A Japanese labor bureau has ruled that one of Toyota’s top car engineers – aged 45 – has died from working too many hours. In the two months up to his death, the man averaged more than 80 hours of overtime per month. In Japan, deaths from…
Dear Michael: I am a new guy in town and feeling very lonely. Don’t give me the usual advice “get out there and mingle and get involved” because I’ve heard this so often I’ll puke if you give me that rap again. I’m handsome, successful and a…
Loneliness is a topic that no one wants to talk about. My clients tell me stuff like: “It’s too depressing”. “It’s so intense.” and “There’s nothing I can do about it”. I refuse to get all depressed and hopeless about loneliness. Yeah, I experience it…
Perhaps only God Himself/Herself is more important than humor. Seriously. Psychological research has found that when people list the qualities they desire in a partner, a good sense of humor consistently shows up near the top. For some of us, a good sense of humor is more…
What can you give yourself that would really make your life a whole lot better? Sure, a new car or a fabulous home would be great. But, let’s dig deeper: what could REALLY change your life? How about meditation? “Ugh”, I hear you say, “How boring. This…
Below is a link to a great article on how some psychotherapists are talking about sex with their clients in couples’ counseling. It cites one of my favorite psychotherapists – Esther Perel (whose book you can find on the bookstore page of this website). Recently,…
Dear Michael: I am a really shallow person and I enjoy it. I like to spend my time focusing on fashion and movies and music and going out to clubs, going dancing and getting laid. Most of my friends are this way too and we have…
In the mid-1980’s in Manhattan, I was a personal shopper for professional men and women. It was good experience for the psychotherapist I would eventually become: everyone’s insecurities make a strong – and often unexpected – appearance when it comes to buying clothes for ourselves….
Dear Michael: I know you’ll never print this in your column, because it’s too hard a question (even Dear Abby would reject it), but anyway, here goes: how can I be happy? I have all the trappings of a great life, and yet I feel I’m only…
Who among us hasn’t has our heart broken, at least once? It’s impossible to get through life without it. People are unpredictable, they hurt us despite their best intentions. Pets, partners, beloved friends and relatives die. We fall in love with someone who doesn’t feel…
