Archive for September 2015
SHYAMALAN’S THE VISIT
4 Signs Loss And Guilt
Are Too Scary To Feel
M. Night Shyamalan’s new psychological horror film, The Visit, has twists and turns and unexpected surprises that I wouldn’t think of revealing. And, of course, this film has one of Shyamalan’s shock endings – it wouldn’t be a Shyamalan film without it. But for me as a psychoanalyst, there’s something else of more interest. What…
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BUSYNESS
Are You Blocking Something Out?
Stuart Whatley of the Huffington Post headlines his 9/25/15 article called The Myth Of Busyness in this way: “We in the West aren’t as freed up as we should be, but we also aren’t as busy as we’re constantly told.” I found it interesting to read his detailed article on realities and fantasies about our…
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EMMY’S 2015
Jon Hamm Wins!
Early Losses Not To Be Forgotten
I’ve been rooting for Jon Hamm. As a Mad Men enthusiast and psychoanalyst, I’ve written a number of pieces on the effects of Don Draper’s early trauma. Not only that, I’ve long admired the way Hamm brings Don’s very real struggles to life. Little did I know that his own early history, in some critical…
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‘THERAPY SHAME’
Don’t Let These 3 Reasons
Stop You From Getting Help
It’s hard to admit you need help. Everyone knows that therapy is out there, but as soon as you consider it, a voice in your head tells you all the shameful reasons NOT to go. Don’t let that voice stop you. Therapy Shame is real. But, listen to what Jessie Rosen says instead. She’s been…
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MISTRESS AMERICA
Going Backward To Go Forward
That’s Psychoanalysis
Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig’s kooky and touching new film, Mistress America, gives us Brooke Cardenas (Greta Gerwig), a 30-year-old autodidact, full of life and ideas, but stuck. She can’t get her life off the ground. Brooke needs help, but help makes her feel small: “There’s nothing I don’t know about myself. That’s why I can’t…
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JAKE GYLLENHAAL
DEMOLITION
Ways Not to Grieve
I just watched the trailer for Jake Gyllenhaal’s upcoming 2016 film, Demolition, about the aftermath of his character, Davis’s, sudden loss of his wife, Julia. Loss can take many forms. As the trailer shows, Davis unravels. He can’t pull himself together. His father-in-law tries to encourage him to rebuild his life. To do so, he…
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