2026 · 14. May 2026

When facing real difficulties, optimism alone isn’t enough. In this column, I talk about how CBT isn’t about putting a positive spin on problems, but about seeing situations clearly and deciding what can be changed or accepted.

2017 · 12. October 2017

Some self-help books offer potentially harmful advice on positive thinking, as I noted in in last week's Your Mental Health column in The Southern Star. The column is reproduced below. It’s better to view the glass as half-full rather than half-empty, but be warned: an excessive focus on positive thinking is not good for your mental health. In particular, I’m thinking of some of the advice doled out in popular self-help books that preach the gospel of positive thinking – books like Norman...