Why Domestic Violence Occurs and How to Stop It

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and with domestic violence on the rise, it is an important time to face this difficult issue. This year, the nationwide Mary Kay Truth About Abuse Survey showed that “8 out of 10 domestic violence shelters nationwide reported an increase in women seeking help.” The economy has had an…

 

7 Ways to Stop Violence at Every Age

Understanding, preventing, and effectively treating violence – Seeing an image of a violent adult, it’s hard to imagine the innocent baby they once were. Is there such thing as being born violent? Are there really “bad seeds” when it comes to a human life? Like so many qualities, violence involves a real interaction between genetics…

 

All Hands on Deck: How We Can Help Someone Who’s Suicidal

The whole world has felt the impact of recent reports about suicide. The suicide rate in the U.S. military reached one a day this year, meaning more U.S. forces died by suicide than in combat in Afghanistan. A U.K. study published earlier this month showed 1,000 suicides to be linked to rising unemployment and the…

 

What is Killing Our Soldiers?

The Time Magazine cover story, “One a Day” recently alerted us to the heartbreaking high-rates of suicide among our military. In June, The Associated Press reported that “the 154 suicides for active-duty troops in the first 155 days of the year far outdistance the U.S. forces killed in action in Afghanistan – about 50 percent…

 

The Deadly Recession: Dangers of a Down Economy

I woke up the other day to the awful news about the shooting outside the Empire State Building. As various news media began breaking more details, a single biographic fact of the gunman was repeated: He had lost his job.

 

What’s Wrong With Infidelity?

Studies show that between 30 and 60 percent of married individuals in the United States will cheat on their partner at some point in their marriage. Infidelity has increased significantly among married couples in their 20s, with the Wall Street Journal reporting that, “Between 1991 and 2006, the numbers of unfaithful wives under 30 increased…

 

Are You Tricking Yourself Out of Love?

I was once doing a radio show about our (my father, Dr. Robert Firestone, and my) work on the “critical inner voice,” a self-destructive thought process we all possess. The host started the show by talking about all the media attention on terrorism and the fear we, as a nation, were feeling following the attacks…

 

Are You an Addict?

The tabloids and reality TV shows documenting the erratic, out-of-control behaviors associated with drinking and drugging may be giving us a skewed image of what constitutes addiction. You don’t have to off-road into a Beverly Hills boutique or engage in raging encounters to qualify as being an addict. Understanding whether you may have an addiction…

 

Are We Still Condemning Women for Their Sexuality?

Weeks have passed since Rush Limbaugh apologized for the scathing insults he spewed about a female student who spoke out before congress on the importance of birth control to young women. Yet, echoes of the terms Limbaugh used, “slut,” “prostitute” and “feminazi,” should still be ringing in our ears. Moreover, they should force us to…

 

The Abuse of Overparenting

I recently watched my 11-year-old nephew play basketball in his local league. As I took in the scene of the freshly polished court, the paid referees, illuminated scoreboard, and live buzzers, I couldn’t help but think how grown up my nephew and his team had become. There they were independently taking coach instructions, chatting with…