Hanan Parvez
A toxic family is defined as one where there’s a consistent pattern of family members exhibiting harmful behaviors toward other members. While conflict is a normal part of a family dynamic, a toxic family handles conflict in ways that are damaging to one or more members. In a toxic family, there’s a constant pattern of …
Laughter is not only the best medicine but also a great way to raise your status in society. When you make people laugh, you make them feel good. This makes them perceive you as a valuable member of society, and your self-esteem rises. So, it makes sense to want to learn how to make someone …
People with abandonment issues fear losing their loved ones. This fear often stems from how they were treated by their parents in childhood. If one’s parents were accepting, responsive, and loving, they develop a strong sense of self and feel secure in relationships. On the other hand, neglect, indifference, and unresponsiveness from parents leave children …
Brainwashing is the process of repeatedly indoctrinating a person with a new set of beliefs. It’s helpful to think of brainwashing in terms of identity. When someone is brainwashed, they ditch their old identity and acquire a new one. The indoctrinated beliefs that support the person’s new identity change their thoughts and behaviors. The person …
People with abandonment issues fear being abandoned by their loved ones. Being the social species that we are, all of us dislike being abandoned by others, especially by our relatives and in-groups. While some level of this fear is normal, a person with abandonment issues lives in this fear constantly. Accepting and rejecting someone lies …
Life is full of ups and downs. The ups are accompanied by positive emotions and the downs by negative emotions. Negative emotions bring discomfort and pain. The mind uses negative emotions to draw our attention to the pain. One could, theoretically, listen to one’s negative emotions, work through them and find solutions to end the …
The ladder of inference is one of the most useful mental models I’ve come across to become a better thinker. Inference means deriving general conclusions from specific instances. The ladder of inference shows us the steps we take to make inferences and then act on those inferences. The ladder consists of six rungs with selected …
We can broadly classify people into three types based on how they approach conflicts: 1. Conflict avoidants These are people who try to avoid all conflicts. This is generally a poor strategy and shows weakness. 2. Neutral personalities People who only pick conflicts that are worth picking. They understand some battles are worth fighting and …
Dissociation is a psychological phenomenon where a person feels disconnected from reality- or from themselves. Dissociation occurs on a spectrum, ranging from mild to severe. Spacing out and daydreaming are common examples of mild dissociation. You may have noticed that they’re often triggered by mild discomforts such as boredom and information overwhelm. The mind going …
Masculinity and femininity exist on a spectrum. While most men are masculine, there are some that have feminine tendencies and some that are ultra-masculine. Similarly, most women are feminine, some have masculine tendencies, and some are ultra-feminine. Levels of masculinity and femininity, like sexual orientation, are set before birth. Long story short, how masculine or …