I’ve written a great many articles, too many to list them all here. So, I’ve put a selection of my best here, along with the first few lines so that you can get an idea of what they are about. Click the title to read.

Reimagining the subconscious

This one is actually a paper, published in the Psychreg Journal in June, 2023

“This paper seeks to establish the groundwork for a theory that has the potential to significantly impact various forms of psychological therapy. Prior to the research conducted on Brain Working Recursive Therapy, the notion of subconscious processes as the primary drivers of human behavior was widely accepted within the field of psychology, albeit without much critical scrutiny.”  

The following 25+ are all published on psychreg.org (Listed alphabetically, not by date.)

After Covid

We’re living through history, through the stuff that people will be talking about in a hundred years and commenting that ‘it must have been awful back then’. The important thing about that is that if you’re reading this, then you are living through history…

All their fault

There are many who blame their lack of success in life on their parents or others. They were either negligent or suffocating, too soft or too disciplinarian, unsupportive, over-critical, dismissive, unstable, absent or any other negative concept that comes to mind.

Are you an ANT?

If you are an ANT then you automatically look on the dark side of everything – and as a result, life might look pretty bleak sometimes. Even when something good happens, you can find yourself wondering what disaster might be looming as a kind of payback.

Destructive Security

Most people would state that, unquestionably, security is a good thing. It’s an oddity though that many, maybe most, would not be able to describe what it is. They might know of some of the circumstances that can provide the sense of it but not exactly what it is.  

Dysautonomia

Most people may never have heard of the illness called Dysautonomia, even though around 70 million people world-wide have it – though it’s entirely possible that there are many more undiagnosed, believing that they’re just getting old and tired. 

Five Ways to Keep Your Cool

There are times in everybody’s life when it seems that somebody else – or, indeed, everybody else – is determined upon starting the mother and father of all rows. Of course, it can sometimes feel totally enliberating to just ‘let rip’ with something along the lines of: “Okay, you want an argument? Well, now you’ve got one!”

Hand-me-downs

Those who grew up with an older sibling, especially one of the same sex, will be very familiar with the hand-me-down problem of physical items… clothes, books, toys and so on. But the psychological hand-me-down is darker, invisible, and potentially more damaging. 

Keep the change

It is a fact, of course, that every one of us will at some time or another have said ‘Okay, that’s it! I’ve had enough of this. I’m going to make some changes around here!’It is another fact that while many, maybe most, do get around to making those changes…

Life Lessons

If your life really is not anywhere near where you wanted it to be, it could be all to do with what you were taught early in life. So early in fact, that you cannot remember the lessons that were sometimes so subtle that they remain almost invisible, even though they are some of the most important ‘facts of life’.

Manifestation Works

The idea of ‘manifesting’ – that is, persuading the universe to give you something you want but haven’t been able to get – has been around for, probably, centuries. Then in 2006 a film called ‘The Secret’ was released and the whole thing was suddenly all over the place on social media, along with a veritable crowd of therapists and others… 

Most plans fail

It is a fact that most plans fail – for a whole variety of reasons but most often to do with not thinking everything through properly. It’s not sufficient just to come up with a spectacular idea, decide to become an entrepreneur, grab a grant or two, and get immediately on your way to becoming a jet-set high-flier. You need a firm structure, a plan.

New-on-the-block

There’s a new kid on the block in the world of psychological therapy. It’s quick, effective and doesn’t rely on digging around in your past or exploring your intimate details. It doesn’t rely on you doing stuff every day to maintain the changes it makes, either – there’s no tapping, making notes, or finding a quiet place to sit and be still while you concentrate on that elusive ‘moment of now’.

Sexual Jealousy

Jealousy, as everybody who knows anything about people and their relationships will tell you, is a very bad thing. We’re talking here, of course, about the gut-wrenching sensation that suddenly manifests when you get the idea that your significant other, who you suddenly realise you love almost more than life itself, is eyeing another. Read

Social Media Addiction

Social media – Facebook, Tik Tok, Twitter, Telegram, Instagram and the rest – is very nearly universally attractive and there can be few people who don’t know what these platforms actually are. For many individuals, it’s a way of keeping up with friends, checking out the latest ‘meme’, snorting at politics, religious views or medical processes they don’t agree with, and generally just an interesting way to pass… Read

Thanatophobia

The fear of death – Thanatophobia – is ubiquitous and shared by just about every living sentient being on the face of the earth. Even the tiniest of creatures start running for cover when their ‘safe place’, whatever that might be, is disturbed. It’s something of a conundrum that if that fear did not exist, you probably would not even have been born to experience it in the first place. 

The Lizard Brain and PTSD

We hear an awful lot about PTSD nowadays, and it’s certainly a distressing condition that wrecks lives and relationships and not infrequently ends in suicide. It’s difficult enough to understand the myriad destructive symptoms and flashbacks that are so frequently part of the condition. But the fact that it almost certainly originates in a part of the brain that is part of our inherited survival kit…

The Warrior Personality

This article is the first of three, each one detailing a different personality of the three I researched and wrote about for the first time in 2000, in the book Warriors, Settlers & Nomads. In truth, every one of us has the Warrior somewhere in our psyche – we can’t not, because the mixing of the gene pool many thousands of years ago means we have all inherited something of all our ancestral types.

