Our Gender, Ourselves

Health

Presidents and Psychotherapists

Peggy Drexler Ph.D. on February 12, 2016

Politicians addressing their own emotional and psychological needs would go a long way towards reducing the stigma that prevents many American citizens from seeking treatment.

Politicians addressing their own emotional and psychological needs would go a long way towards reducing the stigma that prevents many American citizens from seeking treatment.

One study found that tolerance decreased when describing people as "mentally ill" instead of "having mental illness."

Lena Dunham is doing a good job promoting mental illness openness and that's invaluable, because too few people do.

Affluenza has been described as a disorder that coddles kids into a sense of irresponsibility and clouds a sense of right and wrong.

Fear

Why Do We Fear Mental Illness?

Peggy Drexler Ph.D. on January 8, 2016

The instinct to avoid the topic of mental illness prevents many families whose lives have been impacted by it from talking about it.

The instinct to avoid the topic of mental illness prevents many families whose lives have been impacted by it from talking about it.

People with untreated mental illness are 16 times more likely to be killed by police than people without, a new study says.

People with severe mental illness account for one in four of all fatal police encounters

When it comes to identifying with the mission of terrorist groups, religion may matter less than mental wellness.

Social media posts that made it appear as if San Bernardino and Paris weren't bleeding were unsettling. I wondered if a friend who instagrammed herself at a party had not heard.

Law and Crime

Don’t Discount Mental Illness in the Case of Abigail Hanna

Peggy Drexler Ph.D. on December 2, 2015

Everyone is asking, in one way or another, how someone with so much potential can commit such a heinous crime.

Everyone is asking, in one way or another, how someone with so much potential can commit such a heinous crime.

Research has found the higher a girl's IQ the more likely she was to give up when a question was complex or a task was challenging. Bright girls were more easily intimidated. Bright boys ,were more likely to see not knowing an answer as invigorating. They were not intimidated and more confident than girls even though girls performed better on tests.

In Trainwreck Amy Schumer points out the holes in the idea (that many Millennials have) that the work of feminism has been done, that drinking or having sex or working “like a man” makes women equal, that the casual, commitment-free sex they’re having is really their choice.

For richer or poorer? When your friends have more or less. The gap between the rich and poor in the U.S. is the widest it has been since the Great Depression. And our social lives may be suffering as a result.

I think much parenting anxiety centers around how the kids will turn out and whether the choices you made will impact them in good ways or not so good ways. You wonder how you’ll feel about them as people, too, whether you’ll like who they become as adults. You know you’ll love them, but will you like them?

Depression

Rich Kids

Peggy Drexler Ph.D. on July 13, 2015

Research has found that privileged kids are, as a whole, more self-centered, depressed, and self-destructive. They're more narcissistic, but struggle to develop a sense of self.

Research has found that privileged kids are, as a whole, more self-centered, depressed, and self-destructive. They're more narcissistic, but struggle to develop a sense of self.

We may think we're teaching safety when we tell children to disregard the unfamiliar, when we tell them to turn away from strangers, but what we're teaching is intolerance and indifference.

Mating

Hooking It Up

Peggy Drexler Ph.D. on June 15, 2015

Mobile apps like Tinder and The Grade not only make hooking up easier, but they also provide far more equal opportunity.

Mobile apps like Tinder and The Grade not only make hooking up easier, but they also provide far more equal opportunity.

Confidence

5 Reasons You Should Brag

Peggy Drexler Ph.D. on March 12, 2015

If you sing your own praises with the right attitude, you’ll build up your self-esteem, share what you’ve learned with the world—and achieve even more successes to crow about, both at work and in life.

If you sing your own praises with the right attitude, you’ll build up your self-esteem, share what you’ve learned with the world—and achieve even more successes to crow about, both at work and in life.

Media

Obsessive Posting Is A Result Of Obsessive Following

Peggy Drexler Ph.D. on February 12, 2015

For better or worse, we're too willing to listen.

For better or worse, we're too willing to listen.

Any woman who chooses to indulge in a pricier-than-drugstore brand mascara because she likes how it makes her eyes look, or crazy-high heels because they make her walk taller—needn't justify the decision. We're sexist for asking her to, and that's our problem. Not hers.