2024 · 18. April 2024
A bat and a ball together cost €1.10. The bat costs €1 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost? Many people quickly jump to the conclusion that the answer is 10 cents, but it's not...
My latest Southern Star column explores the psychological downsides of jumping to conclusions (and it gives the answer to the bat/ball puzzle, if you're stuck!).
2023 · 10. August 2023
The father of CBT, the late Dr Aaron Beck, was fond of saying that ‘there is more to the surface than meets the eye’. What did he mean? Beck liked to illustrate his point by telling a story about an anxious and promiscuous client he was treating. Why was she anxious? Read on...
2022 · 24. February 2022
Can you think yourself young? That was the title of a recent Guardian article exploring research into positive attitudes to ageing. A positive attitude, the author suggested, can lead to a longer and healthier life, while negative beliefs can be very detrimental indeed.
Is there hard evidence for such a claim, or is this happy-clappy nonsense? My latest column examines the research and talks about the importance of maintaining a sense of purpose and confidence as you get older.
2020 · 24. July 2020
“Selfish”, “idiots”, “name and shame!” There's been a lot of dramatising on social media in recent months, which isn't too surprising when one considers the tensions and uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic. When times are difficult, it's important not to make a bad situation worse by choosing drama over calm. A dramatic, black-and-white worldview isn't boring, but be careful - it can breed resentment and become a bad habit.
2018 · 08. March 2018
Emotional reasoning – mistaking your feelings for reality – can be bad for your mental health and well-being, as I explained in last week's Southern Star. The column is reproduced below. I feel bad, therefore things are bad. I feel things are hopeless so they must be hopeless. I feel fat, therefore I must be fat. The above statements are examples of emotional reasoning – that is, mistaking one’s feelings for reality. It’s a common habit: most people engage in emotional reasoning to...
2017 · 23. November 2017
In last week's Southern Star, I discussed how when things go wrong in life, CBT can help us see that things may not be as black as they seem. The column is reproduced below. 'Nothing in life is as important as you think it is, while you are thinking about it'. That line comes from cognitive psychologist Daniel Kahneman, author of the bestselling book Thinking, Fast and Slow. Kahneman’s observation applies to all kinds of situations, both good and bad. However, it’s particularly relevant...
2017 · 16. November 2017
I had a short piece in last week's Southern Star where I outlined six tips for positive ageing. The piece is reproduced below. Stay connected The Grant Study, the world’s longest-running study into adult happiness, has followed hundreds of people over a 75-year period. It found you could predict people’s subsequent physical health not by looking at cholesterol levels, but by assessing how satisfied they were in their relationships. “The people who were the most satisfied in their...