The Savvy Psychologist's Quick And Dirty Tips For Better Mental Health

Have you ever sprouted wings or swam with unicorn dolphins? Lucid dreamers can conjure these and any other fantastical scenario they can, well, dream of. Is this ancient art a real brain phenomenon? Can you do it, too? In this first part of a two-part series on lucid dreaming, we explore the neuroscience of lucid dreaming and discuss whether it's a good idea to try at home. Read the transcript. Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows. Subscribe to the newsletter for more psychology tips. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/what-lucid-dreaming https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych

The fear of a loved one's death is a profound, existential anxiety. Let's talk about two different anxiety-inducing scenarios and some ways to stop being paralyzed by worry so you can get the most meaning and joy out of your life with your loved one, instead. Read the transcript. Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows. Subscribe to the newsletter for more psychology tips. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/worry-loved-one-death https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych

If the pandemic has messed with your work life, you're not alone. Whether you're unemployed and searching for a new job or employed but searching for your lost mojo, leadership consultant and host of the Modern Mentor podcast has compassionate, actionable advice to help you not only survive but thrive. Read the transcript. Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows. Subscribe to the newsletter for more psychology tips. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/mental-health/surviving-pandemic-career-changes https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych

Politics drive family and friends apart now more than ever. How can we talk to each other about heated topics when we disagree? These strategies from couples therapy can help us create empathetic conversations that heal our political divides. Read the transcript. Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows. Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/mental-health/talk-politics-without-losing-friends https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych

On March 16th 2021, a man killed eight people in Atlanta, Georgia, six of whom were women of Asian descent. Savvy Psychologist Dr. Jade Wu shares her message of solidarity and a warning against stigmatizing addiction and mental health. Read the transcript. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/asian-american-hate-crimes https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych Donation links: https://stopaapihate.org/ https://www.advancingjustice-aajc.org/ways-give https://asianpacificfund.org/make-an-impact/solidarity/ https://www.asianmhc.org/about-us/#support-us https://www.napawf.org/donate

When life gives you lemons, how exactly do you make the lemonade? Resilience is the ability to adapt and bounce back after adversity, and it's a skill you can learn. Let's take a look at how we can work with our emotions, values, actions, and social supports to cultivate resilience in any situation. Read the transcript. Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows. Get the newsletter for regular updates. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/build-resilience https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych

Depression is a heavy blanket that weighs you down. How do we keep moving when we're ensnared in its trap? Author Julie Fast has been dealing with her own depression for decades. She talks to us today about her tried-and-true strategies for taking back the reins from depression so you can live your life. Read the transcript. Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows. Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/getting-things-done-when-depressed https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych

Positive self-talk isn't just an athlete's secret weapon! Decades of research shows it boosts performance, builds mental toughness, and regulates emotions whenever you take on a challenging task. Here's how to use it to score some big wins of your own. Read the transcript. Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows. Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/positive-self-talk https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych

The neuroscience and psychology of gratitude show that cultivating gratitude, even in small doses, can do wonders for your mental health. Here's how gratitude works, and some simple tips for sprinkling more nourishing gratitude into your daily life. Read the transcript. Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows. Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/your-brain-on-gratitude https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych

Your heart pounds. Your vision gets blurry. You can hear the blood rushing in your ears. You wonder if you’re going to faint or totally lose your senses. What’s going on? Panic attacks are terrifying experiences that can put a major weight on your life. Let's dig into the science of why they happen and what to do to gain your freedom back. Read the transcript. Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows. Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/having-panic-attack-what-to-do https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych

Some people who continuously care for others burn out and experience compassion fatigue, a very real and natural psychological phenomenon. How can you recognize compassion fatigue? How do you cope? It begins with having compassion for yourself. Read the transcript. Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows. Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/prevent-compassion-fatigue https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych

Have you ever been in a relationship that made you feel insecure, put down, and used? Here's how to spot whether your partner has the dark triad, a trifecta of personality traits that can do serious damage in relationships, and advice for safely getting out. Read the transcript. Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows. Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/dark-triad-5-red-flags https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych

If your partner, friend, or family member has ever made you feel insecure, unsafe, unloved, and uncertain, they may have high levels of the dark triad personality traits—Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism. What do these traits look like in action, and why are they so destructive to relationships? Today we explore the dark triad in part one of a two-part episode series. Read the transcript. Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows. Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/what-is-dark-triad-relationships https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych

Have you ever woken up in the middle of eating a sandwich? Felt paralyzed in your bed? Or maybe you heard an earth-shattering explosion just as you were falling asleep that nobody else heard. We'll learn more about parasomnias, the strange medical phenomena that fascinate people and stump doctors. Read the transcript. Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows. Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/parasomnias https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych

People used to think that creativity was a gift from the gods. Now we have some clues from neuroscience and psychology for how to cultivate it. Hint: You might want to lobby your boss for a nap pod at the office. Read the transcript. Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows. Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/how-to-be-creative https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych

The winter blues can sap your energy, disrupt your sleep, and destroy your concentration, but there's a simple key to defeating it—light. Read the transcript. Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows. Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/beat-winter-blues https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych

From forest bathing to napping to belly laughing, cultures from around the world have cultivated well-being in many fascinating ways—and science agrees that they're effective! Better yet? They won't cost you a thing. Read the transcript. Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows. Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/cultural-wellness-practices https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych

Finding a good therapist shouldn't be like finding an empathic needle in a haystack. We'll walk step-by-step through the process of finding potential therapists, narrowing down your list, evaluating whether someone is a good match, and finding affordable therapy options. Read the transcript. Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows. Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/how-find-therapist https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych

Imagine a medical treatment based on cutting edge science. I bet what came to mind wasn't doing double dares and playing detective with your diary. But these are just what the doctor orders for treating a range of psychological disorders, like anxiety, depression, OCD, PTSD, insomnia, and more in a type of psychotherapy called cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Today, we take a behind-the-scenes tour of CBT to see how and why it works. Read the transcript. Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows. Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/cognitive-behavioral-therapy https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych

Pop culture portrays therapy in a way that usually misses the mark ... by a lot. Let's demystify the idea of going to therapy with a down-to-earth overview of what types of therapy there are and which problems they can help with. Read the transcript. Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows. Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/what-is-therapy https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe https://www.facebook.com/savvypsychologist https://twitter.com/qdtsavvypsych