Dr. Gary Bell's Absurd Psychology
Episodes
Near Death Experiences: Dr. Charles Greyson Live Interview
12 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A near-death experience (NDE) is the conscious, semi-conscious or recollected experience of someone who is approaching or has temporarily begun the pr...
Emptiness: Dead Inside
05 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I feel dead inside is a statement you might hear people make or something that you may have felt yourself. For anyone who has never experienced it, fe...
Group Think: The Dumbing Down of Mankind
28 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Groupthink is a phenomenon that occurs when a group of well-intentioned people makes irrational or non-optimal decisions spurred by the urge to confo...
Ghosting: Lowly Cowards
21 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The phenomenon of abruptly disappearing from people's lives isn't new–but it seems to be more common today. Technology has made ghosting an easy way...
Re-Igniting a Sexless Relationship
14 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
During the early phase of marriage, many couples barely come up for air due to the excitement of falling in love. Unfortunately, this blissful state d...
A Good Death
07 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If the science of death remains a riddle (we're still not exactly sure why the human body decides to die), the psychology of it has been one of our gr...
Belonging: Our Life-long Pursuit
31 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Belonging is fundamental to humankind. The pursuit of it is the driving force behind our desire to be a part of groups, and its presence (or absence) ...
Liars: How to Betray Relationships and Die Alone
24 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
People tell white lies all the time in their daily lives. But if you're in a relationship and start a pattern of telling little lies or hiding even th...
Unforgiven
17 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A life lived without forgiveness is a life lived in the past. Living in the past is a conscious or an unconscious choice made through a connection to ...
Emotionally Unavailable People
10 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
You feel attraction to someone who's a hard nut to crack. They exude vibes of mystery and aloofness you can't get close to. And you can't help but kee...
So You Are Getting Divorced...
03 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Let's start with the numbers and get that out of the way. Divorce is common, really common—in fact, according to the CDC, 2.9 out of every 1,000 p...
Bitterness: What Divorce Attorney's Need to Make Bank
26 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
All bitterness starts out as hurt. And your emotional pain may well relate to viewing whoever (or whatever) provoked this hurt as having malicious i...
How Trauma Effects Your Life
19 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Trauma is a person's emotional response to a distressing experience. Few people can go through life without encountering some kind of trauma. Unlike o...
Men: Marriage on the Brink of Divorce
12 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Every couple's situation and circumstances are different. So, too, are the reasons they drifted apart, ranging from a lack of communication to cheatin...
Discovering Your Innerchild
05 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Our inner child is a part of ourselves that's been present ever since we were conceived, through utero and all the developing years after where we wer...
Warning: Narcassists All Around Us
29 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We are becoming a nation of narcissists. We are so focused on superficial personal identity that it makes us obsessed with race, ethnicity, sex, a...
Oppositional Defiance: A Battle of Wills
22 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) is a disruptive behavior disorder that emerges during childhood or adolescence and is characterized by persist...
Burn Out: How Do I Know?
15 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and often physical exhaustion brought on by prolonged or repeated stress. Though it's most often caused by p...
Finding Our Soul
08 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What does it mean to be Spiritual Beings having a human experience and how does it relate to our everyday lives? We are not human beings striving to b...
A Heart for Forgiveness
01 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Forgiveness is the release of resentment or anger. Forgiveness doesn't mean reconciliation. One doesn't have to return to the same relationship or ac...
Victim Think
25 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Many of us whine for a minute when things don't go our way. We need a little grief time, a little time to gather ourselves back together again, rene...
Body Image: Who Would Want This?
18 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What do you think you look like? Body image is the mental representation an individual creates of themselves, but it may or may not bear any relation ...
Our Relationship with Alcohol
11 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We started our relationship with alcohol because it made us less likely to starve to death. Over time we gained the ability to stand upright and, ev...
Can't Find a Good Man
27 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The most important and possibly universal quality for a "good man" is maturity. So many otherwise decent guys never seem to grow up. Maturity is not b...
