by Harper West | Jan 9, 2022 | Uncategorized
Excerpted from a NY Times article. Do you get irritated easily, such as yell at the slow driver in front of you? Are you hostile toward others? Are you highly self-critical? Do you have chronic stress, such as financial insecurity, living in a high crime area or...
by Harper West | Jul 24, 2015 | Accountability, Emotions
I saw key parts of the dashcam video from the Sandra Bland arrest and immediately noticed how the emotion of shame played a big role. Early in the traffic stop Ms. Bland stated to state trooper Brian Encinia that she hadn’t signaled a lane change because he was coming...
by Harper West | Jul 20, 2015 | Relationships
I had a patient describe her husband as someone who bites his tongue for days about an issue, then becomes angry at her out of the blue. I said: “Oh, he is afraid of conflict,” and she looked at me quizzically. “But he gets angry and we fight. He seems to like...
by Harper West | Apr 3, 2014 | Emotions
Pardon a former writer’s semantic debate about two words: anger and indignation. As a psychologist now, I certainly deal with anger as an emotion in the therapy room. But I say we need to revive use of the word “indignation.” It has a depth of meaning that “anger”...
by Harper West | Mar 9, 2014 | Emotions
In my last blog I wrote about shame being the true underlying emotion behind most angry outbursts and behaviors. People feel embarrassed so they lash out with anger, rather than admitting or expressing their real emotion of shame. This connection is very clear in...
