Dr. Gary Bell's Absurd Psychology

Regret is a negative emotion that occurs when a person believes his or her past actions or behaviors, if changed, may have achieved a better outcome. Regret is often closely associated with feelings of guilt and shame. We often express the emotion of regret to others in the form of an apology. The emotion of regret can be broken down into two components A negative emotional state Cognitive construction of an alternative behavior or decision Even if the alternative decision or behavior was highly improbable or impossible, it can cause the person experiencing regret to apply a degree of self-blame. Regret may be characterized by negativity about the past in general, or about a particular incident in the past. For example, a person might feel badly about the way he or she has spent his or her life and be plagued by regret. Alternatively, the person might just feel badly about a particular incident—such as yelling at his or her mother the last time he or she saw her—and feel regret about it. Regret tends to be a long-lasting emotion, and people might say that they are plagued by feelings of regret that they cannot eliminate. However, regret can also be a short-lived feeling. For example, a child might regret tripping his or her sister and then quickly move past these feelings. The fact that regret is associated with the past, though, can make it particularly difficult to process because the actions that led to the regret cannot be changed. Tune in and learn how regret can dictate your life!

Being vulnerable with each other can also be a mutual endeavor, and it doesn't just involve revealing parts of yourself. It can also involve a joint effort toward something rewarding — an adventurous experience on a vacation, a joint lifestyle change toward healthier habits, an attempt to expand your mutual social circle, or even just expanding your minds together with new ideas in the form of thought-provoking books or movies. This puts you both outside of your comfort zone with the possibility of reward in the form of increased trust — like two comrades who were in the trenches together. And if it's a romantic relationship you're looking to increase your connection within. Tune in and learn more about how trust and integrity effect our entire lives!

The podcast explores the chilling world of psychopath stalkers, discussing their behaviors and motivations. It emphasizes the importance of recognizing stalking behaviors and taking action to protect oneself. It also delves into the different categories of psychopath stalkers, their motivations, and the link between stalking and borderline personality disorder. The podcast sheds light on the alarming rise of stalking incidents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Humor, the capacity to express or perceive what's funny, is both a source of entertainment and a means of coping with difficult or awkward situations and stressful events. Although it provokes laughter, humor can be serious business. From its most lighthearted forms to its more absurd ones, humor can play an instrumental role in forming social bonds, releasing tension, or attracting a mate. Tune in and learn how powerful humor is and the healing it offers!

Gender is related to but distinctly different from sex; it is rooted in culture, not biology. The APA (2012) defines gender as the attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that a given culture associates with a person’s biological sex. Gender conformity occurs when people abide by culturally-derived gender roles. Resisting gender roles (i.e., gender nonconformity) can have significant social consequences—pro and con, depending on circumstances. Tune in and learn how to navigate these difficult decisions from being, parenting and supporting!

A divorcee is not a supernatural being who needs to be kept at bay and never considered for marriage. Nevertheless, there are a few problems in marrying a divorcee that needs to be taken into account before you plunge into a relationship. Tune in and learn how to navigate this complex union!

t has become increasingly clear to me that at the basis of most divorces are problems of sexual connection. Two people may think that they are fighting about the kids or the in-laws or about whether to renovate the kitchen, but underneath it all is that unspoken tension related to the pressure of establishing a satisfying sexual relationship for both parties. I will explore what happens when a woman’s body shuts down and is no longer receptive to her husband’s touch. I’m looking at women who have no history of sexual trauma. This “shut down” typically appears a few years into the relationship, often after the kids are born. Whereas in the past, they used to have a fun, relaxed time in bed, now it has become a psychological wrestling match, with her avoiding and him bewildered and unsure how to proceed. This leads to her closing up and him feeling rejected and angry. And because she doesn’t understand and can’t explain what’s happening, it’s impossible to talk about. Tune in and learn about this vast virus to marriage issues!

Some lucky people are born into families they adore spending time with—their loving mutual bonds make holidays and multi-generational vacations a drama-free joy. But for others, simply seeing an incoming call from a parent triggers an anxiety that dates back to childhood, and they leave family gatherings feeling hurt, angry, or exhausted. Toxic family dynamics can have far-reaching impact on our lives as adults. Tune in and learn how these toxic people can be overcome!

It’s normal for us to need time to ruminate and go over a romantic break-up in minute detail when we feel like we were the one who was dumped. Break-ups can definitely qualify as traumatic events and telling and re-telling the break-up story is a relatively normal reaction if it was traumatic for you. However, if you’re telling the same story two or three months after the break-up to the same friends; feeling that you're more depressed than just sad; experiencing emotional pain that is keeping you from engaging in your normal routine, it’s likely going to qualify as “too long.”  Unfortunately, there’s not a magic number for how many weeks or months it takes to get over a bad break-up, but if you find your thoughts are getting in the way of you moving forward and your friends are tired of hearing you complain, then those are two signs it’s time to get yourself together and move forward. Tune in and learn how to overcome a broken heart!

For as long as America has been a country, the straight white American man has been king of the hill. But as society changes and culture evolves, the ground beneath that hill is growing shaky. Economically, physically and emotionally, many American men are fighting to maintain a foothold.What it means to be a man today is different than what it meant 20 years ago, says James O'Neil, PhD, a psychologist at the University of Connecticut who studies gender role conflict. There's a paradigm shift occurring in our country regarding what it means to be masculine, and many men have had difficulty adjusting to that transition. That shift might have been a factor in the 2016 presidential race. President Donald J. Trump's vow to make America great again seemed to resonate with the nation's male voters: Exit polls showed the widest gender gap among voters since exit polling began in the 1970s, with men favoring Trump over Hillary Clinton by 12 percentage points and women favoring Clinton over Trump by the same margin—for a total gender gap of 24 percentage points. Tune in and learn about what is dramatically happening to men!