Sacred Disorder | Cliff Bostock's blog – 'Finally, I came to regard as sacred the disorder of my mind' (Rimbaud)
Authentic torture
I’m sure you’ve read about “positive psychology.” You may have even read books by Martin Seligman, its principal theorist and advocate. Among them are Learned Optimism and Authentic Happiness. Now it turns out that Mr. Smiley has been cited in a new book for a most unhappy line of work. This is from psychoanalyst Stephen […]
Dick Cavett on depression
Dick Cavett, the former talk-show host who now writes a blog for the New York Times, has been discussing depression lately. Both of his posts have produced an avalanche of comments, reminding us again of how epidemic this disorder is. One of his more interesting observations, via Marlon Brando, is that the depressed often don’t […]
Suicide and impulsivity
The New York Times Magazine today features a story about suicide and impulsivity. Research shows that a high percentage of suicides can be averted by making the means of death difficult to employ. When barriers are installed on bridges to make suicide more difficult, for example, the suicide rate there drops precipitously. Most surprising, though, […]
The happiest place on earth is…
It’s not the U.S. In fact we don’t even rank in the top 20. No, the happiest people are the Danes. This piece from 60 Minutes explains why. My favorite moment is when one of the Danes suggests that if Americans want to be happy, they should give up the “American dream.” more about “CBS […]
Regarding (obliviousness to) the pain of others
The video below is the latest bit of breathtaking vulgarity from Geraldo Rivera and friends at Fox News. I’m not referring just to the image of model Rusiana Korshunova’s partially uncovered cadaver, on which the Fox camera lingers obscenely by peering under a police vehicle with a telephoto lens. The 20-year-old “supermodel” died after falling […]
The power of imagination
J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books, spoke at Harvard’s commencement on June 5. Her topic was “The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination.” It’s a wonderful talk, particularly in its explanation of the way empathy is a function of imagination. Here’s a link to both the video and written […]
Blogging — good for your health?
Scientific American features an interesting article entitled “Blogging — It’s good for you.” It’s an account of studies of the therapeutic value of blogging: Self-medication may be the reason the blogosphere has taken off. Scientists (and writers) have long known about the therapeutic benefits of writing about personal experiences, thoughts and feelings. But besides serving […]
Stop it!
Welcome to Sacred Disorder. I’ve started this blog as a place to track my interests in psychology, culture and politics. It is linked to my website, cliffbostock.com. The infamous video above was sent me by my friend Brad Lapin. It features Bob Newhart, the original TV therapist who was a lot easier to take than […]