CatholicPsych Blog
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Why You Can’t Separate Brain, Body, and Relationship
When someone experiences trauma it doesn’t just live in memory. It gets wired into the brain. Certain triggers…
That’s So ADHD!
But here’s the big question: What’s the difference between someone having an “ADHD moment” and someone who actually has ADHD?
Correcting Aquinas: Why One Small Error Still Wounds the Church
St. Thomas Aquinas built parts of his anthropology on Aristotle’s biology. From that premise, Aquinas could write that woman is…
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Mindfulness: A Tool for Anxiety
Anxiety is widespread today, let's talk about mental distractions and how mindfulness is a powerful tool for anxiety. Anxiety and Mental Distractions How many times have you set out to get somewhere and you surprise yourself when you get there? “Oh wow, I’m here...
Same Sex Attraction: 7 Truths Needed From the Church
The Church's Stance on Homosexuality Instead of talking about what went wrong with the Synod in Rome, (*This article was written in response to the 2015 Synod on the Family.) I’d like to propose some of the things that our world actually needs from the...
The Surprising Power of Our Imagination
Outside the present moment - the power of imagination As humans, we possess the capability to encounter in the present moment something that is outside of the present moment in a way that physically changes our brains. It’s a little like having a superpower...
How to Spot Common Signs of Emotional Abuse
If I just love him enough, he’ll change...If I just treat her well enough, things will get better...If I just let it go this time, they’ll figure it out and won’t do it again... If you’ve ever known someone in an abusive relationship, these phrases will sound...
The Female Brain: What’s Your Superpower?
Female Brain vs Male Brain With this post, I'm opening up a short series focusing on the female brain and a few of the ways that it differs from the male brain. Fortunately there is a ton of research out there to rely on instead of just offering musings from my own...
Why Does God Allow Suffering?
If God is good, then why does He let bad things happen? Catholic mindfulness presupposes faith that God the Father is a good Father. But if God is good and all-powerful and loves us, why does he let awful things happen to good people? Simply put, why does God allow...
Outlining Narcissistic Personality Disorder
Selfishness or Narcissism? What exactly is narcissism, especially as it presents in narcissistic personality disorder? We throw around the term "narcissist" and "narcissism" a lot these days, usually when we refer to someone who we believe has been incredibly selfish...
Healing Through Catholic Mindfulness, Part Two
Guest blog post by Lindsey Peppers, continued from Part One... How I found Catholic Mindfulness Some of the meditation authors/speakers I listened to dabbled in eastern or New Age spiritualities that I knew were often in contradiction with my Catholic faith. I had...
Healing Through Catholic Mindfulness, Part One
Guest blogger Lindsey Peppers shares her journey to finding hope and healing through Catholic Mindfulness. (This is part 1 of a 2-part series.) Hitting a low point It was an otherwise unremarkable weekday in the fall of 2016 when I sat across from my neurologist,...
One Simple Thing To Do When You Feel Overwhelmed
Life is hard. Doing this human thing can be pretty challenging at times. It can feel overwhelming. Let's talk about what you can do when you feel overwhelmed. We all have a list of things to point to that justify why we feel overwhelmed: the kids, the deadline, the...
What is the CatholicPsych Institute?
"Become who you are." These words from St. John Paul II have echoed in my heart since I first heard them in 1997 at World Youth Day in Paris. My journey has taken me from being a student in the classroom of Peter Kreeft to a Franciscan Friar with Fr. Benedict...
How To Deal with Anxiety at Family Gatherings
Christmas; The celebration of Christ’s birth, and typically, lots of family time. Even though it’s supposed to be a time of greater joy, for a lot of people the increased family time can equal greater stress and anxiety. It is possible, however, to navigate even the...
Prioritizing Daily Life: The Power of Boundaries
Though life is often unpredictable, we have the power to prioritize daily life and habits in a way that values what's important to each of us. From the Friary to Married Life As many of you already know, I used to be a Franciscan friar. The friar’s life is one marked...