Living with Rage
20 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Though more rare, rage can also be expressed inwards; and instead of external destruction, people who internalise their rage destroy themselves. It ca...
Why We Suffer for Another
13 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We have suffered quite a bit over the past few years. Some people in this world, sadly, have suffered more than their fair share, and our hearts shoul...
Marriage in a Rut
06 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
No couple wants their marriage to be dysfunctional, and yet, many couples live in perpetual dysfunction. They operate like two blind people learning t...
Emotionally Unavailable
30 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Those in a relationship with an emotionally unavailable partner often find themselves in conflict with the partner, or at the very least frustrated or...
Why am I Never Enough?
23 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Parental messaging in childhood, even without qualifying as a disorder, can strongly impact feelings of inadequacy, leaving in their wake the message...
Real Life Interview with Jason Hopcus
16 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jason Hopcus's personal mission is to advance human connection by embracing the conversation among fighters; the folks whose journeys from black to li...
After the Break Up
09 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For as long as the concept of love has existed, so has the concept of heartbreak. A breakup brings with it a myriad of emotions; rawest of them all be...
Trans-Formers: Gender Identity
02 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
People whose gender identity or expression does not conform to the sex they were assigned at birth are transgender. While individuals may be ass...
What We Attract
25 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We all have heard about the law of attraction. It is one of those popular self-growth methods used for personal and professional growth. The Law of a...
Loveless Relationship
18 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to the survival of intimate relationships, no matter how much love there is between you and your partner, there's no guarantee that you ...
Cheaters: The Unfaithful
11 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Cheating. It's the ultimate relationship violation, and one of the most notorious relationship killers. But all affairs aren't created equal. Some of ...
Somatic Pain (Undiagnosable)
04 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A broad term, somatics focuses on body movement as a means to improve mental health. Its history dates back to physical education movements of the 1...
Why Don't I Matter To Me?
28 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Is it better to give than to get? Being a giver is an attribute valued by society at multiple levels: in close relationships with a spouse, significan...
To Love and Resent
21 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Resentful people are always holding on to the things that hurt them like burning pieces of wood they can't seem to let go of. They do this to be able ...
Emotional Abuse
14 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Emotional abuse is a pattern of behavior in which the perpetrator insults, humiliates, and generally instills fear in an individual in order to cont...
Loving Someone with Anxiety
07 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Anxiety is a feeling of worry or unease about a situation. We all feel anxious at times and we all worry, but sometimes these feelings can become so i...
Spoiled Children
28 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It's not unusual for a child younger than 4 to have as many as nine tantrums per week. These can feature episodes of crying, kicking, stomping, hittin...
Covert Narcassists
21 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When you picture a narcissist, you might think of someone who is grandiose, attention-seeking and arrogant—also known as overt narcissism. However, ...
Mania and Maniacs
14 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Mania is a state of elevated energy, mood, and behavior, most often seen in those with bipolar disorder, schizoaffective disorder, or who have taken ...
Panic Attacks
07 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A panic attack is a sudden rush of fear and anxiety that causes both physical and psychological symptoms. The level of fear experienced is unreali...
The Strength of Commitment
31 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What does the word commitment suggest? It usually evokes a strong sense of intention and focus. It typically is accompanied by a statement of purpose ...
How Can I Be Happy?
24 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Happiness is an electrifying and elusive state. Philosophers, theologians, psychologists, and even economists have long sought to define it. And since...
Repressed Desire
17 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Repression is a defense mechanism in which people push difficult or unacceptable thoughts out of conscious awareness. Repressed memories were a cor...
Passive Aggressive People: Psychotic or Neurotic?
10 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Passive aggression is a way of expressing negative feelings, such as anger or annoyance, indirectly instead of directly. Passive-aggressive behavior...
The Essentials of True Love
03 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The belief that love is true when it lasts is not an outdated concept. In her 2015 song, True Love, Ariana Grande describes how her relationship grew...
Starting Over AGAIN
27 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Whether or not we are granted a fresh start every year, the world is set up so that we believe it's possible. But a fresh start doesn't just involve s...
