Through the years, research has demonstrated that writing about events can significantly shape the way we experience them. In one study, researchers had...
What You Can Do: Write Now About the COVID-19 Quarantine
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Mindfulness
Pay Attention to What You Don’t Notice
When I was little, my grandmother used to make hot peanut butter cookies for me. I would sit on a stool in her kitchen and watch her mix the ingredients, bake...
Ask Dr. Conte: How Can I Fix Relationships Broken by My Domestic Violence Arrest?
Hi Dr. Conte, I was recently arrested for 4th degree domestic assault (first offense). I have no court date as of yet, and I was wondering if there are any...
Dr. Conte Talks How to Deal with Holiday Stress on KDKA Morning News
How do you deal with the stress of the holidays? Do you get angry? Lash out at all the traffic, or the long lines at the checkout, or the bickering between...
Four Jurors: When Attachment to Our Beliefs Blinds Us to the Truth
I write a lot about attachment and certainty. I’ve been fascinated throughout my career by the way we, as human beings, appear to be certain about what we know, despite research, anecdotal evidence, and personal experience telling us otherwise. I recently sat down...
Unnecessary Protection: How to Deal with Perceived Threats vs. Real Threats
It’s natural to protect ourselves. The world is scary and there are real threats out there. Unfortunately, we spend far more time defending ourselves than we ever really need to do. Let me explain. There is a vast difference between real and perceived threats. Real...
Embrace Positive Thinking
Recently, someone wrote in and asked me the following questions regarding positive thinking. I thought they were great questions, so I thought I'd share my answers. What does positive thinking mean to you? To me, positive thinking is realistic thinking. In other...
A Jar of Marbles: The Impact of Our Environment
A man filled a jar with marbles, and once the jar was filled, he turned around in the other direction. When he looked back and saw that the jar was filled with marbles, he got angry and shouted, “Why is this jar filled with marbles? I don’t understand it!” Of course,...
Be Mindful of All or Nothing Thinking
Splitting is a psychological concept that describes the way people have a tendency to see things in terms of black and white. In splitting, you tend to see things as “all good” or “all bad.” Splitting is a defense mechanism that keeps you locked safely in your own...