Paying Attention to What You’re Paying Attention To, Part 1

What Do You Mean, You Didn’t Notice? Paying Attention to What You’re Paying Attention To, Part 1 The Green Wallpaper Incident Dr. A is a fifty-two-year old psychiatrist who began the hour saying: “I’m satisfied in most areas of my life, but for some reason, every long-term relationship I’ve been …

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Are You Better Looking than Most People?

MysteryShrink Short:  Who has the smallest rear, the youngest face, the finest clothes, the clearest skin? Who has the right skin color? Who are the losers? The winners? In the documentary, Come Back, Africa (1960) Zacharia, a man from ‘the villages’, comes to Johannesburg where his new employer, the wealthy …

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Emotional Distance, Owen Wilson, and The Darjeeling Limited

Emotional Distance, Owen Wilson, and The Darjeeling Limited Part 1. Brothers on a Train What would you do if a psychologist suggested that to truly resolve current self-destructive habits, you must get straight—comfortable and ‘real’– with your family? Would you: Demand your money back and accuse the therapist of conspiracy …

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MysteryShrink Shorts: A Soul Wake-Up from a Hungry Man

MysteryShrink Shorts: A Soul Wake-Up from a Hungry Man Last week I was picking up brochures in back of the Cathedral in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, when I was approached by a thin young man in ragged clothes with a familiar pleading look in his eyes. I tried to walk …

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Olympics Free-for-All Medley Swim

Olympics Free-for-All Medley Swim Sport for Us, the Real People Hear ye! Hear ye! The International Olympic Committee has arranged an event for us, the real people. Well, we can’t do ‘flying body’ sports but we can succeed in our event, the Free-for-All Medley Swim. We chose a swimming race …

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MysteryShrink Shorts: What Makes You So Special?

MysteryShrink Shorts: What Makes You So Special? One of my young stepdaughters, tears in her eyes, had handed me a lowly Honorable Mention ribbon after a riding contest which had gone poorly. When I greeted her all aglow with compliments, she’d asked with a tad of bitterness, “How can you …

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What Is Emotional Closeness? How Do I Rank? Take a Ride on the Darjeeling Limited (Owen Wilson)

Distance in the Family: Take a Ride on the Darjeeling Limited (Owen Wilson) Notice of Series in Progress– Sibling Position, Anxiety, and Family Process. Frances, the eldest of the three Whitman brothers (played by Owen Wilson) makes the following announcement as they launch a trip across India on The Darjeeling …

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