this out: Partners have choices. Hostages have to do what they’re told. Partners can leave and speak. Hostages are bound and gagged. Partners share power. Hostages have no power. Partners compromise. Hostages adjust. Partners are trusted. Hostages are checked up on. Partners are loved. Hostages are blackmailed. Partners’ boundaries are observed. Hostages’ boundariesContinue reading “Are you a Partner or a Hostage?”

When Addiction Takes Over a Relationship

Even when people are firing on all cylinders, relationships can be tricky. When your partner is addicted, they can be impossible. Addiction takes a relationship into a dangerous territory where clarity turns gray and selfishness rules the day; where individuals disappear and are replaced by need; where spouses are objectified, resented, and manipulated; where weddingContinue reading “When Addiction Takes Over a Relationship”

The Shrink’s Links: Review of Room

Bringing you the best of mental health every week. No matter how well you think you understand, you don’t understand well enough. If you don’t understand what I mean, go see the movie, Room, while it’s still in theaters. Or read the book. Or, like I did, do both. The first part is set inContinue reading “The Shrink’s Links: Review of Room”

The Shrink’s Links: Advance Psychiatric Directives

Bringing you the best of mental health every week. You know what an advance directive is, right? Advance Directives are the legal documents that enable you to state your preferences regarding medical care beforehand and empower someone to make decisions on your behalf when you are unable to do so yourself. They’ll come in handyContinue reading “The Shrink’s Links: Advance Psychiatric Directives”