Category: Comics

What is Superhero Therapy?

Did you ever want to be a Superhero? Did you ever wish that you could possess magical powers, like Harry Potter, or travel around the world in a time machine, called the T.A.R.D.I.S. with an alien who calls himself The Doctor? What if you could, in a way?

Many of us wish we had some kind of magical or extraordinary abilities, and many of us strongly identify with fictional characters, like Batman, Superman, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, characters from Harry Potter, Firefly, and many others. Recent research findings suggest that identifying with fictional characters can actually be extremely beneficial as it can teach us empathy, remind us that we are not alone in our painful experience, inspire us to eat healthier, and allow us to better cope with difficult life transitions.

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Aura – the superhero with mental illness and migraines

In the past mental illness was largely misrepresented in the media, especially in the movies and comic book industry, where the villains were usually ones with mental illness. We know that someone with a history of mental (or physical illness) can be a superhero too and I’m glad that more films, TV shows, and comic books are now starting to demonstrate this point. In Iron Man 3, Tony Stark appears to have symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and while he is struggling, he is able to do what’s necessary to protect others. Similarly, in Gail Simone’s version of Batgirl, Barbara Gordon struggles with PTSD and her paraplegia due to the fact that Joker brutally shot her in The Killing Joke. And now there is a new hero with mental illness, Aura.

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Did you ever want to be a Superhero? What do Batman, Harry Potter, and The Doctor teach us about facing our fears

Did you ever wish that you could have amazing Superpowers or that you would suddenly discover that you were really a witch or a wizard? Many of us often wish for special powers, especially when times are rough and we might just want to find our strength in something. It’s often for this reason that we tend to relate to fictional characters that have undergone similar experiences to us.  Continue reading Did you ever want to be a Superhero? What do Batman, Harry Potter, and The Doctor teach us about facing our fears

Talk Nerdy to Me

While there is still a lot of stigma and bullying that many fellow geeks face each and every day, I am thrilled to see such a vast growth and expansion of geek culture around the world.
I’d like to propose a virtual toast to celebrate this occasion and propose the song below as an official geek/nerd anthem:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JO6eydRPpyU

What is Superhero Therapy?

Since the term “Superhero Therapy” has been gaining more popularity, I have written a post about it for Psychology Today, specifically, for Dr. Langley’s Beyond Heroes and Villains column.

In the post, the term Superhero Therapy is defined as relating to either psychoanalyzing Superheroes or to incorporating Superheroes into a therapy setting to treat a specific disorder, such as depression, anxiety, or trauma. I also discuss how such examples might be incorporated and provide a few examples.

Click here to find out more information about Superhero Therapy and to read the full article

Celebrating Batman: 75 years of instilling hope

It’s hard to believe that the Caped Crusader turns 75 today. Batman was initially created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, although Bill Finger was not credited with Batman’s creation until recently. The first time the world met Batman was on March 30, 1939 in the issue of Detective Comics (see below), and his first full issue was released in May later that year, Issue #27, which is currently worth over a million dollars.

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Legends of the Knight Part I: We are Batman

A little boy with leukemia, a man who was born without a leg and who is missing several fingers, a woman with muscular dystrophy, what do they all have in common? They had to overcome significant challenges and they were inspired to do so by Batman.

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Running with Batman

I’ll be honest with you, I suck at exercising. I do the minimum: I walk, I do some yoga, occasionally I still dance. I used to compete in Latin and ballroom dancing and was in the best shape of my life until I had an accident during one of the rehearsals and was forced to wave goodbye to my dancing career.

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