BY dr. bert pitts Despite their historical popularity, personal “resolutions” (such as those made around New Year’s Day) usually don’t work and tend to set us up for failure. Specifically, let’s examine a typical New Year’s Resolution: Let’s say I have the thought, then to hold myself accountable, I tell a friend that “losing 15 pounds” is my […]
Personal Change that Works: Forget “Resolutions” Read More »
Most of us don’t neglect our children…we neglect our marriages. And in doing so, we actually give our kids a much worse deal (divorce). Indeed, one of the most robust statistics in all social science is that well-known horror that since 1970, one-half of all new marriages end in divorce…and for second marriages and beyond,
by Dr. Kristine Hurst-Wajszczuk Note from Dr. Pitts: Kristine is a dear friend and professional singing buddy of mine. She is a Music Professor at UAB (choral conductor, voice teacher, opera director). She possesses great intelligence, depth, and heart, and is an engaging and gifted teacher. Kristine lost her father earlier this year: Her own
How to Love and Support Those in Grief (and Avoid Inadvertently Adding to their Pain) Read More »
By Dr. Bert Pitts Communicating through conflict requires that the couple pay close attention to the emotional “temperature” between them. Maintaining dialogue (two-way communication) is crucial. Both people have to share honestly, and both have to be heard, which requires that both closely listen (which is more difficult for most than is talking). Dialogue can
As summer has wound down and children are off to college for the first or last time, many parents will experience “empty nest syndrome.” Realistic expectations for this transition are helpful to the child and parent alike. The separation adjustment itself may not be as intense as it once was before cell phones and the
by Fred Davis, LPC (Intro by Dr. Bert Pitts) A friend of mine from Jackson, Mississippi who attended the First Baptist Church there relocated to Birmingham. She shared with me the following jewel of a parenting article from a local newspaper. Reader be warned: Mr. Davis has no goal of writing a “feel-good” article or
by Dr. Bert Pitts Learn and understand what stress is, what it is not, and that not all stress is bad. You can think of stress as physical, mental, and/or emotional tension and strain that has no clear source, instead, is just “there” or free-floating. We human beings are designed to need basically two things,
