Here we are again, another year over, a new one just about to begun (to mangle John Lennon).
I usually use my end-of-year-post to rate my favourite articles of the year just gone. Self-indulgent – yes. But hopefully helps readers to pick out the wheat from the chaff. (Not that any of my material is chaff, all only the highest quality fine einkorn).
So, here they are, in order of release. Happy reading:
Fast Life / Foreshortened Future 10 February 2021
This article somehow went semi-viral this year. The article links the common trauma symptom of “a feeling of foreshortened future” with the Fast Life Strategy from biology. Does exposure to a traumatic event epigenetically alter us toward instant gratification and risk? Read the article to discover my thoughts.
Limitless and Limited: Micro-dosing and Schemas 31 March 2021
What do Hollywood Heartthrob, Bradley Copper, and many of my Schema Therapy clients have in common? They all seek Limitlessness. This article explores the popular pastime of psychedelic micro-dosing and postulates a link to self-limiting Schemas.
Coping with First World Problems: Epictetus or Epicurus 19 May 2021
I like writing about philosophy. This article looks at the age-old First World Problem: Should I choose a life of pleasure, or a life of meaning. Rich Romans-of-old pondered this question. A question that has all the more relevance now that all of our basic needs are so easily met.
Chilling Out or Wasting Time? 27 October 2021
How much free time is good for you? Covid gave to some and to others took away. And I sat in my armchair and observed how these changes in the amount of free time affected my clients’ happiness and wellbeing. Recent research says that too much free time might be a bad thing. But is it the type of free time that really makes a difference?
The SEEKING System: The Brain’s Reward Pathway? 3 November 2021
Life is suffering says the first noble truth of Buddhism. The source of this suffering is craving says the second. Reading about the Seeking System blew my mind. Do we animals have an innate preference to remain in a state of craving, rather than a state of pleasure? We think about Dopamine as a little jackpot going off in the mind. But what if this dopamine-driven system is actually just the chase, rather than the reward?