The Settler Personality

In truth, every one of us is subject in some way to the influence of the Settler attitudes and behaviour – we can’t not be, because we have all inherited something of each our ancestral types, even though one of the three is usually noticeably dominant, certainly by enough to allow those ‘in the know’ to recognise it.

The Nomad Personality

every one of us will sometimes display the exuberant and sometimes exaggerated behaviour and manner of the Nomad. That is inevitable, because we have all inherited something of each our ancestral types, even though one of the three is usually noticeably dominant. And when that dominant one is the Nomad there’s no mistaking it.

The Nurture Trap

The human animal has evolved to adore being nurtured. That feeling of being loved, looked after, cared for, the centre of your world, is magnetically beguiling. It’s an evolutionary thing – those in our ancient past who responded well to it lived longer. But there’s a huge problem with it too, in that while we need it to survive when we’re young…

The Psychology of Modern Manifestation

Manifestation in the way that some still describe it never was a real ‘thing’. Of course, it was a highly attractive notion that you could get whatever you want with no real effort other than being guided to raise your ‘vibrational energy’ (whatever that is) or somehow employ a mysterious ‘Law Of Attraction’ to get goodies delivered to your doorstep free of charge.

The Root Cause

The majority of psychotherapists and other professional ‘mind workers’ who trained more than a few years ago – in other words, those with vast experience – will be likely to tell you that you must get to the root cause of a problem to properly sort it out. That vast experience is leading them astray…

Victim Signalling

‘Victim Signalling’ is a peculiarly self-centred process, often promulgated on social media platforms, where it triggers an avalanche of Virtue Signal posts… which is exactly what it’s intended to do. It’s that thing where somebody writes a lengthy message about what an absolutely awful time they are having for no reason whatsoever of their own. In fact, they are totally blameless…

What you think doesn’t count

A claim that is often repeated without any real thought in some psychological circles is that we should all aspire to be our ‘authentic self’. But it is a fact that if everybody was to follow that advice, many people would end up in jail – or worse. This might sound somewhat dystopian… after all, arresting people for just being themselves does sound as if it has shades of Big Brother and the thought police.

When it all goes wrong

Is your partner your rival or your friend? The question might well never have occurred to you, but you’ve probably already worked it out, or started to. It’s usually better to be friends than rivals – there’s a whole lot more fun to be had with a friend than with an enemy. Maybe you’ve suddenly realised, right at this very moment, why life seems so fraught sometimes and are wondering what to do about it.

Wrong partners

Okay, let’s get a common idea straight, right from the very beginning: the human mind doesn’t have a secret transmitter of some sort that alerts every unsuitable individual in the vicinity that a willing target is close by. It just doesn’t, no matter how much you want to believe it! It’s got nothing to do with pheromones, hormones or any other type of special body chemistry, either.

Your own personal pirate

You might never have realised it, but you have your own personal pirate! This is not a pirate who sails the seven seas hijacking treasure and burying it in a chest on a desert island; this one sails around your thoughts, ideas and wishes, grabs a whole bunch of them and buries them in a box never to see the light of day again. You might not know about the pirate directly, even though you will have felt their presence…

Arbut and Yerbut

You might be absolutely certain you’ve never heard of Arbut and Yerbut but they are super saboteurs and you almost certainly know them better than you think. They seldom appear together but either one might suddenly turn up whenever somebody is urging you to do something you really don’t want to do with the immortal phrase “What you want to do is…”

Five Ways to Cope with Social Anxiety 

You know the score. Everybody else is having a whale of a time, laughing at jokes that aren’t really funny, having another drink, shouting above the background noise, grabbing another ‘nibble’, having another drink. Asking if you’re okay, then having another drink without waiting for you to answer, and generally having the good time that’s had by all. Well, all except you.

Happiness is

There’s a school of thought focussed on the idea that happiness is some sort of human right and that if we don’t feel it all the time, then either there is something wrong with us or we’re being cheated in some way. The fact is, though, that being happy 24/7 is totally impossible for absolutely anybody and this article will show you why – and how to enjoy it while you have it

Imposter Syndrome

It’s a funny thing, is imposter syndrome, though it doesn’t actually feel funny when you’re on the inside of it. What’s funny about it is that almost everybody has it to one degree or another… from the new mother who is sure that everybody else already knows what she’s frightened to ask in case her child gets taken away, to the high-flying CEO who believes that everybody will soon realise he’s just a big fat fraud…

Positive Thinking

Positive thinking, the story goes, is the answer to life, love and everything. Learn to do it and your life will be transformed. Abundance will flow all around you like water from a tap and you can have as much of it as you can positively think of. Learn the trick and you can be whatever you want to be. Become a successful guru, or perhaps a social media influencer, and amass thousands of adoring acolytes.

