A Brief Addiction Glossary
Rabbi Azriel Hauptman The disease of addiction is one of the greatest challenges of our generation. Addictions can cause untold harm to relationships, livelihoods, and health and is sometimes fatal. One of the ways that we can be proactive in the fight against addiction is to educate ourselves about the nature of this dreadful disease. […]
Narcissism
Rabbi Azriel Hauptman Narcissism in psychology describes someone who is selfish, has a strong sense of entitlement, lacks empathy, and has a need for admiration. If it is severe enough and impairs daily functioning, it may qualify for a diagnosis of narcissistic personality disorder. Narcissists can be difficult to comprehend since on the one hand […]
Adolescent Depression
Rabbi Azriel Hauptman The teenage years are difficult ones for both teens and parents. The teenagers are grappling withfinding their identity in this no man’s land between childhood and adulthood. Their bodies andminds are changing which can lead to a very confusing period in their lives. The parents arepulling their hair out trying to figure […]
Dr. Google and Cyberchondriasis
Rabbi Azriel Hauptman The Internet age has created many innovations that affect our lives in many ways. As recently as thirty years ago, if someone wanted to research a specific topic, you would have to visit the library and spend many hours poring over numerous books until you started to acquire some of the information […]
Misophonia
Rabbi Azriel Hauptman Misophonia, which literally means hatred of sound, is a condition where an individual is extremely sensitive to certain types of sounds. The triggering sounds are commonly related to the mouth (such as eating, lip-smacking, chewing, breathing, etc.), but can also include other sounds such as someone typing on a keyboard. The stress […]
Family Feuds and BPD
Rabbi Azriel Hauptman Family feuds and estrangement are by their very nature extremely complicated. No two scenarios are alike and there are various factors that can precipitate such a situation. In this article, we will focus on one variable that can play a role and that is when one of the parents has borderline personality […]
Bipolar Disorder and Personality
Rabbi Azriel Hauptman Bipolar disorder, which used to be called manic depression, is a mental health disorder that is defined by periods of depressed mood and mania. When one is in a manic phase, it is common to experience high energy, decreased need for sleep, feelings of grandiosity, increased talkativeness, racing thoughts, increased risk taking, […]
Stress Hormones
Rabbi Azriel Hauptman Hormones are chemicals, produced by the body, that control and regulate the activities of various systems in the body. Two hormones are produced for stressful or dangerous situations. They are adrenaline and cortisol. When you are in a situation that requires an immediate and powerful response, you need to have your systems […]
Cognitive Dissonance and Vaccination
Rabbi Azriel Hauptman The recent measles outbreak and the resulting focus on groups that are against vaccination offers us an opportunity to discuss a fundamental theme in psychology and that is cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is the mental discomfort that you feel when you have contradictory beliefs or behaviors. This leads to an unconscious effort […]
House of Mirrors
Rabbi Azriel Hauptman Have you even been to a house of mirrors? You walk through a maze of mirrors with many of them distorted in ways that make you look very different, often in humorous or frightening ways. Many people have disorders that make them look at their bodies in distorted ways and as a […]