Becoming a Great Father
13 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Fathers make unique contributions to language development in their children; fathers actually matter more in this sense. When fathers use more words w...
Would You Rather Be Right or Happy?
06 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most prevalent—and damaging—themes in our culture is the need to be right. It's one of those essential memes that we take for granted...
Living Your BEST Life
29 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Psychology has largely focused on the various things that can go wrong with the human mind, including different forms of mental illness and how we rea...
Restless Soul Syndrome
22 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Many of the people I work with tell me they feel restless, knowing there is "something more" to do with their careers and their lives. They also feel ...
55 + and Jobless
15 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Unemployment has especially hurt older workers in this recession. Workers 55 years old and older are more likely to be unemployed and spend longer loo...
Hopelessness and Joy
08 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Living without passion, positive expectations, or enthusiasm can become painful. But feeling hopeless doesn't have to be permanent. We all have our ow...
Manipulation and Politics
01 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Politics is something that has become inescapable in our social media focused society. We all know a person that uses a social media platform to start...
Gluttony: Ain't No Stopping' Us Now
25 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Gluttony is the over-indulgence and over-consumption of food and drink, and it's something pretty much all of us are guilty of from time to time. We a...
Gen Z: The Take-Over
18 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Don't reduce Gen Z students to zombies on smartphones. Eighty-three percent prefer face-to-face communication versus texting, phone, or email, but man...
Self Esteem and Libido
11 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sexual self-esteem influences almost every sexual decision you make, from who you engage with and when to whether you constrain yourself and how. Ho...
Psychology and Religion?
04 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Just as psychology studies pretty much everything a human could ever partake in, it also studies religion. The science of psychology is an attempt to ...
Psychological Warfare
27 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Psychological warfare involves a mental or emotional type of battle, as opposed to practicing physical combat. Psychological warfare utilizes specifi...
Humor and Healing
20 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Just as definitions of happiness change, so too does our ability to handle adversity. Numerous tales exist of people undergoing tremendous hardships -...
Teaching Gender Identity to Young Children?
13 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Parents are intentionally left in the dark about the harmful ideas on gender being peddled to their kids. Gender identity" was once just a fringe con...
Your Friendly Everyday Psychological Abuser
06 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Psychological abuse is common and yet few understand the psychological abuse definition enough to spot it. Without the visible signs of physical abus...
Being Single
30 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Living alone is a modern phenomenon. For most of history, very few people lived alone. In the U.S., even as recently as 1960, only 7 million people li...
Never Wrong...Right?
23 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We all make mistakes, and we do so with regularity. Some errors are small, such as, "No, we don't need to stop at the store; there's plenty of milk le...
How to Truly Mess Up Your Kids
16 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Debates over how to parent are as old as parenting itself. The truth is Good Enough is all we can strive for. In the recent past, we've seen the Tig...
The Need to Escape
09 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sometimes the stressors of the modern world make us just want to scream. The constant bombardment of negative news and our continual connection to our...
Sadistic Partners: What the XXXX is Wrong With You?
02 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It's impossible to go through life without causing hurt to those people we love. We may have to do this for their own good—for instance, when we nee...
Are You Thinking About Suicide?
19 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Suicide often stems from a deep feeling of hopelessness. The inability to see solutions to problems or to cope with challenging life circumstances may...
Contemplating Divorce
12 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When your marriage is in trouble, you don't have any options without pain or sacrifice. You can divorce, separate, stay in the marriage, or get cre...
Raised Yourself
05 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Because narcissists operate in an 'all about me' fashion, the world revolves around them, their needs and desires. They continue to be selfish and exp...
Child Rapist and Molesters Revealed
28 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Images of child sex abuse have reached a crisis point on the internet, spreading at unprecedented rates in part because tech platforms and law enforce...
Is Your Relationship Healthy?
21 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Much of my professional career has involved speaking, writing, and interpreting research about how to handle relationships that have gone wrong: part...
