“What wouldn’t I give to be normal!”
(Mystique, ‘X-Men First Class’)
I grew up on fiction. It was brain food to me. I generally preferred to read books to just about any other activity. Over the past few years I’ve been incorporating fictional characters into Superhero Therapy. For me these characters hold a deep and personal meaning, after all, some of them actually helped me recover from my own traumatic history.
The Walking Dead series tell a story about survival in a post-apocalyptic world after the spread of a deadly virus that turns the dead into flesh-eating zombies (or walkers). The TV series and comic books center around Rick Grimes, the main protagonist of the series, as well as other members of his group.
I’ve received a lot of requests to do a post on CW’s Arrow. Being that it’s one of my favorite currently running shows, I’m happy to do it. Both the show and the Green Arrow comics do a wonderful job at demonstrating the psychological processes that this superhero experiences.
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.
“Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it”
Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
While not many of us have lost our parents to a dark wizard, many of us can relate to a deep deep sense of loss, having lost someone or something that meant a lot to us. That is also the story of Harry Potter. From the very beginning of the series we learn about the terrible loss, depression, and trauma that Harry and later, his friends, endure.
Continue reading Psychology of Harry Potter: Post 3 of 3 (depression)
Unless you’ve lived under a rock for the past 20 years, you’ve at least heard of Harry Potter. An amazing book series by author J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter tells a tale of a young wizard, whose parents were killed when he was 1 year old by a dark wizard, called Lord Voldemort. At the age of 11 Harry discovers his true wizard identity, despite his abusive aunt and uncle’s attempts to keep this from him, and is able to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he learns how to use magic, and meets his two best friends, Ron and Hermione. Over the course of the series, Harry and his friends have frequently had to face monsters and beasts, as well as Lord Voldermort’s followers, and Voldemort himself. Ultimately, it is up to Harry Potter, the chosen one, “the boy who lived,” and his friends to protect the world from Lord Voldemort and his army of dark wizards, who call themselves the Death Eaters.
Continue reading Psychology behind Harry Potter books: Post 1 of 3 (compassion)
For the longest time mental illness was considered a taboo, in many cultures it is something that is not discussed or accepted, leaving the people that are most in need of support and compassion to be alone and ashamed of their condition. Traditionally the media, including news, films, plays, and books have portrayed people with mental illness as villains, adding to the already existing stigma. And at a time when we are just starting to understand where some mental disorders come from and how we might be able to treat or attenuate them, a production like “Next to Normal” serves as a wonderful tool for giving us the insight into one of the most misunderstood diagnoses – Bipolar Disorder.
WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS
Continue reading Next to Normal: a beautiful play about mental illness
Today we will be discussing one of the most important F-Words – Feminism. Just to be clear, this word simply refers to general equality (i.e., economic, social, political), as well as overall respect for women’s rights. Largely misunderstood, this term historically resulted in occasionally ludicrous posts, where people outright reject feminism based on the mistaken notion that it refers to more traditional sex roles or that it requires a certain political affiliation, profession, job title, social status, or physical appearance. In addition, people who support feminism, such as a TV-host and writer, Jenna Busch, have been bullied and occasionally even threatened. This post further explores this problem, discusses its psychological implications, and offers some advice to those targeted by online bullying. Continue reading All about the F-Word: FEMINISM vs. online bullying
I’ve never fallen in love with The Doctor as quickly as I did with Peter Capaldi. There were so many psychological themes in the first episode of Season 8, Deep Breath, that I felt instantly connected to him and found him extremely relatable. Below is my review of the episode from a psychological standpoint. WARNING: CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS, CLICK TO READ MORE IF YOU DARE
I believe that most of us are compassionate individuals, that is when we see other people or other animals suffering, most of us genuinely want to be a Superhero and to help. However, what happens when we are too emotionally overwhelmed to help someone else? This blog post and video discuss how we can practice self-care so that we are able to reduce burnout and are better able to take care of ourselves and others. Continue reading Self-compassion for the modern geek