PTSD

Until relatively recently, most people perceived PTSD as being related to what used to be called ‘battle fatigue’ or ‘combat fatigue’. Earlier still, it was called ‘shell shock’ – a term coined during World War One by a British Psychologist called Charles Myers. In other words, it was believed by many to be associated with armed conflict. Now, though, there is a greater recognition that it can be associated with just about any… 

Self-esteem fallacy

If you’ve ever had the feeling that you’re just not ‘all that’ – and most people have – you’ve probably read somewhere that you have to start loving yourself, because you’re worth it. Start telling yourself you’re wonderful, the story goes, and the sun will come out and you will be full of admiration and adoration for that wonderful soul you can see in the mirror first thing in the morning. Bed hair, morning tongue, the lot.

Why Criticism Stings

We all know the feeling. You’ve done something you’re rather proud of and expecting at least a tiny “Well done!” from somebody. And then along comes some smarty-pants or other and with a roll of the eyes, a twist of the lip and a little snort, makes a snide remark that they clearly think is witty. Or if they’re somewhat lacking on the witticisms front, perhaps it’s something rather more spiteful and…

The following are short pieces

Age is just a number

Those who cheerfully chirp ‘well, age is just a number’ usually have not accrued enough summers to recognise that this epithet is far from the truth! For the vast majority of people, age is achy evidence that they’ve climbed many stairs, walked many steps, lifted many weights. Some bits of the body don’t work quite like they used to – in fact, for some unfortunates, some bits don’t work at all.

Always trust your gut – no, wait!

It’s often said that you should always trust your ‘gut instincts’ – but there are many reasons why this is not as good an idea as some might think. We’ll have a close look at why that should be shortly, but first a look at why the idea keeps on keeping on…

Below Limiting Beliefs 

Most therapists are aware that many people suffer from limiting beliefs, but fewer realise that below the limiting belief, there is a process that drives it – and limiting processes are much more difficult to locate! The major problem with them is that they are invisible to the owner of them and often below the level of accessible subconscious.

Discipline issues

This is not going to be a popular post, I’m fairly certain about that, but it’s one I’ve been thinking about for a long time. It’s common enough knowledge that many youngsters today suffer from a lack of resilience and an inability to navigate life situations that earlier generations handled with ease. Irritation and angst might well have arisen, but they didn’t collapse in an emotional heap.

Do it on purpose

Much has been written about how having a sense of purpose helps you live longer and more happily, too, but not a great deal has been said about exactly why this should be. So, here’s my take on it, and it’s all about survival. First, it’s important to recognise that the early part of the brain, the brain stem and cerebellum, controls every vital function of the body’s system.

Every Think Counts

There’s a secret about thoughts, something that most people don’t realise and even if they do, fail to recognise the most important thing of all — that everything you think invisibly governs what you do and the way you do it. It is a fact that almost all people with the best life are those whose thoughts lead them to automatically discover opportunities to achieve whatever they want.

Jealousy and Envy

Many people have difficulty in understanding the difference between the states of Envy and Jealousy. Both can be hugely damaging to your life, albeit not for the same reasons. Quite the opposite in fact. And that brings us nicely to the difference between the two. Envy is about something you haven’t got but wish you had, while jealousy is about something you HAVE got, but fear you might lose.

The Ultimate in Recycling

You may not have realised it, but the ultimate recycling process is life itself! It is a fact that not only do each and every one of us have hundreds of billions of molecules inside us that were once part of other peoples’ bodies, but we have about one atom in our body from every breath that every human has ever taken. Just let your mind dwell on that for a moment or two…

The Continuum

The event that underlies an issue or problem in life is not the cause of that issue or problem. It is the response to that underlying event that creates either our problems, our feelings of inadequacy… or our success. The person who earns a fortune and then loses it on a venture can beat themselves up forever for having lost so much money. Or they can be energised by the fact that they earned it in the first place.

The Captain’s Chair

Some of you might already know this story because I occasionally use it in training. This is a true story from the very early 1990s – I had been writing since 1973 but not yet been published. I was also still in the process of clearing debts that had built up over the years, so there wasn’t a lot of cash to spare, even though I was steadily building my career as a therapist.

Parents CANNOT get it right

A good few people blame their parents for their life being messed up – and they’re right. But leaving aside obvious abuse and neglect, there’s a good reason why it’s not necessarily their fault that things turned out the way they did. It’s all to do with what the Swiss psychiatrist,  C. G. Jung, propounded in 1916 as the ‘collective unconscious’. This is nothing to do with any psychical connection to others

Writing and typing

Social media is inundated with advice and advertising about easy writing that can only have one eventual effect – to shrink or disable hundreds of the neural pathways in the brain of those who employ the app. This is an observation based on my own experiences and what I’ve learnt about the way the brain works, during the development and writing of my various courses, programmes and books.