Responsibility: Our Lost Value
14 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
the word 'responsibility' and how often it gets confused with blame, which of course implies that someone or something is at fault for a given situati...
School Shooter Profile
07 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It's hard to empathize with someone who carries out a school shooting. The brutality of their crimes is unspeakable. Whether the shootings were in Uva...
Fear of Failure
31 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Rejection is a bitter pill to swallow. And most of us have had a good dose of it. Whether we didn't get a job we applied for, weren't admitted to our ...
The Rise of Self Esteem
24 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Confidence in one's value as a human being is a precious psychological resource and generally a highly positive factor in life; it is correlated with...
Anxiety: Living in Fear
17 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Anxiety is both a mental and physical state of negative expectation. Mentally it is characterized by increased arousal and apprehension tortured into ...
The Desperate Price of Loneliness
10 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Though our need to connect is innate, many of us frequently feel alone. Loneliness is the state of distress or discomfort that results when one percei...
The Resiliency of Wisdom
03 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Keeping the brain engaged is key to building resilience. By seeking out new challenges and activities, people can take their resilience to the next le...
Making Confident Decisions
26 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When making a decision, we form opinions and choose actions via mental processes which are influenced by biases, reason, emotions, and memories. The s...
What Happened to Common Sense?
19 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For centuries scientists, science writers and philosophers have encouraged us to trust our common sense (Lilienfeld et al., 2010; Furnham, 1996). Co...
Living with a Depressed Partner
05 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
There is a great deal of information available about depression. But when you live with a depressed person, it can be painfully difficult. Anti-depr...
The Effects of Childhood Abandonment
29 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When children are raised with chronic loss, without the psychological or physical protection they need—and certainly deserve—it is most natural fo...
Finding your "Soul Mate"
22 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Relationship scientist Raymond Knee coined the terms "destiny beliefs" and "growth beliefs" to describe an individual's general approach to seeking ...
Raising Special Needs Children: Herding Squirrels
15 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For anyone whose life revolves around caregiving, including the parents of special-needs children, there are inherent risks that can jeopardize both t...
Delusional People: Sold on Their Own Story
08 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Delusional disorder, previously called paranoid disorder, is a type of serious mental illness — called a "psychosis"— in which a person cannot tel...
Living Through Dark Times
01 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Covid-19 pandemic led to a prolonged exposure to stress. As a consequence, researchers showed an increased interest in measuring social and commun...
The Need for Power and Control
22 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
There is a downside to being in control when it involves trying to control other people, because other people don't want to be controlled by you any m...
The Inner Child: Aggression, Tantrums and Trauma
15 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Destructive behavior takes various forms: from subtle self-sabotage and self-defeating patterns to passive hostility to severe self-destructive symp...
A Life of Regret
08 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Regret is a negative emotion that occurs when a person believes his or her past actions or behaviors, if changed, may have achieved a better outcom...
Trust: Our Deepest Need
01 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Being vulnerable with each other can also be a mutual endeavor, and it doesn't just involve revealing parts of yourself. It can also involve a joint e...
Psychopath Stalkers
25 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Stalking is defined as repeated and unwanted attention, harassment, contact, or any other behavior directed at a specific person that would cause a r...
Bonding Through Laughter
18 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Humor, the capacity to express or perceive what's funny, is both a source of entertainment and a means of coping with difficult or awkward situations ...
Gender Identity: Mind My Pronouns
11 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Gender is related to but distinctly different from sex; it is rooted in culture, not biology. The APA (2012) defines gender as the attitudes, feeling...
Marrying a Divorcee
04 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A divorcee is not a supernatural being who needs to be kept at bay and never considered for marriage. Nevertheless, there are a few problems in marryi...
The Resentful Vigina: Sexual Warfare
28 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
t has become increasingly clear to me that at the basis of most divorces are problems of sexual connection. Two people may think that they are fight...
Toxic Family Members
21 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Some lucky people are born into families they adore spending time with—their loving mutual bonds make holidays and multi-generational vacations a...