The Heartbreak of Cognitive Dissonance: Is this terrible condition affecting someone you love?

~ David W. Earle

Do you know someone who is “black and white” on every issue? Do they refuse to be even the slightest bit flexible on an issue, even when you throw irrefutable proof of their errors right in their face? Do they continue to throw totally crazy or irrelevant arguments back at you? That someone might be suffering from (dramatic music) cognitive dissonance. Continue reading

This is Your Brain on Therapy, Part Deux

Note: If you have not read Part One, please do so before embarking on this article. Thanks!

In Part One, we looked at how therapy can change our brains regarding relationships. Now, let’s look at how therapy can change our brain in another way.

Let’s imagine our brain is a large (very large) collection of roads, ranging from dirt roads to superhighways (or freeways, depending on where you’re from). These roads get Continue reading

This is Your Brain on Therapy, Part One

What really happens to your brain when you go to a therapist? Hey, be kind!

Let’s start from the very beginning (a very good place to start). In the beginning, our brains have a lot of “hardware,” estimated at one hundred billion brain cells, but they have very little “software.” We only have “programs” that let us do things like cry, sleep, poop, suck, poop again (and did I mention poop? Oh, and cry too).

Continue reading