Psychology Chat ⁽⁸⁵⁾

In the act of giving, continually explore the unknown self, continually discover new aspects of the self, and persevere to the last moment of life. For this goal a person is bound to meet many difficulties. But the greater the difficulty, the more you will…

Every negative thing has its positive side, and every positive thing has its negative side, because all things under heaven contain their opposite. If we fix our eyes on the negative side of things, then even if we owned the four seas and were enjoying…

Darkness can glow; silence can speak; quiet surpasses a thousand words. — Epigraph Reaching midlife, we feel ever more strongly that time returns everything we have to dust. Our elders leave us one after another; among our own generation, people too have begun to bow…

More than ten years ago, a cervical-cancer patient came to me for help. She was already critically ill: severe intestinal obstruction had left her unable to pass stool for over a week, and excruciating pain was more than she could bear. She was hospitalized in…

Attaining the mean and harmony—then heaven and earth are set in their places, and all things are nourished. — Liji, Zhongyong (Doctrine of the Mean) A person living in this world must have a qi of centered harmony. "Zhong" means not leaning to either side,…

There is an illness called borderline personality disorder (BPD); its main clinical features are dysregulation of emotion, cognition, behavior, and self and identity. BPD patients easily fall into deep emotional pits and are often comorbid with depression, anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress syndrome. They handle…

When I was small, once my grandfather caught a swallow and brought it for the grandchildren to play with. My grandmother scolded him roundly, saying he ought not; if a child accidentally killed the swallow, that would be taking a life. She also scolded her…

A patient added me on WeChat. As usual I sent him the link to my "Consultation Guidelines." When he saw that consultation was charged (though it also stated it was free for the poor), he burst out cursing: "Your mouth is full of a doctor's…

Knowing others is difficult; knowing oneself is truly no easier. — Essentials of Governance of the Zhenguan Era The Buddha said: He who leaves his family and home, recognizes his mind and reaches the root, and understands the doctrine of no-action, is called a shramana.

On August 19, after getting up, I went and worked for a while in the vegetable garden at the foot of Fragrant Hills, and that bouts-of-sadness mood did not recur. Before me there was still a heap of things to handle: work, life, family, emotion,…