Publisher’s Weekly has listed the top selling self-help books of 2017-2018. From mindfulness to creative self-discovery to women’s empowerment, Catherine LaSota details the increase in the genre’s popularity and upcoming self-help trends for the new year. 

Check out “All the Feels: Self-Help Books 2017–2018” here

In an article from The New York Times, Jonah Engel Bromwich interviews comedy writer Megan Ganz, who asked for and received an apology from her former boss, Dan Harmon. Harmon abused his position of power to harass and mistreat Ganz after she rejected his romantic advances. Ganz says:

“The most important part of the apology was its specificity. He gave a complete account of what he did. Not the salacious details that people focus on — was it in a bar? what time? who was there? — but the ugly little realities. He knew that I didn’t welcome his advances. He did it anyway…The irony is, Dan was the only person who could wipe those doubts from my head. That’s why I was able to accept his apology. Because I felt vindicated, to others but more importantly to myself.”

Read the entire interview here

A Counterintuitive Approach to Narcissism: Empathy, Forgiveness, or Something Else?

Forgiving does not mean forgetting what happened. But coming to a place of forgiving can allow us to remember the incident without being at the mercy of our own anger, pain, anxiety and rage about it. Instead, the release of the emotions surrounding the incident (or pattern of incidences) actually strengthens us because we are no longer using our own energy to remember, relive and rehash the hurt. We actually want to remember the essence of what happened, so we don’t find ourselves making the same mistakes and getting stuck over and over again. 

How do you forgive someone who has hurt you to the core?

The word forgiveness is laden with emotion. When someone has hurt us, the last thing we are eager to do is to forgive them even though, intellectually, we know that forgiveness does not mean condoning the hurt/pain/humiliation/devastation. Then we tell ourselves that we have a choice as to how we feel, that we need to think differently about it! But, alas, we can’t seem to see the situation any differently. We are still hurt, and mad.

Forgiveness too much? Start with this instead

Perhaps, for the moment, instead of trying so very hard to forgive, the key is to simply accept. Accept that the incident happened, the relationship happened, the pain happened.  Acceptance (like forgiveness) doesn’t mean we like it, love it, want it, wished for it or approved of it (it being that which hurt us), but it does signal that we acknowledge that it happened.

Adapted from Narcissism: Surviving the Self-Involved

In an article from The Cut titled “Using Anger-Management Techniques to Cope With 2017” Eliza McCarthy describes how to effectively utilize anger-management therapy techniques. McCarthy writes:

“It wasn’t that I wanted to get rid of anger, necessarily. I just wanted to be better at being angry — more comfortable with the emotion, more prepared to handle it. As it turned out, that’s a tenet of anger management, too: that anger is not something to eliminate, just something to, well, manage. After all, it can have some positive effects…”

Read the article here

In an article from Time Magazine titled “4 Ways to Become Stress-Free Just About Anywhere” writer Eric Baker explores several, unconventional but scientifically backed-up ways to alleviate stress. Baker writes:

“…There are some great methods to train your mind to reduce stress…But they take work. And right now you’re too stressed out for any of that…So we need some stuff that’s diabolically easy and backed by neuroscience research — but let’s keep the emphasis on diabolical. If your brain won’t play fair, neither will we….Time to do an end run around your brain’s stress response and exploit physiology to trick it into calming down…”

Read the article here

Step outside! A study conducted by Ph.D. student Holli-Anne Passmore at the University of British Columbia has determined that observing nature can make us feel happier. In an article on Medical News Today, Maria Cohut chronicles the study. Cohut writes:

“If you see some blades of grass unexpectedly emerging from among the train tracks, or if your potted lavender plant has just bloomed, give yourself a moment to take it in, and notice how it makes you feel. Observing nature — wherever you may be — will make you feel happier, researchers say.”

Read the article here

Arrogance, self-service, and manipulation are classic narcissistic behaviors. An article from the New York Times titled “Weinstein’s Complicity Machine” chronicles how Harvey Weinstein used his power to manipulate and exploit those around him in order to silence his victims. The article says:

“…He commanded enablers, silencers and spies, warning others who discovered his secrets to say nothing. He courted those who could provide the money or prestige to enhance his reputation as well as his power to intimidate.”

Read the entire article here

In an article from The Cut titled “11 Stress Experts on Surviving the Constant Anxiety That Is 2017” Katie Heaney compiles a list of several helpful, professionally-backed ways to deal. Heaney writes:

“If you’re feeling a persistent, low-level dread, you’re not alone….a recent…survey found that 63 percent of American say “the future of the nation” (no small category!) is a significant source of stress. From all available evidence, the news isn’t likely to get any happier or easier to swallow anytime soon, so here are 11 psychologists and stress experts on how to survive the rest of the year. (And the next. If we get one.)”

Read the article here

Obsessing is what I do to unconsciously avoid addressing something. When I obsess about, for example, whether I’m good enough, I can take this as a sign that I’m avoiding looking at the real problem that may be, for instance, my fear of being abandoned.

Obsessions are distractions that keep me from feeling the sadness or hurt, the anger or rage that’s inside me. While some of these emotions are directly related to the relationship with the narcissist, they are also connected to buried feelings from the past that, once addressed, can be healed and let go.

The longer I avoid a problem the bigger it becomes in my mind. If I start obsessing I can ask: What am I trying to avoid? But by simply asking this question, I become open to discovering the real issue, which brings me closer to actually addressing it. I trust that addressing the real problem will help me heal.

From Surviving the Narcissist:
 30 Days of Recovery