The three levels of health: biological, psychological and social
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “health is a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing, not only the absence of illness or disease.” Therefore to be “complete”, optimal health must be present at all three levels: the biological or physical level, the psychological or mental level, and the social or relational level. […]
Meditation: 3 ways to return to the present
Normally, our minds are in a state of worry which causes an almost constant internal dialogue. Instead of meditating we obsess and think deeply about the same ideas. This type of thinking can be called “monkey mind,” “narrative mind,” “wandering mind,” or as the psychologist Vicente Simón calls it, “reflective mind.” In contrast we also […]
Attachment in childhood and adult relationships: the importance of cultivating strong bonds
Psychologists are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of establishing a secure attachment style during childhood. However, we have only just begun to understand how childhood attachment bonds influence the ways in which we form relationships as adults. In fact, understanding your predominant attachment style can help you comprehend, amongst other things, why intimacy bothers […]
Catastrophizing: a glass half-empty, about to explode
Are you one of those people who constantly believes that the world is about to end? This is called catastrophizing. It is a coping strategy in which one overemphasizes and overstates the possible negative consequences of a present- or future situation. In other words, you systematically focus on the worst possible scenario whenever anything is […]
Depression vs sadness: a subtle difference
Nowadays, terms such as “depression, anxiety, bipolarity” are constantly on everyone’s lips… but do we actually know what all these concepts mean? How do I know if “I’m just feeling down” or if I’m feeling something more serious? Am I exaggerating about everything that happens to me? Is being sad the same as having depression? […]
The dictatorship of happiness: how to overcome it and find your own way
If you’re on social media, you might have already noticed what a great platform it offers to showcase just how very happy you are to the whole world. In reality, it’s not as much about being truly happy as it is about showing everyone that you’re happy through photos, videos, text posts, gifs, links, etc. […]
All Saints: remembering our own way
Tomorrow is the day of All Saints and the 2nd of November is remembered for All the Faithful Dead. For various reasons, November is a month that starts connecting us with death. In other words, many people live these days with a special connection to their grief. After the loss of something or someone significant, […]
3 tips for radical change
Making radical changes in our lives is a coping strategy that allows us to deal with deep dissatisfaction or a desire to improve. We’ve talked about how undertaking small or large projects after the holidays is a healthy way of working towards our goals and ideals (what we call living an “authentic life” in psychological terms). However, sometimes what […]
Maturing: a journey back from Neverland
In our previous post we visited Netherland, the island of our childhood, and we talked about the process of maturing in the wake of two so-called syndromes that, without a doubt, complement each other: the Peter Pan syndrome and the Wendy syndrome. The first is basically associated with a pattern of immaturity: someone who, for […]
Peter Pan and Wendy: a syndrome of a couple
I’m sure you’ve heard of Peter Pan syndrome, and it’s likely that you’ll also hear something called Wendy’s syndrome. They are not officially accepted clinical labels, but rather expressions that are gradually permeating the colloquial language of people and also of psychology. Many of us have grown up dreaming of a delirious, colorful world full […]
