Anxiety & Panic

January 17, 2015

The Vanishing Pause

Coca-Cola-PauseIf you read my article last week, you know about the May 2013 Internet Trends Report that revealed that the typical smartphone user checks his or her phone 150 times a day. I finished writing the article on a Saturday, and the following Monday I met with “Tim,” a 27-year-old man who was in need of legal assistance. During the first five minutes of our meeting, Tim received four text messages on his iPhone. Since he was holding his phone in his hand, he immediately read the messages. On two occasions, he stopped talking to me so he could respond to the messages.

December 20, 2014

A Special Christmas Gift

Christmas PresentEarlier this month, I had a conversation with a judge who recently retired after serving as a state court judge for more than 20 years. For the purpose of this article, I’m going to call him “John.” John is in his early 60s, and during our conversation he asked me how many grandchildren I have. I told him that after adding three new grandsons last month, my wife and I have 10 grandchildren.

September 27, 2014

Is Your Life Out of Control?

outofcontrolAccording to Dorothea Brande, author of the book, Wake Up and Live, the most important success secret she has ever discovered is to “[A]ct as if it were impossible to fail, and it shall be.”  From a business perspective, I can tell you that in my 31 years of practicing law and working with numerous business owners, Brande’s “secret” really is one of the true principles of success in the business world.

September 20, 2014

Overcoming the Fear of Rejection

Rejection Just Ahead Green Road Sign with Dramatic Storm Clouds and Sky.Last week, I published an Adoration Meditation article — “Harnessing the Power of Fear” — that focused on two types of fear, servile fear and filial fear.  You can find the article in the adoration chapel or online at Adoration.com.  If you haven’t read it, I would recommend that you do so.  There’s a good chance you’ll be pleasantly surprised by what is says about a prayer that you memorized when you were in second grade.

August 23, 2014

A Different Perspective on the Robin Williams Suicide

Robin WilliamsAfter the recent suicide of the famous American actor and comedian Robin Williams, various reasons were given to explain why he killed himself. Some of the reasons included the fact that he had recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, suffered from severe depression, and was having money problems. For whatever reason, at the age of 63, Williams ended his life after determining that he was better off dead than alive.

July 26, 2014

Aggressive Behavior, Anger, and Trust

AngerOne evening during the summer of 2005, I called one of my clients and asked him if he would come over to my house to fix a problem with my plumbing.  His name was Jim, and at that time he was in his mid-50s.  We had done business with each other since the early 1990s.  I was originally introduced to Jim by another client who owned several rental properties and had hired Jim to work on his properties.

June 7, 2014

A Simple Formula for Happiness

HappinessLast week, while I was meeting with a client, she started talking about a new crisis in her life that was causing her distress.  (For the purpose of this article, I’m going to call my client “Julie.”)  At any other time in her life, Julie would have easily been able to handle the type of crisis she was going through, but this time she was in severe distress.

February 22, 2014

A Reason to Panic

Stress MeterIt happened during the summer of 1990.  Georgette needed to go to the grocery store, so she asked me to keep an eye on our four children while she was gone.  At that time, Harry was nine, Anna was seven, Maria was six, and Laura was three.

January 12, 2014

Is There a Cure for Depression?

Depression CureThe psychiatry journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA Psychiatry) recently published the results of a study that revealed that people who are at high risk of depression and believe that religion or spirituality is important are less likely to suffer from depression.  The results of the study showed that the cerebral cortex of each of the brains of the people who were less likely to suffer from depression was thicker.  The cerebral cortex is the outermost layer of the brain.

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