Duffy's Aphorisms

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Duffy's Aphorisms

There is such a thing as emotion management and it is a hallmark of adulthood. That said, this does not mean that someone has to suppress emotions.

Emotions are like needing to go to the bathroom; both are part of being human and are going to occur. What matters is how you manage both.

Although emotions can be messy and cause pain, they are also necessary. Emotions form the bridge to other people, they enable us to laugh at a joke, and they imbue life with meaning.

When feeling depressed, thinking only makes it worse; doing something and engaging in some kind of activity is key to feeling better.

Anxious people tend to over-think and over-analyze; this is not a compliment, is not an indication of how intelligent someone is, it does not improve coping. In fact, such over-thinking tends to become increasingly inaccurate and only serves to generate more internal stress.

People who see themselves as "realists" are almost always pessimists and negative. Realistic, fact-based thinking is accurate and balanced, including both the negatives and the positives and neutrals in any given situation.

In fact, 90% of the time, the facts in and of themselves are usually not as negative and bad as the judgments people make about them.

Life is 10% of what happens to us and 90% attitude.

Unfortunately, bad things do happen to good people. How one deals with the bad things is what matters. Anyone can deal with good stuff.

Happiness is a choice and requires self-acceptance and an attitude of gratitude.

Medical and Health Psychologist

Charlotte, NC

Southpark Behavioral Medicine Specialists, PA.

Sally M. Duffy, Ph.D

Charlotte, NC (704) 442-9065